IMF and World Bank Annual Meetings: Regional Economic Outlook – Europe
On 23 October 2024 the IMF launched the latest issue of the Regional Economic Outlook for Europe. Europe’s economic recovery is continuing after a strong response to the recent crises. However, the recovery is falling short of Europe’s full
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WTO Trade Policy Review of EU
The WTO is reviewing the trade policies and practices of the EU on 5 and 7 June 2023. The WTO Secretariat has produced a report as a basis for the review. During the period under review the EU made progress on major policy initiatives including
See MoreIMF Report Recommends Policy Changes for Germany
On 23 May 2022 the IMF published a report following discussions with Germany under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement. Germany’s economic recovery was gathering strength before the Ukraine war began, but the war has impacted the
See MoreIMF Report Considers the Economic Situation in Italy
On 19 May 2022 the IMF issued a concluding statement following discussions with Italy under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement. By the end of 2021 Italy’s economy had recovered to a level close to its pre-pandemic output,
See MoreEU: European Commission Proposes Tax Allowance for Equity
On 11 May 2022 the European Commission put forward proposals for a tax allowance that would reduce the current tax advantage for debt over equity. This allowance would be designed to encourage businesses to access more equity financing and reduce
See MoreCentre for Global Development – Health Taxes During the Recovery
On 19 April the Centre for Global Development (CGD) held a discussion on how the IMF and World Bank can use their knowledge of health taxes to help lower- and middle-income countries recover more quickly from the pandemic. The panel consisted of
See MoreEU: Public Consultation on Minimum Rates of Alcohol Excise Duty
On 11 April 2022 the European Commission began a consultation on the minimum rates of alcohol excise duty in the EU. The consultation will continue until 4 July 2022. The consultation aims to gather the views of the relevant stakeholders on
See MoreEU: Pressure on member states to revise CBI/RBI schemes
Recently there has been increased pressure on European Union (EU) member states to scale back their schemes offering citizenship or residence in return for financial contributions. This reflects heightened security concerns in view of the current
See MoreEU: Joint European Action for Affordable and Sustainable Energy
On 8 March 2022 the European Commission issued a communication entitled REPowerEU: Joint European Action for more affordable, secure and sustainable energy. This document notes that the current geopolitical situation requires independence from
See MoreSouth Africa: Finance Minister delivers Budget 2022-2023 in National Assembly
On 23 February 2022, the Finance Minister, Mr Enoch Godongwana, delivered the 2022-2023 Budget Speech to the National Assembly at the Good Hope Chamber. Some of the main tax measures are given below: The corporate income tax rate was proposed to
See MoreRussia: Restaurants businesses will be exempt from VAT
On 17 February 2022, the State Duma published Guidance Letter No. 03-07-07/1908 and proposed that public catering companies are exempt from VAT under certain conditions. Accordingly, the companies involved in this project will be exempt from VAT
See MoreThailand: Amendments to Tobacco Tax and Regulation
It was reported on 17 February 2022 that the Cabinet in Thailand has approved a five-year road map to reduce the level of tobacco consumption and improve overall public health by strategies that combine regulation, information and revised tobacco
See MoreGhana Revenue Authority Proposes Revisions to Tobacco Tax
On 26 January 2022 the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) announced that revisions to the Tobacco Tax will be implemented later this year after consultations with relevant stakeholders are completed. The GRA intends to introduce a combination of
See MoreGhana: Report Recommends Changes to Tobacco Taxation
On 26 January 2022 the Vision for Alternative Development (VALD), a Ghanaian NGO, released a Study Report on Economics of Tobacco in Ghana. The report recommended the re-introduction of a specific tax in addition to the ad-valorem tax system and
See MoreOECD: Revisiting Alcohol Prices for Healthier Lives
An OECD blog post of 13 January 2022 is entitled Revisiting Alcohol Pricing Policies for Healthier Lives. The blog post notes that decisions on alcohol policy involve a balance between health objectives and broader economic aims, and examines the
See MoreIreland: President signs Finance Bill 2021 into Law
On 21 December 2021, President signed the 2021 Finance Bill into Finance Act 2021, which provides for the implementation of the 2022 Budget measures as well as some necessary anti-avoidance measures and technical changes to the tax code. Some of
See MoreEU: Proposed Directive on Global Minimum Tax
On 22 December 2021 the European Commission proposed a Directive to ensure that large multinational groups are subject to a global minimum effective tax rate. The proposal follows the terms of the international agreement on Pillar 2 of the OECD
See MoreEU: Tax Policy Plans for 2022
At a meeting of the EU Parliament’s FISC subcommittee on 30 November 2021, the EU Commissioner responsible for economic and tax issues outlined the European Commission’s tax plans for 2022 and was questioned on the plans by members of the
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