OTTAWA - Canadian businesses have enjoyed a number of tax cuts over the last 12 years, and could soon see their Tax Freedom Day shift back into January. On January 25th the Canadian Labour Congress released a new study on the tax liabilities faced by Canadian companies, claiming that corporate income tax collections are making up a decreasing amount of the government’s cumulative revenues. According to the report, in 2010 Canadian businesses saw Corporate Tax Freedom day (CTF) fall on February 1st, and ... Read More

BERN - Switzerland needs to shift its fiscal focus away from personal income taxes towards taxes on consumption and real estate. On January 24th the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development released the latest annual Economic Survey of Switzerland, containing a summary of the country’s current economic position and recommendations for future fiscal policies. According to the authors of the report, Switzerland has experienced healthy and balanced economic growth in the last few years, despite seeing a strong appreciation of the Swiss franc. ... Read More

ROME - In 2011 tax authorities in Italy launched investigations on suspected cases of tax evasion worth more than EUR 58 billion. On January 23rd the Guardia di Finanza (GDF), the Italian law enforcement agency dealing with financial crimes, released a statement revealing that in 2011 it launched 12 000 investigations on businesses and individuals suspected of evading their tax obligations. According to the statement, undeclared and under reported incomes were the most common forms of tax evasion, with nearly EUR 50 billion of ... Read More

BEIJING - Throughout 2011 China saw significant growth in national tax collections, and the government’s total revenue for the year jump to above RMB 10 trillion. On January 20th the Ministry of Finance of China released a statement announcing that the government’s revenue reached RMB 10.17 trillion for the 2011 year, having grown by 24.8 percent compared to the results seen in 2010. The recorded fiscal revenues were comprised of RMB 5.13 trillion collected by the central government and an additional RMB 5.24 ... Read More

WASHINGTON D.C. - The IRS has launched its e-File programs for 2012, offering free tax preparation software to families with incomes below USD 57 000. With the US tax filing season now well under way, on January 17th the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) relaunched its e-File system, allowing taxpayers to submit their tax returns online using free tax preparation software and tools. The e-File consist of the Free File, which provides taxpayers with free tax preparation software, and Free File Fillable Forms which ... Read More