International Tax Topics

International Tax Corner

Glossary

 

Accounting period

• In Hong Kong, the term accounting period is not defined in its tax rules. Instead, the term "accounting reference period" is defined under Part 9 (Accounts and audit) of the Companies Ordinance. (Cap. 622) The accounting reference period, which has a start date and a finish date, is in turn built on the primary accounting reference date.
• In the UK, the accounting period of a company is defined in the Corporation Tax Act 2009.

 

​Australia

• Key Dates for Australian Fiscal Year (Tax Year) [read]

 

Cryto-Asset

• The term “Crypto-Asset” means a digital representation of value that relies on a cryptographically secured distributed ledger or a similar technology to validate and secure transactions. [read]

 

Central Bank Digital Currency 

• The term “Central Bank Digital Currency” means any digital Fiat Currency issued by a Central Bank.

 

​Exemption

• Exempt (adjective) or exempted (verb); see Tax-exempt and Zero-rated below.

 

Fiscal year

 

Income tax	China	H.K.SAR	Taiwan	the U,K.
Individual	from 1 Jan to 31 Dec	From 1 April to 31 March next year	from 1 Jan to 31 Dec	From 6 April to 5 April next year
Company/Corporation	from 1 Jan to 31 Dec	From 1 April to 31 March next year	from 1 Jan to 31 Dec	From 1 April to 31 March next year

 

​Hong Kong SAR

• Ordinary resident and temporary resident for purpose of personal assessment [read]
• Reporting by Trust Companies and Trusts under Hong Kong's CRS rules [read]
• Recent Developments in Hong Kong's Exchange of Information Rules [read]

 

​Inclusive Framework

• members of the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS [read]
• output legitimacy deficit [read]

 

Inheritance Tax (IHT) - U.K.

• Inheritance tax threshold (nil rate band)  - from 18 March 1986 to 5 April 2028
• Residence nil rate band (IHT additional threshold) [read]

Inheritance Tax thresholds — from 18 March 1986 to 5 April 2028
From	To	Threshold (nil rate band)
6-Apr-09	5-Apr-28	£325,000
6-Apr-08	5-Apr-09	£312,000
Inheritance Tax additional threshold (residence nil rate band) — from 6 April 2017
From	To	Additional threshold (residence nil rate band)
6-Apr-20	5-Apr-28	£175,000
6-Apr-19	5-Apr-20	£150,000
6-Apr-18	5-Apr-19	£125,000
6-Apr-17	5-Apr-18	£100,000

Any residence nil rate band (RNRB) that’s not used when someone dies can go to their spouse or civil partner’s estate when they die.

See HMRC "transferring unused residence nil rate band for Inheritance Tax". [read]

See how one can reduce the amount of IHT paid. [read]

 

​Pension and tax saving in the U.K.

• Tax on the private pension [read]
• Tax relief on pension contributionst [read]
• Comparing UK pension with others [read]

​

“Relevant Crypto-Asset”

• The term “Relevant Crypto-Asset” means any Crypto-Asset that is not a Central Bank Digital Currency, a Specified Electronic Money Product or any Crypto-Asset for which the Reporting Crypto-Asset Service Provider has adequately determined that it cannot be used for payment or investment purposes. See also Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework & 2023 Update to the CRS. [read]

 

Specified Electronic Money Product - the term “Specified Electronic Money Product” means any Crypto-Asset that is:

1. a digital representation of a single Fiat Currency;
2. issued on receipt of funds for the purpose of making payment transactions;
3. represented by a claim on the issuer denominated in the same Fiat Currency;
4. accepted in payment by a natural or legal person other than the issuer; and
5. by virtue of regulatory requirements to which the issuer is subject, redeemable at any time and at par value for the same Fiat Currency upon request of the holder of the product.

The term “Specified Electronic Money Product” does not include a product created for the sole purpose of facilitating the transfer of funds from a customer to another person pursuant to instructions of the customer. A product is not created for the sole purpose of facilitating the transfer of funds if, in the ordinary course of business of the transferring Entity, either the funds connected with such product are held longer than 60 days after receipt of instructions to facilitate the transfer, or, if no instructions are received, the funds connected with such product are held longer than 60 days after receipt of the funds.

 

 

​Taxable periods  

• A jurisdiction may adopt the term "taxable period" if its fiscal year or tax year does not coincide with the calendar year. Find them for the following jurisdictions: Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore, and the United Kingdom; [read]
• See also Fiscal year.

​

​Tax-exempt goods

• An item or activity that should have been taxable but for the specific provision that provides that it is not taxable. "Exempted from tax" has the same end result as "not liable to tax" in that the taxpayer is not required to pay the tax, but they differ.
• "Not liable to tax" is opposite to "liable to tax", and vice versa.  "Tax-exempt" falls under the sphere of "liable to tax" if it had not been for the specific provision to the contrary. 

​

Trust by types

 

There are four major categories of trust: bare trust, discretionary trust, inter-vivos trust, and testamentary trust.

 

- bare trust

• Value Added Tax (VAT) ... For a “zero-rated good,” the government doesn't tax its sale but allows credits for the value-added tax paid on inputs (input credit). If a good or business is “exempt,” the government doesn't tax the sale of the good, but producers cannot claim a credit for the VAT they pay on inputs to produce it.
• For zero-rated exports, the input VAT is refundable. For example, VAT is a tax levied on goods and services consumed in the UK. When goods are exported they are 'consumed' outside the UK and to impose VAT on such goods would be contrary to the purpose of the tax. Therefore, the supply of exported goods is zero-rated provided the following conditions are met: i) evidence (either official or commercial) you must hold to prove entitlement to zero-rating; ii) time limits in which the goods must be physically exported from the UK; and iii) time limits in which you must obtain evidence of export to support zero-rating.
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