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The checks will affect 400 Bulgarian citizens. Properties will be checked in Bulgaria, Greece and Dubai. Housing worth more than 385 thousand euros is subject to inspection. The audits cover the period from 2019 to 2022, and are designed to determine whether the income of luxury property owners matches their expenses. The income of the entire family, expenses for the purchase of real estate, cars, luxury goods, education, and trips abroad will be checked. If expenses exceed income, the tax office will be able to begin an audit to find hidden income, and the property owner will have to pay taxes on this income, as well as fines. The Revenue Agency monitors not only luxury real estate purchases in the country, but also abroad, paying special attention to owners of apartments and houses in Greece and...

The new reporting rules came into effect in early April. They set stricter reporting standards. The rules apply to both existing licensees and those who received a license after the rules were published in August 2023. CIMA (Cayman Islands Monetary Authority) requires records to be kept legible and accessible, in accordance with the Data Protection Act. Documentation procedures should be reviewed annually. The new requirements require: keeping records in the original format for 5 years after the date of the transaction or longer if they relate to fiduciary relationships with clients, ensuring the confidentiality of data and developing appropriate procedures for this. All paper or electronic documents must be available for inspection by CIMA. In addition, documents may be stored outside Cayman as long as they are accessible for...

Official reports estimate that Germany will be short of seven million skilled workers by 2035 due to an aging population. On March 1, 2024, the second stage of the Law on Immigration of Skilled Workers to Germany came into force, opening up new opportunities for foreigners to work in the country. Source:https://www.schengenvisainfo.com/news/germany-facilitates-visa-rules-for-working-international-students/ The new Skilled Workers Act, which came into force in March, allows international students to work while studying. The move is expected to increase the number of skilled workers in Germany. The study visa allows students from non-EU countries to come to Germany nine months in advance and work up to 20 hours a week. During this time, they can take English and German language courses, depending on the language of instruction, prepare an application and get to know the country. The new law will now allow international students to work between 120 and 140 full days per year or 280 half days per calendar year. The new changes may especially affect students from low-income families. The previous law also allowed aspiring students to come to Germany nine months before...

Requirements for crypto companies operating on the Lithuanian market will be strengthened, and from 2025, mandatory licensing for activities related to digital assets will be implemented. Source:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-04-03/a-european-fintech-hub-prepares-to-get-tough-on-crypto-companies?utm_source=telegram&embedded-checkout=true About 580 crypto companies are currently registered in Lithuania. However, the Central Bank believes that not all of them meet the necessary criteria for obtaining a license. The licensing process will be completed by June 2025. Firms that have not passed it will be forced to "leave the ecosystem". 7 of the largest global crypto exchanges are already operating in Lithuania. Some crypto firms have received licenses in other EU countries, so they may not need a license in Lithuania. Lithuania's desire to become a financial and technological hub has provoked an influx of unregulated crypto firms into the country. This could cause problems amid the introduction of MiCA, a pan-European crypto regulation aimed at fighting money laundering and protecting investors, which will come into force in January 2025. The Central...

Thus, the filing of declarations for 2023 should occur 2 months earlier. Now you need to have time to file your income tax return before September 30, 2024. In addition, the decree, which was approved in January, also regulates the deadlines for submitting transfer pricing reports. The measures taken oblige taxpayers to prepare TP reports with an electronic signature and indicating the time on the new dates for filing the tax return. All taxpayers should take this information into account when preparing their returns to avoid...

The rating assessed the attractiveness of doing business among 82 countries. Inflation, cost of living, tax policy, economic growth, and budget are taken into account. Source:https://www.cnbc.com/2024/04/02/singapore-denmark-us-are-the-best-places-to-do-business-eiu.html Singapore topped the list. “It remains the best place in the world to do business, as it has been for the past 16 years,” said EIU manager Prianti Roy. Singapore was followed by Denmark and the United States in the top three, respectively. According to forecasts from the report, there will be the best conditions for doing business in the near future. Thus, the top ten included: Singapore, Denmark, USA, Germany, Switzerland, Canada, Sweden, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Finland. The authors of the rating consider these countries safe for...

Compared to the data obtained for 2021, the number has doubled. Source: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/en/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20240327-1 The number of EU residents emigrating to other countries remained stable, with approximately one million each in 2021 and 2022. In terms of resident population, Malta had the highest immigration rate in 2022 (66 immigrants per 1,000 inhabitants), followed by Luxembourg (48) and Estonia (37). This includes both immigrants from other EU countries and foreigners from third countries. In contrast, Slovakia has the lowest immigration rate, with 1 immigrant per 1,000 inhabitants, followed by Bulgaria and France, each with 6 immigrants per 1,000 inhabitants. This information is taken from data on migration and migrant populations published by...

VISA continues to expand its value-added business services with the introduction of three new AI-based risk and fraud prevention solutions. Source:https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/visas-growing-services-business-infused-with-new-ai-powered-products/ The new products, part of the comprehensive Visa Protect suite, are designed to reduce fraud in instant account-to-account and card-not-present (CNP) payments and transactions both on and off the Visa network. Visa Protect is part of Visa's broad suite of value-added services, which has grown to nearly 200 products and spans the five most in-demand categories: Acceptance, Advisory, Issuance, Open Banking and Protection. Security and fraud prevention are fundamental to Visa. Last year, Visa helped block $40 billion in fraudulent activity, nearly double the level the year before. Visa Deep Authorization (VDA): Designed to address the challenges issuers face from increasingly sophisticated digital fraud, VDA is a new transaction risk assessment solution designed to better manage CNP payments. Addition of Visa Enhanced Authorization (VAA) and Visa Risk Manager (VRM) for non-Visa card payments: Visa's extensive AI-powered fraud...

At the moment, the document is for informational purposes only. The new phase of mutual evaluations will focus on the effectiveness of the implementation of AML/CFT measures. Subject to FATF recommendations, all countries must define the term “virtual assets” as “property,” “income,” “funds,” “funds or other assets,” or other “relevant value.” A license is required for cryptocurrency activities. Anyone who breaks the law is not allowed to own or operate a VASP. Countries should impose criminal, civil or administrative penalties for non-compliance with AML/CFT requirements. As oversight and monitoring are implemented, the level of AML/CFT compliance should increase. The FATF expects this to lead to a reduction in money laundering and terrorist financing activity, in particular through the use of...