This article examines some of the challenges facing taxpayers, and sets forth practical guidelines for approaching a difficult audit and surviving and audit with an aggressive auditor.

The July 2012 issue of the Global VAT/GST Newsletter provides updates from Baker & McKenzie's Global VAT/GST practice on recent VAT and legal developments - both on a regional and a local country basis.

This is the June / July 2012 edition of China Tax Monthly.

The Income Tax Board of Review (the Board) allowed the set-off of unabsorbed losses incurred by a previously de-registered branch against the current profits of a subsequently re-registered branch of a foreign company.

The European Tax Newsletter’s July 2012 issue features, among others, the tax treatment of patent income in Europe, with a special focus on the patent box regime that the UK plans to introduce next year.

In a bid to encourage production of video games, high-end TV drama and animation in the UK, the Government has proposed new corporation tax reliefs targeted at culturally British productions, effectively extending the existing film tax relief.

The June 2012 Australian Tax Client Alert outlines the changes to the Reduced Input Tax Credit (RITC) regime, which will take effect on 1 July 2012.

The 30 June 2012, deadline for filing Form TD F 90-22.1 Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) for 2011 is imminent, and US and foreign multinationals, and their officers and employees, should pay attention to the reasonably complex foreign bank and financial account reporting issues.

The June issue of Tax News and Developments discusses the Codified Economic Substance Doctrine, the 2011 FBAR reporting deadline, the final regulations on cross-border stock transfers, decisions in Home Concrete and Boston Scientific, and more.

Special form 2074-ET concerning the declaration of unrealized capital gains and capital gains under a deferral of taxation regime in case of transfer of tax residence outside France has just been released on the website impots.gouv.fr.

Changes to EU rules on e-commerce and VAT coming into effect from 1 January 2015 will have an impact on VAT and regulatory compliance, consumer protection, systems design and pricing structures.

On 26 June 2012, the IRS announced the long-awaited release of Frequently Asked Questions and Answers (FAQs) for the new Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) that began in January. The FAQs provide some clarifications, including regarding the timeline for submissions and eligibility for the program, but are not as extensive as had been hoped.

The UK Government commissioned a study in 2012 to consider whether a GAAR could be an effective deterrent and counteraction to tax avoidance. The result of that study was the Aaronson Report, which recommended a narrowly-focused GAAR. The Report was well received by the Government, and after informal consultation with business and tax advisers, and against a background of growing public intolerance of failure by corporates and individuals to pay their fair share of tax, the Government has decided to proceed and has published detailed proposals for consultation, with a view to enacting legislation in 2013. Tax avoidance by some high-profile individuals and companies has recently hit the headlines again in the UK, so it is no surprise that the Government is pressing ahead with plans for a narrowly-focused general anti-avoidance rule.

The First Chamber of the Mexican Supreme Court (SCJN for its acronym in Spanish) issued a precedent (tesis aislada) stating that documents or evidence that were not filed within the audit proceeding may not be filed in an administrative or litigation appeal.

On 20 October 2011, the European Commission published legislative proposals to reform the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID). These proposals represent a comprehensive and profound set of reforms which, if implemented, would lead to a reshaping across the EU of the financial markets, the products and services that banks and investment firms provide and the relationship between those firms and their customers. The proposals remain subject to negotiation and consideration by the EU Parliament and Council, and are scheduled for implementation at the end of 2015.