Protocol to Ireland – Switzerland DTA enters into force
Ireland’s tax administration, the Office of the Revenue Commissioners, has confirmed that the Protocol signed with Switzerland became effective on January 1,
See MoreSlovenia: Tax Procedure Law amended
The Slovenian Parliament passed into law amendments to the Tax Procedure Law on 18 December 2013. These changes apply from 1 January 2014. The main changes cover undeclared taxable income,the applicable statute of limitations and rules on the
See MoreNetherlands: Commodity Board Levies Removed
The Netherlands Finance Ministry has announced that compulsory levies payable by companies to the Dutch commodity and industrial boards (PBO) will be abolished from 1 January 2014. While PBOs undertook a number of functions, e.g. animal welfare and
See MoreItaly: Efforts to combat tax evasion
Italy has taken steps to discourage cash payment for certain goods and services from 1 January 2014 as part of the effort to combat tax evasion. E.g. claims for the additional tax deduction for reconstruction or energy-saving work will be denied for
See MoreIreland: SME Body requests changes in tax system
The SFA (Small Firms Association) has stated that Ireland needs changes to the tax system in order to create more jobs. He pointed out that the country has one of the highest marginal individual tax rates in the Organization for Economic
See MoreFrance: Property Savings Account Tax Perk to remain
The Budget Minister of France has confirmed that there are no plans to change regulated home buyers savings account (PEL savings account). This measure enables individuals to earn tax free interest earned up to a period of 12 years, and offers
See MoreSlovakia: Corporate tax rate reduction, international tax rules changed
The Finance and Budget Committee of the National Council of the Slovak Republic recently proposed some changes to the Slovak Income Tax Act. The proposed changes cover reduction in the corporate income tax rate, carry forward of tax losses, transfer
See MoreProtocol to Canada- France DTA enters into force
The Protocol amending the Canada-France DTA signed on 2 February 2010 entered into force on 27 December
See MoreNetherlands: New decree on arm’s length principle published
The Netherlands State Secretary for Finance issued Decree No. IFZ 2013/184M on 26 November 2013 (Official Gazette No. 32854) which relates to the application of the arm’s length principle and the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines. The revised
See MoreFrance: Tax provisions enacted
The French Parliament passed the tax legislative packages for 2014 on 19 December 2013, which were subsequently scrutinized by the Constitutional Court on 29 December 2013 and eventually enacted into law on 30 December 2013. Most of the key
See MoreBulgaria: Intrastat reporting threshold changed in 2014
Bulgaria has changed its 2014 Intrastat reporting thresholds with effect from 1 January 2014. The current arrivals (imports from other EU member states) threshold of BGN 240,000 has been increased to BGN 360,000; while current despatches (exports to
See MoreBelgium: Proposed changes to expatriate tax rules
The Belgian government has proposed legislation to amend the rules for determining the non-resident individual (personal) income tax as applicable to expatriates. Proposed changes include the repeal of personal exemptions for expatriates benefiting
See MoreUK: Increase in 2014 intrastat reporting thresholds
The United Kingdom has updated the annual reporting thresholds for Intrastat declarations from 1 January 2014. For arrivals (import of goods from other EU member states) the threshold will rise from GBP600,000 to GBP1,200,000 per annum; and for
See MoreBelgium: Increase in resident VAT registration threshold
Belgium has proposed an increase in the resident EU VAT registration threshold. This will rise to EUR 15,000 from the current EUR €5,580 at a date in early 2014 to be confirmed. The European Commission to reduce the compliance paperwork and
See MoreHungary: VAT rules change
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled against current Hungarian rules on on the loss of the VAT exemption for exports. Under the present rules, exporters of goods from Hungary must ensure that goods leave Hungary within 90 days to qualify
See MoreArgentina-Spain DTA enters into force
On December 23, 2013, Argentina’s embassy in Spain confirmed that Argentina and Spain have exchanged instruments of ratification to bring the double taxation agreement (DTA) signed between the two nations into
See MorePortugal: Azores raises VAT
The Azores (a Portuguese independent region) has increased its standard Value Added Tax (Imposto sobre o Valor Acrescentado) rate from 16% to 18%, with effect from 1 January 2014. Further, the reduced VAT rate of 9% (IVA intermedio) on water, fuel,
See MoreLatvia: Taxable base for social security contributions approved
The Latvian regulations that set the maximum taxable base for social security contributions, set at EUR 46,400 for 2014, entered into force on 1 January 2014. This amount will be adjusted
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