Japan, Tunisia to sign income tax treaty
Representatives from Japan and Tunisia held talks from 4–5 May 2025, negotiating for an income tax treaty to boost cooperation. Officials from Japan and Tunisia met on 4-5 May 2025 to discuss strengthening bilateral cooperation and finalising
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New Zealand consults thin capitalisation reforms to attract infrastructure investment
New Zealand’s Inland Revenue invites feedback on proposed changes to thin capitalisation rules to encourage foreign investment in private infrastructure projects. Submissions are open until 19 June 2025. New Zealand’s Inland Revenue has
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EU to introduce flat tax on low-value imports from China
According to a Financial Times report on 20 May 2025, the EU is considering imposing a flat fee on small packages entering the bloc, mainly from China. The Financial Times reported that the European Commission shared a draft proposal for a
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Kazakhstan introduces new excise tax calculations for fuel
Kazakhstan has introduced a new method for calculating excise taxes on gasoline and diesel, effective from 11 May 2025. It applies when the price of fuel exceeds specified thresholds, aiming to better reflect market conditions. For gasoline
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Taiwan: MoF clarifies tax treatment of employee scholarship expenses
Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance released new guidance clarifying the tax implications of scholarship-related expenses on 19 May 2025. A foreign company inquired by phone with the National Taxation Bureau about whether they could claim expenses for
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Japan: Tokyo will not finalise any trade agreement with US that can compromise national interests
Japan’s chief trade negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, said on Monday, 20 May 2025, that Japan continues to negotiate to remove US tariffs in ongoing bilateral trade discussions. He emphasised that Tokyo will not finalise any agreement that could
See MoreNew Zealand drops digital services tax bill
New Zealand's Revenue Minister, Simon Watts, announced on 20 May 2025 that the government has decided to scrap the Digital Services Tax Bill from the legislative programme. The Digital Services Tax Bill was introduced in 2023 by the previous
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Hong Kong: Legislative Council Bills Committee advances global minimum tax bill
The Hong Kong Legislative Council Bills Committee released a report on the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Minimum Tax for Multinational Enterprise Groups) Bill 2024 on 19 May 2025, affirming that it does not object to the amendments put forward by the
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Luxembourg: Government Council approves amending protocol to tax treaty with Vietnam
Luxembourg's Government Council approved the ratification of the amending protocol to the 1996 tax treaty with Vietnam on 15 May 2025. The protocol was signed to update the DTA according to the latest OECD standards. Signed on 4 May 2023, it
See MoreKazakhstan: Ministry of Finance consults resolution authorising signing of tax treaty with Egypt
Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Finance opened a public consultation on changes to a draft resolution authorising the signing of an income tax treaty with Egypt on 16 May 2025. The public can submit comments until 30 May 2025. The change updates
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Australia: ATO updates guidance on Pillar Two minimum tax rules
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has published new guidance on the Pillar Two minimum tax rules on 16 May 2025. It now includes: Guidance about how the ATO will administer potential amendments to Australian law to address
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Hong Kong: Government approves new company re-domiciliation regime
The Hong Kong Government has approved the Companies (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2024 on 14 May 2025, which introduces a new company re-domiciliation regime. Under the company re-domiciliation regime, non-Hong Kong-incorporated companies which fulfil
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China imposes anti-dumping tariffs on plastics from US, EU, Japan, and Taiwan
China’s Ministry of Commerce has imposed anti-dumping duties on POM copolymer imports from the US, EU, Japan, and Taiwan on 18 May 2025. Rates will range from 3.8% to 74.9%. US imports will face the highest rate at 74.9%, while EU shipments are
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Bangladesh, US begin negotiations for FTA
Bangladesh and the US have begun discussions on a potential Free Trade Agreement (FTA), with a focus on enhancing trade and investment. A Bangladeshi delegation recently met with officials from the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) to
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Taiwan: Ministry of Finance makes available interest-free extension, installment plan for business affected by US tariffs
In response to the impact of the US “Reciprocal Tariffs” policy on various industries, the National Taxation Bureau of Kaohsiung states that taxpayers who are unable to pay the full amount of tax in a single payment during the income tax return
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Cambodia, France resumes tax treaty negotiations
Cambodian and French officials met from 12–13 May 2025 to resume negotiations for an income tax treaty between the two nations. Earlier, officials from Cambodia and France conducted the third round of negotiations on 2 January 2025. If an
See MoreTaiwan: MOF clarifies that businesses with minor tax overdue can still offset profits and losses
Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance (MOF) announced that profit-seeking businesses with minor outstanding tax payments may still request to offset profits and losses. This clarification was made by the Ministry on 6 May 2025. The National Taxation
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US, Vietnam negotiate amending protocol to income tax treaty
Vietnam's Ministry of Finance announced that the US and Vietnamese officials discussed various updates to the 2015 tax treaty between the two countries, including amending protocols to the agreement on 13 May 2025. The proposed protocol would
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