Dbriefs Asia Pacific Tax Webcasts

Geography Updates
Hong Kong SAR Budget 2025/2026 Commentary

Host: Polly Wan
Presenter: Doris Chik, and Roy Phan  
Date: 11 March, 3:00 PM SGT (GMT +8)
 

The Financial Secretary for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR), Mr. Paul Chan, delivered his ninth annual budget on Wednesday, 26 February 2025. In this budget, the HKSAR Government has introduced a range of measures aimed at promoting sustainable growth in both traditional and emerging industries. The focus is on fostering a dynamic economic environment that encourages innovation and investment. 

The Budget highlights the importance of forward-looking strategies that can attract investments and support the city’s economic recovery in the face of changing global environment. These initiatives are designed not only to stabilize the economy but also to ensure that Hong Kong remains competitive on the international stage, positioning itself as a hub for sustainable development and technological advancement.

We invite you to join our upcoming webcast where we will delve deeper into the details of the Budget and discuss its implications for individuals and businesses in Hong Kong. This is a valuable opportunity to engage with experts and gain insights into the strategies that will shape your future plan in Hong Kong. Don’t miss out!

Register for the Webcast

Geography Updates
2025 Japan Tax Reform Proposals: Striking a balance

Host: Brian Richard Douglas
Presenter: CDavid Bickle, Masaaki Miura, Naoko Hattori, and Takuma McNie
Date: 6 March, 2:00PM SGT  (GMT + 08:00)
 

Putting more cash into the hands of consumers to help cope with inflation and generating more tax revenue to support the strengthening of Japan’s self-defence capabilities are two significant components of the 2025 tax reform proposals.  Measures to address these objectives will impact on both corporate and individual taxpayers. Also, with Japan’s Income Inclusion Rule already in effect, Japan continues to align its tax laws with the OECD’s Global Minimum Tax regime (i.e. Pillar 2) by proposing to implement the undertaxed profit rule (“UTPR”) and qualified domestic minimum top-up tax (“QDMTT”) provisions.
In this Dbriefs session we’ll discuss:

• New special defence surtax and impact to Japan’s effective corporate income tax rate
  
• Status of Pillar 1 and 2, including the introduction of UTPR and QDMTT
• What’s next for platform taxation in Japan

Register for the Webcast

Geography Updates
Income tax transparency in Action: First practical experience and surprises with EU public CbCR – What does that mean for multinational enterprises in Asia Pacific

Host: Andreas Kirsch
Presenter: Claus Schuermann, Andreas Kowallik, and Andrew D’ Addona 
Date: 20 February, 3:30PM SGT  (GMT + 08:00)
 

As public country-by-country reporting (CbCR) gains traction globally, multinational enterprises (MNEs) are increasingly called upon to enhance income tax transparency. Recent developments, including the EU's Public CbCR directive and Australia's new Public CbCR, highlight the importance of tax governance and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) considerations. These frameworks necessitate that MNEs address both income tax compliance and reputational impacts.

In this Dbriefs session we’ll discuss:

• Global Developments: An overview of the latest developments in Public CbCR
• Australia’s Public CbCR Initiative: A detailed look at Australia's new reporting measures
  
• First Hands-On Experience with EU Public CbCR in Romania: Insights and lessons learned for Asia-Pacific companies
  
• Tax Governance and ESG: Practical implications for tax governance and alignment with ESG strategies
  
• Virtual Podium Discussion: What are the pillars of a Public CbCR strategy in a global environment?

Register for the Webcast

Corporate Income Tax
Keeping Up with the changes and cases sharing for APA, WHT mitigation and restructuring

Host: Arthur Chen
Presenter: Craig Chou, and Andrew C. Hsu, and Angel Lou
Date: 11 February, 2:00PM SGT  (GMT + 08:00)
 

Taiwan has remained a key jurisdiction that has significant influence over the technology industry and continue to attract investors.  What are the recent updates and changes in tax legislative that investors should be aware of? What is the recent TP audit tread in Taiwan? How are the commonly known Taiwan WHT mitigation strategies implemented in practice?

In this Dbriefs session we’ll discuss:

• Updates in tax rules changes in Taiwan, including development of Pillar 2 status locally
• New TP audit trends, APA/BAPA status update and opportunity for BAPA
• Common strategies to mitigate WHT in Taiwan and pros and cons, and case sharing for recent cases for Offshore Wind Farm industry
• Successful business profits exemptions based on treaty despite having a fixed place of business in Taiwan

Register for the Webcast

Corporate Income Tax
New legislative bill on company re-domiciliation regime and the latest trends in tax controversy

Host: Kan Yan
Presenter: Kan Yan, and Kenneth Lau
Date: 10 February, 12:00PM SGT  (GMT + 08:00)
 

Following the consultation and the legislative proposals for the company re-domiciliation regime, the Hong Kong Government published in the Gazette the new bill on December 20, 2024. The introduction of the company re-domiciliation regime aims to facilitate companies domiciled overseas to re-domicile to Hong Kong, thereby enhancing Hong Kong 's competitiveness through attracting enterprises and investment, as well as strengthening Hong Kong’s position as a global business and financial hub. The Government is likely aiming for legislative enactment soon. In the upcoming webcast, our tax and legal experts will share key features of the new company re-domiciliation regime and the related tax matters.

We will also discuss - 

•  The legal framework, eligibility criteria & application process
for re-domiciliation
•  The expected use case of this regime in Hong Kong
•  The clarified tax implications and remaining uncertainties

Register for the Webcast

Transfer Pricing
Preparing for Australia’s new public country-by-country reporting measures
and increased tax transparency

Host: Graeme Smith
Presenter: David Letos, Mark Carlton, Michael Manser
Date: 23 January 2025, 2:00 – 3:00 PM SGT
 

An ongoing push for increased levels of tax transparency for multinational enterprises has seen the recent introduction of new public country-by-country reporting measures in Australia, which have global reach. MNEs must now navigate a series of complex and nuanced rules as they prepare for the first year of reporting.

In this Dbriefs session we will cover:

•  An overview of the new Australian public country-by-country 
reporting measures
•  Comparison of the new measures with other country-by-country
reporting measures
•  Key data readiness considerations
•  Other country-by-country reporting developments in Australia 

Register for the Webcast