India: Finance Minister presents Budget for 2019-20
On 1 February 2019, Finance minister Piyush Goyal presented the much awaited Union Budget in Lok Sabha. Goyal was appointed interim finance minister on January 23 with Arun Jaitley undergoing treatment in the United States. Some of the main measures
See MoreOECD announces progress made in addressing harmful tax practices
On 29 January 2019 the OECD released a publication entitled “Harmful Tax Practices – 2018 Progress Report on Preferential Regimes”. This contains results to show that jurisdictions are pursuing their commitment to the standard on harmful tax
See MoreOECD: Inclusive Framework issues policy note on digital economy
The Inclusive Framework on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) has issued a new Policy Note under action 1 of the action plan on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) entitled Addressing the Tax Challenges of the Digitalisation of the Economy.
See MorePakistan: Finance Supplementary (Second Amendment) Bill submits in Parliament
On 23 January 2019, Pakistan’s draft Finance Supplementary (Second Amendment) Bill, 2019 was submitted to the National Assembly. The finance minister clarified that, "This is not a budget, this is a corrective package aimed at addressing various
See MoreEU: Report by European Commission on investor residence schemes
On 23 January 2019 the European Commission issued a report on citizenship by investment and citizenship by residence schemes operated by a number of EU Member States. The report looks at current practices and identifies some of the risks from such
See MoreEuropean Commission opens in-depth investigation into Netherlands tax rulings
On 10 January 2019 the European Commission announced that it has opened an in-depth investigation into tax rulings granted by the Netherlands to companies in the Nike group. The rulings may have given the companies an unfair competitive advantage
See MoreOECD to launch Corporate Tax Statistics
The OECD announced on 11 January 2019 that a new report and dataset entitled Corporate Tax Statistics is to be published containing internationally comparable statistics and analysis relevant to the debate on tax policy. These statistics that will
See MoreUK: HMRC launches Profit Diversion Compliance Facility
On 10 January 2019 HMRC launched the Profit Diversion Compliance Facility targeting multinational companies using arrangements that may result in a liability to the diverted profits tax (DPT). These arrangements generally involve the reduction of
See MoreIreland: President Signs Finance Act 2018
Ireland has published the Finance Act 2018 (Act 30 of 2018), which was approved by parliament and signed into law by the president on 19 December 2018. The Act mainly provides for the implementation of measures announced as part of the 2019 Budget.
See MoreAlgeria publishes finance bill 2019
On 30 December 2018, Algeria's Finance Bill 2019 was published in Official Gazette No. 79 and this Bill came into force as of 1 January 2019. The key measures introduced by the Finance Bill are following -The bill clarifies provisions regarding
See MoreJapan proposes tax reform plans for 2019
On 14 December 2018, Japan's ruling coalition party has approved a package of tax reform proposals for 2019. The proposal includes amendments to Japan’s controlled foreign company (CFC), interest expense limitation, and general transfer pricing
See MoreIMF report looks at the economic outlook in Panama
On 28 December 2018 the IMF published a report on its website following the conclusion of consultations with Panama under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of association. Economic growth in Panama is estimated at 3.7% for the first half of 2018,
See MoreNetherlands gazettes Budget for 2019
The Netherlands’s Budget for 2019 was published in the Official Gazette of 28 December 2018. On 18 September 2018, the Minister of Finance of Netherlands presented the 2019 Budget proposals to the House of Representatives and it was adopted on 15
See MoreUK: Double tax treaty with Isle of Man enters into force
The double tax treaty between the UK and the Isle of Man entered into force on 19 December 2018. The treaty replaces the 1955 Arrangement between the UK and the Isle of Man for the avoidance of double taxation which ceases to have effect from the
See MoreUK: Annual Report of Code of Practice on Taxation of Banks
On 19 December 2018 the annual report of the Code of Practice on Taxation for Banks was published. The Code was first introduced in 2009 with the objective of changing the behaviour of the banks in relation to tax avoidance. The banks occupy a
See MoreUK: HMRC publishes guidance on taxation of cryptoassets
On 19 December 2018 HMRC published a paper on the taxation of cryptoassets for individuals. HMRC defines cryptoassets or cryptocurrencies as cryptographically secured digital representations of value or contractual rights that can be transferred;
See MoreOECD: Peer reviews on BEPS Action 5 minimum standard
On 13 December 2018 the OECD published the 2017 Peer Review Reports on the Exchange of Information on Tax Rulings. The peer reviews were conducted as part of the follow-up work and monitoring of developments in line with the recommendations of the
See MoreUK: Venture Capital Trust Statistics 2017/18
Statistics on Venture Capital Trusts (VCTS) released by the UK government on 11 December 2018 show that VCTs issued shares valued at GBP 745 million in 2017-18. This represented a 30% increase from 2016/17 (GBP 570 million) and was the highest
See More