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VDB Loi has hired Graham Garven to lead its tax team in Jakarta. He joins from KPMG where he was a partner and head of the firm's transfer pricing practice.

Dajana Topic Free trade zones are part of the customs territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) managed by the founder of the free zone. The users of free zones do not pay taxes and contributions, with the exception of those related to salaries and wages. Investors are free to invest capital in the free zone, transfer their profit and re-transfer capital with no charge.

Benjamin Twardosz Austria's substantial network of double taxation treaties offers advantages to foreign investors that choose to invest through Austria, when compared with other holding jurisdictions. Examples of such treaties are those with Brazil, Kazakhstan and Turkey. To illustrate, taking the case of Turkey, dividends paid to foreign shareholders on Turkish equity investments are subject to domestic withholding of 15% which, when combined with the domestic corporate income tax rate of 20%, may aggregate to a considerable 32% tax burden.

Donka Pechilkova On November 15 2012, the Bulgarian Parliament accepted amendments to the Value Added Tax Act and a 10% tax on bank deposit interests was approved. Effective from January 1 2013, the new tax is applicable on fixed term deposits but not on termless deposits, current accounts and the saving accounts. In addition, the interests from deposits of Bulgarians in bank accounts in other EU member states and European Economic Area countries will also be taxable. The tax would be paid at the end of the month following the quarter in which the interest was due. The obligation to withhold the tax and pay it to the authorities lies with the banks. Physical persons, who have received interests from fixed term deposits, are also obliged to declare them in their yearly income declaration.

Adam McBeth In notice 1393, the General Department of Taxation (GDT) announced that it was granting an extension to the filing deadline for 2012 Cambodian property tax returns, through November 30 2012. In addition, the GDT will remain open on Saturdays and Sundays through the deadline to accommodate the rush of late filers at the various provincial/Khan tax branches. This extension of the filing deadline is one of many that have been granted since the introduction of this new tax just two years ago. The Cambodian property tax (PT) was introduced as part of the Finance Act of 2010, and first became payable in 2011. The tax is assessed against all immovable property/real estate located in Cambodia and having a value in excess of KHR 100 million ($25,000).

Felipe Dominguez Célis

Jamal Afakir

Daniel Harrison Laos is in the middle of a property boom, and it has caught the attention of the tax collectors and legislators. The result: a 5% income tax on the sale or transfer of land and/or buildings (real property) introduced in the Amended Tax Law No. 05/NA, dated December 20 2011 (amended tax law). This new obligation takes aim at individual taxpayers; taxpayers which have historically enjoyed tax-free gains on real property transactions. Notably, the legislation specifically includes transfers distinctly from sales to ensure transactions with no consideration are caught – perhaps an inclusion with transactions between relatives and the like in mind.

Jelena Zivkovic The government issued a new regulation (Official Gazette of Montenegro no 51/12) concerning the recognition of fees as an overpaid tax, which employers pay for professional training of their employees. Specified by this regulation, the fees paid by the employer for the training of professionals, are recognised as overpaid taxes.

Keith O’Donnell