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Meet the Expert is our series of blogs where we share more about the team behind our innovative software and managed services. As a global organisation with indirect tax experts across all regions, our dedicated team are often the first to know about new regulatory changes and latest developments on tax regimes across the world, […]

Increasingly, technology is being infused into our day to day lives to simplify and streamline activities. From home to the workplace and everything in between, digitization can help us by removing time consuming activities, while also using the power of data to provide insights. The digitization of tax In this context, revenue authorities are digitizing […]

In Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) compliance, the Aviation Hull and Aviation Liability policy is defined under Annex 1, Classes of Non-Life Insurance, as described in DIRECTIVE 138/2009/EC (SOLVENCY II DIRECTIVE). But there are variations and identifying which class the policy is covering can be a challenge. This article will cover what insurers need to know […]

A tax authority audit can come in various forms, whether it be directly to the insurer itself or indirectly through a policyholder or broker. It can be targeted, for example, where an insurer has been specifically identified to be investigated due toa discrepancy on a tax return, or it can be indiscriminate in its nature […]

Insurance Tax Act reforms in Germany, effective from 10 December 2020, continue to cause uncertainty in the insurance market. The main area of concern relates to the location of risk for Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) purposes. The reform can impact a policy taken out with either an EEA or non-EEA insurer where the policyholder is […]

For anyone relatively new or unfamiliar with insurance premium tax (IPT), an understanding of each of the core components is key to ensuring compliance. They also sit in a logical sequence of five distinct areas. Location of risk Class of business Applicable taxes and tax rates Declaration and payment Additional reporting  1.Location of risk rules […]

Meet the Expert is our series of blogs where we share more about the team behind our innovative software and managed services. As a global organisation with indirect tax experts across all regions, our dedicated team are often the first to know about new regulatory changes, ensuring you stay compliant. We spoke to Wendy Gilby, […]

The introduction of the new Portuguese Stamp Duty system has arguably been one of the most extensive changes within IPT reporting in 2021 even though the latest reporting system wasn’t accompanied by any changes to the tax rate structure. The new reporting requirements were initially scheduled to start with January 2020 returns. However this was […]

As our webinar explored in depth, location of risk rules are complex and constantly evolving. The Sovos compliance team covered many topics on the session, such as sources for identification of the location of risk and location of risk vs location of the policyholder. Despite this deep dive, there were plenty of questions that we […]

Treatment of fire charges is tricky in almost all jurisdictions. Fire coverage can vary from as high as 100% to 20%. No-one would dispute that the most complex fire charge treatment is in Spain. In Portugal, whilst the rules are less complex, they have a unique reporting system for how the policies covering fire must […]

Some European tax authorities require annual insurance premium tax (IPT) reports to be submitted for the calendar year in addition to regular monthly or quarterly reporting. Annual reports usually require significant detail, making the process time consuming and labour intensive for insurers. Annual reporting requirements vary from country to country, making it complex for cross-border […]

Meet the Expert is our series of blogs where we share more about the team behind our innovative software and managed services. As a global organisation with indirect tax experts across all regions, our dedicated team are often the first to know about new regulatory changes, ensuring you stay compliant. We spoke to Christina Wilcox, […]

There are a variety of different approaches to Insurance Premium Tax (IPT) treatment for marine insurance across Europe. Before looking at how individual countries treat marine insurance, it is worth noting the challenges in determining the country entitled to levy IPT and any associated charges. The location of risk relating to marine vessels falls within […]

Update: 9 March 2023 by Hector Fernandez IPT in Spain is complex. Navigating the country’s requirements and ensuring compliance can feel a difficult task. Sovos has developed this guide to answer prominent and pressing questions to help your understanding of Insurance Premium Tax in the country. Originally created following a Spain IPT webinar we hosted, […]

The Spanish tax system is one of the most complex in Europe. This can bring a real challenge to insurance companies writing business in Spain or for those that want to start writing business in the country. As explained in previous blogs, Spain has various taxes and surcharges on insurance premiums with different rates and […]

It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when new taxes or tax rate increases will happen. Covid-19 has impacted almost everything, including a massive deficit in the economy. Many banks have applied negative interest and governments have put funding in place to aid recovery. It’s highly likely that tax authorities will be looking at ways to bring […]

Europe has seen relatively few changes to insurance premium tax (IPT) rates recently. The most notable recent change was the 33% increase in IPT rate in Spain (up from 6% to 8%) at the beginning of 2021. Brexit became official on 1 January 2021, following the end of the transition period. This means UK based […]

We hosted a webinar about the IPT regulation changes in Europe with our IPT team. Topics included Spain’s IPT increase, Portugal Stamp Duty reporting and other IPT changes across Europe, including Germany, France, Luxembourg, Belgium and Denmark. Although our expert team answered plenty of questions, they didn’t have time for everyone. Here’s a helpful summary. […]