Global Scans · Tax · Weekly Summary

• [New] Hong Kong will halve profits tax to 8.25% for qualifying physical commodity traders. CNBC
• [New] One of the tax increases will be centred on various alcoholic beverages sold in Canada. DiscoverMooseJaw
• [New] Alcohol tax will increase from 65% (2025) to 90% by 2031, rising 5 points per year. +19 K Followers Wine to Asia - by Jean-Charles Letelli
• [New] AI-driven growth could hollow out the tax base funding Social Security, Medicaid, SNAP, and housing assistance as corporate profits expand while reliance on labour income shrinks. The AI Consulting Network
• [New] AI-driven economic changes could erode the tax base that supports programmes such as Social Security, Medicaid, SNAP and housing assistance, as corporate profits and capital gains increase while reliance on labour income declines. Storyboard18
• [New] Japan and South Korea have consistently opposed policies that they claim could disrupt LNG exports - including new taxes. The Guardian
• [New] New federal / state EV fees (nearly triple gas vehicle taxes) and uneven company performance create risks for investors, with Tesla / Lucid seen as safer bets than unprofitable VinFastVFS -. Ainvest
• [New] Structural tax reform will arrive before 2040 and could become a defining issue in the next presidential campaign cycle. Fortune
• [New] Donald Trump has followed through on a threat to tax foreign-made pharmaceuticals. SBS News
• [New] New York's FY 2027 Executive Budget extends the 7.25% corporate tax rate through 2030 while decoupling from the key OBBBA provisions on depreciation, interest limits, R & E expensing, and Section 179, creating divergent federal, NYS, and NYC tax treatments. Grant Thornton Bharat
• The Financial Services Agency plans to bring crypto under a framework similar to stocks and bonds by 2026, including a landmark reduction of the crypto gains tax to a flat 20% - aligning digital asset taxation with traditional investments for the first time. / Japan Tech for Impact Summit
• Growth will flood federal coffers with new tax revenue and eventually bend the national debt, now sitting at $39 trillion, onto a downward path. / USA Fortune
• OpenAI warns that as AI automates more work, the wage and payroll tax revenue that funds Social Security, Medicaid, SNAP, and housing assistance could collapse. Fortune
• The current tax system, built around taxing human labour, will need to evolve in a world where AI is doing most of the intellectual work. GLN-7.5
• Colorado projected a nearly 10% reduction in income tax collections due to conforming with federal calculations. Northern Trust
• Commercial drones will, for the first time, become subject to an annual excise tax of $120 starting in 2027. Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business

Last updated: 20 April 2026