Slovak Republic: Amendments to income tax, VAT, excise duties and Tax Code approved
The Slovak parliament has approved the amendments to the Income Tax Act, VAT Act, legislation on excise duties and the tax code as proposed by the Finance Ministry. All the amendments have been signed by the president except the VAT Act. The changes
See MorePakistan: IMF discusses fiscal and tax policy
On 6 October 2015 the IMF held a conference call on completion of the eighth review of Pakistan’s economic performance under an EFF arrangement. The IMF considers that Pakistan’s economic performance has been generally positive under the program
See MoreNorway Fiscal Budget for 2016 Presented to the Parliament
Norway Fiscal Budget for 2016 was presented to the parliament on 7 October 2015. A reduction of the corporate income tax rate from 27% to 25% has been proposed in the budget. The application of the participation exemption with regards to dividends
See MoreWorld Tax Brief: September 2015
Australia Sanctions for tax evasion: The Government of Australia announced double the maximum administrative penalties that can be applied by the Commissioner of Taxation to large companies that enter into tax avoidance and profit shifting
See MoreEgypt- Reduced Tax Rates published in the Official Gazette
Decree Law No. 96 for 2015 amending Income Tax Law No. 91 for 2005 was published in the Official Gazette No. 24.bis for 2015 on 20 August 2015. The main changes are summarized below: 1) The standard corporate tax rate is reduced from 25% to 22.5%
See MoreItaly: Published Legislative Decree on Transfer Pricing Issues in the Official Gazette
Italy Published Legislative decree n. 147 in the official gazette on 22 September 2015 with a view to provide investors with certainty arising from their investment plan. As per the published Legislative decree, expenses relating to the transactions
See MoreThailand: Tax incentives for international headquarters
To promote the location of headquarters in Thailand the Board of Investment has introduced a new program. According to the program there will be relief from corporate income tax (0% on non-Thai source income from services, royalties, and dividends,
See MoreUS: IRS Released Temporary Regulations to Clarify that the Arm’s-Length Standard of Section 482 Applies to all Controlled Transactions
IRS issued Treasury Decision 9738 on 14 September 2015 containing temporary regulations under Section 482 clarifying the application of the arm’s-length standard when multiple code sections. The temporary regulations apply to tax years ending on
See MorePoland: Parliament approves new R&D tax incentives
The parliament accepted a bill proposed by the former president amending the Corporate Income Tax Law to establish new research and development (R&D) tax incentives and promote modern technologies, on 25 September 2015. According to the bill,
See MoreAustria: Withholding tax on dividend increases
In July 2015 the Austrian Parliament approved the Tax Reform Act 2015/2016 and this includes a provision to increase the rate of withholding tax applicable for dividend distributions made to non-resident companies. The law provides that with
See MoreIndia: Minimum Alternate Tax not applicable to foreign companies without a PE
A press release was issued on 24 September 2015 stating that, with effect from 1 April 2001, the minimum alternate tax (MAT) provisions will not apply to a foreign company if that foreign company is a resident of a country that has concluded a tax
See MoreBrazil: Government declares new tax measures
Brazil’s Executive branch has proposed different tax measures that would decrease the expected 30 billion Reais (R$) deficit for 2016 to avoid a budget deficit. Tax incentives Under the proposal, tax incentive for export companies will reduce
See MoreIsrael: VAT rate reduced
A Ministerial Order was issued on 10th September 2015 regarding reduction of the VAT rate to 17% from 18%. This new rate will be effective from 1st October
See MoreFrance: New article on transfer pricing assessments and withholding tax relief for repatriated profits
A new Article L. 62 A of the French tax procedure code was published in the official bulletin on 2 September 2015. The article provided rules that efficiently establish the tax treatment of certain profits transferred abroad by French taxpayers, and
See MorePolish parliament approves new transfer pricing rules
The parliament approved a bill on 11 September 2015 including changes the transfer pricing rules regarding transactions between related parties. According to the bill a taxpayer that is part of a multinational corporate group with annual income or
See MoreECJ: Advocate General issues an opinion involving dividend taxation and free movement of capital
The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued an opinion on 10 September 2015 in the case of Pensioenfonds Metaal en Techniek v Skatteverket (Case C-252/14). The Supreme Administrative Court of Sweden had asked the ECJ for a
See MoreRomania: New fiscal code published addressing corporate tax regime amendments
Romanian government published the Law no. 227/2015 regarding the Fiscal Code on 10 September, 2015. The new Fiscal Code, coming into force in 2016 which brings the following amendments for the corporate and micro-enterprise income taxation
See MoreRomania enacts new Fiscal Procedure Code
The Romanian tax authority has published the revised Fiscal Procedure Code in the Official Gazette no. 545 dated 23 July 2015. The existing Fiscal Procedure Code is being updated by Law 207/2015 implementing new provisions with respect to tax
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