GICT MONTHLY OVERVIEW- EUROPE & AFRICA

Transcription

1 u GICT MONTHLY OVERVIEW- EUROPE & AFRICA

2 This e-newsletter gives you an overview of international corporate tax developments being reported globally by KPMG firms in the Europe and Africa regions between 1 December and 31. Tax area concerned Relevant date/case reference Description of measures and publication link (Considerations in italic where necessary) Belgium VAT 1 January 2013 Belgium adopted a law implementing the European Directive n 2010/45/EU amending the rules on invoicing. This law eases the rules on electronic invoicing. Furthermore, the rules regarding the chargeability of the VAT, self-billing and receipt of payment are also modified. The new rules are applicable as from 1 January As from 1 January 2013, the place of supply rules concerning long-term lease of vehicles to non-business customers (B2C), including the leasing of company cars to employees for consideration (actual payment or salary sacrifice), will be subject to a significant change in Belgium. The Belgian tax authorities published guidelines for purposes of determining the VAT deduction for company cars. The authorities in Belgium have provided transitional guidance concerning application of new rules for determining the chargeability of VAT. Social security 1 January 2012 The Belgian social security authorities have confirmed that they agree with an extension of the social security exemption of expatriate allowances for certain expatriates assigned to Belgium. This policy applies retroactively, from 1 January January 2013 Key tax measures for companies in the law on fiscal and financial provisions as of 1 January 2013 include measures with respect to: Notional interest deduction: abolition of transfer to subsequent years of assessment and transitional measures Disallowed expenses: modification benefit in kind on company cars Adjustment regarding the investment deduction in case of transfer of right to use the investment A new law modifies several elements of the Belgian tax regime as relating to the taxation of non-residents, and introduces two new categories of taxable income for nonresident purposes. The first category includes income for which a tax treaty allocates to Belgium the right to tax such income but which, until now, was not subject to tax when paid or attributed to non-residents. The second category to be subject to non-resident concerns situations when no tax treaty is

3 applicable. Certain provisions are effective 1 January Cyprus VAT 13/14 January 2013 and 13 January 2014 The VAT rate in Cyprus will change: Effective 14 January 2013, the current standard VAT rate of 17% will increase to 18% Effective 13 January 2014, the standard VAT rate of 18% will then increase again to 19% Effective 13 January 2014, the reduced VAT rate will increases from 8% to 9% Czech Republic VAT / VAT/ Individual / Withholding tax /Excise tax 1 January 2013 Recent tax developments in the Czech Republic include the following legislative and judicial developments: Possible VAT rate changes beginning January 2013 Reorganization of the tax authorities Reduced time in which to register for tax Second pillar of pension reform Changes in employment tax New instructions on transfer prices for services between related parties Court finds contractual price can only be increased if explicitly agreed beforehand 1 January 2013 The Czech Republic s president approved austerity measures and technical amendments with respect to the VAT law, individual, withholding tax, and excise tax which are effective beginning 1 January Denmark / Individual 2011 The Danish tax authorities (SKAT) published a register showing the tax payments made by Danish companies in the year Estonia Budget 1 January 2013 Changes to the tax laws in Estonia are effective in 2013, including: An increase in the social tax, but a reduction in unemployment insurance premiums An increase in the excise tax rates for alcohol and tobacco products European Commission Customs 1 January 2014 The European Union adopted a new Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) which provides for reduced tariff rates to apply to goods imported into the EU from so-called beneficiary countries beginning 1 January Tax fraud and evasion The European Commission issued a Communication on an Action Plan against tax fraud and evasion, and including recommendations on a coordinated EU approach toward tax havens and aggressive tax planning.

4 1 January 2013 The European Commission issued an announcement that serves as a reminder that new rules to improve the EU Member States ability to assess and collect the taxes will be effective 1 January Intellectual property rights The European Commission announced the adoption of an action plan to address infringements of intellectual property rights (IPR) for Car taxation The European Commission presented a communication to clarify EU rules on car taxation and to recommend measures intended to strengthen the single market in this area; reduce issues encountered by citizens and businesses in moving cars between EU Member States, and remove obstacles for cross-border rentals. VAT European Commission adopted a final proposal in a package of measures that is intended to standardize the VAT treatment of telecommunications, broadcasting and electronic services. 1 January 2013 The European Commission issued a reminder that new EU VAT rules are effective across the EU beginning 1 January Financial transaction tax The EU Parliament approved the plan of 11 EU Member States to introduce a financial transaction tax. Finland Budget 1 January 2013 The Budget tax proposals for 2013 (published by the Finnish government in September 2012) include measures to revise certain provisions of Finland s direct taxation laws. The new law includes measures to increase the VAT rate and the Finnish securities market law will undergo a significant reform with new legislation having an effective date of 1 January France Proposed legislation Budget 1 January 2013 The National Assembly passed the Finance Act for 2013 (Loi de Finances 2013) and the Third Corrective Finance Act for 2012 (3eme Projet de Loi de Finances rectificative pour 2012). Enactment is still pending, subject to the opinion of the Constitutional Court. Changes affect corporations and individuals. Also VAT rate changes are pending. Administrative and case law Individual 29 On 29 the Constitutional Court invalidated certain provisions in a recently passed package of tax laws as unconstitutional in particular, the proposed imposition of a 75% rate of individual on salaries exceeding 1 million. Germany Proposed legislation Budget The upper house (Bundesrat) of the German parliament denied its consent to two pending tax bills, including the 2013 Tax Act because certain proposals had not been considered by the lower house (Bundestag). Administrative and case law Under German tax law, business assets may be written down to the lower going-concern value if their impairment

5 in value is expected to be permanent. The German federal tax court ruled that the write-down, however, must be reversed if the assets value increases. Pensions Odar v. Baxter Deutschland GMbH, C-152/11 (6 ) The Court of Justice for the European Union issued a judgment finding that a social plan may provide for reduced compensation paid to workers approaching retirement age, but that if the early retirement is due to the worker s disability, a reduction in the calculation can constitute a discrimination on grounds of disability one that is prohibited by EU law. Other Budget 2013 The German legislature is considering a number of tax law proposals that could result in significant changes to the taxation of German investments by U.S. and other multinationals. KPMG Germany prepared an overview of the pending changes. Ireland Budget 2013 On 5 Ireland s Minister of Finance introduced tax provisions in the Budget Luxembourg Budget 2013 On 13 Luxembourg s Parliament passed both the 2013 budget (bill 6500) and the 2013 tax package (bill 6497). Stock option 1 January 2013 The Luxembourg tax authorities issued a new circular (LIR n 104/2 (20 )) concerning the taxation of stock option plans. This circular is effective 1 January 2013, and replaces prior guidance dated 11 January On 21 The Luxembourg tax authorities issued guidance on the rules for computation of the minimum taxation that applies for corporate taxpayers, pursuant to the 2013 Tax Package that was passed by the Luxembourg Parliament on 13. The Netherlands Incentives 1 January 2013 The research and development deduction for 2013 has been set at 54% (up from the current rate of 40%). Norway VAT 1 January 2013 Recent VAT developments in Norway include the following: Registration exemption for foreign carriers reintroduced Road and rail VAT exemption lapses Poland 1 January 2013 The following corporate tax law changes in Poland will be effective 1 January 2013: Tax treatment of costs when the taxpayer fails to meet its financial obligations with regard to payments to contractors A new provision will extend the definition of a leasing

6 arrangement to apply to the leasing of a perpetual usufruct (use) of land VAT Poland s Ministry of Finance issued guidance regarding the VAT treatment of cash bonus (discount) payments. 1 January 2013 Legislation containing amendments to Poland s VAT law was published in the official journal on 30 November The VAT amendments are effective 1 January Serbia Personal property tax/excise tax 25 December 2012/1 January 2013 Recent guidance in Serbia was issued related to: Tax information or returns filed by individuals and payers of personal property tax. Refunds of excise tax on oil derivative products used as fuel for agricultural purposes. Changes to the tax laws in Serbia were passed by the Serbian Parliament in and are effective either beginning 25 or 1 January The changes include: An increase in the corporate rate to 15% (from 10%) The due date for submitting 2012 returns is 11 March 2013 (i.e. within 180 days after the end of the period for which the tax liability is determined) The repeal of certain tax incentives The introduction of special rules for taxing payments of dividends, interest, authorship fees, service fees etc. made to companies located in jurisdictions having a preferential tax system Revision of the transfer pricing rules Withholding tax Serbia published in the official gazette (25 December 2012) a rulebook listing those jurisdictions deemed to have preferential tax systems. Payments to these listed jurisdictions may be subject to a 25% rate of withholding tax. Excise tax 18 In Serbia, the law on excise tax amendments (dated 17 ) has been enacted and is effective 18. The changes generally relate to the taxation of oil derivates and tobacco products. Slovenia VAT 1 January 2013 Legislation amending the Slovene VAT law (as published in the official journal in November 2012) is effective beginning 1 January Spain VAT 1 January 2013 In Spain, changes to the regulations on invoicing requirements are effective 1 January Sweden Administrative and case law Individual 6 Sweden s Administrative Court rendered a judgment concluding that carried interest had to be taxed as income

7 from employment. Switzerland Other DTT KPMG in Switzerland published an interactive map and overview of the current treaty network from a Swiss perspective. Turkey Financial leasing law In Turkey, a financial leasing law (No. 6361) was published 13, replacing the prior financial leasing law. The new law provides for beneficial tax treatment of financial leasing transactions (compared to operational leasing transactions), and also provides greater clarity of these benefits for cross-border aircraft leasing transactions. Ukraine According to Ukraine s tax administration, a company that receives engineering services from a non-resident but does not import any equipment under the contract is not allowed to deduct for tax purposes the expenses related to the engineering services. VAT Ukraine s tax administration has released guidance on the allocation of input VAT credit for agricultural companies switching to a special VAT regime. Budget Reports from Ukraine reflect the following measures: Parliament withdrew the draft law on transfer pricing Application of the green tariff will begin 1 April 2013 All companies must amend their registered documents according to the new economic activity classifications by the end of 2012 Rates for certain taxes are to increase Excise tax is imposed on sales of securities and derivatives Tax authorities clarified the procedure for application of penalties to unified taxpayers. Proposed legislation Excise tax Ukraine s parliament (Verkhovna Rada) passed measures to impose an excise tax on sale transactions of securities and of derivates. Enactment of the legislation is pending approval by the chairman of the parliament and signature by the president. Treaties DTT November 2012 In November 2012 representatives of Ukraine and Cyprus signed an treaty. Once the new treaty is ratified by both countries, it will replace the existing USSR-Cyprus treaty (with Ukraine as a legal successor). United Kingdom A report released by the Committee of Public Accounts (a Commons Select Committee of the UK Parliament) focuses on corporation tax revenues and on global companies that may be paying little or no corporation tax in the UK.

8 Proposed legislation Budget KPMG in the UK published commentaries as to what the Autumn Statement may hold and assess the challenges and competing demands that the Chancellor will have to address 2013 Draft clauses for the 2013 Finance Bill were published on Tuesday, 11 and include measures with respect to: Capital allowances Individual tax provisions VAT Administrative and case law VAT Secret Hotels2 Ltd (formerly Medhotels) v. HMRC, No. UT/FTC/56/2010 (UK Ct. App. 3 ) The UK Court of Appeal issued a decision concluding that a hotel-marketing website was acting as a principal, and not a disclosed agent, for hotels and thus was responsible for the VAT. Should you wish further assistance with respect to the informatiocovered herein, please do not hesitate to contact International Tax Team from KPMG in Turkey. Contact details: Name Phone number Address Abdulkadir Kahraman akahraman@kpmg.com Ayhan Üstün ayhanustun@kpmg.com Eray Büyüksekban ebuyuksekban@kpmg.com Begüm Kitiş bkitis@kpmg.com

9

10