US-based and other multinational employers with subsidiaries in Bulgaria often include their Bulgarian employees in their equity plans and grant them equity awards. Implementing an international equity plan in Bulgaria for the first time can be challenging for any multinational employer, as they should ensure compliance with Bulgarian laws and regulations. Tax compliance could raise particular concerns, as Bulgarian tax law is silent on many issues and the views of the Bulgarian tax authorities lack consistency throughout the years.

Relatively high inflation and lowering deposit interest rates became characteristic for Ukraine in recent years, thus heating investors’ demand for yields. Savings have been growing continuously, boosting the segments with a higher risk appetite and propelling the development of new investment opportunities. At the same time, the domestic financial sector is undercapitalized and has few financial instruments to offer. The market, therefore, attracts the attention of various non-resident providers of financial services – from the most diversified investment banking groups to single product enthusiasts, who are asked by Ukrainian corporations and high-net-worth individuals to offer a service or specifically target potential customers.

With the ambitious plan to create in Ukraine the most powerful IT hub in Central and Eastern Europe, the Government of Ukraine has established Diia City – a special legal framework for the IT industry, in summer 2021. Currently, the legal and organizational basis for the operation of Diia City is being developed and improved. It is expected that the project will be fully launched already in the first quarter of 2022.

With the acceleration of the process of transition to a market economy, since 2001, Serbia has carried out a fundamental reform of its tax system, which has undergone several further changes in the past two decades. Last year brought numerous changes to the tax system in Serbia, and the introduction of the taxation regime for digital assets and tax control were a particular focus.

The pioneering Austrian legislator is breaking new ground in the area of crypto taxation. Income from cryptocurrencies will no longer be taxed progressively, at up to 55% for individuals, but at a flat rate of 27.5% withholding tax. With these rules, the Austrian legislator has brought clarity to the taxation of crypto assets for the first time and has responded to the increased practical relevance of cryptocurrencies and the need to tax them in line with securities. The previous taxation of crypto assets was mainly based on non-binding information from the homepage of the Austrian Ministry of Finance.

In early 2021, Greece has introduced a new ambitious tax regime in order to motivate the opening of new employment positions and especially motivate Greeks who have moved abroad due to the severe economic crisis of 2010 to relocate back to Greece. In addition, salaried employees in the private sector, as well as average businessmen and freelancers who perform their activities in Greece while their tax residence is being registered abroad, can also benefit from the new favorable tax regime and transfer their tax residence in Greece.

Publication in the Official Gazette of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 46/2022 on measures to implement Regulation (EU) 452/2019 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2019 establishing a framework for the examination of foreign direct investment in the Union and for amending and supplementing Competition Law no. 21/1996

In 2021, the President of Ukraine had signed two laws establishing a special legal and tax regime for the digital economy called Diia City. It has become effective from January 1, 2022, after the law shaping the taxation regime of Diia City has become effective.

The new changes of the Company law published on the 21st of April, 2022, introduce the “real” convertible loan institute for the limited liability companies in North Macedonia.

On April 5, 2022, the Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine and Other Legislative Acts of Ukraine on Improving Legislation for the Period of Martial Law” No. 2142-IX dated March 24, 2022 (“Law No. 2142”) came into force.​

An effective judiciary forms a cornerstone of a successful state that upholds the rule of law.

2021 was indeed an active year for the Antimonopoly Committee of Ukraine (AMCU). It seems that antitrust enforcement did not slow down during another pandemic year but even, in fact, accelerated. The agency closed a number of investigations, having imposed million-dollar fines on players from a variety of markets. Below you may find the top trends in Ukrainian antitrust enforcement. They are worth keeping an eye on, especially for companies having or planning a business presence in Ukraine.

The Financial Administration of the Republic of Slovenia (Tax Authority) had already issued its first extensive guidelines regarding cryptocurrency taxation in 2017. According to the guidelines, capital gains generated from trading in virtual currencies by a natural person outside the scope of performing a business activity are not subject to personal income tax (PIT). Nevertheless, any income generated by a natural person as part of a business or entrepreneurial activity associated with cryptocurrencies is taxable.

Legal framework of the digital assets market.

Metaverse is not a product or a game. It was not created by a single company. Rather, it is a worldwide 3D network where companies, information and communication tools are comprehensive and interoperable. - Prof. Scott Galloway, University of New York

Starting from March 23, 2022, Serbian Business Registers Agency (“the SBRA”) has allowed the use of electronic signature in cloud in the Special Information System for drafting and submission of financial statements.

Regulation (EU) 2019/452 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 March 2019 establishing a framework for screening foreign direct investments into the Union (the “Regulation”) has been implemented into Romanian legislation in the form of Government Emergency Ordinance no. 46/2022 on foreign direct investments (“GEO no. 46/2022”). 

On 07 March 2022 two vital laws regulating tax and reporting obligations during martial law in Ukraine became effective: