Global Taxation and Payroll

With laws and regulations on international taxation and payroll changing, clear and up-to-date information is often hard to find. We’ve put together a brief round-up of recent news from the world of taxation; if you have any queries, be sure to contact our experts via the contact form.

USA

USCIS Releases Revised Form I-9, Instructions

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a revised Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, and updated the Instructions for Form I-9. Employers must begin using the new version (dated July 17, 2017) by September 18, 2017. Until then, either the revised version or the version dated November 14, 2016, may be used.

 Social Security Trustees Project Wage Base Increase for 2018

The annual report by the Board of Trustees of the Social Security Trust Fund on the financial condition of the social security program. The report estimates that the 2018 social security wage base will be $130,500. The official announcement of the 2018 wage base will be made towards the end of 2017.

UK

Government’s Freelancer Taxation Policy Damaging Confidence of Self-Employed Workers

According to research by the Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE), confidence among the UK’s two million freelancers “has plummeted to the lowest level on record,” with just 19 percent expressing confidence in their businesses performance due to factors like Brexit and government taxation policies.

With regards to taxation, the report identifies recent changes to IR35 legislation as a major cause for concern, with many contractors having reportedly walked away from contracts as a result of the new tax measures. The research also cited the government’s recent about-turn over proposed National Insurance contribution increases, saying the self-employed felt they had been ‘targeted’ in recent years.

Australia

Consultation on Business Registry Modernisation Announced

The Australian Government has announced it is beginning consultation on the modernisation of business registers. The Government wants to improve registry services, reduce complexity for businesses, and enable better access to registry data in line with its open data policy.

The Government is seeking feedback on all aspects of the operation of business registries. This includes opinions on user experience, opportunities to deliver improved business services, open data, accessibility, technology, governance, and legislation. The consultation will close on September 6.

Brazil

Simplification of Tax Reporting Obligations for Tax-Payers

On 7 August 2017, the Ministry of Finance announced the implementation of measures to simplify tax reporting obligations for taxpayers. The purpose of the measures is to reduce tax bureaucracy and costs, minimise time spent on tax reporting and consequently to boost the economy:

• simplification of ancillary tax obligations through the implementation of the second phase of the Digital Bookkeeping Public System (Sistema Público de Escrituração Digital – SPED);
• replacement of forms and returns by the SPED at the federal states level (for state taxes);
• standardization of the municipal electronic invoices for services (Nota Fiscal de Serviços eletrônica – NFS-e) at a national level – currently, each municipality has its own requirements for service invoices; and
• implementation of a centralized payment through the International Trade Single Portal (Portal Único do Comércio Exterior), which aims at reducing the time for the importing and exporting procedure by 2 days.