Thailand: OECD concludes Thai incentives as harmful tax practices
The Thai government upon joining the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) inclusive framework, agreed to implement certain minimum standards under Action 5 (harmful tax practices). Part of the minimum standard under Action 5 relates preferential
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 MoreOman joins the inclusive framework on BEPS
On 20 October 2017, the Sultanate of Oman has become the 103rd jurisdiction to join the inclusive framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). Members of the inclusive framework have the opportunity to work together with other OECD and G20
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 MoreOECD: Comments published on tax challenges of digitalisation
On 27 October 2017 the OECD published comments received on the tax challenges of digitalization. A request for input had been published on 22 September 2017 inviting responses from interested parties with a deadline of 13 October 2017. Despite this
See MoreOECD: Implementation guidance for VAT on cross-border sales
On 24 October 2017 the OECD issued new implementation guidance on collecting consumption taxes on cross-border sales. The document is entitled “Mechanisms for the Effective Collection of VAT/GST Where the Supplier is Not Located in 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
See MoreUAE: MoF still works with VAT regulations
The Ministry of Finance is still in the process of preparing the executive VAT regulation, in coordination with the concerned authorities. The Finance Ministry is committed to working with the highest levels of transparency and disclosure
See MorePakistan: Ministries of the NHS directs government to make cigarettes inaccessible to the citizens
Recently, the ministries of national health services (NHS) and the finance department have been asked to implement the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Agreement on Tobacco Control (FCTC) to make cigarettes inaccessible to citizens by
See MoreOECD: Report on peer reviews of preferential tax regimes
A report released by the OECD on 16 October 2017 noted that countries are dismantling or amending almost 100 preferential tax regimes as part of the implementation of standards under the project on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). The report
See MoreIreland: Budget for 2018
On 10 October 2017, the Irish government presented details of the Budget 2018. This budget delivers the Government’s long standing target of balancing the books in structural terms next year by reaching the Medium Term Budgetary Objective better
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