IMF Technical Note Considers WTO Tax Rules
A technical note published by the IMF on 29 March 2016 considers to what extent the World Trade Organization (WTO) rules affect the freedom of policy makers to frame their tax policy. The paper entitled Is the WTO a World Tax Organization? A Primer
See MorePoland publishes new R&D tax incentives
The Council of Ministers published a bill introducing amendments to the Corporate Income Tax Law regarding tax incentives for the development of research and development (R&D) activities on 7 March 2016. The bill foresees the following
See MoreCanada: Business income taxation changes in Budget 2016
The Finance Ministry presented the Budget for 2016 on 22nd March 2016. Details regarding business income taxation are summarized below: New incentives have been proposed in the Budget 2016 in relation to electric vehicle charging stations,
See MoreHong Kong: Tax measures in Budget for 2016/17
The Budget for 2016/17 was presented to the Legislative Council by the Financial Secretary on 24 February 2016. The Financial Secretary proposed a one-off reduction of profits tax for the year of assessment 2015/16 by 75%, subject to a ceiling of
See MoreTurkey: R&D reform package enters into force
The Law No. 6676 on the Research and Development (R&D) Reform Package was published in Official Gazette on February 26, 2016 and will be entered into force on March 1, 2016. It enhances the opportunity of R&D incentives under the Income Tax
See MoreThailand-Program for tax audit protection for SME taxpayers
The government of Thailand recently released an emergency decree providing a “tax audit exemption program” which has become effective and available to taxpayers beginning in 2016. According to the program, any kind of tax examination, inquiry,
See MoreMalaysia: Tax incentives for companies participating in the MY Carbon programme
The Finance Ministry has approved tax incentives on 18 February 2016 for companies participating in the National Corporate Greenhouse Gas Reporting Programme for 2015 and 2016 (MY Carbon programme) said Natural Resources and Environment Minister of
See MoreLatvia: Amending tax law on Micro-Enterprise entered into force
The amendment tax law regarding Micro-Enterprise has entered into force on January 1, 2016. Under the amendments, with effect from 1 January 2017, Micro-enterprise whose annual turnover- EUR 0 – 7,000 the rate is 5%; EUR 7,000.01 – 100,000,
See MoreTurkey: R&D reform package declared
The Prime Minister of Turkey has announced an R&D Reform Package on 14th January 2016 to increase the share of R&D activities in the Turkish economy from 1% to 3%. Moreover, the objectives of the Package are to increase R&D investments,
See MoreNorway: Fiscal Budget for 2016 Approved with Tax Measures
The Norwegian Government has approved its 2016 Fiscal Budget on 14 December 2015. The corporate income tax rate has been reduced from 27% to 25%. The current limit of NOK15 million increases to NOK20 million for in-house research and development
See MoreUruguay- period of validity extended for tax benefits for manufacturing agricultural machinery and equipment
In Uruguay, Decree No. 325/015 of 7 December 2015 extended the period of validity of tax benefits provided for manufacturing agricultural machinery and equipment under Decree No. 220/998, Investment Promotion Law No. 16,906 of January 1998 and
See MoreThailand-Tax incentives for targeted industries
The Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand announced on 4 January 2016 some further tax incentives for targeted industries. According to the announcement 10% to 15% income tax exemption will be provided for professionals working in targeted
See MoreCanada: Tax rates for 2015-2016 enacted as of 31 December 2016
Under the provisions of the 2015 federal budget and the 2015 provincial budgets, changes to the federal and provincial corporate tax rates for active business income earned by a Canadian-controlled private corporation (CCPC) which is eligible for
See MoreCanada: Increased tax exemption amount for small businesses in Manitoba
In December 2015 an increase was announced from the previous small business tax-free threshold of $450,000. From the beginning of 2017, Manitoba's small business threshold will increase from $450,000 to $500,000 and small businesses with taxable
See MoreHungary: Tax amendments approved by parliament
The parliament of Hungary approved a bill on 17 November 2015 establishing some additional amendments to the country's current tax system. According to the approved bill a classification system will be introduced and companies will be classified as
See MoreBulgaria: New Accounting Act gazetted
The new Accounting Act implementing the provisions of EU Directive 2013/34/EC was published on 8 December 2015 in the State Gazette and will be effective from 1st January 2016. This Act will give administrative and reporting relief for businesses
See MoreSri Lanka: Tax proposals in National Budget 2016
The Finance Minister of Sri Lanka has presented the national budget 2016 on 20 November 2015. The Budget includes some changes related to the corporate income tax rate structure, several tax incentives for selected industries, the Economic Service
See MoreKazakhstan: IMF report comments on economic and fiscal position
The IMF staff issued a report on the conclusion of discussions in Kazakhstan under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement. The economy has recently declined sharply owing to challenges such as the lower oil price and the slowdown in Russia
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