Czech VAT changes
The Czech VAT Act has been updated at the end of July 2016. The changes include: All non-resident VAT payers will now be administered by the Ostrava tax office. This is a switch from the Prague tax...
View ArticlePortugal simplified invoices
Portugal has granted simplified VAT invoice requirements for small businesses. Small retailers now only need to record the price of goods on invoices rather that gross, VAT and net price details. The...
View ArticlePoland SAF-T guidance
The Polish Ministry of Finance has provided additional guidance on the 1 July 2016 adoption of Standard Audit File for Tax (SAT-T) filings. All resident or non-resident VAT registered business are now...
View ArticleFinland VAT registration threshold rise
Finland has proposed raising its VAT registration threshold for resident companies. The threshold will rise from €25,000 to €30,000 per annum for business subject to annual-only returns. For companies...
View ArticleIrish tourism VAT subsidy creates 46k jobs
The reduced Irish VAT rate on tourism services (hotels, restaurants etc) has been credited with the creation of over 45,000 jobs since its 2011 implementation. The VAT rate was dropped from 13.5% to 9%...
View ArticleRussian VAT update
There have been a range of changes to the VAT code in Russia. These include: VAT zero rating on supplies related to preparations for the World Cup in 2018 Goods traded in bonded warehouses may be...
View ArticleLuxembourg VAT liabilities
Luxembourg is planning to tighten responsibilities and liabilities on VAT fraud in a number of areas in a new law. Potential changes include: Fines for non compliance will extend to up to €10,000...
View ArticleNorway import VAT return
Norway has redesigned its VAT return for importers of goods to be able to declare and recover import VAT and therefore have not cash flow impact. The VAT deferment treatment is increasingly popular in...
View ArticleLithuania SAF-T compulsory Oct 2016
From 1 October 2016, Lithuania launches a new portal (i.MAS) for the compulsory submission of SAF-T reporting for VAT registered businesses. Standard Audit Files for Tax (SAF-T) is a data protocol for...
View ArticleCzech electricity VAT fraud
The Czech Republic has extended the use of the VAT reverse charge mechanism to key telecoms services from 1 October 2016. The move will help to reduce VAT missing trader fraud in the wholesale telecoms...
View ArticleBrexit: Scotland devolves VAT?
When the UK leaves (‘Brexit’) the European Union, Scotland may seek to devolve from the UK control of VAT charged within its borders. This is currently forbidden, as EU rules require that VAT be raised...
View ArticleFinland to launch VAT cash accounting
Finland plans to introduce cash accounting basis for VAT reporting. This would mean taxpayers only declaring and paying VAT on sales (output VAT) when the receivable has been collected. There is no...
View ArticleSlovakia delays import VAT deferment
Plans to introduce import VAT deferment for importers into Slovakia have been delayed from the scheduled January 2017. There is no proposed new date, indicated a long term shelving of the scheme...
View ArticleEU VAT Gap shrinks to €160billion
The estimate for ‘missing’ EU VAT, the ‘VAT Gap’ has fallen to €160billion as at 2014. This is a drop of €2.5 billion on 2013. The drop is being put down to an improving European economy and better...
View ArticleItaly e-invoice VAT assessments 2017
Italy is to offer a voluntary e-invoice reporting regime to tax payers from 1 January 2017. The measure is designed to reduce VAT fraud and simplify reporting. Businesses will be able to...
View ArticleEU lowers eBook VAT
The European Commission confirmed plans on 10 September to bring forward legislation to permit reduced VAT rates on ebooks. Currently, only printed books may enjoy the lower rates of VAT in EU states....
View ArticleEU opinion on e-book VAT
The European Court of Justice’s (ECJ) Advocate General (AG) has declared that the current EU practice of denying e-books the benefit of reduced VAT granted to printed books is compatible with the...
View ArticleUK acts on foreign seller £2bn VAT fraud
The UK’s HMRC has gained new powers to counter foreign seller VAT fraud on online marketplaces – estimated to cost up to £2 billion per annum in lost revenues. The measures come into place following...
View ArticleEU challenges new Polish retail tax
The European Commission (EC) has opened a state-aid probe into Poland’s new retail tax. The tax is levied on the turnover of supermarkets, with an upwards sliding scale based on the total turnover of...
View ArticleEU ECJ VAT invoice requirements
The European Court of Justice has ruled that VAT invoices need only meet the substantive requirements of the VAT Directive for entitlement to VAT recovery. The case, Barlis 06 (C-516/14), concerned an...
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