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openaccountants/skills/corporate-income-tax-workflow-base.md

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1---
2name: corporate-income-tax-workflow-base
3description: >
4 Tier 1 workflow base for corporate income tax skills serving small, medium, and large companies across jurisdictions. Contains the workflow runbook, conservative defaults principle, structured intake form, reviewer-oriented output spec, self-checks, global refusal catalogue, citation discipline, and content skill slot contract. Workflow architecture only — no tax content, no rates, no thresholds, no form line references, no year-specific figures. MUST be loaded alongside at least one content skill that provides actual corporate income tax rules and current-year figures for a specific jurisdiction. Assumes a human reviewer credentialed under the local equivalent of Circular 230 (CPA, CA, CTA, EA, Chartered Tax Advisor, Steuerberater, expert-comptable, commercialista, etc.) reviews and signs off on every output before it reaches the taxpayer or the tax authority.
5version: 0.1
6jurisdiction: GLOBAL
7category: foundation
8verified_by: pending
9---
10 
11# Corporate Income Tax Workflow Base v0.1
12 
13## What this file is
14 
15This is the **Tier 1 workflow base** for any corporate income tax content skill. It does not contain country-specific tax rules. It contains:
16 
17- The standard runbook for preparing a corporate income tax computation, return, and reviewer brief
18- The structured intake form for gathering inputs from a corporate client
19- The output specification for a reviewer-ready working paper
20- The global refusal catalogue — situations a content skill must escalate to a credentialed practitioner without computing
21- The 18 self-checks
22- The citation discipline
23- The Pillar Two interaction protocol
24- The slot contract that every country-level content skill must fill
25 
26**Every corporate income tax skill MUST be loaded alongside this base.**
27 
28---
29 
30## Section 1 — Audience and assumptions
31 
32This base assumes:
33 
34- The **taxpayer** is a **corporation** (incorporated entity) — not a partnership, trust, sole proprietorship, or individual
35- The **filing currency** is the corporation's functional currency
36- The corporation maintains accounting records under either local GAAP or IFRS (see `ifrs-local-gaap-reconciliation.md` for reconciliation)
37- A **credentialed reviewer** (CPA / CA / CTA / Steuerberater / equivalent) reviews and signs off on every output before it is filed
38- The corporation is in scope for the country's general corporate income tax — NOT a special regime (banking, insurance, REIT, fund, oil and gas, mining, shipping, aviation, charity — these require sector skills)
39 
40---
41 
42## Section 2 — The runbook
43 
44### Step 0 — Onboarding (always first)
45 
46Run the intake form (Section 4). Confirm:
47- Country of incorporation
48- Country of tax residence (place of effective management — POEM)
49- Filing year-end date
50- Corporate size and threshold tests (small / medium / large / MNE)
51- Accounting framework (local GAAP / IFRS / Ind AS / etc.)
52- Any consolidated / group tax filing status (Organschaft, intégration fiscale, group relief, etc.)
53- Any in-scope regime overlays (Pillar Two, CFC, BEAT, GILTI)
54 
55If any of: cross-border activities; multiple shareholders with different tax residences; loss-making with restructuring; ongoing audit; M&A in the year → flag to reviewer before computation.
56 
57### Step 1 — Reconcile accounting profit to tax profit
58 
59Start from the audited / approved profit-before-tax (PBT) per the corporation's accounting framework. Walk through:
60 
61| Adjustment category | Direction | Example |
62|---|---|---|
63| Non-deductible expenses | Add back | Fines, penalties, certain entertainment |
64| Tax-exempt income | Subtract | Inter-corporate dividends within participation exemption; certain investment income |
65| Timing differences | ± | Depreciation (book vs tax), provisions, IFRS leases |
66| Disallowed depreciation / interest | ± | Interest deduction limitations |
67| Loss utilization | ± | Brought-forward losses; group relief |
68| GAAR / anti-abuse override | If applicable | Refer to reviewer |
69 
70### Step 2 — Apply jurisdiction-specific rate
71 
72Apply the headline corporate income tax rate from the content skill. Where multiple rates apply (small-company rate, lower rate on first slice, surcharges), apply per the content skill's bracket schedule.
73 
74### Step 3 — Apply credits and offsets
75 
76- R&D credits (see `rd-tax-credits-matrix.md`)
77- Patent / IP box benefit (see `ip-patent-box-matrix.md`)
78- Foreign tax credits
79- Group relief utilisation
80- Withholding tax credits on receipts
81- Anti-double taxation relief
82 
83### Step 4 — Compute and reconcile
84 
85- Tax liability before payments
86- Less: provisional / advance payments made during the year
87- Less: foreign tax credit utilisation
88- Net tax payable / refundable
89 
90Reconcile to the corporation's accounting tax provision (current + deferred). Document material variances.
91 
92### Step 5 — Pillar Two overlay (if applicable)
93 
94If the corporation is part of an MNE group with consolidated revenue ≥ EUR 750m (or local-equivalent threshold), apply the Pillar Two analysis from `pillar-two-globe-minimum-tax.md`:
95- Compute Adjusted Covered Taxes
96- Compute GloBE Income
97- Compute jurisdictional ETR
98- Apply SBIE and de minimis
99- Compute Top-up Tax (IIR / UTPR / QDMTT)
100 
101### Step 6 — Cross-border overlays
102 
103If the corporation has cross-border activity:
104- **Permanent establishment risk** — see `permanent-establishment-risk.md`
105- **Withholding tax on outbound payments** — see `withholding-tax-matrix.md`
106- **CFC inclusion** — apply local CFC rules
107- **BEPS Action 5 IP regime nexus** — see `ip-patent-box-matrix.md`
108- **DAC6 / MDR reporting** — see `dac6-mdr-reportable-arrangements.md`
109- **CbCR / Action 13** — see CbCR skill (forthcoming)
110- **Transfer pricing documentation** — see `transfer-pricing-workflow-base.md`
111 
112### Step 7 — Deferred tax provision
113 
114Compute the deferred tax position under local GAAP / IFRS:
115- Identify all timing differences (book-tax basis differences)
116- Apply applicable tax rate (typically substantively enacted future rate)
117- Recognise DTAs to the extent recoverable
118- Track 5-year DTL recapture risk for Pillar Two (DTLs that do not reverse within 5 years are added back)
119 
120### Step 8 — Filing assembly
121 
122Produce:
123- The return / forms required by the jurisdiction
124- The reviewer brief (Section 5)
125- The tax provision schedule for the audit
126- The tax payment schedule
127- The supporting documentation index
128 
129---
130 
131## Section 3 — Conservative defaults principle
132 
133When uncertain about any position, choose the treatment that costs more or imposes stricter compliance, never less. Your reviewer can correct an over-conservative position. They cannot easily recover from an aggressive one.
134 
135Applied to corporate income tax:
136- Where a deduction is uncertain → flag, do not claim
137- Where income classification is uncertain → use the higher-taxed classification
138- Where a provision could be deductible OR non-deductible → exclude from claim, document the alternative
139- Where an exemption is uncertain → treat as taxable
140- Where treaty access is uncertain → withhold at domestic rate
141- Where loss carryforward is uncertain → defer recognition of the DTA
142 
143---
144 
145## Section 4 — Structured intake form
146 
147Every corporate income tax computation begins with:
148 
149```
150[BASIC INFORMATION]
1511. Corporation legal name and tax ID
1522. Country of incorporation
1533. Country of tax residence (and any conflict with incorporation country)
1544. Tax year-end (calendar year, financial year, accounting period)
1555. Accounting period if shorter than 12 months (specify reason — first year, change of accounting reference date, liquidation)
1566. Audit status (audited, reviewed, compiled, none) and auditor name if audited
1577. Accounting framework (IFRS-IASB, IFRS-EU, local GAAP, FRS 102, Ind AS, ASBE, etc.)
158 
159[SCOPE]
1608. Industry / sector — confirm not in special regime (banking, insurance, REIT, fund, oil/gas, shipping, aviation)
1619. Workforce — number of employees by jurisdiction
16210. Activities by country — sales, services, manufacturing, R&D, IP, finance, holding
16311. Consolidated group status — is this entity part of a wider group? Top parent identity and country
16412. Group's consolidated revenue (for Pillar Two scope test)
165 
166[OWNERSHIP]
16713. Shareholders — name, country of residence, % held, voting rights
16814. Subsidiaries — name, jurisdiction, % held, activity
16915. Major intra-group flows — IP licenses, services, finance, goods
17016. Permanent establishments in other jurisdictions
171 
172[PRIOR YEAR]
17317. Brought-forward losses (by category and country)
17418. Brought-forward credits (R&D, FTC, etc.)
17519. Capital allowances pools and depreciation schedules
17620. Provisional payments made in current year
177 
178[CURRENT YEAR]
17921. Material new positions taken (M&A, restructuring, asset disposal, new operations)
18022. Tax authority interactions in the year (audit, ruling, MAP, APA)
18123. Known controversies or open assessments
18224. DAC6 / MDR / similar disclosures filed in the year
183 
184[CONFIRMATIONS]
18525. The user confirms they will have the output reviewed by a credentialed practitioner before filing
18626. The user confirms they have the authority to provide the data above
187```
188 
189---
190 
191## Section 5 — Output specification
192 
193Every corporate income tax skill must produce a reviewer brief containing:
194 
195```
1961. Executive summary (1 page)
197 - Tax position: total liability, refunds, balance due
198 - Year-over-year movement and key drivers
199 - Reviewer attention items (flagged [T2] or [T3])
200 
2012. Computation walk-through
202 - Profit before tax (per audited financials)
203 - Reconciliation to taxable profit (line-by-line adjustments with citations)
204 - Tax at headline rate
205 - Credits and offsets
206 - Net tax liability
207 
2083. Cross-border / Pillar Two analysis (if applicable)
209 - Permanent establishment risk
210 - Transfer pricing position
211 - Withholding tax on outbound payments
212 - Pillar Two scope, ETR, Top-up Tax
213 
2144. Deferred tax provision
215 - All timing differences with measurement
216 - DTA recoverability assessment
217 - 5-year recapture risk register
218 
2195. Supporting schedules
220 - Capital allowances / depreciation
221 - Brought-forward losses and credits
222 - Foreign tax credit utilisation
223 - Group relief flows
224 - GAAR risk register
225 
2266. Reviewer questions
227 - All [T2] items requiring reviewer judgement
228 - All [T3] items requiring escalation
229 
2307. Filing assembly
231 - Forms required
232 - Supporting documentation index
233 - Payment schedule
234```
235 
236---
237 
238## Section 6 — Global refusal catalogue
239 
240Refuse to compute and escalate to a credentialed practitioner if:
241 
242| Refusal | Trigger |
243|---|---|
244| **R-CIT-1** | Corporation is a regulated financial institution (bank, insurer, asset manager, fund) — load sector skill |
245| **R-CIT-2** | Corporation is a REIT or property collective investment vehicle — load sector skill |
246| **R-CIT-3** | Corporation is in extractive industries with country-by-country reporting under EU CbCR Directive — load sector skill |
247| **R-CIT-4** | Corporation is in shipping / aviation tonnage tax regime — load sector skill |
248| **R-CIT-5** | Corporation is a charity / nonprofit — load nonprofit skill |
249| **R-CIT-6** | Tax authority is currently auditing or has issued a notice of deficiency — controversy strategy first |
250| **R-CIT-7** | The user is requesting an aggressive position (GAAR risk) — reviewer must approve |
251| **R-CIT-8** | M&A transaction with material tax-free reorganisation election — reviewer must approve |
252| **R-CIT-9** | The corporation's tax residence is in dispute (POEM, treaty tie-breaker) — escalate |
253| **R-CIT-10** | The corporation is in liquidation or insolvency — separate procedural rules |
254| **R-CIT-11** | The Pillar Two threshold is met but the country has not yet enacted Pillar Two — escalate, complex |
255| **R-CIT-12** | The corporation has dual-resident status or hybrid mismatches — escalate |
256 
257---
258 
259## Section 7 — 18 self-checks
260 
261Before delivering output, verify:
262 
2631. [ ] Country of tax residence confirmed against POEM and treaty tie-breaker
2642. [ ] Functional currency identified per IAS 21 / ASC 830 / local GAAP
2653. [ ] Audited financial statements available; opinion is unmodified or modifications documented
2664. [ ] PBT starting point matches the audited financials
2675. [ ] All material non-deductible items added back with citations
2686. [ ] All tax-exempt income subtracted with citations
2697. [ ] Depreciation reconciled: book vs tax with capital allowances schedule
2708. [ ] Brought-forward losses validated against last filed return
2719. [ ] Foreign tax credits supported by withholding certificates / receipts
27210. [ ] Transfer pricing position documented or master / local file ready
27311. [ ] Permanent establishment risk in any non-residence country assessed
27412. [ ] Pillar Two scope tested if group revenue ≥ EUR 750m
27513. [ ] Deferred tax: DTAs recoverable on more-likely-than-not / probable basis
27614. [ ] DTL 5-year recapture register maintained for Pillar Two
27715. [ ] GAAR risk identified contemporaneously, not retroactively
27816. [ ] DAC6 / MDR / equivalent disclosure status confirmed for the year
27917. [ ] Filing deadline, payment deadline, and instalment schedule plotted
28018. [ ] Output flags every [T2]/[T3] item for reviewer judgement and includes the reviewer brief
281 
282---
283 
284## Section 8 — Citation discipline
285 
286Every figure in the reviewer brief must trace to:
287- A statutory section (e.g., IRC §163(j), CGI Article 209, KStG §8, ITA §247)
288- A regulatory citation (Treas. Reg., DGFiP BOI, HMRC manual, ATO PCG)
289- A judicial decision where positional
290- The corporation's accounting records line item (general ledger account, journal entry)
291 
292No figure may rely on "general practice" or "common interpretation" without explicit reviewer escalation.
293 
294---
295 
296## Section 9 — Slot contract for country content skills
297 
298Every country-level corporate income tax content skill must populate:
299 
300```
301[REGIME IDENTIFICATION]
302- Jurisdiction code (ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 or jurisdiction-specific)
303- Statutory framework (act name, sections)
304- Tax authority name and portal
305- Filing form numbers
306- Filing deadline
307- Payment / instalment schedule
308 
309[RATES]
310- Headline corporate income tax rate
311- Small company / reduced rate (if any)
312- Surcharges (national / regional / sectoral)
313- Reduced rates by activity (IP box, R&D, manufacturing zone)
314- Branch profits tax rate
315 
316[ADJUSTMENTS]
317- Statutory list of non-deductible expenses
318- Statutory list of tax-exempt income (participation exemption, etc.)
319- Depreciation rules (tax life vs accounting life)
320- Interest deduction limitation (ATAD-equivalent, §163(j), thin cap)
321 
322[LOSSES]
323- Carryforward period
324- Carryforward cap (% of profit, currency cap)
325- Carryback availability
326- Change of ownership restrictions
327- Group relief mechanism
328 
329[CREDITS]
330- R&D credit (cross-ref to skill)
331- Patent / IP box (cross-ref to skill)
332- Foreign tax credit mechanism
333- Investment credits
334- Withholding tax credits
335 
336[FILING MECHANICS]
337- Form numbers
338- Submission portal / format
339- Supporting schedules required
340- Audit thresholds
341 
342[ANTI-AVOIDANCE]
343- GAAR text and key tests
344- CFC rules
345- Hybrid mismatch rules
346- BEAT / GILTI equivalent if applicable
347 
348[PILLAR TWO OVERLAY]
349- QDMTT in force?
350- IIR in force?
351- UTPR in force?
352- Domestic top-up mechanism
353 
354[CROSS-REFERENCES]
355- Withholding tax matrix (this skill)
356- Pillar Two (this skill)
357- DAC6 / MDR (this skill if EU)
358- IP box (this skill if regime exists)
359- R&D credit (this skill if regime exists)
360- Free zone overlay (this skill if applicable)
361- Transfer pricing workflow base
362```
363 
364---
365 
366## Section 10 — Disclaimer
367 
368This workflow base produces working papers for review by credentialed practitioners, not direct tax advice. Every output is subject to credentialed reviewer sign-off before filing or acting upon.
369 
370The most up-to-date, verified version of this workflow base is maintained at [openaccountants.com](https://openaccountants.com).
371 

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Tier 1 workflow base for corporate income tax skills serving small, medium, and large companies across jurisdictions. Contains the workflow runbook, conservative defaults principle, structured intake form, reviewer-oriented output spec, self-checks, global refusal catalogue, citation discipline, and content skill slot contract. Workflow architecture only — no tax content, no rates, no thresholds, no form line references, no year-specific figures. MUST be loaded alongside at least one content skill that provides actual corporate income tax rules and current-year figures for a specific jurisdiction. Assumes a human reviewer credentialed under the local equivalent of Circular 230 (CPA, CA, CTA, EA, Chartered Tax Advisor, Steuerberater, expert-comptable, commercialista, etc.) reviews and signs off on every output before it reaches the taxpayer or the tax authority.

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