Luxembourg: Government announces key fiscal policy agenda
The new Luxembourg government published components of its future fiscal policy on 2 December 2013. The government will focus on structural reforms in three major areas: an examination of public expenditure, measures to promote economic growth, and
See MoreAzerbaijan: 2013 Tax Revenues
Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Taxes has reported 2013 tax receipts to be AZN6.66bn, an increase from the AZN6.025bn collected in 2012. The greatest contribution came from profit tax (AZN2.37bn), followed by value-added tax (AZN1.72bn), while individual
See MoreKenya: National Social Security Fund Act 2013 enacted
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) Act was passed by Parliament on 24 December 2013 and applies from 10 January 2014. The NSSF Act will increase the social security contributions by both the employer and the employee, with a goal to increase
See MoreTurkey: Special consumption tax changes for 2014
Turkey’s Council of Ministers have issued Resolution 2013/5761, that revises and/or specifies the special consumption tax (SCT) rates and amounts to be applied effective from 1 January 2014. These revise the SCT rates for vehicles, for beer and
See MoreItaly: Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) annual return model published
The Italian tax administration has issued the final Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) annual return model and the related instructions under Protocol No. 2013/154577. The FTT return should be filed by 31 March of every year, subject to a de minimis
See MoreBelgium: New tax rules on notional interest, small companies and withholding tax
The Official Gazette issue of 31 December 2013 notifies some new tax rules. The first measure aligns the rules relating to notional interest deductions (NID) with the judgment of the European Court of Justice in the Argenta Spaarbank case. The NID
See MoreFinland: 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 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
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