A weekly summary of the top weekly tax news, trends
and developments in the Americas

     This week's tax news from the Americas

• Brazil's Federal Tax Authorities rule on treatment for online games and bets
  In Solução de Consulta (SC) - Cosit 2/2025 (dated 16 January 2025, published 20 January 2025), the Federal Brazilian Tax Authorities (RFB) addressed the income tax treatment of gains from online games and betting, as well as net prizes from fixed-odds betting. Specifically, the RFB ruled (1) gains Brazilian residents obtain from Brazilian sources from playing games in which the results are tied to the player’s skill or actions should be considered remuneration and subject to withholding at source, (2) gains Brazilian residents obtain from foreign sources from playing games and placing bets should be subject to income tax under the general regime for foreign income, and (3) net prizes Brazilian residents obtain from Brazilian sources that are connected to fixed-odd bets should be considered income taxed under the specific regime established in Law 14,790/2023.

• Canada will extend 2024 charitable contribution deadline to 28 February 2025
  On 23 January 2025, Canada’s Department of Finance released draft income tax legislation (and related explanatory notes) that would extend the deadline for taxpayers to make charitable donations that qualify for tax support for the 2024 tax year. On the same day, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced that it will administer the proposed extension. As previously announced on 30 December 2024, the deadline will be extended to 28 February 2025, to mitigate the impact that the Canada Post strike had on the receipt of donations by charities.

• Canada Border Services Agency issues 2025 trade compliance verification list update
  The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has released the January 2025 update of its trade compliance verification priorities list, emphasizing continued efforts to ensure proper compliance with Canadian trade laws. The CBSA continues to focus on tariff classification, valuation and origin as key areas of compliance verification, with new product categories and compliance strategies introduced in this update.

      This week's newsletters

• Report on recent US international tax developments - 31 January 2025
  Our weekly report with brief summaries of all the week's US international tax developments and related activity.
• The Latest on BEPS and Beyond - January 2025
  Our monthly report with brief summaries of the latest activity in the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project as well as country specific legislative and administrative activity, including global and regional policy trends related to the global focus on BEPS.
• Trade Talking Points | Latest insights from EY's Trade Strategy team - January 2025
  Our monthly report with the latest insights from EY's Trade Strategy team.

      Upcoming EY webcasts

• 6 February: Private Equity & Private Capital Quarterly Tax Update – Q1 2025
• 6 February: Alternative funds and regulation for 2025
• 11 February: What India’s 2025-26 Budget could mean for its economy
• 19 February: International tax talk quarterly series with the EY Global Tax Desk Network - February 2025

A calendar of all upcoming EY webcasts is available.

      Recent EY podcasts

• EY Podcast | Weekly US international cross-border taxation news for week ending 31 January 2025
• EY talks tax | Final and proposed regulations under IRC Section 987 – 10 January 2025
• EY talks tax | Proposed regulations on previously taxed earnings and profits - 8 January 2025

All episodes of the EY Cross-Border Taxation Spotlight and
EY Talks Tax are available through Apple podcasts.

      This week's EY Global Tax Alerts

     Americas

• President Trump takes office and issues a series of Executive Orders
• USCIS sunsets settlement agreement mandating bundling the adjudication of I-539 and I-765 applications filed by H-4 and L-2 spouses

     Africa

• South Africa extends blanket concession for individuals with pending visa, waiver and appeal applications until 31 March 2025

     Asia

• India tax administration issues guidance on application of Principal Purpose Test
• Indonesia's Ministry of Finance issues regulation to implement BEPS 2.0 Pillar Two
• Pakistan to require details on goods' value and quantity in monthly sales tax returns
• Philippines issues implementing rules for VAT on Digital Services Law

     Europe

• Belgium increases processing fees for certain immigration applications
• Italy approves significant changes to the Digital Services Tax
• Liechtenstein introduces new GloBE notification requirement
• Slovenia mandates submission of VAT ledgers as of 1 July 2025

     Middle East

• Kuwait implements domestic top-up tax on MNEs

     Oceania

• New Zealand announces new visa conditions for working remotely

Additional resources

Comments. If you have any questions or suggestions about this newsletter, please email Tax News Update Help at: ustaxalertshelp@ey.com.

About Americas Tax Roundup

Published by NTD's Tax Technical Knowledge Services Group, Washington, D.C.
Jennifer Mannetta, writer and editor

Distributed weekly to all Americas Tax personnel.