Tuesday evening saw the House of Commons vote against the government’s Brexit plan with a majority of 230.
On Thursday, 17 January, HMRC released the following statement:
‘The UK will be leaving the EU on 29 March 2019. Leaving the EU with a deal remains the government’s top priority, however the government and businesses should continue to plan for every possible outcome including no deal.
EU unveils digital tax proposals
Tribunals’ inconsistent approach to VAT legislation
EC v UK (C-161/14), Court of Justice of the European Union
The European Commission (EC) has proposed ways to remove VAT barriers in the cross-border delivery of goods ordered and services received online.
The communication A Digital Single Market Strategy for Europe acknowledges that the administrative burden of VAT compliance and distortions of competition cause problems for businesses.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) wants to more than double its number of general court judges, as part of reform plans being examined by the European parliament.
The CJEU’s proposals – approved in principle by the Council of the EU – aim to “enhance the overall efficiency of the… court system and… provide structural and sustainable solutions”.
The mooted reform comes after the number of cases before the general court increased from 398 in 2000 to 912 in 2014, with growth expected to continue.
HMRC greatly underestimated the impact of European Union tax rules for digital services, according to a study by Enterprise Nation, a membership group for start-up businesses.
Go Fair Zeitarbeit OHG v Finanzamt Hamburg-Altona (C-594/13), CJEU
E-books are subject to VAT at the standard rate, making them distinct from printed titles with their reduced rate provisions, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has determined.
The long-running debate on books’ discrepancy of rates between digital and print went before the court as the result of the European Commission’s infraction proceedings against Luxembourg and France for applying sales tax at reduced rates to e-books of 3% and 5.5% respectively.
The European Commission (EC) has unveiled its agenda to combat avoidance and aggressive tax planning, with a package of measure to increase tax transparency to be announced next month.
A key objective of the agenda is to ensure that companies are taxed where their economic activities generating the profits are performed, commissioners agreed at the first orientation debate on possible actions to ensure a more transparent approach to taxation in the European Union (EU).