Luxembourg: EU General Court upholds EC Commission’s decision in Fiat case
On 24 September 2019, the EU General Court upheld the Commission’s decision that Fiat received unlawful State aid from Luxembourg, and at the same time cancelled the decision which had found the same with respect to Starbucks in the
See MoreDominican Republic: Public Finance Ministry presents annual budget policy 2020
On 10 September 2019, the Ministry of Public Finance presented an annual budgetary proposal for the year 2020 and sent it to the Executive Branch to take it into account for the annual budget. It covers financial activities, excise duty on alcohol
See MoreEcuador: NA Approves Mutual Assistance Agreement on Tax matters
On 7 August 2019, Ecuador's National Assembly approved the bill for the ratification of the OECD-Council of Europe Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters as amended by the 2010 protocol. Its objective is to facilitate
See MoreWorld Bank approves grant to improve domestic revenue mobilization in Liberia
On 16 July 2019 the World Bank approved a grant to its International Development Association (IDA) to improve domestic revenue mobilization systems and strengthen financial control and accountability in public finances. The IDA provides grants and
See MoreZambia publishes Budget for 2019
On 1 January 2019, The Zambian government published budget for 2019 to the National Assembly. Key modifications of tax rules are summarized as follows: Limit the deductibility of interest on debts owed by a taxpayer to 30 % of the
See MoreRussia: Parliament proposes to reduce the corporate property tax rate
On 6 March 2019, a draft bill was presented to the State Duma (Lower House of Parliament) proposing to lower the maximum amount of the property tax rate to be taxed at the cadastral value. According to the bill, the corporation tax rate for real
See MoreSouth Africa introduces Budget 2019 in parliament
On 20 February 2019, Tito Mboweni (South Africa’s Minister of Finance) presented the Budget 2019 in the parliament. The budget proposal would not increase taxes in any category but proposed to increase tax collection by not adjusting for inflation
See MorePortugal legislates the Budget Law for 2019
On December 31, 2018, Portugal published 2019 budget law (No.71/2018) in the official gazette and generally applies as from 1 January 2019. The budget law includes changes to income tax law and other taxes. The budget law include the following
See MoreEuropean Commission to launch proceedings against UK over VAT treatment of commodity traders
It is reported that the European Commission is planning to take a case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in relation to the value added tax (VAT) treatment of commodity traders in the UK. The European Commission argues that although the UK may
See MoreEU: Report by European Commission on investor residence schemes
On 23 January 2019 the European Commission issued a report on citizenship by investment and citizenship by residence schemes operated by a number of EU Member States. The report looks at current practices and identifies some of the risks from such
See MoreEuropean Commission opens in-depth investigation into Netherlands tax rulings
On 10 January 2019 the European Commission announced that it has opened an in-depth investigation into tax rulings granted by the Netherlands to companies in the Nike group. The rulings may have given the companies an unfair competitive advantage
See MoreUK: Online VAT pilot for Making Tax Digital
On 16 October HMRC announced that it has begun a new pilot scheme in connection with the Making Tax Digital (MTD) programme. The online value added tax (VAT) pilot will include around half a million businesses in the UK. This follows the first
See MoreIreland announces Budget for 2019
On 9 October 2018, the Budget for 2019 was presented to Parliament by the Minister of Finance. The summary of 2019 Budget measures are following: Corporate Tax Film Relief The scheme provides relief in the form of a corporation tax credit related to
See MoreGhana changes several Tax Acts
On 1 August 2018, The Parliament of Ghana published in the Official Gazette the Income Tax (Amendment) Act 2018, the National Health Insurance (Amendment) Act 2018, the Ghana Education Trust Fund (Amendment) Act 2018, the Value Added Tax (Amendment)
See MoreTanzania: Finance Minister presented 2018-19 Budget
Tanzania: Finance Minister presented 2018-19 Budget 19 June 2018 The Minister of Finance and Planning, Hon. Dr. Philip I. Mpango, presented the 2018/19 Budget on June 14, 2018 to the national assembly. Some key points of the budget are given
See MoreCanada: Federal budget bill C-74 receives first reading
The Canadian federal government released first reading of Budget Implement Act (Bill C-74) on March 27, 2018. This bill includes measures from the 2018 federal budget and other measures including income tax amendments, such as, small business tax
See MoreSaudi Arabia: Circular regarding VAT treatment of contracts signed with government bodies
The Ministry of Finance in Saudi Arabia issued a circular on 22 March 2018 clarifying the treatment of VAT on contracts concluded between VAT registered suppliers and government bodies before, on, or after 1 January 2018. The circular emphasizes
See MoreGovernment of Iraq issued 2018 Federal Budget
The Iraqi Parliament passed its 2018 Budget Act (the Budget) on 3 March 2018. The Budget includes several measures to support economic growth and fiscal stability as Iraq recovers after the 2017 military defeat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria
See More