Turkey Raises Consumer Taxes

09 February, 2014

Turkey intends to increase state revenues by raising indirect taxes, fines and fees. An announcement by the Council of Ministers of Turkey on 1 January 2014 will increase purchase taxes on cars, alcoholic beverages, cigarettes and mobile phones, as

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France Pushes Ahead On FTT

19 January, 2014

Embarking on a lonely and uncertain course, France’s long-awaited, much debated tax on financial transactions (FTT) finally entered into force on 1 August 2012. Supposedly prefiguring the introduction of a mechanism at European level, a 0.2% tax

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Hong Kong: Stamp Duty Increases Affect Property Sales

09 January, 2014

Increases in the rates of existing ad valorem stamp duty for both residential and non-residential property transactions appear to have cooled the real estate market.  The Government increased such taxes from February 23, 2013 for that goal and it

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South Africa delays implementation of GST on foreign digital supplies

26 December, 2013

It has been published on 26 December 2013 that the plans to implement South African GST on digital supplies have been delayed from January 2014 until at least the start of April 2014. In a change to the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, the South African

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GST in Malaysia supported by the IMF

19 December, 2013

It was reported on 19 December 2013 that the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Mission Chief for Malaysia said at the conclusion of discussions for the 2013 Article IV Consultation that he welcomes the country’s decision to introduce a Goods

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US States Cut Taxes in 2013

18 December, 2013

Eighteen US states have cut taxes in the 2013 legislative year, reflecting an emphasis, following the recession, on pro-growth reforms that encourage economic expansion and competition, according to a new report by the Center for State Fiscal Reform

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India: Clarifies conditions of service tax amnesty

17 December, 2013

The Indian Finance Ministry has wanted to clarify concerns over its Service Tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme (VCES) by commenting on issues raised by industry representatives. The Finance Minister recently settled a series of

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Argentina plans to apply Luxury tax to preserve dollars

17 December, 2013

The government of Argentina is planning to increase the taxes on high-end cars and other imported luxury goods. A Bill has been sent to Congress with a view to implement this policy. The government is attempting to protect the country’s reserves

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Russia-Calculate corporate property tax by using cadastral value

10 December, 2013

Russia has enacted Law No.307-FZ naming “Concerning the Use of the Cadastral Value of Real Estate for the Calculation of the Corporate Property Tax Base” that was published on November 6, 2013 and it will apply from January 1, 2014. A

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Australia: Carbon tax repeal Bill tabled

09 December, 2013

The Prime Minister of Australia on 13 November 2013 tabled a bill canceling controversial carbon tax throughout the first session of parliament. The government is hoping to repeal the carbon tax in

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Property tax cut of South Korea

08 December, 2013

The government of South Korea has decided that the tax cut on home purchases will become effective from 28 August 2013. The tax cut was previously scheduled to come into effect from 1 January 2014. The government has proposed to permanently reduce

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Bank of Ireland estimates cost of new levy

08 December, 2013

The presentation of an annual banking levy will cost it EUR40m (USD53.9m) a year for the following three years. This is estimation made by the Bank of Ireland Group. Provisions for the introduction of a levy on the banking sector are made in the

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Australia: E-commerce registration threshold for non-resident remain unchanged

03 December, 2013

The Australian Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration threshold for e-commerce on-line sales to consumers has been kept unchanged by the Australian government. Despite this the government intends to begin a review into the GST threshold for

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Italy: Decree on Financial Transaction Tax has been issued with Amendment

03 November, 2013

A Decree has been approved by The Italian Ministry of Economy and Finance on 16 September 2013 which makes the amendment of Decree on the Italian Financial Transaction Tax (IFTT) issued in order to implement the IFTT Law adopted last year on 24

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Australia: Draft Bill to repeal carbon tax

30 October, 2013

The Australian Prime Minister and Environment Minister on 15 October 2013 announce that the government has released draft legislation to repeal the carbon tax for public consultation. As per the government, the first enactment they will table in

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Portugal: Extraordinary tax on electricity producers

22 October, 2013

The Ministry of Environment and Energy of Portugal has affirmed arrangements to impose an “extraordinary contribution” in 2014, to empower the nation to reach its ambitious deficit reduction target next year. It is expected that the draft budget

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China: Tax breaks for solar manufacturers

22 October, 2013

Recently the Finance Ministry of China has announced that it intends to offer tax breaks to solar manufacturers since the industry is struggling to recover from both oversupply and diminished export demand. A short statement was posted on-line on

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Brazil: Tax Authority has published guidance on Transitory Tax Regime

22 October, 2013

Tax Authority has published guidance on the Transitory Tax Regime in the Official Gazette on 17 September 2013, introduced the Federal Law 11,941/2009. One of the main motives of Law 11,941/2009 was to make the Brazilian GAAP more adaptable with the

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