UK – Shadow Foreign Secretary calls for maximum tax devolution for Scotland
The UK’s shadow foreign secretary has stated that the further devolution of tax powers could strengthen the accountability of the Scottish Parliament. In April 2015 the devolution of Landfill Tax will be carried out and a new Land and Buildings
See MoreUK: Bitcoin VAT exemption
The UK tax administration HMRC would exempt transactions in Bitcoins from the 20% UK VAT net on each sale or on profit margins, although exchange commissions would remain liable. HMRC originally provided guidance in November 2013 that Bitcoins
See MoreSwitzerland Considers New Cross-Border Tax Deal with Italy
Swiss Finance Minister has pledged to re-negotiate the bilateral cross-border tax agreements with Italy, to ensure that the provisions are more favorable to the Swiss canton of Ticino in future. The agreement is important because of the number of
See MoreSpain – published social security contributions decrease
The Official Gazette published Royal Decree-Law 3/2014 on 1 March 2014. This law contains urgent measures to promote employment via the contracting of workers for an indefinite period. The Decree-Law sets out the circumstances in which a flat social
See MoreSpain’s opposition leader proposes low-income tax package
In the course of the State of the Nation debate in Congress, Spain's Socialist Party (PSOE) leader proposed that a tax package be introduced to protect low-income earners in Spain, and in particular to protect families. The proposal related to
See MoreSpain – CJEU finds Retail sales tax on diesel contrary to EU law
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has issued a judgment in the case of:Transportes Jordi Besora SL v. Generalitat de Catalunya, C-82/12 ruling that the Spanish tax on retail sales of diesel and petrol is contrary to EU law. The CJEU
See MoreSpain Slashes Labor Taxes To Create Jobs
Spain has announced plans to significantly lower social security contributions for employers who recruit permanent members of staff. The Prime Minister has suggested that an upwards revision of the growth forecast for this year and next will enable
See MoreNew Zealand: Convention on tax assistance enters into force
From 1st March 2014, the multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters will become effective for New Zealand. The Convention, which New Zealand ratified in November, will greatly enhance the country’s ability to combat
See MoreNetherlands – Advocate General’s opinion on sister company tax consolidation
The Advocate General of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has found that the Dutch tax rules are in breach of the freedom of establishment in that the rules deny tax consolidation (fiscal unity) between— A Dutch parent company
See MoreNetherlands Simplifies Individual Tax Filing
Commencing from March 1 2014, the Netherlands tax administration will issue approximately six million pre-completed tax forms to individuals, and around four million tax returns that have been completed in part. The taxpayers are requested to verify
See MoreLuxembourg to apply automatic information exchange in 2015
The Luxembourg Government has adopted a bill implementing its April 10, 2013, decision to apply compulsory automatic information exchange to savings income covered under the current European Union (EU) Savings Tax Directive from 1 January
See MoreItaly: Prime Minister Explains ‘Double-Digit’ Cut to Italian Taxes
The Italian Prime minister has issued a clarification about a statement made earlier in respect of a double digit reduction in the tax burden. The reduction would amount to tens of billions of Euros and in this respect was a double digit
See MoreItalian Government Empowered To Push Through Tax Overhaul
The Italian parliament has now approved the "Legge Delega," the tax reform law granting special powers to the Government to introduce a series of measures within the next year. The Legge Delega sets out general reform principles, which are to be
See MoreItalian Government Introduces Withholding Tax on Inbound Wire Transfers
Italy has recently introduced legislation instructing banks to withhold 20% on certain inbound wire transfers. The inbound wire transfers affected by this measure include income earned from foreign investments, financial gains, interest, dividends
See MoreIreland- Announcement of LPT Amnesty
Irish residential property owners who have so far failed to pay their 2012 Household Charge or 2013 and 2014 local property tax (LPT), or have undervalued their property or claimed an exemption they were not entitled to, will be given until March 31
See MoreHungary and Bahrain sign a DTA
On 24 February 2014, Hungary and Bahrain signed a Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income. A number of agreements pertaining to the economic and technical co-operation
See MoreGerman federal state of NRW will issue new tax assessments to taxpayers to clarify their actual tax burden
From March 2014, the German federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) will issue new tax assessments to taxpayers to clarify their actual tax burden for 2013, expressed as a percentage of gross income. The tax assessments will provide details of
See MoreFrance- Bank Account Regularization Requests
Almost 16,000 residents with undeclared foreign bank accounts have elected to regularize their tax situation in the last eight months, through a voluntary declaration of non-compliance. As of February 7, 2014 the tax authorities had received 15,813
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