Tax and legal news

A draft amendment to the Income Tax Act is being prepared in response to the draft amendment to the Accounting Act. The proposed effective date is currently set for 1 January 2025.

The government has approved a major amendment in the area of tax administration and customs administration that also changes related provisions in the Tax Code. The amendment is expected to be effective from 1 July 2025, with some provisions only effective from 1 January 2026.

From January, the Income Tax Act has introduced a new provision relating to tax exemption in respect of income arising from sport and cultural events organised by employers for their employees and their family members in a standard form and to a reasonable extent.

From January 2024, a non-monetary benefit provided to the employee in the form of using a pre-school childcare facility is tax-exempt up to an amount equivalent to half of the average wage.

The original changes to the recovery package in the area of taxation of contracts for work (“CfW”) could not be implemented because it contained a number of errors and inaccuracies, which is why further changes were made.

According to the current wording of the Income Tax Act (the ITA), the meal allowance (in both monetary and non-monetary form) is exempt from personal income tax only if the employee works at least three hours per shift or calendar day.