After credit ratings agency, Moody’s, downgraded the UK’s AAA status on Friday, debate has swirled over whether corporate tax policy could have prevented the move, and if reforms might help the country regain the prized status, but opinions are split.
Wayne Swan, Australia’s Treasurer, announced changes to the tax incentives offered for research and development (R&D) over the weekend, targeting small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs).
The US approach to comprehensive reform of the tax code has been compartmentalised with the formation of 11 bipartisan working groups tasked with analysing specific aspects of tax reform.
France, Germany and the UK have called on their G20 partners to implement global rules to combat corporate tax avoidance. The call follows the release of an OECD report into base erosion and profit shifting, which said existing international tax rules have gone unchanged for almost a century and have failed to keep pace with globalisation and the constantly evolving business environment.
Australia yesterday introduced reforms aimed at boosting the government’s ability to tackle base erosion and profit shifting, including changes to the transfer pricing regime and general anti-abuse rule (GAAR).
Australia’s mining tax, the minerals resource rent tax (MRRT), continues to come under fire for the lack of revenue it is bringing in, leading to the possibility of the tax being redesigned.
