Cyprus: VAT rate increases

18 December, 2013

From the 13 January 2014 there will be some changes to the VAT rates in Cyprus as follows: Standard rate of VAT increased to 19% from 18%; Reduced rate of VAT increased to 9% from 8%; and The super reduced and zero rates will remain

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Malta: VAT 2014 changes approved

18 December, 2013

It was reported on 18 December 2013 that the Maltese budget for 2014 has been approved by Parliament. It includes a small number of changes to the VAT penalties and compliance regime, including: There will be no penalties for late filings of

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Turkey deducts VAT rate on e-books

17 December, 2013

By harmonizing the VAT rate imposed on e-books and traditional, printed books Turkey has become the updated country and it plans to rearrange e-books from the standard VAT rate of 18% to the same reduced rate 8% for books. The Turkish VAT deduct

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France-Increase of VAT rate from 1 January 2014

16 December, 2013

The government of France announced on 16 December 2013 to reduce the VAT rate from 19.6% to 20% in 2014. The increased VAT rate should be applied on all taxable supplies from 1 January

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Croatia Proposed to change VAT Rates

12 December, 2013

The Croatian Government has drawn a draft bill that was reported on 12 December 2013, which proposed multiple modifications to the Croatian Value Added Tax Act to substantially change provisions regarding the nation’s concessionary VAT rates. The

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Vietnam:  VAT regime is to be increased

12 December, 2013

The penalties for infringement of the Vietnamese VAT regime are to be increased.  The new charges were published in Decree 129 which is summarized below: The changes include: • The new maximum fine for VAT reporting infringements is VND 200m. •

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Netherlands – Electronic filing required for VAT returns

10 December, 2013

It has been reported that  entrepreneurs subject to value added tax (VAT) but not “established”―for VAT purposes―in the Netherlands must file their VAT returns / EC sales lists electronically (and not on paper forms) from 1 January

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Luxembourg: New circular declares VAT exemption for risk management services

10 December, 2013

“Administration de l’Enregistrement et des Domaines”, the Luxembourg VAT Authorities issued a Circular (Circular n° 723 ter) on 7th November 2013, confirming that risk management services for funds could be VAT exempt. The guidance from the

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Italy: Extension of 2012 VAT returns submission

08 December, 2013

A further extension has been made to the deadline for filing of the annual 2012 Italian VAT filing. The new filing date is 31 January 2014. Italian VAT registered companies will be able to file these returns through the Entratel or Finconline

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India – GST implementation hits new delays

08 December, 2013

The Indian government’s plans to introduce a new implementation Bill and to replace the existing Indian VAT and CENVAT regimes with a new Goods & Services Tax (GST) look likely to be delayed again since the States are seeking to re-open

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Colombian Sales Tax on Exports Get Exemptions

08 December, 2013

According to Decree of 2223 of 11 October 2013, the Colombian tax office has issued up-to-date guidance on the rules for applying VAT exemption on the export of services to foreign corporations. The conditions which must be present to qualify for a

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Germany – VAT groups

18 November, 2013

The federal tax court of Germany (Bundesfinanzhof – BFH) has changed its position on the rules for organizational integration of companies into value added tax (VAT) groups. As per the BFH, a consequence of a “merger into a single taxpayer” as

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Australia: GST fraud in gold industry is in target

14 November, 2013

The Australian Tax Office (ATO) on 30 October 2013 announced that it is investigating companies within the gold bullion sector for a total of AU$65 million ($61.5 million) of alleged goods and services tax (GST) fraud. The investigation is a part

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Lithuania – Regulation for VAT on credit, debit documents

06 November, 2013

An observation has been issued concerning provisions under Lithuania’s value added tax (VAT) law regarding credit notes and debit documents.  The guidance describes as when:  a condition to issue a credit VAT letter or a debit certificate

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Ireland introduces construction VAT relief

06 November, 2013

The Irish Ministry of Finance has published the Finance (No. 2) Bill 2013 giving force to measures announced in the 2014 Budget, and bringing forward the introduction of the value-added tax incentive for home renovations. VAT relief is being granted

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Japan: Changes to consumption tax and corporate income tax

03 November, 2013

The Japanese government officially announced on 1st October 2013 its plan to modify “consumption tax” and “corporate income tax”.  The highlights of the plan are summarized below: Consumption tax: In the period between 1 April 2014 and 30

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Italy –Government Increases the VAT Rate to 22%

03 November, 2013

With effect from 1 October 2013, the standard VAT rate on goods and services has increased from 21% to 22%. The reduced rates of 10% and 4% are kept unchanged. The correct rate to use for the supply of goods is the rate prevailing on the first of

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Ireland: Budget for 2014

31 October, 2013

The Minister for Finance presented the Budget to the Parliament on 15 October 2013. The most important features of the Budget are as follows: Under the 2014 Budget, the corporation tax rate remains unchanged; Reduced VAT rate of 9% on various

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