Regulatory Analysis
On February 5, 2018, the European Commission backed Italy's e-invoicing mandate by recommending the EU Council approve Italy's derogation request from the EU VAT Directive. By way of background, Italy's mandate (which would become effective in two stages starting on July 1, 2018) requires taxpayers to provide, in real time, electronic invoices through the Italian […]
On January 18, 2018, the European Commission proposed an overhaul of the European VAT System, building on the 2016 VAT Action Plan. The main goal of the proposed changes is to create a European VAT area that operates more efficiently in a globalized world and aids in preventing VAT fraud. The changes will also enhance […]
On December 29, 2017, Norway's Ministry of Finance amended their Bookkeeping Regulations to revise the timeline relating to the mandatory implementation of the Standard Audit File-Tax (SAF-T) mandate. The Ministry now specifies that SAF-T reporting will be required on January 1, 2020 or later. This action was entirely expected as the Norwegian Tax Administration had […]
On January 5, the Environmental Audit Committee (a sub-body of the UK Parliament) issued a report calling for a 25p ($0.34 USD) levy on prepared coffee sales where the customers receive a disposable cup. The funds from the levy would be earmarked to create additional recycling facilities and the “binfrastructure” necessary to support proper coffee […]
The European Commission has proposed a Council Directive that would make permanent a minimum standard VAT rate of 15% for all Member States. The 15% minimum rate currently exists as a "transitional" measure, though it has been extended six times since its enactment in 1992. If approved, the permanent 15% minimum rate of VAT would take […]
On December 4th, 2017, Italy’s parliament adopted Law Decree no. 148, by way of Law no. 174. Under Article 5 of Law Decree no. 148, the current VAT rate of 10% would be increased to 11.14% effective January 1, 2018. However, the 2018 Italian budget bill currently provides for the reduced VAT rate to be 10% […]
International News OECD Issues New Advice on VAT Administration On Oct 24, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released guidance on how countries can implement effective VAT collection systems for cross-border trade, particularly concerning digital/electronic supplies. The guidance, which is entitled, Mechanisms for the Effective Collection of VAT/GST, relates mostly to design options […]
The Croatian Parliament has published in the Official Gazette 115/16, changes to Croatia's VAT Act that are effective January 1, 2018. Among these changes is an increase in the threshold amount over which businesses are required to register for VAT in Croatia. As of January 1, the amount will increase to HRK 300,000.00. Any businesses […]
As a part of the recent changes to the Environmental Handling Fee (EHF) program in Canada, a new fee has been announced that will be imposed, in the provinces of Quebec and Manitoba, on all sales of flashlights and spotlights, electronic toys, and smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, when these products are sold with batteries, effective January […]
On October 16, 2017, Italy's Council of Ministers approved the 2018 Budget Bill. The bill proposes two new electronic invoicing requirements for businesses. Starting July 1, 2018, electronic invoices would be required to be submitted through the Sistema di Interscambio for services rendered by subcontractors under a public-service contract, as well as for the sale […]
On October 13 2017, the Polish Ministry of Finance published a new version of SAF-T structures for VAT-JPK_VAT(3) and announced that transmittals pursuant to the new structure will be required as of January 1, 2018. The new version includes changes to the Heading and Entity identification structures. The new changes in .xsd format are available […]
On Oct 24, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released guidance on how countries can implement effective VAT collection systems for cross-border trade, particularly concerning digital/electronic supplies. The guidance, which is entitled, Mechanisms for the Effective Collection of VAT/GST, relates mostly to design options for effective VAT collection mechanisms and registration systems. […]
The Spain Ministry of Finance released the first report detailing business compliance with the new SII mandate. According to the report, the compliance rate is in excess of 90%, meaning that approximately 50,000 businesses are meeting the requirement of providing transactional details to the government on a near-real-time basis. In the last three months, more […]
On October 4, 2017, the European Commission published a set of proposals aimed at simplifying and modernizing the current VAT system. The "cornerstone" principles of the Commission's approach are: Combating VAT fraud and reducing the €150 billion VAT Gap Establishing a "One Stop Shop" for cross-border trade Consistently applying the "destination principle" for VAT […]
The Mexican President has issued a Decree by which taxpayers that were affected by the earthquake of September 19 in the municipalities of the states of Guerrero, Mexico, Morelos, Oaxaca, Puebla, Tlaxcala, as well as in Mexico City, will be allowed to pay the VAT due on transactions carried out during the months of September, […]
On October 1, 2017, the Catalonian region of Spain held a referendum on independence. While the Spanish Supreme Court declared the vote unconstitutional and Spain does not recognize the result as legally binding, the vote was held and the results were that an overwhelming majority of Catalan voters expressed a clear desire to become an […]
The Dutch government has released its Tax Plan for 2018, which includes three provisions relating to the VAT law. First is the abolition of the special scheme for agriculture. The government's explanatory memo states that this plan is being abolished because the modernization of farming has led agricultural businesses to more closely resemble other businesses, thus obviating […]