AFRICA TAX IN BRIEF KENYA: Chinese companies investigated by Revenue Authorities Local media reports of 30 May 2014 announce that the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is investigating a number of Chinese companies suspected of evading tax. KRA Commissioner General John Njiraini said it is suspected that some Chinese-owned businesses are either under- or mis-declaring cargo ...
On 7th March 2014 the Supreme Court of Appeal delivered judgment in the as yet unreported case of Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service v Mobile Telephone Networks Holdings (Pty) Ltd, (966/2012) [2014] ZASCA 4 (7 March 2014) which dealt with the deductibility of audit fees incurred for a dual or mixed purpose and the apportionment thereof for tax purposes in the light of section 11(a) of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962, as amended (‘the Act’) read with sections 23(f)
The Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011 (“Tax Administration Act”) came into effect on 1 October 2012 (save for certain provisions that are still to come into force). This important piece of legislation seeks to incorporate into one Act all those administrative provisions (except for customs and excise) that are generic to all tax Acts and that were previously duplicated across all the different tax Acts ...
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has introduced a new, shorter form of the exemption application for Section 501(c)(3) status—the Form 1023-EZ. Previously, most organizations seeking federal income tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) were required to complete the full 26-page (plus attachments) Form 1023, regardless of their anticipated funding or the complexity of their activities ...
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) recently issued Revenue Ruling 2014-18 (the “Ruling”) allowing the deferral of compensation from offshore hedge funds through the use of stock options (“Options”) and stock-settled stock appreciation rights (“SARs”) without running afoul of Section 457A of the Internal Revenue Code (“Section 457A”) ...
The Budget Plan unveiled by the Quebec Government as part of the Budget Speech of last June 4 includes many initiatives to increase venture capital financing. The 2014 2015 Budget presented by the Minister of Finance, Carlos Leitão, provides for several measures to make $560 million available to finance businesses and venture capital funds, including the establishment of a $375 million fund to invest in venture capital funds ...
COOLING TOWERS AND ASBESTOS : NEW OBLIGATIONS FOR OWNERS, TENANTS, MANAGERS AND EMPLOYERS Over the last year and half, the legislator has addressed the building safety issues in order to ensure the safety of the occupants and visitors of these buildings, as well as the persons who may be exposed to hazards because of equipment attached to such buildings ...
On 19 March 2014, the government issued Regulation No.22 of 2014 on Amendments to Government Regulation No.41 of 2014 on Tax on Motor Vehicles which are subject to Luxury Tax. The new regulation came into force 30 days after the date of its issuance. The amendments affect luxury goods sales tax (Pajak Penjualan Barang Mewah or PPnBM) for vehicles with certain specifications. Before the issuance of Regulation No. 22, the tariffs ranged from 10% to 75%. Under Regulation No ...
The Serbian Parliament adopted amendments to the Law on Personal Income Tax and the Law on Mandatory Social Security Contributions on 30 May 2014. The amendments primarily prescribe tax relief for the employment of new employees. The incentives will become applicable on 1 July 2014 and will also introduce new contribution rates for pensions, disability insurance and health insurance, but the overall rate for social security contributions will remain unchanged, i.e. 37.8% ...
As part of the June 4, 2014 Budget Speech, the Quebec Government announced an immediate 20% reduction in the rates of some business tax credits. The mining exploration tax incentives in Quebec did not escape this reduction. Flow-through share regimeThe flow-through share regime currently allows investors to deduct in the calculation of their income an amount equal to 100% of the subscription price ...
Members of the Zimbabwe ruling party’s decision making body told Bloomberg in April 2014 that Zimbabwe is considering the reintroduction of the Zimbabwe dollar as it struggles to meet its monthly wage bill. In May Zimbabwe’s Treasury postponed the pay dates for its 230 000 public workers the second time in two consecutive months, after having awarded civil servants a 23% increase in April to honour a 2013 election promise made by President Robert Mugabe and the Zanu PF ...
On June 9, 2014, Mr. Moshe Asher, the General Director of the Israeli Tax Authority, announced at the CPA Association Conference that the Israel Tax Authority (the "ITA") will be launching a new voluntary disclosure program enabling taxpayers to report their concealed capital in Israel and abroad (the "new campaign") ...
On 2 July 2014, the new regulations regarding further building permit exemption measures will come into effect. Among the news is the opportunity to construct 25 m2 ancillary residential dwelling without requiring a building permit. However, the amendments are not entirely without controversy and have been met by strong criticism from several respondents ...
CONTENTS Proposed General Anti-treaty Shopping Rule : Private Investment Funds Will Need to Play it SafeRegistration Requirements of Venture Capital and Private Equity Fund Managers in Canada : A Favourable Regulatory FrameworkBill 1 : New Requiremetns for Public Calls for Tenders LAVERY: A LEADER IN MONTREAL IN THE PRIVATE EQUITY, VENTURE CAPITAL AND INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INDUSTRYCreating and setting up private equity and venture capital funds are complex initiati
The Lower House of the Parliament of the Czech Republic is considering in the first reading the Supplementary Agreement amending the Social Security Agreement between the Czech Republic and the USA. As soon as it takes force and effect, the Social Security Agreement between the Czech Republic and the USA will also cover health insurance ...
Introduction This is the first in a series of articles on venture capital companies, a tax-favoured investment vehicle regulated by section 12J of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (“ITA 1962”). The venture capital company (“VCC”) scheme, introduced in 2009, is a tax-based scheme designed to encourage individual and corporate investors to invest in a range of smaller, higher-risk trading companies by investing through the VCCs ...
Most employers are aware that a travel allowance may be granted to an employee where it is anticipated that the employee will be required to undertake business travel by virtue of the duties of his/her employment and that a travel allowance should not be merely used as a mechanism to reduce an employee’s employees’ tax (“PAYE”) liability ...
VAT vendors who make taxable supplies of goods or services are obliged to issue tax invoices to the recipients of such supplies within 21 days of having made such a supply. A valid tax invoice is of utmost importance because without such a document a vendor, being the recipient of a supply, is not entitled to claim any input tax deductions in respect of goods or services acquired in the course or furtherance of making taxable supplies ...
It has a long been a principle of company law that the debts of a company are not the debts of its shareholders. It may be a surprise to some that this principle does not apply to certain tax debts thanks to section 181 of the Tax Administration Act No.28 of 2011 (“section 181”). This section allows shareholders to be held jointly or individually liable for the tax debts of their company. At first glance it seems unfair to punish those who do not manage the day-to-day running of a company ...
Many taxpayers are generally aware that there is a prescription provision contained in our tax law. However it is not always understood that the prescription provisions apply only if certain statutory requirements are met. In this regard it is not uncommon for SARS to assess taxpayers beyond the prescription period of three years ...
On 21 February 2014 the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, (‘the Convention’) as amended, by the provisions of the Protocol amending the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters which entered into force on 1 June 2011 was published in the Government Gazette. The Convention was approved by Parliament in terms of section 231 of the Constitution and the Convention took effect on 1 March 2014 in South Africa ...
Macau’s booming property market has prompted the government to issue a series of laws to provide further security to both buyers and sellers. The most important changes are to the laws on stamp duty and promissory and pre-sale agreements. Macau, the Las Vegas of Asia, like most gems, is small and valuable. The attractiveness of this region also appears in the property market, where prices have been on the rise for the last few years (the annual increase in 2013 was of 43% per m2) ...
