Luxembourg to examine transactions with EU non-cooperative jurisdictions
On 8 May 2018, Luxembourg’s direct tax authorities published a circular that sets out “defensive measures” that Luxembourg is taking with respect to the EU non-cooperative jurisdiction list. Based on the new circular, the Luxembourg tax authorities will require companies to list in their Luxembourg tax returns all transactions with related entities located in listed jurisdictions. The applicable version of the EU list to be taken into account is the one available at the time of the financial year-end of the Luxembourg company, and the reporting requirement will apply for the first time in the Luxembourg tax returns to be filed in 2019 covering fiscal year 2018. Additionally, as part of the review of tax returns and/or any subsequent investigation, the Luxembourg tax authorities can request the taxpayer company to provide details of relevant transactions, including the total amount involved, a statement of income and expenses and a statement of claims and debts owed to enterprises located in listed jurisdictions.

Netherlands issues draft beneficial ownership regulations
The regulation provides a fall-back option for cases in which the actual beneficial owner, who has an ownership interest of more than 25 percent, cannot be traced. In these cases, the beneficial owner could be designated as “senior management personnel.” According to the Dutch government, this would ensure that at least one beneficial owner with ultimate ownership or control can always be appointed.

The article is part of dReport – July 2018, Tax news; Grants and investment Incentives.