Azerbaijan: 2013 Tax Revenues
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Taxes has reported 2013 tax receipts to be AZN6.66bn, an increase from the AZN6.025bn collected in 2012. The greatest contribution came from profit tax (AZN2.37bn), followed by value-added tax (AZN1.72bn), while individual
See MoreKenya: National Social Security Fund Act 2013 enacted
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Act was passed by Parliament on 24 December 2013 and applies from 10 January 2014. The NSSF Act will increase the social security contributions by both the employer and the employee, with a goal to increase
See MoreVietnam: Corporate income tax rate reductions and rule changes
The Vietnam corporate income tax rate will be reduced to 20% from 1 January 2016 (now 22%). For taxpayers with total revenue lower than VND 20 billion, the will be 17% effective 1 January 2016 (now 20% as of 1 July 2013). New guidelines published as
See MoreUnited Kingdom: Dispute resolution, CFC financing, investment “white list”
HM Revenue & Customs have updated some key documents regarding resolution of tax disputes, and have provided new guidance on CFCs. The dispute resolution documents are the Code of Governance for resolving tax disputes; and Commentary on the
See MoreTurkey: Special consumption tax changes for 2014
Turkey’s Council of Ministers have issued Resolution 2013/5761, that revises and/or specifies the special consumption tax (SCT) rates and amounts to be applied effective from 1 January 2014. These revise the SCT rates for vehicles, for beer and
See MoreNigeria: High Court affirms taxpayer appeal and orders disbandment of Tax Tribunal
Nigeria’s Federal High Court (FHC) delivered a key judgment on 30 October 2013 in a suit between TSKJ Contruces Internationals Sociadade Unipessoal LDA (TSKJ) and the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). The FHC upheld TSKJ’s appeal against
See MoreItaly: Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) annual return model published
The Italian tax administration has issued the final Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) annual return model and the related instructions under Protocol No. 2013/154577. The FTT return should be filed by 31 March of every year, subject to a de minimis
See MoreColombia: Definitions for classification of resident individuals
Decree 3032 of 2013 has just been reported clarifying the classification of resident individuals into the employee and self-employed categories. The same Decree provide key definitions for employee; self-employed; personal service; liberal
See MoreBelgium: New tax rules on notional interest, small companies and withholding tax
The Official Gazette issue of 31 December 2013 notifies some new tax rules. The first measure aligns the rules relating to notional interest deductions (NID) with the judgment of the European Court of Justice in the Argenta Spaarbank case. The NID
See MoreAustria: “Provisional” Budget submitted
The Austrian Government has submitted a provisional budget for 2014 to the Austrian National Council; the proposals broadly follow the coalition accord. Tax rises are proposed in the motor vehicle insurance tax and on alcohol and tobacco, and for
See MoreHong Kong: Stamp Duty Increases Affect Property Sales
Increases in the rates of existing ad valorem stamp duty for both residential and non-residential property transactions appear to have cooled the real estate market. The Government increased such taxes from February 23, 2013 for that goal and it
See MoreFinland: decree on blacklist countries updated
The Ministry of Finance of Finland published Decree No. 1284/2013 on 31 December 2013. This covers countries where the tax burden differs significantly from that in Finland; the blacklist applies in implementation of the controlled foreign company
See MoreBulgaria: Companies located in “preferential” jurisdictions banned from certain transactions
Bulgaria has enacted a new law, effective from 1 January 2014 which prevents companies located in “preferential tax regime jurisdictions” (and persons related to such companies) from receiving public funds, participating in privatizations in
See MoreUruguay: Tax penalties increased
Decree No. 402/013, was published in the Official Journal (Diario Oficial No. 28,870) on 23 December 2013. This increased the penalties on tax infringements and such penalties applicable as from 1 January 2014 will range from a minimum of UYU290 to
See MoreUkraine: Introduces a value-added tax exemption
In a statement on January 8, 2014, Ukrainian Prime Minister confirmed that he had ordered the preparation of draft legislation to amend the country's tax code to lower the cost of natural gas for consumers. The price for consumers will be reduced by
See MoreNetherlands: Relief, clarifications under FATCA
The Netherlands government has announced completion of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to provide relief and clarify the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) for automatic exchange of data between the Netherlands Belastingdienst and the US IRS. The
See MoreBelgium: Rules for “self-billing” for VAT purposes
The Belgian fiscal administration has issued guidance on the application of a “self-billing” system for value added tax (VAT) purposes. The Belgian self-billing rules enable a customer to issue an invoice in respect of the supplier, for supplies
See MoreVietnam: Decree on tax penalties
Vietnam has released a new Decree on 16 October 2013 on tax penalties along with the amended law on Tax Administration, which specifies tax administrative procedures. The Decree becomes effective on 15 December 2013 and applies to any violations
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