Ten Deloitte member firms joined forces to offer the audience at this year’s Fund Tax Reporting Conference fresh and detailed tax updates from nine different countries in Luxembourg on 22 March. Tax reporting specialists guided the audience through the most important tax developments in India, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the United States, France, Austria, Switzerland, and Germany.

“When it comes to fund tax reporting, it is important to stay up to date on tax changes across a range of jurisdictions. Given how fast the regulatory environment evolves, this can be a real challenge for fund professionals. The idea of this roadshow, is to shine a spotlight on the main changes and developments in the tax landscape across Europe and beyond,” explains Vincent Gouverneur, EMEA Investment Management Leader at Deloitte. 

Different scope and scale

The roadshow started off in Zurich and Geneva before it arrived in Luxembourg. In the coming weeks, the delegation will share their insights with audiences in Paris, London and Dublin. While change constitutes the common theme throughout the tax updates, the focus and scope of the tax developments differ significantly from one country to the other.

Earlier this year, France introduced a flat tax rate on investment income and a new real estate wealth tax, Austria is working on a new mutual fund ruling that may be effective later this year, Switzerland revisited certain aspects of its tax treatment of collective investment schemes, while Germany passed a new German Investment Tax Act in January. The Dutch government has announced that the Dutch withholding tax will be abolished as of 2020, while Belgium amended its stock exchange tax rates earlier this year. On the other side of the Atlantic, the United States recently passed the largest US tax reform since 1986, while India is getting ready to introduce a new long-term capital gains tax next month. In the midst of all these developments, Brexit is currently changing the fund industry in the United Kingdom in profound ways.    

Staying on trend

Jacquou Martin, Managing Director at Deloitte Luxembourg, ended the conference by sharing insights on trends expected to be high on the agenda of investment fund professionals in the coming months. 

“Over the past years, investor expectations have changed drastically. Today, investors expect more transparency and take digital solutions for granted. In terms of more specific tax aspects, capital gains tax and transfer taxes are at the forefront. Capital gains tax is not new, but it is now being considered by ManCos to help identify funds at risk. Investors and fund managers, on the other hand, should keep in mind potential transfer taxes triggered by transactions such as subscription in kind or merger, which are often underestimated,” concludes Jacquou Martin.