Peru: Changes to “frequent importers” regime

03 February, 2014

On 11 January 2014, the tax administration of Peru issued a resolution establishing changes to the “frequent importers” regime (Relación de Importadores Frecuentes). Resolución No. 00002-2014-SUNAT/300000 offers a list of the importers

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Norway reduces corporate tax rate and enacts interest deductibility restrictions

03 February, 2014

On 13 December 2013, the newly proposed Norwegian interest deduction limitation rules were adopted by the Norwegian Parliament and the reduction of the corporate income tax rate from 28 to 27 % was adopted. The interest deduction limitation rules

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Netherlands: New Decree on substance requirements enters into force

03 February, 2014

From 1 January 2014, a new Decree entered into force which codifies the existing administrative guidance on substance requirements for companies engaged in inter company financing and/or licensing activities. Now, Dutch companies that claim the

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Malaysia Confirms Change of Policy on Vehicle Excise Tax Cut

03 February, 2014

Despite last year's election manifesto promise, and persistent calls for a reduction in Malaysia's high car prices, the International Trade and Industry Minister has confirmed that the Government has no plans to reduce vehicle excise duties at the

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Japan Studies Corporate Tax Rate Cut for Growth Strategy

03 February, 2014

Japan's Prime Minister is looking again at lower corporate taxes to provide a new impetus to growth in the economy. The Finance Minister has however again cast doubt on whether such a policy is viable at the present time. In a meeting of the

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Italy Cancels Budget’s Automatic Tax Deduction Changes

03 February, 2014

The Italian Government has decided to include proposed measures to rationalize individual income tax deductions within the framework of the draft tax reform law, which is currently before parliament, rather than the recently-approved 2014 Budget

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Italy Allows Taxpayers to Regularize Undeclared Foreign Capital

03 February, 2014

Recently the Italian Government approved a new decree to constitute a legal framework to allow for the regularization of undeclared capital held abroad by Italian residents. The new decree allows for favorable treatment, including penalty

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Ireland: Anti-VAT fraud measures

03 February, 2014

To prevent fraud in Irish VAT compliance, the Irish government introduced a number of measures through its Finance Bill which came into effect from 1 January 2014. VAT registered businesses will have to refund to the Irish Revenue any deducted input

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Hong Kong: Tax concession for captive insurance companies

03 February, 2014

On 8 January 2014 legislation was introduced into the Legislative Council to provide a profits tax concession to captive insurance companies for profits from their business of insurance of offshore risks. These profits are to be chargeable to

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EU Discloses Climate Change Plan

03 February, 2014

The European Commission has proposed the establishment of a market stability reserve at the beginning of the next Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) trading period. The ETS was designed to deliver emissions reduction goals in a harmonized and

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EU Steps Up Actions to Decelerate Custom Fraud

03 February, 2014

The European Commission expressed their intention to strengthen their effort to anti-fraud operations with the cooperation of the customs and tax authorities. As a part of its six-month European Union (EU) Presidency, Lithuania organized a Joint

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Brazil: Withholding tax thresholds for Employee Profit-Sharing Plans Increased

03 February, 2014

The employee profit-sharing plan (participação nos lucros ou resultados, PLR) related tax withholding thresholds in Brazil have recently been modified. This will be applicable from 1 January 2014. For the taxable year 2014, the tax withholding

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Argentina: Highest tax to GDP in Latin America is reported

03 February, 2014

According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), tax revenue in Argentina is the the largest and fastest growing among this region. The latest tax revenue-to-GDP data of Argentina was 37.3 percent, which put the

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Australian Government restates commitment to lower taxes

30 January, 2014

The Australian Prime Minister has reiterated his election pledge for “lower, simpler, fairer taxes,” and the new government will draw up a tax reform white paper within two years. Recommendations in the white paper shall be part of the platform

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Hungary dismisses OECD Tax Advice

29 January, 2014

The Hungarian government has rejected OECD proposals for major tax reforms, covering a new property tax as well as energy, environmental, inheritance and wealth taxes. The Minister of Economic Strategy has said that tax reform is complete and no

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Canada: Lower Tax Rates demanded for Small Businesses

29 January, 2014

The Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB), in presenting budget requests to the Finance Minister, has recommended a gradual reduction of the small business tax rate from 11% to 9%. CFIB feels that these changes will help the small

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Portugal: Parliament adopts Retroactive Budget for 2014

28 January, 2014

The Parliament has adopted the Retroactive Budget for 2014, this widens the base of the Portugal’s “Extraordinary Solidarity Contribution” (CES) on pensioners. The CES will apply to pensions greater than EUR 1,000/month (previous level, EUR

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ECJ to investigate Portuguese exit tax

28 January, 2014

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) will investigate tax residency rules in Portugal; this results from a referral by the European Commission which considers the Portuguese rules applicable to taxpayers who are no longer resident in the country to

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