Singapore changes to tax reliefs for firms in pioneer industries
On 5 May 2018, Singapore has published the Economic Expansion Incentives (Amendment) Act 2018 and the related Commencement Notification and Regulations in the Official Gazette. The Act and Regulations provide for the exclusion of income from
See MoreMalaysia: New government plans to reduce GST from 1st June 2018
On May 16, 2018, the new Malaysian government said it will reduce the tax on goods and services to zero from June 1 and effectively abolish it. In a statement from the Ministry of Finance, all registered traders have been instructed to comply
See MoreUS and Indonesia sign MOU on the exchange of CbC reports
On April 26, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service issued a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Competent Authorities of the United States (US) and Indonesia, which includes an announcement of the temporary suspension of Indonesia's secondary
See MoreAustralia: Federal Budget 2018
On 8 May 2018, the Commonwealth Treasurer, Mr. Scott Morrison, announced the Federal Budget 2018-19. Mr. Morrison said “in this year's Budget there are five things we must do to further strengthen our economy to guarantee the essentials
See MoreAustralia: ATO announces CbC reporting deadline for local file
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has released its final draft of the 2018 Message Structure Table (MST) and XML Schema for the Australian Local File (ALF) for tax year 2018. This will represent the second ALF that most taxpayers will be required
See MoreThe Indian Finance Act amends the procedure for failure to comply with the income tax return
The 2018 Indian Finance Act amended the litigation procedure (Section 276CC of the Income Tax Act) for a willful failure to file an income tax return by the due date, effective for tax returns for taxable years beginning on or after 1 April
See MoreIndia: GST Council approves proposal for new, simplified return filing
On 4 May 2018, The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council accepted a new simplified return that would require a taxpayer to file only one return every month and set a period of six months for the transition to take place The Finance Secretary said
See MorePakistan: Finance Minister presents the budget for 2017/2018
On 27 April 2018, the newly-appointed Finance Minister Miftah Ismail presented the 2018/2019 Budget to parliament. The following corporate tax measures are proposed in the Budget: Reduction in corporate tax rates: Reduce the corporate tax rates
See MoreChina introduces 7 tax cuts
On 25 April 2018, Chinese Ministry of Finance has declared 7 key measures to support SMEs and innovation. The measures include: Enterprises’ new purchase of R&D equipment worth less than RMB 5 million can be deducted for one time before
See MoreKazakhstan: State Revenue Authority announces introduction of TP documentation
The State Revenue Authority declared on April 25, 2018, about the introduction of a three-level method to transfer pricing documentation. The Kazakh President, signed a series of laws, including Law 122-VI on 25 December 2017 regarding transfer
See MorePhilippines: Draft corporate tax reform bill submits in the House of Representatives
Corporate tax reform bill (the Bill) was presented to the Philippine House of Representatives on 21st March 2018, which provides for graduated cuts in the corporate income tax (CIT) rate and the modernization of investment incentives, would level
See MoreHong Kong: Government publishes first batch of amendments to BEPS bill
On 24 April 2018, the government published the first edition of Inland Revenue bill no.6 2017 to the BEPS Bill, which was adopted on 29 December 2017. The first set of amendments dealt with some of the key issues proposed by the business community,
See MoreNew Zealand: Government releases R&D tax incentive discussion document
Government has announced its intention to introduce a research and development tax incentive in April 2019 to help more businesses undertake a greater amount of R&D on 19th April 2018. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, Inland
See MoreIndia: DIPP publishes notification on the procedure for startups to avail tax benefits
On 11 April 2018, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has issued Notification to outline the procedure of application and criteria for a startup to be eligible to apply for tax relief. The Notification has come into effect from
See MoreHong Kong: IRD publishes a bill on increasing tax deduction for R & D activities
On 20 April 2018, IRD gazetted the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2018 to provide for enhanced tax deduction for expenditure incurred by enterprises on qualifying research and development (R&D) activities, in order to encourage more
See MoreIndia proposes changes in advance ruling forms for transparency in cross-border deals
On 10 April 2018, the central board of direct taxes (CBDT) issued a draft which includes changes to the income tax rules and forms to align them more closely with the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) Action 5. The draft essentially
See MoreMalaysia: IRB issues practice note on tax treatment of digital advertising for non-resident
On 16 March 2018, the Malaysian Inland Revenue Board (IRB) published Practice Note No. 1/2018, which describes the tax implications of income received by a non-Malaysian taxpayer from the provision of digital advertising. The Notice briefly
See MoreHong Kong and India sign an agreement on avoidance of double taxation
On 19 March 2018, Hong Kong and India signed a tax treaty for the avoidance of double taxation. The agreement sets out the allocation of taxing rights between the two jurisdictions and will help investors better assess their potential tax
See More