Trésorier/Treasurer magazine - N°98 - July/Aug/Sep 2017 - 6

LUX NEWS
DIRECT TAX

LE MAGAZINE DU TRESORIER / TREASURER MAGAZINE

-

N°98

- JULY /

AUG / SEP 2017

CJEU rules on rights of requested
party with respect to exchange of
information
On 16 May 2017, the Grand Chamber of
the Court of Justice of the European
Union (CJEU) released its decision on
the case Berlioz Investment Fund SA
v. Directeur de l'administration des
Contributions directes (C-682/15). With
respect to an exchange of information request, the CJEU ruled that the
requested party (Berlioz) has the right
to appeal the request for information as
well as the penalties imposed due to the
failure to provide information.
Unless the irrelevance of the required
information is demonstrated, the foreseeable relevance should not be denied
by the courts of the requested State.

Luxembourg signs the Multilateral
Convention to implement tax treaty
related measures to prevent Base
Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS)
Luxembourg was one of 68 jurisdictions
to sign the Multilateral Convention to
Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent BEPS (the MLI) during
a signing ceremony hosted by the
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris
on 7 June 2017. At the time of signature,
signatories submitted a list of their
tax treaties in force that they would
like to be amended through the MLI. In
addition, signatories submitted a preliminary list of their reservations and
notifications (MLI positions) in respect
of the various provisions of the MLI.
The definitive MLI positions for each
jurisdiction will be provided upon the
deposit of its instrument of ratification,
acceptance or approval of the MLI. The
OECD has published on its website the
list of signatories and country-specific
files containing an overview of the CTAs
and reservations and notifications as
filed as of 7 June by those countries.

Luxembourg and Singapore agree to
exchange information in tax matters
Mr Gramegna and Second Minister for
Finance, Mr Lawrence Wong, signed in
March a bilateral agreement allowing
for the exchange of information in tax
matters between the two countries.
The first exchange of information on the
basis of this agreement will take place
in 2018.

Update on double taxation treaties
On 29 March 2017, the Finance Ministers
of Luxembourg and Belgium signed the
third Protocol to the double taxation
treaty concluded between Luxembourg
and Belgium. The aim of this Protocol is
to incorporate into the existing treaty the
consensus reached by the tax authorities of both countries on the tax treatment of employed persons as currently
laid down in the mutual agreement of
16 March 2015. A tolerance threshold of
24 working days as regards the physical
presence outside the country of usual
activity has been established 1 January
2015. As a consequence, the power of
taxation does not change if the duration
of the activities performed outside the
country where the activity is usually
performed, does not exceed 24 days.
The Minister of Finance Pierre Gramegna
also signed a double taxation treaty
with his Cypriot counterpart Harris Georgiades. The text of the treaty between
Luxembourg and Cyprus incorporates
the latest international standards as
regards exchange of information and
already fully takes into consideration the
BEPS recommendations of the OECD.
The double taxation treaty between
Luxembourg and Ukraine as well as its
amending Protocol have entered into
force towards both countries on 18 April
2017; the provisions of both deeds will be
applicable on 1st January 2018.
John Hames,
Business Tax Services Leader
EY Luxembourg
Katia Agazzini,
Director,
EY Luxembourg

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Trésorier/Treasurer magazine - N°98 - July/Aug/Sep 2017

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