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Q1 2012
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| In this issue: |
| > | New CELIA Alliance member |
| > | ECA International Events |
 | Belgium |
 | Czech Republic |
 | France |
 | Germany |
 | Hungary |
 | Netherlands |
 | Poland |
 | Switzerland |
 | UK |
Celia Alliance Online Newsletter
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Employment |  |
International Assignments |  |
Compensation and Benefits |
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Corporate Governance |  |
Tax/Social Security |  |
Miscellaneous |
> New CELIA Alliance member
| CELIA Alliance welcomes leading Polish law firm Soltynski Kaweck & Szelzak | |
| The Alliance is delighted to announce that SK&S Legal, one of Poland’s leading law firms, has joined the CELIA Alliance.... read more >> | |
> ECA International Events
| ECA International events 2012 |
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| ECA International provides valuable data to employers operating international assignment programmes.... read more >> | |
Belgium
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Long awaited tax reforms announced by the Government |
| The Belgian budgets for 2012 to 2014 have been agreed. A summary of the main tax measures announced in these budgets, and which may be of relevance to CELIA Enews readers, are set out below.... read more >> | |
Czech Republic
|
Employment Law Changes |
| The legislation governing employment law has been amended, with the amendments coming into force on 1 January 2012. The amendments result in a number of changes; the most important of which are summarised below.... read more >> | |
|
Amendment to the Labour Code |
| An extensive amendment to the Labour Code came into force on 1 January 2012. The amendment brings many significant changes, the most important of which are summarised below.... read more >> | |
France
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Increase of withholding tax on dividends and interest |
| The rates of withholding tax on dividends and interest have increased with effect from 1 January 2012.... read more >> | |
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Exemption from social security contributions on termination payments reduced |
| The portion of termination sums that may be exempt from employment social security contributions has been further reduced by the 2012 Social Security Financing Law as part of the austerity plan.... read more >> | |
|
Scope of new exit tax further extended |
| France introduced a new exit tax in 2011 for individuals who have been tax resident in France for at least 6 out of the preceding 10 years who move their tax residency abroad.... read more >> | |
|
French Supreme Court specifies the conditions under which GPS may be used to monitor an employee |
| It was held by the French Supreme Court that a company had unlawfully used a GPS device to track the company car of one of its employees.... read more >> | |
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France introduces an exceptional tax on high net income taxpayers |
| As part of the austerity plan started in 2011, the Finance Act for 2012 introduces an exceptional tax to be levied on those individuals with annual net taxable income exceeding EUR 250,000.... read more >> | |
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Swiss residents may claim reduced withholding tax rates on gains from the sales of French property |
| It was recently held that Swiss tax residents may claim the 19% withholding tax rate on gains arising on the disposal of French property and that they are not subject to the 33.33% rate.... read more >> | |
Germany
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Redundancy, selection and age discrimination |
| When selecting employees for redundancy selection a difference in treatment due to age may be justified by a legitimate aim.... read more >> | |
|
Entitlement to a bonus following notice of termination |
| The entitlement to a bonus may be made dependent on an employee not being under notice at the time of payment, irrespective of who terminated the employment.... read more >> | |
|
Carried forward holiday and new restrictions for the long-term sick |
| The rules on carrying forward holidays and a new decision limiting the carry forward period to 15 months for long-term sick employees.... read more >> | |
Hungary
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The new Hungarian labour code |
| A new labour code (the “New Code”) is due to come into force on July 1, 2012. The New Code makes changes in a number of areas including protection from dismissal and working hours and allowances.... read more >> | |
Netherlands
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New Swiss/Dutch Double Taxation Treaty |
| A new double taxation treaty between Switzerland and the Netherlands (the “new DTT”) contains new provisions on dividends, interest, capital gains and information exchanges.... read more >> | |
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Amendment of the Dutch European Works Councils legislation implements Directive changes |
| Following changes to the amended Dutch European Works Councils Act (Wet op de Europese Ondernemingsraden or “WEOR”) additional duties have been imposed on employers.... read more >> | |
|
The 30% ruling amended |
| Under Dutch law expatriates working in the Netherlands may be entitled to tax-free compensation equal to 30% of their gross remuneration. This law has now been subject to a number of amendments.... read more >> | |
Poland
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ILO to hear Solidarity’s complaint |
| The International Labour Organisation (“ILO”) has confirmed that it will hear Solidarity’s complaint against the Polish government in March 2012.... read more >> | |
Switzerland
|
New Swiss/Dutch Double Taxation Treaty |
| A new double taxation treaty between Switzerland and the Netherlands (the “new DTT”) contains new provisions on dividends, interest, capital gains and information exchanges.... read more >> | |
|
A new retrospective federal inheritance and gift tax? |
| A popular initiative called “Million-estates for the AHV (Inheritance Tax Reform)” was launched in August 2011. It aims to introduce a federal inheritance and gift tax at a flat tax rate of 20%.... read more >> | |
UK
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Increase in employment tribunal award limits and statutory payments |
| From 1 February 2012 there will be an increase in the amounts payable on certain employment tribunal awards and other amounts payable under employment legislation.... read more >> | |
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Pensions update – auto-enrolment |
| A delay in the roll out of auto-enrolment into pension schemes for firms with fewer than 250 employees has been announced, along with a delay in the increase of employer contribution rates.... read more >> | |
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Employment aspects of the revised City Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the “Takeover Code”) |
| Following a review of the Takeover Code a number of changes were made. Provisions affected by these changes include those relating to employee information rights and buyer intention statements.... read more >> | |
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Legal and tax advice from non-lawyers must be disclosed |
| The Supreme Court is to hear the appeal in the ‘Prudential’ case against the decision that legal advice privilege does not extend to non-lawyers.... read more >> | |
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New arrivals and failure to notify UK tax liability |
| Until 1 June 2010, foreign nationals or returning UK nationals were required to file a form (P86) informing HMRC of their arrival in the UK and, among other things, their intention with regard to the duration of their stay here.... read more >> | |
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UK tax – a look forward to 2012 |
| The UK fiscal budget for 2012/13 will be set on 13 March. We look at developments we expect to see in 2012 which have already been announced.... read more >> | |
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Reforming executive pay - Government proposals and investor concern |
| There have been a number of recent developments with regard to executive pay. These are summarised below.... read more >> | |
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