A sweeping rollback of key European Union (EU) green laws is on the table, potentially relieving tens of thousands of businesses from disclosing their environmental impact and climate risks. Last month, the European Commission (the Commission) announced that 80 per cent of EU companies could be exempt from mandatory sustainability disclosure requirements under its eagerly anticipated Simplification Omnibus package – marking a stark shift from the EU's previously aggressive environmental stance.

On the 26th February, the EU Commission announced its ‘Omnibus’ package, confirming the simplifications to the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). The proposal document and supporting ‘Commission Staff Working Document’ (SWD) were released the following day, outlining amendments to CBAM Regulation 2023/956. Baker Tilly Ireland have reviewed the key points of interest from the proposal document and provided analysis.

Although companies may have various future plans, financial projections, or rough strategic estimates, a detailed and precise budget—especially long-term—is rarely found. However, regularly prepared future business plans and financial flow forecasts significantly facilitate decision-making for management and owners, help achieve set goals, attract creditor or investor funds, and help successfully sell a company.

US President-elect Trump has announced “punitive tariffs” of 25% on all goods from Mexico and Canada. German companies would also be affected. The new announcements show: Companies in the European Union should take the indications of EU punitive tariffs very seriously.

When conducting an annual audit, significant issues may emerge that could substantially affect a company's financial results. One of the most common concerns among business owners is the impairment testing of assets which directly impacts the company's profit and loss statement by increasing expenses, which, in turn, reduces equity on the balance sheet. This reduction can limit the company’s ability to pay dividends, weaken its equity ratio, and trigger a breach of bank loan covenants.

Stricter regulations, rising investor expectations and rapid technological advancements are poised to make 2025 a defining year for the global environmental, social and governance (ESG) landscape. Our Baker Tilly International network in Brazil partners discuss the trends.

On December 12, 2024, the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) passed judgment in a case concerning the VAT deduction of the purchase of intercompany, cross-border administrative services by a Romanian entity. Our Baker Tilly International network partners in the Netherlands discuss the Weatherford Atlas judgment and whether it has a broader impact on the interplay between VAT, direct taxes and Transfer Pricing (TP).

VAT rules for certain ‘virtual services’ in the EU are about to change. This will affect services such as live-streamed cultural events and paid webcam sessions, for example. The new rules to determine the place of supply take effect as of 1 January 2025. Our experts explain exactly what these changes mean and how they will affect entrepreneurs. See more details in an article prepared by Baker Tilly International network partners in the Netherlands.

The EU Deforestation Regulation (“EUDR”) will affect international trade. Although it only sets rules for EU importers, these rules will have an effect further up the supply chain. As the United Kingdom is an important trade partner for the EU in general and the Netherlands in particular, this new legislation will impact trade with the UK too. In this article, we discuss a number of points of attention concerning the EUDR for UK businesses.

The ‘Deforestation Regulation’ is a new instrument to achieve the environmental targets. The Deforestation Regulation was originally set to enter into force on 30 December 2024, but the European Commission recently proposed to postpone the implementation. If the European Parliament and the Council agree to this postponement, the legislation will apply to large enterprises from 30 December 2025 onward, and to micro and small businesses from 30 June 2026 onward.

The evaluation of VAT fixed establishment in Latvia continues to raise practical questions. Below, you’ll find our colleague’s review of the European Court of Justice case, Adient (C-533/22). The key question in the Adient case was whether a group company providing manufacturing services to its parent company should be considered a fixed establishment of the parent company for VAT purposes. Below, you'll discover interesting insights about situations where this may not be the case.