Portugal: Collection of Food Security Tax being enforced
The Portuguese Government is finally taking action to enforce payment of the country's food security tax from operators of large supermarket chains. Portugal's State Secretary for Food said that 107 cases are currently before the administrative and
See MoreUnited States – IRS releases transfer pricing audit “roadmap”
The IRS Large Business & International (LB&I) division has released a transfer pricing audit "roadmap" that is intended to be a practical, user-friendly toolkit organized around a notional 24-month audit time-line. The roadmap has been
See MoreOECD releases paper on transfer pricing documentation
On 30 January 2014, as part of the action plan on base erosion and profit shifting, the OECD published a discussion draft on transfer pricing documentation. This discussion draft takes the form of a revised Chapter V of the OECD Transfer Pricing
See MoreNetherlands amends the preliminary tax assessment procedure
The amendments to article 23(2) of the Implementing Regulations of the 1994 General Tax Law relating to the issuance of preliminary tax assessments were published in the Official Gazette, No. 2405 . The amendments are summarized below. Under the
See MoreMalaysia: New Public Ruling on Withholding Tax on Special Classes of Income
The Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia issued Public Ruling No. 1/2014 (PR No. 1/2014) on Withholding Tax on Special Classes of Income on 23 January 2014. The special classes of income covered by the public ruling include amounts paid in consideration
See MoreTaiwan – Income tax exemption for royalties and technical service fees
Taiwan has introduced an amendment concerning the rules governing taxpayers (including foreign for-profit entities) that apply for an exemption from income tax on royalties and technical service fees related to the manufacturing, technical service,
See MoreLuxembourg: VAT rate will increase
The Luxembourg Prime Minister has announced that, Luxembourg is set to raise its standard rate of VAT in 2015. The standard VAT rate is currently 15% and at present it is the lowest standard rate in the EU. The Prime Minister has indicated that the
See MoreItaly’s Transfer Pricing Changes In 2014
Italy has introduced a number of transfer pricing-related changes within its Finance Act 2014 (Law No 147/2013). These changes will have an effect on both administrative procedures and fundamental transfer pricing concepts. Article 1, Paragraph 281
See MoreItaly dealing with transfer pricing legislation domestically
According to a verdict of the Italian Supreme Court in July 2013, internal transfer prices must follow the arm’s-length principle. Italy has been adopting international transfer pricing rules similar to those in the rest of Europe. The Supreme
See MoreIreland: High taxes may reduce competitiveness
The Irish Government has been warned to control further increases in personal taxes by the head of the country's largest recruitment firm. A recent survey found that almost half of all Irish job seekers are now emigrating to find work. Roughly one
See MoreFrance: Reduced VAT rate on digital newspapers and magazines
The French government is about to propose a VAT reduction for digital newspapers and magazines. The intention behind this move is to provide a level playing field for different forms of publication. The government wants to give the digital versions
See MoreEuropean Parliament Urged To Outlaw Anonymous Shell Companies
The European Parliament has been urged to support the creation of public registries of corporate ownership. This suggestion has been made by a Washington DC-based research and advocacy organization. Global Financial Integrity (GIF) studies and
See MoreEU: European Commission publishes Paper on Behavioral Economics and Taxation
Recently, the European Commission published working paper N.41, entitled "Behavioural Economics and Taxation" summarizing central parts of economic literature on integrated behavioural economic models that take into account both psychological and
See MoreEgypt to announce second stimulus package
The Egyptian finance minister has said the government will announce within days details of its second stimulus package to boost Egypt’s rapid growth and to reassure
See MoreEgypt aims to unveil new fiscal incentive package
The Egyptian Finance Minister has announced that the Government aims to unveil details of a new fiscal stimulus package shortly. The Government adopted its first stimulus package in the second half of 2013. The Finance Minister indicated that the
See MoreChile changes foreign tax credit system
On 31 January 2014, the Chilean government published in the official Gazette Law 20.727, which makes changes to the country’s foreign tax credit (FTC) rules. The FTC amendments increase the availability of FTCs for indirectly owned foreign
See MoreBelgium explains 2014 Tax Audit Focus
The Belgian Tax Administration has declared the areas that will be the focus of its tax audits in 2014, to encourage taxpayers to correctly fulfill their tax obligations, and to increase voluntary tax compliance in Belgium. The aim is to increase
See MoreBelgian tax reform begin to emerge
In Belgium a consensus is arising that taxpayers should declare both their income from capital and income from labor in their income tax declaration. Advocates of this idea suggest that the income tax scale should be revised, to strengthen the
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