After a series of last-minute changes, the Belgian 2012 budget has been approved with changes being made to provisions for short term capital gains, stock options, thin capitalisation restrictions and the introduction of a new general anti-avoidance rule.
The US Senate Finance Committee last week examined the role of extenders – tax provisions that require renewing annually – within the tax system, in the context of fundamental reform of the US tax code. Witnesses said waiting for comprehensive reform would distort business decisions, urging quick action on expired and expiring extenders.
A new report from the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) has called into question the effectiveness of Canada’s corporate tax cuts. The three-step reduction in the country’s corporate tax rate, implemented with the objective of incentivising job creation, is not having the desired effects, says the report.
India’s decision to increase its cooperation with the OECD should trigger alarms for taxpayers as their Indian operations are likely to be put under more scrutiny from the country’s tax officials.
The British emergency services telephone number is 999. In times of trouble, this is the number that is relied on for help and, interestingly enough, this same number was the initial spark that propagated the focus on a particularly troublesome issue in the US – corporate tax reform.
Indirect tax collections – comprising customs, central excise and service tax – rose to Rs 2,85,787 crore ($58 billion) during April to December. It is a significant boost to the government ahead of its plans to introduce GST.
