News in Brief, January 2023

DOMESTIC NEWS

• Decree No. 401/2022 Coll. sets foreign meal allowance rates for 2023. The meal allowance for Germany and Austria remains at EUR 45, for France at EUR 50. The rates have been increased for Poland (to EUR 45), Sweden (to EUR 60), and Finland (to EUR 55).
• Compensation for domestic business trips for 2023 is regulated by Decree No. 467/2022 Coll. on changing the rate of basic compensation for the use of road motor vehicles and meal allowances and on determining the average price of fuel for the purpose of providing travel expense compensation.
• GFD Instruction D-60 on determining uniform exchange rates for the 2022 taxable period pursuant to Section 38 of Act No. 586/1992 Coll., on Income Taxes, as amended until 31 December 2022, has been published in Financial Bulletin No. 1/2023.
• GFD Instruction D-59 on a uniform procedure for the application of certain provisions of Act No. 586/1992 Coll., on Income Taxes, has been published in Financial Bulletin No. 19/2022. It replaces GFD Instruction D-22 and takes effect on 1 January 2023. It can be applied for the first time for taxable periods beginning in 2023.
• GFD Instruction D-29 on waiving fines for the failure to file a VAT ledger statement has been published in Financial Bulletin No. 18/2022, including Addendum No. 9.
• The financial administration has published its Overview of Changes and Innovations for 2023, among which are the definitive abolition of the electronic reporting of sales, the extension of the range of databox owners, or the new turnover threshold for mandatory VAT registration.
• The Ministry of Industry and Trade has prepared an overview of changes that will affect entrepreneurs from 1 January 2023. The changes concern seven laws, 22 regulations and 11 government decrees.
• Several legislative novelties from the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs came into force at the beginning of 2023, concerning, among other things, state social aid, aid in material distress, and pensions. Changes are also being prepared concerning employment. Key changes are an adjustment of the housing allowance, an increase in the minimum wage, and the enhancement of the efficiency of medical assessment services. You can read the details HERE.
• The financial administration has published its information on energy crisis implications for transfer pricing.

FOREIGN NEWS

• The OECD has published several documents on the implementation of Pillar 1 and Pillar 2: under Pillar 1 (changing taxing rights), for comment procedure, a draft part of a multilateral convention that includes commitments by countries to abolish digital taxes and similar measures; under Pillar 2 (minimum effective tax), final versions of the model GloBE rules for implementation into local legislations, a commentary on these rules, conditions for temporary exemptions from the application of the minimum tax (safe harbours) and penalty relief, and illustrative examples. In addition, the draft tax return and disclosures and the draft rules to provide tax certainty and resolve potential disputes are open for public comment. The OECD plans to introduce both pillars from 2024 (see also our article on the adoption of the EU directive on the minimum effective tax).
• The European Commission has published a draft VAT in the Digital Age Directive, containing the following proposals: mandatory e-invoicing for VAT purposes, the transferring of responsibility for collecting VAT on passenger transport and short-term accommodation services to the operators of digital platforms through which the service is provided, and a single VAT registration in the EU.
• The European Commission has published a draft DAC 8 with a proposed effective date from 2026. The directive is intended to extend administrative cooperation in the field of taxation to include the reporting and sharing of information between member states on income derived from the holding and transfer of cryptocurrencies and electronic money. The adoption of the proposal is one of the tax priorities of the Swedish EU Presidency.
• The CJEU has ruled that the obligation for intermediaries subject to legal professional privilege (e.g., tax advisors, solicitors) to notify other intermediaries of their reporting obligations in respect of cross-border arrangements under the EU mandatory disclosure rules (DAC6) is invalid. The CJEU justified the invalidity by reference to the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, specifically the right to respect for communication between a lawyer and their client. The case under review concerned the legal professional privilege of Belgian lawyers. It is possible that the CJEU's conclusions will be incorporated by the European Commission in the draft directive on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation within the above regulation of cryptocurrencies.