Dear all

Attached a note I prepared on Covid-19 for Chile.

If you have comments/suggestions please let me know.

Stay safe.

Dear all

I hope all is well and you are keeping safe.

Please see attached our notes for Cyprus.

Dear all,

We hope you, your families and all your colleagues are well.

Attached is a brief summary of the key measures announced by the Luxembourg Government to stabilize the economy as a result of the exceptional COVID-19 pandemic.

Should you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us.

Please see enclosed the German Corona Updates.

Clients and Friends,

As businesses have discovered, the CARES Act is an agglomeration of tax law and Small Business Administration rules. The concepts do not always mesh easily. Earlier today, Ruchelman P.L.L.C. published a series of Q&A’s intended to assist decision makers in determining concepts of eligibility, loan amount forgiveness under the P.P.P. but not the E.I.D.L., automatic E.I.D.L. grants, and temporary changes to the tax law, all designed to provide liquidity for businesses and employment opportunity for their employees.

Paycheck Protection Program ("P.P.P.")

• Which businesses are eligible under the P.P.P.?
• In determining whether a business concern qualifies for a P.P.P., is it looked at by itself or with affiliates?
• Are foreign-owned business concerns eligible under the P.P.P.?
• On what date must a business actually be operating?
• In what circumstances can a business concern that meets the eligibility test be disqualified from applying for a P.P.P. loan?
• How is the eligible loan amount determined?
• How must the loan be used in order to be eligible for forgiveness, discussed below?
• What is the interest rate for a P.P.P. loan and the maturity date and is there a prepayment penalty?
• How does the forgiveness of the loan feature work?
• Is forgiveness automatic?

Economic Injury Disaster Loan ("E.I.D.L.")

• What is the purpose of the E.I.D.L. Program?
• What special modifications have been made to the E.I.D.L. program to address the COVID-19 pandemic?

Business Tax Provisions

• What is the employee retention credit and how does it work?
• Have payment of employer payroll taxes been deferred?
• May net operating losses now be carried back?
• How are pass-through losses from partnerships and L.L.C. affected by the CARES Act?
• How are refundable alternative minimum tax ("A.M.T.") credits affected by the Cares Act?
• How is the limitation on deductible business interest of a corporation under Code §163(j) affected by the CARES Act?
• How does the CARES Act correct a technical error regarding "qualified improvement property"?
• What is the U.S. Federal income tax treatment of forgiveness of any portion of a P.P.P. loan?

The answers to these questions can be found here.

Although working offsite, members of Ruchelman P.L.L.C. are available to assist in applying for relief programs. We can be reached at the office telephone number +1 212 755 3333

Attached you would find the tax events for the virus in Japan.

Following the announcement of an economic stimulus package of INR 20 trillion (~USD 270 billion) by the Indian Prime Minister (‘PM’) and the clarion call to build a Self-reliant India, the Indian Finance Minister (‘FM’) held a series of Press Conferences over five days from 13 May to 17 May 2020 to announce the specific details of the stimulus package, at a time when the country is entering the fourth phase of a nationwide lockdown.

The first set of announcements centred around liquidity while the second set was dedicated to the relief of labour, migrant workers and small businesses. The third tranche relates to agriculture, animal husbandry, fisheries, and allied industries. The fourth round of announcements involved structural reforms for various sectors such as coal, minerals, defence, civil aviation, power distribution in Union Territories, space and atomic energy. The fifth and the final tranche comprised measures in the areas of rural employment, health reforms, technology driven education, improving Ease of doing business in India through reforms to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and corporate laws, decriminalization of various defaults in the corporate law, privatization of Public Sector Enterprises in various sectors and extending support to the States.

A perusal of the fine print of the FM’s economic stimulus package which is nearly 10% of the country’s GDP, reveals that the focus of the measures comprises improving liquidity with a view to unclog the economic system which had almost come to a standstill in the last couple of months. Only some of the announcements involve disbursements by the Government of India (‘Government’) with a consequential impact on the fiscal deficit. Many of the structural reforms announced will have a positive impact in the medium term. Further, many of the measures announced would require States to incur expenditure, for which the Government has enhanced the borrowing limit of the States. However, it is possible that several States may choose not to borrow and may cut spending. One may, therefore, need to wait and watch how the full impact of the reforms pans out.

Further to our India tax and regulatory update of 13 May 2020, we attach the key highlights of the economic measures announced by the FM. Some of the provisions announced will need to be introduced in the relevant laws by way of specific notifications or amendments to the law.

The Indian Prime Minister (‘PM’) had addressed the nation on 12 May 2020 when he had announced an economic stimulus package of INR 20 trillion (~USD 270 billion), which is nearly 10% of the country’s GDP, to boost growth as the nation approaches the 50th day of the lockdown on account of the COVID-19 outbreak. Following the PM’s announcement, the Indian Finance Minister (‘FM’) held a Press Conference yesterday to spell out specific details of the economic stimulus. The FM reiterated the PM’s message of building a Self-reliant India and clarified that this does not mean an inward looking or self centred India, but one which contributes to the global economy.

The FM kick-started the process by presenting a string of measures in 7 areas i.e. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Employees’ Provident Fund, Non-Banking Finance Companies, Housing Finance Companies and Micro Finance Institutions, Distribution companies in the power sector, Contractors, Real estate and Direct tax. This is the first tranche of announcements, focusing largely on liquidity. The other announcements that are expected to follow will focus, presumably, on relief of farmers and poorer sections of society and reforms relating to land and labour laws.

In the first part of this series of updates on the FM’s economic package, we summarize below the key highlights of the economic measures announced by the FM in the abovementioned areas as well as some of the measures announced earlier by the RBI, post our tax and regulatory update of 14 April 2020. Some of the provisions announced will need to be introduced in the relevant laws by way of specific notifications or amendments to the law.

We hope you will find this update useful.

The Indian Prime Minister (‘Indian PM’) addressed the nation once again last night, which was his fifth address in connection with the COVID – 19 pandemic. A gist of the key issues discussed by the Indian PM is given below for your reference:

1. The Indian PM announced a financial package of approximately USD 300 billion, the details of which are expected to be announced by the Finance Minister beginning from today. However, the Indian PM did mention that this package will have a special emphasis on land, labour, liquidity and laws. Accordingly, some bold reforms are expected to be announced shortly. Further, this economic stimulus is targeted at farmers, labourers, small businesses, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (‘MSMEs’), cottage and rural industries and the middle class population.
2. The above package of USD 300 billion is nearly 10% of the Indian GDP and includes the measures announced earlier by the Indian Government and the Reserve Bank of India (India’s Central Bank).
3. The Indian PM’s speech was focused on the theme of a Self-Reliant India, founded on five pillars as under:
   1. An economy poised for a quantum leap
   2. Infrastructure
   3. Technology driven systems
   4. A vibrant demography
   5. Demand and supply chain
4. The Indian PM’s speech emphasised on local manufacture and local markets to meet local demand. In fact, he stressed that Indian consumers should be ‘vocal about local’.
5. The current nationwide lockdown, which is in its third phase, is in force up to 17 May 2020. The Indian PM indicated the extension of this lockdown and mentioned that Lockdown 4.0 would be significantly different from the current situation with the easing of several restrictions, the details of which would be announced prior to 18 May 2020.

Hope you are well.

This update is related to COVID-19. The Indian authorities have clarified how the tax residency of an individual visiting India will be determined considering the circumstances in India due to the nationwide lockdown and cancellation of international flight operations. Our note in this regard is attached for your perusal and for circulation to the ITSG group.

Hope this assists the ITSG members. Happy to answer any queries arising from the update.

Take care and stay safe!

We hope things are good at your end.

The lockdown in India was initially declared for a period of 21 days up to 14 April 2020. In an address to the nation today, the Indian Prime Minister has extended the lockdown up to 3 May 2020. The Indian Prime Minister also mentioned that Lockdown 2.0 will involve continuous monitoring of COVID-19 cases in every city, town and district till 20 April 2020. Based on the data collected upto 20 April 2020, there may be a gradual relaxation of norms in certain zones in order to partially commence economic activity. Detailed guidelines in this regard will be released tomorrow. The focus of the guidelines will largely be on aiding farmers in the ongoing harvest season and providing support to daily wage earners. While a substantial economic stimulus package is expected to be provided by the Indian Government in the next few weeks, no announcement of this has been made as yet.

We hope you will find the above update useful.

Should you require any further information, please let us know.

We hope you are safe and well.

Please find attached our firm’s update on COVID-19.

If you require any further information, please do not hesitate to contact us.

The French finance law for 2021, which went into force on 30 December 2020, contains numerous tax measures aimed at supporting enterprises impacted by the Covid-19 crisis. This tax flash aims at raising awareness for some of those measures and briefly highlights their main general aspects.

1. Tax consequences of free revaluations of assets can be deferred

A temporary mechanism to neutralize the tax consequences of free revaluation of certain fixed assets has been introduced. This is meant to support companies affected by the current economic and health crisis to improve their equity values and thus increase their capacities to borrow and finance their projects. This optional mechanism applies to the revaluation of assets recorded in financial years ending between 31 December 2020 and 31 December 2022.

Please read the full article by clicking the link below.

Do not hesitate to contact us should you require any assistance with regard to the above,

Due to the current Covid-19 pandemic, the French 2019 income tax declaration online services will open on April 20th, 2020, instead of the originally set date of April 9, 2020. Pre-filled tax forms will be sent between April 20 and mid May and only to taxpayers who sent paper tax declarations last year.

Further, all declarations deadlines have been pushed back to the following dates :

• non residents and individuals residing in French departments 1 through 19 : Thursday June 4th, 2020, 11:59 pm
• individuals residing in French departments 20 through 54 (including 2A and 2B) : Monday June 8th, 2020, 11:59 pm
• individuals residing in French departments 55 through 974/976 : Thursday June 11th, 2020, 11:59 pm
• paper filing (only if no internet connection is available or if filing online is not possible otherwise), including non residents : Friday June 12th, 2020, 11:59 pm.

Do not hesitate to contact us should you require any assistance with regard to the above,

The French Government has taken several far-reaching emergency measures to help businesses through the current health crisis.

The Government will guarantee business short-term loans up to 300 billion euros to avoid bankruptcy. These loans will be guaranteed by the State up to 90% of the principal and interests. They concern most businesses.

Loan application are to be made directly to your banks.

Tax measures have also been taken. A 3-month postponement of all tax and social charges deadlines can be requested without any justification - but VAT is still due. It is also possible to apply for direct tax reliefs. Applications will be examined on a case-by-case basis.

Please find hereafter the other measures taken as of today:

• Stability of employment through partial unemployment schemes made simpler and covered by the State
• Immediate financial support of 1,500€ for small and micro-businesses and self-employed workers
• Postponement of rents and water, gas and electricity bills for small ailing businesses
• Deferred repayment of bank loans is made easier

We remain at your disposal to help you get through these particular times.

Extraordinary French Tax Relief Measures for Entreprises

As you might know, the French President, Mr. Emmanuel Macron, has installed a general confinement of the French population as of noon of today (17th of March 2020), due to the most recent and very concerning evolutions of the spread of the covid-19 / coronavirus in France.

The French government and particularly the French tax authorities have already started to put in place extraordinary measures to relieve French or foreign enterprises which might be taxable in France.

As such, it is possible for enterprises to request from their respective competent French tax bureaus the postponement without penalties of their next payable direct taxes or their advance payments (such as the French corporate tax for instance). If advance payments have already been initiated in March, enterprises may try to oppose their executions directly with their banks. Or, if the payments have already been completed, enterprises may request a refund with their respective French tax bureaus.

To simplify such requests, enterprises may use the new and special forms provided on the website of the French tax authorities (follow this link). In case of any difficulties to pay their taxes, enterprises should not hesitate to contact their respective tax bureaus via their specific and secured taxpayer accounts, via e-mail or telephone.

Our law firm, BMH Avocats, has been transitioning to full teleworking as of yesterday afternoon, but we remain of course fully operational and reachable via e-mail or telephone and remain at the full disposal of our clients and contacts.

We will continue to update you with the latest French tax responses relating to the covid-19 / coronavirus.

We wish everyone to remain well and healthy in these difficult times and our thoughts and sympathy are out to those who are affected in any way by this current crisis.

Walder Wyss has set up a Corona Hub on its web page.

Coronavirus Information Hub

Walder Wyss is committed to supporting our clients through the challenges the pandemic presents. We will be publishing regular insights on this Information Hub.

We hope you and all your colleagues are well.

Please find attached news from Switzerland re the Covid-19 measures.

Should you have any questions or comments, please feel free to contact us. We will keep you updated.

Hope you and yours are well!

Please see attached brief note about tax measures in Russia.

Dear ITSG friends,

First of all, please accept our best wishes in the face of the particular difficult moment that we are all going through. I really hope that you and your families continue to keep well and safe.

On the 1st of April the Portuguese State Budget for the year 2020 entered into force. Attached you can find a short one-page summary of the main changes to the Portuguese legislation that will be implemented and that we considered should be highlighted.

Please note that this is a budget that was negotiated and approved in "pre-COVID 19 times". The 2019 marcro-economic results of Portugal were extremely positive, with a surplus budget having been achieved in the year (for the first time in our democracy) a decrease in un-employment and most other macro-economic indicators being quite positive. Given the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe that all of the 2020 projections on which this 2020 Budget was approved will have to be redone. As such, it is in our view very possible, indeed quite likely, that one or more amendments to the 2020 budget will be required and we will of course keep you informed if this is the case.

Irrespective of the detail provided in the attached document, and given the relevance for your clients, we would like to give special emphasis to the following changes to the legislation that have now been introduced:

1. Foreign sourced pension income received by Non Habitual Resident ("NHR") Scheme – NHRs will now be taxed at the flat rate of 10% on net pension income not earned in Portugal (as you know, this income was previously exempt). There is the possibility of crediting the tax borne in the source state where tax was suffered at source. This amendment to the NHR rules aims to avoid cases of double non-taxation and effectively closes what we consider to have always been an unintended consequence of the NHR legislation, whilst still maintaining the regime attractive.
   Note that the new legislation does not affect NHRs who, on the date of entry into force of the Portuguese State Budged for 2020 (i.e., 1 April, 2020), were already registered under the NHR regime, or whose application for registration has already been submitted. It also does not affect taxable persons who, on the 1st of April 2020, are considered to be tax residents in Portugal and apply for NHR registration until 31st of March, 2021.
2. New maximum Real Estate Transfer Tax ("IMT") rate – A new maximum IMT rate of 7.5% is now applicable to the acquisition of urban buildings or autonomous fractions of urban buildings destined exclusively for housing, where these properties have a value that is higher than € 1.000.000;
3. Residence Authorizations for Investment (GOLDEN VISA) – A legislative authorization was approved, allowing the Government to change the GOLDEN VISA regime. Under this legislative authorization - which has to be exercised until the end of the year (or else it will expire) - qualifying real estate investment will be limited to the territories of the Intermunicipal Communities of the interior, Madeira and the Azores. This means that, if the legislation is passed as currently envisaged, real estate investments in Lisbon, Porto, or any other coastal city would no longer qualify as a Golden Visa investment. Furthermore, the Government is also authorized to change the values of the other qualifying investments.

As noted above, this proposed change to the Golden Visa legislation was approved in a much better economic time. We do not know whether, in the current circumstances, the Government will still want to go through with a proposal that will limit foreign investment in Portugal, at a moment where foreign investment will be absolutely crucial for relaunching the economy.

As always, ourselves and everyone at the Telles team are fully at your disposal to clarify any queries that you may have.

All the best and kind regards,

Telles has been working hard to support our clients in these unprecedented times. To try and help clients make sense of what is going on, we have prepared the attached document, in English, which sets out the main measures that were introduced following the declaration of the state of emergency in Portugal.

Furthermore, note that the Portuguese Government has also announced a series of measures aimed at supporting the economy in these difficult times. Here we summarise, very briefly, the key measures announced. Please note that some of these initiatives have been announced in the last few days in press conferences by members of the Government, but have not yet been legislated. Therefore, there are some doubts as to how they will apply in practice.

We would be very grateful if you could circulate the below and the attached to the ITSG members, and let them know that we are fully at their disposal to assist, and their clients, if and when required. Members are also free to distribute this information to their clients in case this is seen as being helpful.

Finally and most importantly, we wish all the best to all ITSG members, their family and staff. We will get through this together and, hopefully, will be meeting in November, in the usual festive way, to discuss all that we went through in these last few months!

Summary of key initiatives relating to companies:

In general terms, it should be noted that companies that fire workers during this period of time will not be able to access any of the below-mentioned initiatives, although simple lay-off procedures have been approved. This is because the main priority of the Government is to ensure that workers continue to have income so as to avoid a total collapse of the economy which would arise if massive job cuts were carried out by companies.

In this context, the following initiatives have been published / approved:

• Companies are able to lay-off workers in a simplified form if certain conditions are met. This simplified lay-off procedure has already been legislated and will, in turn, allow companies to access certain benefits, namely:
  • Pay only part of the salaries of the workers;
  • Not pay social security of workers or pay them in lower amounts than usual.
  
  Workers affected by the simplified lay-off are able to maintain 66% of their base income, with a cap of around €1900.
  
  At the end of the health emergency period, workers would return to their jobs, as before.
  
  
• In any case (even outside of the simplified lay-off framework) and provided that the relevant conditions are met, companies, can benefit from:
  • Extended timeframes for tax filings;
  • Extended timeframes for tax payments;
  • Tax payments in three instalments or six instalments without having to provide guarantee and without penalties or tax payments in six instalments without having to provide guarantee and with a small interest charge on the last three payments;
  • Social security payments in three or six instalments without having to provide guarantee and without penalties or tax payments in six instalments without having to provide guarantee and with a small interest charge on the last three payments.

Furthermore, from an access to liquidity perspective:

• Banks have started to provide companies with a series of financing options, guaranteed by the Government;
• Banks are finalising plans to allow companies that meet certain conditions to not pay the capital or interest of their financings for certain periods of time;
• Banks are allowing the extension of payments on financings, without charges.

Summary of key initiatives relating to workers:

As mentioned above, workers that have been affected by simplified lay-off proceedings will continue to be paid 66% of their base salary, with a maximum cap.

It is expected that the capital and interest moratorium will benefit not only companies, but also individuals. As such, within a lay-off situation, for example, where all workers are having a significant reduction in their income, they may be able to request banks a reduction or even suspension of certain payments they have to do. In this context, we are assisting companies and their workers in their communications with the banks, to ensure that the banks can allow them to not pay the capital and interest on their loans for a certain period of time. We expect this to apply to mortgages, but not to consumer loans. Again, legislation is expected by the end of March.

It may also be possible to re-negotiate rental contract although here this is expected to be of more difficult negotiation, on a case by case basis.

In any case, evictions and re-possessions of houses are not allowed during the state of emergency period and whilst the health emergency persists.

I hope this mail finds you well.

I am sending a COVI-19 tax related update from Bulgaria.

Further to my email below I attach an updated version of our summary on the financial assistance announced by the UK Government. The main update dis the inclusion of the help for those who are self-employed which came after the previous note was circulated.

The situation in the UK, like in other countries, is constantly changing and we will provide further updates if they significantly affect the information previously circulated.

Best wishes and stay healthy.

The current position in the UK is that we have now gone into a form of lockdown although, as with all things British, it is more by request than order. With many ignoring the advice it is a constantly changing situation so there seems to be something new every day.

At Hardwick & Morris we have been following the financial measures announced to help and are receiving many calls from clients, contacts and other advisers. I attach our current comment on the measures although, again, this changes on a daily basis as more detail is available and further measures are announced. In particular, at the time of writing, there appears to be little help for the self-employed and those who trade through their own service company. Hopefully this will change soon.

If you have any questions then let me know. Otherwise I wish everyone well and hope to see you soon.

We hope you are well.

Please see attached Covid-19 Tax Measures introduced in Kenya, for circulation to the ITSG Members.

I hope this email finds you, your families and your colleagues safe and well during the current health crisis.

Please find attached Tauil & Chequer update on tax measures related to the COVID-19 crises

We will be sending you updates as new measures are taken by the Government.

Dear all

As requested, please find attached a document including tax relief measures issued by the Argentine government due to Covid-19 pandemic.

Should you have any queries and/or comments, please do not hesitate to contact us.

We hope you and your team are well.

As requested, please see attached a summary of all emergency regulations issued by the different Argentine public entities, including tax measures issued by the National Tax Authorities (AFIP) and the President.

We will keep you informed about any changes on these matters.

Dear friends

Hopefully you and your families are all healthy and safe.

These are crazy times and I look forward to meeting up again with all of you once this threat has passed away.

Should you need any COVID-19 related information regarding Austria and Eastern Europe, please do not hesitate to look up our dedicated website at www.wolftheiss.com/covid19 or to get in touch with me.

As pandemic epicenter in Europe I would have liked to have written this email earlier but as you can imagine the situation here in Italy is quite complicated. This email just to share the Italian experience against the spread of the covid-19 and briefly illustrate the main provisions introduced by the Italian government to strengthen the National Health Service and provide economic aid for families, workers and businesses to cope with the COVID-19 epidemiological emergency.

As you surely know a national lockdown came on 10 March 2020 when quarantine measures were expanded to the entire country. On 21 March, our prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, announced a further enlargement of the lockdown, by shutting down all non-necessary businesses and industries. This measure came after a rise in the number of cases and deaths in the previous days, and after multiple institutions – including trade unions, mayors, and regional presidents – asked for a generalized shutdown of the Italian production system.

Nobody knows how this situation will develop in the next future, but fortunately I can say that in Italy these restrictive measures seem to be working and in the last days we have been starting to record reversal of the contagion curve. In addition, let me say that we can be quite proud of the Italian health system that engaged in this "war" with the virus is demonstrating to be a good system.

On 17 March 2020 the Italian government enacted a Law Decree (injecting euro 25 billion of cash into the system) which is divided into five headings covering: (i) provisions to strengthen the National Health Service; (ii) provisions to support employment; (iii) provisions to support financial needs through the banking system; (iv) fiscal provisions to support families and enterprises; (v) and further provisions. injects euro 25 billion of cash into the system.

Among the different provisions, the main pillars are:

• Extension of special measures consisting of social shock absorbers throughout the country: in case of reduced or suspended business activity due to Covid-19, certain existing social shock absorbers will be funded and made available to qualifying employers, like "CIGO", "Fondi di Solidarietà Bilaterali Alternativi" and "FIS". Each one of these social shock absorbers has specific requirements that will be implemented in the coming days by provisions issued at ministerial and regional level. In addition to the above, a special unemployment fund, known as "CIGD", will be made available for employers who do not qualify for the above listed social shock absorbers.
• Tax provisions: (i) postponement of withholding tax payments, social security and welfare contributions and compulsory insurance premiums; (ii) postponement of tax and social security contributions payments and compliance deadlines and postponement of VAT payments for certain taxpayers; (iii) employees bonus; (iv) tax credit for workplace sanitization costs; (v) tax credit for shops and stores; (vi) tax deduction for gifts in support of the Covid-19 epidemiological emergency; (vii) postponement of the deadlines for payment of the debts administered by the collection agent; etc.

A new Decree should be released in the coming weeks to complete these measures aimed at providing economic aid for families, workers and businesses.

We will continue to update you with the latest Italian tax responses relating to the covid-19.

We wish you and your loved ones to remain in good health and our thoughts are out to those who are affected in any way by this current crisis.