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Under existing rules, foreign accrual property income (FAPI) earned by a controlled foreign affiliate (CFA) of a Canadian resident taxpayer generally will be taxed in the taxpayer's hands in the year it is earned, regardless of whether such earnings are distributed to the Canadian resident. Foreign accrual property income includes passive investment income and certain other stipulated amounts. This tax treatment is intended to prevent Canadian residents from earning passive income through an offshore subsidiary in a low tax jurisdiction while deferring the income recognition for Canadian purposes until distributions are made. If FAPI is earned in a foreign affiliate of a Canadian resident taxpayer and that affiliate is not a CFA, the earnings may not be subject to Canadian tax until distributed to the Canadian taxpayer.

The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has been rocked by scandals over allegations of corruption, leaving the future of Commissioner Tom Moyane and the credibility of the tax authority hanging in the balance. Experts wonder if taxpayers can still trust the SARS.

A recent judgment of the Spanish Supreme Court may bring to an end the discrimination suffered by residents of third countries (not belonging to the EU) who receive inheritances or gifts in Spain and are paying a higher Spanish inheritance tax than residents of Spain or of the EU. The Supreme Court judgment, rendered in February 2018, ordered the Spanish government to indemnify the taxpayer (a Canadian resident who received the inheritance from his mother, resident in Spain) with the difference between the tax he paid on receiving that inheritance, and the tax he would have had to pay if the relevant autonomous community legislation (which allows tax benefits to be claimed that reduce the tax for Spanish and European residents) had been applied to him, together with late-payment interest.

The Ministry of Finance is continuing on its path towards limiting VAT gaps and eliminating VAT fraud through the digitalisation of tax settlement procedures. The process began in July 2016 with the introduction of standard audit files for tax (SAF-T) into Polish tax law. To begin with, only some VATpayers (so-called large-scale entrepreneurs) were obliged to prepare and submit SAF-T filings containing data on VAT sales and purchases. Eighteen months later, from January 1 2018, the obligation to prepare and submit SAF-T filings applied to all active VATpayers (excluding those who perform only VAT-exempted activities). SAF-T filings in Poland have to be submitted monthly, no later than the 25th day of the month following the month to which the file refers. This is also the case for taxpayers who are submitting VAT returns on a quarterly basis.

On March 12 2018, Serbia joined the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (Global Forum) in order to combat tax evasion through international tax cooperation.

Although it has a small economy, Malta is fully exposed to the whims of the global economic context. The ramifications of Brexit on European markets are an extremely complex issue, write Nicky Gouder, tax partner, and Luana Scicluna, tax manager of ARQ Group.

US tax returns, divine inspiration, Cardi B and poetry all feature in this month's less-than-serious look at recent tax news.

I've never been one for fine dining. Don't get me wrong, I love flavour, freshness and fancy food, but to be honest I find myself in the same boat as the tax authorities. Something can be intricately and expensively assembled and put in front of me ever so politely, but what I really crave at the end of the day is substance.

Tax incentives and tax relief for special geographical areas in Croatia are regulated by myriad acts and ordinances that are constantly changing and adjusting to the demands of the acquis communautaire. Whereas previously such relief was structured and destined for free trade areas, highlands and areas of special state care, now it is being categorised as a state incentive, subject to EU standards and requirements. The entrepreneurs who are conducting their business activities in the city of Vukovar or the so-called assisted areas (classified as 'Group 1' under the development index) are thus exempt from the payment of corporate income tax or – in the case of craftsmen or self-employed free professionals – personal income tax. Details and conditions for applying for such exemptions are elaborated further in the text.

Over the past decade, permanent establishments (PE) have emerged as one of the hottest topics of dispute during tax inspections in Italy and have also frequently been the subject of contention in the context of tax courts. This has applied especially in relation to the way foreign companies have opted to use the structure to set up their businesses in Italy (the so-called 'undisclosed PE'). And considering the operational impact that a PE risk may trigger, it has become even more crucial to evaluate the possible consequences on the supply chains of the new definitions and concepts brought about by the OECD's work in relation to the BEPS project (in particular, Action 7: Preventing the Artificial Avoidance of Permanent Establishment Status).