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Key Features
Release version 8.1.0 features a number of enhancements to the Equus Tax Engine as well as routine updates to country tax & social security rates.
The effective dates disclosed below indicate when the changes enter into force.
Income Tax Treaties
The following income tax treaties were added:
Treaty countries
|
Effective date
|
Hong Kong – Pakistan
Hungary – Oman
Kenya – United Arab Emirates
Oman – Portugal
|
Jul 1, 2018
Jan 1, 2018
Jan 1, 2018
Jan 1, 2017
|
Social Security Agreements
The following social security agreement was added:
Agreement countries
|
Effective date
|
Coverage period
|
Philippines - Portugal
|
Oct 1, 2017
|
48 Months
|
Country Updates
Algeria
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Angola
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Azerbaijan
Income Tax:
Changed these accommodation and related costs to nontaxable:
Host Country Housing Costs
Host County Utilities
Temporary Housing in Foreign and in Home Country
Furniture Rental
Camp Accommodations
Meals
Corrected the hypothetical gross income and social wage base to deduct employee pension contribution and exclude employer pension contribution when the outbound employee breaks tax residency.
Bahrain
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Bulgaria
Social Tax: Increased employee and employer pension contribution rates by 0.44% and 0.56% to 6.58% and 8.22%, respectively; effective January 1, 2018.
Canada
Income Tax: Corrected the federal foreign tax credit. Previously, a higher than expected credit was calculated; thus reducing the credit amount available for provincial tax. This resulted in a potential overstatement of tax.
Colombia
Income Tax: Increased the UVT amount by COP 1,297 to COP 33,156, effective January 1, 2018. As a result, the threshold for the top tax rate of 33% increased by about COP 467,000 to about COP 11.9 million.
Denmark
Income Tax: Increased the following, unless stated otherwise, effective January 1, 2018:
Expatriate concession tax rate by 1% to 27%, minimum monthly salary by DKK 1,400 to DKK 65,100, and concession period by 24 months to 84 months.
Basic tax rate by 1.07% to 11.15%.
Top bracket threshold by DKK 19,300 to DKK 498,900.
Employment deduction rate by 0.75% to 9.5% and allowance by DKK 3,000 to DKK 33,000.
Pension deduction maximum by DKK 1,200 to DKK 54,700.
Personal allowance by DKK 1,000 to DKK 46,000.
Reduced health contribution rate from 2% to 1%.
Egypt
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Equatorial Guinea
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Finland
Income Tax: Made the following changes, effective January 1, 2018:
Updated the rates and bracket thresholds. The top rate decreased by 0.3% to 31.25%, and the threshold for the top rate increased by EUR 1,100 to EUR 74,200.
Increased the maximum credit amount and phaseout rate. The credit increased by EUR 120 to EUR 1,540 and the rate by 0.14% to 1.65%.
Increased the employer pension contribution exclusion by EUR 6,000 to EUR 8,500.
France
Made the following changes, with inflationary updates effective January 1, 2018:
Income Tax:
Increased the resident bracket thresholds. The threshold for the top rate of 45% increased by EUR 1,523 to EUR 153,783.
Increased the nonresident bracket thresholds. The threshold for the top rate of 20% increased by EUR 1,043 to EUR 42,370.
Social Security:
Enhanced the Cost Estimate Calculation Details report to display the proration of hypothetical social tax when variable compensation exceeds the supplemental pension contribution threshold of about EUR 310,000.
Increased the ceiling 1 wage limit by EUR 504 to EUR 39,732, which increased the ceiling 3 and 4 limits by EUR 2,016 to EUR 158,928 and EUR 4,032 to EUR 317,856, respectively.
Increased employee CSG by 1.7% to 9.2%.
Decreased employee unemployment by 0.95% to 1.45%.
Abolished employee health insurance of 0.75%.
Germany
Income Tax: Increased the following, effective January 1, 2018:
Bracket thresholds. The threshold for the top rate of 45% increased by EUR 4,229 to EUR 260,532.
Basic allowance by EUR 180 to EUR 9,000.
Child deduction by EUR 36 to EUR 2,394 for single taxpayers.
Ghana
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Guinea
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Iraq
Income Tax: Decreased the personal allowance by IQD 625,000 to IQD 2.5 million, effective January 1, 2017.
Ireland
Income Tax: Updated the following, effective January 1, 2018:
Bracket thresholds. The threshold for the top rate of 40% increased by EUR 750 to EUR 34,550 for single taxpayers.
Universal Social Charge. Increased the 2% rate to 2.5% and the 4.8% rate to 5%; and increased the threshold for the 2.5% rate by EUR 600 to EUR 19,372.
Italy
Income Tax: Corrected the error encountered for host calculations using the Married filing status. This error was introduced in v.7.6.0.
Ivory Coast
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Kazakhstan
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Kenya
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Kuwait
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Malaysia
Income Tax: Decreased tax rates by 2% for the three brackets for income between MYR 20,000 and MYR 70,000. The new rates are 3%, 8%, and 14%, effective January 1, 2018. The top rate of 28% for income above MYR 1 million remains unchanged.
Mexico
Income Tax:
Updated the bracket thresholds. The threshold for the top rate of 35% increased by MXN 498,600 to about MXN 3.5 million, effective January 1, 2018.
Changed the treatment of these line items to be taxable except when Assignment Type is Short Term with Deductions:
Temporary Housing Home and Foreign Location
Temporary Living
Social Security: Increased the wage ceiling by MXN 5,018 to MXN 735,475, effective February 1, 2018.
Morocco
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Mozambique
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Netherlands
Increased the following, effective January 1, 2018:
Income Tax:
Bracket thresholds. The threshold for the top rate of 52% increased by EUR 1,435 to EUR 68,507.
General tax credit by EUR 11 to EUR 2,265.
Social Security:
Employee and employer wage ceilings by EUR 203 to EUR 33,994 and EUR 912 to EUR 54,613, respectively.
Employer contribution rate by 0.63% to 21.18%.
Nigeria
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Norway
Income Tax: Made the following changes, effective January 1, 2018:
Increased the surtax rates and bracket thresholds. The top rate increased by 0.9% to 15.4% and the threshold for the top rate increased by NOK 28,000 to NOK 962,050.
Increased the minimum deduction rate by 1% to 45% and the maximum deduction amount by NOK 2,860 to NOK 97,610.
Removed the class II personal allowance and increased the class I amount by NOK 1,600 to NOK 54,750.
Removed the Filing Status input because the With Dependent option to calculate class II personal allowance is no longer necessary.
Oman
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Philippines
Income Tax: Made the following changes, effective January 1, 2018:
Updated the tax table. Added the top rate of 35% for income over PHP 8 million and changed income below PHP 250,000 to be nontaxable.
Increased fringe benefits tax rate by 3% to 35%.
Eliminated personal and dependent exemptions.
Increased bonus exemption by PHP 8,000 to PHP 90,000.
Portugal
Income Tax: Inserted two brackets to create a seven-tiered tax table, effective January 1, 2018. The new 23% and 35% rates are for taxable income between EUR 7,091 to EUR 10,700, and EUR 20,261 to EUR 25,000, respectively. The top bracket of 48% for taxable income above EUR 80,640 remains unchanged.
Qatar
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Romania
Social Security: Increased employee contribution rates by 18.5% to 35%, and decreased employer rates by 20.5% to 2.25%, effective January 1, 2018. These changes reflect the overall decrease in the combined employee and employer contribution rates by 2% and the transfer of pension and health contributions to be paid fully by the employee.
Saudi Arabia
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Senegal
Completed annual review with no material changes.
South Africa
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Sweden
Income Tax: Increased the following, effective January 1, 2018:
Bracket thresholds. The threshold for the top rate of 25% increased by SEK 23,800 to SEK 662,300.
Nonresident tax rate by 5% to 25%.
Personal allowances. The amount for the top threshold of SEK 352,301 increased by SEK 200 to SEK 13,400.
Tanzania
Completed annual review with no material changes.
Turkey
Increased the following, effective January 1, 2018:
Income Tax: Bracket thresholds. The threshold for the top rate of 35% increased by TRY 10,000 to TRY 120,000.
Social Security: The wage ceiling by TRY 22,678 to TRY 182,655.
United Arab Emirates
Completed annual review with no material changes.
United Kingdom
Increased the following, effective April 6, 2018:
Income Tax:
Basic tax bracket threshold by GBP 1,000 to GBP 34,500. The top rate of 45% for income above GBP 150,000 remains unchanged.
Personal allowance by GBP 350 to GBP 11,850.
Social Security: Employee and employer upper threshold by GBP 1,324 to GBP 46,356.
United States
Changes effective January 1, 2018 enacted by the new tax law (PL115-97) are included in the v.7.6.1 release notes.
Income Tax/Social Security:
Corrected Bonus (Pre-assignment) to be included in the calculation of hypothetical income tax and social security for outbound nonresidents.
Restored the Greater of State Tax or Other Deductions option, one of two available Itemized Deduction Methods. From v.7.6.1, only the Sum of State Tax and Other Deductions option was available.
Zambia
Increased the following, effective January 1, 2017:
Income Tax: The top rate by 2.5% to 37.5%, as well as the bracket thresholds. The threshold for the top rate increased by ZMW 3,600 to ZMW 74,400.
Social Security: The wage ceiling by ZMW 23,618 to ZMW 214,706.
