The Japanese Government is considering doubling the national Sales Tax rate, in order to curb the national public debt while retaining current levels of public services. Late last week Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan declared the need for the Japanese Government to carryout comprehensive reforms to the nation's tax system and drastic cuts to public spending, and called opposition parliamentary members to join in supporting his proposal. Naoto Kan also revealed that he is willing to consider doubling the current 5 percent national ... Read More

The UK Government is being urged by the national logistics industry sector to consider reforms to the current fuel duty levels, road charging system and the decoupling of duty paid on diesel for commercial vehicles. On June 17th the UK Freight Transport Association (FTA) released a statement concerning a meeting held on the same day with Justine Greening MP, the new UK Economic Secretary. According to Theo de Pencier, CEO of the FTA, the FTA has upheld an open and cooperative business relationship ... Read More

The Australian Government has set out to refine the current system which allows individual taxpayers and businesses to make “elections”, or treatment choices, in their tax returns. On June 16th Nick Sherry, Australian Assistant Treasurer, announced the release of a consultation paper which aims to gather public feedback on possible refinements to the nation’s “election” tax system. In the current form, Australian taxpayers are able to make choices in how their income is determined and reported. There are currently 216 such “elections” in ... Read More

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has released its bi-annual economic survey of Korea, which praises the nation for its strong recent economic performance, and recommends areas with potential for long and mid-term improvement. On June 15th the OECD released Economic Survey of Korea 2010, the latest economic analysis of the nation. The report commends Korea for having one of the strongest post-2008 recoveries in the OECD, which was attributed to outstanding export performance and the largest fiscal stimulus package among ... Read More

At a recent meeting, the Council of the European Union (CEU) reiterated its stance on the importance of adequate and well-structured tax systems for developing nations. On June 14th the CEU released notes on the conclusions reached at the 3023rd Foreign Affairs Council Meeting, held in Luxemburg. The meeting yielded 10 points on the subject of cooperation with developing nations in promoting good governance in tax matters. According to the CEU, a fair and efficient tax system underpins state legitimacy, and strengthens the social ... Read More

Recently the results of several surveys have been published, showing Scottish consumer groups and business owners are apprehensive about the proposed changes expected to be announced in the June 22nd UK emergency budget. Specifically, increases to Value Added Tax (VAT) and Capital Gains Tax (CGT) have been target by researchers as having the biggest negative effects on Scottish consumers and business-owners. On June 14th the Scottish Chambers of Commerce (SCC) released a report with the results of a survey carried out on ... Read More

The UK Government is being urged to reconsider its current budget and tax plans, and opt to deliver greater spending cuts while reducing the impact of tax hikes. On June 11th the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), the UK’s largest business group, sent an open letter to the George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer, urging a reevaluation of the Government’s intentions for the upcoming budget announcement. The CBI stated that the nation’s budget deficit should be controlled through spending cuts and not raised ... Read More