LONDON - Millions of UK workers are set to find a pleasant surprise in their letter box in the coming months, as the HM Revenue and Customs begins a new campaign to reconcile tax overpayments made by taxpayers over the last 8 years. On October 19th the UK HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced that it is set to issue a multitude of tax refunds in order to cover overpayment of individual tax liabilities dating back as far as 2003. The tax refunds are ... Read More

WASHINGTON - A significant portion of American millionaires face lower tax rates than their middle income counterparts, with some paying as little as 19 percent tax. The public policy research arm of the US Congress Congressional Research Service (CRS) released a new report this week, which aimed to examine the overall tax obligations of the richest taxpayers in the USA. According to the report, nearly 25 percent of the richest taxpayers in the USA face a lower overall tax rate than some ... Read More

WASHINGTON - The White House is attempting to clear up a shroud of misinformation and confusion regarding potential wealth taxes, having released a communiqué that aims to clarify details regarding the impact of the proposed changes. In a communiqué published on the White House blog on September 25th the White House communications director Dan Pfeiffer set out to rebuke false claims made by those who oppose a potential tax on the country’s highest earners. According to the statement, the administration of President ... Read More

PRETORIA - Talks of a new wealth taxes have been growing in South Africa, but local tax experts are now vehemently standing up and arguing against the idea. Throughout last week debates have arisen in South Africa over the potential to instate a new tax on the country’s wealthiest citizens. The issue of wealth taxes arose after US president Barack Obama suggested that such a measure should be instated in the USA. However, tax experts in South Africa are arguing that their ... Read More

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

Increasing the tax liabilities on the USA’s wealthiest citizens would not do much to address the country’s debts, despite the idea having big name backing from Warren Buffet and Barack Obama. Over the last week media commentary has been rife with discussion over a recent proposal by the internationally acclaimed investor Warren Buffet for the US to instate greater taxes on the country’s wealthiest taxpayers. However, new analysis published by the Tax Foundation on August 21st shows that the idea has been ... Read More