The Rockefeller Institute of Government published a report on November 23rd, showing that tax revenue has fallen across most US states. According to data collected from 44 states, the total tax take in the US fell by 10.7% (or 11.3% if adjusted for inflation) in the third quarter of 2009, compared to the same quarter in 2008. In a cross-US measurement Corporate Income Tax was the most significant drop, being 19.4% less than the 2008 third quarter, Personal Income Tax fell by ... Read More

Transparency International, an international non-profit organization aimed at fighting corruption, has released their annual Corruption Perception Index (CPI) survey, on November 17th. The corruption study consists of a ranking of 180 countries based on a corruption score, ranging from zero to ten, with the lower representing a higher level of perceived corruption. This year, of the countries surveyed, New Zealand was found to be the least corrupt, with Denmark, Singapore, Sweden and Switzerland following. Somalia was the country perceived to have the highest ... Read More

The Icelandic Government gave final approval to tax reforms and announced that the implementation of the new system will begin January 1st, 2010. Initial tax reforms plans were announced on June 18th 2009, which consisted of restructuring of personal taxes from the current flat-rate to a three tier system, along with increases in capital gains, VAT and tax-free exemptions. Beginning in 2010 Iceland will replace its lat-rate personal tax rate of 24.1% with a three tiered system. Those earning less than ISK200,000 ... Read More

The UK Scotland Office has published a report claiming that if Scotland were to attain separation from the UK and full fiscal independence, its tax compliance costs could rise to £1 billion or more. The Scotland Office released a report on November 18th, entitled "Tax Administration and Constitutional Change in Scotland". The report indicates that full fiscal autonomy in Scotland would be un-affordable and un-beneficial. If Scotland were to follow plans for "Devolution Max", whereby it would gain full fiscal autonomy and ... Read More

The US Internal Revenue Services (IRS) has announced that their voluntary tax disclosure program has resulted in over 14,700 submissions. It was revealed on November 17th by Doug Shulman, IRS Commissioner, that the US tax disclosure leniency program has been met with "unprecedented success". Describing the achievement he said, "To put it simply, this is a historic milestone for the nation's hardworking taxpayers". In the wake of the US Department of Justice's (DOJ) legal action against Swiss bank UBS, the leniency program has ... Read More