OECD tax policy chief Pascal Saint-Amans was a friend to Ireland, and his departure leaves us open to a fundamental shift towards a common EU taxation model
Debate over how to improve MAPs and APAs will bring changes this year
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that companies will no longer be required to pay for an external audit of their annual goods and services tax (GST) return or to obtain a reconciliation statement to satisfy the rules under the GST regime.
However, tax professionals are divided as to whether the change to self-certification introduces more risks for in-house tax departments that could lead to litigation.
“This is a double-edged sword,” said a tax director at a leading pharmaceutical company.
At the same time, African governments are looking for ways to increase tax revenue. Botswana’s annual budget was also presented to Parliament on February 1. Minister of Finance and Development Thapelo Matsheka announced a two percentage point rise in the VAT rate from 12% to 14%, as well as a number of other rate rises on withholding tax and fuel levies.