The past few months have seen various proposals for new tax legislation aimed largely at replenishing state coffers. The passage through parliament of France’s Finance Act for 20131 (“the Act”) was challenging. (For prior coverage, see the following issues of Flash International Executive Alert: 2012-180 (October 5, 2012) and 2012-208 (November 21, 2012).) The... »
On January 15, 2013, the U.S. Internal Revenue Service released a revised Rev. Proc 2013-151, making some corrections to the advance copy of Rev. Proc. 2013-15,2 which was released on January 11. The Rev. Proc. provides the tax rate tables for individual taxpayers for 2013 as modified by the American Taxpayer Relief Act of... »
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has recently issued further guidance on the tax treatment of insurance policies purchased by employers for their employees.1 The new rules may change the way employers treat insurance premiums and pay-outs when preparing the Form IR8A reporting of taxable remuneration. Employer Is Beneficiary of Policy/No Named Beneficiary... »
Employees from abroad with specific expertise that is scarce on the Dutch labor market, subject to conditions, will be eligible for tax relief, i.e., “the 30% ruling.” If the 30% ruling is applicable, 30 percent of the employee’s salary can be paid as a tax-free allowance. The remaining 70 percent is salary that is... »
India recently signed a social security agreement (SSA) with Sweden. 1 Such SSAs generally help employers and their globally mobile employees avoid dual social security contributions and help ensure that such employees do not lose their social security entitlement to benefits.2 Key Benefits of SSA The main benefits envisaged by the India-Sweden SSA are highlighted below. Exemption from... »
On 29 November 2012, Australia’s Tax Laws Amendment (2012 Measures No. 6) Bill 2012 (the Bill) was introduced into the House of Representatives. 1 The Bill contains changes to the fringe benefits tax (FBT) treatment of in-house fringe benefits provided under salary packaging arrangements. The Bill follows the government’s release of the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook 2012-2013 on 22... »
Taking place on February 25 in Houston, this year’s show will include a bigger and better conference and exhibition programme, plus dedicated networking space to discuss and discover new opportunities in our ever-evolving industry. Speakers at the show will include experts from BP, BAE Systems, Baker Hughes, Parker Drilling Company and more. Find out more. »
Vietnam’s National Assembly passed on 22 November 2012 the amended Personal Income Tax Law (“PITL”), which takes effect from 1 July 2013. We summarize below the important changes – which serve to reduce the tax burden for many taxpayers – under the amended PITL No.26/2012/QH13: Increasing the Amounts of Tax Relief From 1 July... »
Today, the U.K. tax authority, Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC), published Guidance Notes on the working of the Overseas Workdays Relief. 1 The purpose of this draft guidance is to provide further details on how the draft legislation on Overseas Workdays Relief, published on 11 December 2012, is intended to operate with effect from 6... »
Close on the heels of its announcement on accommodation benefits last week 1, New Zealand’s Inland Revenue has released a draft Interpretation Statement 2 on tax residence. The draft Statement updates Inland Revenue’s previously published view, which dates back to June 1989. The draft Interpretation Statement reconsiders Inland Revenue’s position on the tax residence of individuals, companies,... »
The Human Resources and Social Security Ministry of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) along with 24 other PRC government authorities jointly issued and enacted on 25 September 2012, the Administrative Measures on Entitlements of Foreigners with Chinese Permanent Residency (PR) in China No. 53 (Circular No. 53)]. Circular... »
On 5 December 2012, the Irish government released details of the country’s budget for the 2013 tax year. While many of the changes have been anticipated for several weeks, the budget announcement has confirmed some revised rules that will take effect, in most cases from 1 January 2013. (For coverage of the previous budget,... »
Following several years of controversy and lack of implementation, Paraguay’s personal income tax (PIT) finally took effect starting in August 20121 after Congress enacted, on July 23, 2012, Law 4673/2012 and a related executive decree and Finance ministry general resolution were issued.2 The imposition of the personal income tax will have important implications for... »
Several U.S. states have instituted various forms of relief to taxpayers affected by the destruction wrought by Hurricane Sandy at the end of October, which left thousands of victims in its wake without power or telephone service, and caused serious damage to homes, personal property, and businesses. We cite some recent articles published in... »
Four significant new pieces of tax legislation were recently released in South Africa. This Flash International Executive Alert considers the Tax Administration Act, effective 1 October 2012, the newly gazetted rates and monetary thresholds for 2012, and the final drafts of the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill 2012 and Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill 2012.1... »
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has announced a number of measures targeted at providing tax relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy. These measures include the following: • Qualified disaster relief payments made to individuals by their employer or any other person can be excluded from the taxable income of the recipients; • Employees... »
New tax measures have recently been introduced by the government in Portugal for 2012 that will raise taxation on certain unearned income.1 We briefly describe below the main changes to Portugal’s personal income tax rules. Note that while the changes related to the flat rates entered into force on October 30, 2012, changes related... »
Belgium’s tax authorities recently released a new “frequently asked questions” (FAQ) about the calculation of the benefit-in-kind of a company car.1 New rules governing the calculation of the benefit-in-kind resulting from the personal use of a company vehicle made available free-of-charge by the employer / company entered into force on 1 January 2012. (For... »
The U.K. government has published a consultation, including draft legislation, on putting the Statement of Practice 1/09 (SP1/09) into statute. This consultation document is entitled “Legislation of Statement of Practice 1/09 (SP1/09): Summary of Responses and Draft Legislation.” Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has been wanting to incorporate SP1/09 in legislation for some... »
