In June 2023, Parliament passed two extensive amendments to the Taxes and Duties Act effective from 1 January 2024. This was followed by a publication on the website of the State Revenue Service (SRS) detailing the new system’s objectives and explaining the meaning of taxpayer grades.
Fixed assets, and sometimes inventories too, have to be written off if they no longer meet your company’s needs or are obsolete, or if there is no demand for them. The issue of input tax deduction always comes up in such situations, and has been recently heard by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). This article explores Ruling C‑127/22 (Balgarska telekomunikatsionna kompania) of 4 May 2023.
On 19 April 2023 the EU Official Journal published the European Commission’s decision (EU) No. 2023/829 of 17 April on an exemption from import customs duty and import VAT on goods intended for free distribution or transfer to persons fleeing the military aggression waged in Ukraine and to persons in Ukraine who need help.
On 20 April 2023 the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled on case C‑282/22 concerning the VAT treatment of services supplied by EV charging stations that offer charging equipment and software in addition to the charging service. This article explores the CJEU’s interpretation.
On 27 April 2023, Parliament approved amendments to the Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Act in their final reading. The amendments set a higher threshold for luxury executive vehicles – EUR 75,000 instead of EUR 50,000 (excluding VAT). The new threshold will apply to company cars acquired after 1 June 2023.
The VAT Act has imposed reverse-charge VAT on construction services since 2018. But is it clear in what cases a service, especially one that doesn’t involve technical construction works, is governed by the VAT rules on construction services? Practice shows it’s not clear.
Two or more individuals or entities may combine forces or funds under a partnership agreement to achieve a common goal. Each partner should make a contribution (cash, property or work) to the partnership and any assets acquired through the joint business of the partners are their joint property. The partners share in profits that are essentially due to them.
A payment is not always treated as a consideration for services that are subject to VAT. To establish a taxable supply, there must be a direct link between the service and the consideration received for it. There is no direct link between a payment and the service if it is impossible to predict whether the consideration will be received. In its ruling C-713/21 (Finanzamt X) of 9 February 2023, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) assessed whether 50% of horse race cash prizes that is assigned to a stable owner should be treated as a consideration for a service chargeable to VAT. This article explores some of the legal niceties examined in the CJEU’s new ruling.
Cashback is one of consumer incentive programmes that are currently popular with manufacturers and wholesalers. This could involve a manufacturer (or a wholesaler) refunding a certain amount of money to the end consumer for buying goods they have manufactured (distributed). The refund may be a fixed price for a particular product or expressed as a percentage of the purchase value. A cashback may also occur as a discount coupon distributed by the manufacturer, which the end customer uses with the retailer, who then seeks reimbursement from the manufacturer. This procedure directly stimulates the end consumer’s choice because the manufacturer’s discount reaches him directly instead of being accumulated in the chain of traders. With many companies expanding their business beyond Latvia, a discount may also be granted to customers in other member states. This article explores whether a cashback made by the manufacturer (wholesaler) to the end customer affects the VAT payable by the manufacturer (wholesaler).
On 8 December 2022 the European Commission (EC) published proposals for amending the VAT directive (2006/112/EC) and Council Implementing Regulation (EU) No 282/2011. The proposals are designed to modernise the EU VAT system in the digital age, make it work for companies, and render it more resilient against fraud. The proposals also aim to address VAT issues caused by the platform economy.
There are various programmes out there aimed at increasing a company’s sales by raising the productivity of its employees joining the programme, by increasing customer loyalty etc. Cross-border programmes are also implemented in Latvia, and their tax issues are very topical as well as complicated. This article explores employee incentive programmes in the light of a recent VAT ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU).
Deducting input VAT, particularly on capital goods, is based on their intended use for taxable supplies. Intentions sometimes fail to materialise, raising the question of whether the taxable person becomes liable to repay the VAT deducted earlier. This question was handled by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Ruling C-293/21 of 6 October 2022. This time the CJEU examined the need for adjustment if the taxable person did not use the acquired goods and services for making taxable supplies because the shareholder decided to liquidate the company. This article explores the CJEU’s findings and their practical implications.
A hire purchase is different from a lease in terms of various economic risks and VAT treatment. Although the customer is allowed to pay the purchase price by instalments, the supplier is liable to calculate and pay VAT on the entire amount of the transaction. This VAT treatment is not new, yet we have had to deal with situations where a taxable person has missed this important difference or finds it difficult to determine what kind of transaction is in fact taking place. This article explores key differences between the two transactions for VAT purposes.
To pick up where we left off about “contributions in kind” and VAT last week, this article explores a less common form of business – limited and general partnerships that make a “contribution in work” under a partnership agreement.
