World news
Decision on digital services tax postponed
The Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) did not pass the draft directive on digital services tax at its meeting on 4 December 2018.
October ECOFIN meeting: quick VAT fixes
In addition to the generalised reverse charge mechanism, other important VAT changes were agreed on at the October meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN). These involve quick fixes and the application of a reduced rate to e…
Generally applicable reverse charge mechanism
At its October session, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) approved a proposal allowing the EU member states to temporarily implement a generalised reverse charge mechanism until 2022.
Clearer rules for cross-border tax dispute resolution
In the autumn of 2017, the long-awaited EU directive on tax dispute resolution mechanisms in the European Union was passed. It aims to unify international cooperation in the resolution of tax disputes mainly arising from interpretation ambiguities…
OECD’s discussion draft on the transfer pricing of financial transactions
The discussion draft provides guidance on the pricing of common intra-group financial transactions, such as loans, cash pools, hedging transactions and guarantees.
Brexit: What happens if UK leaves the EU with no deal?
In mid-July, the UK government published more than a hundred-page-long document called the UK-EU Future Relationship White Paper, providing information on how the relationships between the UK and the EU should look like with respect to the economy,…
American import duties: a trade war and accumulating WTO complaints
A few months have passed since the USA introduced duties on the imports of steel, aluminium, solar panels and washing machines. Currently, no end is in sight for one of the modern history’s greatest trade conflicts. The number of import duties is…
Japan-EU Economic Partnership Agreement signed
Representatives of the EU and Japan met in Tokyo to sign an agreement on economic cooperation. It aims to create new opportunities for the import of agricultural products from the EU, remove Japanese customs duties on products such as cheese or wine…
Rosy prospects for green investments
In May 2018, the European Commission (EC) presented a package of legislative proposals aiming to promote sustainable finance. The package includes a regulation on disclosures concerning the sustainability of investments, and a regulation on the…
Brexit: three customs arrangement options after Britain leaves the EU
If the present agreement remains unchanged, Great Britain will leave the European Union upon the lapse of the transition period, on 1 January 2021. At that time, it will most likely have to give up one of the greatest economic advantages of EU…
MLI enters into force
On 1 July 2018, the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty-Related Measures to Prevent BEPS (‘Multilateral Instrument’ or ‘MLI’) entered into force. On that date, three months have elapsed from the end of the calendar month in which the MLI…
The end of the present EU VAT system approaching?
Late in May this year, the European Commission submitted a proposal to amend the VAT Directive, outlining the definitive (final) VAT system. The new system should unify the principles applicable in the VAT area across the European Union, simplify…