Australia’s Tax and Superannuation Laws Amendment (2014 Measures No. 4) Bill 2014 received Royal Assent on October 16. The law includes provisions tightening Australia’s thin capitalization rules and reforming the tax exemption for foreign non-portfolio dividends paid to Australian corporations. See, Parliament of Australia.
Singapore’s government has launched a public consultation on proposed regulations that would help financial institutions comply with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Singapore has substantially concluded a Model 1 Intergovernmental Agreement with the US, which will be signed in the fourth quarter of 2014. Release
The requirements for the entry into force of the protocol between Japan and Sweden, signed December 5, 2013, were met on Sept. 16 and the treaty will enter into force on October 12, Japan’s Ministry of Finance has announced.
The protocol sets a zero rate of withholding on interest and royalties. The withholding rate for dividends is zero for corporate shareholders that hold at least 10 percent voting power, and is 10 percent in other cases.
The protocol also adds measures to prevent abuse of the treaty, introduces an arbitration proceeding to the mutual agreement procedure, and expands exchange of information. Release, Protocol (66KB).
Switzerland and Uzbekistan, on July 1, signed a protocol to amend their double taxation agreement. The protocol brings the administrative assistance clause into line with the applicable international standard for the exchange of information upon request. The protocol must be ratified by both countries before it can enter into force. Release
The Australian government, on May 8, announced a consultation on proposals to tighten the country’s thin capitalization rules. On November 6, 2013, the government said it would proceed with the reforms, which were included in the May 2013 Australian budget. The proposed amendments include a tightening the debt limit settings of Australia’s thin capitalization regime. Consultation, New For analysis see, Pitcher Partners
India’s Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) has concluded that it does not have jurisdiction unless there has been a transaction or a proposed transaction entered by the applicant with Indian companies, according to a report by KPMG
The Australian Taxation Office on November 10 published a general overview if Australia’s advance pricing arrangement (APA) program. See: Australian Taxation Office.
Australia’s Treasurer on October 7 released an exposure draft of legislation that would extend the GST to digital products . . .
The Australian government on September 16 moved forward with plans to address multinational tax avoidance, introducing a bill in the House of Representatives that targets large companies that avoid the permanent establishment rules. The bill also proposes new transfer pricing documentation and country-by-country . . .
The Philippines Department of Finance on September 8 advised that since the FATCA intergovernmental agreement (IGA) between The Philippines and the US has not yet entered . . .
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) on July 8 announced that it is developing a practical guide to help taxpayers self-assess their transfer-pricing activity in respect to related party offshore marketing hubs. The hubs provide marketing and sales functions for goods . . .
China has signed a tax treaty with Chile and a protocol to its tax treaty with Russia, China’s State Administration of Taxation said in July 3 English-language releases. The treaty with Chile, signed May 25, is is the 100th treaty signed by China, the government . . .
China’s State Administration of Taxation in a June 23 English-language release described follow up procedures implementing the SAT’s decision no longer require tax administration approval . . .
G7 finance ministers and central bank governors agreed at a meeting in Dresden held May 27–29 that the mechanisms used to settle tax disputes between nations need to be improved, German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said. Schaeuble told a press conference following . . .
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) on April 17 updated information on its website concerning FATCA reporting. Changes were made to information on . . .
Hong Kong’s Inland Revenue Department, on January 29, released revised forms for companies, partnership, trusts, and other entities to apply for a certificate of resident status for purposes of claiming tax treaty . . .
Australian Greens Leader Christine Milne has announced that her party will introduce on October 28 the Corporations Amendment (Publish What You Pay) Bill 2014, which will require reporting of payments made by Australian-based extractive companies to foreign governments on a country-by-country and . . .
The Isle of Man Treasury announced on October 21 that the “Agreement for the Exchange of Information Relating to Tax Matters” signed by the Isle of Mann and Indonesia on June 22, 2011, entered into force on September 22. Release.
Bitcoin is not foreign currency but is an asset subject to capital gains tax, so transacting in bitcoin is similar to bartering, the Australian tax office (ATO) concluded in a package of draft guidance released on August 20.
The ATO said that businesses receiving bitcoin as payment for goods or . . .
India’s government will amend its tax regulations to allow for the roll back of advance pricing agreements (APAs) to the previous four years, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced during a July 10 speech outlining the 2014-15 Union Budget.
The new rules, long sought by international firms, could assist in resolving India’s huge backlog of transfer pricing disputes, permitting concepts agreed to in an APA between the government and a taxpayer to apply to previous tax years.
Jaitley said the government will also introduce a “range concept” to determine arm’s length price for transfer pricing, though arithmetic mean . . .
Philippines tax authorities have accelerated work on advance pricing agreement (APA) guidelines and are working on transfer pricing documentation and audit guidelines, writes Quantera Global, in a June 3 post to its website. For details, see Quantera Global.
India and Mauritius have reached consensus on the conclusion of a tax treaty, the Mauritian government announced July 1. Agreement was reached yesterday following discussions held by a joint working group of Indian and Mauritian officials . . .
The US Treasury Department updated its FATCA website reporting that the UAE has signed a Model 1 intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the United States as of June 17. The text of the agreement is available. The countries, on June 10, 2014, agreed . . .
The Indian government on May 21 released draft transfer pricing rules that would introduce the concept of a range for determining arm’s length price as well as allow the use of multiple year data for comparability purposes. The rules . . .
New Zealand’s government on May 7 released a white paper which makes a variety of recommendations on ways to close loopholes in the 10 percent non-resident withholding tax on related party debt . . .
Australia’s Treasury on April 28 released an exposure draft of tax legislation designed to plug loopholes in the consolidation regime. According to a release accompanying . . .
Liechtenstein and United Arab Emirates have initialed a tax treaty, Liechtenstein’s Ministry for General Government Affairs announced March 4. The treaty largely follows the OECD Model Convention and provides for cooperation on tax matters between the tax authorities. The agreement also clarifies the tax treatment of asset structures . . .
Japan and Qatar on February 20 signed a tax treaty in Tokyo, the Japanese Ministry of Finance has announced. Under the agreement, taxation in the source country on dividends is reduced to 5 percent for corporate shareholders that hold at least a 10 percent interest, and is 10 percent in other cases. Taxation . . .
India and South Korea have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreeing to suspend the collection of taxes while mutual agreement procedure . . .
Japan and Chile have agreed in principle on a tax treaty, Japan’s Ministry of Finance announced . . .
Hong Kong’s Inland Revenue Department has released the text of a tax treaty signed with Italy on January 14, 2013 . . .
Indonesia’s finance minister on August 18 issued tax regulations offering a tax holiday to businesses in nine strategic sectors for up to 20 years, writes The Jakarta Post. See: The Jakarta Post. See also: Ministry of Finance release, World Finance, Bloomberg, The Business Times.
Hong Kong on July 17 published in its official gazette Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No.2) Ordinance 2015, which extends the profits tax exemption for offshore funds to private equity funds. To qualify for the profits tax exemption, offshore private equity . . .
The Society of Indian Law Firms has filed complaints with the Bar Council of Delhi alleging that PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, EY, and their executives have engaged in unauthorized . . .
New Zealand expects in 2015 to negotiate tax treaties or protocols with Korea, Australia, Norway, Slovak Republic, China . . .
India will never agree to mandatory arbitration and will make its view known at the G-20 leaders summit, reports Shruti Srivastava of the Financial Express in a November 13 article, quoting an unnamed senior official. Srivastva also quotes the official as stating that India “will raise the issue of defining ‘significant digital presence,’ which may include the number of bytes used, number of users, or the value addition done in a country.” The summit begins November 15 in Brisbane, Australia. For more, see Financial Express.
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