Canada: Budget 2015–16 of British Columbia issued
The Finance Ministry of British Columbia has listed the province’s fiscal 2015-2016 budget. The 2015 budget did not bring any major legislative changes. It includes certain tax measures that should benefit the taxpayers. The brief summary of the
See MoreCanada: Federal budget 2015 could come in May
The Canadian Finance Minister declared that the federal budget 2015 has been postponed until April or later because of oil market volatility. Usually the budget comes in February and March. In spite of prices were somewhat less volatile than
See MoreSouth Africa-US FATCA Agreement Enters Into Force
The South Africa-United States FATCA Model 1A Agreement (2014) entered into force on 28 October 2014. The agreement was signed on 9 June 2014. Under the agreement, the US Government collects information regarding certain accounts maintained by
See MoreCanada: Guidance on intra-group services published
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has published Transfer Pricing Memorandum (TPM)-15 regarding intra-group services and section 247 of the Income Tax Act on 13th February 2015. TPM-15 describes the CRA’s audit policy on some audit and tax issues
See MoreUnited States: ADD/CVD Roundup for January 2015
Following table shows the Federal Register notices related to ADD/CVD cases for January 2015 in United States. Country Product Investigations Case Number Links Australia Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide Revocation of the Antidumping Duty Order
See MoreVenezuela: Monthly minimum salary increases
The President has declared an increment in the monthly minimum salary (MMS) from VEF 4,889.11 to VEF 5,622.47 on 21st January 2015, and it should have been applicable as from 1st February 2015. But, the Decree announcing the increase has not yet
See MoreIMF reports on Costa Rican economy
The IMF has concluded its discussions with Costa Rica under Article IV and issued a report on 4 February 2015. Costa Rica currently has problems of weak growth and rising unemployment. The IMF is recommending budget consolidation to improve the
See MoreUS: Budget Proposals for 2016 Bring Changes to the US Internal Revenue Code (IRC)
US fiscal Budget proposals for 2016 have brought some changes to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) with respect to tax administration and compliance. The key proposals include: Restricted deductions of excessive interest expenses by members of
See MoreCanada: Customs can seize foreign exporters’ devalued shipments
The new policy is wished to prevent exporters from devaluing shipments destined to Canada and it was declared in late January 2015. The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has stated that goods destined for a Customs Self-Assessment (CSA) importer
See MoreUS: Legislation to protect taxpayers from inappropriate use of Civil Forfeiture Laws
US congress has passed a bill to protect taxpayers from the inappropriate use of civil forfeiture laws. The bill would allow an affected person to request a court to hold a "probable cause" hearing within fourteen days of receiving a notice of a
See MoreUS: Budget for 2016 Proposes Minimum Tax on Foreign Income and One-Time Tax on Profits Stockpiled Offshore
The US Government has proposed minimum tax on foreign income and one-time tax on profits stockpiled offshore in its 2016 fiscal budget. The minimum tax on foreign earnings is intended to reduce current incentives to trace production overseas and
See MoreUS: IRS Volunteers Offer Free Income Tax Assistance Nationwide
More than 12,000 free tax preparation sites will be open nationwide this year as the Internal Revenue Service continues to expand its partnerships with nonprofit and community organizations. The sites provide vital tax preparation services for low-
See MoreBrazil: Tax Rules Revised
The Ministry of Finance released Ordinance No. 488/14 reducing the maximum income tax rate for categorization of a tax regime as a privileged tax regime from 20% to 17%. This tax rate was effective from November 2014. Accordance to the Ordinance,
See MoreChile: Special income tax regime for small taxpayers
Provided by article 14 of the Income Tax Law (LIR) as amended by Law 20,780, the tax administration of Chile has released “Circular letter 69” on 6th January 2015 that gives the administrative interpretation of the new special income tax regime
See MoreEcuador: introduces anti-abuse provision on loans to shareholders
Under new legislation loans made by Ecuadorian companies to non-resident shareholders are treated as dividends and therefore subject to Ecuadorian withholding tax. The applicable domestic withholding tax rate on dividends is limited to the
See MoreEcuador: Changes to corporate income tax
Generally Ecuadorian companies are subject to a 22% rate of corporate income tax. In accordance with the new law, if more than 50% of the company is owned by non-resident shareholders that are resident in “tax haven” jurisdictions, the
See MoreEcuador: Changes to capital gains tax
The tax reform in Ecuador includes measures regarding the taxation of capital gains related to indirect and direct transfers of shares of Ecuadorian corporations with increased rates of corporate tax imposed on shareholders of Ecuadorian
See MoreChile: Tax reform implications for foreign investors
Foreign investors in Chile require to consider the effect of tax reform changes. According to the prior tax regime, Chile had a combined tax system whereby the corporate income tax paid by the Chilean entity was added to the foreign shareholder tax
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