Kazakhstan: President signs a Law on pensions
The President has signed a law on 4th August 2015 to amend the process of obligatory pension contributions and budget funded state pension payments. The main amendments are given below: Employers Employers are obliged to withhold from salary and
See MoreAustria: Parliament and Federal Council approve Tax Reform Act 2015/16
The parliament (Nationalrat) and Federal Council (Bundesrat) approved the “Tax Reform Act 2015/16 (Steuerreformgesetz 2015/16)” with minor changes on 23 July
See MoreUS: IRS issues notice setting limits on foreign housing expenses for 2014
In the US the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued Notice 2014-29 providing inflation-adjusted limitations on foreign housing expenses for the 2014 tax year. The figures included in the Notice show that Hong Kong, Moscow, and Geneva are judged
See MoreMorocco: IMF encourages further reform to pensions and taxation
On 6 February 2015 the IMF finished its first review of Morocco’s economic position in connection with a Precautionary Liquidity Line (PLL) arrangement that was approved by the IMF in August 2014. Under this arrangement Morocco would only draw
See MoreWTO: Discussions on waivers to help LDC exports of services
As part of discussions on implementation of the Bali package discussions have taken place in the World Trade Organization (WTO) on waivers of the usual most favored nation (MFN) rules to help less developed countries (LDCs) when cross-border
See MoreSlovenia: Government Announces of Tax Cash Register System
The government approved the introduction of a tax cash register system on 5 February 2015. The Act will be published in March 2015 and this system will improve revenue collection. The exact date of the introduction, together with the list of
See MoreSlovenia Publishes Monthly Minimum Salary for 2015
The Slovenian government has published a Decree in Official Gazette No. 6 of 30 January 2015 increasing the monthly minimum salary. This has been increased due to a revision of the inflation rate in 2014 and is now EUR 790.73 (previously EUR
See MoreJapan: Plans for an increase in Consumption Tax from April 2017
The government has confirmed that Japanese consumption tax will rise from 8% to 10% from 1 April 2017. This latest date was announced in the 2015 Tax Plan. The increase in the consumption tax rate was first scheduled for 1 October 2015, but was
See MoreVenezuela: Increment of Monthly Minimum Salary (MMS)
The Decree 1.431 has released in Official Gazette No. 40.542 on 17th November 2014 to increase the Monthly Minimum Salary (MMS) from VEF 4,251.40 to VEF 4,889.11 and it will be applicable from 1st December 2014. As the taxable base, the increment of
See MoreRussia: Obligatory notification for dual nationality or foreign residence permits requires
Russia acted out a law that effective from 4 August 2014 requiring Russian citizens to give notice to the Federal Migration Service (FMS) where they have dual nationality, or foreign residence permits. For Russian citizens who already have dual
See MoreUS: Notice 2014-32 announces amendments to recently finalized Section 367(b) regulations applying to certain cross-border triangular reorganizations
The US Treasury Department and US Internal Revenue Service have issued Notice 2014-32 revising the final regulations on certain cross-border triangular reorganizations. The Notice applies where the reorganization involves one or more foreign
See MoreColombia: Percentage of deemed interest on loans between companies and their partners or shareholders
The Colombian government issued decree 629 concerning income tax on 26 March 2014. This decree lays down that the deemed interest on loans between companies and their partners is to be set at 4.07% for year
See MoreItaly Introduces e-advertising Tax Legislation
Italy has introduced a tax measure under which foreign companies must apply for a VAT number if they intend to engage in the sale of online advertising to enterprises in Italy. This measure is to take effect on 1 July 2014. The delay in carrying out
See MoreUS Pension Uptake Lags Despite Tax Incentives
In order to encourage taxpayers to make provision for their pensions various incentives are provided by the tax system. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has however reported that the number of new pension plans taken out by individuals
See MoreEU – Directive on pension rights
The European Parliament has given its approval to an EU Directive that aims to improve the arrangements relating to the maintenance of supplementary pension rights. The existing EU regulations only permit individuals to transfer their statutory
See MoreSingapore Arranges First Wage Credit Payments
Singapore is paying out the first tranche of the payments under the Wage Credit Scheme (WCS) by 31 March 2014. Around 75 percent of the payments are due to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The payments are intended to help new businesses and low
See MoreEcuador: Minimum monthly salary
The minimum monthly salary of Ecuador has been set to USD 318 by the Ministerial Decree 00215/2012 of the Minister of Labour, effective from 1 January 2013. The rate was previously USD
See MoreBrazil to increase monthly minimum salary
Brazil's government will raise the minimum monthly salary by 9% in 2013. The Official Gazette of 26 December 2012 published Decree 7,872/2012 introducing a new monthly minimum salary. The rate has increased to BRL 678 from BRL 622. This new rate is
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