Tax Transparency and Simplified Systems1
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Tax Transparency and Simplified Systems1 Transparencia fiscal y sistemas simplificados Transparência fiscal e sistemas simplificados Caio Augusto Takano2 Member of the Brazilian Antenna of the DeSTaT Project - Bella Vista, Sao Paulo, Brasil Fecha de recepción: 28 de agosto de 2016 Fecha de aprobación: 04 de noviembre de 2016 Página inicial: 59 Página final: 94 Abstract In the BEPS era, tax transparency and exchange of information between tax authorities within a consistent framework for international co-operation are neces- sary features to increase sound governance in tax matters and to the satisfactory enforcement of a country’s tax law. The current challenge for tax policymakers is to harmonize the need to achieve high transparency standards in the internatio- nal context and the desirable standard of simplification within domestic tax laws, by reducing compliance costs and creating simplified systems to assist small and 1 This article is inspired by the work carried out within the ambit of the Development, Sustainability, Taxation and Transparency Research Project (DeSTaT), gathering together the University of Oslo (Norway), the Vienna University of Economics and Business (Austria), the University of São Paulo (Brazil), the University of the Republic (Uruguay), the Colombian Institute of Tax Law (Colombia), the University of Cape Town (South Africa), and the East African School of Taxation (Uganda). Fostered by the Research Council of Norway, the Project investigates, among other matters, taxpayers’ rights in connection with transparency, considers the active involvement of taxpayers in tax procedures and traces a way to achieve sustainable tax governance for developing countries. This article was elaborated to be discussed on the seminar “PYMES y regímenes simplificados desde la perspectiva brasilera. comentarios criticos”, held by Instituto Colombiano de Derecho Tributario (ICDT) on February 10th, 2015, in Bogotá, Colombia, by both the Co- lombian and Brazilian Antennas. 2 PhD Candidate in Tax Law at the University of São Paulo – USP. Master in Tax Law at the University of São Paulo – USP. Specialist in Tax Law at Brazilian Institute for Tax Studies – IBET. Member of the Brazilian Antenna of the DeSTaT Project. Tax lawyer and consultant. I thank the Intituto Colombiano de Derecho Tri- butario (ICDT), particu larly Professor Natalia Quiñonez Cruz, and University of São Paulo (USP), particu larly Professor Luís Eduardo Schoueri, both for the kind research support and insightful suggestions. All mistakes and inaccuracies are mine. * Este artículo puede citarse de la siguiente forma: Caio Augusto Takano. Tax Transparency and Simplified Systems. Revista Instituto Colombiano de Derecho Tributario, núm. 75. Noviembre 2016. At. 59. Noviembre 2016 - ISSN: 0122-0799 - Bogotá, Colombia - pp. 59 - 94 [ 59 ] « Caio Augusto Takano » medium-sized enterprises (SME) to foster competitive conditions among other companies, regardless of their size. This paper focuses on the compatibility of such regimes with the new collaborative-based paradigm of the international tax regime and good tax governance features. Keywords Small and mediumsized enterprises (SME), Simplified systems, Efficiency, Trans- parency, Compliance costs. Resumen En la era BEPS, la transparencia fiscal y el intercambio de información entre las autoridades fiscales dentro de un marco coherente para la cooperación interna- cional son características necesarias para aumentar la buena gobernanza en ma- teria tributaria y la aplicación satisfactoria de la legislación fiscal de un país. El desafío actual para los encargados de formu lar las políticas fiscales es armonizar la necesidad de alcanzar altas normas de transparencia en el contexto interna- cional y la norma deseable de simplificación dentro de las leyes fiscales nacio- nales, reduciendo los costos de cumplimiento y creando sistemas simplificados para ayudar a las pequeñas y medianas empresas, Para fomentar las condicio- nes de competencia entre otras empresas, independientemente de su tamaño. Este artícu lo se centra en la compatibilidad de tales regímenes con el nuevo para- digma basado en la colaboración del régimen tributario internacional y las buenas características de la gobernanza fiscal. Palabras clave Pequeñas y medianas empresas (PYME), Sistemas simplificados, Eficiencia, Transparencia, Costos de cumplimiento. Resumo Na era BEPS, a transparência fiscal e o intercâmbio de informação entre as au- toridades fiscais dentro de um marco coerente para a cooperação internacional são características necessárias para aumentar a boa governança em matéria tri- butária e a aplicação satisfatória da legislação fiscal de um país. O desafio atual para os responsáveis de formu lar as políticas fiscais é harmonizar a necessi- dade de alcançar altas normas de transparência no contexto internacional e a norma desejável de simplificação dentro das leis fiscais nacionais, reduzindo os custos de conformidade e criando sistemas simplificados para ajudar às micro e [ 60 ] Revista Instituto Colombiano de Derecho Tributario - Núm. 75 - Año 53 « Tax Transparency and Simplified Systems » pequenas empresas, para fomentar as condições de competência entre outras empresas, independentemente do seu tamanho. Este artigo centra-se na com- patibilidade de tais regimes com o novo paradigma baseado na colaboração do regime tributário internacional e as boas características da governança fiscal. Palavras-chave Micro e Pequenas Empresas (MPE), Sistemas simplificados, Eficiência, Trans- parência, Custos de conformidade. Summary Introduction; 1. Effects of Complexity on Taxation and Tax Operating Costs: Why Should Tax Systems be Simplified for Small and Mediumsized Enterprises?, 1.1. Economic Reasons for Simplification, 1.2. Tax Policy Reasons for Simplification, 1.3. Legal Reasons for Simplification, 1.4. Concluding Remarks on Simplification within Tax Systems; 2. Simplified Systems and Exchange of Information in an In- ternational Context; 3. International Tax Transparency and Simplified Tax Sys- tems: A Brazilian Perspective, 3.1. Remarks on Brazilian Simplified Systems, 3.2. Framework of Brazilian Simplified System and International Tax Transparency; 4. Conclusion; 5. Bibliography. Introduction In an integrating world, marked by a globalized economy, countries can no longer believe in absolute tax sovereignty or that they can afford to organize their tax systems solely based on the will of their national legislature.3 Indeed, globaliza- tion carries a paradox: on one hand, states engage with each other in intense tax competition, as well as competition to attract foreign investment; yet on the other 3 Luís Eduardo Schoueri, Tributação internacional, en 111 Revista de Direito Tributário, Malheiros, São Paulo, (2010). Pág. 141. The discussion about tax sovereignty in international tax law has lately gained evidence in the BEPS context. As asserted by Pasquale Pistone, “BEPS is the leading force that moves the substantive side of international tax law, namely the one that concerns the boundaries of connecting factors to a taxing jurisdiction and the way in which it is exercised, towards convergence but without depri- ving States of the essence of their tax sovereignty”. Pasquale Pistone, Coordinating the Action of Regional and Global Players during the Shift from Bilateralism to Multilateralism in International, en Tax Law, 6 World Tax Journals (2014), Journals IBFD. Pág. 6. See also Dagan, Tsilly, International Tax and Global Justice (April 11, 2016). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2762110; Irma J. Mosquera Valde- rrama, Legitimacy and the Making of International Tax Law: The Challenges of Multilateralism, 7 World Tax Journal (2015), Journals IBFD; Yariv Brauner, What the BEPS? en 16 Florida Tax Review (2014); and also, notably, Professor K. Sadiq explored the debate on sovereignty in the BEPS context with regard to transfer pricing rules. Karrie Sadiq, A nation’s role in addressing base erosion and profit shifting: Sovereignty in relation to transfer pricing, en New Zealand Journal of Taxation Law and Policy, Vol. 19, No. 4, 2013, Pág. 343363. Noviembre 2016 - ISSN: 0122-0799 - Bogotá, Colombia - pp. 59 - 94 [ 61 ] « Caio Augusto Takano » hand, they must also co-operate in order to safeguard their own tax systems, as unilateral instruments to prevent tax evasion are clearly insufficient.4 In the current international context, a effective tax system5 is not only concerned with raising tax revenue, but also must be created in an “appropriate” manner, based on the prin- ciple of fair tax competition,6 in order to preserve its tax base. As demonstrated by Brauner, one of the fundamental insights of the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project, led by the OECD, is the need for a shift from the current international tax regime, based on competition between countries within a bilateral framework, to one based on international coordination and colla- boration as regards tax policies within a multilateral framework.7 In this sense, the BEPS project proves that no country alone – even among those with the strongest economics – is powerful enough to enforce its tax laws within the current compe- tition-based international tax regime8. Coordination between tax policies, rather than unilateral actions, has become decisive in enabling countries to enforce their tax laws in a satisfactory manner.9 In this context, building up consistent and sustainable tax governance plays a key role, establishing a framework for economic growth