UK: Finance Bill 2015 published
The UK Finance Bill (No.2) Bill was introduced into parliament on 24 March 2015. The Bill contains measures announced in the budget proposals for 2015 together with some measures that were announced earlier such as the new rules for banks and the
See MoreBelgium: IMF comments on fiscal policy
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) issued a staff report on 12 March 2015 in connection with the consultations held with Belgium under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement. Belgium’s government is pursuing policies of
See MoreGeorgia: IMF report recommends tax increases
The IMF has released a concluding statement at the conclusion of a staff visit to Georgia. The Georgian economy has been hit recently by some economic shocks resulting from the international situation affecting its trading partners and as a result
See MoreNigeria: IMF comments on fiscal policy
On 4 March 2015 the IMF issued a press release on the conclusion of consultations with Nigeria under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement. Nigeria’s economy has grown strongly over the past decade at an average of almost 7% per annum
See MoreIMF comments on Malaysia’s economic position
On 13 February 2015 the IMF executive board concluded consultations with Malaysia under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement. The report indicates that the Malaysian economy has recently performed well. Economic growth was 5.9% in 2014
See MoreECJ: Advocate General issues an opinion on exit tax and freedom of establishment
On 26 February 2015 the Advocate General of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) issued an opinion on an issue concerning a particular type of exit tax and the EU principle of freedom of establishment. The Financial Court of Düsseldorf referred a
See MoreIMF comments on Latvian fiscal policy
IMF staff released a statement on 2 March 2015 at the conclusion of their visit to Latvia under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement. The statement comments on Latvia’s fast progress to recover from the financial crisis and its prudent
See MoreCanada: Pension contribution boundaries for 2015
The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has declared the 2015 contribution bounds for retirement-related and pension plans. It incorporates Money Purchase Registered Pension Plans, Registered Retirement Savings Plans, and Deferred Profit Sharing
See MoreSri Lanka Planning To Cut VAT From 2015
The Government has announced a reduction in VAT in 2015 from 12% to 11%. The proposed reduction came as part of a range of political give a ways ahead of next year’s
See MoreGerman Fiscal Stimulus Measures has been called for by the ECB official
German Fiscal Stimulus Measures has been called on the German Government by a top European Central Bank (ECB) official and Germany's Deputy Labor Minister to cut taxes on labor. It was argued by ECB Executive Board Member Benoit Coeure and Deputy
See MoreUkraine agrees to tax relief to boost compliance
As part of changes to the tax regime announced by the head of authority, Ukraine intends to cut the number of taxes and fees payable by businesses from 22 to 9. This initiative is taken to foster an improved working relationship with taxpayers. The
See MoreNetherlands: Tax plan focuses on reducing the tax burden on labour
The 2015 Tax Plan focuses on alleviating the tax burden on labour. A sum of €1 billion has been made available for this purpose, which will be used to reduce the lowest rate of income tax and increase the employed person’s tax credit in order to
See MoreHong Kong Signs on to New OECD Tax Info Standards
The government of Hong Kong has recently announced that it will support the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD, Hong Kong's support for the new global standard on automatic exchange of information for the purpose of
See MoreNorwegian Tonnage Tax Regime Tweak has been approved by EFTA
Amendment to the Norwegian Special Tax System for Shipping has been approved by the European Free Trade Association Surveillance Authority (EFTA Surv). Shipping income is exempted from ordinary corporate tax and only a tonnage tax related to the
See MoreUS: Treasury Department republishes list of boycott countries that result in restriction of US tax benefits
The list of countries that requires cooperation with, or participation in, an international boycott as a condition of doing business has been republished by the US Treasury Department. The countries listed are Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Qatar,
See MoreIndia: Government to approve GST by the end of the year
Recently, the Indian Finance Minister presenting the 2014-2015 budgets and stated that the government will work to introduce GST by the end of this year. Although similar statements have been made during the past five years, so it is uncertain as
See MoreSingapore: SMU launches first Tax Research Center
In association with the Tax Academy of Singapore (TA), and with the backing of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), the Singapore Management University (SMU) launched the SMU-TA Center for Excellence in Taxation (SMU-TA CET). It will
See MoreGerman Government has refused for a reform of the income tax system to eliminate “cold progression”
The German Government has refused calls for a reform of the income tax system to eliminate so-called "cold progression" before 2017. Cold progression, also known as bracket creep, occurs when inflationary wage increases push taxpayers into higher
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