Finland: 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 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 MoreUK Chancellor Envisions Permanent Tax Cuts
The UK Chancellor of the Exchequer has reiterated the government’s commitment to continue cutting taxes, especially through spending cuts, and without any extra borrowing. He cited the cuts in income taxes and freezing fuel duty, and the increase
See MoreSlovenia: Tax Procedure Law amended
The Slovenian Parliament passed into law amendments to the Tax Procedure Law on 18 December 2013. These changes apply from 1 January 2014. The main changes cover undeclared taxable income,the applicable statute of limitations and rules on the
See MoreNetherlands: Commodity Board Levies Removed
The Netherlands Finance Ministry has announced that compulsory levies payable by companies to the Dutch commodity and industrial boards (PBO) will be abolished from 1 January 2014. While PBOs undertook a number of functions, e.g. animal welfare and
See MoreIreland: SME Body requests changes in tax system
The SFA (Small Firms Association) has stated that Ireland needs changes to the tax system in order to create more jobs. He pointed out that the country has one of the highest marginal individual tax rates in the Organization for Economic
See MoreFrance: Property Savings Account Tax Perk to remain
The Budget Minister of France has confirmed that there are no plans to change regulated home buyers savings account (PEL savings account). This measure enables individuals to earn tax free interest earned up to a period of 12 years, and offers
See MoreArgentina: New “white” list of countries published
Argentina’s Federal Tax Authorities (AFIP) issued General Resolution 3576/2013 (published in the Official Gazette on 31 December 2013 covering the new list of the countries, jurisdictions, territories and tax systems that are considered
See MoreVietnam: APA regime procedures and rules
Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has issued detailed guidance in Circular 201/2013/TT_BTC dated 20 December 2013, for the advance pricing agreement (APA) regime, which was added to the income tax law in July 2013. The new guidance is effective from 5
See MoreSlovakia: Corporate tax rate reduction, international tax rules changed
The Finance and Budget Committee of the National Council of the Slovak Republic recently proposed some changes to the Slovak Income Tax Act. The proposed changes cover reduction in the corporate income tax rate, carry forward of tax losses, transfer
See MoreNetherlands: New decree on arm’s length principle published
The Netherlands State Secretary for Finance issued Decree No. IFZ 2013/184M on 26 November 2013 (Official Gazette No. 32854) which relates to the application of the arm’s length principle and the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines. The revised
See MoreFrance: Tax provisions enacted
The French Parliament passed the tax legislative packages for 2014 on 19 December 2013, which were subsequently scrutinized by the Constitutional Court on 29 December 2013 and eventually enacted into law on 30 December 2013. Most of the key
See MoreBelgium: Proposed changes to expatriate tax rules
The Belgian government has proposed legislation to amend the rules for determining the non-resident individual (personal) income tax as applicable to expatriates. Proposed changes include the repeal of personal exemptions for expatriates benefiting
See MoreNew Zealand: Non-residents must register for GST from April 2014
The New Zealand Inland Revenue Department has set out mandatory requirement for non-resident taxable persons to register for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 1 April 2014 if they provide local taxable supplies. The criteria to meet to register
See MoreBulgaria: Tax Increase for the Wealthy
The Bulgarian Government has confirmed that it intends to introduce a higher rate of tax for the wealthy during 2015. A new 15% rate would apply to those earning more than BGN2,700 (USD1,900) per month instead of the flat 10%. Other measures
See MorePolish Parliament approves bill amending CIT law
The lower house of the Polish Parliament approved a bill on 8 November 2013, which enacts significant changes to the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) law as effective from 1 January 2014.The Polish Government was proposed in the bill to include
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