OECD publishes latest study on consumption tax trends

02 March, 2015

The latest edition of the OECD study on consumption tax trends has been published. The OECD study covers the general taxes on goods and services such as VAT and sales tax plus the taxes on specific goods and services such as insurance premium tax,

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ECJ to consider scope of the VAT exemption for financial services

28 February, 2015

The First Tier Tribunal in the UK has referred a question to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) concerning the application of the VAT exemption for financial services in the case of Bookit Ltd (Case C-607/14). The following issues have been

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Myanmar: IMF report refers to tax reform

13 February, 2015

A statement released at the close of a visit by officials of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to Myanmar indicates that the outlook for economic growth remains favorable at least in the medium term. There are fiscal risks in the near term as a

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Finland: Cabinet Finalizes Supplementary Budget For 2015

10 February, 2015

The Finnish Government has concluded negotiations for the supplementary budget for 2015 and this will be forwarded to parliament for approval on 12 Feb, 2015. Economic growth is expected to remain sluggish in the current year but growth will be

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Thailand: IMF reports on preliminary findings

04 February, 2015

The IMF has completed a mission to Thailand from 15 to 29 January 2015 to hold discussions in connection with the Article IV Consultation. The IMF is expecting Thailand to continue a gradual economic recovery in 2015 and growth is estimated at 3.5%.

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Romania: Government Plans To Cut VAT Rate In 2016

28 January, 2015

The Romanian Government is planning to cut the value-added tax rate by 3% from 2016. The announcement marks a part reversal of the VAT hike introduced in 2010, to 24 percent from 19 percent. Romania’s Prime Minister Victor Ponta said that either

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Ukraine: Tax Compromise Law Comes into Effect

19 January, 2015

The State Fiscal Service of Ukraine has released a report stating that the law on tax compromise took effect on January 17, 2015. This law concerns the voluntary revision of unpaid tax liabilities by payers of profit tax and value added tax (VAT).

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Czech Republic: Information on mandatory electronic submissions for VAT purposes

19 January, 2015

The General Tax Directorate of Czech Republic has released information regarding compulsory electronic submissions in VAT proceedings on its website. As effect from 1st January 2014, VAT returns and other documents must be submitted electronically.

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France: VAT Regime Modified

18 January, 2015

The French VAT authority has issued a number of decrees regarding modifications to the VAT regime. The modifications, effective on 1 January 2015, include: VAT rates The VAT rate on construction services provided in designated deprived areas has

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Czech Republic: VAT amendments during 2015

15 January, 2015

The changes regarding value added tax (VAT) effective in the Czech Republic from 1st January 2015 are given below: The 10% reduced VAT rate will be applied to necessary baby nutrition, certain types of pharmaceuticals for human and veterinary

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Canada: Comments for OECD discussion draft on international VAT-GST guidelines

13 January, 2015

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published a discussion draft on 18th December 2014 entitled “Guidelines on Place of Taxation for Business-to-Consumer Supplies of Services and Intangibles and Provisions on

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Japan: Plans for an increase in Consumption Tax from April 2017

12 January, 2015

The government has confirmed that Japanese consumption tax will rise from 8% to 10% from 1 April 2017. This latest date was announced in the 2015 Tax Plan. The increase in the consumption tax rate was first scheduled for 1 October 2015, but was

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Mexico: Developments of non-oil tax revenue

02 January, 2015

The Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) recently released statistics about Mexico's non-oil tax revenues. According to the statistics non-oil tax revenue reached MXN1.65 trillion in the time period of January to November of 2014 from the

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Ukraine: Parliament Approves Tax Reform Plans

01 January, 2015

The Ukraine Parliament approved a package of laws on December 28, 2014, which significantly amend the system of taxation in Ukraine. Key changes are summarized below; General Provisions Number of taxes was decreased from 22 to 11 (including 2

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Egypt:  Plans for VAT reform contribute to credit upgrade

31 December, 2014

Currently Egypt operates a simple 10% sales tax system. This tax is currently applied to only a relatively small range of products, and this means that the tax revenue for the government from this tax is uncertain, There is limited scope for

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Italy: approves fiscal budget for 2015

26 December, 2014

Italy has approved 2015 fiscal budget with deficit. The budget bill was passed by both houses of parliament when the Chamber of Deputies approved the budget on December 22. Budget implication on Tax & VAT: The Budget includes a cut in the

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Japan: Consumption Tax on nonresident providers of electronic services from 1 October 2015

22 December, 2014

Japan is moving forward with proposals to subject sales by non-resident providers of electronic services to consumers to the 8% Consumption Tax from 1 October 2015. The change comes as a result of pressure by local providers who are penalized by

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OECD Publishes Discussion Drafts on VAT and BEPS Issues

19 December, 2014

On 18 December 2014 the OECD published discussion drafts on the international VAT/GST guidance and on aspects of the action plan on base erosion and profit shifting. A discussion draft has been released on two new elements of the OECD International

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