Ease of doing business and tax reforms are at the center of India’s growth agenda as the country pitches itself as the leading investment destination among global emerging markets. Yet, India’s tax competitiveness record remains mixed. At a time when the U.S., U.K., and Japan have slashed their corporate tax… – Continue reading
Individuals that are in salaried employment have limited tax benefits. There are, however, certain tax benefits that may be used by individuals in salaried employment who are aware of the South African tax laws, notes Daniel Baines, author of ‘How to Get a SARS Refund‘. These can be grouped into… – Continue reading
In China, withholding Corporate Income Tax (CIT) is applied to the following China-sourced incomes derived by non-resident enterprises without establishments in China, or to that derived by non-resident enterprises with establishments in China but whose income is not related to these establishments: Dividends, bonuses, and other equity investment proceeds; Interests,… – Continue reading
KARACHI: Government asked banks to impose up to three percent tax on foreign funds transfer made through plastic card in a new finance bill. The finance bill for the next fiscal year of 2018/19 proposed a new advance tax levy on individuals remitting amounts abroad through credit, debit or prepaid… – Continue reading
KARACHI: Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has accused the Federal Board of Revenue of double taxation after the tax authorities raised a demand of Rs4.32 billion income tax and withholding tax on goods against various departments of the Sindh government. This, he said, while presiding over a meeting today… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has asked the government to slash the advance tax from 0.3 percent to 0.1 percent for filers on cash withdrawals from banks exceeding Rs 50,000, and abolish the Super Tax in the upcoming budget 2018-19. The SBP has referred to sections 231 A… – Continue reading
KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is all set to offset a possible exit of 0.52 million returns filers from the net after the implementation of a tax exemption on certain income group from July 1, officials said on Saturday. “About 0.52 million income tax returns will be lost… – Continue reading
Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has said the provincial government has been facing frequent arbitrary and unauthorised deductions for the past some years by the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) through the State Bank of Pakistan in connection with the withholding and sales taxes on goods from the… – Continue reading
Luxembourg and France have signed a new double taxation treaty (DTT), replacing the existing treaty that had been in force since 1958. The accord was inked during the official state visit led by Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, in Paris, on 20 March 2018. A communiqué released… – Continue reading
Hong Kong (HKSAR) – The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, on behalf of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, signed in Hong Kong today (March 19) a comprehensive agreement for the avoidance of double taxation (CDTA) with the Ambassador of India to China, Mr Gautam Bambawale, signifying… – Continue reading
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) would, this year, start charging seven per cent VAT Withholding Tax on individuals and entities that transact business with the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs). “What we are seeking to do is that as a person is charging the 17.5 VAT on build-up cost of… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The Indian and Kenyan governments have revised their double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) to bring down the withholding tax rates, protect treaty from abuse and check tax evasion, an official statement said on Thursday. The revised DTAA was notified on February 19, said a Finance Ministry statement. “The… – Continue reading
The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) said employees of regional operating headquarters (ROHQ) who used to enjoy preferential tax rates, will no longer be able to avail them beginning this year. In a tax advisory, the BIR said in view of the recent amendment of the provisions of Section 25(B),… – Continue reading
The Norwegian Government is considering possibilities for the taxation of multinational companies’ “value creation” in Norway, including in the area of value-added tax, although it said that it would prefer a multilateral agreement on any new measure. In a letter to the parliamentary finance committee dated January 18, Finance Minister… – Continue reading
The double tax avoidance agreement (DTA) between Cambodia and Singapore came into effect this month, helping clarify taxation rights on all forms of income arising from cross-border business activities, while minimising double taxation. On January 1 the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) issued an announcement stating that the DTA… – Continue reading
Ernst and Young Solutions LLP, Singapore, has released its wish list for the Singapore Budget 2018, calling for reforms to sharpen the territory’s competitiveness. The firm said that Singapore should maintain its 17 percent corporate income tax (CIT) rate, which is one of the lowest in the world, but recommended… – Continue reading
The Commission has today put forward new guidelines on withholding taxes to help Member States reduce costs and simplify procedures for cross-border investors in the EU. The new Code of Conduct offers solutions for investors who, as a result of how withholding taxes are applied, end up paying taxes twice… – Continue reading
The American Chamber of Commerce in the European Union has criticized the proposals put forward in the European Commission’s recent consultation on options for new tax rules or a new tax on digital firms. The aim of that consultation is to help the Commission to define an approach to the… – Continue reading
The UK Government has released a consultation on the royalty withholding tax targeting digital firms announced in the UK’s most recent Budget. Under the proposal, the Government intends to introduce legislation in Finance Bill 2018-19 to broaden the circumstances in which certain payments made to non-UK residents have a liability… – Continue reading
MINSK, 4 December (BelTA) – The double taxation agreement between Belarus and Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, has come into effect, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Embassy in Beijing. “After Belarus and China went through the necessary domestic procedures, the Belarus-Hong Kong agreement on the avoidance of… – Continue reading
The Serbian Ministry of Finance has published draft amendments to the Corporate Income Tax Act (CITA), which are expected to be formally approved by the Government within days. If approved by the Parliament, as expected, CITA amendments will take effect from 1 January 2018. The most important novelties concerns recognition… – Continue reading
A new royalty withholding tax will apply from April 2019 where a non-UK resident entity making sales in the UK pays a royalty to a connected party in a low tax jurisdiction, according to a consultation document which sets out further details of the proposal, which was first announced in… – Continue reading
In this Update On June 7, 2017, Canada signed the OECD’s Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the MLI) The MLI will modify up to 75 of Canada’s bilateral tax treaties, including adding a broad anti-avoidance rule to these treaties (the… – Continue reading
The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) recently decided to shrink the tax burden for local microfinance institutions (MFIs) by lowering withholding tax on interest from loans acquired from abroad from 14 to 10 percent, a move that the government claims will keep the massive sector sustainable. This is the… – Continue reading
In this Tax Alert we will briefly highlight two topical Dutch tax matters very relevant to internationally active companies: the current status of the legislative proposal regarding Dutch dividend withholding tax rules for holding cooperatives and BVs/NVs and the announcement of the Dutch Ministry of Finance that the Dutch fiscal… – Continue reading
Summary: With effect from 1 January 2017, a number of amendments to Russian law have come into force which will affect aircraft leasing arrangements for lessors and financiers that have aircraft leased or financed with Russian operators. These amendments have started to affect negotiations and re-negotiations of leases with Russian… – Continue reading
LONDON — Brazil has provided investors with some of the best returns in the world this year but investment funds based in Ireland have been forced to adopt new strategies to get their money’s worth. Brazil blacklisted Ireland as a tax haven in September 2016 because of its low corporate… – Continue reading
Grenada’s Inland Revenue Division has completed a series of training exercises for its staff and the island’s financial institutions in preparation for the start of reporting under the US Financial Account Tax Compliance Act. Reporting by FIs under FATCA is governed by a November 2016 inter-governmental agreement between the US… – Continue reading
A Federal Court judge has approved at least one court order that will require a British Columbia developer to turn over information to tax officials about people who bought and flipped condo units before or during construction. And several similar applications are under way, reflecting the federal government’s efforts to… – Continue reading
On the back of the Indonesian government’s issuance of its new controlled foreign company (CFC) regulation on July 26, many Indonesians are likely to sell their foreign shell companies because of the enforcement of double tax payments. The CFC regulation authorizes the government to charge a dividend tax on foreign… – Continue reading
International pension plans involve complex questions of structuring and compliance International Pension Plans (IPPs) are pension plans sponsored and funded by an employer, for employees assigned to work outside their home country, who are expected to receive IPP benefits while they are resident in their home country, or in another… – Continue reading
Removal of withholding tax on G-Sec income effectively frees foreign investors paying any taxes New tax law proposes to remove 10% withholding tax on G-Secs but makes such income liable for income tax up to 24% This likely to result in sizeable leakage of tax revenue to govt. as G-Secs… – Continue reading
ECONOMYNEXT – Foreign investors in Sri Lanka’s rupee bonds may not have to pay taxes after April 2018, Deputy Central Bank Governor Nandalal Weerasinghe said, amid some uncertainty in markets how a new Inland Revenue law will be interpreted. Sri Lanka lifted a 10 percent withholding tax government bonds from… – Continue reading
The Swiss Federal Department of Finance is consulting on proposals to amend the Withholding Tax (WHT) Ordinance, to more clearly define the rules for non-resident taxpayers. Under the proposed reforms, “quasi-residents” will be permitted to request a subsequent ordinary tax assessment. “Quasi-residents” are employees who are not domiciled in Switzerland… – Continue reading
On 19 September 2017, the Dutch government released the State’s Budget for the year 2018. The Budget includes a draft bill to expand the dividend withholding tax exemption to tax treaty countries, to introduce a withholding tax obligation for holding cooperatives and to limit the taxation of non-resident investors. If… – Continue reading
Some double tax treaties are being amended by a multilateral instrument Establishing how a particular treaty is affected can be a complicated process The UK intends to publish amended DTTs and this will help, but the MLI has added an additional layer of complexity 18 Sep 2017 Speed Read LEGAL… – Continue reading
The governments of Japan and Russia signed a new convention on the elimination of double taxation on September 7. The convention replaces the 1986 agreement between Japan and the former Soviet Union. It lowers withholding tax rates on cross-border income from trade and investment – in most cases to zero… – Continue reading
ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka will charge a 10 percent capital gains tax on investments other than listed shares, under a new inland revenue bill to be effective from April 2018. The principle residence of a person, which has been owned for more than three years and in which a person… – Continue reading
On August 17, 2017, the Protocol amending the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fraud and Fiscal Evasion (“Tax Treaty”) between Belgium and Mexico was published in Mexico’s Official Journal of the Federation (Belgium publication pending). The Tax Treaty became effective in Belgium on August… – Continue reading
The Panamanian Government with the aim of improving the competitiveness of the international services industry in Panama and, at the same time, comply with international standards for the effective exchange of information, initiated in 2009 a decisive agenda for the selection of countries with whom tax agreements were going to… – Continue reading
KARACHI: Number of annual income tax return filers increased 16 percent to more than 1.24 million till August 27 due to efforts of tax machinery and higher withholding tax rates for non-compliant taxpayers, an official document showed. The number of return filers for the tax year 2015 stood at 1.07… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The Income Tax department is open to lowering the withholding tax rate for foreign companies which have income in India, a senior official said today. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Sushil Chandra also urged firms and MNCs operating in India to pay their due share of… – Continue reading
Israel’s $41 million tax demand from the Coca-Cola Co. on royalties from its Israeli licensee could mark the start of a wave of claims against U.S. and other multinationals with similar business operations in the country. That could lead to a conflict with U.S. and other authorities about which country… – Continue reading
The Irish Parliament’s arts committee has recommended the introduction of a “foreign artists’ withholding tax (WHT) scheme.” The committee has released a report on the Government’s Culture 2025 initiative, which is intended to provide a framework for the development of Irish arts, culture, and heritage over the next eight years…. – Continue reading
Representatives from the tax authorities of Cambodia and Thailand have agreed in principle to speed up a proposed double taxation agreement that would protect their nationals from dual taxation and encourage bilateral investment. The agreement was made last week during a two-day consultation workshop in Bangkok for tax officials from… – Continue reading
Introduction Finance Act 2016 replaced the test for corporate residency of foreign companies from “control and management being situated wholly in India” to “place of effective management (POEM) in India”. POEM has been defined to mean a place where key management and commercial decisions that are necessary for conduct of… – Continue reading
In Federal Budget 2017, the Government is clamping down on tax avoidance by foreign investors in real estate, by tightening the foreign resident capital gains tax withholding regime. The new laws apply to both Australian resident and foreign resident vendors: Australian resident vendors of real property of $750,000 or more… – Continue reading
Chevron has decided to take its tax battles to the High Court of Australia after it was reported that the supermajor is in the crosshairs of the Australian Tax Office (ATO) for a disputed AU$1 billion outstanding tax bill. This comes after the Federal Court ruled in favor of the… – Continue reading
KARACHI: The rate of withholding tax for non-filers against the winning amount on prize bonds has been increased to 25 percent from the existing 20 percent. The government through the Finance Bill, 2017 has proposed stern measures for non-filers in order to broaden the tax base and generate revenue. In… – Continue reading
European Union presidency holder Malta has launched a new attempt to salvage pending EU legislation designed to eliminate withholding taxes for cross-border interest and royalty payments in the EU single market. One of the key hurdles the Interest and Royalties Directive has faced in the Council of Economic and Financial… – Continue reading
