Romania: Finance Minister proposes the introduction of a tax exemption
Romania’s Finance Minister plans to introduce an exemption from tax on reinvested profit. This exemption would be intended to encourage foreign direct investment and could increase the GDP growth by as much as 0.5%. Another plan is to reduce
See MorePoland Announces Six-Year Tax exemption for Shale Industry
The government of Poland has put forward a proposal for an exemption from special taxes for the shale gas industry until the year 2020, and this is now being considered by parliament. This follows a complaint from the Supreme Audit Office that the
See MorePhilippines achieves Higher Tax Ratio In 2013
The fiscal deficit in the Philippines decreased in 2013 as there was a rise in the tax to GDP ratio in that year. The ratio of tax to GDP increased by 0.4 percent as compared to the previous year and reached a ratio of
See MoreNigeria – verification exercise for VAT and WHT
The Nigerian tax authority the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is to perform a verification exercise in respect of withholding tax and value added tax. The exercise which will continue from 12 March 2014 until 11 April 2014 is to look at these
See MoreNew Zealand: Plans for an active income exemption for branches are to be deferred
On 14 March 2014, New Zealand’s Minister of Revenue stated that consideration of an active income exemption for branches is to be deferred for the time being. The reason for the deferral is to allow the government's main tax policy focus to be
See MoreNew Zealand: Changes to Financial Reporting Requirements
The Financial Reporting Act, which changes financial reporting obligations for most companies, comes into effect on 1 April 2014. Small and medium-sized companies in New Zealand will need to make sure they understand how the changes made by the
See MoreItaly – Details of Italian Tax Cuts Agreed
Italy's new Prime Minister, has provided extra detail on cuts to reduce the tax burden in Italy which that are intended to provide an immediate boost to the country's economy. Resources totaling EUR10bn (USD13.9bn) have been allocated by the
See MoreItalian Tax Cuts Should Favor Employees
In Italy the association of sole traders and small businesses has recommended that measures should aim at reducing Italy's individual income tax (IRPEF) burden. The total tax collections from labor have reached EUR296.4bn, of which almost EUR161.5bn
See MoreIreland – Think Tank considers that income tax cut should benefit all
A think tank has looked at the possible benefits of lowering Ireland’s income tax rates. There is currently a debate in Ireland on reducing either the 41 percent higher rate of the 20 percent basic range of income tax. Reducing the higher 41
See MoreIndonesia to amend rules concerning tax holidays and allowances for investors
The Indonesian Deputy Minister of Finance has announced that the Government is planning to amend the rules concerning tax holidays and allowances for investors, possibly as early as April 2014. The changes to tax holidays are expected to include
See MoreGermany: Proposals to adjust personal income tax brackets
The leader of Germany’s Social Democrat party (SPD) has backed proposals to adjust the personal income tax brackets in an effort to undo stealth taxation that has resulted from the effects of inflation. This is considered to have unfairly hit
See MoreFrance employers and unions considering draft accord
The French trade unions are considering a draft accord that sets out the terms and conditions for a EUR30bn (USD41.6bn) reduction in labor costs. The main employers' associations Medef, the CGPME, and the UPA have drafted the agreement, which urges
See MoreChina’s Finance Minister considering more tax reforms
At a press conference held at the National People's Congress, China's Minister of Finance suggested that there would be more tax reforms in the following year after the recent expansion of the value added tax pilot scheme. The Finance Minister
See MoreBelgium: Reform of taxation after the May elections
Belgium's main political parties have agreed that a reform of taxation must be carried out after the May elections, to modernize and simplify the country's tax law. The Belgian Finance Minister has underlined the need to reduce the number of tax
See MoreAzerbaijan- Recounts tax reform progress in IMF meeting
On March 11, 2014, there was a meeting between an International Monetary Fund (IMF) delegation and Azerbaijan's deputy minister of taxes. In recent years Azerbaijan’s tax revenues have been increased due to the establishment of a durable,
See MoreAustralian Tax Break for Supporting Mining Activities
The Australian Government has introduced a consultation on plans to provide investors with a refundable tax offset for Greenfield mineral exploration costs incurred from July 1, 2014. Under the proposed program, a tax credit will be provided to
See MoreUS: IRS publishes annual statistics on foreign tax credits
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has published a statistical report with data of corporations that claim the US foreign tax credit (FTC). The report was published by the IRS Statistics of Income (SOI) Division based on sampling of corporate
See MoreUS: American Citizens Abroad Argues for Residence-Based Taxation
An organization known as American Citizens Abroad (ACA) has provided testimony to the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Permanent Investigations Subcommittee following its recent hearing on offshore tax evasion. The ACA has
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