澳大利亚新发布的财政预算案中包含一系列涉及国际税收的提案,包括修改完善《跨国公司反避税法》(MAAL-Multinational Anti Avoidance Law)的相关内容。
自2016年1月1日起,《跨国公司反避税法》正式生效。该法适用于在澳大利亚经营且全球营收大于10亿澳元的跨国公司。该法规定,“避税”的跨国公司应双倍补缴所欠税款,外加利息。
澳大利亚政府在财政预算案中发布了新规定,以进一步“反避税”,特别明确不能在公司股权架构中利用外国信托或是合伙人制度以规避《跨国公司反避税法》。
财政预算案中提出,自2016年1月1日起生效的《跨国公司反避税法》可适用于:
股权结构所涉及的合伙制关系中,存在外国居民合伙人的企业;
存在外国受托人的信托;
暂时在澳大利亚进行集中管理和控制的境外信托。
此外,财政预算案中还包含消除混合错配问题的有关规定。澳大利亚政府表示,新规旨在打击银行和金融机构所使用的激进避税结构。具体而言,新规将防止在法定资本(即AT1- Additional Tier 1)的跨国交易中出现混合错配问题。
(AT1由无固定到期日的长期融资工具组成,包含优先股和高或有可转换证券High Contingent Convertible Securities)
Australia Adds To BEPS Response In Latest Budget
Australia's new Budget contains a number of international tax proposals, including retroactive changes to strengthen the Multinational Anti Avoidance Law (MAAL).
The MAAL came into effect on January 1, 2016. It applies to multinationals operating in Australia with global revenues of more than AUD1bn, and requires companies that "avoid" taxes to pay back double what they owe, plus interest.
New provisions announced in the Budget seek to strengthen this measure, in particular to negate the use of foreign trusts and partnerships in corporate structures to circumvent the Law.
The Budget proposes that, effective from January 1, 2016, the MAAL may apply to:
Corporate structures that involve the interposition of partnerships that have any foreign resident partners;Trusts that have any foreign resident trustees; and Foreign trusts that temporarily have their central management and control in Australia.
Next, it includes provisions intended to counter hybrid mismatch arrangements. The Government said new provisions are intended to clamp down on aggressive tax avoidance structures used by banks and financial institutions. Specifically, they will prevent hybrid mismatches that can occur in cross-border transactions relating to regulatory capital known as Additional Tier 1 (AT1).
(Additional Tier 1 or AT1 consists of capital instruments that are continuous, in that there is no fixed maturity including: Preferred Shares and High Contingent Convertible Securities)