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The government has announced that the Netherlands investor visa will be closed to new applicants from 1 October. Since 2013, exactly ten investors have received the right to a residence permit thanks to the program. Secretary of State Erik van der Burg cited two main reasons for the decision: the limited economic impact of the program and EU hostility towards the golden visa sector. He also noted that the program showed "no evidence of criminal abuse" and said that the cancellation of the scheme was not due to insufficient capacity to vet candidates by the authorities. In order to obtain a Dutch residence permit, applicants had to meet two conditions: Invest €1.25 million in a local startup or venture capital fund. Moreover, do this BEFORE applying for a residence permit. These investments must be placed in a bank account in the Netherlands or another EU bank with a branch in the Netherlands. After receiving approval, you had to buy or rent real estate for 8 months (after receiving a visa). There were no requirements for the value of real...

Hong Kong's midshore status plays an important role in its economic prosperity. Hong Kong tax law has long treated offshore income as foreign income. Hong Kong-registered companies doing business outside the country effectively did not pay taxes. In modern realities, it has become more difficult to use tax-free territories and midshores for tax optimization. Hong Kong authorities were forced to reconsider their attitude towards offshore income. The tax exemption remains in the legislation, but the conditions for applying the benefit have become stricter. The main requirement is a real economic presence in Hong Kong (substance). On 26 June 2023, the Hong Kong Inland Revenue Authority issued a ruling - the Internal Revenue Ordinance. It was possible to clarify and specify the legal interpretation of the most important provisions of the new tax exemption regime on income from foreign sources. There was actually the introduction of tax obligations on offshore passive income. Now, in most cases, such income will be treated as internal, as a result of which the companies receiving it will have tax obligations. It is important to clarify that the innovation in its...

The European Commission has initiated an “infringement procedure” against Portugal regarding visas for citizens of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), launched in March last year. Soon, SEF launched a procedure for automatically converting them into residence permits, which 151 thousand people managed to take advantage of. The Commission "urges Portugal to harmonize the provisions" of these visas with EU law. “Portugal has not fulfilled its obligations under Regulation 1030/2002, which establishes a uniform residence permit model for third-country nationals.” In a notice sent to the State Secretariat for European Affairs, the body considers that “the residence permit does not correspond to the model established” in the European rules. In addition, it adds, “both residence permits and long-term employment visas for citizens of CPLP states do not allow their holders to travel within the Schengen area.” A residence permit for CPLP immigrants costs 15 euros, and you can receive the document in electronic format within 72 hours. In addition to Portugal, the CPLP includes Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea,...

Rishi Sunak is reportedly considering cutting inheritance tax as he tries to woo voters and create a dividing line with the Labor Party, which is comfortably ahead in the polls. Source:https://www.theguardian.com/money/2023/sep/24/sunak-considering-inheritance-tax-cut IHT is currently levied at 40% on properties valued at more than £325,000 for a single person or £650,000 for a couple. If inheritance tax is scrapped, the UK will join Australia and Canada, which have done so previously. Proposals under consideration include an announcement of an intention to phase out the tax by cutting the 40 per cent rate of inheritance tax in the March 2024 Budget, as well as a plan to abolish it entirely later. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimates that IHT generates around £5.4 billion a year. Although it represents less than 1% of total tax revenue, the repeal could still leave a negative mark on UK public...

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the central banks of France, Singapore and Switzerland have successfully completed testing of cross-border trading and settlement operations in wholesale CBDCs. Cross-border trading and settlement of wholesale wCBDC between financial institutions using new DeFi concepts on a public blockchain were tested. The parties agreed on a common technical standard wCBDC, bridges for the transfer of CBDC between different blockchains. Also agreed upon is the use of an automated market maker (AMM), a special type of decentralized exchange for automated trading and settlement of spot foreign exchange trades. BIS said: for the purposes of the project, AMM combined the liquidity of hypothetical wCDBC in Swiss francs, euros and Singapore dollars using algorithms that allow automatic evaluation and execution of foreign exchange transactions in real time. Let us recall that BIS President Agustin Carstens previously called on countries around the world to modernize legislation in order to legalize the introduction of digital currencies of central...

Spain's new wealth tax, introduced to reduce the cost of living for ordinary Spaniards amid high inflation, has already raised €632 million this year. Source:https://www.zawya.com/en/world/uk-and-europe/spains-new-wealth-tax-raises-676mln-euros-exccm3ee At the end of 2022, the left-wing government introduced a temporary solidarity tax for high net worth owners for 2023 and 2024, effectively ending regional exemptions from the existing wealth tax like those in Madrid, which rivals Miami in attracting wealthy Latin American taxpayers. The tax applies to wealth exceeding €3 million and can be as high as 3.5% depending on the size of the individual's wealth. In total, 12,010 wealthy people paid the new tax, representing 0.1% of all taxpayers in Spain, mainly in Madrid, Andalusia and Galicia. According to government forecasts, there is a potential opportunity to collect 1.5 billion euros in tax on large fortunes if extended to all...

Back in 2021, the Irish government began an initial consultation on a territorial tax system. The purpose of the innovations is to exempt dividends received by Irish companies from foreign sources from corporation tax. If a legal entity receives dividends from another company in which it has a certain percentage of shares, then it will not pay tax on these dividends. This step is necessary to encourage investment and avoid double taxation. The roadmap presented by the government includes technical advice and invites stakeholders to answer 53 questions regarding the development of a dividend participation regime. These questions are divided into four main areas: Structural considerations (for example, the optionality of the existing tax-plus-credit regime). Indirect consequences (for example, alignment with existing benefits for foreign subsidiaries). Anti-avoidance rules (eg potential modification of Ireland's anti-hybrid provisions). Any other issues that must be taken into account when registering participation in foreign dividends. The current corporate tax system, which provides double tax relief on foreign dividends, often does not result in...

In September, Saudi Arabia published a resolution in the Official Gazette calling for a review of the provision that applies to income tax on payments to non-residents. This is the tax withheld by the tax agent on the payment of income to a person who is not a permanent resident of Saudi Arabia. What has changed? The innovations provide for taxation of any income of non-residents received from sources in Saudi Arabia. Depending on the type of earnings, the following tax rates will apply: dividends - 5%; interest income - 5%; royalty or rental income - 15%; technical and consulting services - 5%. Local legislation establishes the following rules for determining residence in Saudi Arabia: the individual has a permanent residence in Saudi Arabia and resides in the jurisdiction for a total period of at least 30 days in the tax year; the individual resides in Saudi Arabia for at least 183 days in the tax year. If any of the above rules do not apply to an individual, then he has non-resident...

A person who resides in Thailand for up to 180 days per year and receives foreign income from employment or assets will be subject to personal income tax under Section 48 of the Internal Revenue Code. This rule was announced by the Thai Tax Department on September 18. This has three specific targets: residents trading foreign stock markets through foreign brokerages, cryptocurrency traders and Thais who exploited a loophole that allowed them to bring foreign income into the country tax-free after holding it in an offshore account for more than a calendar year. “The principle of taxation is that you must pay tax on income you receive from abroad, regardless of how you earn it and regardless of the tax year in which the money is earned,” a Treasury source said , who wished to remain anonymous. The previous rule allowed residents with foreign income to be taxed only if the money was remitted to Thailand in the same year in which it was earned. The tougher measure is intended to close the door on deferring the remittance of foreign earnings to another year. The new rule, which will come into effect on January 1, 2024, will allow authorities to tax individuals' foreign...