Category: General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR)

General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) are statutory or judicially developed (doctrine) rules that empower tax authorities to deny taxpayers the benefit of abusive schemes, arrangements or transactions where these has been entered into primarily for tax-avoidance purposes.
Examples are the “fraus legis” principle applied in the Netherlands, the German “Prudent business manager” test, the Norwegian principle of “gjennemskjaering”, the Danish “realitetsgrundsætning”, the French principle of “abnormal act of management” and the US principel of “commercial rationality”.
In common for these rules are that economic substance is preferred over legal form, as legal form can more easily be manipulated in controlled environments.

Portugal vs "S- Sociedade S.A.", January 2024, Tribunal Central Administrativo Sul, Case No 152/07.9 BESNT

Portugal vs “S- Sociedade S.A.”, January 2024, Tribunal Central Administrativo Sul, Case No 152/07.9 BESNT

“S-Sociedade S.A.” had received a tax assessment and later a judgment based on transfer pricing rules (and not anti-avoidance rules), where the outcome of the tax audit would have been different if the transactions had been purely domestic rather than international. “S-Sociedade S.A.” considered that the judgment was flawed and appealed. Judgment of the Court The Court ruled in favour of “S-Sociedade S.A.” and annulled the tax assessment. Experts in English “In this regard, the following elements can be gleaned from European Union law: “The arm’s length principle necessarily forms part of the Commission’s assessment of tax measures granted to undertakings in a group under Article 107(1) of the Treaty, irrespective of whether and in what form a Member State has incorporated this principle into its national legal system. It is used to determine whether a group company’s taxable profits for corporate income tax purposes ... Continue to full case
Sweden vs "A Loan AB", January 2024, Supreme Administrative Court, Case No 4068-23

Sweden vs “A Loan AB”, January 2024, Supreme Administrative Court, Case No 4068-23

A AB is part of an international group. The group was planning a reorganisation involving a number of intra-group transactions. As part of this reorganisation, A AB would acquire all the shares in B from the group company C. The acquisition would mainly be financed by A AB taking a loan from group company D, which is domiciled in another EU country. The terms of the loan, including the interest rate, would be at market terms. A AB requested an advance ruling to know whether the deduction of the interest expenses on the debt to D could be denied on the grounds that the debt relationship had been incurred exclusively or almost exclusively for the purpose of obtaining a significant tax advantage or because the acquisition of B was not essentially commercially motivated. If the interest was subject to non-deductibility, A AB wanted to know ... Continue to full case
Canada vs Husky Energy Inc., December 2023, Tax Court, Case No 2023 TCC 167

Canada vs Husky Energy Inc., December 2023, Tax Court, Case No 2023 TCC 167

Prior to the payment of dividends by Husky Energy Inc. to its shareholders in 2003, two of its shareholders (companies resident in Barbados) transferred their shares to companies in Luxembourg under securities lending arrangements, and therefore Husky Energy Inc. only withheld dividend tax at a reduced rate of 5% under the Canada-Luxembourg Income Tax Treaty. Judgment of the Court The Court found Husky Energy liable for failing to withhold dividend tax at the non-Convention rate of 25%. As the dividends were not paid to the Barbados companies, the 15% rate under the Canada – Barbados Income Tax Convention was not available. The Canada-Luxembourg Income Tax Convention rate was also not available as the Luxembourg companies were not the beneficial owners of the dividends as they were required to pay compensation to the Barbados companies equal to the dividends received. Excerpts “Under the securities lending arrangements, ... Continue to full case
Poland vs P.B., December 2023, Supreme Administrative Court, Case No II FSK 456/22

Poland vs P.B., December 2023, Supreme Administrative Court, Case No II FSK 456/22

P.B. had deducted licence fees paid for the use of the trademark “B” which was owned by a related party. Following an audit, the tax authority issued an assessment where deductions for the fees had been disallowed. The tax authority stated that the transactions carried out by the P.B. in 2015 concerning the trademark, both in terms of the disposal of this asset and in terms of the subsequent acquisition of the right to use it, escape the notion of rational management and that these activities occurred under conditions that were clearly different from market conditions. According to the authority, their undoubted result was an unjustified transfer of income to the related entity B. sp. z o.o. An appeal was filed with the Administrative Court which later upheld the tax assessment, and P.B. then filed an appeal with the Supreme Administrative Court. Judgment of the ... Continue to full case
Poland vs "E. K.", November 2023, Administrative Court, Case No I SA/Po 25/23

Poland vs “E. K.”, November 2023, Administrative Court, Case No I SA/Po 25/23

On 1 February 2010, E.K. and its subsidiary, E. S.A, concluded an agreement on the transfer of E.K.’s trade marks to E. S.A. Following the transfer (on the same day), E.K. concluded with E. S.A. an agreement to grant a licence for the use of the marks in return for payment to the licensor (E. S.A.) of a monthly remuneration. In 2011, E.K. recognised as a deductible expense the royalties paid to E. S.A. According to the tax authorities this resulted in E.K. understating its corporate income tax liability for 2011. According to the tax authorities, E. S.A. did not participate in any way in the creation of revenue, with the result that the profits generated by E.K. were ‘passed on’ in the form of royalties to a related company – E. S.A. The remuneration payable to the legal owner of the trademarks did not ... Continue to full case
Australia vs PepsiCo, Inc., November 2023, Federal Court 2023, Case No [2023] FCA 1490

Australia vs PepsiCo, Inc., November 2023, Federal Court 2023, Case No [2023] FCA 1490

At issue was the “royalty-free” use of intangible assets under an agreement whereby PepsiCo’s Singapore affiliate sold concentrate to Schweppes Australia, which then bottled and sold PepsiCo soft drinks for the Australian market. As no royalties were paid under the agreement, no withholding tax was paid in Australia. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) determined that the payments for “concentrate” from Schweppes to PepsiCo had been misclassified and were in part royalty for the use of PepsiCo’s intangibles (trademarks, branding etc.), and an assessment was issued for FY2018 and FY2019 where withholding tax was determined on that basis. The assessment was issued under the Australian diverted profits tax provisions. The assessment was appealed to the Federal Court in February 2022. Judgment of the Court The Federal Court ruled in favor of the tax authorities. Following the decision of the Court, the ATO issued an announcement concerning ... Continue to full case
Netherlands vs "DPP B.V.", November 2023, Supreme Court, Case No 22/00587, ECLI:NL:HR:2023:1504

Netherlands vs “DPP B.V.”, November 2023, Supreme Court, Case No 22/00587, ECLI:NL:HR:2023:1504

At issue was the point in time where intra-group receivables in the form of dividends denominated in a foreign currency could be said to have been received by the Dutch shareholder “DPP B.V.” for tax purposes. The Dutch participation exemption applies to dividends up to the point at which such a receivable must be capitalized as a separate asset in the balance sheet. Only from that point on would any foreign exchange loss or gain be tax deductible (or taxable). The District Court and the Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the tax authorities. Judgement of the Supreme Court The Dutch Supreme Court declared the appeal unfounded and upheld the judgment of the Court of Appeal. Click here for English translation Click here for other translation Netherlands vs DPP BV 3 Nov 2023 Case No ECLI_NL_HR_2023_1504 ... Continue to full case
Italy vs GKN, October 2023, Supreme Court, No 29936/2023

Italy vs GKN, October 2023, Supreme Court, No 29936/2023

The tax authorities had notified the companies GKN Driveline Firenze s.p.a. and GKN Italia s.p.a. of four notices of assessment, relating to the tax periods from 2002 to 2005, as well as 2011. The assessments related to the signing of a leasing contract, concerning a real estate complex, between GKN Driveline Firenze s.p.a. and the company TA. p.a. and the company TAU s.r.l.. A property complex was owned by the company GKN-Birfield s.p.a. of Brunico and was leased on an ordinary lease basis by the company GKN Driveline Firenze s.p.a. Both companies belonged to a multinational group headed by the company GKN-PLC, the parent company of the finance company GKN Finance LTD and the Italian parent company GKN-Birfield s.p.a., which in turn controlled GKN Driveline Firenze s.p.a. and TAU s.r.l. GKN Driveline Firenze s.p.a. expressed interest in acquiring ownership of the real estate complex; the ... Continue to full case
US vs GSS HOLDINGS (LIBERTY) INC., September 2023, U.S. Court of Appeals, Case No. 21-2353

US vs GSS HOLDINGS (LIBERTY) INC., September 2023, U.S. Court of Appeals, Case No. 21-2353

GSS Holdings had claimed a loss of USD 22.54 million which the IRS disallowed. In disallowing the loss, the IRS claimed that the loss was not an ordinary business loss, but was incurred as part of a series of transactions that resulted in the sale of capital assets between related parties. The trial court upheld the IRS’s adjustment and GSS Holdings appealed to the Court of Federal Claims. The Court of Federal Claims applied a combination of substance over form and step transaction doctrines to combine two transactions and dismissed GSS Holdings’ claims on that basis. GSS Holdings then appealed to the US Court of Appeals. Opinion of the Court The Court of Appeals found that the Federal Claims Court had misapplied the step transaction doctrine and remanded the case for reconsideration under the correct legal standard. Excerpt “As part of this examination, the Claims ... Continue to full case
UK vs JTI Acquisitions Company (2011) Ltd, August 2023, Upper Tribunal, Case No [2023] UKUT 00194 (TCC)

UK vs JTI Acquisitions Company (2011) Ltd, August 2023, Upper Tribunal, Case No [2023] UKUT 00194 (TCC)

JTI Acquisitions Company Ltd was a UK holding company, part of a US group, used as an acquisition vehicle to acquire another US group. The acquisition was partly financed by intercompany borrowings at an arm’s length interest rate. The tax authorities disallowed the interest expense on the basis that the loan was taken out for a unallowable purpose. Judgement of the Upper Tribunal The Court upheld the decision and dismissed JTI Acquisitions Company Ltd’s appeal. According to the Court, a main purpose of the arrangement was to secure a tax advantage for the UK members of the group. The fact that the loans were at arm’s length was relevant but not determinative. UK vs JTI ACQUISITIONS COMPANY (2011) LIMITED ... Continue to full case
Poland vs "E S.A.", June 2023, Provincial Administrative Court, Case No I SA/Po 53/23

Poland vs “E S.A.”, June 2023, Provincial Administrative Court, Case No I SA/Po 53/23

In 2010, E S.A. transferred the legal ownership of a trademark to subsidiary S and subsequently entered into an agreement with S for the “licensing of the use of the trademarks”. In 2013, the same trademark was transferred back to E. S.A. As a result of these transactions, E. S.A., between 2010 and 2013, recognised the licence fees paid to S as tax costs, and then, as a result of the re-purchase of those trademarks in 2013 – it again made depreciation write-offs on them, recognising them as tax costs. The tax authority found that E S.A. had reported income lower than what would have been reported had the relationships not existed. E S.A. had  overestimated the tax deductible costs by PLN […] for the depreciation of trademarks, which is a consequence of the overestimation for tax purposes of the initial value of the trademarks ... Continue to full case
Australia vs Mylan Australia Holding Pty Ltd., June 2023, Federal Court, Case No [2023] FCA 672

Australia vs Mylan Australia Holding Pty Ltd., June 2023, Federal Court, Case No [2023] FCA 672

Mylan Australia Holding is a subsidiary of the multinational Mylan Group, which is active in the pharmaceutical industry. Mylan Australia Holding is the head of the Australian tax consolidated group, which includes its subsidiary Mylan Australia Pty. In 2007, Mylan Australia Pty acquired the shares of Alphapharm Pty Ltd. and to finance the acquisition, a substantial loan (A$923,205,336) was provided by a group company in Luxembourg. In the following years interest expenses was deducted from the taxable income of Mylan’s Australian tax group. The tax authorities issued a notice of assessment for the years 2009 to 2020 disallowing the deduction of excessive interest expense incurred as a result of the financing arrangement. Initially the tax authorities relied on both transfer pricing provisions and the general anti-avoidance provision (Pt IVA), but subsequently they relied only on the latter as the basis for the assessment. Mylan Australia ... Continue to full case
Netherlands vs "X Shareholder Loan B.V.", June 2023, Court of Appeals, Case No 22/00587, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2023:1305

Netherlands vs “X Shareholder Loan B.V.”, June 2023, Court of Appeals, Case No 22/00587, ECLI:NL:GHAMS:2023:1305

After the case was remanded by the Supreme Court in 2022, the Court of Appeal classified a Luxembourg company’s shareholder loan to “X Shareholder Loan B.V.” of €57,237,500 as an ‘imprudent loan’, with the result that the interest due on that loan was only tax deductible to a limited extent. The remaining interest was non-deductible because of fraus legis (evasion of the law). Allowing the interest due on the shareholder loan to be deductible would result in an evasion of tax, contrary to the purpose and purport of the 1969 Corporation Tax Act as a whole. The purpose and purport of this Act oppose the avoidance of the levying of corporate income tax, by bringing together, on the one hand, the profits of a company and, on the other hand, artificially created interest charges (profit drainage), in an arbitrary and continuous manner by employing – ... Continue to full case
Canada vs Deans Knight Income Corporation, May 2023, Supreme Court, Case No. 2023 SCC 16

Canada vs Deans Knight Income Corporation, May 2023, Supreme Court, Case No. 2023 SCC 16

In 2007, Forbes Medi-Tech Inc. (now Deans Knight Income Corporation) was a British Columbia-based drug research and nutritional food additive business in financial difficulty. It had accumulated approximately $90 million of unclaimed non-capital losses and other tax credits. Non-capital losses are financial losses resulting from carrying on a business that spends more than it makes in a given year. Under the Income Tax Act (the Act), a taxpayer can reduce their income tax by deducting non-capital losses from its taxable income. If the taxpayer does not use all, or a portion, of the loss in the year it incurred it, they may carry the loss back three years, or forward 20 years. However, under section 111(5) of the Act, when another entity acquires control of the company, the new owners may not carry over those non-capital losses and deduct them from its future taxes, unless the company ... Continue to full case
Portugal vs "A..., Sociedade Unipessoal LDA", May 2023, Supremo Tribunal Administrativo, Case No 036/21.8BALSB

Portugal vs “A…, Sociedade Unipessoal LDA”, May 2023, Supremo Tribunal Administrativo, Case No 036/21.8BALSB

“A…, Sociedade Unipessoal LDA” had taken out two intra group loans with the purpose of acquiring 70% of the shares in a holding company within the group. The tax authorities disallowed the resulting interest expenses claiming that the loan transactions lacked a business purpose. The assessment was later upheld by the tax court in decision no. 827/2019-T. An appeal was then filed by “A…, Sociedade Unipessoal LDA” with the Supreme Administrative Court. Judgement of Supreme Administrative Court The Court dismissed the appeal and upheld the decision of the tax court and the assessment issued by the tax authorities. Experts “35. In general, a transaction is considered to have economic substance when it significantly alters the taxpayer’s economic situation beyond the tax advantage it may generate. Now, the analysis of the relevant facts leads to the conclusion that neither A… nor the financial position of the ... Continue to full case
Denmark vs Takeda A/S (former Nycomed A/S) and NTC Parent S.à.r.l., May 2023, Supreme Court, Cases 116/2021 and 117/2021

Denmark vs Takeda A/S (former Nycomed A/S) and NTC Parent S.à.r.l., May 2023, Supreme Court, Cases 116/2021 and 117/2021

The cases concerned in particular whether Takeda A/S under voluntary liquidation and NTC Parent S.à.r.l. were obliged to withhold tax on interest on intra-group loans granted by foreign group companies. The cases were to be assessed under Danish tax law, the EU Interest/Royalty Directive and double taxation treaties with the Nordic countries and Luxembourg. In a judgment of 9 January 2023, concerning dividends distributed to foreign parent companies, the Supreme Court has ruled on when a foreign parent company is a “beneficial owner” under double taxation treaties with, inter alia, Luxembourg, and when there is abuse of rights under the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive. In the present cases on the taxation of interest, the Supreme Court referred to the judgement of January 2023 on the general issues and then made a specific assessment of the structure and loan relationships of the two groups. The Supreme Court ... Continue to full case
Denmark vs Copenhagen Airports Denmark Holdings ApS, February 2023, High Court, Case No SKM2023.404.OLR

Denmark vs Copenhagen Airports Denmark Holdings ApS, February 2023, High Court, Case No SKM2023.404.OLR

A parent company resident in country Y1 was liable to tax on interest and dividends it had received from its Danish subsidiary. There should be no reduction of or exemption from withholding tax under the Parent-Subsidiary Directive or the Interest and Royalties Directive or under the double taxation treaty between Denmark and country Y1, as neither the parent company nor this company’s own Y1-resident parent company could be considered the rightful owner of the dividends and interest within the meaning of the directives and the treaty, and as there was abuse. The High Court thus found that the Y1-domestic companies were flow-through companies for the interest and dividends, which were passed on to underlying companies in the tax havens Y2-ø and Y3-ø. The High Court found that there was no conclusive evidence that the companies in Y2 were also flow-through entities and that the beneficial ... Continue to full case
US vs Skechers USA Inc., February 2023, Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission, Nos. 10-I-171 AND 10-I-172

US vs Skechers USA Inc., February 2023, Wisconsin Tax Appeals Commission, Nos. 10-I-171 AND 10-I-172

Skechers US Inc. had formed a related party entity, SKII, in 1999 and transferred IP and $18 million in cash to the entity in exchange for 100 percent of the stock. Skechers then licensed the IP back from SKII and claimed a franchise tax deduction for the royalties and also deductions for management fees and interest expenses on the unpaid balance of royalty fees. The Wisconsin tax authorities held that these were sham transaction lacking business purpose and disallowed the deductions. Judgement of the Tax Appeals Commission The Tax Appeals Commission ruled in favor of the tax authorities. Excerpt “(…) The burden of proof is on Petitioner to prove that the Department’s assessment is incorrect by clear and satisfactory evidence. In this case, Petitioner must prove that it had a valid nontax business purpose for entering into the licensing transaction that generated the royalty deductions ... Continue to full case
Mauritius vs Innodis Ltd, February 2023, Supreme Court, Case No 2023 SCJ 73

Mauritius vs Innodis Ltd, February 2023, Supreme Court, Case No 2023 SCJ 73

Innodis granted loans to five wholly-owned subsidiaries between 2002 and 2004. The loans were unsecured, interest-free and had a grace period of one year. The subsidiaries to which the loans were granted were either start-up companies with no assets or companies in financial difficulties. The tax authorities (MRA) had carried out an assessment of the tax liability of Innodis Ltd in respect of the assessment years 2002 – 2003 and 2003 – 2004. In the course of the exercise, a number of items were added to the taxable income, including income from interest-free loans to subsidiaries and overseas passage allowances to eligible employees, which had been earmarked but not paid. The tax authorities were of the opinion that the grant of the interest-free loans was not on arm’s length terms in accordance with section 75 of the Income Tax Act 1995 (ITA) and was clearly ... Continue to full case
Poland vs I. sp. z o.o. , January 2023, Supreme Administrative Court, Cases No II FSK 1588/20

Poland vs I. sp. z o.o. , January 2023, Supreme Administrative Court, Cases No II FSK 1588/20

I. sp. z o.o. is a Polish tax resident. Its sole shareholder is an Italian tax resident company. The Company plans to pay a dividend to the shareholder in the future, and therefore asked the following question to the Polish Tax Chamber: in order to exercise the right to exempt a dividend paid to a shareholder from corporate income tax (withholding tax) under Article 22(4) of the Corporate Income Tax Act of 15 February 1992 (Journal of Laws of 2019, item 865, hereinafter the CIT), is the Company required to verify whether the entity to which the dividend is paid is the actual owner of the dividend? The Tax Chamber answered that verification of the beneficial ownership is part of the due diligence obligation introduced in Article 26(1) of the Corporate Income Tax Act in 2019. The company challenged this interpretation before the Administrative Court ... Continue to full case