UK Explains VAT Changes Following the Skandia Decision
The UK has issued Revenue and Customs Brief 18 (2005) explaining VAT grouping rules and the Skandia judgment. The VAT changes in the UK effective from 1 January 2016 result from the Skandia decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ). The
See MoreArgentina-Double Tax Treaty with Switzerland enters into force
The new Double Taxation Treaty between Switzerland and Argentina will enter into force on 27 November 2015. The new treaty will be applicable from 1 January 2015. For taxes withheld at source the relief has become applicable from 2015. The new
See MoreBosnia: IMF Report Suggests Reforms to Taxation and Social Security
Following consultations in Bosnia by IMF staff under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement a staff report and a selected issues paper were published on 28 October 2015. The selected issues paper includes a section on moving towards a more
See MoreUK: Two year plan to increase SME awareness of R&D tax relief
Following a consultation on research and development tax relief the UK government has announced a two-year plan to make it easier for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) conducting research and development (R&D) to claim the tax relief. The
See MoreBulgaria: Budget for 2016 published
The Finance Ministry (MoF) has published the Budget for 2016 on 26th October 2015. The MoF included the following measures in this budget: The income tax rate, withholding tax rate, and VAT rate will remain unchanged for 2016 through
See MoreLuxembourg: Electronic filing for company income tax return
Electronic filing is now available for Luxembourg resident company. On 29 October 2015, the Finance Minister declared a new e-filing tool for company income tax return, municipal business and net worth tax return. Initially e-filing process is
See MorePoland: The President of Republic amends rules on transfer pricing documentation
The President of Republic of Poland signed an Act amending the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Act, the Personal Income Tax (PIT) Act on 27 October 2015. The Act initiated important changes related to transfer pricing (TP) documentation. As per the
See MoreGreece: Enacted Rules on Transfer Pricing Penalties and Issued Guidance on TP Documentation
Greece enacted changes to the applicable transfer pricing (TP) documentation rules based on Law 4337/17.10.2015 on 17 October 2015 and issues guidance. Based on the new Law 4337/17.10.2015, the following changes are introduced to the penalties
See MoreCanada: Alberta fiscal budget for 2015-2016 issued
The Finance Minister of Alberta has presented the Province’s fiscal budget for 2015-2016 on 27th October 2015. The budget contains no changes to the personal income tax rates. However, some other new tax measures contained in the budget may
See MoreRussia: A draft order regarding tax exchange information published
The Federal Tax Service (FTS) has released a draft order on 26th October 2015 that contains a list (in Russian) of countries and territories which do not exchange tax information with Russia for discussion purposes. According to article 25.13-1 of
See MoreHungary: Draft bill for tax law changes in 2016
The government of Hungary recently presented to the Parliament a draft bill with proposals for tax law changes which would take effect as from 2016. The proposed draft bill creates a classification system for taxpayers based on the level of risk
See MoreKazakhstan: Amendment to the deductibility of charitable donations
The Senate has passed a bill on 22nd October 2015 that changes the deductibility of charitable donations. In accordance with the bill, the deduction of charitable donation by companies and individual entrepreneurs will be limited to the following
See MoreRomania: Government planning to cut VAT on water supplies
The Romanian Government approved an urgent order on 27 October, 2015, aimed to enforce a reduction of value-added tax (VAT) for the supply of drinking water and water for irrigation. According to the Act, the VAT rate on supplies of water will be
See MoreWorld Customs Organization Discusses the Future of Customs
The Permanent Technical Committee of the World Customs Organization (WCO) discussed the Future of Customs at its meeting of 14 to 16 October 2015. The meeting considered issues put forward by the WCO Virtual Working Group on the Future of Customs.
See MoreMali: IMF Report on Local Taxation
Following the conclusion of the work of a technical assistance mission on fiscal policy the IMF has compiled a report containing technical advice for the Mali authorities. The report dated July 2015 has been published on the IMF website. The report
See MoreWTO: World Trade Report for 2015 looks at benefits of Trade Facilitation Agreement
On 26 October 2015 the World Trade Organization (WTO) published its World Trade Report for 2015. This report looks at the benefits of full implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement. The report finds that developing countries will
See MoreSouth Africa: SARS issues revised tax guide for foreign workers
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has revised its guide for individuals not resident in South Africa about the tax treatment of South Africa-sourced income. The guide addressed the point that foreigners working in South Africa are only
See MoreRomania: Proposed reduction of dividend tax from 2016
The Romanian government is planning to cut dividend tax from 2016. At present dividend payments are taxed at 16%. This rate will be reduced to five percent from January 1, 2016, rather than from January 1, 2017 as previously planned. The
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