Tax

• [New] French senators voted to pass a new tax, which will impose a charge of 3 per cent on the turnover of digital companies with revenues of more than €750 million globally and €25 million in France.
• [New] Japan's economy is likely to stop expanding this year and into next with the Sino-U.S. trade war and a planned sales tax hike expected to crimp activity, a Reuters poll of Japanese companies found, with most calling for fresh stimulus to prop up growth.
• [New] High cost of subsidies and the Niger Delta amnesty program as well as the implementation of the new minimum wage will further stretch the government's purse and could cause fixed income investors to demand a higher yield for their investments, thereby worsening the government's fiscal profile.
• [New] Public sectors around the world will continue to focus on cost control, managing down citizen expectations and managing up productivity.
• [New] Curbing corruption would deliver an additional US$1 trillion in tax revenues annually across the world - money that could support much needed investments in health, education and infrastructure.
• Japan is anticipating a boost from the 2020 Olympics but is contending with a 2019 consumption tax rise from 8 percent to 10 percent.
• Looking ahead, a planned consumption tax increase in late 2019 could present challenges to near-term economic growth, while slower global economic growth and increased trade tensions could present additional challenges to the Japanese economy.
• Vietnam's agricultural, garment, and aquatic products will gain tax exemptions when entering the Japanese market, and Japanese industrial products, including car components and electronic products, will gain tax exemptions or see a decrease to the corresponding import taxes.
• Chinese module manufacturers also have their eyes on international markets due to attractive policy incentives: The US market is expected to be hot until the ITC (investment tax credit) stepdown is completed by 2022.
• The demand for and cost of care services in Finland are growing while tax revenues are decreasing, leading politicians to warn that the Nordic model of highly state-funded cradle-to-grave social care will no longer be affordable.
• If Brexit has negative effects on tax revenue because of lower growth, or induces higher spending to alleviate the consequences of leaving the EU, then the windfall gain could be offset.
• With the recent implementation of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, CBO estimates that tax revenues will hover around 18 percent of GDP by the end of the decade, while spending will reach 23 percent of GDP and continue to climb thereafter.
• Because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the overwhelming majority of Americans will send less money to the federal government this year than before.
• Electricity generation from renewable energy is expected to rise from 18% in 2018 to 31% by 2050, with approximately 72 GW of new wind and solar photovoltaic capacity expected to be added from 2018-2021, encouraged by declining capital costs and the availability of tax credits.
• Weaker domestic momentum and escalating trade tensions, as well as the possibility of a consumption tax hike, pose risks to Japan's outlook for growth over the rest of the year.
• UK public sector net debt has started to fall relative to national income, for the first time in 16 years, and was projected in March to fall by 10% of GDP within five years.
• US job growth is expected to slow from 223,000 in 2018 to about 175,000 this year as the effects of federal tax cuts and spending increases fade.
• The German conservative party CDU has said it will work on a reform of the country's system of taxes and levies on energy to better align fiscal measures with climate action.
• Tariffs and taxes designed to protect the now-closed Australian auto - manufacturing sector will add $5 billion to the price tag of new cars sold over the next four years.
• Americans will pay $5.29 trillion in taxes this year with $3.42 trillion coming from federal taxes and $1.86 trillion coming from state and local taxes.
• The production tax credit (PTC) - the U.S. wind market's main subsidy - will expire for all new projects after this year, and the chances of another extension look slim.
• Over the course of several years, Iowa's top individual income tax rate will fall from 8.98 to 6.5 percent, while the corporate income tax rate will decline from 9.8 percent.

Last updated: 14 July 2019