November 13, 2019 - Relief for residential purposes in Poland how does it work from January 1, 2019

From January 1, 2019, changes regarding the so-called residential relief, i.e. the provisions of the Polish Personal Income Tax Act, related to tax exemption on income from the gainful disposal (exchange) of real estate, entered into force. The new regulations make it easier to obtain an exemption. How did the ...

October 23, 2019 - The Sponsor is the sole data controller in the context of clinical trials

As part of our external DPO assignments, we often encounter difficulties during the elaboration or evaluation of Privacy Impact Assessments carried out to determine the compliance of personal data processing operations in the context of multicentric clinical trials conducted throughout the European Union. Indeed, we are frequently asked to analyse ...

October 17, 2019 - Depreciation rate in the so called private lease vs. premises used in business

Polish tax authorities confirm that taxpayers have the right to reduce income derived from the so-called private lease (not as part of business operations) by tax deductible expenses, including depreciation write-offs. Real estate leased within the private lease is still a fixed asset. Thus, it can be depreciated if the ...

October 4, 2019 - Consequences of failure to submit information to the Central Register of Beneficial Owners in Poland

Starting from October 13, 2019, the provisions introducing the Central Register of Beneficial Owners will enter into force in Poland, in response to the implementation of the EU Directive on preventing the use of the financial system for money laundering or terrorist financing. Polish commercial law companies entered into the ...

October 3, 2019 - Polish taxation rules for virtual currency exchange

The development of virtual currencies and an increase in the number of transactions related to them can be observed in recent years. Unfortunately, Polish tax law has not kept pace with the development in this field so far, which was expressed by the lack of regulations taking into account the ...

September 24, 2019 - Belgian UBO register administration will apply a tolerance policy until 31 December 2019

The Belgian Law of 18 September 2017 (the ?Law?) implementing the 4th Anti-Money Laundering Directive of May 2015 (the ?4th AML Directive?) has established the Ultimate Beneficial Owners Register (?UBO Register?) in which Belgian companies, non-profit organizations, foundations, trusts and other similar entities have to record their ultimate beneficial owners. ...

September 5, 2019 - New rules for collecting withholding tax in Poland again partly deferred

The amendment to the provisions of the Polish Personal and Corporate Income Tax Acts has brought a number of obligations imposed on entities making payments such as, among others, dividends, interest, royalties and fees for certain intangible services. These responsibilities include verification if a given payment qualifies for the exemption ...

September 4, 2019 - Does a holding company run a (real) economic activity

So far, the issue of holding companies conducting real economic activity has not been subject of lively discussions in Poland. Nevertheless, the provisions introduced by the legislator as a weapon to fight tax avoidance, in particular the provisions on controlled foreign companies (CFC) and the new rules for collecting withholding ...

September 2, 2019 - Legislative proposal for the modernisation of partnerships; civil and tax aspects

On 21 February, the draft bill of the Legislative Proposal for the modernisation of partnerships (?draft legislative proposal?) was submitted for consultation. The draft legislative proposal intends to provide a modern, clear and straight forward scheme that, on the one hand facilitates the entrepreneur and, on the other, offers suitable ...

August 21, 2019 - Will a Polish company pay income tax on liquidation assets passed on to its shareholder

Once Article 14a of the Polish Corporate Income Tax Act went into force, it was uncertain whether this provision applied to situations where a company under liquidation passes on its assets to a shareholder in non-monetary form. Administrative courts were not in agreement either. However, the latest rulings of Polish ...

August 14, 2019 - What do you need to know before exporting a work of art located in Poland

Export of a work of art, either temporarily or permanently, requires a special permit, provided that certain criteria are met. Failure to receive such permit before exporting is considered a criminal offence and the perpetrator may be subjected to criminal liability. A work of art, cultural object, monument The Polish ...

August 12, 2019 - New Italian Tax Regime For Pensioner

1 Foreword This article aims to illustrate the introduction of a new tax regime provided by the Italian Government to attract foreigners and Italians in retirement living in foreign countries to move their residence to Southern Italy. 2 The new Italian tax regime for pensioners On the 30th of December, ...

August 6, 2019 - Polish tax on revenue from fixed assets encompasses hotels, conference centers and sports facilities

Starting from January 1, 2019 an amendment of Corporate and Personal Income Tax Acts went into force with regards to the so-called tax on commercial real estate. It was then renamed tax on revenue from fixed assets. Until December 31, 2018 it encompassed only owners of commercial and office buildings ...

August 5, 2019 - Capital gains realized from the disposal of stocks in a Polish joint-stock company are taxable only in a transferors state of residence

Albert Einstein once said that a question pertaining to taxes is too difficult for a mathematician. It should be asked of a philosopher. Unfortunately, the world famous physicist did not take into account that practicing philosophy with reference to this field of law can very easily lead to the omission ...

August 2, 2019 - Echo of the Panama Papers Central Register of Beneficial Owners soon launches in Poland

Pursuant to the Act on Counteracting Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (?AML Act”), on October 13th, 2019 this year Poland will launch the Central Register of Beneficial Owners (“UBO Register”). This involves introduction of new obligations to commercial companies in respect of providing information to the UBO Register. The AML ...

August 1, 2019 - Central Register of Beneficial Owners in Poland private foundation is in question

Foreign private foundations are becoming more and more popular among Poles as an instrument of inheritance planning and private assets protection. Polish Act on Counteracting Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (“AML Act”) obliges Polish commercial law companies to report information about their Beneficial Owners to the Central Register of Beneficial ...

July 24, 2019 - The favourable tax regime of new Italian residents

Foreword This brochure aims to illustrate the introduction of the new tax regime for the ?new Italian residents? with the debut of a lump-sum taxation called ?Flat tax?, granting an exemption of foreign investments from Italian taxation, called ?non-domiciled tax resident?. The Italian Finance Bill for 2017 (hereinafter ?Finance Bill?) ...

July 23, 2019 - Dismissal of low performers Unable or Unwilling

Does your German company have employees on an employment contract under German law who are not performing as you would like them to? Are you already looking for ways to get rid of them? It may be that you are dealing with a classic low performer, whose poor performance is ...

July 22, 2019 - Launch of the PACTE Act Action Plan for Business Growth and Transformation

Last year, France strengthened its position as a thriving country for foreign investments. In order to confirm this trend, the so-called ?PACTE Act? was enacted on 23 May 2019 with the aim to ?remove obstacles to the growth of companies at all stages of their development, from their creation to ...

July 19, 2019 - Amendment of the Czech Labour Code regarding the cancelation of the so-called suspensive time clause

Labour Law Alert: Cancelation of the suspensive time clause I. Cancelation of the suspensive time clause As of 1 July 2019 the Amendment of the Czech Labour Code (i.e. the Act No. 32/2019 Coll., amending the Act No. 262/2006 Coll., Labour Code, as amended) has become effective. The new legislation ...

July 18, 2019 - Italian Patent Box

The Italian Finance Bill for 2015 has enhanced an important provision named ?Patent Box?, to facilitate and attract foreign taxpayers, improve the Research and Development in Italy and most important preserve the ?i.e. Made in Italy?. This provision introduced in Italy is an optional tax regime, that allows reduced taxation ...

July 17, 2019 - New Ruling of the CJEU on Extraordinary Circumstances under Regulation 261/2004

On 26 June 2019, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has handed down its ruling in Andr? Moens v Ryanair Ltd (C-159/18), holding that a fuel spill on the runway of an airport which led to the runway?s closure falls within the notion of ?extraordinary circumstances? within ...

July 12, 2019 - Revised tax ruling practice announced in the Netherlands

The Dutch ruling practice for tax rulings with an international character has been one of the cornerstones of the Dutch investment climate for a period spanning more than 50 years. Often tax legislation contains vague language and ambiguous terms increasing the need for advance consultation of the competent tax authorities ...

July 12, 2019 - Are the doors being opened (even more) for class action lawsuits

In 2010 there was an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform. British Petroleum (?BP?) leases the platform, which is situated in the Gulf of Mexico. Global investment is BP?s target audience and the company communicated about the disaster via its website and the press, among other channels. On the ...

July 5, 2019 - Tax implications no deal Brexit

After the Withdrawal Agreement with the UK was voted down by British Parliament several times, the EU has allowed an extension until 31 October 2019. If no other arrangement with the EU will be made before that date, the UK will cease to be a member of the EU without ...