The main changes introduced by the Finance Act for 2016, provided for by Act No. 53/2015 of 25 December 2015, mainly concern:
Corporate tax and personal income tax (IRPP)
- Improving the flat-rate regime
- Widening the scope of personal income tax
- Clarification regarding capital gains on the sale of shares or holdings
- Reducing the tax deduction rate for property income
- Deducting two-thirds of the income of individuals working in certain sectors from the tax base
- Limiting the 10% tax base to the operating income of companies subject to that corporate tax rate
- Deducting written-off receivables with a nominal value below 100 dinars
- Deducting, without legal action, provisions for doubtful debts contracted with the State
- Postponing the generalisation of the exemption for the income bracket not exceeding TND 5,000
- Reducing the rate of the tax advance payable by partnerships
- Subjecting permanent establishments that have not filed a declaration of existence to a final withholding tax
- Improving the collection of tax due on distributors of goods and products
VAT, customs duties and consumption duty
- Encouraging the use of electronic invoicing
- Clarifying the invoicing obligation of non-commercial professions
- Widening the scope of VAT
- Setting the basis for determining VAT on purchases made by taxable traders from non-taxable traders
- Reducing the VAT withholding from 50% to 25%
- Exempting the commissions of public telecom operators from VAT withholding
- Declaring the existence of land parcels
- Reducing customs tariff rates on imports of raw materials, semi-finished products and equipment
- Revision of consumption duty
Investment incentives
- Extending the investment-related incentives provided for by Act 54-2014
- Encouraging the creation of small and medium-sized enterprises
- Procedures for financing investment
- Increasing the investment premium in promising activities with high levels of integration
- Introducing an advantageous tax regime
Registration and stamp duty
- Registering donations to the State, local authorities and public institutions at the fixed duty
- Exempting from circulation tax and improving its collection
- Updating the duty for the registration formality and extending it to inheritance declarations
Other provisions
- Decentralising the decision to withdraw the flat-rate regime
- Adopting an electronic system for recording on-site sales
- Measures to strengthen transparency in information exchange
- Penalties for failure to present IT applications during a tax audit
- Penalties for using false invoices and failing to file a declaration of existence
- Extending corporal penalties to de facto managers
- Facilitating the suspension of the enforceability of automatic tax assessment
- Granting reductions in tax-debt amounts
- Granting reductions in the amounts of fines for customs offences
- Abolishing the exit duty and replacing it with a duty on international flights
