September 28, 2025

Tax Issues Faced by Foreign Persons Investing in Greek Commercial Real Estate

September 28, 2025/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

Greece’s diverse real estate market has become an increasingly attractive destination for foreign investment. The Mediterranean climate, rich cultural history, and growing economy make the country particularly appealing to investors looking for residential and commercial properties. Greece’s investment landscape is further enhanced by favorable tax incentives, such as the Non-Dom tax regime, the tax regime for pensioners, the tax regime for employees and freelancers, the family office regime, and the Golden Visa program. In their article, Natalia Skoulidou, a Partner of Iason Skouzos Tax Law, Athens, and Aikaterini D. Besini, a Senior Associate at Iason Skouzos Tax Law, Athens, provide a comprehensive overview of the tax landscape for foreign investors investing in Greek commercial real estate. Their article outlines the key tax considerations at each stage of the investment process to help investors navigate the complexities of Greece’s tax system in order to make well-informed strategic decisions. The outcome can be quite favorable to investors from abroad.

September 28, 2025

Strategic Considerations for International Investors in Dutch Real Estate

September 28, 2025/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

From an economic viewpoint, the Netherlands is a highly attractive destination for international real estate investors, thanks to its robust legal framework, transparent property market, and strategic location within Europe. From a tax policy viewpoint, however, the Dutch tax environment can be challenging, as it is subject to frequent legislative changes. Recent updates – including the partial discontinuation of the Dutch equivalent of a R.E.I.T., known as the F.B.I. regime, revised entity classification standards, and stricter interest deduction rules – have significantly impacted the landscape for cross-border investors. In his article, Anton Louwinger, a partner in CMS Netherlands, Amsterdam, explains the important issues at various points in the ownership period, including (1) R.E.T.T. or V.A.T. on purchases, (2) C.I.T. during ownership, (3) caps on deductions for interest expense and application of anti-abuse rules for payments to a foreign related party, (4) withholding tax on interest and dividend payments, (5) caps on the use of N.O.L.’s, and (6) taxation of capital gains upon sales.

January 28, 2019

New Developments on the E.U. V.A.T. Regime of Holding Companies

January 28, 2019/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

Like state and local tax in the U.S., where tax exposure can be underestimated by many corporate tax planners, the V.A.T. rules in the E.U. contain many pitfalls. This is especially true when it comes to recovery of V.A.T. input taxes by holding companies. A corporate tax adviser may presume that all V.A.T. input taxes paid by a holding company are recoverable. Yet, despite abundant jurisprudence, debate continues regarding the V.A.T. recovery rights of holding companies. The starting point in the analysis is easy to state: Holding companies that actively manage subsidiaries can recover V.A.T., while holding companies that passively hold shares cannot. The problem is in the application of the theory, where the line between active and passive behavior is blurred by seemingly inconsistent decisions. Bruno Gasparotto and Claire Schmitt of Arendt & Medernach, Luxembourg, explain the rules and how they have been applied by the C.J.E.U.

December 27, 2017

Austrian Guidance on Taxation of Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies

December 27, 2017/ Web Admin

While wild fluctuations in the value of Bitcoin are reported daily in global press and social media, the Austrian Ministry of Finance recently summarized its views on the tax consequences of investing in this relatively new asset class. Niklas J.R.M. Schmidt and Eva Stadler of Wolf Theiss, Vienna, explain the real-life consequences of the transacting in virtual currencies.

November 30, 2017

Brazil 2017: Tax Developments for Business Transactions

November 30, 2017/ Web Admin

In Brazil, the year 2017 saw many important developments regarding cross-border and intrastate business transactions. These developments focus on the implemention of various B.E.P.S. actions, the categorization of software transactions, and subjecting certain intrastate transactions to competing levels of state and municipal tax, all done the Brazilian way by emphasizing gross basis taxation on consumption payments. Erika Tukiama, Rogério Gaspari Coelho, and Nathália Fraga of Machado Associados, São Paulo, provide guidance on these developments.

April 28, 2017

Value-Added Tax 101 – A Far Cry from a Border Tax

April 28, 2017/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

Although the U.S. is the world’s largest economy, it is the only world economy that does not have a national value-added tax (“V.A.T.”). Until the border adjustment tax (“B.A.T.”) proposals were floated, most cross-border tax advisers in the U.S. only had vague concepts of the workings of a national V.A.T. Fanny Karaman and Stanley C. Ruchelman explain the mechanics of the V.A.T. as enacted in the E.U., cautioning that the B.A.T. is not a V.A.T.

November 30, 2016

Goods and Services Tax: A Game Changer

November 30, 2016/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

The passage of the Constitution Act, 2016, has brought India one step closer to adopting a national G.S.T. as its new indirect tax structure. The G.S.T. will replace central and state levies with a goal of eliminating multiple taxation of the same transaction. Sakate Khaitan of Khaitan Legal Associates, Mumbai, explains the rates, the coordination among jurisdictions, and the anticipated effect on business. A paradigm shift in the Indian economy is anticipated at both the micro and the macro levels.

September 15, 2015

Final Stages of B.E.P.S. Implementation and its Effects

September 15, 2015/ Web Admin

As the conclusion of the O.E.C.D.’s B.E.P.S. Project draws ever nearer, Rusudan Shervashidze examines domestic implementation efforts in a number of foreign countries and the unanticipated tax ramifications for multinational enterprises. In their attempts to meet these requirements, countries are making some of the most significant changes to international taxation policy that we have seen in decades.