Malaysia: Decentralization of Income tax Files Subsequent to the Setting Up of Large Taxpayer Branch (LTB) and Large Taxpayer Unit (LTU)

15 January, 2015

To improve the quality of services to clients, Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM) released a press notice to inform that with effect from 1 January 2015, the Corporate Tax Department has been renamed to Large Taxpayer Branch (LTB) and will

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Cyprus: Double Tax Agreement With Iceland Come Into Force

15 January, 2015

The Income Tax Treaty between Cyprus and Iceland entered into force on 23 December 2014 and its provisions apply from 1 January 2015. The treaty was signed on 13 November 2014. Under the treaty, withholding tax on dividend will be 5 % if the

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Pakistan: Government Declares Sales Tax Rate From 2015

15 January, 2015

The government of Pakistan issued Notification No. 1152(I)/2014 on 30 December 2014, declaring the sales tax rate to be charged on certain items. The current rate will be effective from 1 January 2015, the sales tax is to be charged at the rate of

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Bulgaria: Summary of tax amendments that apply from 2015

15 January, 2015

On 9 January 2015 the Finance Ministry published a summary of amendments to the tax legislation that are effective from 1st January 2015. The amendments include the following major tax changes: Personal income tax Introduction of a new tax relief

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DTA between Taiwan and Ireland under negotiation

15 January, 2015

On January 13, 2015, Ma Ying-jeou, the Taiwanese president said that the Republic of China and Ireland have enjoyed close exchanges in recent years and that both sides are now negotiating on signing an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation

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Czech Republic: VAT amendments during 2015

15 January, 2015

The changes regarding value added tax (VAT) effective in the Czech Republic from 1st January 2015 are given below: The 10% reduced VAT rate will be applied to necessary baby nutrition, certain types of pharmaceuticals for human and veterinary

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OECD publishes comments on prevention of artificial avoidance of PE status

14 January, 2015

On 13 January 2015 the OECD published on its website the comments received from interested parties on the discussion draft in respect of Action 7 of the action plan on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). This concerns prevention of artificial

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OECD publishes comments received on restriction of treaty benefits

14 January, 2015

On 13 January 2015 the OECD published on its website the comments received from interested parties on Action 6 of the action plan on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). This concerns the prevention of tax treaty abuse and involves developing

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Greece Defines “Related Persons” for Transfer Pricing Purposes

14 January, 2015

The Public Revenue Administration issued a letter ruling on 9 January 2015 to define a “related person” for transfer pricing purposes. As per the Ruling letter, a related person is who owns at least 33% of equity shares or voting rights and

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Mexico: Plan to remove fiscal deficit by 2017

14 January, 2015

Mexican Government has decided not to come up with new taxes or even increase existing taxes in this current 2015 Budget year due to their strategic resolution of harmonizing the federal tax budget by the year 2017, Undersecretary of Finance and

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Italy: E-Invoicing Requirements for Suppliers of Goods and Services

14 January, 2015

The suppliers of goods and services in Italy will be required to submit electronic invoices through Italy's online platform to almost all public authorities (PAs) from March 31, 2015. Businesses supplying public authorities must provide the required

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US: IRS Launches International Data Exchange Service For FATCA

14 January, 2015

The US IRS on January 12 2015 announced that its international data exchange service (IDES) website is open for enrollment. Financial institutions and host country tax authorities will use IDES to securely send their information reports on financial

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Philippines: Personal income tax reforms

13 January, 2015

The Tax Management Association of the Philippines (TMAP) has raised a concern to revamp the Personal Income tax threshold and tax brackets. To ensure secure revenue collection levels, TMAP has recommended a raise on Personal Income Tax (PIT) exempt

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Azerbaijan: Tax Code Amendments Comes into Force From 1 January 2015

13 January, 2015

President of Azerbaijan has approved and published the amendments to the Tax Code, which have already come into force. Individuals whose monthly income is less than AZN 250 are exempt from personal income tax. So the individuals whose annual income

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Canada: Comments for OECD discussion draft on international VAT-GST guidelines

13 January, 2015

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published a discussion draft on 18th December 2014 entitled “Guidelines on Place of Taxation for Business-to-Consumer Supplies of Services and Intangibles and Provisions on

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France-China Income Tax Treaty Enters Into Force

13 January, 2015

The income tax treaty between France and China became effective from January 1, 2015. The treaty was signed on November 26, 2013 and the necessary ratification procedures have now been completed. Under the treaty, the following withholding taxes

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Austria: Ministry of Finance publishes report from Tax Reform Commission

13 January, 2015

The Austrian Ministry of Finance published a report by the Tax Reform Commission on 12 January 2015. The Tax Reform Commission consists of members from the coalition parties and the report was prepared in 2014. The report comprises several proposals

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Kazakhstan: DTA between Kazakhstan and Qatar Approved

12 January, 2015

On December 24, 2014, Kazakhstan's lower house of Parliament the income tax treaty signed with Qatar for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on

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