March 2020

On 18 March 2020, a bill proposing tax-related measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and state of emergency in Bulgaria was introduced to the National Assembly. The bill is available on the website of the National Assembly.

More specifically, the bill proposes the tax-related measures set out below.

Extension of deadlines for payment and reporting of taxes to 30 June 2020 The deadlines for filing and payment of the following taxes are extended to 30 June 2020:

• annual corporate income tax and one-off taxes on social and representative expenses  (from 31 March 2020);
• annual tonnage tax on the operating and management of vessels (from 31 March 2020);
• annual tax on the activities of publicly funded enterprises such as state and local authorities (from 31March 2020);
• annual personal income tax due by sole traders and farmers (from 30 April 2020); and
• tax on auxiliary activities under the Gambling Act (from 31 March 2020);

Еxtension of deadlines for publishing annual financial statements

Companies are granted an extension of the deadline for publishing annual financial statements for 2019 to 30 September 2020 (from 30 June 2020). Dormant enterprises should file their declaration for lack of economic activities by 30 June 2020 (from 31 March 2020).

Changes to advance CIT amount and relief from default interests on underpayment for the first half of 2020

Companies subject to advance CIT instalments must pay advance CIT during the first half of 2020 based on 50% of their 2018 taxable profits. No default interest will apply for underpayment of advance CIT for the period 16 July - 31 December 2020.

New powers of Customs Agency to donate confiscated health-protecting consumables and other goods

The Customs Agency is entrusted with the power to donate to hospitals, the Red Cross, kindergarten or schools confiscated goods that are useful in the preservation of public health.

5% Discount for prepayment of local real estate and vehicle tax

Taxpayers will receive 5% discount of the local real estate and vehicle tax if they prepay the annual tax due by 30 June 2020.

Mandatory paid leave

During the state of emergency, employers will be allowed to release their employees on paid leave without the consent of the employee as long as such leave does not exceed half of their annual paid leave.

Suspension of enforcement proceedings and the initiation of new enforcement proceedings

Enforcement proceedings for the collection of public liabilities such as tax and social securities will be suspended during the state of emergency. Default interest will continue to accrue during the suspension period. New enforcement proceedings will not be initiated during the state of emergency unless certain supervening circumstances arise. Such circumstances include but are not limited to protection of vital state or public interest or if any delay may significantly impede the collection of public liabilities.

Suspension of statute of limitations and certain statutory deadlines

The absolute 10-year statute of limitations for the collection of public liabilities will be suspended during the state of emergency. Certain deadlines for the initiation of enforcement proceedings such as in cases of insolvency, public tenders and others are also suspended.

The bill for tax measures will be introduced for discussion and a vote at first hearing in the National Assembly in the coming days.

On 24 March 2020, the National Revenue Agency published clarifications on the advance corporate income tax (CIT) instalments regime for 2020 which is part of the COVID-19 emergency tax measures promulgated in the State Gazette and published on 23 March 2020 (the official publication date is 24 March 2020). An overview of the clarifications that concern taxable persons who meet the criteria for payment of advance CIT instalments under the Corporate Income Tax Act (CITA) is set out below.

• Where the annual CIT return for 2019 is filed by 15 April 2020, the advance CIT instalments for 2020 shall be made in the amount declared.
• Where the annual CIT return for 2019 has not been filed by 15 April 2020, the advance CIT instalments must be declared by that date with the annual CIT return of which only the part relating to the declaration of advance CIT instalments for 2020 has to be completed. When, subsequently, by 30 June 2020, these persons file their CIT return for 2019, they will not complete the part relating to the declaration of advance CIT instalments for 2020.

For filings after 15 April 2020, adjustments (reduction or increase) of the advance CIT instalments declared with the annual CIT return for 2019 will be made with the declaration under Art. 88 of CIT Act. The adjustments of the advance payments made with the declaration under Art. 88 of the CITA will be used after the filing of the declaration.

On 20 March 2020, changes to the regulations for the application of the Value Added Tax (VAT) Act were published in the State Gazette. The amendments are effective as from 20 March 2020. The document is available here (in Bulgarian only).

More specifically, the amendments introduce the following changes:

• changes to the format and technical requirements for e-filing of the main VAT reporting documents - VAT returns, sales and purchases ledgers, and EC sales listing, i.e. VIES returns (effective from 29 February 2020);
• changes to the forms for application for VAT registration and deregistration (effective from 29 February 2020);
• new registers and electronic filing requirements for goods under the recently introduced call-off stock simplification (effective from 1 January 2020). The amendments introduce specific rules for declaring the call-off stock arrangement in the monthly VAT return and the sales and purchases ledger.

On 23 March 2020, the National Revenue Agency (NRA) published on its website clarifications regarding the amendments to regulations for the application of the VAT Act that were promulgated in the State Gazette on 20 March 2020. Below is a summary of the clarifications.

Changes to VAT reporting documents

The amendments to the regulations for the application of the VAT Act introduce changes to the VAT return and other VAT reporting documents. The first tax period for which the updated versions should be used will be April 2020 and in this respect the NRA informs that these versions will be published in April 2020.

The NRA Agency clarifies that the amendments to VAT reporting documents are related only to the introduction of the call-off stock arrangements from 1 January 2020. In this respect, the tax administration mentions that only taxable persons involved in call-off stock arrangements will be required to update their VAT reporting documents and other taxable persons will not be obliged to do so and can continue to use the current versions of their VAT return and other VAT reporting documents.

Other amendments

In the clarifications, the NRA outlines also other amendments which are considered important:

• amendments to the rules for documenting intra-Community supplies - it is now required that the VAT number of the recipients issued by other EU Member States is to be on the invoice issued by the Bulgarian supplier;
• changes to application forms for VAT registration/deregistration; and
• amendments to input VAT adjustment rules in the cases of subsequent expenses related to improvements of fixed assets.

The clarifications (in the Bulgarian language) are available here.

On 24 March 2020, the National Statistical Institute published a notification that the deadlines for submission of annual statistical reports will be extended as follows: Persons obliged to submit annual statistical reports for 2019 will have to file them not later than 30 June 2020 (the standard deadline is 31 March).

Entities that have to submit annual consolidated statistical reports for 2019 will have to file them not later than 30 September 2020 (the standard deadline is 30 June). Persons that did not perform activity during 2019 will have to file a declaration not later than 30 June 2020 (the standard deadline is 31 March). The above news (in Bulgarian language) is available here on the website of the National Statistical Institute. In respect of the above, an official order will be issued by the directors of the National Statistical Institute and the National Revenue Agency. Further developments will be reported when they occur.

On 24 March 2020, the National Revenue Agency (NRA) published on its website a special section dedicated to COVID-19 emergency tax measures promulgated in the State Gazette on the same day. The section includes information on the extended filing and payment deadlines as well as a Q&A part with frequently asked questions. The following important questions are explicitly clarified:

• the deadlines for submission of VAT returns and payment of VAT due will not be extended;
• similarly, the deadlines for payment of mandatory social security contributions will not be extended; and
• if a taxable person has already submitted its annual corporate income tax (CIT) return but has not paid yet the CIT due, the payment may be postponed until 30 June 2020.

The COVID-19 tax section is available here (in Bulgarian) on the NRA's website.

On 25 March 2020, the Council of Ministers decided to send a request to the European Commission for authorization to apply an exemption from customs duties and value added tax (VAT) on imports of medical products related to the fight against COVID-19.

The request will be sent to the European Commission by the Minister of Finance.

The State Administration of Taxation issued on March 17, 2020 the Circular about Extending the Deadline for Commissioned Withholding and Collection of Taxes. The deadline will be extended from March 30, 2020 to May 30, 2020.

The SAT requested tax agencies at all levels should comply with the Circular about Further Strengthening the Administration of Commissions on the Commissioned Withholding and Collection of Taxes, optimize procedures and reinforce examination, auditing and payment efforts.

The State Administration of Taxation recently released the Administrative Measures for the Refund of Value-added Tax on Made-in-China Equipment Purchased by Research & Development Institutions, effective from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2020.

The regulation was drafted according to the Announcement on Continuing the Implementation of Value-added Tax Policies for the Purchase of Equipment by Research and Development Institutions (Issued in 2019 by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce and the State Administration of Taxation). When a R&D institution makes the first tax refund declaration, it shall present relevant documents to the local tax administration.

The Ministry of Finance and the State Taxation of Administration recently released the Announcement about Value-added Tax Policies to Support Resumption of Production and Operation of Individual Household Businesses.

According to the announcement, from March 1, 2020 to May 31, 2020, small taxpayers in Hubei will be exempted from value-added tax if their tax rate is set at 3%. Small taxpayers in non-Hubei regions will pay a lower tax rate of 1% on taxable sales revenue if their value-added tax rate is set at 3%.

The National Development and Reform Commission issued on March 11, 2020 the Circular about Further Deepening Reform and Implementing Foreign-funded Projects to Tackle Epidemic. According to the circular, the NDRC and the Ministry of Commerce will revise the Catalogue of Industries for Encouraging Foreign Investment. The revisions will expand the scope of industries where foreign investment is encouraged, focus on high-quality manufacturing as well as industry transitions in central, western and northeast provinces.

The circular stated that tariff on self-use equipment imported for foreign investment projects will continue to be waived within the investment quota. For projects beyond the investment quota, project companies can make applications with the provincial development and reform commission to enjoy tariff exemptions, and the provincial commission will conduct preliminary examinations and report to the NDRC.

SHANGHAI — A total of 89 percent of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Shanghai had resumed operations as of March 23, with 79 percent of their employees back to work, local authorities said on March 24.

Local authorities distribute more than 1 million masks daily to these SMEs and have facilitated over 20,000 SMEs to purchase masks. Epidemic prevention and control materials, including disinfection products and goggles, have been provided to more than 100 SMEs in the metropolitan, Zhang Jianming, deputy director of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Information, told a press conference on March 24.

"SMEs have been greatly affected by the pandemic. Through the research of SMEs and a survey on 2,622 small and micro enterprises in Shanghai, we found the difficulties of SMEs in resuming work and production mainly include the increase of operating costs and the lack of confidence in development," Zhang said.

Shanghai has introduced a raft of measures to beef up the steady and healthy development of SMEs, including a 2 billion yuan (about $283 million) financing service for small and micro enterprises and a 500,000 yuan award to SMEs related to epidemic prevention and control that plan to get listed, Zhang added.

According to the official, commercial banks, including the SPD Bank and the Shanghai branch of Bank of China, plan to allocate a special loan totaling 30 billion yuan to help SMEs cope with the impact of the pandemic.

The People's Bank of China and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange issued on March 12, 2020 the Circular about Adjusting Macro-Prudential Management Parameter of Full-Covered Cross-Border Financing.

The circular said that the macro-prudential management parameter of full-covered cross-border financing will be lifted to 1.25 from 1. The adjustment will be helpful for domestic companies, especially small and medium-sized firms and private companies, to tap into the domestic and foreign markets to raise funds at affordable cost. The circular is immediately effective.

Besides the global health threat, the COVID-19 outbreak is heavily impacting economic activity, leading the Hong Kong government to take measures to help businesses deal with and mitigate the impact. In an effort to streamline all tax news and insights regarding COVID-19, Diacron Hong Kong would like to support its Clients by sharing one of the latest resource made available by the Hong Kong government:  The Retail Sector Subsidy Scheme.

Retail Sector Subsidy Scheme under Anti-epidemic Fund

To provide relief to retailers to help tide them over their financial difficulties arising from the epidemic, the Hong Kong Government has established the "Retail Sector Subsidy Scheme" under the HK$30 billion "Anti-epidemic Fund".

How is retail sector defined?

Retailing is considered to be the resale of tangible goods to the general public for personal or household consumption or utilisation. No processing or transformation of the goods should be involved in the resale process.

Hence, this Scheme does not cover stores primarily engaged in personal and business services. The determination as to whether resale is without transformation or whether goods are sold mainly to the general public for personal or household consumption will be made conclusively by the Government.

How the subsidy works?

Under the Scheme, a one-off subsidy of HK$80,000will be provided to each eligible retail store. The maximum amount of subsidy for a parent company that operates retail groups or chain stores under the same business registration is HK$3 million(equivalent to no more than 38 stores).

Who is Eligible?

Applicant has to be conducting substantial and substantive retail business at a fixed physical and individually operated store in Hong Kong; and Business should have commenced before 1 January 2020 and is still in operation at the time of application.

Exclusions apply as follows:

• Stores with licences of restaurants, canteens, light refreshment restaurants,fresh provision shops, food factories, bakeries, siu mei and lo mei shops issued by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
• Hawkers (including licensed hawkers);
• Mobile stalls and counters in department stores without separate payment system and stores operating under short-term tenancy of a duration less than 6 months;
• Retail stores conducting non-store retailing via mail order, internet or direct marketing sales only.

How to apply?

Applicants should complete and submit an online application form and upload the required supporting documents within the online application period.

Each retail branch of a retail chain should submit a separate application. 

When is the application period?

From 23 March 2020to 12 April 2020

Which documents shall I provide?

Valid Business Registration Certificate (mandatory) and any of the two of the four documents listed below (mandatory):

• MPF contributions statement (within 2020)
• Rental receipt (within 2020), latest demand note for Rates and/or Government Rentfor the store for which the subsidy is applied for
• Latest utility billing statement (e.g. electricity bill, water bill) for the store for which the subsidy is applied for(within 2020)
• Proof of electronic payment gateways used in the retail store (e.g.credit cards, Octopus, EPS, Alipay, WeChat Pay, etc.) such as a billing statement (within 2020)

Moreover, a recent photo of the retail store with its name and shopfront visible is also mandatory along with the latest bank statement / bank account book under the same name of the applicant / company.

How will I follow up on application success?

Applicants will be given an application number upon completion of submission. Applicants can check the result on an online system by using the application number and business registration number. Successful applicants will be notified of the result by SMS and email. The subsidy will be remitted into each successful applicant’s registered bank account by autopay within 7 working days of the date of approval.

Contacts: Danilo Nicolotti - General Manager  d.nicolotti@diacrongroup.com Alberto Innocenti - Corporate Partner  a.innocenti@diacrongroup.com

On 1 February 2020, the Finance Minister announced the dispute settlement scheme ("Vivad se Vishwas" Scheme) in Parliament. Following the announcement, the Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Bill, 2020 (the Bill) was introduced. The Bill was subsequently revised to widen the scope and reduce the compliance burden for taxpayers, and was passed by the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) on 4 March 2020 and by the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) on 13 March 2020. The revised Bill received the President's assent on 17 March 2020. Some of the key provisions of the Act are given below.

• The scope of the Act has been expanded to cover the following:
  • orders for which the time limit for filing an appeal had not expired as at 31 January 2020;
  • cases pending before the Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) as at 31 January 2020, including cases where the DRP had issued directions on or before 31 January 2020, but no order had been passed;
  • a revision petition pending before the Commissioner of Income-tax (CIT) under section 264 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 on 31 January 2020; and
  • search cases where the disputed demand is less than INR 50 million, computed year-wise.
• Payment terms under the Scheme:
  • Appeals filed by the assessee
  • Appeals filed by the Department or where the Department has lost an issue earlier

• Provision of refund of excess tax paid by the taxpayer before filing declaration over the amount payable under the Scheme.
• The revised Scheme will not set any precedence for any other proceedings and does not allow filing of declaration issue-wise.
• Proof of withdrawal of appeal and/or writ would be intimation of payment before the issuance of final certificate for settling dispute and not the declaration. Appeals by the Department also to be withdrawn before the issuance of final certificate for settling dispute.
• Mechanism for carry forward and/or set off of losses: In case where the returned loss is reduced as a result of additions (this would apply for reduction in Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) credit also.), the taxpayer would have the following options:
  • pay the notional tax on the amount by which the loss has been reduced and carry forward the claimed loss without reduction; or
  • accept the reduced carry forward of loss without making any payment.

• Settling of disputes regarding transfer pricing adjustment would not have any effect on the secondary adjustment.
• Cases outside the ambit of the Scheme:
  • Search cases where disputed tax is more than INR 50 million;
  • prosecution cases;
  • cases involving undisclosed foreign income and/or assets;
  • proceedings based on information received from other countries;
  • cases covered under certain laws such as Conservation of Foreign Exchange and Prevention of Smuggling Activities Act, 1974, Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002, the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Act, 1988;
  • proceedings under the provisions of the Indian Penal Code; and
  • cases relating to persons notified under section 3 of the Special Courts (Trial of Offences Relating to Transactions in Securities) Act, 1992.

On 24 March 2020, the Finance Minister addressed the media on the various statutory and regulatory compliance issues amid a complete shutdown of almost the entire country to control the spread of COVID-19. The key announcements are summarized below.

Income tax

The due date for filing the income tax return for FY 2018/19 extended from 31 March 2020 to 30 June 2020.

• Aadhar – PAN linking date to be extended from 31 March 2020 to 30 June 2020.
• Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme extended from 31 March 2020 to 30 June 2020 with no additional 10% payment if such payment is made by 30 June 2020.
• No extension of the date for deposit of tax deducted at source (TDS). However, interest on delayed payments reduced from 18% per annum to 9% per annum.
• Reduction of the interest rate from 12% to 9% on delayed payments of advance tax, self-assessment tax, regular tax, TDS, tax collected at source (TCS), securities transaction tax (STT), and commodities transaction tax (CTT) made between 20 March 2020 and 30 June 2020.
• No fee / penalty to be charged for delay relating to the period from 31 March 2020 to 30 June 2020.
• Due dates for the issue of notices, intimation, approval order, sanction order, filing of appeals, furnishing returns, statements, applications, reports, any other document including investment in savings or investment on roll-over benefits under the following acts where time limit is expiring between 20 March 2020 to 29 June 2020 to be extended to 30 June 2020:
  • Income-tax Act;
  • Wealth Tax Act;
  • Prohibition of Benami Property Transaction Act;
  • Black Money Act;
  • STT Law;
  • CTT Law;
  • Equalization Levy; and
  • Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme.

Goods and services tax (GST)

• Last date for filing GST returns for March, April and May 2020 extended to 30 June 2020 for those having aggregate annual turnover less than INR 50 million. No interest, late fees or penalty to be charged.
• No late fees or penalties for companies with turnover of INR 50 million or more if complied before 30 June 2020. However, reduced interest at 9% (from 18%) will be charged.
• Date for opting for composition scheme and filing of composition returns for FY 2019/20 extended until the last week of June 2020.
• Due date for filing GST annual returns for FY 2018/19 extended from 31 March 2020 to the last week of June 2020.
• Payment date under Sabka Vishwas Scheme extended to 30 June 2020 with no interest.
• Due dates for issue of notices, intimation, approval order, sanction order, filing of appeals, furnishing returns, statements, applications, reports, and any other document where time limit under the GST laws is expiring between 20 March 2020 to 29 June 2020 to be extended to 30 June 2020.

Customs

• Customs clearance to operate 24/7 as an essential service until 30 June 2020.
• Due dates for issue of notices, intimation, approval order, sanction order, filing of appeals, furnishing returns, statements, applications, reports, and any other document where time limit under the Customs and Allied Laws is expiring between 20 March 2020 to 29 June 2020 to be extended to 30 June 2020.

On 23 March 2020, the Lok Sabha (Lower House of Parliament) passed the Finance Bill 2020 (the Bill) with amendments. The key amendments are summarized below.

Income tax

• The following provisions relate to residence status:
  • the concession for the period of stay in India for an Indian citizen and a person of Indian origin will be reduced from 182 days to 120 days; and
  • an Indian citizen will be deemed to be resident in India only if his total income, other than income from foreign sources, exceeded INR 1.5 million in the previous year.
• The tax deducted at source (TDS) rate on payment of dividend to a foreign company, non-resident Indian or other non-resident person will be 20% with effect from 1 October 2020. However, this is subject to the provisions included in the relevant tax treaties that India has concluded with other countries.
• Dividend received on or after 1 April 2020 will not be taxable as income of the shareholder if tax has already been paid on such dividend under section 115-O or section 115BBDA of the Income-tax Act, 1961, (amendment to section 10(34) of the Income-tax Act, 1961).
• An amendment will be made to section 194N of the Income-tax Act, 1961 with effect from 1 July 2020 as follows:
  • tax on cash withdrawals of over INR 2 million will be 2% if the tax return has not been filed for 3 years; and
  • tax on cash withdrawals of over INR 10 million will be 5% if the tax return has not been filed for 3 years.
• No tax is levied on income arising from e-commerce supply on which equalization levy is chargeable (amendment to section 10(50) of the Income-tax Act, 1961).
• The tax collected at source (TCS) on Liberalized Remittance Scheme (LRS) will be relaxed as follows:
  • no tax will be levied in respect of export or import of goods;
  • tax will be levied at 5% only on the amount in excess of INR 700,000, except where a remittance has been made for overseas tour program package;
  • a lower rate of 0.5% applies where the amount is being remitted out of India as a loan, obtained from a banking company, banking institution, financial institutions notified under section 80E of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for the purposes of education; and
  • applicability of the amendments made to TCS provisions will be deferred from 1 April 2020 to 1 October 2020.
• Royalties in respect of the exhibition of cinematographic films will be subject to TDS at a rate of 2% under section 194J of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
• No TDS will be levied, under section 194K of the Income-tax Act, 1961 from capital gains arising on the transfer of units of mutual funds.
• The scope of section 80M of the Income-tax Act, 1961 will be expanded to include dividend received from a foreign company and business trust. Companies opting for the new tax regime will be eligible for deduction under the said section from assessment year 2021-22.
• To ensure that section 10(23) institutions do not avail dual benefit (exemption of income as well as application of income), corpus donations by a fund or trust or institutions to another such fund will not be considered application of income.
• The concessional tax regime can be opted by taxpayers having income from a profession as well, similar to the option available to taxpayers earning income from business (amendment to section 115BAC of the Income-tax Act, 1961).
• No exemption will be available to a unit holder of business trust in respect of a dividend received from a special purpose vehicle (SPV) if such SPV has not exercised the option of section 115BAA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (amendment to section 115BAA of the Income-tax Act, 1961).
• The tax exemption for sovereign wealth funds is extended to pension funds with regard to infrastructure investment (amendment to section 10(23FE) of the Income-tax Act, 1961).

Transfer pricing

'Safe harbour' for the purposes of section 92CB of the Income-tax Act, 1961 will cover the transfer price or income, deemed to accrue or arise under section 9(1)(i), declared by the assessee.

Equalization levy

• The equalization levy of 2% is chargeable on non-resident e-commerce supply, except in the following cases:
  • for e-commerce operators with a permanent establishment in India;
  • for online advertisement service covered under section 165 of the Finance Act, 2016; and
  • if the consideration is less than the threshold limit of INR 20 million (aggregate and not buyer specific).

The Finance Bill will be enacted into law when it is passed by the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of Parliament) and assent is given by the President.

On 24 March 2020, the Swiss Federal Tax Administration published a circular on the accommodation for payment concerning federal taxes as emergency measure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The circular provides details of the regulation concerning the limited waiver of late payment interest (COVID-19-Verzichtsverordnung), effective as from 21 March 2020, which has been brought into force by the Swiss Federal Council (Bundesrat) on 20 March 2020. According to the circular, any late interest charges on late payments of federal taxes which become due during the period of 1 March 2020 to 31 December 2020 is waived.

The circular further notes that the tax authorities shall favourably consider deferrals of taxes due or payments in instalments if requested by taxpayers, provided the immediate tax collection would otherwise lead to significant hardship for requesting taxpayers.

On 19 March 2020, the tax authorities published a press release stating that an agreement has been found with Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg and Switzerland regarding the consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak for French-residents frontier workers.

Under the Belgium - France Income Tax Treaty (1964) (as amended through 2009), the France - Germany Income and Capital Tax Treaty (1959) (as amended through 2015) and the France - Switzerland Income and Capital Tax Treaty (1966) (as amended through 2014), frontier workers may be subject to a special regime which allocates the exclusive taxation of wages to the residence state, provided they do not exceed a certain number of days worked outside the border area of the other state.

According to the press release, the fact that frontier workers work from their home during the COVID-19 pandemic will have no incidence on their status for tax purposes.

As regards the France - Luxembourg Income and Capital Tax Treaty (2018) applicable from 1 January 2020, it has similarly been agreed that working days spent at home will not be taken into account for the calculation of the 29-day "e-working" limit allowed by article 3 of the Protocol.

These measures apply with effect from 14 March 2020 and until further notice. Specific implementing measures will be detailed subsequently.

Il Consiglio federale Svizzero ha stanziato oltre 40 miliardi di franchi per arginare le conseguenze economiche della propagazione del coronavirus. I provvedimenti di questo ampio pacchetto, indirizzati a diversi gruppi target, sono pensati per evitare licenziamenti, preservare l’occupazione, garantire gli stipendi e sostenere i lavoratori indipendenti.

Misure adottate a livello Federale

Liquidità per aiutare le imprese

Nonostante le indennità per lavoro ridotto, numerose aziende dispongono di sempre meno liquidità per coprire i costi correnti a causa delle chiusure aziendali e del brusco calo della domanda. Bisogna evitare che aziende sostanzialmente solvibili vadano incontro a difficoltà. Aiuti immediati mediante crediti transitori con fideiussioni: affinché le banche possano concedere crediti transitori alle PMI (ditte individuali, società di persone, persone giuridiche), il Consiglio federale avvierà un programma di garanzie della portata di 20 miliardi di franchi, poggiante sulle attuali strutture delle organizzazioni di fideiussioni. Le imprese direttamente interessate riceveranno rapidamente e senza lungaggini burocratiche fino al 10 per cento del fatturato o 20 milioni di franchi al massimo. Gli importi fino a 0,5 milioni di franchi saranno pagati subito dalle banche e garantiti al 100 per cento dalla Confederazione. Gli importi di entità superiore saranno garantiti all’85 per cento dalla Confederazione e subordinati a una breve analisi bancaria. Gli importi creditizi fino a 0,5 milioni di franchi dovrebbero coprire oltre il 90 per cento delle imprese colpite dal COVID. Secondo il Consiglio federale questo meccanismo equivale a un monte complessivo di crediti transitori di 20 miliardi di franchi garantiti dalla Confederazione. Nei prossimi giorni il governo sottoporrà alla Delegazione delle finanze delle Camere federali (DelFin) un credito d’impegno urgente, i cui capisaldi saranno disciplinati in una ordinanza per far fronte a gravi turbamenti, che verrà adottata e pubblicata a metà della settimana prossima. Si potrà rispondere alle domande dei diretti interessati (come inoltrare le richieste di crediti ecc.) solo da quel momento.

• Proroga per il pagamento delle assicurazioni sociali: alle aziende colpite dalla crisi potrà essere concessa una proroga temporanea, senza interessi, per il pagamento dei contributi dovuti alle assicurazioni sociali (AVS/AI/IPG/AD). Le imprese hanno inoltre la facoltà di far adeguare l’importo degli acconti periodici versati ad AVS/AI/IPG/AD qualora la loro massa salariale abbia subìto una sostanziale diminuzione. Lo stesso vale per i lavoratori indipendenti che registrano un crollo del fatturato. La valutazione delle proroghe di pagamento e della riduzione degli acconti è di competenza delle casse di compensazione AVS.
• Apporto di liquidità in ambito fiscale e per i fornitori della Confederazione: le imprese avranno la possibilità di dilazionare i termini di pagamento, senza interessi di mora. Di conseguenza, dal 20 marzo 2020 al 31 dicembre 2020 l’interesse sarà azzerato (0,0 %) per l’imposta sul valore aggiunto, per i dazi doganali, per particolari tasse al consumo e per le tasse d’incentivazione. Durante questo periodo non verranno fatturati interessi di mora. All’imposta federale diretta si applica la stessa regola dal 1°marzo 2020 al 31 dicembre 2020. Infine, l’Amministrazione federale delle finanze ha esortato le unità amministrative della Confederazione ad esaminare con celerità le fatture dei creditori e a bonificarle prontamente, a prescindere dai termini di pagamento, rafforzando così le liquidità dei fornitori della Confederazione.
• Principio della «sospensione» secondo la legge federale sulla esecuzione e sul fallimento (LEF): in tutta la Svizzera dal 19 marzo 2020 al 4°aprile compreso non si può procedere ad atti esecutivi contro un debitore. Il Consiglio federale ha disposto la cosiddetta «sospensione» nella seduta del 18 marzo 2020.

Estensione e semplificazione del lavoro ridotto

L’indennità per lavoro ridotto (ILR) è uno strumento che permette di compensare temporanei cali dell’attività, preservando i posti di lavoro. L’attuale situazione economica, di portata assolutamente eccezionale, va a pesare fortemente anche sulle persone che lavorano a tempo determinato o con un contratto interinale, oppure che occupano una posizione analoga a quella del datore di lavoro, nonché su coloro che hanno un contratto di apprendistato. È importate pertanto estendere la cerchia degli aventi diritto all’ILR e semplificare le modalità per richiederla, con le seguenti innovazioni:

• L’ILR potrà essere erogata anche ai dipendenti con un contratto a tempo determinato e a coloro che sono al servizio di un’agenzia di lavoro interinale.
• La perdita di lavoro sarà riconosciuta anche alle persone con un contratto di apprendistato.
• L’ILR potrà essere erogata anche a coloro che occupano una posizione analoga a quella del datore di lavoro. Si tratta per esempio degli associati di una società a garanzia limitata (Sagl) che lavorano nell’impresa e sono retribuiti come dipendenti. Ora anche le persone che lavorano nell’azienda del coniuge o del partner registrato possono beneficiare dell’indennità per lavoro ridotto e far valere un importo forfetario di 3320 franchi a titolo di ILR per un posto a tempo pieno.
• Il termine di attesa per l’ILR, che era già stato ridotto, è ora abolito, cosicché scompare la partecipazione del datore di lavoro alla perdita di un’attività lucrativa.
• I lavoratori non devono più compensare le ore straordinarie prima di poter beneficiare dell’ILR.
• Sono state inoltre decise nuove disposizioni urgenti per semplificare il trattamento delle domande e i versamenti dell’ILR. Per esempio ora è possibile anticipare il versamento degli stipendi tramite l’ILR.

Indennità di perdita di guadagno per i lavoratori indipendenti

I lavoratori indipendenti che subiscono una perdita di guadagno a causa delle misure decise dalle autorità per combattere il coronavirus saranno indennizzati, a condizione che non ricevano già altre indennità o prestazioni assicurative. I casi contemplati sono i seguenti:

• chiusura delle scuole
• quarantena ordinata dal medico
• chiusura di un esercizio a conduzione personale e accessibile al pubblico

Questa regola vale anche per gli artisti indipendenti costretti a interrompere l’attività lavorativa perché gli ingaggi vengono cancellati in seguito alle suddette misure o perché devono essi stessi cancellare un evento in programma.

Le indennità sono assegnate su base giornaliera e in analogia con la legislazione sulle indennità di perdita di guadagno. L’importo corrisposto è pari cioè all’80 per cento del reddito e non può superare i 196 franchi al giorno. I lavoratori indipendenti in quarantena o impegnati in compiti di assistenza possono ricevere rispettivamente un massimo di 10 e 30 indennità giornaliere. Le casse di compensazione AVS sono incaricate di verificare la sussistenza del diritto alle prestazioni e di erogare le prestazioni stesse.

Indennità di perdita di guadagno per i dipendenti

Hanno diritto all’indennità di perdita di guadagno i genitori che devono interrompere la propria attività lavorativa per accudire i figli a seguito della chiusura delle scuole e le persone in quarantena ordinata dal medico. Come nel caso dei lavoratori indipendenti, le indennità sono corrisposte su base giornaliera e in analogia alla legislazione sulle indennità di perdita di guadagno (IPG e indennità in caso di servizio o di maternità). L’importo corrisposto è pari cioè all’80 per cento del reddito e non può superare i 196 franchi al giorno. I lavoratori in quarantena possono percepire al massimo 10 indennità giornaliere.

Settore culturale: 280 milioni di franchi sotto forma di aiuti immediati e indennità

Il Consiglio federale si adopera per evitare che il settore svizzero della cultura subisca danni durevoli e per mantenerne al tempo stesso la diversità. L’impatto economico causato dal divieto di svolgere eventi a sfondo culturale (arti dello spettacolo, design, cinema, arti visive, letteratura, musica e musei) sarà arginato grazie ad aiuti immediati e indennità. In un primo tempo il governo mette a disposizione uno stanziamento iniziale di 280 milioni di franchi per due mesi, durante i quali la Confederazione seguirà gli sviluppi in collaborazione con i Cantoni e le organizzazioni culturali. Sono previste le seguenti misure:

• in primo luogo, la Confederazione mette a disposizione fondi per concedere aiuti immediati alle imprese e ai singoli che operano nel settore della cultura. Le imprese senza scopo di lucro, ad esempio fondazioni, possono ottenere prestiti rimborsabili senza interessi per preservare la propria liquidità. Gli operatori culturali possono richiedere aiuti immediati per coprire le spese finalizzate a mantenere il proprio tenore di vita, a condizione che tali spese non siano già coperte dalla nuova indennità di perdita di guadagno concessa in analogia alla legislazione sulle indennità di perdite di guadagno. I fondi sono versati dai Cantoni (alle imprese culturali) o da Suisseculture Sociale (agli operatori culturali).
• In secondo luogo, le imprese e gli operatori culturali possono chiedere ai Cantoni un’indennità per i danni finanziari causati in particolare dalla cancellazione o dal rinvio di eventi o dalla chiusura degli esercizi. L’indennità copre al massimo l’80 per cento dei danni. La Confederazione si assume la metà dei costi sostenuti dai Cantoni.
• Infine, le associazioni amatoriali attive nel campo della musica e del teatro possono ricevere un contributo finanziario a risarcimento dei danni finanziari associati alla cancellazione o al rinvio di eventi.

Sport: 100 milioni di franchi per le organizzazioni sportive

I club, le associazioni e le organizzazioni si trovano in una situazione critica a causa della cancellazione di eventi sportivi sia amatoriali che agonistici, per non parlare dei campionati. Per evitare che lo sport svizzero subisca danni strutturali massicci, il Consiglio federale ha deciso di stanziare:

• 50 milioni di franchi sotto forma di prestiti rimborsabili per superare i problemi di liquidità delle organizzazioni coinvolte in campionati, prevalentemente professionistici, dello sport svizzero o in competizioni agonistiche professionistiche
• 50 milioni di franchi sotto forma di sussidi per le organizzazioni di volontariato che promuovono soprattutto eventi sportivi amatoriali e il cui futuro è ora a repentaglio Il sostegno offerto è subordinato all’obbligo da parte di federazioni e associazioni sportive di adottare le misure necessarie per garantire la propria liquidità in situazioni di crisi. Tale obbligo sarà sancito nella convenzione annuale tra la Confederazione e Swiss Olympic.

L’ordinanza adottata quest’oggi e valida per sei mesi permetterà inoltre di trovare soluzioni accomodanti in caso di interruzioni delle formazioni e formazioni continue nell’ambito dei programmi Gioventù+Sport e di sport per gli adulti. Lo stesso vale per i corsi di studi alla scuola universitaria federale dello sport di Macolin.

Turismo e politica regionale

Nell’ambito degli strumenti di promozione della politica turistica sono in atto misure immediate già da febbraio di quest’anno. Queste riguardano innanzitutto le attività d’informazione e di consulenza nonché gli interventi per superare i problemi di liquidità. La Confederazione sta rafforzando il suo sostegno rinunciando per esempio a incassare il rimborso per il resto del prestito supplementare concesso alla Società svizzera di credito alberghiero (SCA) e scaduto a fine 2019. La SCA dispone così di altri 5,5 milioni di franchi per prestiti destinati a finanziare retroattivamente gli investimenti che le aziende alberghiere hanno coperto negli ultimi due anni con il proprio flusso di cassa.

Nell’ambito della politica regionale la Confederazione ha concesso finora circa 530 milioni a titolo di prestiti attualmente investiti per progetti, 60 per cento dei quali riguardano il settore del turismo. La gestione di questi prestiti è delegata per legge ai Canoni. Per rafforzare la liquidità dei beneficiari, la Confederazione offre ai Cantoni più flessibilità per quanto riguarda le possibilità di moratoria. Ciò permette di sostenere a breve termine soprattutto il settore delle ferrovie di montagna, dove gli ammortamenti sono spesso in scadenza dopo la stagione invernale.

Altri provvedimenti nell’ambito della legge sul lavoro

Nelle circostanze attuali gli ospedali e le cliniche sono messi a dura prova. L’entità dei servizi da erogare è assolutamente fuori dal comune, le risorse di personale scarseggiano e dunque è materialmente impossibile pianificare gli effettivi e ottemperare alle norme di legge. Per questo motivo viene concessa loro, per quanto possibile, maggior flessibilità negli orari di lavoro e nei tempi di riposo. Il principale obiettivo resta quello di proteggere adeguatamente i medici, il personale infermieristico, i collaboratori specializzati e tutti coloro che si stanno adoperando con impegno e professionalità per dominare questa situazione eccezionale.

(Fonte: Il Portale del Governo Svizzero – 20/03/2020)

Misure adottate nel Canton Ticino

• Dilazione dei termini di pagamento

È concessa una dilazione dei termini di pagamento di 60 giorni per le fatture emesse dallo Stato. Eventuali eccezioni saranno comunicate separatamente.

• Interessi di ritardo

Gli interessi di ritardo sui crediti fiscali, compresi gli acconti non saldati, non saranno conteggiati per l’anno civile 2020 e, più precisamente, a partire dal 1° marzo 2020 al 30 settembre 2020.

• Proroghe per l’inoltro delle dichiarazioni d’imposta

È concessa una proroga d’ufficio al 30 giugno 2020 per l’inoltro delle dichiarazioni d’imposta per le persone fisiche per il periodo 2019 e quelle dei periodi precedenti. È concessa una proroga d’ufficio al 30 settembre 2020 per l’inoltro delle dichiarazioni d’imposta per le persone giuridiche per il periodo 2019 e quelle dei periodi precedenti.

• Acconti d’imposta emessi nel 2020

La Divisione delle contribuzioni è autorizzata a rivalutare al ribasso la base di calcolo interna per la determinazione degli acconti che saranno emessi nel corso dell’anno 2020.

• Misure per beneficiari di sussidi ai sensi della Legge sul turismo (LTur)

È sospeso l’incasso delle rate dei mutui concessi ai sensi della Legge sul turismo (LTur). È altresì prevista la cessione dei crediti per sussidi LTur agli istituti bancari. Si invitano gli albergatori a discutere questa possibilità direttamente con il proprio istituto bancario. Inoltre, gli albergatori che non hanno ancora richiesto acconti o la liquidazione finale degli investimenti strutturali sussidiati ai sensi della LTur sono invitati a prendere contatto con l’Ufficio per lo sviluppo economico (dfe-use@ti.ch), in modo da accelerare la tempistica per il versamento.

• Sospensione rimborso prestiti erogati tramite i Fondi di promozione regionale (FPR)

Gli Enti regionali per lo sviluppo (ERS) sono invitati a sospendere il rimborso dei prestiti FPR per progetti direttamente toccati dalla particolare situazione.

• Ottimizzazione dello strumento delle indennità per lavoro ridotto (ILR)

La riduzione del tempo di attesa per le indennità per lavoro ridotto a un giorno, decisa dalla Segreteria di Stato dell’economia (SECO), è un primo passo importante verso lo snellimento delle procedure. In questo senso, vista anche la grande mole di richieste pervenute alla Sezione del lavoro, ricordiamo inoltre che è stato messo in atto un ulteriore potenziamento degli effettivi e dei supporti operativi, in modo da garantire una tempestiva informazione e una più celere evasione delle pratiche. Il Consiglio di Stato ha, inoltre, autorizzato sin da subito la Sezione del lavoro a considerare tutte le richieste di preannuncio per lavoro ridotto per coronavirus alla stregua di “perdite di lavoro dovute a provvedimenti delle autorità”, ai sensi degli articoli 32 cpv. 3 LADI e 51 OADI, anche laddove non vi sia al momento un ordine diretto di chiusura dell'attività. Non da ultimo, il Consiglio di Stato chiede inoltre alla Confederazione un’estensione della cerchia di beneficiari che possono beneficiare delle ILR. In particolare, ci attendiamo che questo strumento sia esteso anche agli indipendenti e ai titolari e ai dirigenti di aziende, che sul nostro territorio sono nella maggior parte dei casi famiglie. La richiesta si inserisce nel solco degli approfondimenti che la SECO ha intrapreso per estendere le ILR anche ai contratti di lavoro di durata determinata non rescindibili e ai lavoratori impiegati temporaneamente. Maggiori informazioni si si trovano sul sito www.ti.ch/lavororidotto.

• Ottimizzazione delle fideiussioni per l’accesso al credito bancario

Quanto intrapreso dalla Confederazione – ovvero la messa a disposizione fino a 580 milioni di franchi sotto forma di crediti bancari garantiti e il previsto sostegno di 10 milioni di franchi per le spese amministrative straordinarie delle organizzazioni che concedono fideiussioni – è un elemento importante anche per in nostro Cantone. Su questa tela di fondo, è in corso il potenziamento della presenza della cooperativa di fideiussione CFSud (www.bgost.ch) in Ticino. Per accelerare e agevolare ulteriormente le procedure sono in corso valutazioni in collaborazione anche con la Banca dello Stato del Cantone Ticino. Si ricorda che la fideiussione entra in linea di conto per tutte quelle attività che non forniscono sufficienti garanzie alle banche ma con prospettive integre, e che senza la fideiussione non riuscirebbero a finanziare il loro progetto, ampliare la loro attività, superare momenti temporanei di carenza liquidità, rilevare un’attività esistente o fondare una nuova società.

(Fonte - Consiglio di Stato Maggiore Cantonale di Condotta – 14/03/2020)

Focus Liquidita’ per aiutare le imprese

Nonostante le indennità per lavoro ridotto, numerose aziende dispongono di sempre meno liquidità per coprire i costi correnti a causa delle chiusure aziendali e del brusco calo della domanda. Aiuti immediati mediante crediti transitori con fideiussioni:

• affinché le banche possano concedere crediti transitori alle PMI (ditte individuali, società di persone, persone giuridiche), il Consiglio federale avvierà un programma di garanzie della portata di 20 miliardi di franchi, poggiante sulle attuali strutture delle organizzazioni di fideiussioni. Le imprese direttamente interessate riceveranno rapidamente e senza lungaggini burocratiche fino al 10 per cento del fatturato o 20 milioni di franchi al massimo. Gli importi fino a 0,5 milioni di franchi saranno pagati subito dalle banche e garantiti al 100 per cento dalla Confederazione. Gli importi di entità superiore saranno garantiti all’85 per cento dalla Confederazione e subordinati a una breve analisi bancaria. Gli importi creditizi fino a 0,5 milioni di franchi dovrebbero coprire oltre il 90 per cento delle imprese colpite dal COVID. Secondo il Consiglio federale questo meccanismo equivale a un monte complessivo di crediti transitori di 20 miliardi di franchi garantiti dalla Confederazione. Nei prossimi giorni il governo sottoporrà alla Delegazione delle finanze delle Camere federali (DelFin) un credito d’impegno urgente, i cui capisaldi saranno disciplinati in una ordinanza per far fronte a gravi turbamenti, che verrà adottata e pubblicata a metà della settimana prossima. Si potrà rispondere alle domande dei diretti interessati (come inoltrare le richieste di crediti ecc.) solo da quel momento.
• Proroga per il pagamento delle assicurazioni sociali: alle aziende colpite dalla crisi potrà essere concessa una proroga temporanea, senza interessi, per il pagamento dei contributi dovuti alle assicurazioni sociali (AVS/AI/IPG/AD). Le imprese hanno inoltre la facoltà di far adeguare l’importo degli acconti periodici versati ad AVS/AI/IPG/AD qualora la loro massa salariale abbia subìto una sostanziale diminuzione. Lo stesso vale per i lavoratori indipendenti che registrano un crollo del fatturato. La valutazione delle proroghe di pagamento e della riduzione degli acconti è di competenza delle casse di compensazione AVS.
• Apporto di liquidità in ambito fiscale e per i fornitori della Confederazione: le imprese avranno la possibilità di dilazionare i termini di pagamento, senza interessi di mora. Di conseguenza, dal 20 marzo 2020 al 31 dicembre 2020 l’interesse sarà azzerato (0,0 %) per l’imposta sul valore aggiunto, per i dazi doganali, per particolari tasse al consumo e per le tasse d’incentivazione. Durante questo periodo non verranno fatturati interessi di mora. All’imposta federale diretta si applica la stessa regola dal 1°marzo 2020 al 31 dicembre 2020. Infine, l’Amministrazione federale delle finanze ha esortato le unità amministrative della Confederazione ad esaminare con celerità le fatture dei creditori e a bonificarle prontamente, a prescindere dai termini di pagamento, rafforzando così le liquidità dei fornitori della Confederazione.
• Principio della «sospensione» secondo la legge federale sulla esecuzione e sul fallimento (LEF): in tutta la Svizzera dal 19 marzo 2020 al 4°aprile compreso non si può procedere ad atti esecutivi contro un debitore. Il Consiglio federale ha disposto la cosiddetta «sospensione» nella seduta del 18 marzo 2020.

Provvedimento nell’ambito della previdenza professionale

Il Consiglio federale ha inoltre deciso che i datori di lavoro saranno temporaneamente autorizzati ad attingere alle riserve dei contributi da essi accumulate per pagare i contributi della previdenza professionale dei loro dipendenti. I datori di lavoro potranno così superare più facilmente eventuali problemi di liquidità e i lavoratori non subiranno alcuna ripercussione: i datori di lavoro continueranno a detrarre dal salario dei loro dipendenti la quota dei contributi a carico dei lavoratori, come in tempi normali, e gli istituti di previdenza accrediteranno a questi ultimi la totalità dei contributi.

(Fonte: Segreteria di Stato dell’economia SECO –  Aggiornamento del 26/03/2020)

Estensione e semplificazione del lavoro ridotto

L’indennità per lavoro ridotto (ILR) è uno strumento che permette di compensare temporanei cali dell’attività, preservando i posti di lavoro. L’attuale situazione economica, di portata assolutamente eccezionale, va a pesare fortemente anche sulle persone che lavorano a tempo determinato o con un contratto interinale, oppure che occupano una posizione analoga a quella del datore di lavoro, nonché su coloro che hanno un contratto di apprendistato. È importate pertanto estendere la cerchia degli aventi diritto all’ILR e semplificare le modalità per richiederla, con le seguenti innovazioni:

• L’ILR potrà essere erogata anche ai dipendenti con un contratto a tempo determinato e a coloro che sono al servizio di un’agenzia di lavoro interinale.
• La perdita di lavoro sarà riconosciuta anche alle persone con un contratto di apprendistato.
• L’ILR potrà essere erogata anche a coloro che occupano una posizione analoga a quella del datore di lavoro. Si tratta per esempio degli associati di una società a garanzia limitata (Sagl) che lavorano nell’impresa e sono retribuiti come dipendenti. Ora anche le persone che lavorano nell’azienda del coniuge o del partner registrato possono beneficiare dell’indennità per lavoro ridotto e far valere un importo forfetario di 3320 franchi a titolo di ILR per un posto a tempo pieno.
• Il termine di attesa per l’ILR, che era già stato ridotto, è ora abolito, cosicché scompare la partecipazione del datore di lavoro alla perdita di un’attività lucrativa.
• I lavoratori non devono più compensare le ore straordinarie prima di poter beneficiare dell’ILR.
• Sono state inoltre decise nuove disposizioni urgenti per semplificare il trattamento delle domande e i versamenti dell’ILR. Per esempio ora è possibile anticipare il versamento degli stipendi tramite l’ILR.
• Il termine di preannuncio per lavoro ridotto (ILR) è abolito.
• La durata di autorizzazione del lavoro ridotto è prolungata da 3 a 6 mesi. Ciò permette di diminuire il numero di domande e di accelerare la procedura di autorizzazione.
• Inoltre, come voluto dal Consiglio federale, viene adeguata l’ordinanza che eroga l’indennità per lavoro ridotto ai dipendenti che occupano una posizione analoga a quella del datore di lavoro. Riceveranno, come è già stato comunicato, 3320 franchi per un posto a tempo pieno. Si tratta di un importo forfettario che non subirà alcuna decurtazione.

(Fonte: Segreteria di Stato dell’economia SECO)

The UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has published the Refund of VAT paid on goods and services connected with Expo 2020 Dubai Guide for Official Participants (the guide).

The guide provides that the offices of the Official Participants are able to reclaim VAT incurred on the import and acquisition of the following five categories of goods or services without the need to use them for making taxable supplies:

• goods and services in direct connection with the construction, installation, alteration, decoration and dismantlement of their exhibition space;
• goods and services in direct connection with the works and activities of organizing and operating the Official Participant's exhibition space and any presentations and events within the Expo 2020 site;
• goods and services relating to the actual operations of the Official Participant provided that the value of each goods and services, for which the Office of the Official Participant makes a claim, is not less than AED 200;
• all operations, services and activities provided for the purpose of participation in Expo 2020 Dubai, whether located within or outside the boundaries of the Expo 2020 Dubai site; and
• import of goods for personal use of the Official Participant's Section Commissioner-General, Section Staff and the Beneficiaries.

Official Participants are entitled to obtain refund of input VAT whether they are VAT registered or not. Those who are VAT registered may claim the refund on their regular return.

Those who are not registered may apply for the VAT refund using a special refund application process within the following time frame:

• within 15 days of the end of the calendar month in which the total VAT value to be claimed is AED 10,000 or more; and
• within 15 days of the end of the calendar quarter where the total VAT value to be claimed is less than AED 10,000.

On 3 March 2020, the Federal Tax Authorities (FTA) issued clarification (EXTP005) on the renewal of designated zone registrations.

In accordance with provisions of article 15(3) of Cabinet Decision No. 37 of 2017 on the Executive Regulations of the Federal Decree-Law No. 7 on Excise Tax, a warehouse keeper must submit an application to the FTA in order to register each of the designated zones over which it is responsible.

The FTA requires the warehouse keeper to pay a registration fee in order to register the designated zone for a period of 12 months. Hence, the warehouse keeper should renew the registration for the designated zone in order to maintain its status.

The renewal form must be available to be filed 30 days before the expiry date of the designated zone registration. As part of the renewal process, the warehouse keeper will be required to provide the following:

Details relating to designated zone based on previous 12-month period

• an estimate of the value of the annual throughput of excise goods entered into the designated zone (the total value of excise goods passing through the designated zone in a 12-month period); and
• an estimate of the average value of excise goods held at month-end in the designated zone. This should be based on the average end of month stock value, calculated over a 12-month period to allow for seasonal variations.

Financial guarantee

The warehouse keeper should provide a financial guarantee which will be calculated by The FTA based on the aforementioned details. The new financial guarantee must be received by the FTA within 20 business days from the date requested.

Where the calculation indicates that the value should be less than the current guarantee, the warehouse keeper will be given the option of whether to arrange for a lower guarantee to be lodged or to maintain the current value.

Payment of renewal fee

The renewal fee for a designated zone is AED 2,000 payable no later than 20 business days of the expiry date of the current registration.

In the event where a warehouse keeper fails to pay the renewal fee within the allowed period, the designated zone will be treated as suspended for 20 business days, after which if no action is taken, it will be treated as 'expired'.

On 23 February 2020, the Supreme Legislative Committee announced that the ruler of the Emirate of Dubai has issued new Law No.3 of 2020 on the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC). The DMCC free zone was established through Decision No.4 of 2002 to enhance commodity trade through Dubai.

Under the Law, the DMCC Authority established as per the guidelines of the new Law will be responsible for supervising the free zone. It is stated that entities and individuals operating in the DMCC will be exempt from all taxes including income tax for a period of 50 years.

The new Law also regulates customs duty exemptions and tax exemptions for commodities trade, re-export and storage within the DMCC and the establishment of private, commercial and joint venture companies. As per the law, all companies registered within the DMCC must identify themselves as a free zone company in all of their correspondence, contracts, advertisements, invoices and stationery. Also, DMCC companies may not transfer their license to any third party without obtaining prior written permission from DMCC Authority.

The DMCC Board of Directors will issue the by-laws required to implement the DMCC Law at a later stage.

On 9 March 2020, the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) updated the list of designated zones (for the purposes of the Federal Decree-Law No. (8) of 2017 on Value Added Tax) by modifying the names of 2 designated zones as follows:

• Emirate of Dubai: the "Free Zone Area in Al Qusais" is changed to "DAFZA Industrial Park Free Zone – Al Qusais"; and
• Emirate of Ras Al Khaimah: the "Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone" is changed to "Ras Al Khaimah Port Free Zone".

This amendment has no implication of the effective date for both areas becoming designated zones.

On 17 March 2020, the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC) issued a communication with regard to Economic Substance Regulations providing inter alia the following:

• all DIFC firms are required to submit an Economic Substance notification on the DIFC Portal;
• the 31 March 2020 deadline previously advised is no longer applicable;
• the UAE Ministry of Finance will issue a Relevant Activities Guide which should assist businesses in determining whether a business conducts a relevant activity and falls within the scope of the Economic Substance Regulations. Once the Relevant Activities Guide has been issued, the Registrar will make the requisite notifications available on the DIFC Portal and issue a communication to all DIFC firms about the notification process and deadlines involved; and
• businesses may be required to file an Economic Substance Return within 12 months of the financial year end to demonstrate that a business meets the Economic Substance Regulations requirements. Information relating to the return will be issued in the second half of this year.

On 22 March 2020, the Dubai customs authorities issued Customs Notice 1/2020 on the implementation of the government's economic stimulus package to mitigate the consequence of the Covis-19 pandemic.

The Notice provides the following incentives:

• a refund of 1% of the customs duty imposed on imported goods sold locally into the UAE market which are normally subject to a customs duty rate of 5%; and
• traditional wooden commercial vessels registered in the United Arab Emirates will be exempted from berthing service for fees for arrival and departure, as well as direct and indirect loading fees at Dubai Creek and Hamriyah Port.

These incentive are valid during the period from 15 March 2020 to 30 June 2020.

In addition, the Notice provides that the AED 50,000 bank or cash guarantee required to undertake customs broker activities will be revoked, and that the bank or cash guarantee deposited by existing customs brokers and clearing companies will be refunded.

On 21 March 2020, the UAE Federal Tax Authority (FTA) updated the VAT administrative exceptions Guide by adding an exception related to "Evidence to prove export of goods".

In accordance with the provisions of article 30 of Cabinet Decision No. (52) of 2017 on the Executive Regulations of the Federal Decree-Law No (8) of 2017 on Value Added Tax (The Executive Regulations), in order to prove the export of goods, the taxpayer must provide the following documents:

• "official evidence" meaning export documents issued by the local Emirate Customs Department in respect of goods leaving the state; and
• "commercial evidence" which must include an airway bill, a bill of lading, a consignment note, or a certificate of shipment.

Furthermore, article 30 (6) of the Executive Regulations provides that the FTA may specify alternative forms of evidence according to the nature of the export or the nature of the goods being exported.

The Guide provides that the taxpayer may request the FTA to allow the use of an alternative form of evidence to prove the export of goods. In its request, the taxpayer must provide the actual reasons or circumstances for seeking an approval to allow the use of an alternative form of evidence.

The Budget for 2020 was presented to Parliament by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on 11 March 2020. Detailed information is available on the government website.

The tax measures are as follows:

• Corporation tax:
  • the headline corporation tax rate will remain at 19% in 2020;
  • the lifetime limit for the Entrepreneurs' Relief will be reduced from GBP 10 million to 1 million;
  • the R&D Expenditure Credit rate will be increased to 13% from 1 April 2020. The government will launch a consultation on whether qualifying R&D tax credit costs should include investments in data and cloud computing.
  • the Structures and Buildings Allowance rate will be increased to 3% from 1 April 2020;
  • the Enterprise Management Incentives scheme will be reviewed;
  • the funds regime will be reviewed during 2020; and
  • the Red Diesel Relief will be abolished for sectors other than rail, home heating and agriculture.
• Income tax:
  • the Structures and Buildings Allowance rate will be increased to 3% from 6 April 2020;
  • the Employment Allowance will be increased from GBP 3,000 to GBP 4,000 from April 2020;
  • the band of savings income that is subject to the 0% starting tax rate will remain at GBP 5,000 for 2020-21;
  • the adult ISA annual subscription limit will remain unchanged at GBP 20,000 for 2020-21; and
  • the annual subscription limit for Junior ISAs and Child Trust Funds will be increased from GBP 4,368 to GBP 9,000 in 2020-21.
• VAT:
  • VAT on women's sanitary products, or the so-called tampon tax, will be zero-rated; and
  • VAT on digital publications will be zero-rated
• Indirect taxes:
  • a new Stamp Duty Land Tax surcharge will be levied at the rate of 2% on non-UK residents purchasing residential property in England and Northern Ireland from 1 April 2021;
  • the National Insurance contributions Primary Threshold and Lower Profits Limit, for employees and the self-employed respectively, will be increased to GBP 9,500 from April 2020
  • duties on spirits, wine and beer will be frozen for 2020-21;
  • fuel duty will be frozen for 2020-21;
  • the Aggregates Levy rate will be frozen for 2020‑21
  • a new Plastics Packaging Tax will be introduced from April 2022 at GBP 200 per tonne of plastic packaging that contains less than 30% recycled plastic;
  • the government will consider the case for changing the Air Passenger Duty treatment of domestic flights, such as reintroducing a return leg exemption, and for increasing the number of international distance bands; for these purposes, a consultation will be launched in spring 2020; and
  • business rates will not be levied if the rateable value of specified properties in the retail, leisure and hospitality sectors is less than GBP 51,000.

As announced at Budget 2018, from 1 April 2020:

• a new tax on the revenues certain digital businesses earn at the rate of 2% from 1 April 2020; and
• the proportion of annual capital gains that can be relieved by brought-forward capital losses to 50% will be restricted.

The government will launch consultations on:

• the tax impact of the withdrawal of the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate; and
• the various aspects of the hybrid mismatch rules.

Developments related to tax administration include:

• large businesses will be required, from April 2021, to notify HMRC when they take a tax position which HMRC is likely to challenge; and
• the government will publish an evaluation of the introduction of Making Tax Digital for VAT, along with related research.

On 17 March 2020, a package of emergency tax measures to alleviate the economic hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic was announced.

All businesses will enjoy a business rates holiday between April 2020 and June 2020.

Businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors will enjoy a 12-month tax holiday.

For more information Diacron has selected some of the most important measures here.

On 18 March 2020, HM Treasury announced that the reforms to the off-payroll working rules will be implemented on 6 April 2021, instead of 6 April 2020 as originally scheduled. This delay in implementation comprises part of the government's COVID-19 pandemic package.

The Finance Act 2004 (Standard Lifetime Allowance) Regulations 2020 (S.I. 342/2020) were made on 23 March 2020. The Regulations set the standard lifetime allowance for the tax year 2020-21 at GBP 1,073,100.

The Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (Indexation of Annual Chargeable Amounts) Order 2020 (S.I. 341/2020) was made on 23 March 2020. The Order establishes the annual chargeable amounts for chargeable periods beginning on or after 1 April 2020.

The Income Tax (Indexation) Order 2020 (S.I. No 343/2020) was made on 23 March 2020. The Order fulfils the indexation requirement in section 57 of the Income Tax Act 2007 (c. 3), which provides that certain specified allowances and limits are increased by reference to the Consumer Prices Index. These increases have effect for the 2020-21 tax year.

On 28 February 2020, the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Ruling 2020-7 with the announcement of the interest rates on tax overpayments (i.e. tax refunds) and tax underpayments (i.e. tax assessments and late tax payments) for the calendar quarter beginning 1 April 2020. The IRS also issued an accompanying News Release (IR-2020-46) dated 28 February 2020.

The interest rates, which apply to amounts bearing interest during that calendar quarter, are as follows:

• 5% for non-corporate overpayments;
• 4% for corporate overpayments up to USD 10,000;
• 2.5% for corporate overpayments to the extent in excess of USD 10,000;
• 5% for non-corporate and corporate (other than large corporate) underpayments; and
• 7% for large corporate underpayments (i.e. underpayments in excess of USD 100,000).

Revenue Ruling 2020-7 also includes:

• interest factors for daily compound interest for an annual rate of 0.5% (Appendix A); and
• tables including overpayment and underpayment interest rates for prior periods.

The interest rates on overpayments and underpayments for the second quarter of 2020 remain the same as the rates announced for the first quarter of 2020.

Revenue Ruling 2020-7 will appear in the IRS Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB) as part of IRB Bulletin 2020-12, dated 16 March 2020.

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Revenue Procedure 2020-17 on 2 March 2020 to provide an exemption from the information reporting requirements under section 6048 of the US Internal Revenue Code (IRC) for certain US citizens and resident individuals with respect to their transactions with, and ownership of, certain tax-favoured foreign trusts that are established and operated exclusively or almost exclusively to provide pension or retirement benefits, or to provide medical, disability, or educational benefits.

In addition, Revenue Procedure 2020-17 provides procedural guidance for certain eligible individuals on how to request abatement of penalties that have been assessed, or refunds of penalties that have been paid, for a failure to comply with the information reporting requirements regarding such foreign trusts.

Revenue Procedure 2020-17 is effective as of the date on which Revenue Procedure 2020-17 is published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin (i.e. 16 March 2020), and applies to all prior open taxable years, subject to the limitations of IRC section 6511.

Revenue Procedure 2020-17 will be in the IRS Internal Revenue Bulletin (IRB) as part of IRB 2020-12, dated 16 March 2020.

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released revised Publication 515 (Withholding of Tax on Non-resident Aliens and Foreign Entities). The publication is for use in 2020, and is dated 11 February 2020.

Publication 515 provides guidance for withholding agents who pay income to foreign persons, including non-resident aliens, foreign corporations, foreign partnerships, foreign trusts, foreign estates, foreign governments and international organizations.

The topics discussed in Publication 515 include:

• the persons responsible for withholding (withholding agents);
• the types of income subject to withholding;
• the information return and tax return filing obligations of withholding agents;
• withholding by a partnership on its income effectively connected with a US trade or business that is allocable to its foreign partners;
• withholding on transfer or distribution of a US real property interest under the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA); and
• how to get tax help from the IRS.

Publication 515 is available on the IRS website at www.irs.gov.

The US Treasury Department and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have issued a document (2020-04113) to correct the final regulations (TD 9890) on certain due diligence and reporting rules applicable to persons making certain US source payments to foreign persons, and guidance on certain aspects of reporting by foreign financial institutions on US accounts.

The correcting document was published in the Federal Register on 6 March 2020.

The correcting document is effective on 6 March 2020 and is applicable to taxable years that begin on or after 6 December 2019.

The final regulations were published in the Federal Register on 2 January 2020

The US Treasury Department and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have issued the second quarter update to their Priority Guidance Plan for 2019-2020. The second quarter update indicates a release date of 6 March 2020.

The initial Priority Guidance Plan for 2019-2020 contained 203 guidance projects.

The second quarter update to the 2019-2020 plan reflects 40 additional projects which have been published (or released) during the period from 1 October 2019 through 31 December 2019.

The Joint Committee on Taxation of the US Congress (JCT) released a report that provides a technical explanation of Division G, "Tax Credits for Paid Sick and Paid Family and Medical Leave" of HR 6201, the "Families First Coronavirus Response Act" as received in the US Senate on 17 March 2020.

The report is entitled Technical Explanation of Division G, "Tax Credits for Paid Sick and Paid Family and Medical Leave," of H.R. 6201, the "Families First Coronavirus Response Act".

The report is dated 17 March 2020 and is designated JCX-10-20.

The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (HR 6201) includes an employer tax credit for the paid sick and family leave required as part of the bill. The tax credit is intended to cover the cost to businesses of providing paid leave to address the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.

The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has established a special section entitled "Coronavirus Tax Relief" on its website. The page is focused on steps to help taxpayers, businesses and others affected by the coronavirus.

The page indicates a last reviewed or updated date of 17 March 2020.

The page will be updated as new information is available.

The US Treasury Department also has information available at Coronavirus: Resources, Updates, and What You Should Know.

The US Treasury Department and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2020-17 on 18 March 2020 to permit US taxpayers to defer the payments of US federal income tax (including self-employment tax) due on 15 April 2020 until 15 July 2020 without penalties or interest.

Notice 2020-17 allows all individual and other non-corporate taxpayers to defer up to USD 1 million of US federal income tax payments.

Corporate taxpayers are allowed a similar deferment of up to USD 10 million of US federal income tax payments.

Notice 2020-17, however, does not change the filing deadline of 15 April 2020.

The US Treasury Department also issued a related Press Release dated 18 March 2020.

On 19 March 2020, the US Senate Finance Committee submitted proposals for a third round of legislative measures in response to the economic impact of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act would introduce tax and non-tax measures for individuals and businesses. The tax measures for individuals would include tax rebates. Individuals and corporations would be permitted a deferral to 15 July of the 15 April filing date for 2019 returns as well as a deferral of estimated tax payments due from the date of enactment until 15 October 2020. A deferral of certain employer and self-employed payroll taxes is also proposed. The deferred filing dates follow recently announced measures to permit US taxpayers to defer the payments of US federal income tax. Further relief provided for businesses in the bill would include relaxations of the rules on use of net operating losses and a relaxation of the rules that limit interest deductions to a percentage of adjusted taxable income. The proposals will have to be agreed by both the House of Representatives and the Senate and may be amended as the legislative process develops.

The US Treasury Department and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued Notice 2020-18 on 20 March 2020 providing for the automatic deferral of the filing date for federal income tax returns for US taxpayers from 15 April 2020 to 15 July 2020. This notice restates and expands on related measures in Notice 2020-17 that permitted US taxpayers to defer payments of US federal income tax (including self-employment tax) due on 15 April 2020 until 15 July 2020 without penalties or interest. Unlike Notice 2020-17, Notice 2020-18 provides that there is no limitation on the amount of the payment that may be deferred. The new notice is distinct from recently proposed legislative measures in this contex.

In response to the COVID-19 virus pandemic, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has updated its frequently asked questions (FAQ) on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) to provide for an extension of the date for a Reporting Model 2 FFI or a Participating FFI to file the FATCA Report (Form 8966) from 31 March 2020 to 15 July 2020. The IRS stated that it will not be necessary to file Form 8809-I, Application for Extension of Time to File FATCA Form 8966, in order to obtain the extension.

The US states are announcing that the due dates for filing income tax returns and/or making tax payments for the 2019 tax year will be extended as a result of COVID-19.

It should be noted that some state government websites may be temporarily offline. Further developments will be reported as they become available.

The US states having newly announced income tax filing and/or tax payment extensions or made changes to earlier announcements are listed below.

Illinois has announced that the previously announced extension of the date to file income tax returns and make tax payments to 15 July 2020 applies to both individuals and corporations, and that no interest or penalties will be imposed if the taxes are paid on or before the extended date.

Oregon has announced that the date to file income tax returns and make tax payments is extended to 15 July 2020 for both individuals and corporations. No interest or penalties will be imposed if the taxes are paid on or before the extended date.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act) (H.R. 748) signed by President Trump on 27 March 2020 includes provisions that provide tax relief to individuals in response to the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Significant provisions are set out below.

Excess business losses

The limitation on the deduction of excess business losses by individuals and pass-through entities is suspended for the 2018, 2019 and 2020 taxable years. In addition, a number of technical corrections were made to the statutory provision with regard to the computation of the deduction.

Charitable contributions

An "above-the-line" deduction is permitted for cash contributions made to qualified charitable organizations in 2020, up to an amount of USD 300. The "above-the-line" deduction permits the deduction to be claimed by taxpayers who do not claim itemized deductions. Taxpayers who itemize their deductions are permitted to claim a charitable deduction of up to 100% of adjusted taxable income (AGI) in 2020 rather than the currently applicable 50%.

Early withdrawals from retirement plans

The 10% penalty for early withdrawals from eligible retirement plans is waived on withdrawals up to a maximum amount of USD 100,000. The related income tax on the withdrawn amount may be paid over a 3-year period, or the individual may re-contribute the withdrawn amount to the retirement plan within the 3-year period.

The waiver applies to individuals: (1) who have been diagnosed with the coronavirus; (2) who have a spouse or dependent who has been diagnosed with the coronavirus; or (3) who experience adverse financial consequences as a result of the coronavirus, including being quarantined, furloughed, laid off from work, having work hours reduced, being unable to work due to lack of child care, a closure or reduced hours of a business owned or operated by the individual due to the coronavirus, or other factors as determined by the Secretary of the Treasury.

The limit on the amount that may be borrowed from qualified retirement plans is increased from USD 50,000 to USD 100,000 if the funds are necessary to provide relief related to COVID-19. In addition, the normal 5-year term of such loans may be extended for an additional year. The repayment of currently outstanding loans may also be delayed for 1 year under qualifying circumstances.

Required minimum distributions from retirement funds

The requirement to take minimum distributions (RMDs) from defined contribution plans, including Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) is waived for 2020. The RMD rules currently require individuals who are 72 years of age or older to make minimum annual withdrawals from qualified retirement plans and pay any related income tax imposed on the withdrawal, but such RMDs will not be required to be taken for 2020.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act) (H.R. 748) signed by President Trump on 27 March 2020 provides for new tax and non-tax measures for individuals and businesses in response to the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Economic relief measures contained in the CARES Act include the following:

• creation of a Corona Relief Fund to provide financial support to certain states facing revenue declines as a result of the COVID-19 emergency;
• a temporary emergency loan programme providing loans of up to USD 10 million for small businesses, in order to cover costs of payroll, rent and mortgage interest necessitated by the COVID-19 emergency, with provision for loan forgiveness in certain circumstances;
• funding of up to USD 500 billion for the making of loans, loan guarantees and other investments, to support states, municipalities, airlines and other critical industries, as well as businesses for which alternative financing is not reasonably available. Eligible businesses must be US based and other conditions such as maintaining employment levels can apply. Small businesses are expressly eligible for support under the programme;
• lump sum income tax rebate payments to US individual taxpayers earning below specified thresholds, including those who have no income;
• temporarily increased and extended unemployment benefits, including for self-employed and similar persons not traditionally eligible for unemployment benefits;
• support for "short-time compensation" programmes, where employers reduce employee hours instead of laying off workers and the employees with reduced hours receive a pro-rated unemployment benefit;
• financial assistance for food assistance programmes; and
• COVID-19 related hardship relief for borrowers with federally-backed mortgages.

It has been reported that a further legislative package including economic relief measures is being prepared.

The CARES Act is distinct from a legislative proposal made by House of Congress Democrats on 23 March 2020 (the Take Responsibility for Workers and Families Act (H.R. 6379)), which includes a wide range of economic measures to address the COVID-19 emergency, including cash grants to individual taxpayers, enhanced unemployment sick-leave measures, and financial support for small businesses.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the CARES Act) (H.R. 748) signed by President Trump on 27 March 2020 includes provisions that provide tax relief to businesses in response to the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Significant provisions are set out below.

Alternative minimum tax credits

Corporations are permitted to claim alternative minimum tax credits (MTCs) at an accelerated rate of 50% for 2018 and 100% for 2019. Corporations may also elect to claim the full refundable credit amount for 2018.

Net operating losses

Net operating losses (NOLs) arising in tax years 2018, 2019 and 2020 are permitted to be carried back for a 5-year period. This changes current law under which NOLs are not permitted to be carried back but may only be carried forward.

In addition, the limitation that currently allows NOLs to offset only 80% of taxable income is temporarily removed so that taxable income may be fully offset by NOLs.

Deduction of business interest

The limitation on the deduction of business interest is increased in taxable years beginning in 2019 and 2020 from 30% of adjusted taxable income (ATI) to 50% of ATI. The CARES Act also permits taxpayers to use their ATI as computed for 2019 as their ATI amount for 2020.

Charitable contributions

The deduction limitation for 2020 on cash contributions by corporations to qualified charitable organizations is increased from 10% of taxable income to 25% of taxable income. In addition, the deduction limitation for qualified contributions of food inventory is increased from 15% of taxable income to 25% of taxable income.

Qualified improvement property

Technical corrections are made to the rules for the depreciation of qualified improvement property (QIP) in order to permit enhanced deductions for improvements made to real property. The deduction generally applies to interior improvements made to non-residential real property. As a result of the technical amendments, bonus depreciation may be claimed at a 100% rate for eligible QIP placed in service after 2017.

Social security taxes

Employers and self-employed individuals are permitted to defer the payment of the employer's portion of social security taxes for 2020. This applies to the 6.2% payroll tax imposed on employee wages. The employer or self-employed individual is required to pay 50% of the deferred taxes on 31 December 2021 and 50% of the deferred taxes on 31 December 2022.

Refundable payroll tax credit

A refundable payroll tax credit is provided for 50% of qualified wages paid by employers who were carrying on business in 2020 and whose operations were adversely affected by the COVID-19 crisis.

The credit is available to employers: (1) whose operations were fully or partially suspended due to a COVID-19 shut down order, or (2) whose gross receipts declined by 50% or more compared to the same quarter of the prior year.

For employers who qualify for the credit under the 50% gross receipts test described above, the qualification will terminate at the end of the calendar quarter in which gross receipts exceed 80% of the gross receipts for the same quarter in the prior year.

For employers with greater than 100 full-time employees, qualified wages are wages paid to employees who are not providing services due to COVID-19 circumstances. For employers with 100 or fewer full-time employees, all wages paid to employees are qualified for the credit regardless of whether the employer is in operation or is subject to a shut-down order.

The credit is limited by reference to the first USD 10,000 of compensation paid to an eligible employee, including health benefits. The credit is available for wages paid or incurred from 13 March 2020 to 31 December 2020.

House Passes Bill Providing Testing, Employment Relief; 90-Day Waiver of Penalties and Interest on Tax Payments

As coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to spread, rattling financial markets, forcing the closures of businesses and schools, and cancelling major public events across the country, the Trump Administration and Congress began taking steps to mitigate the impact on Americans. On March 13, 2020, President Trump declared a national emergency, which frees up $50 billion in funding for state and local governments to use in fighting the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the House, after working closely with Administration officials, passed the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (H.R. 6201) early in the morning on March 14, 2020. Over the following days, it became clear that changes, described as technical corrections, needed to be made to the bill as passed by the House. An amended version of the bill was passed by the House on March 16, 2020 by unanimous consent, as the majority of House members were on recess for the week, and the bill was sent to the Senate. The President

has indicated his support for the bill. The Senate is expected to take up the bill, but is also considering significant changes to it while also considering an even larger stimulus or relief package. The bill as passed increases funding for testing and extends paid sick leave to employees all over the country affected by the pandemic.

PAID LEAVE

The bill passed by the House requires employers with fewer than 500 employees to provide paid sick leave to employees who are forced to stay home due to infection or to care for a family member (“qualified paid sick leave”) or due to quarantining (“qualified family leave”). The bill compensates employers and the self-employed for this paid leave in the form of a tax credit.

In the case of sick leave wages paid by an employer to an employee, the employer receives a refundable credit against its share of either the OASDI and the RRTA portion (as applicable) of the payroll tax. The credit can be claimed on a quarterly basis, equal to 100 percent of the amount of sick leave wages paid under the new law. The amount of the credit is limited to $200 per day. However, the credit is increased to $511 per day if the employee if the employee is on leave because he or she:

• is subject to a federal, state or local quarantine or isolation order related to COVID-19;

• has been advised by a health care provider to self quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19; or

• is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and seeking a medical diagnosis

The amount of total hours of paid sick leave is limited by the new law.

For family leave wages paid by an employer, a separate refundable payroll tax credit applies, with different limitations. The 100 percent credit against the employer’s share of the payroll tax is limited to $200 per day, up to an aggregate of $10,000.

For self-employed persons, the credit is allowed against regular income taxes. The limit on sick leave wages is determined by multiplying the number of days (subject to limitation) the self-employed person is unable to perform services in the trade or business by the lesser of 67% of the taxpayer’s average daily self-employment income, or $200 ($511 in the case of the three scenarios that

also apply to the employer payroll tax credit). The same calculation is made for family leave wages, with days unable to perform services (no more than 50) multiplied by the lesser of 67% of the taxpayer’s average daily self-employment income, or $200. The new law provides numerous requirements, limitations and definitions relating to the application of the mandate, as well as the credit.

COMMENT. As mentioned above, these provisions are all temporary. The credits are applicable from the date selected by the Secretary of the Treasury (which must be within 15 days of the date of enactment) until December 31, 2020. The tax provisions do not make changes to the Internal Revenue Code.

PENALTY AND INTEREST WAIVER

On March 17, 2020, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin announced that, while the due date for filing 2019 tax returns would not be postponed, the IRS would waive penalties and interest on tax payments for 90 days. The waiver only applies to individual taxpayers owing up to $1 million in taxes and corporations owing up to $10 million in taxes. At the time of publication, the IRS and Treasury had not yet issued guidance on how the waiver would be implemented. Secretary Mnuchin stated that taxpayers are encouraged to still file timely returns, as the IRS is still processing them and many taxpayers receive refunds, which could be beneficial during the current crisis.

ADDITIONAL GUIDANCE

The IRS announced in Notice 2020-15 that a health plan that satisfies the requirements of a high deductible health plan (HDHP) under the Internal Revenue Code, and thus allows individuals to deduct contributions to a health savings account, will not cease to be qualified as an HDHP if it allows for COVID-19 testing. This includes testing to be done with deductibles below the minimum deductible for an HDHP, including a $0 deductible.

(Fonte: Wolter Kluwer – Tax Briefing – 17/03/20)

NOTICE REGARDING NYC EMPLOYEE RETENTION GRANT PROGRAM AND NYC SMALL BUSINESS CONTINUITY FUND.

NYC employee retention grant program

The City is offering small businesses with 1-4 employees a grant to cover 40% of payroll costs for two months to help retain employees. Businesses can access up to $27,000.

Businesses, including non-profits, must:

• Be located within the five boroughs of New York City
• Demonstrate that the COVID-19 outbreak caused at least a 25% decrease in revenue
• Employ 1- 4 employees in total across all locations
• Have been in operation for at least 6 months
• Have no outstanding tax liens or legal judgements

NYC small business continuity fund

Businesses with fewer than 100 employees who have seen sales decreases of 25% or more will be eligible for zero interest loans of up to $75,000 to help mitigate losses in profit.

Businesses must:

• Be located within the five boroughs of New York City
• Demonstrate that the COVID-19 outbreak caused at least a 25% decrease in revenue
• Employ 99 employees or fewer in total across all locations
• Demonstrate ability to repay the loan
• Have no outstanding tax liens or legal judgements

As part of the applications, you will be required to demonstrate a revenue decrease by providing

documentation such as: point-of-sales reports, bank statements, quarterly sales tax filings, 2019 tax

returns, or CPA-certified profit & loss statements.

If you need any further information please contact Lucia Tognacci at l.tognacci@diacrongroup.com

Please find below the Memorandum on identification of essential critical infrastructure workers during covid-19 response issued by CISA on March 19^th, 2020.

Standard Bank Group Ltd.’s South African unit sold a $200 million green bond to the International Finance Corp. in the largest sale of its kind from the continent yet.

The 10-year facility will be used to finance projects in renewable energy, energy efficiency, water efficiency and the development of environmentally friendly buildings, the Johannesburg-based lender said in an email. The debt will be listed on the London Stock Exchange, making it South Africa’s first offshore green-bond issuance, it said.

The deal comes amid a global push toward sustainable debt, with record sales in 2019 as investors increasingly factor in the environment and climate change. Commercial banks currently provide 45% of South Africa’s financing for renewable energy and energy-efficient projects, according to the IFC, which estimates that the country has a “climate-smart investment potential” of $588 billion between now and 2030.

“We hope it will catalyze interest in green investments from other actors in the country,” IFC South Africa Country Manager Adamou Labara said in a statement. Projects funded by the bond have the potential to reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 742,000 tons, or nearly 3.7 million tons over a five-year period, according to IFC estimates.

Acorn Project (Two) LLP, a closely held, Nairobi-based property developer and manager, raised 4.26 billion shillings ($41 million) in a debut Kenyan green-bond offering in October last year. Standard Bank’s Stanbic Bank Kenya Ltd. was the lead arranger for that deal.

MTN will invest about N600 billion (R32 billion) in Nigeria’s network, Africa’s largest mobile phone operator announced on Sunday.

The investment will be made over the next three years.

The South African-based company said this investment will enable it to accelerate its 4G network expansion, deepen population coverage and support the Federal Government’s broadband initiative.

"We are excited about the possibilities that the transition to digital presents for our business, and the growth and development of Nigeria.”

Expanding 4G network coverage to deliver high-speed internet to more people nation-wide and data revenue growth remain in focus, said the company.

“We expect growth in voice revenue to remain healthy. We continue to make good progress with the expansion of our super-agent network and are confident that the expanded service offerings will position us to effectively drive broader financial inclusion as well as roll out the payment service bank seamlessly, once we receive a licence.”

In the third quarter, MTN Nigeria focused on several initiatives to enhance coverage and drive data usage penetration.

MTN Nigeria’s 4G population coverage rose by 8.4 pp to 43.8%, giving people in 68 additional cities access to 4G.

Rwanda last week signed signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations to host the only big data regional hub for Africa. The hub will be set up at the National Institute of Statistics (NISR) Training Center and Data Science Campus in the capital Kigali.

An assembly of the Global Working Group, UN’s body in data division, agreed during a meeting in the Rwandan capital in May last year to set up such hubs across various regions of the world to develop new capabilities in the use of big data and modern technology.

During the meeting, Rwanda offered an opportunity to house Africa’s hub which will support capability development in the area of big data for official statistics for Africa. Three other hubs will be set up in China, Brazil and the United Arab Emirates with specialised functions.

NISR is collaborating with the Ethiopia-based UN Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) Center for Statistics to set up the hub in Rwanda. The centre is expected to begin operations by the end of this year, according to NISR deputy Director-General, Ivan Murenzi.

“The potential gain for us as a country is that this hub will be pulling potential experts in data science to carry out training sessions. We will be accommodating more people,” Murenzi told The New Times.

About big data hub

With Rwanda’s experience in drone technology, the hub will, among others, execute projects of satellite imagery and other remote-sensing data using drones in environment and agricultural statistics such as crop acreage and crop yield.

It will as well lodge mobile telephone data for tourism, population and migration statistics, road traffic data and value added tax data for faster economic indicators.

The hub will also avail unfiltered flight data to monitor human mobility by enabling global coverage of the Earth’s land surface and an Open Street Map - a free, editable map of the entire planet.

Other technologies include an automatic identification system or vessel tracking through satellite data that give a complete situational picture of global vessel activity.

Through a global digital platform, UN will provide all 193 member states of the Statistical Commission with friction-free access to those global data sources using cloud services, including Alibaba Cloud, Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud Platform and Microsoft’s Azure.

The goal is to enable international collaboration on and sharing of data and expertise.

In 2014, the commission agreed to create the Global Working Group on Big Data for Official Statistics to further investigate the benefits and challenges of Big Data, including the potential for monitoring and reporting on the SDGs.

Data industry in Rwanda

As most countries embark on the 4th industrial revolution, according to NISR, data has proved to be a natural resource offering unprecedented benefits to economies by powering innovation ecosystems in science and technology.

In 2017, Rwanda developed a data revolution policy which mandates NISR to build big data and analytics capabilities.

As part of the country's bid to build a data industry, Kigali has in recent years created synergies with a pool of world class training academies, including two African Centers of excellence in data science and Internet of things, African Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS) and Carnegie Mellon University which produce specialised human capital in data sciences.

Anadarko Petroleum Corporation has sold its assets in the Jubilee Field and the Tweneboah-Enyera-Ntomme (TEN) Project to its global competitor, TOTAL S.A.

The company used 13 years to nurture its two stakes in Ghana’s foremost oil and gas fields for them to be worth $2.5 billion in a deal that is now set to introduce the French oil giant, TOTAL S.A., into the country’s upstream petroleum sector.

Despite witnessing four major transfers of assets, technically called assigning and assumption of interest, in the period following oil discovery in 2007, none of the sales hit the one billion US dollar mark.

And if one is minded to extend it to the general economy, the Anadarko-TOTAL S.A. deal could as well be the ‘mother of all takeovers’ in the history of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the country.

Mr Michael Cobblah, who has led the successful execution of series of M&As in the country, told the Graphic Business on March 2 that “in recent times, I am not sure there has been a deal worth up to that amount”.

Sabre-PetroSA

Until the Anadarko-TOTAL S.A. deal last year, the priciest takeover in the industry, which was also the second of its kind, involved the controversial acquisition of Sabre Oil and Gas Holdings Ghana Limited by PetroSA in 2012.

It involved the takeover of Sabre’s operations in Ghana, which had a 4.05 per cent stake in the Jubilee Fields, South Africa’s national oil company.

That deal was reportedly worth $480 million although PetroSA later reported that the value had increased to $500 million after including “contingencies” in the cost of transaction.

Be it $480 million or $500 million, the value of that transaction is now five times lower than the $2.5 billion that TOTAL S.A. reportedly agreed to pay for Anadarko’s assets in Ghana.

And there are genuine reasons why.

Volume of assets

Although both sales occurred in fields that were producing oil in the Jubilee Fields (in part), Anadarko used more years to nurture its assets than Sabre did prior to the sale.

Also, this is the first time that an oil exploration and production company has sold such a sizeable amount of its interest in an oil filed that is in active production in Ghana.

Thus, beyond the value, the deal is also the largest transfer of interest in the industry.

Until the sale last year, Anadarko had been operating in Ghana since 2006, within which period it owned 24.077 per cent in the Jubilee Field, which is Ghana’s first and jewel oil field, and 17 per cent in the TEN Project, an integrated oil and gas project.

Now, those assets are set to become the assets of TOTAL S.A., the Paris-based E&P firm that reported revenue of about $209.4 billion in 2018, should the government approve the transaction.

Other sales

The petroleum sector witnessed its first acquisition in May 2011 when the E.O. Group, a Ghanaian-owned firm, sold its stake in the Jubilee Fields to Tullow Oil Ghana.

The transaction involved the transfer of the company’s 3.5 per cent stake in the field to the operator in return for $305 million.

After that transaction came the Sabre-PetroSA deal in 2012 which was followed by six years of no transfers in the sector.

In 2018, however, Norwegian billionaire, Mr Kjell Inge Roekke, made a strong entry into the country through a controversial deal that introduced his petroleum company, Aker Energy, into the country.

The company paid $100 million for Hess Ghana’s 50 per cent stake in the Deepwater Tano Cape Three Points block (DWT/CTP).

Genesis of Andarko sale

But how did the Anadarko-TOTAL S.A. deal come into being?

Last year, Occidental Petroleum, an American petroleum company, acquired the global operations of Anadarko in a transaction that would later introduce TOTAL S.A. into Africa’s burgeoning upstream petroleum sector.

As part of the agreement to acquire Anadarko, Occidental agreed to sell Anadarko’s operations in Africa to TOTAL SA.

That transaction led to the transfer of Anadarko’s assets in Ghana, Mozambique, Algeria and South Africa to TOTAL S.A. at $8.8 billion.

If one is minded to extend it to the general economy, the Anadarko-TOTAL S.A. deal of $2.5 billion could, as well, be the ‘mother of all takeovers’ in the history of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) in the country.

U.S.-based Railnet International plans to invest an estimated $11 billion in a modern railway line and high speed trains linking Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, its chief executive said on Sunday.

Railnet CEO Donald Kress said in an interview his railway development and construction company was in talks with governments in the three countries and signed an agreement to start feasibility studies in Zambia.

“We have a group known as Magcor International and their CEO has arranged financing through a group of investors,” Kress told Reuters on Sunday following the signing of an agreement on Saturday.

“Until we have signed a contract with the investors, they have requested to remain anonymous,” Kress said in an interview.

The investment in the project, running from Zambia’s Copperbelt province to the port of Beira in Mozambique via Harare in Zimbabwe includes the cost of locomotives and wagons, he said.

Feasibility studies were expected to begin in the next six weeks and would be followed by detailed engineering design for the project on the Zambian side, Kress said.

Construction was expected to begin in January 2021, Kress said, adding that Railnet would replace the existing system to allow freight trains to travel at 120 km/hour and passenger trains at 160 km/hour.

Zambia’s Transport and Communication Permanent Secretary Misheck Lungu, who signed the agreement for Zambia said Railnet would build the new railway line parallel to the existing old one.

Lungu said the project would enable business including mining companies in Africa’s second-largest copper producer to transport bulk cargo by railway instead of using roads.

Railnet would operate the modern railway for a number of years and hand it over to the government after recovering its investment from the profit made, Lungu said.

The US $200m Nigeria Electrification Project has officially been launched by Rural Electricity Agency (REA). Managing Director of REA, Mr. Ahmad Salihijo spoke during the launch ceremony and said that the project aims to address the energy access challenge through mini-grids, the solar home systems and the Energising Education Programme (EEP) of the federal government.

The project  which will commence in the next five months, will provide 500,000 Nigerians in 105,000 rural households with off-grid electricity. The funds, which were sourced from the African Development Bank (AfDB), the agency said, would also enable eight universities and 20,000 micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to get access to reliable sources of energy as well as to stop the emission of 1.69 million tons of CO2 emissions in line with the Nigeria’s commitment to combating climate change.

Nigeria Electrification Project

Mr. Ahmad Salihijo explained that four components are currently structured under the facility namely: Solar Hybrid Mini Grids under the minimum subsidy tender (MST), which will cost US $70m; Energy-Efficient Appliances for Productive Use, US $20m; phase three of the Energising Education Programme, US $100m, and technical assistance and capacity building which is US $10m.

Nigeria is the largest economy in sub-Saharan Africa, but limitations in the power sector constrain growth. Nigeria is endowed with large oil, gas, hydro and solar resource, and it already has the potential to generate 12,522 MW of electric power from existing plants, but most days is only able to generate around 4,000 MW, which is insufficient. The country has privatized its distribution companies, so there is a wide range of tariffs.

LONDON, March 26 (Reuters) - The African Development Bank (AfDB) sold a record $3 billion debt issue on Thursday, joining the fold of multilateral and public lenders ramping up efforts to raise financing to help combat the fallout from the coronavirus outbreak.

The spread of the coronavirus - which has killed more than 22,000 people worldwide and wreaked havoc in economies and markets around the globe - has been slower across Africa than in Asia or Europe.

However, more than 40 nations on the continent have now reported a total of 2,850 cases with 73 death, according to a Reuters tally, amid rising concerns over what it could mean for a continent where healthcare systems are often fragile and overburdened already.

The three-year bond, the AfdB's biggest dollar issue to date, aims to provide "support and financing to countries and businesses fighting against COVID-19", a note from a lead manager of the issue said.

"Through this Fight COVID-19 Social Bond, investors will be able to support African communities to help curb the spread of the virus and overcome the many challenges caused by the outbreak," the statement said.

Order books grew to more than $4.6 billion, according to lead managers. The bond will pay a coupon of 0.75%.

"It was well received," said one lead manager on the deal, adding the funds being earmarked to fight the fallout from the health crisis would have motivated some investors, though it was broadly the bank's usual customers who bought the bond.

"These issuers... generally have very good social purpose so that's mainly the key driver I would say," the banker added.

The development bank, which is AAA-rated, is just one of a number of public issuers selling fresh debt linked to efforts to combat the virus spread.

The International Finance Corp sold a $1 billion dollar-denominated social bond as part of the World Bank Group's $12 billion coronavirus financing package.

Also on Thursday, the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) launched on a five-year dollar-denominated bond expected to price in the days to come. It is part of the IADB's $2 billion programme aimed at helping "countries throughout Latin America and the Caribbean cope with challenges posed by the pandemic", according to another term sheet.