OECD: Tax and Fiscal Policy after the Pandemic
The OECD prepared a separate report entitled Tax and Fiscal Policy After the COVID-19 Crisis for the meeting of G20 Finance Ministers on 13 October 2021. This report was included as an attachment to the main report to the Finance Ministers. The
See MoreUK: Tax Gap Statistics Published
On 16 September 2021 the UK government released the latest edition of Measuring Tax Gaps, estimating the tax gap for 2019/20 to be 5.3% of total theoretical tax liabilities, or GBP 35 billion. The tax gap is the difference between the tax that
See MoreIMF: Focus on the Informal Economy
On 28 July 2021 the IMF published a country focus setting out facts on the informal economy. Activities with market value that are not formally registered The informal economy includes various activities such as minibus drivers, market stands
See MoreSouth Africa: Call for comments regarding 2021 draft Tax Bills
On 28 July 2021, the National Treasury and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) have invited the public to comment by no later than 28 August 2021 on the second batch of the 2021 Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill and 2021 Draft Tax
See MoreUK: Powers to tackle electronic sales suppression
On 20 July 2021 the UK issued draft legislation and an explanatory note on new powers to deal with tax evasion through the use of electronic sales suppression (ESS). This is aimed at businesses that undertake ESS to hide or reduce the value of
See MoreUK: New proposals to combat the promotion of tax avoidance schemes
On 20 July 2021 the UK government published for consultation new proposals aiming to restrict the activities of promoters of tax avoidance schemes, together with draft legislation. The consultation will close on 14 September 2021. The government
See MoreUK: HMRC investigates the use of business support schemes
It was reported on 28 June 2021 that the UK tax authority HMRC has begun around 13,000 investigations concerning the use of the UK coronavirus business support schemes. The investigations relate to fraud and other breaches of rules. It is
See MoreUK: Summary of responses to call for evidence on tackling disguised remuneration
On 23 March 2021 the UK government published a summary of responses to a call for evidence on tackling disguised remuneration tax avoidance. The consultation which ran from 21 July 2020 to 30 September 2020 asked for information on the drivers
See MoreOECD Tax Talk Reviews Recent Developments
The OECD Tax Talk on 4 March 2021 provided updates on important areas of OECD tax work. Taxation of the Digital Economy Countries have recognised the need to further simplify the proposals in Pillar One of the taxation of the digital economy
See MoreUK: Research on Enablers and Facilitators of Tax Evasion
On 2 December 2020 HMRC published a research report by IFF Research aiming to reach an improved understanding of the situation of wealth managers, UK goods importers and freight forwarders who may be in a position where they are at risk of
See MoreUK: Tackling Disguised Remuneration Tax Avoidance
On 21 July 2020 the UK published a call for evidence on tackling disguised remuneration tax avoidance. Comments are requested by 30 September 2020. The document asks for views on the drivers of the continuing use of disguised remuneration tax
See MoreUK: Annual Report of Code of Practice on Taxation of Banks
On 19 December 2018 the annual report of the Code of Practice on Taxation for Banks was published. The Code was first introduced in 2009 with the objective of changing the behaviour of the banks in relation to tax avoidance. The banks occupy a
See MoreUK: Summary of responses on consultation on public sector licensing
On 7 November 2018 the UK government published a summary of responses to the consultation entitled Tackling the hidden economy: public sector licensing, launched in December 2017. Consultation document The original consultation document examined
See MoreUK: consultation on the taxation of trusts
On 7 November 2018 HMRC issued a consultation document outlining the principles for taxing trusts and asking for comments and evidence on the reform of trust taxation in line with those principles. Comments may be submitted to HMRC by 30 January
See MoreUK: Consultation discusses the use of cash in tax evasion and financial crime
On 13 March 2018 the government issued a call for evidence entitled “Cash and digital payments in the new economy”. HMRC notes that the use of cash can present problems with tax compliance because people dealing in cash may have problems
See MoreUK: HMRC wins case on employment status
HMRC has won a case concerning employment status and the IR35 rules. The IR35 legislation aims to ensure that in defined circumstances individuals working for an intermediary such as a personal service companies pay the same tax as an employee
See MoreGermany: Capital gains 100% tax-exempt for foreign corporate shareholders
On 25 October 2017, the German Federal Tax Court (decision dated 31 May 2017) ruled in favor of foreign shareholders selling shares in a German corporation. Capital gains realized upon sale of shares in a German resident corporation by non-resident
See MoreCanada: Finance Department announces public consultation on draft tax legislative proposals
The Finance Department released a public consultation on September 8, 2017 regarding draft legislative and regulatory proposals on the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) and excise duty as well as income tax. GST/HST and Excise
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