Finland will cut its corporate tax rate from 24.5% to 20%, effective from January 1 2014. The move has been prompted by concerns about competitiveness and comes in response to falling rates around Europe.
Portuguese Secretary of State for Finance, Paulo Nuncio, has announced 10 focus areas for reform of the tax code, as well as promising measures which will immediately stimulate investment.
George Osborne, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, has delivered the 2013 budget, confirming a one percentage point cut in the corporate tax rate to 20% by April 2015, and claiming the government is building “the most competitive tax system in the world”. But there was bad news for banks.
Cyprus is likely to raise taxes including the country’s low 10% corporate income tax rate as part of the conditions attached to an international bailout agreement, despite previously resisting such a move.
The UK Budget 2013 is just one day away. International Tax Review has already looked at Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s likely budgetary announcements, including anti-avoidance measures and a corporate tax cut, but things are moving quickly and since the publication of that article last week, a specific consultation to tackle tax avoidance involving offshore employment intermediaries has been announced.
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, Switzerland’s Minister of Finance, has confirmed the country will present a corporate tax reform plan by “mid-year”. Brussels has been pressuring the country to reform the incentives it offers to multinational companies.
