Bulgaria- Amendments in VAT Act 2014
Amended Bulgarian VAT act have been published by Bulgarian tax office which are in effect since January 1, 2014. The changes are- the reporting point is to be treated as the end of the month for recurring monthly intra-community supplies, free
See MoreVietnam – published an official letters on Investment projects and severance allowances
The Vietnam tax authority’s published an official letters on 15 November 2013 on condition that: Business establishments are not allowed to corporate income tax incentives for an investment project if implementation of the investment project is
See MoreUS: IRS Under Further Pressure Over Erroneous Tax Refunds
Having recently noted that the United States Internal Revenue Service's (IRS) processes can be ineffective in identifying tax returns claiming improper tax credits and fraudulent tax refunds, a further report from the Treasury Inspector General for
See MoreUK: Shares issued under interest free loan agreement are taxable income
On 15 November 2013, it was reported that the United Kingdom First Tier Tribunal found that the receipt of shares from a borrower in an interest free loan agreement between United Kingdom companies was taxable income. The case in which this decision
See MoreSpain Plans to Cut Taxes in 2015
Spain is planning to cut income taxes in 2015 considering significant changes to its corporate taxes as the economy gradually recovers. A gradually improving economy and an expected fall in unemployment allow the government to bring income tax rates
See MoreSouth Africa: Technical Tax Proposals for 2014 Budget
South Africa’s National Treasury has invited taxpayers to submit any technical proposals to improve the tax legislation, including the closing of tax loopholes and unintended anomalies in the law. The proposals will be considered for possible
See MoreMexico – Tax reform legislation published in official Gazette
Mexico published new tax reform provision in official gazette on 11 December 2013, which is proceeding through the legislative process. The new legislation includes measures that may affect multinational entities with current or planned operations
See MoreIreland: Revenue published details of tax settlements
Ireland's Revenue organization has published data on 88 cases of the settlements arrived at with defaulting taxpayers throughout the last year. The first lists each person upon whom a fine or punishment was forced by a court. The second part covers
See MoreGermany: Proposed coalition agreement
The German Conservatives (CDU/CSU) and their ex-opposition party the Social Democrats (SPD) signed a 185 page agreement on the formation of a “grand coalition” on 27 November 2013 which was resulted from five weeks of strong negotiations. The
See MoreChina: Extends VAT to postal services and railways
An edict recently is issued by the China’s State Council adding postal services and railway transportation to the reform of the existing Chinese Business Tax and VAT systems. This will start on 1 January 2014. The principles of the OECD VAT
See MoreNew Zealand – New Tax Policy Work Plan
The Inland Revenue of New Zealand released the government’s tax policy work program on 8 November 2013 that sets out the government’s focus for tax reform and development for the next 18 months. Creating further improvements to the tax and
See MoreMexico: Congress passed budget for 2014
The Mexican lower house of Congress has passed the federal budget for 2014, which proposes running a deficit in 2014 to lift the country’s economy on 14 November of 2013. The budget will increase the tax revenue by around 2.5% of GDP by 2018. The
See MoreLuxembourg wants acceleration of negotiation on Savings Tax
Luxembourg has called on the European Commission (EC) to accelerate negotiations with third party countries, to make sure that progress is made on plans to modify the Savings Tax Directive. The Savings Tax Directive is designed to ensure that income
See MoreLuxembourg Considers Tax Rise
The assessment of current negotiations on the formation of a new Government of Luxembourg is that there is a pledge to redressing the public finances if necessary with recourse to tax measures. However Luxembourg is starting from a favorable
See MoreHungary- Amendments to Corporate Law
Hungary is going to modify its civil code by making significant changes to the corporate law which is likely to become effective from March 2014. According to the amendments, new companies may be permitted to establish their own company guidelines
See MoreFrance – reform to the tax procedure of life insurance contracts
The French Ministry of Finance presented the year-end supplementary finance bill of 2013 to the Council of Ministers. The bill comprise of plans to reform the tax procedure of life insurance contracts. The ministry is planning to increase the rate
See MoreEgypt: Forbidden Progressive Tax Plans
Recently, the Egyptian committee has forbidden plans to include an article in the country’s basic law providing that progressive taxation should serve as a basis for tax policy. From the 2011 uprising, Egypt has been planning the idea of
See MoreSwitzerland: Flat’s Tax support to SMEs
It was reported that SGV (Switzerland’s main trade association), represents small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Switzerland, has accepted the decision of the Swiss Council of States to refuse the people’s initiative calling for an end
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