In a vital test case, the Appeal Court rejected claims by international businessman, Robert Gaines-Cooper, that the Revenue laid a 'devious trap' for him by refusing him non-resident status and hitting him with a £30million retrospective penalty.

In a decision which will be pawed-over anxiously by the wealthy and their advisers, three judges expressed 'some sympathy' for Mr Gaines-Cooper – but ruled that he had never qualified for exemption from UK taxes as a non-resident.

The globe-trotting businessman insists he has been domiciled at his luxury villa in the Seychelles for more than 30 years and has religiously kept to the taxman's published demands by spending no more than 91 days per year in the UK.

But the judges – ruling on the correct interpretation of the Revenue's non-resident policy, known as 'IR20' – said that England had remained 'the centre of gravity of his life and interests'.

Gaines-Cooper had never cut his ties with Berkshire, where he grew up, and Oxfordshire, where the court ruled his mansion, near Henley, continues to be his 'chief residence'.

Laying down guidelines for the future, Lord Justice Moses said Mr Gaines-Cooper had failed to show 'a distinct break' from his social and family ties in the UK and his complaints of unfair treatment were based on an 'impossible construction' of the law.

And, crucially, the judge, sitting with Lord Justice Dyson and Lord Justice Ward, said that the 91-day rule could not establish non-residence status, but was 'important only to establish whether non-resident status, once acquired, has been lost'.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1251633/British-tax-exiles-pressure-landmark-non-dom-case-leaves-millionaire-facing-30m-bill.html#ixzz1bhwH7ZMe

taken from IBFD

A pioneering measure, reportedly a global first, provides for the introduction, from October 1, of a tax levied on fatty foods, including butter, milk, cheese, pizza, oil, meat and processed food containing saturated fat levels of over 2.3%. The provision was approved by the Danish parliament by a large majority earlier in the year.

Levied at a rate of DKK16 (EUR2.15) per kilogram of saturated fat, the fat tax is designed to increase the average life expectancy of individuals in Denmark by three years over the course of the next ten years. At 79, the level is currently below the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) average.

Defending the idea back in 2009, Danish Health Minister Jakob Axel Nielsel argued at the time that imposing higher levies on sugar, fat and tobacco was a key step on the path towards achieving a higher average life expectancy in Denmark, given that saturated fats lead to known heart disease and cancer.

Yet the government’s tax mechanism has been heavily criticized by Danish food industries for being over complicated and therefore extremely expensive to implement. Highly unpopular with the bacon and butter industries, the levy is imposed on the percentage of fat used in making a product rather than the percentage contained in the final product, prompting increasing calls for the tax to be simplified.

Denmark’s new levy has also met with criticism from science experts insisting that it would be of greater health benefit to individuals to target salt, sugar and refined carbohydrates instead of saturated fat.

Eager to promote healthy eating, Denmark is also said to be considering introducing other taxes aimed at altering eating habits, including a levy on salt.

article taken from www.tax-news.com

• a surcharge of 3% will apply for individuals earning income exceeding EUR 300,000, effective from 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2013. The surcharge is deductible from the taxable base; 
• a surcharge of 10% will apply for individuals earning income, as Parliamentary members, exceeding EUR 90,000, and of 20% for income exceeding EUR 150,000, effective from October 2011; and 
• a surcharge of 5% will apply for individuals earning income and pensions, as employees and retired employess respectively of the public sector, exceeding EUR 90,000, and of 10% for same incomes exceeding EUR 150,000. 
   

Information taken from the IBFD

Now the country sees many of them return, because the economic opportunities are now better at home.

Even some Americans are coming: During the first half of this year, more than 4,300 US citizens received working visas from Brazil's Labour Ministry, up 20% on the first six months of 2010.

The US economy is still almost seven times as big as Brazil's. Its gross domestic product per capita is four times higher than Brazil's.

Even in the years after the 9/11 attacks, the US economy kept growing at a rate of between 2% and 3.5% a year.

However, the US government was also hobbled by two expensive wars, a crisis in the housing market and soaring private and government debt. A recession pushed the unemployment rate to around 9%.

Brazil has gone in the opposite direction.

After years of stagnation, the country managed to tamp down both inflation and unemployment; its economy is now powered by a strong internal market.

see the full story on the bbc webstie at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14728833

Note. In another decision of the Federal Financial Court on 30 June 2011, the Court held that the supply of food or meals freshly prepared for immediate consumption qualifies as supply of services subject to the standard VAT rate if special facilities such as tables and benches are maintained for consumption on the spot. However, facilities of third parties, such as a public park bench cannot be considered to be part of the facilities maintained by the entrepreneur for consumption on the spot.

-information taken from the IBFD

If you would like to discuss German taxation or sausages and chips, feel free to call our experts at +41327329700

Eager to prevent rising unemployment and to avoid an exodus of businesses abroad, the Swiss federal administration confirmed Federal Council plans to submit to parliament in the autumn a series of concrete measures designed to support companies affected by the strength of the franc, providing for a temporary reduction of costs, for a strengthening of innovation, and for improved economic framework conditions in Switzerland.

Measures to support export and tourism, as well as research and innovation and consumers and infrastructure are currently being examined and will rapidly be implemented, the administration revealed.

The proposals include plans to temporarily exempt or to reduce social security contributions for those companies most affected by the crisis, expected to reduce the burden on companies by around CHF1.3bn. According to the federal administration, the Federal Department of Finance has also been tasked with proposing a revision of the Confederation’s existing law on cartels.

Dwindling investor confidence in other currencies, prompted by concerns over the eurozone debt crisis and by signs of a slowdown in the US, has led to massive increases in the Swiss franc, a 'safe haven' currency, over the past few weeks. The appreciation in the franc has particularly affected the competitiveness of businesses in Switzerland, faced with lower margins, particularly businesses selling their products abroad.

According to the Swiss federal administration, the Federal Council aims to provide for the necessary resources to implement the measures within the framework of an ad hoc 2011 supplementary budget. Part of the funds will probably be deferred until next year, the administration pointed out.

(information taken from tax-news.com)