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Margaret Hodge has decided to relinquish her position as chair of the UK's Public Accounts Committee (PAC). She had been expected to seek re-election, but can no longer count herself as the leader of the PAC. Hodge had been a key figure in the fight to bring corporate tax avoidance into the foreground of UK politics, and has been particularly vocal in her criticism of the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF), a tax amnesty which allows wealthy Brits to move previously undeclared assets back into the UK for just a 10% fine, while avoiding criminal penalties.

Soraya Jamal

Petar Varbanov Holders of valid ordinary passports from certain countries do not need a visa to visit Bulgaria for up to 90 days within each period of six months. Bulgarian visas are issued by the Bulgarian embassies and consulates abroad, not at the airports or the land and sea passport control points in Bulgaria. A visa is issued only to holders of passports or travel documents that are valid for at least three months after the end of the intended stay in Bulgaria and that contain a blank page for the attachment of visa vignettes.

Alexander Linn

Nemanja Paskulov The news release from the Canadian Ministry of International Trade highlighted the importance of FIPAs for ensuring the fair treatment of investors and the creation of a more predictable and transparent business environment through reciprocal, legally binding provisions, by setting out clear rules governing investment relations, including in areas of dispute resolution and protection against discriminatory and arbitrary practices, giving businesses greater confidence to invest. Furthermore, the Ministry announced that Serbia is an important commercial partner in southeastern Europe, identifying many areas of potential growth for Canadian investment in Serbia, from the extractive and resource industries and the energy and power generation, to transportation infrastructure and agri-food sectors. Canada-Serbia relations have been strengthened in recent years by a number of bilateral agreements, including a double taxation agreement and social security and air transport agreements.

Rhonda Gregory Inland Revenue and the Treasury have released an issues paper proposing to reform the way non-resident withholding tax (NRWT) applies to interest. Generally, under existing law, where New Zealand-sourced interest is paid to a non-resident lender that does not have a New Zealand branch, the borrower must withhold NRWT at the rate of 15% (although this is usually reduced to 10% under any applicable double tax agreement). In the case of interest paid to a lender that is not associated with the borrower, the rate of NRWT can be reduced to 0% by the borrower paying an approved issuer levy (AIL) of 2%.

Jim Fuller

Umurcan Gago

Gonzalo Gallardo Dividend income and capital gains obtained on transfers of shareholdings in other companies, whether resident in Spain or not, have been exempt from Spanish corporate income tax since January 1 2015 (whereas the previous participation exemption regime covered certain capital gains and dividends only from foreign sources). For this exemption to be applicable, the shareholding must be at least 5% (or its acquisition cost must be more than €20 million ($23 million)) and it must have been owned for an uninterrupted period of at least one year (the 'minimum participation requirement'). If the investee is an entity not resident in Spain, it is also required to have been subject abroad to a tax identical or similar to the Spanish corporate income tax, at a nominal rate of at least 10% ('the minimum taxation requirement'), this latter requirement being presumed met if it is resident in a country with which Spain has signed a tax treaty containing an information exchange clause.

Ivana Blagojevic The Serbian Government passed the decree on conditions and procedures for the attraction of direct investments, which was published in the Official Gazette of Serbia No. 28/2015 from March 20 2015. The decree entered into force on March 21 2015. The decree provides for subsidies for investments into the Serbian market and regulates who can apply for the subsidies, the volume of subsidies and the procedure of applying and granting subsidies.