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Elena Kostovska Because of the private sector's low liquidity as a result of the global financial downturn, companies frequently find themselves reaching for the last available tool to collect uncollected receivables, the forceful collection mechanism. It is worth noting that the procedure to forcefully collect outstanding debt is regulated by certain deadlines after which the said debt becomes obsolete; therefore is considered a bad debt. The following information is of interest to creditors in the private sectors as well as tax debtors that have outstanding liabilities towards the Public Revenue Office in FYR Macedonia.

Thuan Pham Vietnam is a country with a high volume of imports and exports, many of which are transported by sea. For this reason, most of the leading international shipping lines have been present in Vietnam for years via shipping agencies, forwarding agents and other commercial representatives. Vietnam's income tax regulations impose tax on foreign carriers for outbound transactions only. In addition, most of Vietnam's double taxation agreements (DTAs) have a clause on international traffic that gives the right to tax to the home country where the carrier is a resident. Given this, it seems that most foreign carriers should be exempt from tax in Vietnam on the income generated from international ocean traffic. However, the complexity of international transportation activities and a cumbersome process to apply for DTA exemption discourage many taxpayers from taking advantage of this benefit. There is often a long waiting period while the tax authority assesses the dossiers and comes to a final decision regarding DTA exemption. Now, in an effort to simplify the DTA notification process and assist taxpayers (ocean carriers) with tax treaty benefits, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) has drafted an official ruling for collection of opinions from experts.

Zoe Kokoni In December 2012, the Cyprus legislation on the regulation of businesses offering management services and related subjects was finally published. The legislation was welcomed by the majority of the service providers, who see the regulations as a step forward in further enhancing the level of quality in the provision of management services to private companies. The legislation does not apply on CIF and credit institutions who exercise administrative services in the framework of their business which are regulated by their respective competent authorities and management companies and variable capital investment companies who provide administrative services during the course of their business under the Open Ended Undertakings in Collective Investments Law, and only the persons who are eligible will be able to provide management services.

Bob van der Made As expected, the European Commission presented its new draft proposal for a Council Directive implementing a financial transaction tax (FTT) in 11 countries on February 14. The new proposal is largely based on the Commission's September 2011 proposal. It is similarly very wide in scope, both in terms of the types of transactions in scope and the financial instruments in scope. The proposal retains the approach of applying the tax to transactions involving a financial institution and placing the liability for the tax on all financial institutions involved in a transaction. The principal changes to the previous Directive are that:

Janne Juusela The recent government Bill (93/2012) includes amendments to the Inheritance and Gift Tax Act. The amendments are effective as from January 1 2013. According to the amendment, a new tax scale is applicable on inheritance and gifts exceeding €1 million ($1.3 million). Tax on the exceeding amount is subject to 19% rate within the first tax bracket and 35% in the second. The new tax scale shall only be in force for two years, although the government's temporary measures have a tendency to become permanent.

Daniel Harrison In an effort to avoid the double taxation of international income and thus promote foreign direct investment, Laos has concluded double taxation agreements (DTAs) with 12 countries to date – the most recent of which was with Luxembourg on November 4 2012, the first EU member to do so. The Laos-Luxembourg DTA is pending ratification, but it is understood that it will offer a maximum dividend withholding tax rate of 5% where at least 10% of the shares are directly held.

Giuliano Foglia

Cynthia Herman The Myanmar government announced a new round of bids on January 17 2013, giving oil and gas companies two months in which to submit their expression of interest.

No one who has been around deal-making for the last five years believes that the boom times for M&A are coming back soon, but there are signs of recovery in the market. International Tax Review analyses the global M&A trends this year and highlights the leading firms renowned for their advice in this difficult field.

Dajana Topic A country's fiscal system is the complete setup of government revenue and expenditures and the way in which government agencies carry them out. This system is governed by fiscal policy, which comes from decisions made by the governing body. The law on fiscal systems in the Republika Srpska came into effect at the end of 2008. While the first deadline for fiscalisation and putting into operation the fiscal record turnover in the Federation was the end of 2010.