World news
VAT after Brexit deal
On Christmas Eve, after lengthy negotiations that were very tense up to the last moment, the UK finally struck an agreement on its future relationship with the EU. For EU companies, this means that preparations made so far will not be wasted. Below…
Customs procedure post-Brexit
Brexit is drawing unstoppably closer, even though the coronavirus pandemic seems to have upstaged it for now. Early next year, however, the UK's withdrawal will hit us with full force. Which is why British experts are trying to shed light on at…
Effects of Brexit on income tax in 2021
Although the United Kingdom already left the EU as of 31 January 2020, the transition period during which the United Kingdom is still viewed as an EU member state will end on the last day of 2020. It seems unlikely that the transition period will be…
International rules for taxation of digital economy progress next stage
In mid-October, the OECD released for public comments its revised rules for the taxation of the digital economy. The final version of the rules including draft legislation is planned to be issued in mid-2021. The rules are still based on a two…
Business with Northern Ireland after Brexit
The European Commission has prepared a draft of changes to the VAT rules applicable to trading with Northern Ireland. The draft has been submitted as part of the preparations for Brexit at the end of this year. The new rules adjust the existing…
European Commission’s first plans for tax reform within the EU
In mid-July, the European Commission published a first draft of a new tax package aimed to boost the economy and create fair and simple taxation rules within the EU. A more detailed version will be published at the end of 2020, should the OECD’s…
July G20 summit and digital economy taxation
The July G20 summit in Saudi Arabia, a meeting of finance ministers and central banks governors of the world’s major developed and emerging economies, brought a certain shift in their effort to set global rules for the taxation of the digital…
European Commission’s steps to fight coronavirus repercussions
Below we summarise certain steps adopted by the European Commission to fight the spread of COVID-19, primarily focusing on providing economic (material) assistance and loosening some regulations.
DAC7 at last? European Commission targets digital platforms and sharing services
With the implementation of DAC6 underway in Europe, the European Commission has now submitted an initiative that may bring the seventh revision of the Directive on Administrative Cooperation in the Field of Taxation. It focuses on digital and shared…
BEPS 2.0: progress and setbacks
The preparation of BEPS 2.0, new rules for the taxation of the digital economy, has made some progress. Preliminary consensus has been reached on Pillar 1, defining a new rule according to which income will be taxed in the state of sale even if the…
OECD releases Transfer Pricing Guidance on Financial Transactions
The OECD released the long-awaited final version of a report on the pricing of related party financial transactions, which is part of BEPS Action Plans 4, 8-10 and will be implemented into the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines. The report focuses on…
Application of beneficial ownership and anti-abuse principles in the EU
Courts across the EU have been inspired by the so-called Danish judgements of the Court of Justice of the EU, and so some national courts’ decisions on the taxation of dividends and interest payments received by holdings have followed the beneficial…