UK Energy Firms Allegedly Using a Loophole To Cut Tax Bills
Several UK energy companies were accused on 30 October 2013 for abusing a legal loophole with a view to cut their tax bills. It was revealed by The Independent newspaper and Corporate Watch research that more than 30 UK businesses have been
See MoreSpain: Tax ruling expanding capital gains tax to indirect transfer of Spanish real estate by Luxembourg entities
Spanish tax authority recently published a ruling regarding indirect transfer of Spanish real estate by a Luxembourg entity which is taxable in Spain under the provisions of the Luxembourg-Spain tax treaty. Investment funds from real estate and
See MoreSpain: National budget bill 2014
National budget bill of Spain for 2014 was presented on 30 September 2013 in the Spanish Parliament. The 2014 draft budget has proposed an amplification of the surcharges for 2014. On the other hand, it has been also raised to hold the Wealth Tax
See MorePortugal and Switzerland: Tax treaty enters into force
According to a press release, Switzerland, Portugal, Bulgaria, Slovenia and the Czech Republic signed treaty agreement for the avoidance of double taxation on 1 November 2013 regarding taxes on income and on capital. The four agreements are starting
See MorePortugal: VAT amnesty until end of December 2013
The tax office of Portugal has announces that- with reduced fines until 20 December 2013 outstanding VAT may be declared. Penalties will be reduced. There will be no late interest charge, or extra return charges for previously undeclared Portuguese
See MorePortugal: Lower tax burden in 2015
The Finance Minister of Portugal has indicated that the Government is aiming to reduce the tax burden on workers in Portugal within the framework of the 2015 State Budget (OE 2015). The State Budget 2014 of Portugal is designed to redress the public
See MorePortugal: Budget VAT announcements
The draft VAT Bill 2014 of Portugal contains a range of amendments to the Portuguese VAT rules. According to the draft amendments, VAT on irrecoverable debts may only be refunded within two years from the beginning of the fiscal year after the bad
See MoreCanada and Poland –Tax treaty enters into force
Poland and Canada was signed income tax treaty on 14 May 2012, which was replaces income tax treaty from 1987. This tax treaty entered into force on 30 October 2013 and the effective date of treaty provisions are contained in Article 27. The treaty
See MoreHungary – Proposed year-end tax law changes
The Minister of the National Economy of Hungary has submitted to the Parliament the year-end proposals of tax law changes of the government. The proposed changes to the tax law include changes to the rules of permanent establishment so that
See MoreFATCA agreement between Hungary and United States
The Ministry of National Economy of Hungary announced on 28 October 2013 that Hungary and the United States signed a Model 1 intergovernmental agreement (IGA) regarding the FATCA legislation. The agreement would allow automatic exchange of
See MoreGermany – VAT groups
The federal tax court of Germany (Bundesfinanzhof – BFH) has changed its position on the rules for organizational integration of companies into value added tax (VAT) groups. As per the BFH, a consequence of a “merger into a single taxpayer” as
See MoreGermany – Discovering recipients of deductible payments
The federal tax court of Germany (Bundesfinanzhof – BFH) has held that the tax authorities may require taxpayers to identify the recipients of payments that are deducted as businesses expenses. Otherwise, the tax deduction can be
See MoreGermany-Switzerland Tax Deal: SPD Open to stimulating the Agreement
It has been published on 4 November 2013 that, Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) have indicated that the party might be prepared to renegotiate the bilateral tax agreement concluded with Switzerland, aimed at resolving the longstanding issue of
See MoreFrench Lawmakers Return to Tax on Energy Drinks
The National Assembly of France has adopted the social security finance bill 2014. The assembly also included an amendment for the introduction of a tax on energy drinks. There are also provisions to harmonize social levy rates imposed on savings
See MoreEuropean Commission – VAT Guidelines for Telecoms and e-Services
On 29 October 2013, the European Commission published guidelines to help companies to prepare for the new value-added tax rules regarding telecommunications and electronic services. The new rules are scheduled to become effective in 2015. Under the
See MoreEU: Stopping the Italian bank guarantee requirement for VAT credits
The European Commission is seeking to prevent Italy from demanding a bank guarantee from non-resident companies which are seeking to apply for a VAT credit via their Italian VAT returns. The European Commission infringement systems try to change the
See MoreEuropean Court of Justice (ECJ): Taxpayer rights in respect of a request for information
The following questions were put to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) by the Czech Supreme Administrative Court on 4 June 2012 relating to taxpayer rights in respect of a request for information. The European Court of Justice determined that EU
See MoreDenmark publishes proposed exit tax rules
The Danish Minister of Taxation published a draft bill on 7 October 2013, which amends the rules on exit taxation. The draft bill was the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decision of 18 July 2013, where Danish exit taxation rules were held to be
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