Tax developments or tax-related items reported this week include the following.
Africa
- South Africa: The 2023 budget includes indirect and direct tax proposals.
Americas
- Mexico: The tax authority of the State of Nuevo Leon published the general rules for the issuance of an opinion on compliance with tax obligations.
Asia Pacific
- China: The State Taxation Administration published clarifications on procedures relating to the 2022 annual reconciliation filing.
- Singapore: The goods and services tax (GST) legislation from 1 January 2023 has been amended to allow GST claims on both the purchase and related running expenses of a motor car for businesses that offer chauffeur service or cars for lease or hire.
- Indonesia: An implementing regulation provides further guidance on the amended general provisions of the reformed value added tax (VAT) law.
- Hong Kong: The 2023-2024 budget includes proposals concerning income tax and property and stamp tax.
- Pakistan: The “mini budget” includes measures regarding income tax, sales tax rates, and federal excise duty rates.
- Cambodia: The General Department of Taxation (GDT) further clarified and added some rules and procedures for the implementation of the VAT on electronic commerce (e-commerce) transactions.
- India: The GST Council made certain recommendations regarding amnesty schemes, adoption of reports of the Group of Ministers, changes in GST tax rates for a few items and measures for the facilitation of trade.
- Korea: The Supreme Court held that goods provided as “free samples” were not actually supplied without cost, and the value of such goods for customs and VAT purposes must be computed based on the total price paid under the supply contract by the total amount provided under the contract (including the free samples).
Europe
- Belgium: The Court of Appeal in Ghent held that a qualitative evaluation must be made as to whether renovations of an old building are so far-reaching and entail sufficient added value as to constitute new construction for VAT purposes.
- Malta: The tax authority extended the deadline for the electronic filing of VAT returns that were due by 22 February 2023, as well as the associated VAT payment, to 28 February 2023.
- Lithuania: Recent VAT developments concern the: (1) VAT deduction available on purchased electric cars; (2) application of reduced VAT rates; (3) deduction of input VAT when the seller is insolvent; and (4) obligation to adjust VAT deductions in the event of the taxable person being placed in liquidation procedure.
- UK: The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) decided that the UK group transfer rules are not contrary to EU law.
- Isle of Man: The budget for 2023 does not include any major changes with respect to the income tax and national insurance regimes. The main immediate tax change announced was the tapering of individual (personal) allowances.
- Denmark: The tax authority has launched an automatic check of the figures reported in boxes A and B on VAT returns against the figures reported in “EU sales without VAT,” in order to improve its ability to audit information in VAT declarations.
- Lithuania: A KPMG “tax card” for 2023 provides a quick reference tool for the most common tax rates and amounts in Lithuania.
- Spain: Order HFP/115—establishing the list of countries, territories and harmful tax regimes considered non-cooperative jurisdictions, which entered into force on 11 February 2023—was published in the Official State Gazette.
Source: KPMG
