Czech Republic - Proposal to bring single 19% VAT rate from 2012 defeated

Proposal from Czech Finance Minister, Miroslav Kalousek, to bring in a single 19% higher VAT rate from start 2012 has been defeated. The proposal to rush in a higher rate of VAT than under a previously agreed timetable was challenged by junior member of the coalition. Under the existing timetable, two rates of higher VAT at 20 percent and 14 would be introduced next year with a single 17.5 percent rate coming in 2013. Kalousek had been proposing a single 19% higher rate to come in from start of 2012.

France - New 2011 taxation rules for conference and event organisers in France

On the 28 March 2011 the French Tax Authorities published an official guideline on the new VAT place of supply rules for event related services
This guideline is clarifying the impact of the VAT changes that were introduced by the Directive 2008/8/EC dated 12 February 2008 and came into force on the 1st January 2011, and deals in particular with services supplied in connection with conferences, congresses, trade fairs, etc. The information in this administrative guidance can be very useful for taxable persons who are either attending, or organising events in France. It brings some level of response to the uncertainty created by the new EU VAT taxation rules in this area, and also sheds some light on the implementation of those rules in France by featuring specific examples and solutions for various situations.

The information in this guideline is focusing the following items:

• VAT place of supply rules for services in respect of admission to an event
• VAT place of supply rules for event organisation services
• VAT place of supply rules for rental of exhibition space
• VAT place of supply rules for a complex package of services supplied within the frame of an event

However this guideline is also dealing with other questions such as VAT taxation rules for services rendered by Professional Congress Organisers (”PCO”) or the VAT place of supply rules for training services.

Greece - VAT rate on food and drinks supplied for immediate consumption to increase from 1 September 2011

The VAT rate applicable to non-alcoholic beverages and to the supply of food for immediate consumption in restaurants, as well as on some connected services is to increase from 13% to 23% (16% in the Agean Islands) from the 1st of September 2011.

This change will not affect food and beverages supplied in canteens used by medical, educational or social welfare organisations. Also, this change will not affect food intended for mass consumption that are ready to eat and are sold in packages in the restaurant/take-away.

Hungary - Hungary’s VAT regulatory practices not compliant with EU VAT Directive

The European Court of Justice found that Hungary’s practices are incompatible with EU law and need to be modified. The current situation allows taxable persons to deduct the input VAT of their acquisitions from the amount of VAT payable. If the amount that is deductible is greater than the VAT payable the excess can then be reclaimed, except where the taxpayer has not paid the consideration.

This means that for certain taxpayers the opportunity to reclaim VAT is postponed for several tax periods, this was considered by the ECJ in its decision on 28th July 2011 to be  contrary to the EU VAT Directive.

Ireland - Introduction of a new reduced VAT rate of 9%

The Minister for Finance has announced that a second reduced VAT rate of 9% will be introduced in respect of certain goods and services (mainly related to tourism) for the period 1 July 2011 to 31 December 2013 under the “Jobs Initiative 2011”. The new VAT rate is effective from the 1st of July 2011.

Ireland - Update on the deduction rules for Car related expenses

The information used to prepare this update is contained in the VAT Leaflets published on the Irish Revenue website: http://www.revenue.ie/en/tax/vat/index.html

1. Purchase of cars

The purchase of a car in Ireland is subject to Irish VAT. VAT incurred on this purchase is usually not deductible. However, a VAT registered trader may deduct VAT if the car is used 100 % for business and if it belongs to category B or C, i.e. commercial vehicles.

There is an exception to this rule, Motor dealers and driving schools may recover VAT incurred on the purchase of a wider range of vehicles.
From the first January 2009 a trader can also recover some of the VAT incurred in relation to the purchase of category A vehicles, i.e. saloons, estates, hatchbacks, convertibles, etc. However there are conditions;

• Vehicles must have been registered on or after the 1st Jan 2009
• CO2 emissions must be less than 156g / km (Co2 emission bands A, B or C)
• At least 60% of the vehicle’s use must be for business
• The car must be used for business purpose for at least 2 years

Where those conditions are fulfilled it is possible to recover up to 20% of the VAT paid.

2. Hire and leasing of cars

VAT is recoverable on the hire and leasing of cars under the same conditions than above, i.e. full deduction of VAT may be possible if the car is category B or C and 100% used for business purposes and up to 20% deduction is possible for cars belonging to category A where the conditions described above are fulfilled.

3. Repairs and servicing of cars

VAT is recoverable on repair and servicing of cars under the same conditions than above, i.e. full deduction of VAT may be possible if the car is category B or C and 100% used for business purposes and up to 20% deduction is possible for cars belonging to category A where the conditions described above are fulfilled.

4. Petrol and diesel

VAT registered traders are not entitled to recover VAT incurred on the purchase of petrol.

VAT is fully recoverable on diesel by VAT registered traders if the vehicle is used 100% for business.

5. Toll bridges and car parking

VAT registered traders are entitled to deduct VAT incurred on toll bridges and “off-street” car parking. VAT should be fully recoverable by VAT registered traders if the vehicle is used 100% for business. VAT on “on-street” car parking is exempt.

The Irish revenue has created categories of vehicles ; A, B, C, D, M, M1, M2 etc. only commercial vehicles in categories B and C open right to VAT deduction, Category A is for vehicles such as estates, saloons, convertibles, etc., that are not designed as commercial vehicles.

United Kingdom - HMRC will target businesses who have not registered to pay VAT

HMRC has launched a campaign to target businesses that are trading above the VAT registration threshold (73,000 GBP) but are not registered for VAT.

Under the terms of the VAT Initiative, those who have not registered to pay VAT can come forward any time up to 30 September to tell HMRC that they want to take part. If they make a full disclosure, most face a low penalty rate of 10 per cent on VAT that has been paid late. After 30 September, using information pulled together from different sources, HMRC will investigate those who have failed to come forward. Substantial penalties or even criminal prosecution could follow. HMRC uses new technology and legislation to gather and analyse data, from internal and external sources, to identify people who should come forward.

United Kingdom - Businesses call for VAT cut

Fears that the UK economy has flatlined in the nine months since October have led to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) to call for yet another VAT rate change urging the government to drop VAT to 5% in certain sectors. While this approach has been adopted in other jurisdictions such as France, Germany and most recently Ireland there is little evidence of a positive impact and in some cases questions over whether these reductions were being passed on to end consumers at all.

United Kingdom - HMRC continue to move VAT on-line - Consultation Document Released

HMRC has just released a consultation document covering the changes to the operation of VAT and moving of more transactions on-line. HMRC proposes that from 1st of April 2012, for businesses with a turnover below £100,000, it will be compulsory to file VAT returns on-line and make electronic payment of any VAT due. On-line filing is currently optional for these smaller businesses, however, all new businesses that registered for VAT since 1 April 2010 and larger businesses, with a turnover of £100,000 or more are obliged to file and make VAT payments on-line.

Author: Tamás Bajor, Vienna Consult Kft., www.viennaconsult.hu

After World War II Germany became an immigrant country. Today more than 10 million people of Germany’s population are immigrants or second generation children of immigrants. Immigration has also its tax impacts.

A special tax problem occurs quite often with individuals form the USA or Anglo-Saxon countries when they come to live in Germany. Quite a few of them are beneficiaries of trusts.  The German tax regime of trusts is very unfavourable. This is due to two facts.

Germany’s civil law does not know this legal form. Therefore there exists uncertainty about the legal status of trusts. The second reason for the unfavourable taxation is the fact that German individuals tried to avoid high German tax burdens in the sixties and seventies of the last century by setting up trust in tax havens. This resulted in a punishing anti-avoidance tax legislation. Unfortunately German tax law does not distinguish between Germans who try to avoid taxes and foreigners coming to Germany. Trusts which have been set-up to benefit the latter were often not constructed to avoid taxation. Or if so this was legally accepted by their domestic tax system.

The tax regime of a trust in Germany depends mainly on its legal structure. If the settlor or a beneficiary is the beneficial owner of trust’s funds the trust will be treated as transparent for tax purposes. The high fiscal court of Germany (Bundesfinanzhof / BFH) ruled in a case regarding a Liechtenstein Stiftung as follows. In this case the settlor was able to control the trust. He had the right to appoint or remove trustees and to transfer all funds back to him or to third parties. The BFH classified the Liechtenstein Stiftung as transparent. The same tax treatment shall apply for trusts.

The tax situation of beneficiaries of transparent trusts being resident in Germany is as follows:

• The beneficiary’s part of trust income will be subject to German income taxation if not denied by a double taxation treaty. Especially dividends, interests and other income from capital funds are subject to German taxation. Business or rental income might be tax free under provisions of the respective double taxation treaty.
• Transfers of funds of the beneficiary to the trust or repayments to the beneficiary will not be subject to German income or inheritance and gift tax.
• A serious problem can be the crediting of foreign taxes at source. This can apply for instance if the trust receives dividends from foreign sources and the foreign country imposes a withholding tax on these dividends. German tax regulations or provisions of the respective double taxation may deny the full crediting of the withholding tax on German income tax.

A beneficiary of an in-transparent trust might face far more severe tax implications if being resident in Germany. This especially applies for irrevocable trusts. The following tax implications might follow:

• The transfer of funds to the trust by the settlor or beneficiary is subject to German gift tax. The very unfavourable tax class III is applicable (low allowances, tax rates between 30% and 50% on transferred funds).
• Payments of the trust to the beneficiary who is resident in Germany can be subject to German income taxation under certain circumstances. And all payments of the trust will be subject to German gift tax. This extensive tax regime might result in a double taxation if payments are subject to German income and gift tax.
• And the above mentioned problem of crediting foreign withholding taxes against German income tax is even more severe.
• There are special provisions for so called family trusts. But in general they are not applicable for beneficiaries coming from abroad.
• Double taxation treaties might provide a certain support against extensive double taxation. This is especially the case where German double taxation treaties with countries from the Anglo-American world have special provisions regarding the taxation of trust. But there is little support in regards to inheritance and gift tax since Germany’s only double taxation treaty in this respect has been agreed with the USA.
• Citizens of EU-member states such as Great Britain or Ireland might be able to seek help in front of German courts if they are subject to extensive taxation. The German regulations might not be in line with European freedom rights.

Author: Peter Scheller, Somann & Scheller, www.somannscheller.de

Traditionally Germany’s economy is based on small and medium-sized enterprises. These companies employ over 60% of the German work force. And these companies have a fair share in Germany’s position as second biggest exporting country in the world. Enterprises of other countries who want to establish business relations with German enterprises should not only concentrate on the big multinational enterprises. In certain industry sectors medium-sized companies can be the better choice to find a suitable business partner.

Large German companies have the legal form of an Aktiengesellschaft (AG), the German equivalent to an Incorporation in the Anglo-American legal systems. Small and medium sized businesses often choose the form of a Gesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung (GmbH), equivalent to a Limited liability company. Both legal forms are corporations with own legal identity.

But a lot of small and medium sized enterprises in Germany are legally organised in the form of a trading partnership (Personenhandelsgesellschaft). This very often confuses business partners especially from Anglo-Saxon countries since there partnerships are seldom used for business purposes. The translation of the term Personenhandelsgesellschaft is a little bit misleading. A better translation would be not-incorporated trading company with partners as shareholders.

The basic forms of partnerships are the offene Handelsgesellschaft (oHG) and the Kommanditgesellschaft (KG). These legal forms require the unlimited liability of all partners (oHG) or of at least one partner (KG). Because of the unlimited liability of partners these legal forms are seldom used.

But often used is a GmbH & Co. KG. This is a combination of a GmbH and a KG. The KG is the operating unit. The GmbH’s only purpose is to be unlimited liable partner of the KG. Shareholders of GmbH and KG are in general the same persons.

With this legal structure owners or investors can avoid unlimited liability but also use the less strict legal framework of partnerships.

The tax regime for corporations and partnerships is different.

Corporations (GmbH and AG) are subject to corporation income tax (Körperschaftsteuer / tax rate: 15%) and solidarity surplus charge (Solidaritätszuschlag / tax rate: 5.5% of corporation tax) and the municipal business tax. The combined tax rate on profits is between 28% and 32%. Dividends derived by individuals are taxed in general at a rate of 25% plus solidarity surplus charge. 95% of dividends to corporations are tax exempt. The latter applies also for foreign corporations.

Partnerships (oHG or KG) are treated for tax purposes as transparent entities. Consequently profits of partnerships are taxed as business income by individuals. Individual income is imposed at progressive income tax rates. Maximum income tax rate is 45% plus solidarity surplus charge. If partners are corporations their profit shares are taxed as regular income. The partnership itself is subject to business tax.

Business tax (Gewerbesteuer) is imposed by the municipalities. The taxable income for business tax is generally determined by the taxable income with certain adjustments. Municipalities can fix tax rates individually. This results in higher tax burdens in the big German cities and lower rates in surrounding areas. Sometime it might be suitable to situate own business activities outside of the big cities. The business tax rates vary from 13% to 17%.

Germany does not allow free choice of the tax regime for corporations and partnerships such as the US check-the-box-treatment.

Glossary

Author: Peter Scheller, Somann & Scheller, www.somannscheller.de