Author Archives: Amedeo Rizzo

Environmental Tax

Is the Post-Lockdown a Good Timing for Introducing an Environmental Tax?

Fiscalità e Commercio Internazionale
10/2020

The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have eclipsed the environmental crisis. Of course, priorities on the European (and international) political agenda have radically changed due to the dramatic health emergency and its devastating economic effects. The sharp reduction in global economic activity during the lockdown led, in turn, to some unintentional, albeit temporary, environmental improvements that are expected to be frustrated as soon as the economy takes off again.

This exceptional scenario could serve as a blank canvas on which to draw a sustainable economic recovery shaping efficient tax measures on the objectives outlined in the European Green Deal. However, we should not make the mistake of burdening the most disadvantaged segment of the population: well-designed environmental taxes should, therefore, be levied on goods and activities that have available and affordable green substitutes. This way, corrective taxes would be more efficient in fulfilling their environmental objective, fairer because poorer households could opt for the non-polluting alternative, and they would help avoid the rebound of emission levels in the post-crisis scenario.
With E. Scuderi

Postilla – Il Blog di Marco Piazza
SSRN
Research Gate – Project
Research Gate – Paper

Transfer Pricing

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The Interplay between FAR Analysis and AOA in a Digitalized Economy

International Transfer Pricing Journal
2021, Vol. 32, No. 1

The article examines the analysis of the significant functions of a permanent establishment in a digitalized economy as well as the attribution of assets, risks, capital and liabilities to the latter with specific considerations related to digital businesses. Specifically, the article analyses how the “Authorized OECD Approach” interlaces with the aspects of the digitalization of the economy, among which the “Unified Approach” under Pillar One.
With R. Iervolino and A. Orlandi

IBFD
SSRN

Digital Services Tax

How will the Italian Digital Services Tax affect the trade relations with the U.S. and China?

Fiscalità e Commercio Internazionale
2020, 7, 97-98

In 2020, Italy has implemented its Digital Services Tax (DST), in line with the one proposed by the European Commission and then implemented by other countries such as the UK, France and India. The objective of the tax is to tax the “digital giants”. As the first payment of this tax will be in February 2021, some effects are still uncertain. However, several Italian media companies have already complained about being hit by the DST even though they do not belong to the category of “tech giants”. Moreover, some issues arising from the tax have been put forward in the policy debate. Indeed, there are privacy issues arising from the obligation assigned to digital companies to detect their users’ location. Secondly, being a turnover tax, the DST can easily be rebated on consumers, therefore missing its key purpose. Furthermore, the DST originates trade problems as it can be considered a custom duty on the import of digital services. The US have already announced retaliation on the goods coming from Italy and from all the countries that adopted a DST. China too, whose digital companies have not yet become popular among Italian users, might soon be in the same situation. Especially after the COVID-19 pandemic, some Chinese platforms, such as Tiktok, are becoming more popular in Italy and might be soon subject to the DST. This might be the right time for the OECD and the G20 to intervene on the matter, with the goal of reducing tensions and prevent further unilateral actions.
With Y. Dai

Postilla – Il Blog di Marco Piazza
SSRN
Research Gate – Project
Research Gate – Paper
Academia.edu

Corporate Tax Residence

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The Role of Corporate Residence in Tax Matters and its Relationship with the Provision of Dividend Relief: A Comparative Analysis between the UK and the US Tax Systems

International Journal of Accounting and Taxation
June 2019, Vol. 7, No. 1, pp. 35-39

The aim of this paper is to illustrate the main features and issues related to the concept of corporate residence, showing to what extent it can have an impact on the provision of dividend relief. To this purpose, I will use the examples of the UK and the US, analysing the concept of residence and explaining why some emerging tax theories are trying to abandon it. Then, I will study the relevant connection between the concept of corporate residence and the provision of dividend relief. Residence is related to the elements of the legal autonomy of corporations. However, this separation of corporations from their shareholders is the main cause for economic double taxation and for other distortions related to corporate income taxes that need to be solved by dividend relief. Abandoning the concept of residence and attributing the corporate profit directly to shareholders would make the use of dividend relief unnecessary. Therefore, the advantage of relating the corporation to the place in which taxes can be enforced is obtained at the cost of the distortions created by corporate taxation and the dividend relief systems.