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László Kovács, EU tax commissioner, reiterated that he will push for a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) despite objections from several EU members. Kovács's comments appeared in a UK newspaper on October 6 and follow a speech in the Houses of Parliament, the UK legislature, detailing plans for the CCCTB on September 28. The UK is considered one of the EU's vociferous campaigners for tax autonomy.

The new firm, KPMG Europe, will initially comprise the German and UK member firms. But it is hoped that other European member firms will follow the lead of the two largest European economies. KPMG Europe will be headed by John Griffith-Jones, head of KPMG UK, and Rolf Nonnenmacher, KPMG's German chair. The head office will be in Frankfurt, Germany.

Christine Stix-Hackl, an advocate-general of the European Court of Justice, has dismissed Germany's argument that a repayment of a dividend tax considered to contravene EU laws constitutes a serious economic burden. Stix-Hackl's opinion in the Meilicke case follows that of advocate-general Antonio Tizzano in November 2005 in the same case. Before 2001,German investors that bought stock in German companies were allowed to apply for a tax credit on dividend tax payments, but Germans paid dividends from EU companies based outside Germany could not claim a discount. Tizzano said this contravened EU law on the free movement of capital, but thought the financial burden of a European Court judgment that ruled against Germany and ordered repayment may have grave consequences in an economy that has been underperforming for more than a decade.

Chris Spooner, the bank's tax head, said at a Chartered Institute of Taxation conference that HSBC was considering relocating from its London headquarters because of the complexity and cost of the UK regime. But a spokesperson for HSBC told Reuters, a news agency, that the bank was going to stay in the UK.

The European Court of Justice has contradicted two advocate generals' opinions by ruling that Italy's IRAP tax, a regional levy on production, complies with EU law.

Tax policy was at the centre of the UK Conservative Party's conference, held last week in Bournemouth, a seaside town on England's south coast. George Osborne, the shadow chancellor of the exchequer and David Cameron, the party leader, both said taxes would only be cut if economic stability could be ensured. Last month, the party's Tax Reform Commission, which issues its final report on October 19, said the corporate tax rate should fall by five percentage points to 25%.

New laws allowing advanced rulings took effect on October 2. Submissions for rulings should be sent electronically to the South African Revenue Service from October 16

Sixth VAT Directive – Article 33(1) – Prohibition on the levying of other domestic taxes which can be characterised as turnover taxes – Definition of ‘turnover taxes’ – Italian regional tax on productive activities.

Freedom to provide services – Free movement of capital – Companies established in non-member countries – Activity entirely or principally directed towards the territory of a member state – Grant of credit on a commercial basis – Requirement of prior authorisation in the member state in which the service is provided.

Frederic Feyten has left NautaDutilh in Luxembourg to join Oostvogels Pfister Roemers as a partner