Nigeria: ECOWAS common external tariff to be implemented
The Nigerian Customs Service has issued a circular on 23rd June 2015 for accepting the implementation of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Common External Tariff (CET) 2015-2019. Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Gambia, Ghana,
See MoreRussia: Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters enters into force
The Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters has entered into force in regard to Russia on 1st July 2015. The Convention and the amending protocol apply to Russia from 1st January 2016. The agreement is intended
See MoreAustralia: tax cuts for small business
According to the Budget the government of Australia is to decrease the income tax rate for small companies to 28.5 per cent with an aggregated annual turnover of less than AUD 2 million. Companies with an aggregated annual turnover of AUD 2 million
See MoreBangladesh: New Tax Provisions in Finance Bill 2015 Passed by Parliament
The Bangladesh Parliament passed the Finance Bill 2015 on June 29, 2015 with some changes in the tax provisions. The Finance Minister has increased the minimum amount of income tax for individuals residing in Dhaka and Chittagong. This year the
See MoreBangladesh: Changes in Transfer Pricing Provisions in Finance Bill 2015 Passed by Parliament
The Bangladesh Parliament passed the Finance Bill 2015 on June 29, 2015 with some changes in the transfer pricing provisions. The legislation relating to the report from an accountant required to be furnished by a person who has entered into
See MoreWTO 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 More