Spain Slashes Labor Taxes To Create Jobs
Spain has announced plans to significantly lower social security contributions for employers who recruit permanent members of staff. The Prime Minister has suggested that an upwards revision of the growth forecast for this year and next will enable
See MoreSingapore simplifies stamp duty rate regime
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has issued an e-Tax Guide explaining the stamp duty changes introduced in the Government's 2014 Budget on February 21, 2014. In Singapore stamp duty is payable on instruments relating to the
See MoreMexico promises an unchanged tax regime until 2018
Following the completion of tax reforms, the Mexican Government has now signed a Tax Certainty Agreement under which Mexico's tax system is to remain unchanged throughout the remaining period of the current government. This means that the tax regime
See MoreItaly: Prime Minister Explains ‘Double-Digit’ Cut to Italian Taxes
The Italian Prime minister has issued a clarification about a statement made earlier in respect of a double digit reduction in the tax burden. The reduction would amount to tens of billions of Euros and in this respect was a double digit
See MoreItalian Government Empowered To Push Through Tax Overhaul
The Italian parliament has now approved the "Legge Delega," the tax reform law granting special powers to the Government to introduce a series of measures within the next year. The Legge Delega sets out general reform principles, which are to be
See MoreIreland- Announcement of LPT Amnesty
Irish residential property owners who have so far failed to pay their 2012 Household Charge or 2013 and 2014 local property tax (LPT), or have undervalued their property or claimed an exemption they were not entitled to, will be given until March 31
See MoreIndian Government wants tax officials to be more friendly
The Indian Government has requested that tax officials act as "facilitators" rather than "administrators," and ensure that the taxation system is as taxpayer friendly as possible. The Finance Minister has suggested that procedures should be
See MoreHong Kong – Stamp duty change for residential property transactions
Hong Kong’s Legislative Council has passed a bill to amend the stamp duty imposed on residential property transactions. The measures are effective retroactively from 27 October 2012. The new measure includes: Enhanced special stamp duty rates;
See MoreGerman federal state of NRW will issue new tax assessments to taxpayers to clarify their actual tax burden
From March 2014, the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) will issue new tax assessments to taxpayers to clarify their actual tax burden for 2013, expressed as a percentage of gross income. The tax assessments will provide details of
See MoreFrance and Germany to cooperate on tax projects
France and Germany have jointly declared that they will cooperate on key tax agendas in Europe and internationally. A working group is to be set up and the group will consider how to harmonize regulations on incoming and outgoing cross-border
See MoreEU: Parliament Backs Standard VAT Return
The EU Commissioner for Taxation has welcomed the European Parliament's strong support, expressed on February 26, 2014, for a Standard VAT Return. The Standard VAT Return is one of the Commission's key proposals to reduce the burden of compliance
See MoreCyprus – Tax guide 2014
A tax guide for 2014 has been published in Cyprus. The Tax Guide aims to provide a comprehensive introduction on the main aspects of the Cyprus Tax System for non-resident investors and corporations. The guide is of use to potential investors in
See MoreSpain: Tax Reform Package Designed
The tax reform committee in Spain will soon present proposals for a comprehensive tax system reform. It is expected that the committee will recommend simplification of the system and corporate taxation and individual income tax rate reductions,
See MoreDenmark: Modifications to cash payment incentive for research and development
The Danish parliament adopted Bill (L 103) on 29 January 2014, under which companies may apply for a maximum cash incentive amounting to 24.5% of DKK 25 million for qualifying R&D costs from 2014. The cash incentive is to be computed on a
See MoreAustria’s Finance Minister clarifies FTT Start in 2016
Austria’s Finance Minister has clarified that a European Union (EU) financial transactions tax (FTT) will not come into effect until at least 2016. Austria’s State Budgets for 2014 and 2015 will reflect the delays and will not make provision for
See MoreVietnam: Individual Income Tax Guidance for 2013
General Department of Taxation in Vietnam has confirmed the guidance in January 2014 on personal income tax for 2013 providing methodologies on how to calculate taxable income and tax liabilities for net and gross employment contracts. Tax
See MoreUS: Internal Revenue Service (IRS) loses appeal on the reforms of legislation for tax preparers
The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has lost its appeal on the reforms of rules for tax preparers against the ruling by the court that ordered to stop enforcing regulatory requirements on tax return preparers. The ruling is important
See MoreUK: National audit office reports unrecovered tax debt of GBP15.1bn
National audit office of UK has reported that that HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is owed at least GBP15.1bn in unpaid debt. The report also adds that the Government should revise this responsibility and thus the recovery of tax credit over payments
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