OECD: Harmonizing revenue statistics
Representatives of thirteen Asian Finance Ministries and tax administrations met on 14 and 15 October 2015 to consider a framework to increase the comparability of revenue statistics. The countries involved in the meeting were Cambodia, China,
See MoreOECD: Asia Pacific Regional Meeting on BEPS
An Asia Pacific regional meeting was held on 11 and 12 November 2015 to discuss the outcomes of the project on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) and their significance for the countries of the region. Representatives of seventeen regional
See MoreUK: Planned tax treaties and protocols
On 13 November 2015 the UK published a policy paper on planned tax treaty developments. The paper states that negotiations are to begin on double tax treaties with Nepal, Romania, Trinidad and Tobago and Uzbekistan. Work is also to be done on tax
See MoreSlovenia: Changes to corporate income tax law enter into force
The amendments to the Corporate Income Tax Law were published on 3 November 2015, in the Official Gazette No. 83/2015. The Law entered into force on 4 November 2015. The amendments to the Corporate Income Tax Law include: - Implementation of
See MoreNetherlands: IMF report comments on fiscal and tax policy
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has issued a report on the economy of the Netherlands following discussions under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement. The recovery is stronger but growth will remain moderate at around 2% in 2015
See MoreCzech Republic: Amendment to law on international cooperation in tax administration
The Government has submitted a bill to the Parliament on 10th November 2015 regarding changes to the law on international cooperation in tax administration. The Bill must be accepted by both chambers of the parliament and signed into law by the
See MoreIMF, OECD, UN and World Bank issue report on use of tax incentives by low income countries
A report on the options for low income countries to use tax incentives has been prepared for the G20 Development Working Group by the IMF, OECD, UN and World Bank. Based on practical experience the report suggests that there is room for the
See MoreSlovak Republic: IMF reports on economic and fiscal position
The IMF has published a staff report following consultations in the Slovak Republic under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement. Economic growth in the Slovak Republic is recovering and expected to reach 3.2% in 2015/16 and 3.5% in
See MoreSlovak Republic: Concept of ‘company in crisis’ in introduced into Commercial Code
The amendment to the Slovakian Commercial Code introduces the concept of a “company in crisis”. It will be effective from 1st January 2016. A company is regarded ‘in crisis’ if it is: Bankrupt; or The share of its equity and
See MoreEthiopia: IMF report comments on economic and fiscal position
Following consultations with Ethiopia under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement the IMF released a staff report and other documents on 30 October 2015. Ethiopia’s recent economic performance has been strong, with economic growth of
See MoreAngola: IMF comments on economic and fiscal position
The Executive Board of the IMF concluded its consultations with Angola under Article IV of its articles of agreement on 28 October 2015 and has published a press release. Angola’s economy has been adversely affected by the low oil price and there
See MoreBosnia: IMF Report Suggests Reforms to Taxation and Social Security
Following consultations in Bosnia by IMF staff under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement a staff report and a selected issues paper were published on 28 October 2015. The selected issues paper includes a section on moving towards a more
See MoreBulgaria: Budget for 2016 published
The Finance Ministry (MoF) has published the Budget for 2016 on 26th October 2015. The MoF included the following measures in this budget: The income tax rate, withholding tax rate, and VAT rate will remain unchanged for 2016 through
See MoreCanada: Alberta fiscal budget for 2015-2016 issued
The Finance Minister of Alberta has presented the Province’s fiscal budget for 2015-2016 on 27th October 2015. The budget contains no changes to the personal income tax rates. However, some other new tax measures contained in the budget may
See MoreRussia: A draft order regarding tax exchange information published
The Federal Tax Service (FTS) has released a draft order on 26th October 2015 that contains a list (in Russian) of countries and territories which do not exchange tax information with Russia for discussion purposes. According to article 25.13-1 of
See MoreWorld Customs Organization Discusses the Future of Customs
The Permanent Technical Committee of the World Customs Organization (WCO) discussed the Future of Customs at its meeting of 14 to 16 October 2015. The meeting considered issues put forward by the WCO Virtual Working Group on the Future of Customs.
See MoreMali: IMF Report on Local Taxation
Following the conclusion of the work of a technical assistance mission on fiscal policy the IMF has compiled a report containing technical advice for the Mali authorities. The report dated July 2015 has been published on the IMF website. The report
See MoreWTO: World Trade Report for 2015 looks at benefits of Trade Facilitation Agreement
On 26 October 2015 the World Trade Organization (WTO) published its World Trade Report for 2015. This report looks at the benefits of full implementation of the Trade Facilitation Agreement. The report finds that developing countries will
See More