On 1 November 2018, a Bill to amend the Corporate Income Tax Act (CITA) was adopted by the parliament. With respect to the tax treatment of leasing, the following additional amendments were adopted.
A new article 11a of the CITA provides that:
- income and expenses related to operational lease contracts recorded in the accounts of the lessee will not be recognized for tax purposes;
- rights to use assets under operating lease agreements may not be included in the tax depreciable value of a tax depreciable asset of the lessee; and
- income and expenses relating to operating leases will be recognized for tax purposes if they concern the lease of a right to use assets. In such a case, the income and expenses must be determined in accordance with National Accounting Standard 17 on leases.
A new article 50(2) of the CITA defines from which fixed tangible assets a lessee derives taxable income. The article covers those assets classified as depreciable fixed tangible assets with a right of use in connection with finance lease according to the international accounting standards.
Article 82 of the CITA on the corrections of the financial results due to changes of the accounting policy will not apply where the change in the accounting policy concerns the application of the International Financial Reporting Standard 16 on operational leases.