China and Liechtenstein sign a TIEA

January 31, 2014

China and Liechtenstein signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) 27 January 2014. The agreement is consistent with the OECD’s international standard. The TIEA will enter into force after ratification by both parties, and the possible

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Hungary and Jersey sign a TIEA

January 30, 2014

Hungary and Jersey signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) on 28 January, 2014. The TIEA will enter into force after ratification by both parties, and the possible date for entry into force is not

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TIEA between Costa Rica and Iceland published in gazette

January 30, 2014

The Costa Rica – Iceland TIEA, 2011 (Law No 9196) was published in the Official Gazette (Gaceta Digital de la Imprenta Nacional) No. 20 of Costa Rica on 29 January 2014. This completes the ratification process on the side of Costa

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Australian Government restates commitment to lower taxes

January 30, 2014

The Australian Prime Minister has reiterated his election pledge for “lower, simpler, fairer taxes,” and the new government will draw up a tax reform white paper within two years. Recommendations in the white paper shall be part of the platform

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Hungary dismisses OECD Tax Advice

January 29, 2014

The Hungarian government has rejected OECD proposals for major tax reforms, covering a new property tax as well as energy, environmental, inheritance and wealth taxes. The Minister of Economic Strategy has said that tax reform is complete and no

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Canada: Lower Tax Rates demanded for Small Businesses

January 29, 2014

The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB), in presenting budget requests to the Finance Minister, has recommended a gradual reduction of the small business tax rate from 11% to 9%. CFIB feels that these changes will help the small

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Portugal: Parliament adopts Retroactive Budget for 2014

January 28, 2014

The Parliament has adopted the Retroactive Budget for 2014, this widens the base of the Portugal’s “Extraordinary Solidarity Contribution” (CES) on pensioners. The CES will apply to pensions greater than EUR 1,000/month (previous level, EUR

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ECJ to investigate Portuguese exit tax

January 28, 2014

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) will investigate tax residency rules in Portugal; this results from a referral by the European Commission which considers the Portuguese rules applicable to taxpayers who are no longer resident in the country to

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Spain: Further VAT Rises Unlikely

January 27, 2014

The Finance Minister has confirmed that further VAT rises will not take place in the near future. The Advisory Committee for Tax Reform had suggested increases in the headline VAT rate from 10% and 21% to 13% and 23% respectively. External advice

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Turkey: Specific Transfer Pricing Compliance

January 26, 2014

An annual transfer pricing report must be prepared by the date of the annual tax return. The transfer pricing rules also specify documentation that must be maintained. Listed companies may also be required to submit a report on controlled

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Slovenia- Audits time limits

January 26, 2014

There is no fixed time limit within which a tax audit may take place. The statute of limitations is normally ten years but may be extended for the duration of legal procedures in connection with collecting

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Russia- Financial Services

January 26, 2014

Under Federal Law 39-FZ and 420-FZ, from 1 January 2015 interest on related party loans should be charged at market rates and documentation should be maintained to demonstrate

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Malaysia: Audits process

January 26, 2014

Under the transfer pricing audit framework for transfer pricing audit effective from 1 April 2013, a taxpayer may be selected for audit based on the significance of its controlled transactions before taking into account other risk analysis. The time

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Indonesia: VAT registration threshold increased

January 26, 2014

Indonesia has increased its VAT registration threshold from IDR 0.6bn to IDR 4.8bn per year in taxable turnover with effect from 1 January 2014. The stated goal is to reduce the VAT compliance burden for small and medium sized businesses. The

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China: Tax Revenues grew in 2013

January 26, 2014

Total tax revenue in China increased by 9.8% in 2013; VAT revenue rose by 9% to nearly RMB2.9 trillion, while corporate income tax revenue grew by 14% to RMB2.2 trillion. Total tax revenue was just over USD1.8 trillion; however rate pf increase

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United States: Technology Industry Lobbies for expanded Research Tax Credit

January 24, 2014

TechAmerica, a technology industry group, has asked that the tax credit for research and development (R&D) should become permanent, and be refundable for small start-ups. The R&D credit expired on 31 December 2013; it had survived as a

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European Commission: Belgian taxation rules for credit institutions need reform

January 24, 2014

The European Commission has requested Belgium to amend its law on the taxation of transactions in specific securities. Belgian law at present only allows credit institutions established in Belgium to operate settlement systems with tax clearing;

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EU: Digital economy taxation expert group

January 24, 2014

The high-level expert group on digital taxation of the EC met for the second time on 14 to 15 January 2014. The meeting focused on the interaction of the group’s work with the OECD, understanding business models in the digital economy, VAT issues

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