Luxembourg – Real Estate CGT Deferral Abolished

20 April, 2014

Luxembourg has issued draft legislation to scrap the regime permitting the deferral of the taxation of real estate capital gains provided that these are reinvested in another property within Luxembourg. The draft legislation takes account of the

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Italy: New Risk-based System of Tax Enforcement

20 April, 2014

The Italian Revenue Agency is attaching great importance to its examination of taxpayers in certain areas under a newly devised risk-based system. The risk-based approach is designed to take into account the area of the country where the taxpayer

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Italy Confirms Tax Cuts

20 April, 2014

The Italian Government has issued a three-year Economic and Financial Document (DEF), which includes both individual and corporate income tax reductions. The individual income tax reductions will benefit lower income taxpayers. With effect from 1

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Ireland – Online Portal to Administer Home Tax Break

20 April, 2014

Ireland’s revenue agency is using an online portal to manage a new property improvement tax relief called the Home Renovation Incentive (HRI). This provision is intended to give value-added tax (VAT) relief, but the HRI is to be managed through an

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France’s FTT Experience Should Warn Europe of Risks

20 April, 2014

France’s financial market regulator AMF has calculated that the introduction of a financial transactions tax (FTT) in 2012 led to a ten percent decrease in the volume of shares traded on the stock market. This study was based on an analysis of the

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France Confirms EUR10bn Tax Cuts For Corporates

20 April, 2014

The French Prime Minister has set out plans for reducing wage costs for businesses in addition to the CICE tax credit that has already been introduced. The CICE tax credit has provided relief through a credit of 6 percent of gross payroll for

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Egypt issues VAT reform plans 2014

20 April, 2014

Egypt has issued plans to replace the existing general sales tax (GST) with a full Value Added Tax. This move has been expected for some time. Egypt’s current GST law is estimated to be hitting the country’s economy by around 1% of GDP as there

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Chile proposes tax reform

20 April, 2014

Chile is embarking on a tax reform that will affect both direct and indirect taxes. A Bill is under discussion in the National Congress and this covers important changes to the existing tax laws. The Bill aims to raise the corporate tax rate from

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Austrian Unions drive for lower income tax rates

20 April, 2014

The President of the Austrian Federation of Trade Unions (ÖGB) has suggested that the income tax on low income employees should be significantly reduced. He suggested that the government should decrease the starting rate of income tax from the

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US – Tax Extenders Survive Senate Committee Vote

16 April, 2014

The United States Senate Finance Committee has been examining the various tax reliefs given to different sectors within the economy. The Committee has now passed the bipartisan Expiring Provisions Improvement Reform and Efficiency Act which

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US: IRS Told To Tackle Pension Plan Contribution Tax Abuse

16 April, 2014

A report issued by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) suggests that the IRS is permitting large deductions to be incorrectly claimed each year in relation to retirement plans for the self-employed. These retirement plans

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Peru: Published regulation for advance pricing agreement

16 April, 2014

The tax authority's Resolution 377-2013/SUNAT, published in the Official Gazette on 29 December 2013.Accordance with the Resolution 377/2013, intention to negotiate an APA should be expressed in writing to SUNAT which must reply within 15 days.

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US: Budget Committee Chairman Delivers Republican House Budget For 2015

16 April, 2014

The House of Representatives Budget Committee Chairman has introduced the 2015 budget calling on Congress to reform the tax code to simplify the provisions; lower the individual and corporate tax rates to a 25% top rate; reform many tax reliefs;

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US Approves Delay to EU Aviation ETS Implementation

16 April, 2014

A member of the relevant Senate Committee has welcomed the European parliament’s recommendation to extend to 2017 the moratorium on aviation emission taxes on international flights entering or leaving the EU. Various countries outside the EU have

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South Africa Launches Tax Ombud

16 April, 2014

The Ministry of Finance in South Africa has officially launched a service known as the Tax Ombud, whose main aim is to deal with taxpayer complaints in respect of the procedural and administrative issues arising in their dealings with the South

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Malaysia – Steep Penalties in GST Bill

16 April, 2014

Malaysia is to introduce a new Goods and Services Tax (GST) Act to replace a draft Act originally put forward in 2009. The new Act will contain harsh penalties for taxpayers who fail to comply with its provisions. The GST rates and structure are not

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Luxembourg – Capital Flight Expected

16 April, 2014

Luxembourg’s intention to begin automatic exchange of information from January 1, 2015, is considered likely to have a significant impact on the financial sector. The national statistics agency Statec considers that a proportion of around five

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Italy receives further Financial Transaction Reports

16 April, 2014

As part of efforts by the Italian Revenue Agency to increase the scrutiny of tax compliance reports by banks and other financial institutions containing statistics of transactions for 2012 were due to be submitted by March 31, 2014. The scrutiny of

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