Regulatory Analysis
The Queen’s Speech for 2017, delivered before Parliament on June 21, outlined 27 bills that will make up the government’s agenda for the next two years, including eight bills devoted solely to Brexit. A proposed “Customs Bill,” which would seek to ensure that the UK has a standalone customs regime upon leaving the European Union, is […]
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has recently published three decisions related to VAT law: In Case C-26/16 (Santogal), a motor vehicle dealership in Portugal sold a new vehicle to an Angolan national allegedly residing in Spain, and claimed a VAT exemption on the sale under Article 138(2) of Council Directive […]
The Romanian Senate has significantly amended a bill proposed by the ruling Social Democratic Party, which was designed to reduce VAT on social housing and agriculture. The bill originally proposed a zero-rate on the construction of buildings used for social purposes, such as housing for the elderly, orphanages, and rehabilitation centers. The Senate’s Budget and […]
The Federal Tax Administration has announced the following revisions to the VAT Act, effective January 1, 2018: First, all companies resident in Switzerland and all companies providing services in Switzerland will be liable to collect and remit taxes in Switzerland if their global turnover from non–exempted services exceeds 100,000 CHF. Second, the reduced […]
In April of 2017, the Parliament of the Czech Republic passed legislation that made important changes to the Republic’s Value Added Tax (VAT) Law. The act was then published and codified on June 16th, 2017 in the Collection of Laws, as part of publication 170/2017, seen here. Of the changes, the most notable is […]
The Spanish Tax Administration (AEAT) recently released a comprehensive set of files, tools, and documents necessary for the full implementation of the Immediate Information Remittance System (SII Version 1.0). As a final test step before actual go-live, AEAT announced that from June 21 through June 29 taxpayers and solution providers may begin submitting SII reports […]
On June 8, 2017, twenty European Union Member States voted to establish a new European Public Prosecutor’s Office (EPPO), which will be given broad powers to combat cross-border VAT fraud. The EPPO is envisioned as an independent body with the power to investigate fraud in all participating Member States; it will also be able to […]
On June 12 of 2017, the Italian Tax Authorities (ITA) issued Protocol No. 110418, to further implement the principles of EU administrative cooperation and combating fraud in the field of VAT. The purpose of the new rules is not only to identify potential VAT Fraud, but also to empower the ITA to cancel VAT numbers […]
According to a report from Reuters, the German Economic Ministry has recently been analyzing a possible reduction in the country’s 19% VAT rate, as part of a larger analysis of German trade surpluses. A ministry spokesperson did not deny the report, but stated that a VAT reduction would have a minimal effect on existing surpluses, and that […]
By a vote of 590 to 8, with 10 abstentions, the European Parliament has formally agreed to allow Member States the option of applying reduced VAT rates on electronic books, newspapers and periodicals. This proposal, as put forth by the European Commission, is designed to bring the VAT treatment of e-publications in line with the […]
After nearly two years of negotiations, representatives from the European Commission and Norway initialed an agreement on VAT cooperation in May of 2017. The agreement will facilitate administrative cooperation between the parties, and will provide a legal framework to combat VAT fraud and assist in the recovery of VAT claims. The initialed agreement will officially […]
The Croatian Tax Administration has recently published its response to a query about place of supply rules and VAT liability on a Dutch taxpayer’s sales. The Dutch taxpayer holds a VAT identification number in Croatia but does not have physical presence within the country. The conclusions made in this guidance by the Tax Administration are […]
On June 8th, the Republic of Croatia submitted a final proposal to the European Commission, requesting a derogation from the EU VAT Directive regarding threshold amounts for tax application on small enterprises. This derogation would allow Croatia to exempt from VAT taxable persons whose annual turnover is EUR 45 000, effective January 1, 2018. Under Article […]
On Thursday, June 8, 2017, the United Kingdom held its general election for Parliamentary seats, and the election concluded with shocking results, leaving the U.K. with no overall majority in the House of Commons. The report of the results was a disappointment for Prime Minister Theresa May, who was hoping to increase her Conservative Party’s majority, […]
The UK government has introduced draft legislation that would apply VAT to telecommunications services used outside of the European Union by private UK customers. Under current “use and enjoyment” provisions, such services are not subject to VAT when used outside of the EU. The government claims that this change will remove any ambiguity about place […]
Spain has issued Ministerial Order HFP/2017, which establishes the technical requirements for the implementation of the Immediate Remittance of Information system, locally known as SII. According to this new order, the effective date of the mandate is July 1, 2017. The order officially describes the information that should be sent to the Spanish tax authorities for […]
The Finnish parliament (the Riksdag) is presently considering Bill No. 45/2017, which would change the way VAT is collected on imports into the country. Under section 3.3 of the bill, the responsibility for import VAT collection would shift from the customs authority to the tax administration. Importers would account for import VAT via their tax […]
On May 16, Sweden’s Supreme Administrative Court ruled that a “parent company is allowed to deduct input VAT in respect of consultancy services acquired in connection with the sale of shares in subsidiaries during the restructuring of operations,” on the grounds that “the costs of the services [are] considered to have a direct and immediate link with […]