Estonia – Amendments to VAT law
Estonia’s parliament (Riigikogu) has passed amendments to the value added tax (VAT) law that will be effective in 2014 or in 2015. Among the most significant amendments effective as from 1 March 2014 include the following: The amendments
See MoreEcuador: Income tax exemption on deposits and investments in securities
On 21 February 2014, the General Director of the Internal Revenue Service published Circular No. NAC-DGECCGC14-00003 in order to communicate the tax authority's application of the substance over form principle as a criterion for the application of
See MoreChina’s Finance Minister considering more tax reforms
At a press conference held at the National People's Congress, China's Minister of Finance suggested that there would be more tax reforms in the following year after the recent expansion of the value added tax pilot scheme. The Finance Minister
See MoreBelgium: VAT rate change in 2014
Belgium has suggested that it plans to raise its standard VAT rate from the current rate of 21% to fund cuts to the labour tax regime. The Finance Minister has stated that the rise would be agreed after May’s general election. The amount of the
See MoreBelgium: Reform of taxation after the May elections
Belgium's main political parties have agreed that a reform of taxation must be carried out after the May elections, to modernize and simplify the country's tax law. The Belgian Finance Minister has underlined the need to reduce the number of tax
See MoreAzerbaijan- Recounts tax reform progress in IMF meeting
On March 11, 2014, there was a meeting between an International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation and Azerbaijan's deputy minister of taxes. In recent years Azerbaijan’s tax revenues have been increased due to the establishment of a durable,
See MoreAustralian Tax Break for Supporting Mining Activities
The Australian Government has introduced a consultation on plans to provide investors with a refundable tax offset for Greenfield mineral exploration costs incurred from July 1, 2014. Under the proposed program, a tax credit will be provided to
See MoreRomania: Information regarding late penalty payment provisions
After arising from 1st March 2014, the late tax payment penalty relating to liabilities is 0.03% per day of delay in addition to the payment of interest at the applicable
See MoreUS: IRS publishes annual statistics on foreign tax credits
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has published a statistical report with data of corporations that claim the US foreign tax credit (FTC). The report was published by the IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) Division based on sampling of corporate
See MoreUS – Home Office Deduction Simplified
In the internet age the number of people able to run businesses from their home has increased. The Internal Revenue Service has reminded United States taxpayers with home-based businesses that this year, for the first time, they can choose a
See MoreUS: American Citizens Abroad Argues for Residence-Based Taxation
An organization known as American Citizens Abroad (ACA) has provided testimony to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Investigations Subcommittee following its recent hearing on offshore tax evasion. The ACA has
See MoreUS: 2015 Budget would increase taxes for the wealthy
The Budget 2015 proposals would reduce the United States medium-term fiscal deficit by increasing revenues, particularly on the wealthiest taxpayers, but are unlikely to reach Congress. The US deficit would fall from 3.7 percent of gross domestic
See MoreUruguay’s Tax Authority Reveals 2014 Targets
The Uruguayan tax authority (DGI) has recently revealed its 2014 audit targets. For 2014, the DGI indicated that it plans to conduct 1,350 tax audits in the year. This includes 90 audits for taxpayers whose turnover exceeds UYU50m (USD2.2m), and at
See MoreTaiwan- Proposal to increase business tax rates
Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance (“MOF") has recently spoken about efforts to improve Taiwan’s financial prospects. The proposals include plans to raise business tax rates on the banking and insurance industries, reduce the imputation credit ratio
See MoreSwitzerland urged to approve IHT agreement with France
The French Finance Minister has informed Switzerland that France will not renegotiate the revised inheritance tax (IHT) agreement the two countries have drafted if it is rejected by Swiss lawmakers. The revised Franco-Swiss IHT accord was signed in
See MoreSpain – Refund opportunity for retail sales tax on hydrocarbons
The Court of Justice for the European Union (CJEU) in late February 2014 issued a judgment, finding that Spain’s tax on retail sales of certain hydrocarbons is contrary to EU law. The CJEU rejected a request of the Spanish tax authorities that
See MoreSouth Korea: mergers and acquisitions activity and rental market
South Korea’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance presided over a Ministerial Meeting on the Economy on March 5 that discussed tax measures to stimulate mergers and acquisitions (M&A) in South Korea and to fine-tune
See MoreSouth Africa: SARS Enhances TCC Application Process
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has introduced an enhanced Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC) application process available through eFiling and at SARS offices, as part of a series of initiatives to modernize tax compliance due to be rolled
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