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The likelihood of consumption taxes in Hong Kong has increased following a government advisory committee recommending the adoption of a Goods and Services Tax

The European Commission has begun formal investigation proceedings into Belgian and Italian schemes that the authority believes to be incompatible with EU state aid rules.

Singapore should amend its tax regime to make the island state more regionally competitive, according to the chief executive of Singtel

A number of tax havens signing up to the OECD’s initiative on harmful practices have warned that their commitments are conditional on the group of rich nations tackling their own onshore tax havens

The Australian tax authority has warned investors it will not allow interest on linked bond products to be treated as tax deductible

The Enron scandal may give the accounting profession the stimulus required to move to international standards of accounting. While Andersen's future has been much debated, the industry in general is attempting to clean up its act.

Relations between the US and the EU could come under further strain after ECOFIN passed a directive on February 12 2002 forcing non-EU sellers of digital products to charge value-added tax (VAT) to EU customers. The directive means that customers in the EU buying digital downloads such as music and films from non-EU sources will have to pay VAT from July 2003. The EU passed the directive to level the playing field between EU companies, which have always had to charge VAT, and non-EU companies, which were exempt. But the US claims that it has skewed the balance the other way and that it is unfair on US companies. The US also claims that it is not in accordance with agreed OECD guidelines on the taxation of e-commerce and indeed may not be in accordance with World Trade Organization (WTO) principles. And in an already troubled economic climate, with uneasy trade relations between the US and the EU, the Treasury department has threatened to take the matter to the WTO.

On December 16 2001, the Ministry of Finance announced tax reform measures for the financial year 2002, including the introduction of the consolidated tax return system (CTRS). The CTRS provides for the taxation of group companies on a consolidated basis. Targeted introduction of the CTRS is due to take place on or after April 2002.

UK industry is suffering from high levels of stamp duty on share sales, according to the head of Britain’s leading industry association

Canada has an aggressive new agency determined to secure its share of international trade revenue. Substantial penalties and exhaustive audits await those who do not get their affairs in order at the earliest possible opportunity. By Hendrik Swaneveld, Martin Przysuski, Venkat Nagarajan and Sam Krishna, BDO Dunwoody LLP, Toronto