The government of Hong Kong has put forward a plan for the budget for the coming financial year containing several new tax measures aimed at reducing the tax burdens on taxpayers. On February 1st the Financial Secretary of Hong Kong John Tsang outlined the budget plan for the 2012 - 2013 financial year, containing several tax changes which are expected to benefit more than 1.62 million taxpayers. One of the primary changes outlined in the budget plan is a 75 percent reduction to profits ... Read More

HONG KONG - Hong Kong has seen a bumper year for tax collections, with annual tax revenues up by 16.7 percent. On November 2nd the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) of Hong Kong released its Annual Report for the 2010 – 2011 fiscal year, showing a significant improvement in tax revenues compared to the previous year. According to the report, Hong Kong’s cumulative tax collections for the year reached HKD 209 billion. Corporate tax collections provided the largest contribution to the government’s budget, reaching ... Read More

Hong Kong residents can look forward to a HKD 6000 cash handout and a significant income tax waiver, under the government’s newly pronounced budget plans. On March 2nd the Hong Kong Financial Secretary John Tsang announced an unexpected revision to the recently released government budget, revealing that all permanent resident of Hong Kong over the age of 18 years will now be eligible to receive a onetime HKD 6 000 (approx. USD 770) cash payment. Recipients will be able to withdraw the entire ... Read More

The Greek Government has set out to deliver vast improvements to the integrity of its national tax administration department. The efforts have been initiated with the investigations and dismissal of employees suspected of tax evasion, corruption, smuggling, and other illegal activity. On May 25th the Finance Ministry of Greece announced a set of sweeping investigations and terminations into employees suspected of illegal activities. According to a statement released by the Ministry, 20 tax-office directors have already been fired for failing to meet preset ... Read More

Governments of emerging Asian economies have been warned to be ready for sudden increases in investment capital inflows, and prepare appropriate policy responses. On May 18th the Asian Development Bank (ADB) released its annual Asian Capital Markets Monitor report, which investigates the performance and outlooks for the equity, bond and currency markets in emerging economies. According to the report, several factors have cumulatively increased the risk of Asian economies facing sudden high levels of investment capitals, leading potential destabilization of currency and financial ... Read More