Slovenia: Raises VAT Registration Threshold
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
See MoreLuxembourg: Standard VAT rate will increase from 2015
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
See MoreEgypt: Customs Tariffs on Luxury Goods
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
See MoreChina: Permitted Industry Catalogue published for Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone
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,
See MoreIndia: Central government has issued Notification on transfer pricing tolerance band
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
See MoreUK: report on the role of large accountancy firms in tax avoidance
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
See MoreUnited Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi issues a decree establishing a financial free zone
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
See MoreSweden: tax proposals in 2013 spring budget
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
See MoreSingapore: tax filing rate for 2013 has hit a record of 95%
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
See MoreBelgium: New tax measures for 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
See MoreNorway: Interest deduction limitation proposed
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
See MoreOECD: report prepared for G20 on fighting tax evasion
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
See MoreTreaty between Luxembourg and Isle of Man signed
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
See MoreUK: the European Commission opens an investigation into the tax relief for video games
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
See MoreHungary: Proposed Changes to Transfer Pricing Rules
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
See MoreUS: Public comments requested on branch profits tax for foreign corporations
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
See MoreUK challenges financial transactions tax
The UK has launched a legal challenge in the European Court of Justice to the planned financial transactions tax. This tax is to be introduced by eleven European countries under the EU provisions for enhanced cooperation and is planned to go into
See MoreEU: Updated study on the consequences of accession of Croatia to the EU for customs legislation
The European Commission on 2 April 2013 published an updated study dealing with the consequences of the accession of Croatia to the European Union (EU) for customs legislation. At the moment of Croatia’s accession to the EU which is expected to
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