We’re pleased to present the eleventh edition of Ukrainian Laws in Wartime: Guide for International and Domestic Businesses, a brief overview of the key features of wartime legislation.
On behalf of Baker McKenzie’s Global Wealth Management Practice Group we are delighted to share with our clients, friends, colleagues and readers from around the world the Second Quarter 2023 issue of the Private Wealth Newsletter.
This edition features articles on a variety of relevant recent developments in the private wealth space including new Mandatory Disclosure Rules in the United Kingdom.
The recently published ruling 14 K 588/20 of the Munich Tax Court dated October 27, 2022, addresses the case of a lump-sum TP adjustment at the end of the fiscal year that resulted in a lump sum increase in resale prices and thus in an additional intercompany charge to the German distributor.
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) updated its guidelines on general anti-avoidance on 31 March 2023, with the release of the IRAS e-Tax Guide: “Income Tax: The General Anti-Avoidance Provision and its Application (Second Edition)” (“Revised Anti-Avoidance ETG”).
The Revised Anti-Avoidance ETG sets out additional examples of arrangements that IRAS considers to fall under the general anti-avoidance provision set out in Section 33 of the Income Tax Act 1947. It is helpful in providing taxpayers with greater clarity on IRAS’ approach to Section 33.
On 18 May 2023, the Supreme Court sided with the IRS in a dispute that centered on the agency’s power to issue summons for bank account records without notice to the interested account holders. The court’s decision, however, is far from an unmitigated victory for the agency. In fact, the majority and concurring opinions reflect the court has significant reservations about the IRS’s use of no-notice summons, particularly in cases involving innocent third parties.
Malaysian Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Anwar Ibrahim re-presented Budget 2023 on 24 February 2023, with the three main focus areas being to drive an inclusive and sustainable economy, inspiring confidence with institutional and governance reforms, and facilitating social justice by reducing inequality. At MYR 388.1 billion (USD 87 billion), it is the largest expansionary budget in the country’s history.
On 10 May 2023 the Council of the European Union and European Parliament signed the regulation implementing the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). CBAM will enter into force twenty days after it is published in the Official Journal of the European Union.
On 31 March 2023, the Australian government released draft legislation and an explanatory memorandum regarding a new anti-avoidance measure, which prevents large multinational enterprises from claiming tax deductions for payments relating to intangibles “connected with low corporate tax jurisdictions.”
On 28 April 2023, the Dutch state secretary of finance published an updated version of the Dutch guidance on the mandatory disclosure regime on cross-border transactions, generally known as DAC 6. The slight amendments to the previous guidance are due to signals from the public and are intended to help tax practitioners and other intermediaries determine what transactions must be reported. In our view, the changes also intend to reduce the number of reported transactions that are clearly outside the scope of DAC 6. Furthermore, the updated version clarifies the Dutch government’s position on legal privilege in light of the 8 December 2022 judgment from the Court of the Justice of the EU.
As a general rule on customs valuation, there are certain types of costs that should be added to the customs value. But sometimes the costs cannot be determined at the time of import (or at the time of import declaration). Thus, in 2016 the Indonesian Minister of Finance (MOF) issued MOF Regulation No. 67/PMK.04/2016 on Voluntary Declaration of Customs Value for Import Duty Calculation (“MOF Regulation 67”), which introduced ways to declare and pay those costs in the form of a voluntary declaration and voluntary payment mechanism. To provide legal certainty and improve compliance in relation to the mechanism of voluntary declaration and voluntary payment of customs value, the MOF issued a new regulation on voluntary declaration and voluntary payment, i.e., MOF Regulation No. 201/PMK.04/2020 (“MOF Regulation 201”), which came into force on 16 February 2021, and revoked MOF Regulation 67.