UK: HMRC announces widespread compliance with real time information

April 29, 2013

Most UK employers are now required to report their information on wages and deductions under the Pay as you Earn (PAYE) scheme in real time. The UK tax authority HMRC announced last week that more than 680,000 employers have begun reporting PAYE in

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Treaty between Ireland and Ukraine signed

April 29, 2013

Ireland and Ukraine signed a Double Tax Agreement on 19 April 2013. This DTA represents an important step in boosting trade relations between Ireland and Ukraine. The treaty will enter into force when the relevant ratification procedures have been

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Slovenia: Raises VAT Registration Threshold

April 29, 2013

Generally EU member states follow the compulsory VAT registration thresholds set in the EU VAT Directives. The EU permitted Slovenia to raise its compulsory VAT registration threshold from €25,000 to €50,000 per annum, so businesses with taxable

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Luxembourg: Standard VAT rate will increase from 2015

April 29, 2013

The Luxembourg Prime Minister announced on 10 April 2013 that, the standard VAT rate will increase as from 2015, but the new rate has not yet been announced. The standard VAT rate is presently 15percent and is the lowest in the EU. The Luxembourg

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Egypt: Customs Tariffs on Luxury Goods

April 29, 2013

Egypt has issued a presidential decree raising customs tariffs on imports of luxury goods. Under the decree a 40% tariff will be applied to imports of goods including sunglasses, watches, video games, shrimps, fireworks and boats. Two new customs

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China: Permitted Industry Catalogue published for Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone

April 29, 2013

For the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone, the Permitted Industry Catalogue was issued in March 2013. This sets out six permitted industries which include financial services, modern logistics, information services,

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India: Central government has issued Notification on transfer pricing tolerance band

April 29, 2013

If the transfer price charged by a taxpayer is within a certain percentage of the arm’s length price determined under section 92C of India’s Income Tax Act no adjustment is required. In previous years there has been some misunderstanding as to

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UK: report on the role of large accountancy firms in tax avoidance

April 29, 2013

The UK’s Parliamentary Accounts Committee (PAC) has issued a report entitled “Tax avoidance: the role of large accountancy firms” criticizing the close relationship between accountancy firms and the tax authorities. The practice of seconding

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United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi issues a decree establishing a financial free zone

April 29, 2013

The free zone is expected to be set up along the same lines as the financial free zone in Dubai and will help Abu Dhabi to compete as a financial centre with Dubai and other jurisdictions in the region such as Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The free zone

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Sweden: tax proposals in 2013 spring budget

April 29, 2013

The government of Sweden submitted to Parliament a budget bill on 15 April 2013 that proposes domestic tax changes. The measures include improving incentives to work, strengthening the income tax credit further and increasing the lower threshold for

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Singapore: tax filing rate for 2013 has hit a record of 95%

April 29, 2013

The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has reported that by April 18, the individual tax filing rate in Singapore had reached a record high of 95% in this year compared to 94% last year. IRAS also added that more taxpayers will benefit

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Belgium: New tax measures for 2013

April 23, 2013

Belgium’s Council of Ministers recently reached agreement on new tax measures for 2013. The Belgian government has already confirmed plans to increase the minimum wage and to reduce employer contributions from April 1. These measures are intended

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Norway: Interest deduction limitation proposed

April 23, 2013

On 11 April 2013 the Norwegian Ministry of Finance published a legislative proposal and invited public submissions on the introduction of an interest deduction limitation for loans between related persons. The proposed limitation applies where there

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OECD: report prepared for G20 on fighting tax evasion

April 23, 2013

The OECD has prepared a report for the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors on international measures being taken to ensure that taxpayers pay the correct amount of tax. These measures include the work of the Global Forum on Transparency

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Treaty between Luxembourg and Isle of Man signed

April 23, 2013

Luxembourg has signed a comprehensive Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) with the Isle of Man, as part of an on-going programme of signing DTAs and Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs). The signing took place in London on 8 April 2013. TIEAs are

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UK: the European Commission opens an investigation into the tax relief for video games

April 23, 2013

The UK is introducing tax relief for the animation, high end TV and video games industry from 1 April 2013. The relief would amount to a 25% tax reduction based on 80% of the production budget of a qualifying animation or video game relating to

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Hungary: Proposed Changes to Transfer Pricing Rules

April 23, 2013

The Ministry of National Economy (’the Ministry’) of Hungary has proposed changes to Hungarian transfer pricing documentation requirements. They have introduced provisions relating to low value added services and specified criteria for selection

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US: Public comments requested on branch profits tax for foreign corporations

April 23, 2013

The US Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are requesting comments concerning regulations TD 8223 (Branch Tax), TD 8432 (Branch Profits Tax) and TD 8657 (Regulations on Effectively Connected Income and the Branch Profits

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