Insights

If you are an EU business, and you have incurred VAT before 31 December 2020, you can still recover the UK VAT by submitting an EU refund claim in the country where you are established. Claims can only be made until 31 March 2021 after which time the ability to claim online through your own EU member state tax authority’s website will cease.

If you are a UK business, and you have incurred VAT in the Netherlands or any other EU Member State (MS) before 31 December 2020, you can still recover the VAT by submitting an online claim in the UK until the 31 March 2021. Afterwards, UK companies will be able to claim VAT incurred in the Netherlands or other EU MSs under so-called “13th Directive procedure”.

Since 27 September 2020 Dutch legal entities are required to register information regarding their UBOs in the UBO register. The UBO register is a direct consequence of European regulations. Its aim is to increase transparency among the individuals who are in control over companies, irrespective of the way in which an entity or concern is organized.

The Netherlands introduced a withholding tax on interest and royalty payments to low-tax jurisdictions on 1 January 2021. The aim of the tax is to counter aggressive tax structures.

The Netherlands introduced a withholding tax on interest and royalty payments to low-tax jurisdictions on 1 January 2021. The aim of the tax is to counter aggressive tax structures.

On the 30th of December 2020, the EU and China have concluded in principle the negotiations for a Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI). This agreement will create a better balance in the EU-China trade relations and, in our view, create even more opportunities in the future for foreign direct investment (FDI) between the EU and China.

From 1 January 2021, a VAT number of the customer with the "XI" prefix is required for the B2B deliveries to the Northern Ireland (NI) to qualify as exempt intra-EU supplies. The threshold for cross-border B2C selling from EU countries to NI (so-called EU "distance sales") is £70,000. Businesses making distance sales from EU MSs to NI must register for UK VAT if the value of their distance sales into NI during a calendar year goes over the distance selling threshold. Businesses bringing or receiving goods into Great Britain (GB) or Northern Ireland (NI). VAT will continue to be accounted as it is currently on goods sold between GB and NI.

As of January 1, 2021, intermediaries and/or taxpayers must report potentially aggressive cross-border tax arrangements to the tax authorities. Also as a CFO or controller, you may have to deal with this. Incorrect information can result in a substantial fine. We will be happy to explain how this works and give you a helping hand to make the reporting process easier.

Granting lease incentives is a common way to encourage a new lessee to sign up to a new lease contract and fill vacant premises. Lease incentives may take various forms depending on the negotiation between the lessee and the lessor.

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) is challenging. Each year, new Standards and amendments are published by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) with the potential to significantly impact the presentation of a complete set of financial statements.

Investors, customers, governments and the wider public are putting companies under ever greater pressure to place sustainability at the heart of their business models.

On 1 January 2020, the Dutch implementation of the EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive 2 (ATAD2) came into effect for tax years starting on or after that date. ATAD2 aims to neutralize hybrid mismatches resulting in situations with a double deduction or a deduction without inclusion. The Netherlands has introduced a new documentation requirement for Dutch corporate taxpayers on the basis of which they substantiate that the hybrid mismatch rules are (not) applicable during each financial year.

In July 2020, an opposition member of the Dutch parliament submitted a bill proposing a conditional exit tax as part of the Dutch dividend withholding tax regime in the case of certain cross-border reorganizations. A revised proposal has been submitted to parliament on October 9, 2020. In this tax alert we will provide you with an overview of this proposal and the (negative) advice published by the Council of State on October 9, 2020. We would like to emphasize there is a significant chance that no majority on the proposal will be reached taking into account the negative advice and the fact that the proposal is from a member of the opposition.

In 2021 the European Union (EU) rules for cross-border online sales are about to change. The new rules will apply to almost all companies that sell products online.

To increase fiscal transparency across the EU, the Mandatory Disclosure Directive entered into force on 25 June 2018. The Directive (also known as DAC 6) requires intermediaries — such as EU-based tax consultants, banks and lawyers — to report cross-border transactions and tax arrangements that the EU considers potentially aggressive.

As the coronavirus crisis continues, businesses need to be agile in managing the tax effects on their business.