This essay discusses Cass Sunstein's book, Simpler, in order to advance our understanding of the concepts of complex and simple law. Many writers identify complexity with uncertainty and high cost. This essay argues that complexity bears no fixed relationship to costs or benefits. It also shows...

Arguably the biggest change in China's tax law in recent years is the reform of its turnover tax regime (‘VAT Pilot'), which will result in the merging of value-added tax (‘VAT') and business tax (‘BT') into a single VAT. With the advent of this VAT Pilot there are hot issues facing China,...

Without an express consent and authorization from the customer in relation to a FATCA disclosure, Chinese Foreign Financial Institutions' ("FFIs") compliance with FATCA would be in conflict with relevant domestic laws. However, under Chinese laws, Chinese authorities have broad powers to obtain...

This report was prepared for the 2014 International Congress of the International Fiscal Association. The general reporters for the Congress asked IFA branches around the world to prepare a report designed to provide information on how countries address (1) the question of when domestic and...

China has been actively applying its general antiavoidance rule since its introduction on January 1, 2008. One of China's well-known antiavoidance measures is Guo Shui Han [2009] No. 698 (Circular 698), which taxes indirect transfers. Indirect transfers arise when a non-P.R.C. resident company...

The recent proposals to reform the tax treatment of private equity, venture capital, and hedge fund managers are misguided. Policymakers and commentators often take industry-focused, results-oriented approaches to the “carried interest” debate, thereby obscuring the real source of the policy...

Tax exceptionalism — the view that tax law does not have to play by the administrative law rules that govern the rest of the regulatory state — has come under attack in recent years. In 2011, the Supreme Court rejected such exceptionalism by holding that judicial review of the Treasury...

Financial centers are best explained using D.W. Arner's "hub and spoke model". This explanation for financial centers essentially relies on scale economies. Given the clients' needs for a base and specialized financial services, base services are provided locally while specialized services are...

Fiduciary monitoring has become a hot topic as a result of the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Tibble v. Edison International, according to recent expert insights published by Analysis Group Managing Principal D. Lee Heavner and Fiduciary Leadership LLC Managing Director and Analysis Group...

When examining a corporate taxpayer, the IRS often seeks special accounting documents called tax accrual workpapers. These workpapers often contain privileged documents, but the IRS does not care. It believes it is entitled to the documents despite that the work product doctrine protects the...