India: Update on GST and management service fees
The Union Cabinet approved the Constitutional Amendment Bill on Goods and Services Tax (GST) on 17 December 2014 and this can be passed to parliament for consideration. The clearance of the Bill by the Cabinet was achieved by a compromise. It was
See MoreEgypt: Plans for VAT reform contribute to credit upgrade
Currently Egypt operates a simple 10% sales tax system. This tax is currently applied to only a relatively small range of products, and this means that the tax revenue for the government from this tax is uncertain, There is limited scope for
See MoreFrance: Parliament approves the Finance Bill for 2015
The French Parliament approved the Finance Bill for 2015 and the Second Amended Finance Bill for 2014 On 18 December 2014. The Finance Bill for 2015 provides that for tax audits initiated from 1 January 2015 penalties for inadequate documentation
See MoreAustralia: Practice Statement PS LA 2014/2 released by the Australian Taxation Office
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) released guidance on what the ATO expects taxpayers to prepare in order to comply with the transfer pricing laws and manage related risks on 17 December 2014. According to guidance 25% penalty applies and
See MoreSouth Africa: SARS Issues Revised Capital Gains Tax Guide
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has issued a revised version of its Comprehensive Guide to Capital Gains Tax (CGT). This update includes various changes since the guide was last published in 2011. As before the guide looks at what should be
See MoreItaly: approves fiscal budget for 2015
Italy has approved 2015 fiscal budget with deficit. The budget bill was passed by both houses of parliament when the Chamber of Deputies approved the budget on December 22. Budget implication on Tax & VAT: The Budget includes a cut in the
See MoreBulgaria: Key changes to the tax and social security legislation for 2015
The amendments to the VAT law was released in the State Gazette on 19th December 2014. The National Revenue Agency (NRA) introduced a new electronic services. This is a new opportunity declaring for both corporate and personal taxpayers. It allows
See MoreIndonesia temporarily bans overseas travel by key tax debtors
The Ministry of Finance of Indonesia has banned overseas travel of key tax debtors with total debt amount of IDR3.32 trillion (USD268m) for a temporary period of six months. This step was taken to ensure effective tax administration and compliance.
See MoreChina issues Circular Caishui [2014] No. 59 to extend the current preferential corporate income tax treatment
China’s Ministry of Finance, the State Administration of Taxation, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Science and Technology and National Development and Reform Commission jointly issued Circular Cai Shui no 59 On 8 October 2014, has extended the
See MoreAustralia: Taxation Ruling 2014/8 introduces by the Australian Taxation Office (ATO)
Taxation Ruling 2014/8 gives outlines on what needs to be included in the documentation if the taxpayer is to meet the standard of a "reasonably arguable position" and avoid penalties, and sets out five key questions for preparation of
See MoreKorea: Unilateral APA program introduced
A simplified APA (Advance Pricing Agreement) program is to be introduced from 2015 for the conclusion of unilateral APAs by manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers or service providers with revenue under KRW 50 billion. Applicants will be able to
See MoreUS & Mexico finalize agreement on sugar import investigations
The U.S. Department of Commerce announced on December 19, 2014 that it had finalized agreements with the Government of Mexico and Mexican sugar exporters to suspend antidumping (AD) and countervailing duty (CVD) investigations on imports of sugar.
See MoreJapan: Consumption Tax on nonresident providers of electronic services from 1 October 2015
Japan is moving forward with proposals to subject sales by non-resident providers of electronic services to consumers to the 8% Consumption Tax from 1 October 2015. The change comes as a result of pressure by local providers who are penalized by
See MoreSpain: Modified legislation on transfer pricing published
On 28 November 2014, Laws 26/2014 and 27/2014, which modify the most important Spanish tax laws were published in the Spanish Official Gazette. This new legislation will generally come into force on 1 January 2015. This new legislation modified in
See MoreGreece: Released templates and guidelines for APA Negotiations
The Greek Ministry of Finance has recently released template application forms for preliminary consultations and formal negotiations, as well as additional guidelines on the overall APA procedure and changes on corporate income tax. On 6 September
See MoreFinland: Parliament approves Budget Bill For 2015
The Finnish Parliament approved the Budget of around 53.9 billion euros for 2015 on 19 December, 2014. A summary of the Budget is as follows: Total Budget amount is 53.9 billion euros. Deficit of 4.7 billion euros which will be covered by
See MoreIndia & Japan: First bilateral APA signed
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) signed a bilateral Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) with a Japanese company on 19 December 2014. This is India’s first bilateral APA which has been signed for a period of 5 years. Moreover, CBDT was proud to
See MoreEU Parliament approves Budget for 2015
On December 17, 2014, at its plenary session Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) approved the draft EU budget for 2015 and a top-up for the 2014 budget with 443 votes for, 250 against and 43 abstentions in the French city of Strasbourg. The
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