Italy Cancels Budget’s Automatic Tax Deduction Changes
The Italian Government has decided to include proposed measures to rationalize individual income tax deductions within the framework of the draft tax reform law, which is currently before parliament, rather than the recently-approved 2014 Budget
See MoreItaly Allows Taxpayers to Regularize Undeclared Foreign Capital
Recently the Italian Government approved a new decree to constitute a legal framework to allow for the regularization of undeclared capital held abroad by Italian residents. The new decree allows for favorable treatment, including penalty
See MoreIreland: Anti-VAT fraud measures
To prevent fraud in Irish VAT compliance, the Irish government introduced a number of measures through its Finance Bill which came into effect from 1 January 2014. VAT registered businesses will have to refund to the Irish Revenue any deducted input
See MoreEU Discloses Climate Change Plan
The European Commission has proposed the establishment of a market stability reserve at the beginning of the next Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) trading period. The ETS was designed to deliver emissions reduction goals in a harmonized and
See MoreEU Steps Up Actions to Decelerate Custom Fraud
The European Commission expressed their intention to strengthen their effort to anti-fraud operations with the cooperation of the customs and tax authorities. As a part of its six-month European Union (EU) Presidency, Lithuania organized a Joint
See MoreDTA between Luxembourg and Kazakhstan entered into force
Luxembourg ratified the first Income and Capital Tax Treaty with Kazakhstan on 16 May 2013. The treaty was signed on 3 May 2012 and entered into force on 10 December 2013. The provisions of the treaty will be applicable from 1 January 2014
See MoreHungary and Jersey sign a TIEA
Hungary and Jersey signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) on 28 January, 2014. The TIEA will enter into force after ratification by both parties, and the possible date for entry into force is not
See MoreHungary dismisses OECD Tax Advice
The Hungarian government has rejected OECD proposals for major tax reforms, covering a new property tax as well as energy, environmental, inheritance and wealth taxes. The Minister of Economic Strategy has said that tax reform is complete and no
See MorePortugal: Parliament adopts Retroactive Budget for 2014
The Parliament has adopted the Retroactive Budget for 2014, this widens the base of the Portugal’s “Extraordinary Solidarity Contribution” (CES) on pensioners. The CES will apply to pensions greater than EUR 1,000/month (previous level, EUR
See MoreECJ to investigate Portuguese exit tax
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) will investigate tax residency rules in Portugal; this results from a referral by the European Commission which considers the Portuguese rules applicable to taxpayers who are no longer resident in the country to
See MoreSpain: Further VAT Rises Unlikely
The Finance Minister has confirmed that further VAT rises will not take place in the near future. The Advisory Committee for Tax Reform had suggested increases in the headline VAT rate from 10% and 21% to 13% and 23% respectively. External advice
See MoreSlovenia- Audits time limits
There is no fixed time limit within which a tax audit may take place. The statute of limitations is normally ten years but may be extended for the duration of legal procedures in connection with collecting
See MoreEuropean Commission: Belgian taxation rules for credit institutions need reform
The European Commission has requested Belgium to amend its law on the taxation of transactions in specific securities. Belgian law at present only allows credit institutions established in Belgium to operate settlement systems with tax clearing;
See MoreEU: Digital economy taxation expert group
The high-level expert group on digital taxation of the EC met for the second time on 14 to 15 January 2014. The meeting focused on the interaction of the group’s work with the OECD, understanding business models in the digital economy, VAT issues
See MoreEU: VAT pilot project on international SME transactions
The European Commission has announced a one year extension of the pilot project that seeks to improve certainty for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in cross border VAT transactions. 14 EU Member States (Belgium, Estonia, Spain, France, Cyprus,
See MoreGermany: Taxable Pension Threshold Lower
The taxable pension threshold in Germany has been reduced; tax will be due in 2014 on gross monthly pension income that exceeds EUR 1,225 for single taxpayers, and EUR 2,450 for married couples. This is part of an ongoing reform to progressively
See MoreEU: VAT rates changes for 2014
The European Commission has issued the report on value added tax (VAT) rates applicable in EU Member States for 2014: Member States Super Reduced Rate Reduced Rate Standard Rate Parking Rate Belgium - 6 / 12 21 12 Bulgaria - 9 20 - Czech
See MoreRevised China-United Kingdom DTA enters into force
An income tax treaty between China and the United Kingdom entered into force on 13 December 2013, and is effective from 2014. The new treaty replaces the 1984 treaty between the two countries and provides for lower rates of dividend and royalties
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