Taxes are coming under the spotlight in New Zealand, as the recovery bills following the country’s recent earthquakes are revised upwards. The possibility of a temporary earthquake relief tax is back on the table in New Zealand, as the costs of rebuilding private housing alone in the quake struck areas alone are revised from NZD 4 billion to NZD 7.1 billion. On August 30th the Finance Minister of New Zealand Bill English revealed the newly recalculated costs for the New Zealand earthquakes, saying ... Read More

Wealthy Italians are breathing a sigh of relief, as the Prime Minister announces changes to the country’s current austerity plans, which will see the removal of a proposed temporary solidarity tax on high income earners. In an effort to round up more support for the Italy’s proposed austerity plans, on August 29th the Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi and Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti met with Umberto Bossi, leader of their coalition ally the Northern League party. Following the seven hour long meeting, the Prime Minister’s ... Read More

France and Germany will once again take up the banner of global financial stability, with plans to re-propose the idea of a financial transaction tax at the upcoming G20 summit in November. In an interview published by French media on August 28th the Finance Minister of France Francois Baroin said that representatives from the German and French governments are now working on a new proposal for a international financial transactions tax. The Minister said that the governments of France and Germany are determined to ... Read More

Peru is set to see nearly PEN 3 billion in new tax revenues every year, as the government announces a new mining tax to be imposed in the country. In an address to the Congress of Peru on August 25th the country’s Prime Minister Salomon Lerner Ghitis said that an agreement has been reached with the nation’s mining sector regarding the issue of a new windfall tax. The new tax comes as a fulfillment of the campaign promises made by President ... Read More

Some of France's wealthiest individuals have called for the government to instate a one time tax on the ultra-rich, to aid the country's financial situation. In an open letter publicised on August 23rd some of France's wealthiest taxpayers claimed that they would rather pay an extra one time tax than see the country undergo extensive austerity measures and spending cuts. It was explained that such a tax would also be preferable to seeing permanent cut being instated to tax exemptions enjoyed by high ... Read More

China will soon grant tax rebates on the Value Added Tax paid by state energy companies when selling imported natural gas. As announced by the Ministry of Finance on August 22nd, the new measure is aimed at reducing the losses incurred by the companies when selling imported gas at the prices set by the government, as the import price often exceeds the national sale price. The new rebate policy will only cover government approved companies, and will apply to sales made between the ... Read More

The Australian public has shown significant support for the idea of rolling back the national carbon tax system, but new evidence suggests that the move would have previously unanticipated negative effects on the country's economy. Cutting Australia’s strongly debated carbon tax scheme would lead to years of consumer uncertainty, reduced economic investment, and lowered tax revenues. Such a conclusion was drawn by the authors of a new discussion paper published by the Australia Institute on August 22nd. According to the authors of the report, ... Read More