On July 17, 2019, Becca Chappell was quoted in Politico Pro regarding four bilateral tax treaties between the U.S. and Spain, Switzerland, Japan, and Luxembourg passing the Senate after years of political uncertainty.
According to the article, the four treaties' swift movement to the Senate floor follows years of Sen. Rand Paul blocking them over privacy concerns. He has opposed changes to information-exchange language in the agreements, which would let the IRS and tax authorities in partner countries request information described as "foreseeably relevant" to a tax dispute.
The U.S.-Spanish treaty protocol includes updates on interest and dividends, as well as pensions, said Chappell. The treaty with Japan includes an update on interest, the treaty with Switzerland includes an update on dividends, and the treaties with Luxembourg, Spain, Japan, and Switzerland all include information-exchange updates, Chappell said.
Still awaiting Foreign Relations Committee action are tax treaties with Chile, Hungary, and Poland, which the panel has held up because of Treasury Department reservations over the way they interact with a new U.S. minimum tax called the Base Erosion and anti-Abuse Tax, or BEAT.
Most tax treaties aren't regularly updated, Chappell said. Two others that could come up for changes in the relative near term are tax treaties the U.S. has with Vietnam and Argentina, she said.