Regulatory Analysis

Posted May 12, 2017 by Lee Pender
North Dakota Increases Prepaid E911 Fee

North Dakota recently enacted legislation which will increase the Prepaid Wireless Emergency 911 Fee from 2.0% to 2.5% effective July 1, 2017. Retailers are required to collect this fee on all sales of prepaid wireless services and minutes. Retailers must remit the collection of such fees to the State Tax Commissioner. Revenue generated from this increase […]

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Posted May 12, 2017 by Lee Pender
North Dakota Exempts Internet Access Services from Sales and Use Tax

Effective July 1, 2017, North Dakota will begin to provide an exemption from sales tax for sales of “internet access services.” Since 1998, the Internet Tax Freedom Act has prohibited federal, state and local governments from levying a tax on internet access however, seven states which previously had imposed taxes on internet access, including North Dakota, were […]

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Posted May 12, 2017 by Lee Pender
North Dakota Expands Exemption for Farm Machinery to Include Dairy Farm Equipment

Effective July 1, 2017, North Dakota will expand the definition of “Farm Machinery” to include machinery, equipment and materials used exclusively in a milking operation of a dairy farm. In North Dakota, sales of new farm machinery sold exclusively for agricultural purposes are taxed at a lower tax rate of 3% compared to the general […]

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Posted May 12, 2017 by Lee Pender
North Dakota’s Telecom Infrastructure Exemption to Expire

North Dakota’s sales and use tax exemption for tangible personal property used to construct or expand telecommunications service infrastructure is set to expire on June 30, 2017. This exemption covers cell towers, switching equipment, cable, and other infrastructure items used directly in delivering telecommunication services and owned by a telecommunications company. In order to receive […]

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Posted May 12, 2017 by Lee Pender
Spain Revises FATCA XML Guidance

The Spanish Tax Administration has updated its XML guidance for submitting FATCA returns. There is only one significant revision of which filers should take note. It provides a web address for the consultation of presentations made in the preproduction test environment. In order to access this page, the filer will need to have a […]

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Posted May 12, 2017 by Lee Pender
Spain Publishes New CRS and FATCA FAQs

The Spanish Tax Administration has published additional answers to Frequently Asked Questions regarding FATCA and CRS reporting. The questions address specific circumstances – under both FATCA and CRS – in which a Financial Institution is obligated to carry out blocking of a financial account for both entities and natural persons: A Financial Institution must […]

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Posted May 12, 2017 by Lee Pender
Jersey Posts Reporting Guidance for CRS

Jersey has posted guidance for next month’s CRS reporting.  Jersey had previously released guidance in April for FATCA.  This publication contains information on single or multi-jurisdictional reporting, trustee and third party reporting, and nil returns, amongst others.  Jersey’s due date is June 30.  As such, this publication should be reviewed by Reporting Financial Institutions to […]

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Posted May 12, 2017 by Lee Pender
Bermuda Releases CRS Guidance

Bermuda has published Guidance for Financial Institutions to follow with respect to the Common Reporting Standard.  Financial Institutions and their advisors should pay particular attention to the information as it covers many facets of the due diligence and reporting requirements.  In particular, the Guidance provides that the due date for this year’s reporting will be […]

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Posted May 12, 2017 by Lee Pender
Bahrain Publishes CRS Legislation

Bahrain, a late adopter jurisdiction, has recently posted legislation (CRS Directive) concerning the Common Reporting Standard.  The legislation, though brief, does provide some important information for Financial Institutions.  Of note, Bahrain will require CRS returns to be furnished by May 2, and that FIs submit nil reports.  In addition, there is a list of Participating Jurisdictions […]

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Posted May 12, 2017 by Lee Pender
Costa Rica Publishes Communication on FATCA Reporting

Costa Rica recently published a communique on FATCA reporting.  The document sets the reporting dates for 2016 information to be reporting in 2017.  Reporting dates will run from May 12 to August 11, 2017.  The document also provides links to the portals available for reporting, as well instructions for registration of reporters and, validation, testing, […]

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Posted May 12, 2017 by Lee Pender
Monaco Releases Updated CRS Guidance Publication

Monaco recently published an updated publication on the implementation of the automatic exchange of information. This publication relates to how financial institutions must report under the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS). This most recent update includes a few updates to existing language surrounding trusts, specifically with regard to controlling persons. The settlor, trustee, protector, […]

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Posted May 9, 2017 by Lee Pender
India Updates AEOI Schema for Filing Year 2017

India recently published an update to Form 61B, which is part of the XML schema used by India for AEOI reporting. The two changes apply to the following fields: The XML Element Name “AcctCatg” was added under Form61B/PartBReportDetails/AccountDtls; The XML Element “CurrCode” was modified by providing all currency codes along with INR […]

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Posted May 5, 2017 by Lee Pender
OECD Publishes Updated FAQs and Informational Pages, Turkey Signs MCAA

The OECD has released the April 2017 version of its Frequently Asked Questions, which give detailed explanations on a variety of CRS topics. The following additional issues are addressed in the updated FAQ publication: Qualification of usufruct (a legal right to use and derive profit from property) for CRS purposes Identification of Controlling […]

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Posted May 3, 2017 by Lee Pender
United Kingdom Enacts Amendments to International Tax Compliance Regulations

The United Kingdom Parliament has passed a set of amendments to the previously enacted International Tax Compliance Regulations of 2015. This legislation governs the responsibilities of British Financial Institutions to comply with both the FATCA and CRS reporting regimes. These new regulations, which are scheduled to come into force on May 17, 2017, modify […]

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Posted April 28, 2017 by Lee Pender
France Updates FATCA Guidance

France has updated its FATCA Guidance for this July’s reporting. Specific changes are highlighted in blue through out the publication, and a summary is provided on the second page. Filers should be mindful of any changes made to ensure that they will be able to send proper FATCA returns. In particular, there is guidance on […]

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Posted April 28, 2017 by Lee Pender
Luxembourg Opens Testing and Production Platforms for CRS Reporting

The Luxembourg Direct Tax Administration published a newsletter stating that it has opened its pre-validation (testing) and production environments for the filing of CRS returns. Filers are advised to carry out end-to-end tests on the pre-validation platform before submitting any reports. As was the case last year, the platform may be accessed using one of […]

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Posted April 28, 2017 by Lee Pender
Liechtenstein Extends FATCA Deadline for Tax Year 2016 Returns

The Tax Administration of Liechtenstein has released a statement to inform FIs and filers that the deadline for the transmission of FATCA reports has been extended to July 31, 2017. Originally, the due date for tax year 2016 reports was June 30th. The post Liechtenstein Extends FATCA Deadline for Tax Year 2016 Returns appeared first […]

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Posted April 27, 2017 by Sovos
Pennsylvania Modifies Instructions for Completing Form PA-501, Employer Deposit Statement

The Pennsylvania Department of Revenue has revised its instructions for completing Form PA-501, Employer Deposit Statement of Employer Withholding Tax. There are clarifications and modifications to this instructions of which filers should take note: • “Gross Compensation” was clarified to mean “Total Compensation Subject to PA Tax.” • “Credits” was clarified to instruct […]

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