The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) in 2017 took a new direction for the treatment of U.S. multinationals. Six significant reforms departed from the old system:
The U.S. no longer has a worldwide tax system for taxing corporate income. But it does not have a truly territorial system either. Instead, the U.S. now has a hybrid system with some worldwide taxation, without deferral, for certain foreign income because of GILTI and Subpart F and a tax on certain cross-border transactions.
Countries participating in the OECD Inclusive Framework’s negotiations on cross-border tax rules hope to reach an agreement by mid-2021. After negotiations stalled somewhat in 2020, there is hope that US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen’s commitment to reaching an agreement will allow progress to be made this year.
The posts below include our research and analysis of policies related to cross-border tax rules, including Global Intangible Low Tax Income (GILTI), Foreign Derived Intangible Income (FDII), Base Erosion and Anti-abuse Tax (BEAT), and the Global Anti-base Erosion (GloBE) rules in the context of the OECD’s Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS).
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Over the course of the last year, it has become clear that Democratic lawmakers want to change U.S. international tax rules. However, as proposals have been debated in recent months, there are clear divides between U.S. proposals and the global minimum tax rules.
5 min read
Leaders around the world are quickly moving to finalize an agreement on a global minimum tax in 2021, based on the so-called “Pillar Two” proposal from the OECD.
25 min read
The Biden administration’s international tax proposals would impose a 7.7 percent surtax on the foreign profits of U.S. multinationals, resulting in a net increase in profit shifting out of the U.S.
60 min read
The international corporate tax changes in President Biden’s tax plan would increase tax rates on domestic income more than on foreign income, resulting in a net increase in profit shifting out of the US, according to our Multinational Tax Model.
33 min read
Since only U.S. businesses pay the GILTI tax, not foreign businesses, it makes U.S.-based brands less competitive abroad. Whatever its intentions, GILTI is a flawed policy, and doubling down on it will hurt us abroad, and at home.
The Biden campaign and Senate Democrats identified changes to GILTI that would increase the taxes U.S. companies pay on their foreign earnings. Rather than tacking on changes to a system that is currently neither fully territorial nor worldwide, policymakers should evaluate the structure of the current system with a goal of it becoming more, not less, coherent.
51 min read
Formulary apportionment, global tax harmonization, and broad tax increases on services all face design, implementation, and economic barriers. When designing tax systems, policymakers should focus on doing the basic things well and avoid harmful policies that could stunt growth.
7 min read
A focus on sustained growth, meaningful metrics, and institutional capabilities that keep simplification a focus in future regulatory efforts should underpin the decluttering agenda.
8 min read
Corporate tax reform can strengthen Chile’s economic growth at a minimal revenue cost by reinstating full expensing and adopting a territorial tax system to align its cross-border rules with the international standard.
5 min read
As European countries have undertaken a series of tax reforms designed for budgetary stability, policymakers should focus on consumption taxes by making them more neutral and efficient.
15 min read
The Trump administration has rightly shifted its focus from pursuing legislative changes to implementing new permanent rules. But in this shift, it’s crucial that the White House doesn’t lose focus on the larger task at hand.
In this episode, we break down what the OBBBA did, walk through our projections, and zoom out to other defining fights of 2025: Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs, the Supreme Court challenge over presidential tariff power, and the growing wave of property tax revolts across the states.
Several states have decoupled from GILTI by name rather than statutory citation. Lawmakers in those states should amend these statutes to ensure that their tax code does not accidentally incorporate a much more aggressive tax on international income than the tax from which they previously decoupled.
6 min read
Due to the incentive for jurisdictions to implement a qualified domestic minimum top-up tax (QDMTT), Pillar Two leaves a geographic asymmetry. Additional tax revenues would predominantly accrue to low-tax jurisdictions, with high tax jurisdictions receiving little to no increase.
2 min read
Sean Bray interviewed Dr. Aitor Navarro, Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Tax Law and Public Finance, about the future of the EU tax mix.
16 min read
France is proposing to double the tax rate of its digital services tax (DST) to 6 percent, making the DST even more discriminatory.
5 min read
22 of the 27 EU Member States have implemented both the income inclusion rule and the qualified domestic minimum top-up tax in 2025.
4 min read
New evidence shows the scale and distribution of compliance costs for EU firms affected by Pillar Two, i.e., the “Global Minimum Tax.”
6 min read
Sean Bray interviewed Dr. Sérgio Vasques, Professor of Tax Law at the Catholic University of Lisbon and former Portuguese Secretary of State for Tax Affairs, about the future of the EU tax mix.
7 min read
While there are many factors that affect a country’s economic performance, taxes play an important role. A well-structured tax code is easy for taxpayers to comply with and can promote economic development while raising sufficient revenue for a government’s priorities.
93 min read
Since digital services taxes deliver limited revenue, shift the burden to European consumers, and risk provoking trade disputes, it’s time for policymakers to rethink their approach.
Massachusetts lawmakers should look for opportunities to reform the tax code, revamp the state’s competitiveness, and stem the tide of outmigration. This bill, by contrast, would double down on the economically uncompetitive features of the Commonwealth’s existing tax code. Aggressively expanding NCTI inclusion is not productive or competitive.
5 min read
The reality is that the US is the winner from globalization, the capital of the world. Let’s keep it that way.
Senator Bernie Moreno’s (R-OH) Halting International Relocation of Employment (HIRE) Act is a proposal to discourage US companies from outsourcing jobs and services abroad for products consumed by Americans.
7 min read
Instead of getting stuck in a reactionary posture, European countries should simply aim for competitiveness, and the EU can support that work with stronger, more stable trade relationships.
Rather than returning to a world of retaliatory tax measures and transatlantic disputes, the OECD should continue to decrease the compliance costs of Pillar Two by simplifying the rules to reduce any possible risk that the US has a compliance cost advantage and working with G7 countries on a side-by-side solution.
6 min read