Pakistan: Companies operating in Gwadar Free Zone to get 20-year tax holiday
The Pakistan government plans to provide a 20-year tax holiday to companies that want to establish their business in Gwadar Port's Free Zone. The government has also decided to exempt from customs duties, machinery, equipment and other
See MoreThailand: IMF reports on preliminary findings
The IMF has completed a mission to Thailand from 15 to 29 January 2015 to hold discussions in connection with the Article IV Consultation. The IMF is expecting Thailand to continue a gradual economic recovery in 2015 and growth is estimated at 3.5%.
See MoreJapan Publishes New Consumption Tax Plans for Foreign E-services
Japan has published new plans to subject the supply by foreign providers of electronic services to their consumers to 8% Consumption Tax. This should come into place from 1 October 2015. Here is the summary of plans: Changes from the origin to
See MoreSouth Africa and India: Protocol to treaty enter into force
The amending protocol for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income between India and South Africa enters into force entered into force on 26 November 2014. The protocol generally applies
See MoreIndonesia: Plans to Introduce VAT on E-Commerce
The Finance Minister of Indonesia has confirmed their plan to introduce value-added tax (VAT) on e-commerce. In order to implement this plan, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has been asked to prepare regulations to tax
See MoreChina: SAT Improves the Enterprise Income Tax Policy for Those Enterprise Involved in the Accelerated Depreciation of Fixed Assets
Recently, the SAT made an announcement on the enterprise income tax policy for those enterprises involved in the accelerated depreciation of fixed assets. For those enterprises in such six sectors as bio-pharmaceutical, special equipment
See MorePakistan: Government states withholding tax rate for non-filers on registration of immovable property
The government announced on 14 January 2015, through Notification No. 30(I)/2015 that any non-filer (i.e. a taxpayer whose name does not appear on the active taxpayers list issued by the Federal Board of Revenue or who is not a holder of a
See MoreHong Kong: IRD Releases Revised Forms To Apply For Resident Status For Tax Treaties
The Inland Revenue Board of Hong Kong on January 29 released revised forms for companies, partnership, trusts, and other entities to apply for a certificate of resident status for purposes of claiming tax treaty benefits. With effect from 1 February
See MoreTaiwan: Individual Income Tax Modified
The Legislative Congress in Taiwan passed an amendment to article 15 of the Income Tax Act on 6 January 2015 which allows partners to calculate their income and subject themselves to individual income tax separately. The new regime retrospectively
See MoreHong Kong: Government Renews Anti-Money Laundering Guidelines
Hong Kong has gazetted an anti-money laundering amendment notice that will allow its financial institutions to continue to delegate customer due diligence (CDD) functions. The Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Financial
See MoreHong Kong: Government Intends To Extend Offshore Fund Exemption Regime
New rules in Hong Kong are being planned to exempt offshore private equity funds from tax in Hong Kong with respect to investments made outside of Hong Kong. The proposed changes were initially announced by the Financial Secretary in his 2013/14
See MoreVietnam – Publishes Guidance on Corporate Income Tax Incentives
Vietnam publishes guidance on corporate income tax incentives for enterprises that rearrange or with respect to incentives granted on a “location basis.” Under December 2014 guidance, if an enterprise is currently enjoying the benefits of a
See MoreThird Meeting of Second Phase of Negotiations on China-Pakistan Free Trade Area Held in Islamabad
The Third Meeting of the Second Phase of negotiations on the China-Pakistan Free Trade Area was successfully held in Islamabad on January 6-8, 2015. The two sides had talks on various topics including the implementation of reduced taxes in the first
See MoreEconomic Partnership Agreement between Japan and Australia enters into force
On January 15, 2015, the Japan-Australia Economic Partnership Agreement entered into force, opening up opportunities for increased trade and investment by Australia with Japan which is the third largest economy in the world and Australia’s second
See MoreFrance and Singapore Sign Bilateral Double Tax Agreement
A revised double tax treaty was signed between Singapore and France on 15 January 2015. In the case of the Singapore, the treaty covers the income tax. In the case of France, the treaty covers the income tax, corporation tax, contributions on
See MoreChina will look to reach agreements with more nations this year
China will step up the pace of its free trade negotiations this year as it seeks to build stronger trade ties with more partners and reduce the dominance of the United States’ currency in the global trading system. Zhang Shaogang, director-general
See MoreSingapore and Uruguay sign Income Tax Treaty
An Income and Capital Tax Treaty between Singapore and Uruguay was signed on 15th January 2015. Further details of the treaty will be reported
See MoreMalaysia: Decentralization of Income tax Files Subsequent to the Setting Up of Large Taxpayer Branch (LTB) and Large Taxpayer Unit (LTU)
To improve the quality of services to clients, Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM) released a press notice to inform that with effect from 1 January 2015, the Corporate Tax Department has been renamed to Large Taxpayer Branch (LTB) and will
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