New Zealand – New Tax Policy Work Plan
The Inland Revenue of New Zealand released the government’s tax policy work program on 8 November 2013 that sets out the government’s focus for tax reform and development for the next 18 months. Creating further improvements to the tax and
See MoreMexico: Congress passed budget for 2014
The Mexican lower house of Congress has passed the federal budget for 2014, which proposes running a deficit in 2014 to lift the country’s economy on 14 November of 2013. The budget will increase the tax revenue by around 2.5% of GDP by 2018. The
See MoreLuxembourg wants acceleration of negotiation on Savings Tax
Luxembourg has called on the European Commission (EC) to accelerate negotiations with third party countries, to make sure that progress is made on plans to modify the Savings Tax Directive. The Savings Tax Directive is designed to ensure that income
See MoreLuxembourg Considers Tax Rise
The assessment of current negotiations on the formation of a new Government of Luxembourg is that there is a pledge to redressing the public finances if necessary with recourse to tax measures. However Luxembourg is starting from a favorable
See MoreHungary- Amendments to Corporate Law
Hungary is going to modify its civil code by making significant changes to the corporate law which is likely to become effective from March 2014. According to the amendments, new companies may be permitted to establish their own company guidelines
See MoreFrance – reform to the tax procedure of life insurance contracts
The French Ministry of Finance presented the year-end supplementary finance bill of 2013 to the Council of Ministers. The bill comprise of plans to reform the tax procedure of life insurance contracts. The ministry is planning to increase the rate
See MoreEgypt: Forbidden Progressive Tax Plans
Recently, the Egyptian committee has forbidden plans to include an article in the country’s basic law providing that progressive taxation should serve as a basis for tax policy. From the 2011 uprising, Egypt has been planning the idea of
See MoreSwitzerland: Flat’s Tax support to SMEs
It was reported that SGV (Switzerland’s main trade association), represents small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Switzerland, has accepted the decision of the Swiss Council of States to refuse the people’s initiative calling for an end
See MoreChina: Financial sector faces issues on transition to VAT
In the transition to a value added tax (VAT) system, the financial services sector in China will need to consider certain issues.China’s Ministry of Finance suggests that- to a VAT system in China, modern principles of VAT would be applied. The
See MoreChile- New Bill is proposed to limit taxation of Senior Citizens
The Finance Minister of Chile proposed a new bill on November 8, 2013 for limiting the amount of tax payable for senior citizens with low incomes. The measure is taken to help the poorer people of this nation. The bill states that if an individual
See MoreBelgium: Royal Decree on tobacco tax rise
A draft Royal Decree, regarding tax rise on tobacco is approved by the Belgian Council of Ministers. As a result, the excise duty on cigarettes will be fixed at EUR 6.8914 (USD 9.2) per 1,000 pieces from 1 January 2014, and the special excise duty
See MoreBelgium: Enhancement of employers’ social security tax break
A draft Royal Decree is approved by the Council of Ministers of Belgium with a purpose to strengthen the structural reduction of employers’ social security contributions. An increased rate of structural reduction of employers’ social security
See MoreAustralia: The Authority extends review of income tax rules
It was proclaimed by the Assistant Treasurer of Australia that the Australian on 8 November 2013, Board of Taxation will extend its review of income tax rules to permit the board to consider the more extensive tax framework in which private business
See MoreUS Bill Introduced To Simplify Mobile Workers’ Taxation
United States businesses have welcomed the introduction into the Senate of a bill, the Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act, which would simplify tax reporting requirements for those workers who are employed in multiple state
See MoreTax Devolution process for Wales has been confirmed by the UK Government
The UK Prime Minister has confirmed in a press release on 7 November 2013 that the Government intends to devolve the power to set Landfill Tax and Stamp Duty rates in Wales, and to hold a referendum on devolving the income tax rate. It was announced
See MoreRussian President commands more tax intermission for LNG
Russian President has called for tax intermissions to be prolonged to more gas deposits that produce the Novatek-controlled liquefied natural gas program in the Yamal peninsula and it should also cover the neighboring Gydan peninsula. The tax
See MorePortugal: Gazettes Tax Regularization Decree
Decree-Law number 151-A/2013 is published in the country’s official Gazette. To tighten sanctions, it establishes an exceptional and temporary regime for the regularization of tax debt. From 2014 individuals who committed tax fraud will face
See MorePortuguese: New VAT measures in Finance Bill
A range of changes to the Portuguese VAT regime has been presented in the latest Finance Bill which would come into effect on 1 January 2014. According to the upcoming changes, taxpayers will now have the option to forgo the VAT exemption on
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