November 20, 2008

G20 Urge Action On Doha And Tax Transparency

The G20 Summit in Washington which resulted in numerous pledges and a broad consensus on the need for international co-operation to minimise the impact the financial crisis, and lessen the repercussions of a looming global recession, has placed renewed pressure on World Trade Organisation agricultural negotiators to square their differences with alacrity, and hence save the Doha round of free trade talks.

November 20, 2008	Liechtenstein To Modify VAT Law
	The Liechtenstein government has ratified proposals seeking to amend three provisions contained within its value-added tax law.

November 20, 2008	Reduced EU VAT Rates Good For UK, Advisor Says
	European Commission proposals to allow reduced value-added tax rates for a wider range of services, could provide the United Kingdom government with an opportunity to boost the increasingly pressurised labour market, according to KPMG.

November 20, 2008	Google Settles With Book Publishers
	Google recently reached an agreement with the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers under which the firm will pay USD125m to resolve outstanding legal actions against it in relation to its Google Book search service, which offers full-text searching facilities to users.

November 19, 2008	Hedge Fund Managers Anticipate Increased Costs And Regulation Under Obama
	Over 98% of senior hedge fund managers think that the new US Presidential Administration is likely to increase regulation of the hedge fund industry, according to a new report.

November 19, 2008	Business Tax: Less Is More For Governments, Report Finds
	A recent report has concluded that high corporate income tax rates do not always lead to higher overall revenues, and that, when considering rates, the focus should be on the total taxes raised, not just the corporate income tax rate.

November 19, 2008	Taiwan Aims To Lure Back Funds Invested Abroad With Tax Cuts
	The Taiwanese government has proposed a set of tax incentives aimed at winning back investments held abroad by residents.

November 19, 2008	Guernsey Cracks Down On Pension Schemes Misuse
	The Guernsey Income Tax Authority has introduced further legislation following bad publicity in the local and national media over the last few months regarding perceived misuse of overseas pension schemes.

November 19, 2008	US Trade Body Urges Japan To Extend Loss Carry-Forward Time Limit
	National Foreign Trade Council President Bill Reinsch has sent a letter to Japanese finance and economic ministers, urging the government to adopt a proposal to extend the period of time in which corporations can use losses against profits in future years.

November 19, 2008	BISX Index Records Fall To End-September
	The Bahamas International Securities Exchange All Share Index fell by more than 11% in the nine months to the end of September 2008, according to the exchange's latest statistical report, released last week.

November 19, 2008	Ukraine Ratifies Double Tax Treaty With Jordan
	The Ukrainian parliament has recently ratified a double tax treaty with the Middle Eastern state of Jordan, which will enter into force upon completion of the exchange of instruments of ratification.

November 18, 2008	Senator Seeks Inspector General Review Of Treasury's Bank Merger Move
	United States Senator Chuck Grassley, ranking member of the Committee on Finance, has asked the Treasury Department inspector general to review the circumstances and any possible conflicts of interest involving the administrative move that gives a tax break to banks that acquire poorly performing banks.

November 18, 2008	US Treasury To Implement Unlawful Internet Gambling Act
	The United States Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Board have announced the release of a joint final rule to implement the Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006, which effectively blocks access to the lucrative US internet gambling market for offshore operators.

November 18, 2008	Hungary May Cut Payroll Tax In 2009
	Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány is seeking to implement a reduction in payroll tax in 2009 as part of a plan to head off a prolonged recession.

November 18, 2008	New Zealand and Netherland Antilles To Exchange Tax Information
	The agreement for the exchange of information with respect to taxes between the Netherlands Antilles and the government of New Zealand has recently come into force.

November 18, 2008	Qatar and Cyprus Sign Multiple Agreements
	The Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al Thani visited Nicosia earlier this month to ratify several bilateral agreements and Memoranda of Understanding between Qatar and Cyprus, including an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation.

November 18, 2008	UN Calls For Global Financial Reform To Improve Trade Prospects In Developing Countries
	The UN Second Committee (Economics and Business) met recently to discuss solutions to the global economic crisis by improving relations and trade between every country in a global reform of governance rules relating to financial institutions, international trade systems and monetary systems.

November 17, 2008	European Commission Unveils New Savings Tax Directive Proposals
	The European Commission announced on Thursday that it has adopted an amending proposal to the savings tax directive that will widen the scope of the legislation "with a view to closing existing loopholes and eliminating tax evasion".

November 17, 2008	South Africa Releases Interactive Gambling Tax Bill
	South Africa's Minister of Finance, Trevor Manuel, has released for comment the Interactive Gambling Tax Bill, which proposes to give effect to the taxation of interactive gambling activities in South Africa.

November 17, 2008	EU's Handling Of Ireland's Rejection Of Lisbon Treaty Criticised
	Vacklav Klaus, President of the Czech Republic stoked up a political controversy on his recent visit to Ireland by suggesting that the European Union unfairly pressurized the Irish government to ignore the result of the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty.