Search results for

Zoe Kokoni The Republic of Cyprus has once again kept its promise to international investors and introduced – on July 9 2015 – amendments to its tax legislation making the jurisdiction more attractive than ever before. The purpose of these amendments is to clearly establish Cyprus as the leading tax jurisdiction in the European Union, attract even further investment in Cyprus while at the same time harmonising its domestic laws with EU obligations. In a nutshell, the new tax legislation is as follows:

Sermon on the right amount? John Oliver set up a tax deduction church

Mohamed Ezz 'Free zones' are one of the distinguished investment patterns where an investor can establish, set up and start his own project under the umbrella of this system. This system provides to the investor several benefits related to goods movement, either in or out, without dealing with different procedures in relation to customs, import, monetary system and other aspects of the procedures applied in similar transactions where the project is established under the aegis of the free zone system. In Egypt, the free zone system is regulated by Incentives and Securities of Investment Law No 8 of 1997, its executive regulation and modifications. This system is applied by the General Authority for Investment and Free Zones (GAFI). According to the regulations, while the free zone areas are located in Egypt, they are considered to be offshore areas.

"America leads the world in innovation and R&D. In fact, Kendall Square in Cambridge is home to the highest concentration of R&D in the world. However, our grip on this title is slipping. One of the main culprits is our broken and outdated tax code, which remains a rotary phone in a smart phone world."

Bob van der Made Selected issues discussed:

Vetta Zournatzidi Greece's widely-reported VAT reform package has been officially voted by Parliament. The package seeks to boost VAT revenues through the amendment of VAT rates, the gradual abolishment of the favourable VAT rates for Greek islands and the adoption of measures to improve VAT collection. Greece has embarked on a reform of its VAT system to secure financial assistance from the European Stability Mechanism (ESM), since "streamlining of the VAT system and broadening of the tax base to increase revenue" were set by the Euro Summit as prerequisites for the conclusion of an agreement.

In this exclusive op-ed piece for International Tax Review, Chris Lenon, former head of tax for Rio Tinto and an expert witness to the Independent Commission for the Reform of International Corporate Taxation (ICRICT), argues that a focus on incentives and ultra low or no tax jurisdictions should be policy makers’ priority, rather than ideas included in the commission’s report, such as allocation.

The IMF has reiterated its recommendations for big tax changes in the UAE The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to introduce corporate tax, VAT and a new tax on cars. The country has been considering the introduction of VAT in tandem with its Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) partners. The IMF recommends an initial VAT rate of around 5%.

The accelerated payments notice legislation has caused controversy in the UK The UK revenue authority, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), has successfully fought off a legal challenge to its controversial accelerated payment notices (APNs) legislation.

The European Commission (EC) has ordered France to recover €1.37 billion ($1.50 billion) from Électricité de France (EDF), the energy company, for tax breaks given to the company in 1997.