Tax authority plans to continue work, increase consultations on rule design options
- Qatar’s General Tax Authority is going back to the drawing board after consulting the OECD on the first draft of its rules for implementing a qualifying domestic minimum top-up tax under OECD’s Pillar Two plan, a GTA official said.
- The GTA Wednesday closed its three-day regional workshop in Doha on Pillar Two’s model rules for a 15% global minimum tax, in which Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development officials gave presentations on designing and implementing a QDMTT and safe harbor.
- Qatar is not an OECD member but it was among the 138 countries and jurisdictions of the so-called inclusive framework that recently approved the OECD’s roadmap for implementing a two-pillar plan to reform the international tax framework to make sure the world’s biggest companies pay their fair share of tax. The 15% global minimum tax and top-up tax are part of Pillar Two.
- During a closed session with OECD representatives, the GTA for the first time presented a draft of its proposed rules for a top-up tax. “Of course, the draft contains things that are good and other things that need revision. But the main thing is that we are on the right track,” said FTA adviser Lotfi Sellami Khelil.
- “We therefore agreed to continue work on the draft, expand and intensify internal consultations with stakeholders on some design options, and submit an improved version of the draft to the OECD, for a second reading,” Khelil said. A public consultation on the second draft is also possible, he said. (LinkedIn)
- Elsewhere in the region, Kuwait has said it’s considering implementing the global minimum tax starting in 2025. The United Arab Emirates said in September that it isn’t ready to impose the global minimum tax on multinational companies in 2024, but instead will hold a public consultation on Pillar Two rules. (LegalAvocado)
S&P 100 Companies Pay Much Lower Tax Rates In US
- S&P 100 companies pay roughly 31% lower US tax rates than they pay on foreign taxes, and six of those companies are actually paying a negative overall tax rate worldwide, according to a report from personal finance company Wallet Hub. (Wallethub.com)
- Airbnb rode a big tax break and better-than-expected summer revenues to $4.4 billion in third-quarter profits, the San Francisco-based company reported Wednesday. (News.Airbnb.com)
- If Barbados raises its corporate tax rates to comply with the OECD global minimum tax rules, the tax haven will need to implement new measures to attract global investors and to keep the ones it already has, the head of Barbados International Business Association said. (Barbados Today)
- Australia is considering a controversial proposal to impose an export tax on foreign students in the country. (The Guardian)
OECD Says Data Show Need for Stronger African Tax Administrations
- Africa’s tax revenues were still below their pre-pandemic levels in 2021, as countries in the region continued to face financial challenges a year after Covid-19 disrupted the global economy, a new OECD report says. The report, “Revenue Statistics in Africa 2023,” said the data demonstrate an “urgent need” for African countries to enhance their tax administrations and broaden their tax base. (OECD)
- The OECD and the African Tax Administration Forum this week said they agreed to cooperate another five years on efforts to promote fair and efficient tax systems and administrations in Africa. (ATAFTAX.org)
