An anti-evasion program that is running in the Philippines is proving to be highly effective at encouraging public tax compliance, by putting high-profile instances of tax fraud in the media spotlight. The Run After Tax Evaders (RATE) program currently being operated by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) of the Philippines is showing evidence of raising public tax compliance practices, and has led to numerous high-value tax evasion charges being filed. The RATE program was initially conceived by the government in 2005, and put ... Read More

Inefficiencies in New Zealand’s tax system played a major contributing factor to the stall in the country’s economic growth last year, and several changes need to be carried out in order to correct the situation. The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has completed its annual Economic Survey of New Zealand, advising that the country needs to instate a capital gains tax and overhaul the tax system to encourage savings and investments in sectors of the economy, other than property. The new report ... Read More

New research shows that US companies operating internationally pay out nearly a quarter of their profits to overseas tax authorities, before being taxed for the second time by the Internal Revenue Service. The US Tax Foundation has stood up to speak out against the currently common media sentiment that US corporations are not paying enough taxes on their foreign profits. In its latest Fiscal Fact report, published on April 26th, the Tax Foundation explained that the US has in place an effective system ... Read More

In the face of rising political turmoil in the Middle East, the price of oil has been rocketing upwards, and the President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez is stepping forward to take advantage of the situation by raising the windfall tax on oil exports. Over the weekend Hugo Chavez made an on-air phone call to a national political show, broadcast on Venezuelan television, in which he announced that a new regulation would be passed to significantly hike the windfall tax on oil exported from ... Read More

The Netherlands is making good efforts to combat international money laundering, financial crimes and terrorist financing, but several shortfalls in its infrastructures and legislation means that the country is still susceptible to the crimes. According to IMF research released on April 19th in the Detailed Assessment Report on Anti-Money Laundering and Combating the Financing of Terrorism report, the level of proceeds from criminal activities in the Netherlands is now at approximately USD 14 billion per year, equivalent to approximately 1.8 percent of ... Read More

The government of Japan is considering raising sales taxes by 3 percent, in order to raise funds for the country’s recovery efforts, and to avoid any substantial increases to the level of government debt. In the wake of the series of disasters to have hit Japan in recent months, the government is seeking new streams of revenue to plug budgetary gaps arising from the expense of rebuilding the country. The Cabinet Office has already estimated that the damages will total approximately JPY 25 ... Read More

Germany saw an unexpected spike in tax revenue growth in the first quarter of 2011, caused by an immense jump in overall corporate tax collection throughout the country. According to preliminary government revenue estimates made available on April 18th, Germany’s overall tax collections jumped by EUR 12 billion during the first quarter of the year, when compared to revenues seen in the first quarter of the previous year. The extra collections are already higher than the total monetary increases that were forecasted for ... Read More