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Manel Maragall, Garrigues Taxand It is not all bad news in the area of real estate taxation in Spain. It is true that the Spanish government has been forced, by pressure from Brussels, to raise the VAT rate on residential property from 4% to 10% starting next year. It has also committed to eliminating the personal income tax credit for homebuyers (principal residence) starting on January 1 2014.

The accepted standard for transfer pricing has always been the transfer pricing guidelines issued by the OECD. However, that may be changing as China and other developing countries set out their stall in the new UN practical manual on transfer pricing. Glenn DeSouza of Baker & McKenzie in Shanghai analyses what this will mean for multinational businesses.

Rafic Barrage and Kent Stackhouse, of Baker & McKenzie, explain why the US Supreme Court has agreed to address the creditability of UK windfall tax and why the court’s decision could have far-reaching implications for taxpayers.

Paul Morton, head of group tax for Reed Elsevier, discusses his personal views on how to level the VAT playing field for the EU publishing industry and ensure a more equal treatment of paper and electronic books.

Thuan Pham, VDB Loi The issue of VAT refunds, especially in the case of the export of goods or services, is always a notable area of concern for an export enterprise. Subject to certain conditions, a refund request can be processed on a "refund first and review later" or a "review first and refund later" basis. Both ways lead to potential risks for a company if a refund application is not prepared properly. The previously unclear regulations regarding determining the amount of VAT refund to be requested on a monthly basis in the case of exports triggered both financial costs, from delays in receiving the refund, and costs in terms of the administrative burden to process and follow-up the refund application. Companies also risked being penalised if the refund request amount was more than the approved amount. In general, companies in Vietnam are only allowed to apply for a VAT refund every three months. However, there is an exception: if input VAT associated with exports equals or exceeds VND200 million ($9,600), a company can apply for a VAT refund in that month. In the past, there have been varying interpretations among local tax authorities and taxpayers regarding this regulation. To address this and to ensure consistency in implementing this rule, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) has issued OL 14320 (dated October 19 2012). Specifically, based on Article 18, item 2(4) of Circular 6 on VAT, the MOF confirms that the input VAT triggered in a particular month can be declared as a credit to calculate the VAT payable in that month. The VAT refund on a monthly basis applicable for exported goods/services will be allowed only if the input VAT of such goods/services is creditable and still equals or exceeds VND200 million.

Ron Richler

Margaret Hodge, chairman of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in the UK, hauled Google, Amazon and Starbucks over the hot coals last month for avoiding UK taxes. She tells Salman Shaheen how transparency measures such as country-by-country reporting and FATCA can be used to ensure companies pay their fair share of tax and calls for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to step up its game.

Nélio Weiss

Bob van der Made, PwC Further progress has been made on the common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) in the Council's technical tax working group, which has continued to meet and work on this dossier under successive rotating six-monthly EU Council presidencies and with all 27 EU member states present at the table, including the UK and Ireland which have voiced opposition to the introduction of the Commission's plans for a CCCTB. The "article-by-article reading" of the Commission's original Directive to identify and map possible issues for member states in the Council's technical tax issues working group has now been completed. This means that political talks between member states on CCCTB will commence. There continues to be a considerable degree of political will in some key capitals such as Berlin and Paris to make progress on this file. Some member states seem to prefer a two-phased approach: first introduction of a common corporate tax base (CCTB) with possibly consolidation at a later stage.

Janne Juusela, Borenius – Taxand A personnel fund (in Finnish "henkilöstörahasto") is often a functional and tax efficient way to reward employees. The use of personnel funds in Finland has been encouraged by the introduction of a new Personnel Funds Act which entered into force in 2011. At the moment there are approximately 50 registered personnel funds operating in Finland. The number of personnel funds established has increased after the new Act came into force. There are certain tax advantages in connection with personnel funds when compared to traditional bonus plans. The employer may deduct the whole amount of the profit-sharing compensation payments transferred into the personnel fund when the payment has been made, whereas only 80 % of the payments from the personnel fund are taxable earned income for the employees. The personnel fund payments are also exempt from social security contributions, health insurance premiums, pension insurance premiums and other social insurance contributions.