Section 64E(1) of the South African Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “Act”) provides that dividends tax must be levied at a rate of 20% of the amount of any dividend paid by any company, other than a headquarter company. In terms of section 64EA(a) of the Act, the beneficial owner of a cash dividend is liable for dividends tax in respect of that dividend. However, in terms of section 64F(1), a cash dividend is exempt from dividends tax in various instances ...
Attacks by the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) on the transfer pricing practices of multinational enterprises (“MNEs”) are on the rise, leading to tax disputes with SARS over significant amounts of tax. MNEs operating in South Africa provide information to SARS in various forms such as annual Corporate Income Tax returns, Country-by-Country reports as well as the extensive Transfer Pricing documentation ...
Earlier this year, right in a last minute attempt to win undecided voters for one of the political parties, the leaving members of parliament enacted a new tax law. While fundamental changes to the Austrian Tenancy Law had been vividly discussed between the socialist and the conservative parties in recent years, the new law on the abolition of stamp duty falls completely short of what could have been achieved ...
If your estate plan was put in place more than 3 years ago, the plan is likely designed to save estate taxes at the sacrifice of income tax benefits. Estate tax is no longer a concern for married couples owning less than $11 million of assets. We recommend reviewing your estate plan to confirm that it has the flexibility to adapt to tax law changes and to secure income tax benefits ...
Earlier this year, and the last time before next year’s parliamentary elections, the current Luxembourg Finance Minister presented the budget law for 2018 to the Parliament (Chambre des Députés) ...
As seen in NonProfit Pro With the recent state of natural disasters devastating communities both in the U.S. and abroad, many people turn to charities to see what they can do to help those affected by these tragic events. Over the past two decades, charitable giving has grown considerably in the U.S. The number of public charities is up almost 60 percent, from about 643,000 in 2000 to more than 1 million today, according to the National Center for Charitable Statistics ...
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has commenced accepting registrations for Value Added Tax (VAT) through its online portal ...
Central America is at an inflection point regarding acceptable compliance and conformity. Among all the anxiety and instability that change will bring, it is welcoming to see that separate disciplines are pushing towards similar objectives in Corporate Governance. A quick discussion on Director´s Responsibility provides a glimpse on how new Governance issues will reshape slanted interpretations of the law ...
With virtual currencies such as Bitcoin becoming ever more popular and accessible, it is important that South African taxpayers carefully consider the tax and exchange control uncertainties that accompany the incorporation of these relatively new systems into businesses and/or investment portfolios. We highlight below some of the tax and exchange control consequences arising from transactions involving Bitcoin ...
The UAE has issued substantive law on Value Added Tax (VAT) and Excise Tax. Federal decree law No.8 of 2017 deals with VAT. The imposition of VAT will commence in the UAE from 1 January 2018 at a rate of 5%. The VAT law provides a framework for implementation of VAT in the UAE ...
The Israeli Tax Authority ("ITA"), published a list of instances whereby transfer of funds, through banking corporations, to foreign residents will be exempt from tax withholding ...
Following the Luxembourg case C-274/15, the series of cases relating to the scope of the cost-sharing VAT exemption also referred to as “Independent Group of Persons” (“IGP”) continues with the release today of three judgements by the Court of Justice of the EU (“CJUE”): Aviva (C-605/15), DNB Banka (C-326/15) and European Commission v Federal Republic of Germany (C-616/15) ...
In terms of the South African Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “Act”), distributions received by or accrued to a shareholder of a company may constitute either a dividend or a return of capital – each of which would give rise to different tax implications for the shareholder or company concerned ...
In the 2017 South African Budget speech, the Minister of Finance raised government’s concern that the current Controlled Foreign Company (“CFC”) rules do not capture foreign companies held by interposed trusts or foundations, and it was announced that countermeasures for the treatment of foreign companies held by trusts or foundations will be considered ...
On August 28, 2017, the California Supreme Court issued a 5-2 split decision in California Cannabis Coalition v. City of Upland, S234148. The Court held that a revenue measure proposed by citizen initiative is not “imposed by local government," and does not trigger the procedural limitations of Article XIII C of the California Constitution,[1] as a result ...
Position of Russian Federal Tax Authorities in respect of currency control regulation August 29, 2017 Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, This is to inform you that Federal Tax Authority of the Russian Federation published the Letter no. 3-H-3-17/5523@ dated July 16, 2017, in respect of the position regarding legitimacy of transactions of Russian residents on their foreign bank accounts which were not declared to the local tax authorities (the “Letter”) ...
On 27 August 2017, the United Arab Emirates (the "UAE") published the text of its domestic Value Added Tax (the "VAT") Law, shortly after releasing the text of its Excise Tax Law last week, and the Federal Tax Procedures Law earlier this month. It will be followed by implementing regulations, which will provide more detail on application of the VAT Law.The UAE Government is still planning to introduce VAT on 1 January 2018 ...
SyCipLaw Partners Imelda A. Manguiat and Carina C. Laforteza, Senior Associate Bhong Paulo A. Macasaet, and Associate Maricar G. Ramos contributed the Philippine chapter of Getting the Deal Through: Aviation Finance & Leasing 2017. The chapter addressed pivotal questions about air law and aviation financing and leasing. The scope and rules and regulations of owning, leasing, securing, financing and operating an aircraft were also discussed ...
While the Ukrainian Parliament continues heated debates over the open market for agricultural land, one thing remains clear - the lifting of the moratorium on sale of agricultural land is an inevitable process, which is largely driven by globalization and the expansion of influence of major world corporate groups in Ukraine. However, for the land market and agribusiness to become transparent and efficient, the relevant risk management systems have to be implemented ...
The window period for South African residents to regularise their unauthorised foreign assets under the Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (“SVDP”) closes on 31 August 2017. The current SVDP is the latest in a series of such opportunities offered by the Financial Surveillance Department of the South African Reserve Bank (“SARB”), beginning with the 2003 exchange control amnesty ...
BOTSWANA: Amending protocol to treaty with France signedOn 27 July 2017, Botswana and France signed an amending protocol to the Botswana/France Income Tax Treaty, 1999 in Gaborone. CAMEROON: VAT refund procedure available onlineThe Cameroonian Minister of Finance issued a communiqué on 14 June 2017, announcing that the value-added tax (“VAT”) refund procedure has been simplified and is available online as from 3 July 2017 for enterprises registered with the Large Tax Unit ...
On 19 July 2017, the South African National Treasury released the 2017 Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (“draft TLAB”) for public comment. One of the proposals contained in the draft TLAB is the deletion of the exemption for foreign employment income contained in section 10(1)(o)(ii) of the Income Tax Act, 1962 with effect from 1 March 2019 ...
The first draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, 2017 (the “2017 TLAB”) was released on 19 July 2017 for public comment (due by 18 August 2017).Among other things, it is proposed that the current section 22B of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “Act”) and paragraph 43A of the Eight Schedule to the Act, be substituted with a new section 22B and paragraph 43A ...
South Africans who think that their tax burden is going to decrease because country-by-country (“CbC”) reporting does not apply to their company should think again!In addition to the recently released draft notice requiring the submission of CbC reports, master file and local file returns, the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) has recently issued the External Business Requirements Specification (“BRS”) document, setting out CbC and Financial Data
Earlier this year, the President of the United Arab Emirates (the “UAE”) issued the new Tax Procedures Law (the “Law”). This Law contributes to build the UAE’s tax system, to regulate the administration and collection of taxes and most importantly, to clarify the respective rights and obligations between the Federal Tax Authority (the “FTA”) and the taxpayer ...
