OECD

Businesses that sell goods and services across international borders may soon face major changes, as recently-unveiled plans by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to harmonize the way online commerce is taxed by governments around the world appear set to become law within a few years.

Recently, the G20 ministers meeting in Japan endorsed an overhaul of the global corporate tax regime that was presented there by the OECD. Published reports immediately after the event quoted experts as saying the proposed corporate tax “roadmap” would represent “the most significant” such package of tax changes “in over a century.”

This “Programme of Work to Develop a Consensus Solution to the Tax Challenges Arising from the Digitalisation of the Economy,”  as it is officially called, is being considered as a means of addressing at a global level the way corporations are taxed, in an era that is seeing financial transactions increasingly taking place online and carried out over blockchain networks.

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Jimmy Cox On Taxes In The Netherlands

According to a majority of the members of the European Parliament, the Netherlands is, just like Malta, Cyprus, Ireland and Luxembourg, a fiscal paradise and it is demanding (without any underlying jurisdiction, incidentally) that the European Commission place these five countries on its list of tax havens.  This list is, of course, is more akin to a pillory than an honor roll.

Does the Netherlands merit being designated as a tax haven?  Most inhabitants of the Netherlands would not experience this as being the case; after all, the VAT on shopping, for crying out loud, has increased by 50% this year alone, and the highest bracket in income taxation (over EUR 68,508) remains at 51.75%:  a solid deduction indeed.  It is true that taxation on company profits has decreased from 20 to 19%, but this latter figure is still considerably higher than in Ireland (12.5%) or Bulgaria (10%), for example.  Furthermore, companies making profits higher than EUR 200,000 continue to pay 25% over this threshold.

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For the past few years, tax reform discussions have focused on broadening the base and lowering the rate. We are now hearing a bit more about consumption taxes including in the form of a credit invoice VAT like most of the world uses (in addition to their income taxes).

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It is not unusual for South Africans to live and work overseas for some years, and then at some point, usually after receiving a second nationality, to return to South Africa. Many of these persons returning to South Africa wish to bring their household goods back with them. The SA Customs and Excise Act makes provision for a concession that allows such persons to import goods without having to pay import duties and VAT.

Unfortunately, many persons encounter hiccups with the process, and Breytenbachs Advisory are aware of persons who have been kept in custody at Customs for days due to non-compliance to the prescribed process. We have subsequently provided some answers to South Africans’ frequently asked question on the import of household goods to South Africa.

Who qualifies for the concession on the import of household goods to South Africa? Read More

The value-added tax (VAT) has been adopted by every developed country and most developing countries in the world. There is, however, one exception –The United States. That may be changing as there is currently discussion regarding its adoption in the U. S.

The value-added tax is a tax on goods and services and is collected at every step in the production chain. This is unlike the sales tax, which is paid only on retail sales. In a sense it is similar to sales taxes that are currently in place in 45 states as it is a consumption tax. VAT rates, obviously, vary from country, but in a survey of OECD countries, the rate varies from a low of five percent to a high of 24.5 percent.

How the VAT Works

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On January 1, 2015, the EU’s new approach for charging and collecting VAT on B2C sales of e-services and digital goods begins. The key to the approach is that all businesses will charge based on the customer’s location (destination basis). That makes sense for a consumption tax, but has its challenges. One key one is knowing where the customer is, which is not always easy to determine for digital goods relative to physical goods.

One administrative simplification is the Mini One Stop Shop or MOSS. This allows a business to register in one country for filing purposes. The business still has to collect the appropriate VAT for the country where the consumer is, but rather than quarterly filing in each country, the business just files in the MOSS country. That country makes sure the funds get to the right country (and handles the currency translation since not all EU countries use the Read More

The European Court of Justice held that the supply of services by a non-EU Head Office to a branch situated in the E.U. is now liable to VAT where that branch is part of a VAT group.

VAT grouping allows EU member states to treat two or more companies as a single entity for VAT purposes which means transactions between members of a VAT group are normally ignored for VAT purposes.

However, the ruling on this dispute between Skandia America Corporation and the Swedish Tax Authorities means that services previously deemed to be VAT exempt will now be subject to VAT rates of between 15% and 27%.

This decision is of particular relevance to the financial services industry since the Read More

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has just issued a guidance paper stating: “The ATO’s view is that Bitcoin is neither money nor a foreign currency, and the supply of bitcoin is not a financial supply for goods and services tax (GST) purposes.”

Furthermore, the ATO says: “Bitcoin is, however, an asset for capital gains tax (CGT) purposes.”

For businesses that use Bitcoins (or any other crypto-currencies) to buy and sell trading stock, the transactions will be treated for tax purposes as a bartering arrangement. Buying trading stock with Bitcoins will require businesses to charge the 10% GST on the coins. Selling trading stock for Bitcoins will mean the business can claim an input tax credit for Read More

The value-added tax (VAT) has been adopted by every developed country and most developing countries in the world. There is, however, one exception –The United States. That may be changing as there is currently discussion regarding its adoption in the U. S.

The value-added tax is a tax on goods and services and is collected at every step in the production chain. This is unlike the sales tax, which is paid only on retail sales. In a sense it is similar to sales taxes that are currently in place in 45 states as it is a consumption tax. VAT rates, obviously, vary from country, but in a survey of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries, the rate varies from a low of five percent to a high of 24.5 percent. Read More

It might seem odd for a state school or any government agency to pay taxes. Generally, they are exempt from income and property taxes, but likely pay sales tax (or VAT if outside the US) on purchases. Students of the state schools also pay sales tax on taxable items they purchase from the school bookstore or for their education (such as books).

Isn’t this just a roundabout way for the state to be paying tax to itself? Would it be more efficient to exempt purchases of state schools and agencies from sales tax?

What reminded me of this issue was an article about a bill (HB 4165) introduced in Singapore to create a VAT exemption for goods and services purchased from schools. [“Bill filed to exempt goods sold in schools from VAT,” by Miranda, Business World Online, Read More

What needs to be considered prior to the introduction of the MOSS Scheme on 1st January 2015 by businesses already established in Ireland or thinking about establishing in Ireland?

• It is essential to examine your contract to establish who exactly is paying you and if your customer is a taxable or non taxable person. This is particularly important in the context of undisclosed agents/commissionaire structures, etc.

• You must determine where your B2C customers are located. Your business may require additional contractual provisions and amendments to your systems to include this information.

• It is important to examine the impact of the different VAT rates in each E.U. member state Read More

From 1 January 2015, supplies of telecommunications, broadcasting and electronically supplied services made by EU suppliers to private, non-taxable individuals and non-business customers will be liable to VAT in the customer’s Member State.

The current place of supply/taxation is where the supplier is located, but from 1st January 2015 this will move to the place of consumption or the place where the consumer normally resides or is established.

Suppliers of such services will need to determine where their customers are established or where they usually reside. They will need to account for VAT at the rate applicable in that Member State. This is a requirement regardless of the E.U. state in which the Supplier is Read More