US: Case Made For Progressive Consumed Income Tax
In a recent editorial article the President and CEO of the American Council for Capital Formation called for consideration to be given to a change from the current income tax code to a "progressive consumed income tax" in the United States. He
See MoreUS: Public comments requested on withholding certificates for foreign persons
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the US Treasury Department have issued a notice requesting comments on various IRS forms that are used as withholding certificates for foreign persons (i.e. certificates to claim reduced or zero withholding
See MoreUS agrees to tax talks with India under mutual agreement procedure
Following an approach by India the US tax authorities for finding a solution to tax cases of about 100 US companies that have opted for the Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP), the US has now agreed for a meeting next month to discuss MAP, advance
See MoreUnited Kingdom – Proposals related to tax disputes and identifying scheme promoters
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued consultation documents which include proposals for taxpayers to make accelerated payment of tax that is in dispute or subject to enquiry and for identifying “promoters” of tax avoidance schemes. The
See MoreUnited Kingdom – Councils to Retain Tax Revenues from Shale Gas Developments
On 13 January 2014, the UK Prime Minister announced that the local councils in the U.K. that approve shale gas developments will be able to retain 100 percent of business rates collected from local shale gas sites, doubling the current 50 percent
See MoreTurkey Raises Consumer Taxes
Turkey intends to increase state revenues by raising indirect taxes, fines and fees. An announcement by the Council of Ministers of Turkey on 1 January 2014 will increase purchase taxes on cars, alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and mobile phones, as
See MoreSpain extends latest deadline for cash accounting
The opportunity for Spanish companies to join the new cash reporting VAT scheme has been extend to 31 March 2014. The Spanish VAT cash accounting scheme was announced last year to help small businesses better manage their cash flows. It enables
See MoreSingapore levies Goods and Services Tax on Bitcoin
The Singapore tax authorities have recently issued guidance that the virtual digital currency, Bitcoin, is subject to Singapore goods and services tax (GST) at 7%. Although some financial services are exempt from VAT Bitcoin is regarded as a service
See MoreRussia Considers Tax Break for Landlords
Russia's Economic Development Ministry has recently proposed cutting tax rates for citizens who lease their apartments. This measure aims to reduce the numbers of unregistered landlords. The proposal involves reducing the tax on rent revenues to
See MoreOECD: BEPS-related transfer pricing documentation, country-by-country reporting draft guidance
On 31 January 2014 the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released an initial draft of revised guidance on transfer pricing documentation and country-by-country reporting. This is related to Action 13 under the Base
See MoreNetherlands – Revised rules for employing foreign workers
A new law in the Netherlands (“Foreign Nationals Employment Act”), effective from 1 January 2014, concerns changes to the current labor market rules. The new law was followed by a re-write of the implementation rules. The law generally affects
See MoreNetherlands – Planned pension changes
On 20 January 2014, a proposal was presented to amend pension accrual rates and impose a limit on “pensionable” income. The following measures are included in the proposed amendments: An adjustment to the maximum pension accrual rates; A cap
See MoreMexico settles issues with Maquiladoras
The President of the National Council of the maquiladora industry has commented that the sector has largely settled its differences with the Mexican government over tax issues, following the changes to the Mexican Government's tax reform bill which
See MoreItaly: Law Decree published regarding voluntary disclosure procedure
On 29 January 2014 Law Decree No. 4 of 28 January 2014 was published in the Official Gazette. This Decree provided clarifications with regard to the voluntary disclosure procedure. The Law Decree entered into force also on 29 January 2014 and will
See MoreIndia: Improvements to VAT compliance and administration procedures
Some improvements to the Indian VAT compliance and administration procedures have been announced to help traders. India’s VAT is a state level tax on the sale of goods. The changes include plans to reduce the number of Indian VAT audits, the
See MoreFrance – New VAT rates for 2014
With effect from 1 January 2014, the rates of value added tax (VAT) in France have been changed and are now as follows: The standard VAT rate is increased from 19.6% to 20%. The intermediary VAT rate which is applicable to the food service
See MoreSwitzerland: Safe harbor rules apply to intra-group interest rates
Under a Circular of 30 January 2014 the safe harbor interest rate on loans received by shareholders or related parties denominated in CHF are 1.5% on loans financed through equity, or for loans financed through debt the safe harbor rate is the
See MoreBrazil – Social Security Tax on Exports to Trading Companies
The tax department has issued guidance clarifying that revenues from the sale of products to trading companies for the purpose of export are subject to social security taxation. Normative Instruction 1436 (IN 1436) released on 9 January 2014 was
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