Azerbaijan: approves tax code amendments to introduce excise tax and to set new tax rates
The Parliament of Azerbaijan has approved amendments of tax code introducing excise tax on precious metals, and setting new tax rates for imported cars, imported yachts, and domestically produced alcohol and tobacco. As per legislation, excise on
See MoreMexico: Developments of non-oil tax revenue
The Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (SHCP) recently released statistics about Mexico's non-oil tax revenues. According to the statistics non-oil tax revenue reached MXN1.65 trillion in the time period of January to November of 2014 from the
See MoreUK: Stamp Duty Reforms on Residential Property
UK has cut stamp duty for the majority of homebuyers to make it fairer. The new rules have started on 4 December 2014. This change applies to people those who are buying a home in the UK for over £125,000. Under the old rules, it would have been
See MoreGCC: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) Recommends Diversifying Tax Bases of the States of Gulf Cooperation Council
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recommended diversifying tax bases of the states of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). It wants GCC to diversify the tax bases from their heavy reliance on oil revenues. The heavy reliance on oil revenue can
See MoreOECD Publishes Information on Revenue Statistics for 2014
The Revenue Statistics for 2014 published by the OECD on 10 December 2014 show that tax revenue collection in the member countries of the OECD has risen back towards the levels prevailing before the financial crisis. The composition of the tax
See MoreOECD : Discussion Draft on Prevention of Treaty Benefits
On 21 November 2014 the OECD released a discussion draft in respect of follow-up work on Action 6 of the action plan on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) in respect of preventing the granting of tax treaty benefits in certain circumstances.
See MoreDubai and China: first Chinese issuer to list a bond on an exchange in the Middle East
China has issued an RMB 1bn three-year bond on NASDAQ Dubai. The Agriculture Bank of China (ABC), China's third largest bank by assets, became the first Chinese issuer to list a bond on an exchange in the Middle East. The Emirate's stylish financial
See MoreOECD Releases Mutual Agreement Procedure Statistics for 2013
The OECD Model Tax Convention includes a provision for a mutual agreement procedure (MAP) in Article 25. Under this procedure the competent authorities of the two contracting states are required to endeavor to reach agreement to resolve issues that
See MoreVenezuela: President signs off on tax increases
In order to increase and diversify government revenue, Venezuela`s President has accepted tax increases on 18th November 2014. 28 laws have been passed to incorporate an increment in the excise duty for buying luxury goods from 10% to 15%. This
See MoreVenezuela: Amendments contain income tax and VAT
The president has declared the enactment of a series of laws to notice the economic development in Venezuela on 18th November 2014. These laws includes the following tax related items: Income tax reformation to raise tax collection via the
See MoreOECD: Discussion Draft on Low Value-Adding Services
The OECD issued a discussion draft on 3 November 2014 in connection with Action 10 of the BEPS project. This relates to modifications to the OECD Transfer Pricing Guidelines in respect of low value adding intra-group services. The discussion draft
See MoreOECD Strategy for Developing Country Involvement in BEPS
The OECD/G20 project on base erosion and profit shifting is important not just to developed countries but to the developing countries which rely on corporate income tax collected from large companies, including multinationals, to fund their
See MoreWTO Report Shows a Rise in Restrictive Trade Measures
A report prepared by the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the G20 and issued on 6 November 2014 indicates that despite undertakings to roll back restrictive trade measures these are still on the rise in the G20 economies. Restrictive measures have
See MoreOECD Report Examines Tax Debt Management
The OECD Forum on Tax Administration (FTA) has published a study entitled “Working Smarter in Tax Debt Management” to provide a picture of the most effective approaches to tax collection and recovery. The study appears at a time when tax debts
See MoreOECD: Report on Increasing Taxpayer Use of Self Service Channels
The efficiency of tax administration can increase if there is improved management of requests by taxpayers for support and advice. Following two previous studies on the improvement of service demand the OECD's Forum on Tax Administration requested
See MoreTax Administration Leaders Discuss Concerted Action to Deal With Global Challenges
On 23 and 24 October 2014 the heads of tax administrations convened for the ninth meeting of the OECD Forum on Tax Administration (FTA). Delegations from around forty tax administrations discussed the implications of the project on base erosion and
See MoreOECD: Measures of Tax Compliance Outcomes
The OECD's Forum on Tax Administration (FTA) has put together a report entitled: “Measures of Tax Compliance Outcomes: A Practical Guide”. Tax Administrations are concerned with outcomes such as collecting the right amount of tax, improving
See MoreGlobal Forum Publishes Peer Reviews
The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes has published reports on Phase 2 peer reviews of Belize, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Israel, the Russian Federation and St Vincent and the Grenadines. The reports cover the
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