Netherlands – Advocate General’s opinion on sister company tax consolidation
The Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has found that the Dutch tax rules are in breach of the freedom of establishment in that the rules deny tax consolidation (fiscal unity) between— A Dutch parent company
See MoreHong Kong: Working Group suggests Fiscal Policies are Unsustainable
The Working Group on Long-Term Fiscal Planning has suggested that a future structural fiscal gap will require the Government to find additional tax revenue. Hong Kong's overall fiscal position in the short- to medium-term remains healthy. In the
See MoreEU – Irish Opposition Questions EU on Corporate Tax Probe
Ireland's Fianna Fáil party has expressed its concern over the slow progress being made by the European Commission in its preliminary probe of the country's corporate tax regime. Six months after the report of the preliminary probe the European
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 MoreMexico settles issues with Maquiladoras
The President of the National Council of the maquiladora industry has commented that the sector has largely settled its differences with the Mexican government over tax issues, following the changes to the Mexican Government's tax reform bill which
See MoreIndia: Improvements to VAT compliance and administration procedures
Some improvements to the Indian VAT compliance and administration procedures have been announced to help traders. India’s VAT is a state level tax on the sale of goods. The changes include plans to reduce the number of Indian VAT audits, the
See MorePortugal: Corporate Income Tax Reform
The Corporate Income Tax Reform (“CIT Reform”) represents one of the most ambitious tax initiatives undertaken by the Portuguese Government. On January 16 2014, Law no. 2/2014introduced a set of measures that aim to raise the competitiveness of
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 MoreChina: Financial policies for Shanghai pilot free trade zone
The People’s Bank of China on 2 December issued opinions regarding financial support for the development of China (Shanghai) pilot free trade zone. The guidance has five areas of focus: Expansion of cross-border use of RMB; Acceleration of
See MoreUS: Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Prompted to Increase Online Payment Agreements
A new report from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA), has found that, while rising numbers of taxpayers are using the internet for their tax arrangements, the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has still missed
See MoreSwitzerland: Rejects some key tax initiatives
The Swiss people rejected some major tax initiatives, which would have had a reflective impact on both the economy and the attractiveness of the Confederation Fair Play would have limited executive pay to several of 12 times the wages of the lowest
See MorePortugal: VAT rate need not be reduced on restaurant trade
There is no need for a cut from the standard 23% rate to the reduced 13% rate. This is indicated by the latest positive estimates of Portuguese VAT restaurant receipts points. VAT rate on restaurant services in Portugal raised from 10% to 23% in
See MoreNew Grand Coalition of Germany Ruled out Tax Rises
German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party has finally signed a coalition agreement with the Social Democrats (SPD), in which both parties pledge their commitment to no new debt or tax rises, as well as to
See MoreFrance: Independent Worker Union Criticizes Corporate Land Tax Reform
The government of France proposed reform to the corporate land tax contribution (CFE) under the framework of the finance bill of 2014- PLF 2014. But the independent worker union UNAPL has strongly criticized the proposal. The PLF 2014 presents
See MoreCanada – Venture Capital Tax Credit has phased out
The Canadian Government is negotiating on a series of draft legislative proposals for the orderly phase-out of the federal Labor-Sponsored Venture Capital Corporations (LSVCC) tax credit. LSVCCs are a type of mutual fund corporation, sponsored by
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
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