Romania: IMF Comments on Fiscal Policy
The IMF issued a report on 27 March 2015 following the conclusion of Article IV consultations with the Romanian government. The economic recovery following the financial crisis has become broad based in Romania and economic growth is remaining
See MoreGermany: New regulations approved by German Parliament on the application of the arm’s length principle to profit allocations
New regulations approved by The Upper House of the German Parliament on the application of the arm’s length principle to profit allocations between head office and permanent establishments, which follow the authorized OECD approach (AOA) and is
See MoreUK: HMRC Publishes Departmental Improvement Plan
On 23 March 2015 HMRC published its Departmental Improvement Plan for 2014. HMRC has been given the objective of maximizing revenues, improving taxpayer services and making sustainable cost savings. In 2013/14 HMRC collected total tax revenues of
See MoreIreland: IMF comments on fiscal policy
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a report following discussions with the Irish government under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement. The IMF notes that Ireland has made a robust recovery with economic growth around 5% in
See MoreEuropean Parliament pushing for financial transaction tax as own (EU) resource
In its Annual Tax Report, approved on March 25, 2015, the European Parliament emphasised the urgency of acting on the commitment of eleven Member States to introduce a financial transaction tax (FTT) and called for the FTT revenues to be part of an
See MoreUK: Finance Bill 2015 published
The UK Finance Bill (No.2) Bill was introduced into parliament on 24 March 2015. The Bill contains measures announced in the budget proposals for 2015 together with some measures that were announced earlier such as the new rules for banks and the
See MoreSocial security agreement between Chile and United Kingdom entered into force
The Social Security Agreement between Chile and United Kingdom will be entered into force and effective on 1st June
See MoreUK: HMRC to publish new pensions guidance manual
The UK tax authority HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced on 20 March 2015 that it will be publishing a draft Pensions Tax Manual in the early spring of 2015. This will replace the existing Registered Pension Schemes Manual. The new draft Manual
See MoreSwitzerland and EU Initial Agreement on Automatic Exchange of Information
It is reported that Switzerland and the EU initialed a draft agreement on the exchange of tax information on 19 March 2015. Under this agreement the account data of taxpayers would be collected from 1 January 2017. This data would include the name,
See MoreUS and Croatia signed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Agreement
Croatia and the United States signed a Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Agreement, on 20 March 2015. More specifically, Croatia and the United States signed a Model 1 Agreement. Under the agreement, Foreign Financial Institutions (FFIs) in
See MoreUK: Announces support for the oil and gas industry
On 20 March 2015 the UK government announced a package of support for the oil and gas industry. A new Oil and Gas Authority is to have the power to promote the economic recovery of the industry. The new body would have the power to issue fines
See MoreUK: Proposes new measures to tackle tax evaders
The UK has announced new measures to deal with tax evasion. The proposed measures are outlined in a policy paper issued on 19 March 2015 entitled “Tackling tax evasion and avoidance”. The UK government is introducing measures including publicly
See MoreSpain: Publishes draft Corporate Income Tax Regulations
The Spanish Ministry of Finance released a draft regulation on Corporate Income Tax on March 18, 2015. Included in the regulations are some transfer pricing changes that are summarized below; Country-by-country reporting: A group of
See MoreEuropean Commission Presents Tax Transparency Package
On 18 March 2015 the European Commission issued a range of measures aimed at tacking corporate tax avoidance and harmful tax competition. Corporate tax avoidance distorts economic decisions and prevents fair competition. The complexity of tax rules
See MoreUK: Budget Announcements for 2015/16
The UK budget announcements were delivered on 18 March 2015. The detail of the announcements is as follows: Business tax measures As already announced the UK corporation tax rate is 20% from 1 April 2015. The budget announcements include the
See MoreUK: Pension changes for individuals who already have an annuity
The UK has announced that measures announced last year to give more choice to individuals on how to use their pension fund will be extended to people who already have an annuity. With effect from April 2016 the restrictions on buying and selling
See MoreUK: Launches business rates review
The UK government has published a consultation paper on the review of the business rates, the local tax on business based on property values. Responses may be sent in by 12 June 2015. The business rates in the UK are charged on non-domestic
See MoreECJ requested to give a preliminary ruling on pension surtax
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) was requested by Finland’s Supreme Administrative Court (KOH) on 6 March 2015 to give a preliminary ruling in respect of the pension surtax. Finland has imposed a surtax of 6% on large pensions since 2013. The
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