The Swiss government proposes substantial amendments to Swiss tax legislation impacting bank secrecy in Swiss tax matters.

The policy on the VAT position of supervisory directors has changed. Until recently, supervisory directors were not obliged to register for VAT until they held five or more independent directorships. Under pressure of the European Commission, that policy has recently been repealed.

The bill of law no. 6471, implementing the AIFMD in August, aims to strengthen Luxembourg's attractiveness as an alternative fund centre by creating the Specialised Limited Partnership vehicle and overhauling the tax regime of carried interest.

This is the October 2012 edition of the Paris Tax Newsletter.

The October 2012 issue of the Global VAT/GST Newsletter provides updates from Baker & McKenzie's Global VAT/GST practice on recent VAT and legal developments — both on a regional and a local country basis.

The OECD has recently published an updated discussion paper on the transfer pricing of intangibles.

Glenn G. Fox, partner in the New York office of Baker & McKenzie, co-authors "'Canada' Immigration Trusts for U.S. Persons."

Reprinted with permission from: International Law Practicum, Autumn 2012 ,Vol. 25, No.2, published by the New York State Bar Association, One Elk Street, Albany, NY 12207.

Earlier this year, the UK Government proposed a number of significant changes to the income tax treatment of interest received and on deduction of tax from interest paid.

The Internal Revenue Service released an Announcement on 24 October 2012 pushing back and clarifying certain timelines for the compliance by withholding agents and foreign financial institutions (FFIs) with due diligence and related requirements under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The IRS intends to incorporate the rules from the Announcement into the final FATCA regulations scheduled to be released by the end of 2012.

The policy on the VAT position of supervisory directors has changed. Until recently, supervisory directors were not obliged to register for VAT until they held five or more independent directorships. Under pressure of the European Commission, that policy has recently been repealed. As a result, holding just one supervisory directorship will trigger the obligation to register for VAT. This new policy must be applied as of 1 January 2013. As of that date, registering for VAT will often be inevitable for supervisory directors. VAT will then be chargeable on all payments that a supervisory director receives for his activities. They include not only the fee itself, but also items such as expense allowances and shares or options. Their current value will have to be taken into account.

The United States and the United Kingdom announced on 14 September that they have signed a bilateral agreement to improve international tax compliance and implement the information reporting and withholding tax provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The agreement should lessen the burden of FATCA compliance on UK financial institutions, while increasing the ability of taxing authorities in both countries to obtain information in their efforts against tax evasion.

The Dutch government released its Budget 2013, containing the Tax Plan 2013 which includes certain amendments to Dutch tax law. The government will discuss the plans the coming weeks in parliament. Further to these discussions, some elements of the Tax Plan may change. Most proposals will become effective on 1 January 2013. The Tax Plan 2013 contains the 2013 Bill (The Bill). The amendments included in The Bill are additions to the amendments to Dutch tax law already adopted by the Senate in July 2012.

The Tax Laws Amendment (Cross-Border Transfer Pricing) Act (No. 1) 2012, which contains new domestic transfer pricing laws, has received Royal Assent.

The new law represents stage one of transfer pricing law amendments and is highly controversial in that it introduces retrospective tax legislation. This is a consequence of recent Court decisions that have negatively impacted some of the Government's long-held views on domestic transfer pricing law.

Most people view Australia as an incredibly tough jurisdiction for tax planning for both residents and non-residents. Yet, surprisingly, Australia has many benign tax rules. For example, expatriates can live in Australia full-time without paying any tax on their investment income, and there has been relaxation of tax rules that have restricted foreign investments by Australian residents. This paper will explain the current status of tax rules in Australia that will affect residents and non-residents.