Rassegna mensile CFE: negoziati ONU sulla Convenzione quadro, nuove regole USA sulla ripartizione del reddito CFC, commenti OCSE sul transfer pricing, note tecniche FMI su contenzioso tributario e zone economiche speciali, rifusione DAC, standard AMLA, audizioni FISC, guida CBAM e parere CFE sulle piattaforme digitali.
UN Negotiating Committee Advances the International Tax Convention
The UN Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee concluded its fifth substantive session on the Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation, held from 3 to 13 August 2026, examining for the first time complete drafts of the convention and its two early protocols. Differences persist over the allocation of taxing rights, with developing countries supporting a stronger role for source and market jurisdictions and developed countries stressing the need to avoid overlapping nexus rules and taxpayer uncertainty. Negotiations continued on protocols covering cross-border services income and the prevention and resolution of tax disputes. No text was agreed, and the sixth session will take place in Nairobi from 30 November to 10 December 2026.
US Treasury Proposes Revised CFC Income Allocation Rules
The US Treasury and Internal Revenue Service published proposed regulations on 26 August concerning how a US shareholder's pro rata share of Subpart F income, tested income or tested loss of a controlled foreign corporation is determined. Implementing amendments enacted under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act for taxable years beginning after 31 December 2025, the rules allocate income and losses by reference to the stock held and the period of ownership while the foreign corporation was a CFC, removing the previous limitation to shareholders owning stock on the last relevant day of the year. The proposals set out a daily proration methodology and rules on ownership changes, multiple share classes and year-end closures. Comments are due by 26 October 2026.
OECD Publishes Stakeholder Comments on the Transfer Pricing Guidelines
On 24 August the OECD published the comments received on its proposed revisions to Chapter VII of the Transfer Pricing Guidelines, dealing with intra-group services. The draft revises guidance on the benefit test, shareholder activities, charging methods, allocation keys, pass-through costs, stock-based compensation and the simplified approach for low value-adding services. CFE was among the respondents, welcoming the clarity objective while stressing that the guidance should remain proportionate, avoid hindsight and recognise professional judgement and reasonable approximations, and supporting retention of the 5% mark-up under the simplified approach. A public consultation meeting is scheduled for 9 November 2026 in Paris.
IMF Guidance on the Management of Domestic Tax Disputes
An IMF Technical Note and Manual published on 18 August sets out a framework for managing disputes between taxpayers and tax administrations, treating dispute management as a core administrative function that protects revenue while supporting voluntary compliance. It identifies three principal stages, administrative review, appeal to an independent tribunal and court proceedings, with alternative dispute resolution as a possible complement. The note stresses a clear legal basis, timely and independent review, taxpayer rights, institutional governance, transparency, staff capability and performance indicators that reveal delays and recurring sources of dispute.
EU Tax Discussions Resume in the Council Working Party
The Council Working Party on Tax Questions (Direct Taxation) meets on 4 September 2026 to continue negotiations on the Recast of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation, which would consolidate DAC1 through DAC9 and adjust DAC6 reporting, DAC7 platform reporting, country-by-country and Pillar Two notifications and the treatment of legal professional privilege. Representatives will examine a Presidency compromise text dated 26 August and the opinion of the European Data Protection Supervisor, which addresses proportionality of data processing, access, retention and safeguards. Further meetings follow on 17 and 30 September.
AMLA Approves Draft Standards for FIU Information Exchanges
AMLA published a summary of the ninth meeting of its FIU General Board, which approved three draft Implementing Technical Standards on exchanges of information between Financial Intelligence Units and on reporting to the European Public Prosecutor's Office. The standards introduce harmonised templates and data fields, provide for supplementary exchanges and cross-border dissemination, and apply from 10 July 2027, with mandatory machine-readable formats from 10 July 2028. The Board also approved priority areas for joint FIU analyses beginning in the fourth quarter of 2026. AMLA will additionally hold public hearings on 9 and 10 September on draft standards for suspicious transaction reporting and for assessing the risk profile of non-financial obliged entities.
European Parliament FISC Subcommittee to Examine EU Tax Developments
The Subcommittee on Tax Matters will hold two public hearings on 7 September 2026. One examines taxation trends in Member States and how tax policy and compliance can be improved, with the Commission presenting its annual report on taxation and members considering tax incentives, the Clean Industrial Deal and whether national systems are sufficiently fair, simple and resilient. The other, held jointly with two further committees, examines VAT and customs fraud, how organised criminal groups exploit the Single Market, and how lost EU revenue can be recovered.
Commission Publishes Guidance on CBAM Verification
The European Commission published guidance for verifiers and national accreditation bodies on verifying emissions data under the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, covering accreditation, verifier competence and independence, verification planning, risk analysis, site visits, materiality and misstatements. Accredited verifiers can access the CBAM Registry from 1 September 2026 and are expected to register within two months of accreditation, with verification reports issued through the Registry from January 2027. The guidance supports the definitive CBAM period that began in January 2026 and follows ten broader guidance documents published on 14 August.
IMF Guidance on Taxing Special Economic Zones
An IMF How-To Note published on 27 August examines the design and taxation of special economic zones. Reviewing international experience, it finds performance uneven and many zones operating as isolated enclaves with limited benefit to the wider economy. Tax incentives are rarely the principal factor determining investment and may create fiscal costs, distortions and profit-shifting opportunities. The note recommends broadly neutral tax treatment, incentives linked to defined objectives and limited in duration, a preference for cost-based incentives over profit-based holidays, and emphasises that infrastructure, governance and integration with domestic business matter more than preferential taxation.
CFE Responds to the OECD Consultation on Digital Platform Reporting
CFE submitted an Opinion Statement on 14 August responding to the OECD consultation on targeted amendments to the Model Reporting Rules for Digital Platforms, which follows implementation in more than 30 jurisdictions. CFE supports replacing the dual threshold for excluded sellers with a single monetary threshold, backs measures reducing duplicate reporting and providing proportionate treatment for related entities and intra-group platforms, and recommends that obligations rest with the entity best placed to obtain and verify reliable information. It calls for clearer rules on intermediary sellers, refunds, cancellations, multiple currencies and integrated interfaces, and for continued alignment with the EU's DAC7 framework.
Fonte: CFE Tax Advisers Europe