Canada: 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 MoreSouth Africa: SARS issues revised tax guide for foreign workers
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has revised its guide for individuals not resident in South Africa about the tax treatment of South Africa-sourced income. The guide addressed the point that foreigners working in South Africa are only
See MoreKenya submits Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies to the IMF
A Memorandum of Economic and Financial Policies prepared by Kenya on 31 August 2015 in connection with a request for financial support from the IMF was published on the IMF website on 22 October 2015. The Memorandum notes that the Kenyan economy
See MoreRomania: IMF issues report on fiscal and tax policy
The IMF has issued a report on Romania’s economy following the conclusion of discussions on recent economic developments and budget plans. Policy priorities include maintaining fiscal discipline and pushing ahead with structural reforms. The
See MoreUK: Tax Gap Still Decreasing
According to statistics released this week by HMRC the tax gap in the UK decreased to 6.4% of the tax due in 2013/14. This represents a figure of around GBP 34 billion. The tax gap is the difference between the tax that should be collected and the
See MoreIMF: Report on fairness of Tunisia’s tax system
Following the conclusion of consultations with Tunisia under Article IV of the IMF’s articles of agreement the IMF issued on 15 October 2015 a staff report and selected issues paper including an Annex on the subject of fair taxation in
See MoreIreland: Budget 2016 announced
On 13 October 2015, the Finance Minister of Ireland announced Budget proposals for 2016 in the context of the country being the fastest growing economy in Europe for 2015, with GDP growth at 6.2%. The Minister also published a document
See MoreBulgaria: Draft bill to amend tax laws for 2016
The Council of Ministers has approved the bill for amendments to tax laws for 2016 and submitted the draft on 13th October 2015 to the parliament for consideration. The major improvements are as follows: Dividend withholding tax: Implementation of
See MoreATAF conference on tax evasion and illicit financial flows
The African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) is to hold its second International Conference on Tax in Africa from 21 to 23 October 2015. The conference in Lomé, Togo has the theme of “Tax Compliance and Limiting Illicit Financial Flows”.
See MoreDenmark: Budget for 2016
The Budget for 2016 was presented to the parliament on 6 October 2015. The following main changes are proposed in the Budget: Corporate taxation: Country-by-country reporting for income and taxes paid is introduced for multinational enterprises.
See MoreCzech Republic: Income Tax Law amendment submitted to parliament
It has been reported that the government submitted an amendment to the Income Tax Law to the parliament which presents corporate and individual income tax changes. The bill must be approved by both chambers of the parliament and signed into law by
See MoreKazakhstan: Bill regarding social health insurance sent to Senate
A bill about compulsory social health insurance contributions has been introduced and was sent to Senate on 8th October 2015. This bill is about a new social health insurance system to be launched from 2017. In calculating social health insurance
See MoreKenya: Budget for 2015-16
The Finance Bill for 2015-16 was passed as the Finance Act on 15 September 2015 in Kenya. The following changes were made to the main Budget measures prior to enactment: The corporate tax rate for a special economic zone enterprise, developer or
See MoreOECD: BEPS Package approved by G20 Finance Ministers
The G20 Finance Ministers at their meeting of 8 October 2015 gave strong support to the final package of measures produced by the OECD action plan on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). They repeated their commitment to a rapid and consistent
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