New Zealand introduces minimum standards for financial reporting of trusts At the beginning of March, the New Zealand Government introduced a series of more stringent disclosure requirements for taxable domestic trusts. At the beginning of March, the New Zealand Government introduced a series of more stringent disclosure requirements for taxable domestic trusts. For income years...Read More

Minimum substance test under EU shell company directive In December 2021, the European Commission (EC) published its draft Council Directive, amending Directive 2011/16/EU (the Directive) and setting out the rules to prevent the misuse of shell entities for tax purposes. The EC has observed that certain individuals and some businesses direct their income to shell...Read More

DTA amendment in the pipeline for Russia and Switzerland Following Russia’s recent request to revise the existing double taxation agreement (DTA) with Switzerland, the two Countries’ finance ministers have held a meeting to initiate discussion upon the matter. Starting from 2020, Russia has renegotiated a number of DTTs (as with Malta, Luxembourg and Cyprus), increasing...Read More

The Swiss FDEA releases data on lump-sum taxation The Contribution Division of the Federal department of Economic Affairs (FDEA) has released data  relating to those individuals that have chosen taxation according to worldwide living expenditure (also called lump-sum or global taxation) in Canton Ticino. This survey, carried out every two years, monitors the number of...Read More

Brazil issues the decree implementing the double taxation agreement with Switzerland On 9 June 2021, the Brazilian Government issued Decree No. 10,714/2, which concludes the ratification process of the double taxation treaty between Brazil and Switzerland. The new DTA, which will come into force from 1 January 2022, promotes economic relations between Brazil and Switzerland....Read More

EU to re-assess tax information exchange agreements The European Data Protection Board (EDPB) asked EU Member States to re-assess their tax information exchange agreements (TIEA) with third countries in order to evaluate their compliance with taxpayers’ privacy rights and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This request follows concerns raised in Austria, France, Luxembourg and...Read More

Brazil ratifies DTA with Switzerland On 24 February 2021, the Brazilian Senate passed Bills Nos. 203, 650, and 667, to ratify the protocol for the elimination of double taxation and the prevention of tax evasion and avoidance between Brazil and Switzerland, Singapore and the UAE. Switzerland and Brazil had already signed the agreement in May...Read More

Switzerland: the canton of residence of the heirs will be responsible for the collection of inheritance tax The Federal Council, in the meeting of February 3, 2021, amended the ordinance on withholding tax, establishing that from January 1, 2022 the heirs will have to seek the refund of the withholding tax on income from succession...Read More

The UK seeks legislative freedom by withdrawing from DAC6’s disclosure provisions Following Brexit, the UK government has decided not to proceed with the implementation of the EU’s Council Directive (EU) 2018/822 (DAC6), which involves mandatory disclosure of cross-border tax planning schemes. With the new free trade agreement signed by the UK with the EU, both...Read More

EU remedies to the inefficiencies of its blacklisting system for tax havens The Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) recently adopted a resolution introducing changes in the system used to draw up the EU list of tax havens, which up to date was “confusing and ineffective”. The 2017’s list of tax havens drawn up by...Read More