ECJ ruling on VAT on immovable property
On 28 April 2016 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) gave its preliminary ruling in the case Staatssecretaris van Financiën v. Het Oudeland Beheer BV . The case had been referred to the ECJ by the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden (Netherlands Supreme
See MoreKazakhstan: MoJ approves plans to consolidate tax code and customs code
The Ministry of Justice has approved plans on 5th April 2016 that are aimed at consolidating the Tax Code and the Customs Code into one single code. Note that, Kazakhstan became a member of the WTO on 30 November 2015. These plans will be effective
See MoreJapan approves tax reforms for 2016
The parliament (National Diet) on 29 March 2016 passed the tax reform for 2016. The main changes are set out below: Corporate income tax: The main corporation tax rate is to be reduced to 23.4% from 23.9% for taxable years beginning on or after 1
See MoreSingapore: Finance Minister presents the 2016 budget to Parliament
The Budget for 2016 was presented to Parliament by the Finance Minister on 24 March 2016. A summary of the Budget with regard to corporate taxation is set out below: Tax incentives: -Under the Productivity and Innovation (PIC) Scheme the cash
See MoreUK: HMRC Clarifies Gift Aid Rules
HMRC has clarified aspects of the rules for UK tax relief for individuals under the Gift Aid provisions. Under these provisions tax relief may be claimed when an individual donor who pays tax in the UK makes a donation, even if the donor includes a
See MoreUK budget announcements 2016
The UK budget announcements for 2016/17 were delivered on 16 March 2016. The Chancellor announced a business tax road map that is intended to support investment while continuing to crack down on avoidance and aggressive tax planning. Corporation
See MoreECJ: preliminary ruling on interest on VAT refund
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) gave a preliminary ruling on 21 October 2015 in the Kovozber case. Reference had been made to the ECJ by the Regional Court of Kosice (Slovak Republic) for a ruling on the following issues: 1. Should the first
See MoreCanada: Tax measures regarding New Brunswick’s 2016 budget
The 2016-17 provincial budget of New Brunswick which was presented on 2nd February 2016. It includes measures as follows: The province’s rate of harmonized sales tax (HST) has increased from 13% to 15%; Increase the corporate income tax rate
See MoreECJ: Advocate General’s Opinion on Surtax on Large Pensions
On 28 January 2016, the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued an opinion in Case C involving a supplementary tax on large pensions. The case was referred to the ECJ by the Supreme Administrative Court of Finland. The
See MoreECJ: Ruling on VAT exemption for serviced residence
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued a decision in the case of Les Jardins de Jouvence SCRL v. Belgian State on 21 January 2016. An application was made in July 2014 by the Court of Appeal in Mons for a preliminary ruling from the ECJ. This
See MoreECJ: Advocate General issues opinion in BRE Ubezpieczenia case
The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued an opinion on 23 December 2015 in the case of Minister Finansow v BRE Ubezpieczenia Sp z.o.o. This case concerned a Polish insurance company (Aspiro) that provided insurance services
See MoreUK: Memorandum of Understanding on Northern Ireland Corporation Tax
A Memorandum of Understanding on the Northern Ireland Corporation Tax (NICT) was published by HMRC and the Department of Finance and Personnel for Northern Ireland (DFPNI) on 7 January 2016. The transfer to the Northern Ireland Assembly of the
See MoreAzerbaijan: Parliament Approves Tax Code Amendments to Introduce Excise Tax
Azerbaijan has introduced excise tax on precious metals, and set new tax rates for imported cars, imported yachts, and domestically produced alcohol and tobacco. Excise on imported diamonds will be set at AZN200 (USD255) per carat, at AZN2 per gram
See MoreECJ Rules in Fiscale Eenheid case
On 9 December 2015 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued a decision in the case of Staatssecretaris van Financiën v. Fiscale Eenheid X N.V. Fiscale Eenheid X NV was the name of a fiscal unity in the Netherlands, one of the companies of which
See MoreECJ: Advocate General’s opinion in the Gemeente Borsele case
The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has issued an opinion in the Gemeente Borsele case. This concerns the question of whether a local authority should be treated as a taxable person for value added tax (VAT) purposes where it
See MoreFrance-Approved Finance Bill 2016 and amended Finance Bill 2015
The French Parliament approved the Finance Bill for 2016 and and the amended Finance Bill for 2015 on 17 December 2015. The Finance Bill enacts the country-by-country (CbC) reporting requirement into the legislation of France. From 1 January 2016
See MoreUK: VAT changes following Le Credit Lyonnais case in the ECJ
A change to the VAT regulations in the UK will affect partly exempt businesses that have establishments both inside and outside the UK. The changes have been made in response to the ruling of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in the Le Credit
See MoreMexico-Publishes new Income Tax Law regulations regarding corporate taxation
The new regulations to the Income Tax Law were published in the Official Gazette on 8 October 2015. The main changes included in the regulations are summarized below: Corporate taxation: - Informative returns must be filed for donations exceeding
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