BDO Indirect Tax News

Introduction 

Top of mind for many as a new administration takes office is the potential introduction of additional tariffs on imports into the US, which carries implications for global business and directly impacts many countries. This issue features perspectives on the tariffs from Canada and the US, and BDO will be hosting several webinars to provide guidance on how to navigate the evolving trade landscape. 

In the world of VAT, 2025 starts off with new legislation in China and Vietnam to modernise their respective regimes. The Chinese VAT law consolidates nearly 30 years of disparate regulations, amongst other things, into a single piece of legislation. Elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific, a standard VAT rate hike in Indonesia was originally proposed to apply across the board but has been limited to luxury goods. 

The EU finance ministers finally reached agreement on the ViDA package, and VAT on virtual events and online courses are now taxed at the applicable VAT rate in the member state of the recipient, ushering in a significant change to the VAT treatment of these services. The Czech Republic has revised its VAT rules and transposed several EU measures into its domestic legislation. Estonia and Spain report developments on e-invoicing. A new law decree in Italy makes the secondment of staff a taxable supply for VAT purposes even if the consideration paid is simply a reimbursement of costs and another decree clarifies that VAT paid on the import of goods should be classified as a customs duty. 

Finally, new reporting obligations apply to certain digital platform operators in Canada and we look at sales tax trends in the US for 2025.

Read about these developments and more in the January 2025 issue of Indirect Tax News and be sure to check out the VAT rates updates for 2025.