On September 12, 2018, McDermott held the second Tax in the City® Seattle event this year and was pleased to welcome our partner Nina Siewert from our Frankfurt office to join US panelists Elizabeth Chao, Britt Haxton, Kristen Hazel, Sandra McGill and Diann Smith. The team’s key takeaways include:

• Taxation of the Digital Economy – In March, the European Union proposed a 3 percent interim tax on digital services and a long-term expansion to the definition of a permanent establishment to include a “significant digital presence.” These proposals are unlikely to be passed during 2018. In the meantime, individual countries have passed or are considering unilateral measures to tax digital services.
• Post-Wayfair – The Supreme Court’s Wayfair decision is good news for states, brick and mortar retailers and software compliance companies, and bad news for online retailers, start-ups and marketplace providers. Its impact on localities and foreign sellers remain to be seen.
• Taxation of Multinationals: New Developments in US Tax Reform – Taxpayers should consider issues related to the new Base Erosion and Anti-Abuse Tax (BEAT), including whether royalties can be excluded from the BEAT, whether netting or a look-through concept should apply to BEAT; and how BEAT applies to cost-sharing agreements. The section 965 proposed regulations provide guidance about how basis adjustments apply to controlled foreign corporations (CFCs).
• The Multilateral Instrument (MLI) – US taxpayers should be familiar with the MLI, which goes into effect in 2019. In order for the MLI to apply, both countries must sign the MLI and must opt into the same treaty provisions.

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