Regulatory Analysis

Posted April 19, 2017 by Sovos
United Kingdom: Prime Minister Proposes “Snap” General Election

Prime Minister Theresa May has called for an early general election on June 8, claiming it’s the only way to guarantee certainty and stability in Brexit negotiations. The Prime Minister’s Conservative Party is currently polling far ahead of the opposition Labour Party, and her clear hope is that Conservatives will gain enough seats in Parliament […]

Read more
Posted April 19, 2017 by Sovos
Cayman Islands Releases CRS Guidance and Extends FATCA Deadline

Recently, the Cayman Islands published its version 2.0 for CRS Guidance. The Guidance is a very important document for CRS reporting as it contains important information for due diligence and reporting requirements. In particular, Cayman will require Reporting FIs to send separate reports for each of its jurisdictions where it maintains reportable accounts. Moreover, it […]

Read more
Posted April 17, 2017 by Sovos
Germany Releases FATCA Schema Files & Guidance

Germany’s BZSt released both FATCA schema files (XSD files are provided in the [zip file|www.bzst.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/FATCA_downloads/ELANKOM_Schema_FATCAXML2.0_230317_zip.zip?__blob=publicationFile]), and guidance ([Communications Manual Part III, version 2.0|www.bzst.de/DE/Steuern_International/FATCA/Kommunikationshandbuch/Kommunikationshandbuch_FATCA_Teil_III.pdf?__blob=publicationFile]). Both provide important information on how to properly create FATCA returns. Information about the releases can be found in the latest [Infobrief|www.bzst.de/DE/Steuern_International/FATCA/Infobrief/Aktuell/Infobrief_Aktuell.pdf?__blob=publicationFile]. In addition, Germany published guidance on notifications (“[Verarbeitungsprotokolle […]

Read more
Posted April 14, 2017 by Sovos
SSA Releases 2017 Draft Form W-2 and Form W-2c Specifications

SSA has released Draft Form W-2 and Form W-2c Specifications for TY2017 Reporting. There are a number of changes from the previous revisions of the two form specifications. Form W-2 Changes Form W-2 has a new box 12 Code FF money field, Permitted Benefits Under a Qualified Small Employer Health Reimbursement Arrangement (Code […]

Read more
Posted April 13, 2017 by Sovos
Belgium Updates CRS Business Rules and Example Scenarios

The Belgium Ministry of Finance recently published updated Business Rules and Example Scenarios to aid financial institutions in creating compliant CRS XML files for reporting purposes. These most recent updates include changes to important elements critical to a successful transmittal. The Business Rules, which lay out the multitude of requirements for each field in an […]

Read more
Posted April 13, 2017 by Sovos
Pennsylvania Issues Revised SUT-17-001 for Software Support Services

On April 4, 2017, the Pennsylvania DOR revised SUT 17 001 to more narrowly define taxable software support services, stating that training and consulting services were not included unless the services otherwise met the definition of support. Generally, support services were defined to include “identifying the source of problems affecting the usability of the property […]

Read more
Posted April 13, 2017 by Sovos
West Virginia Has New Guidance on Business Registration

West Virginia’s State Tax Department has released a new publication TSD-100, “West Virginia Business Taxes.” The publication provides guidance to Business who need to register for business tax purposes. The six page document is merely instructive and does not function as a legal document. The last time West Virginia published a similar document was November, […]

Read more
Posted April 13, 2017 by Sovos
OECD Publishes Guidelines on Taxation of Services and Intangible Goods

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in newly-published 2017 Guidelines for VAT/GST, has opined on how they believe VAT should be assessed on services and intangibles. Their primary recommendations are that countries adopt regimes which: 1. Tax services and intangibles at the place of consumption; 2. Tax business-to-business (B2B) transactions at the […]

Read more
Posted April 12, 2017 by Sovos
IRS Releases Updated Publication 1281, Backup Withholding For Missing and Incorrect Name/TIN(S)

The IRS has released an updated version of Publication 1281, Backup Withholding For Missing and Incorrect Name/TIN(S). There are a couple of changes from the previous revision: • Form 1099-G payments made under IRC 6041 and 3406(b)(3)(A), which include taxable grants and agricultural payments, are now subject to backup withholding o New code for […]

Read more
Posted April 10, 2017 by Sovos
Alabama’s Back to School Sales Tax Holiday Comes Early

Alabama has recently enacted legislation that permanently changes the date of the state’s Back to School Sales Tax Holiday. The Alabama Sales Tax Holiday, which has traditionally been held during the first weekend of August, will now take place during the third weekend of July. For more information, visit the DOR’s Web site. The post […]

Read more
Posted April 5, 2017 by Sovos
Iceland Publishes New FATCA Schema Information and Enacts FATCA/CRS Resolution

The Icelandic Directorate of Internal Revenue has released information about its domestic schema to be used for both FATCA and CRS reporting. There is a new section in the schema, <FatcaCrs í framtalsgögnum> (FATCA CRS tax return data), which is meant to allow for either FATCA or CRS data to be reported. Additionally, there is […]

Read more
Posted April 5, 2017 by Sovos
Singapore Amends CRS Regulations

New regulations came into effect this week for CRS in Singapore. The Minister for Finance has published Amendments the last year’s Regulations. Many of the Amendments concern due diligence procedures, including the self-certification process. Singapore is a late adopter. Financial Institutions are required to complete the due diligence procedures this year, and then report in […]

Read more
Posted April 5, 2017 by Sovos
Singapore Releases Nil Return Form

Singapore’s Inland Revenue Authority has released a paper form that Reporting Financial Institutions may use to file a nil report. Nil reports are required whenever an FI does not have any U.S. Reportable Accounts. A Singaporean FI may elect to file an electronic nil through the IDES Gateway, as it would a typical FATCA return. […]

Read more
Posted April 4, 2017 by Sovos
Electronic Invoice Mandate arrives to Paraguay

The Paraguay Tax Administration (SET) recently informed the business community that it is initiating a project to introduce the mandatory use of electronic invoices. The project will be executed in three phases: 1) Definition of the e-Invoice model; 2) Development of the necessary regulations and the technical platform and 3) Implementation of a pilot plan […]

Read more
Posted April 4, 2017 by Sovos
Massachusetts Adopts Economic Nexus via Directive 17-1

On April 3 the Massachusetts DOR issued Directive 17-1 establishing an economic nexus standard for out-of-state vendors. Under this new rule, starting on July 1, the existing “physical presence” standard as defined by the famous Quill v. North Dakota Supreme Court decision would be replaced with a requirement that specifies all vendors that make at […]

Read more
Posted April 4, 2017 by Sovos
North Dakota Publishes Updated Guideline to “Income Tax Withholding: Oil and Gas Royalty Payments”

North Dakota recently released an updated version of Publication 28262 – “Guideline to Income Tax Withholding: Oil and gas Royalty Payments.” The Guideline provides withholding criteria regarding oil and gas related royalty payments. There is one change from the previous version of this publication involving remittance of 1099-MISC forms under the Combined Federal/State Program […]

Read more
Posted April 4, 2017 by Sovos
Maine Publishes Updated Instructions for “Employers Return of Maine Income Tax Withholding”

Maine recently published updated instructions for Form 941-ME, the “Employer’s Return of Maine Income Tax Withholding.” Generally, Form 941-ME is used to report employee or payee income tax withholding to the Maine Revenue Service. The 2017 version of these instructions include a few changes, mostly related to amended returns. • Amended Returns: This section was […]

Read more
Posted April 4, 2017 by Sovos
Arizona Releases Updated A1-QRT: Quarterly Withholding Tax Return

Arizona has released its 2017 Quarterly Withholding Tax Return, the A1-QRT. This form is the quarterly reconciliation and reporting form used for withholding payments made over the course of a quarter. The form has undergone extensive formatting changes, but relatively few material changes. The form now requests more detail related to business closures and […]

Read more