WTO conducts trade policy review of New Zealand
On 29 June and 1 July 2015 the World Trade Organization (WTO) is conducting the fifth trade policy review of New Zealand. The review is based on a report submitted by the government of New Zealand and the report prepared by the WTO Secretariat. The
See MoreOECD publishes analysis of taxes on energy use
On 25 June 2015 the OECD published “Taxing Energy 2015 – OECD and Selected Partner Economies”. This analyses energy use in the 34 OECD countries and in Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa. For the purpose of the
See MoreWTO conducts trade review of Canada
The World Trade Organization (WTO) conducted its tenth review of trade policies and practices of Canada on 15 and 17 June 2015. The review was based on a report issued by the Canadian government and a report by the WTO Secretariat. The WTO
See MoreRussia: Corporate tax rate freeze
The Russian President has stated that tax rates will be frozen for the next four years and has indicated that he wants to encourage new and growing businesses. The Government also has a plan to announce investment incentives for existing
See MoreMauritius signs Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters
On 24 June 2015 the OECD announced that Mauritius has signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. The Convention provides a framework for cooperation between tax authorities to exchange tax information,
See MoreUK: HMRC allocates more resources to customer service functions
The UK tax administration HMRC has announced the allocation of GBP 45 million to improve aspects of its customer service functions. Three thousand additional staff are enlarging the customer service teams, as well as two thousand staff that are
See MoreIceland Modifies Transfer Pricing Rules
Iceland's Parliament has approved a Bill on 15 June 2015 amending article 57 of the Icelandic Income Tax Act No. 90/2003 setting out transfer pricing rules. According to the Bill entities with turnover or total assets exceeding ISK 1 billion need
See MoreSlovak Republic: New transfer pricing documentation guidance
The Finance Ministry has issued new guidance on transfer pricing documentation. This guidance creates three categories of documentation based on the degree of detail of the information required in relation to a taxpayer’s risk profile. The
See MoreIMF comments on Australian fiscal policy
On 24 June 2015 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a concluding statement at the end of discussions with Australia under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement. The strong income growth of the past two decades has slackened off
See MoreAustralia publishes reports on international tax issues
On 4 June 2015 the Australian Treasurer published certain reports on international tax issues for comment. These cover potential areas of tax reform including the following: The advantages of adopting the authorized OECD approach (AOA) in relation
See MoreCyprus outlines tax reforms in letter of intent to the IMF
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has published on its website a Letter of Intent from Cyprus, together with a Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies and Technical Memorandum of Understanding, in connection with a request for financial
See MoreHungary: Parliament approves tax laws for 2016
The Parliament of Hungary approved a package of previously announced tax law changes for 2016 on 16 June 2015. According to the approved Bill the personal income tax rate will reduce from 16% to 15%. The tax allowance for individuals raising two
See MoreUK: HMRC issues PAYE penalty notices
The UK tax authority HMRC announced on 17 June 2015 that it has issued the first in-year PAYE penalty notices to employers of fewer than fifty employees who did not send PAYE details to HMRC on time. HMRC is concentrating on the more serious
See MoreBelgium referred to ECJ on property tax rules
The European Commission has referred Belgium to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the grounds that its property tax rules are contrary to EU law. Belgium has separate tax rules for property located in Belgium as compared to property located in
See MoreEU: action plan for fair and efficient corporate taxation
On 17 June 2015 the European Commission presented an Action Plan for fair and efficient corporate taxation in the EU. This sets out initiatives to address tax avoidance, ensure sustainable tax revenue and thereby improve the corporate tax
See MoreUganda: Budget for 2015
Uganda’s Finance Minister has presented the Budget for 2015. The Budget proposes raising the presumptive tax threshold from UGX 50 million to UGX150 million to develop tax compliance and increase tax certainty among small businesses. Thin
See MoreWTO reports on G20 trade measures
The World Trade Organization (WTO) issued its thirteenth trade monitoring report on G20 trade measures on 15 June 2015. The report shows a slowing down in the implementation of new restrictive trade measures in G20 countries. It is not clear if this
See MoreIMF issues concluding statement on consultations with the Netherlands
On 15 June 2015 the International Monetary Fund (IMF) published a concluding statement following consultations with the Netherlands government under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement. The statement notes that the Netherlands economy
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