Germany: Proposed coalition agreement
The German Conservatives (CDU/CSU) and their ex-opposition party the Social Democrats (SPD) signed a 185 page agreement on the formation of a “grand coalition” on 27 November 2013 which was resulted from five weeks of strong negotiations. The
See MoreRussia-Calculate corporate property tax by using cadastral value
Russia has enacted Law No.307-FZ naming “Concerning the Use of the Cadastral Value of Real Estate for the Calculation of the Corporate Property Tax Base” that was published on November 6, 2013 and it will apply from January 1, 2014. A
See MoreChina: Extends VAT to postal services and railways
An edict recently is issued by the China’s State Council adding postal services and railway transportation to the reform of the existing Chinese Business Tax and VAT systems. This will start on 1 January 2014. The principles of the OECD VAT
See MorePhilippines: Tax Exemptions for Haiyan Relief Goods
The Commissioner of the Bureau of Internal Revenue of Philippines has ensured that foreign donations and relief goods arriving for the victims of the Haiyan super typhoon in the Philippines will not be taxed, if their arrival is correlated with
See MoreNew Zealand – New Tax Policy Work Plan
The Inland Revenue of New Zealand released the government’s tax policy work program on 8 November 2013 that sets out the government’s focus for tax reform and development for the next 18 months. Creating further improvements to the tax and
See MoreNetherlands – Electronic filing required for VAT returns
It has been reported that entrepreneurs subject to value added tax (VAT) but not “established”―for VAT purposes―in the Netherlands must file their VAT returns / EC sales lists electronically (and not on paper forms) from 1 January
See MoreNetherlands Hails Tax Amnesty A Success
On 13 November 2013 it was reported that the Dutch Financial State Secretary has hailed the Government's temporary relaxed voluntary disclosure scheme as a success. The State Secretary emphasized the fact that since its introduction, almost 500
See MoreMexico: Congress passed budget for 2014
The Mexican lower house of Congress has passed the federal budget for 2014, which proposes running a deficit in 2014 to lift the country’s economy on 14 November of 2013. The budget will increase the tax revenue by around 2.5% of GDP by 2018. The
See MoreLuxembourg: New circular declares VAT exemption for risk management services
“Administration de l’Enregistrement et des Domaines”, the Luxembourg VAT Authorities issued a Circular (Circular n° 723 ter) on 7th November 2013, confirming that risk management services for funds could be VAT exempt. The guidance from the
See MoreLuxembourg wants acceleration of negotiation on Savings Tax
Luxembourg has called on the European Commission (EC) to accelerate negotiations with third party countries, to make sure that progress is made on plans to modify the Savings Tax Directive. The Savings Tax Directive is designed to ensure that income
See MoreLuxembourg Considers Tax Rise
The assessment of current negotiations on the formation of a new Government of Luxembourg is that there is a pledge to redressing the public finances if necessary with recourse to tax measures. However Luxembourg is starting from a favorable
See MoreIreland: Tax hike hits Irish savings
According to one well known financial institution (the Nationwide Building Society), the Irish Finance Minister has decided to raise the Deposit Interest Retention Tax (DIRT) and it represents a very bad news for Irish savers. The extent of
See MoreHungary- Amendments to Corporate Law
Hungary is going to modify its civil code by making significant changes to the corporate law which is likely to become effective from March 2014. According to the amendments, new companies may be permitted to establish their own company guidelines
See MoreFrance – reform to the tax procedure of life insurance contracts
The French Ministry of Finance presented the year-end supplementary finance bill of 2013 to the Council of Ministers. The bill comprise of plans to reform the tax procedure of life insurance contracts. The ministry is planning to increase the rate
See MoreRussia–Readjusting the taxable base for transfer pricing purposes may impact on the VAT base
The Russian Ministry of Finance has made public Letter No. 03-01-18/19214 clarifying the rights of tax authorities to readjust the taxable base in the case of selling goods and performing of works or services between related parties. Article 105.3
See MoreRussia – Controlled transaction is classified as transactions within individuals
The Russian Ministry of Finance (MoF) has issued Letter No.03-01-18/38106 on September 16, 2013 that explains whether transactions with individuals should be treated as controlled transactions for the purposes of transfer pricing regulations.
See MoreRussia-Applicable fields for applying thin capitalization rules
The Ministry of Finance has published Letter No. 03-08-05/23521 regarding the applicability of the thin capitalization rules to interest payments made by a Russian company on a loan granted by a Russian bank issued on June 21, 2013. For example, a
See MoreFinnish Administrative Supreme Court Order to pay interest on refunds of withholding tax collection
According to the Finnish Supreme Administrative court decision, Finland tax authority must pay interest on refunds of withholding tax collected in contrast to the EU law. The interest rate imposed on withholding tax refunds varies annually. In the
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