Azerbaijan: 2013 Tax Revenues

13 January, 2014

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Taxes has reported 2013 tax receipts to be AZN6.66bn, an increase from the AZN6.025bn collected in 2012. The greatest contribution came from profit tax (AZN2.37bn), followed by value-added tax (AZN1.72bn), while individual

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Vietnam: Corporate income tax rate reductions and rule changes

10 January, 2014

The Vietnam corporate income tax rate will be reduced to 20% from 1 January 2016 (now 22%). For taxpayers with total revenue lower than VND 20 billion, the will be 17% effective 1 January 2016 (now 20% as of 1 July 2013). New guidelines published as

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Japan-Oman: Sign DTA

09 January, 2014

Japan has signed a Double Taxation Agreement (DTAA) with Oman on 09 January 2014. The agreement provides a 10% withholding rate on dividends (5% with a 10% shareholding), interest and royalties in the source

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Hong Kong: Stamp Duty Increases Affect Property Sales

09 January, 2014

Increases in the rates of existing ad valorem stamp duty for both residential and non-residential property transactions appear to have cooled the real estate market.  The Government increased such taxes from February 23, 2013 for that goal and it

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Vietnam: Decree on tax penalties

07 January, 2014

Vietnam has released a new Decree on 16 October 2013 on tax penalties along with the amended law on Tax Administration, which specifies tax administrative procedures. The Decree becomes effective on 15 December 2013 and applies to any violations

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Vietnam: APA regime procedures and rules

06 January, 2014

Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance has issued detailed guidance in Circular 201/2013/TT_BTC dated 20 December 2013, for the advance pricing agreement (APA) regime, which was added to the income tax law in July 2013. The new guidance is effective from 5

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Hong Kong: Court of Final Appeal decision on unrealized revaluation gains

02 January, 2014

Hong Kong’s Court of Final Appeal (CFA) ruled that year-end unrealized revaluation gains on listed securities held for sale were not taxable in Hong Kong. In a case called Nice Cheer Investment Limited (NCIL), the CFA rejected the CIR’s

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New Zealand: Non-residents must register for GST from April 2014

01 January, 2014

The New Zealand Inland Revenue Department has set out mandatory requirement for non-resident taxable persons to register for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from 1 April 2014 if they provide local taxable supplies. The criteria to meet to register

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Hong Kong: Lower Tax for Captive Insurers

31 December, 2013

The amended Inland Revenue bill (No.3) 2013 has been gazetted by the Hong Kong Government, aiming to reduce by half the profits tax on captive insurers, and to increase the deduction ceiling for retirement scheme contributions by employees or

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India and US considering framework for resolving tax rows

30 December, 2013

India and the US could soon unveil details of a deal designed to resolve more than 100 outstanding tax disputes. The two sides almost finalized the outline of a mutual agreement procedure (MAP). Numerous discussions on the issue are said to have

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Treaty between New Zealand and Japan entered into force

30 December, 2013

The double tax agreement (DTA) signed between New Zealand and Japan on December 10, 2012, will become effective in New Zealand, for withholding taxes from January 1, 2014, and for income taxes for income years beginning on or after April 1, 2014.

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Taiwan: Worried At Non-Declaration of Property Income

30 December, 2013

Recently, Taiwan’s National Taxation Bureau (NTBT) published that the requirement to announce, on an income tax return, profits for an off-plan property transaction cannot be escaped non-residents is involved. They also specified that, even any

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Swiss Protocol to DTA with Ireland and Turkmenistan in force

30 December, 2013

The protocol amending the double taxation agreement (DTA) between Switzerland and Ireland, and with Turkmenistan have entered into force, and will both apply from January 1, 2014. The protocol to the double taxation agreement (DTA) between

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Individual tax relief measures in China

27 December, 2013

The Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and the State Administration of Taxation have jointly issued a circular regarding guidance on the collection and administration of individual income tax on enterprise

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Kazakhstan – International Convention regarding tax issues signed

27 December, 2013

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has announced that Kazakhstan signed the international convention related to mutual administrative assistance in tax matters on December 23, 2013. According to the OECD release,

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India is expected to post a Revenue Service office in Cyprus

26 December, 2013

India is expected to post a Revenue Service officer in Cyprus early in the new year, just months after it suspended its double tax avoidance agreement (DTAA) with the island. India has set up overseas Tax Units in various countries in an effort to

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India – Arm’s length price for sourcing support services

26 December, 2013

The Delhi High Court has held that the Transfer Pricing Officer’s determination of an arm’s length price based on a 5% markup of the “free on board” (FOB) value of goods sourced for a related party’s contract with third parties was

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India signs DTA with Macedonia to prevent income tax evasion

20 December, 2013

India signed a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Macedonia on Dec 17, 2013,  to prevent income tax evasion by entities in both the countries, a move that is also expected to increase economic cooperation. The agreement provides

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