United Kingdom – Changes of tax refund-procedure not compatible with EU law
The Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU) issued a judgment on 12 December 2013 concluding that EU law precludes UK measures effect of which is to deprive taxpayers and that happened without notice and retroactively. It was focused on
See MoreHungary Signs OECD Multilateral Tax Assistance Treaty
Hungary has become the 61st jurisdiction to sign the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s multilateral treaty on multilateral tax assistance. This can be considered as a step of Hungary to its fight against cross-border tax
See MoreEU: Planning to change the intrastate reporting process
The European Commission is plans to changes the Intrastate reporting process which is the month to month reporting procedure for EU VAT registered businesses. This enables the countries to follow the movement of goods in the free trade
See MoreECJ: Interest payable where VAT credit incorrectly refused
Recently, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that member states may not lawfully withhold interest due on VAT credits or refunds. The ECJ held that EU member states cannot block VAT interest and has ruled that tax authorities still have
See MoreBelgium: Royal Decree on tobacco tax rise
A draft Royal Decree, regarding tax rise on tobacco is approved by the Belgian Council of Ministers. As a result, the excise duty on cigarettes will be fixed at EUR 6.8914 (USD 9.2) per 1,000 pieces from 1 January 2014, and the special excise duty
See MoreOECD publishes paper on tax crime in the fishing sector
A report prepared by the OECD Task Force on Tax Crimes and Other Crimes entitled “Evading the net: tax crime in the fisheries sector” has been published by the OECD. The report points out that the fisheries sector is a very large global industry
See MoreOECD Forum on Tax and Crime
The Third International Forum on Tax and Crime was held in Istanbul on 7 and 8 November 2013. The Forum brought together representatives of tax and customs administration, police, financial regulators and anti-money laundering and anti-corruption
See MoreOECD consults on transfer pricing issues
The OECD held a public discussion on transfer pricing issues in Paris on 12 and 13 November 2013. The participants were representatives of the business world, academic institutions, non-governmental organizations, the media and the public. The
See MoreBelgium: EC investigates R&D incentives, tax exemption
An “in-depth investigation” is launched which will determine whether Belgium’s implementation of a system of support for innovative companies i.e., research and development (R&D) incentives is consistent with the EU rules on state aid. It
See MoreECJ decision on the taxable amount for VAT
A decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on 5 December 2013 related to the question of whether a Portuguese tax known as the screening tax should be included within the taxable amount when computing the amount of VAT payable on the relevant
See MoreSpain execute EU CRD IV and provides for monetization of certain deferred tax assets
Under the Spain’s implementation, the European Union (EU) Capital Requirements Directive 2013/36/EU (CRD IV) includes provisions that allow Spanish corporate to earn certain deferred tax assets by turning them into a refundable tax credit, subject
See MorePortugal: VAT amnesty until end of December 2013
The tax office of Portugal has announces that- with reduced fines until 20 December 2013 outstanding VAT may be declared. Penalties will be reduced. There will be no late interest charge, or extra return charges for previously undeclared Portuguese
See MoreOECD publishes bribery and corruption awareness handbook for tax examiners
The published a Recommendation on cooperation between tax and other law enforcement bodies to deal with serious crimes in 2010. Under this recommendation countries were expected to ensure that effective legal frameworks were implemented to
See MoreNew Zealand – Supports BEPS Action Plan
The tax department of New Zealand released a report that endorses measures outlined by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) action plan to deal with the taxation of large multinational corporations and the problems of
See MoreEuropean Commission – VAT Guidelines for Telecoms and e-Services
On 29 October 2013, the European Commission published guidelines to help companies to prepare for the new value-added tax rules regarding telecommunications and electronic services. The new rules are scheduled to become effective in 2015. Under the
See MoreEU: Stopping the Italian bank guarantee requirement for VAT credits
The European Commission is seeking to prevent Italy from demanding a bank guarantee from non-resident companies which are seeking to apply for a VAT credit via their Italian VAT returns. The European Commission infringement systems try to change the
See MoreEgypt – VAT implementation discussions
The Finance Ministry of Egypt has re-started discussions on the potential implementation of a full Value Added Tax (VAT) regime to replace the existing sales tax system. The current sales tax system of Egypt is complex and can lead to compound
See MoreCzech Senate approves Income Tax Law amendment
On 10 October 2013, the Czech Senate approved a special law measure that includes a long discussed Income Tax Law amendment. For this amendment to be enacted it must be approved by a new Chamber of Deputies on its first session. The main changes are
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