Turkey: General Communiqué No. 10 on VAT Law gazetted

06 February, 2017

The General Communiqué No. 10 regarding Value Added Tax Law (Law No. 3065) was published on 3rd February 2017 in the Official Gazette. Under taking into account of the provisions of Law No. 6770, the Communiqué changes the General Communiqué on

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Latvia: Amendments law on Micro-Enterprise tax enters into force

01 February, 2017

Latvia’s President Raimonds Vejonis has promulgated two legal amendments that the country’s legislature, the Saeima, adopted on December 20, 2016; the changes came into effect on January 1, 2017.  The changed laws cover the taxation of

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UK increases VAT-free threshold to £39

24 January, 2017

The VAT-free threshold has been increased by the United Kingdom for small packages that imported from outside of the EU as of 1st January 2017. The maximum value of goods is increased from £34 to £39. The EU plans to take away the relief according

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China declares tax exemption for oil and gas industry

19 January, 2017

On 29 December 2016, the Ministry of Finance together with the General Administration of Customs and the State Administration of Taxation published two notices concerning imports of goods and equipment. According to this notice, imports of goods and

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China announces tax incentives to promote research and innovations

12 January, 2017

On 27 December 2016, the General Administration of Customs, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation jointly published a notice to support scientific research and technological innovations. In accordance with the notice, the

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UK: Consultation on making tax digital for unincorporated businesses

21 August, 2016

On 15 August 2016 HMRC issued a consultation document on Making Tax Digital: Bringing business into the digital age. The UK government announced at Budget 2016 that businesses, the self employed and landlords will be required by 2020 to update a

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OECD: Addressing BEPS involving interest in the banking and insurance sectors

01 August, 2016

On 28 July 2016 the OECD issued a discussion draft outlining approaches to combating base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) involving interest in the banking and insurance sectors. This is part of further work following the final report on BEPS

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Chile: Government declares a bill to boost productivity

12 May, 2016

The Ministry of Finance declared on 6th May 2016 that the government had approved a bill to increase productivity. Tax measures contain: Expand the definition of export services to incorporate further services for VAT exemption upon

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ECJ ruling on VAT on immovable property

07 May, 2016

On 28 April 2016 the European Court of Justice (ECJ) gave its preliminary ruling in the case Staatssecretaris van Financiën v. Het Oudeland Beheer BV . The case had been referred to the ECJ by the Hoge Raad der Nederlanden (Netherlands Supreme

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UK: Reverse charge mechanism for wholesale supplies of telecommunications services

10 February, 2016

Owing to the threat of intra community missing trader fraud the UK government has drawn up a statutory instrument to introduce the reverse charge mechanism for accounting for value added tax (VAT) on wholesale supplies of telecommunications services

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UK: Businesses trading below the VAT registration threshold

10 February, 2016

Revenue and Customs Brief 4 (2016) sets out simplifications available to businesses trading below the value added tax (VAT) registration threshold (which in the UK is currently GBP 82,000) and making supplies of digital services to consumers in

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ECJ: Advocate General issues opinion in BRE Ubezpieczenia case

08 January, 2016

The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued an opinion on 23 December 2015 in the case of Minister Finansow v BRE Ubezpieczenia Sp z.o.o. This case concerned a Polish insurance company (Aspiro) that provided insurance services

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Spain: Budget for 2016 contains important tax measures

10 November, 2015

The Spanish government gazetted the details of the Budget for 2016 on 30 October 2015, addressing some significant income tax measures. Corporate income tax Companies whose total annual income does not exceed EUR 75,000 and whose exempt annual

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Ireland explains approach to VAT and portfolio management services

17 September, 2015

Following the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decision in the Deutsche Bank case concerning the value added tax (VAT) treatment of portfolio management services the Irish Revenue issued an eBrief on 4 September 2015 to explain its approach to the

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UK: taxation of dividend income of individuals

20 August, 2015

On 17 August 2015 the UK tax authority HMRC issued a fact sheet explaining the new rules for taxation of dividends received by individuals. With effect from April 2016 the current dividend tax credit is to be scrapped and a dividend allowance of

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UK: Consultation on the taxation of termination payments

28 July, 2015

On 24 July 2015 the UK issued a consultation document in respect of the reform of income tax and national insurance on termination payments by employers. This follows a report from the Office of Tax Simplification on ways in which the complexity of

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Nigeria: VAT exemption for basic food items

07 July, 2015

According to Nigeria’s tax law, basic food items are exempt from VAT. The Federal High Court (Lagos) of Nigeria has issued a decision concluding that packaged water is a basic food item and is exempt from VAT. The decision was issued on 11th May

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UK extends range of eligible investments for ISAs

16 June, 2015

With effect from 1 July 2015 the UK has extended the list of investments that can be held in an individual savings account (ISA), Junior ISA or Child Trust Fund (CTF). Savings in an ISA, Junior ISA or CTF are eligible for tax relief including an

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