Finland raises tax on alcoholic beverages
Finnish taxes on alcoholic beverages increased at the beginning of 2018 after parliamentary vote last month. The Ministry of Finance confirmed that taxes on alcoholic beverages would increase by an average of 10 percent, increasing retail prices by
See MoreCanada: Deadline extends for the access of Voluntary Disclosures program
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has extended the deadline for taxpayers to access the current Voluntary Disclosures Program (VDP). In order for a taxpayer to be eligible for the VDP relief outlined in Information Circular IC00-1R5, unintentional
See MoreGeorgia: Longing for repairing of sluggish VAT Refund Process
Georgia is suffering from a huge calamity on their VAT Refund System, it is arising a massive aggregation of claims towards the system. So this tells us noticeably, that there is a loophole to dig in to figure out what’s wrong with the VAT Refund
See MoreNetherlands: MoF publishes an overview of tax changes for 2018
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) provides an overview of the most important tax changes as of January 1, 2018, which were approved by parliament on 19th December 2017. It concerns changes in the field of income tax, payroll tax, gift and inheritance
See MoreAzerbaijan: VAT on Uber rides
Azerbaijan will apply a new VAT rate of 18% on Uber from 1 December 2017. The tax will be collected as a withholding tax on payments through bank
See MorePoland: MoF publishes a statement regarding exemption for dividends
The Polish Ministry of Finance (the MoF) released a statement that identified cases of abuse of tax exemption for dividends by making their payments using intermediaries on 3rd November 2017. As of 1 January 2016, the Polish dividend withholding tax
See MoreBahrain: Cabinet approves draft law regarding excise tax
The Cabinet approved a draft-law on ratifying the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) unified selective excise tax on unhealthy drinks on 16th October 2017. The Cabinet has endorsed an excise tax bill that would impose a 100% tax on tobacco products,
See MoreCanada: Federal Govt. announces cannabis tax plan
The federal government proposed a new excise duty framework that imposes duties on cannabis products on November 10, 2017. A Bill C-45 (referred to as the “Cannabis Act”), “an Act respecting cannabis and to amend the Controlled Drugs and
See MoreEU follows OECD with digital tax consultation
On 26 October 2017, the European Commission published a public consultation on digital taxation. This follows on from the Commission’s September Communication setting out its vision for the need to address digital taxation and some possible
See MoreUK offshore finance companies possibly illegal under EU law
The European Commission announced on 26 October that it has initiated proceedings against the UK on the grounds that its CFC rules may infringe EU State Aid law. The Commission’s challenge focuses on the fact that certain offshore group financing
See MoreEuropean Commission calls for more flexible rule making
In its work programme for 2018, published on 24 October 2017, the European Commission has expressed support for moving from unanimity to qualified majority voting by EU Member States on certain EU legislation, including tax legislation. The
See MoreEU takes action against Amazon and Apple in tax cases
The European Commission issued a statement on 4 October 2017 to the effect that it had ordered Amazon to repay EUR 250 million plus interest that it claims Amazon should have paid in taxes on European sales made by the group through its Luxembourg
See MoreArgentina: Treasury Minister announces tax reform plan
The Treasury Minister, Nicolas Dujovne, on October 31, 2017, announced a tax reform plan. This proposed tax reform includes tax procedure law, corporate income tax reduction, criminal law, individual income tax, social security contributions,
See MoreKorea: National Assembly set to increase e-cigarette taxes
On 20 October 2017, the Assembly Strategy and Finance Subcommittee of Korea passed a revised bill to increase the excise tax levied on a pack of 20 heat-not-burn (HNB) e-cigarettes sticks to 529 won from the current 126 won. The tax increase will
See MoreIndia: HC declares anti-tobacco Act ultra vires
On 27 October 2017, the Gauhati High Court in a crucial judgment, declared the existing anti-tobacco law in the State as ultra vires. The Court of Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Paran Phukan struck down the Assam Health (prohibition of manufacturing,
See MorePhilippines: Government seizes illicit cases of cigarettes without tax stamps
According to the Department of Finance (DoF) The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on 16th October 2017 banned hundreds of mastercases of illicit cigarettes in Nueva Ecija. The DoF said, “The warehouse
See MoreNigeria: Alert notice for smokers
The Youth Action on Tobacco Control and Health (YATCH), an NGO, has appreciated the Federal Government’s plan to increase tobacco tax. The Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, on October 25, 2017, said that the government might increase the
See MoreRussia: Government proposes to introduce an environmental tax on cigarettes
The Ministry of health of Russia proposed to introduce an environmental tax on cigarettes for manufacturers, according to a draft of the “concept of state policy on combating tobacco consumption for years 2017-2022 and beyond”. This is
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