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The European Union finance ministers have reached a political agreement on the updated compromise text for the draft Council Directive amending Directive 2011/16/EU on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation. The DAC8 Directive, among other, introduces tax transparency rules for crypto-assets and extends the automatic exchange of advance cross-border rulings, under certain conditions. It is expected to be formally adopted in early June 2023.

Further to the decision of the General Court in the Engie Cases, Engie and Luxembourg appealed before the CJEU. In her Opinion delivered on 4 May, AG Kokott suggests that the CJEU should uphold the appeals, set aside the judgment of the General Court and annul the decision of the EC.

As the world grapples with the impacts of climate change, financial institutions and regulatory bodies increasingly recognise the importance of integrating sustainability into their operations. In response to this growing need, Luxembourg's Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) has recently outlined its supervisory priorities in sustainable finance, demonstrating its commitment to shaping a more environmentally and socially responsible financial sector.

On 28 March 2023, Luxembourg government introduced bill no. 8186 which proposes new procedures for concluding bilateral and multilateral advance pricing agreements, clarifies the conditions for contesting tax assessments, and outlines specific transfer pricing documentation requirements. The Draft Bill also introduces new bookkeeping requirements, and enhances administrative cooperation between the Luxembourg tax authority and other public authorities.

Following the monthly meeting of the Index Commission, the STATEC has confirmed the triggering of a new salary indexation as of 1 April 2023.

On 27 January 2023, the Luxembourg Administrative Tribunal (the “Tribunal”) pronounced its judgment in case n° 42432 relating to the tax treatment of redemption of a share class. In this landmark decision, the Tribunal dealt with the issue of whether the repurchase of such a class of shares, followed by their cancellation and a reduction in the share capital, triggers Luxembourg withholding tax (“WHT”). Based on the decision of the Tribunal, the redemption should qualify as a capital gain at the level of the shareholder up to the amount corresponding to the fair market value of the redeemed shares.

This year’s Grant Thornton IBR research into Women in Business looks at why diverse workforces must be at the core of every sustainable business, why it’s the responsible thing to do, as well as the right thing commercially. For the last 19 years, we’ve tracked the rate of progress in the proportion of women in senior positions within mid-market businesses globally.

The 2022 tax forms are here! Discover our payroll newsflash and learn more about new rules in 2023 at a glance.

On 14 February 2023, the European Union adopted the revised list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, whereby British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, Marshall Islands and Russia were added to the list. The Blacklist entered into force on 21 February 2023, upon its publication in the Official Journal of the EU. It is now composed of 16 jurisdictions, with the next revision due in October 2023.

On the 11th of January 2023, the World Economic Forum published its 2023 Global Risk Report. The result of an extensive survey of experts across academia, business, government, the international community and civil society, this report highlights the most pressing risk the world faces both in the short-term, over the next two years, and the long-term, over the next ten years.

On 17 January 2023, the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs of the EU Parliament adopted a number of recommendations for amendments to the draft directive relating to the prevention of the misuse of shell entities. ATAD III aims to combat misuse of shell entities by introducing minimal substance requirements and improving exchange of information between the EU tax administrations. It is scheduled to enter into force on 1 January 2024, with a look-back period starting on 1 January 2022.

Discover our payroll newsflash and learn more about increase in social minima cross-border workers, car benefit in kind, grant thornton luxembourg.

On 12 October 2022, the 2023 draft budget law no. 8080 (“Draft Law”) was introduced to the Luxembourg Parliament. As the current period is characterized by various political and economic developments, no extensive tax measures have been proposed. The Parliament approved the Draft Law on 15 December 2022, subject to confirmation by the Luxembourg State Council that the second vote is not required.

Further to our tax alert “European Union reaches an agreement on minimum corporate tax”, we would like to share information on the measure concerning Pillar 2. Learn more

Further to our tax alert “Luxembourg’s newly proposed tax measures”, we would like to share information on the measure concerning the decrease of Luxembourg VAT rates for year 2023. Learn more

Grant Thornton Luxembourg would like to point out some important guidelines and features regarding the Country-by-Country Reporting (“CbC Reporting”) laws in Luxembourg as the fiscal-year 2022 (“FY22”) is drawing to a close. This is important as the close of FY22 will bring with it the deadlines for various CbC Reporting obligations for many Luxembourg companies.