US developments: Will FDII survive?
EY’s Global Tax Alert summarizes recent US developments, including (expected) pushback by the EU from the Tax Act’s FDII legislation. The pushback is based upon WTO rules and OECD’s Article 24 on non-discrimination.
One elemental argument against the Foreign Derived Intangible Income (FDII) legislation is that it violates the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.
“The tax press is reporting that the EU has requested that the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Forum on Harmful Tax Practices conduct a “fast track” review of certain of the TCJA’s provisions. The request reportedly came after a meeting of EU Finance Ministers in which the Ministers discussed how to react to the tax reform law and whether to take action in the WTO. According to the report, a recent EU document states that the new base erosion and anti-abuse tax may contravene the OECD Model Tax Convention’s Article 24 on non-discrimination.”
To the extent that the FDII is found to violate the WTO rules, the timing for this benefit is a short-term (i.e. 3-5 years) period. Accordingly, relevant restructuring may avail this benefit in the next few years with a long-term strategy based on its revocation.
Strategizing Multinational Tax Risks 