Portugal: Collection of Food Security Tax being enforced
The Portuguese Government is finally taking action to enforce payment of the country's food security tax from operators of large supermarket chains. Portugal's State Secretary for Food said that 107 cases are currently before the administrative and
See MoreNetherlands amends the preliminary tax assessment procedure
The amendments to article 23(2) of the Implementing Regulations of the 1994 General Tax Law relating to the issuance of preliminary tax assessments were published in the Official Gazette, No. 2405 . The amendments are summarized below. Under the
See MoreMalaysia: New Public Ruling on Withholding Tax on Special Classes of Income
The Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia issued Public Ruling No. 1/2014 (PR No. 1/2014) on Withholding Tax on Special Classes of Income on 23 January 2014. The special classes of income covered by the public ruling include amounts paid in consideration
See MoreFrance: Reduced VAT rate on digital newspapers and magazines
The French government is about to propose a VAT reduction for digital newspapers and magazines. The intention behind this move is to provide a level playing field for different forms of publication. The government wants to give the digital versions
See MoreEuropean Parliament Urged To Outlaw Anonymous Shell Companies
The European Parliament has been urged to support the creation of public registries of corporate ownership. This suggestion has been made by a Washington DC-based research and advocacy organization. Global Financial Integrity (GIF) studies and
See MoreEU: European Commission publishes Paper on Behavioral Economics and Taxation
Recently, the European Commission published working paper N.41, entitled "Behavioural Economics and Taxation" summarizing central parts of economic literature on integrated behavioural economic models that take into account both psychological and
See MoreBelgium explains 2014 Tax Audit Focus
The Belgian Tax Administration has declared the areas that will be the focus of its tax audits in 2014, to encourage taxpayers to correctly fulfill their tax obligations, and to increase voluntary tax compliance in Belgium. The aim is to increase
See MoreBelgian tax reform begin to emerge
In Belgium a consensus is arising that taxpayers should declare both their income from capital and income from labor in their income tax declaration. Advocates of this idea suggest that the income tax scale should be revised, to strengthen the
See MoreAustria publishes revised draft bill amending tax acts
A revised draft bill of the 2014 Tax Amendment Act (Abgabenänderungsgesetz 2014; AbgÄG 2014) was forwarded to the Austrian Parliament on 29 January 2014. The revised draft bill modifies the initial draft bill with amendments to certain Austrian
See MoreUnited Kingdom – Tax compliance by suppliers under government contracts
The Cabinet Office has published a slightly revised version of the UK government’s procurement policy note, with measures to promote tax compliance. The note provides guidance on the government's policy on the use of the procurement process to
See MoreBrazil – Tax authority revises position on cross-border reimbursement arrangements
Brazil’s tax authority has issued a ruling to a taxpayer reflecting a change of position concerning cross-border cost reimbursement arrangements. Traditionally, the tax authority (Receita Federal do Brazil—RFB) has imposed a high tax burden of
See MoreNetherlands – Distinction between loan interest and dividend
The Netherlands Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) on 7 February 2014 issued two decisions affecting taxpayers. The first decision related to whether a payment would be regarded as interest on a loan or as a participation dividend paid on a share capital
See MoreUS: Senate democrat leader opposes Trade Promotion Authority renewal
The US Senate Majority Leader has expressed his opposition to the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA), despite the intention of President Obama to engage with Congress to pass the legislation providing for the renewal of the TPA. This opposition to the
See MoreUS: Republican Obama Care Abolition Plan Includes New Tax Credit
The recent healthcare reforms of the Affordable Care Act, known colloquially as Obama care, have been vehemently opposed by some sections of the US Congress. Three United States senators have now released a legislative outline of how the Republican
See MoreUS: 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 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 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 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
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