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Europe > Switzerland

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 14 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Personal Income and Other Nonbusiness Taxes and Subsidies x
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Cover Technical Assistance Reports
Libya: Technical Assistance Report-Redesign of Income Tax Forms
International Monetary Fund. Middle East and Central Asia Dept.
METAC assisted the Libyan Tax Authority in reviewing tax forms to enhance taxpayer data collection. The proposed data set will significantly expand existing information, improving the completeness of taxpayer records and greatly aiding the risk assessment process.
Keywords:
Registration application; Annual Tax declaration for unincorporated taxpayers; Annual Corporate Income Tax; Data; Risk assessment; Industry classification; Business community; Libya.; declaration reporting; LTA staff; LTA income tax operation; income tax registration; request of the Libyan Tax Authority; Income tax systems; Income; Corporate income tax; Tax administration core functions; Taxpayer registration
Cover IMF How To Notes
How to Design a Regional Tax Treaty and Tax Treaty Policy Framework in a Developing Country
Kiyoshi Nakayama
A well-designed regional tax treaty to which developing countries are signatories will include provisions securing minimum withholding taxes on investment income and technical service fees, a taxing right in respect of capital gains from indirect offshore transfers, and guarding against-treaty shopping. A tax treaty policy framework—national or regional—that specifies the main policy outcomes to be achieved before negotiations commence would enable developing countries with more limited expertise and lower capacity for tax treaty negotiations to avoid concluding problematic tax treaties. This note provides guidance for members of regional economic communities in the developing world on what should and should not be included in a regional tax treaty and how to design on a common tax treaty policy framework for use in negotiations of bilateral tax treaties with nonmembers.
Keywords:
value-added tax; corporate tax; regional tax; regional tax policy; regional tax treaty; developing countries; tax treaty; group treaty negotiations; tax treaty position; treaty negotiations; treaty shopping; Double taxation; Withholding tax; Payroll tax; Corporate income tax; Dividend tax; Caribbean; West Africa
Cover IMF Working Papers
Tax Policy and Inclusive Growth
Ruud A. de Mooij
This paper discusses the theory and practice of tax design to achieve an efficient and equitable outcome, i.e. in support of inclusive growth. It starts with a discussion of the key principles from tax theory to guide practical tax design. Then, it elaborates on more granular tax policy, discussing key choices in the structure of the personal income tax on labor and capital income, taxes on wealth, the corporate income tax, and consumption taxes. The paper concludes by highlighting the political economy considerations of the issues with concrete recommedtions as to how to implement tax reform.
Keywords:
tax policy; inclusive growth; inequality; poverty; income distribution; WP; economic rent; personal income; tax liability; cost of capital; external cost; public finance; rate of return; low income; take-home pay; Income; Capital income tax; Income and capital gains taxes; Corporate income tax; Income tax systems; Europe; Global
Cover IMF Working Papers
Hidden Treasure: The Impact of Automatic Exchange of Information on Cross-Border Tax Evasion
Sebastian Beer
,
Maria Delgado Coelho
, and
Sebastien Leduc
We analyze the impact of exchange of information in tax matters in reducing international tax evasion between 1995 and 2018. Based on bilateral deposit data for 39 reporting countries and more than 200 counterparty jurisdictions, we find that recent automatic exchange of information frameworks reduced foreign-owned deposits in offshore jurisdictions by an average of 25 percent. This effect is statistically significant and, as expected, much larger than the effect of information exchange upon request, which is not significant. Furthermore, to test the sensitivity of our findings, we estimate countries’ offshore status and the impact of information exchange simultaneously using a finite mixture model. The results confirm that automatic (and not upon request) exchange of information impacts cross-border deposits in offshore jurisdictions, which are characterized by low income tax rates and strong financial secrecy.
Keywords:
WP; bank deposit; EOI agreement; tax evasion; exchange of information; cross-border deposits; treatment effect; offshore center; biases result; standard error; Anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT); Offshore financial centers; Double taxation; Personal income tax; Global
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Switzerland: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This Selected Issues paper analyzes key features of corporate taxation in Switzerland. The Swiss corporate tax system includes many aspects of a territorial regime; is highly attractive for multinational companies; and collects non-negligible revenues, but the status quo is not sustainable. The proposed reform would eliminate differences in the tax treatment of foreign and Swiss sourced income. Further, cantons are expected to lower their corporate income tax (CIT) rates, bringing the combined (municipal, cantonal, and federal) tax rate (averaged across cantons) to about 13.9 percent. Costs of lowering the CIT rates would be unequally distributed across cantons, and would be costlier for cantons with a large immobile CIT base.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; rate; exchange rate; Exchange market pressure; interest rate; aggregate mortgage lending; CIT rate; mortgage interest rates; interest rate differential; exemption threshold; Corporate income tax; Exchange rates; Personal income; Mortgages; Income and capital gains taxes; Global; Eastern Europe; Europe
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Kingdom of the Netherlands-Netherlands: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
This Selected Issues paper focuses on a steady increase in current account surpluses in ”Surplus 3” countries—Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland—since the mid-1990s. In Germany and the Netherlands, nonfinancial corporations seem to be behind the rising surpluses. In these countries, increasing corporate profits have not been converted into dividends, keeping a lid on consumption. In Switzerland, household savings seem to explain the bulk of the current account surplus: both mandatory and voluntary savings have been on an increasing trend since 2000. Trending net contributions to pension funds since 2000 and rising equity contribution for housing purchases are likely drivers.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; current account surplus; NICs; surplus; income; elasticity assumption; income effect; inflation expectation; elasticity case; labor tax wedge; lending-borrowing balance; substitution effect; government savings-investment balance; current account dynamics; savings-investment surplus; Current account surpluses; Labor supply; Current account; Real effective exchange rates; Trade balance; Global; Europe
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Austria: 2015 Article IV Consultation-Press Release; Staff Report; and Statement by the Executive Director for Austria
International Monetary Fund. European Dept.
The 2015 Article IV Consultation discusses the key issues related to the economy of Austria. Austria has recovered from the global financial crisis, but the crisis still remains in bank and public sector balance sheets. Major banks have been striving to strengthen their capital and profitability positions amid regulatory and supervisory reforms. Despite lackluster growth, economic slack is limited as potential growth has fallen as well. The governing coalition of Social Democrats and the right-of-center People's Party holds a constructive dialogue on economic policy issues. Growth is estimated at 0.7 percent in 2015, a slight improvement over the ½ percent average in 2012–14, on the back of strengthening external and domestic demand.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; estimate; potential GDP growth estimate; financial market authority; authority; consultation discussion; rising emerging market risk; money market rate; crisis legacy; Fiscal stance; Migration; Labor taxes; Global; Middle East
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Austria: 2012 Article IV Consultation: Staff Report; Informational Annex; Statement by the Staff Representative; Public Information Notice on the Executive Board Discussion; and Statement by the Executive Director for Austria
International Monetary Fund
Austria has relatively strong macroeconomic fundamentals, but also deep ties with the rest of the euro area. The legacy of an overly ambitious eastward financial sector expansion has created substantial challenges to its policymakers. Policies have been designed to preserve market confidence, increase resilience against future adverse external spillovers, and boost potential growth. The Austrian supervisory authorities have also introduced a set of macroprudential guidelines to strengthen the resilience of the banking sector. However, improvements in the fiscal governance framework have not advanced as expected.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; flash estimate; deceleration; flash release; growth; GDP series; staff appraisal; consultation discussion; Loans; Fiscal rules; Social security contributions; Global; Eastern Europe; Central and Eastern Europe; Asia and Pacific; Middle East; Western Hemisphere
Cover IMF Working Papers
Measuring Fiscal Decentralization: Exploring the IMF’s Databases
International Monetary Fund
Conventional wisdom postulates that there are benefits from decentralizing government finances but there is little empirical evidence about actual country practices. This paper presents data on fiscal decentralization for about 80 countries over a period of about 20 years (1990-2008) from the IMF’s Government Finance Statistics Yearbook (GFSY), the only global database with fiscal data for several levels of government. The data show that in many countries, revenue collection remains relatively more centralized than expenditures and that employment tends to be concentrated in lower levels of government. Except for transition economies, the levels of decentralization are relatively stable over the time period. The findings are shown by degree of economic development, constitutional power arrangements, and geographic area, broadly confirming key factors identified in the literature as determining the extent of fiscal decentralization.
Keywords:
WP; government level; country; government; central government; Fiscal federalism; fiscal centralization; government finance statistics; government finance statistic; intra government grant; tax effort; General government; indicated number country; country case studies; standard deviation; decentralized country; country example; a number of country; public goods; Employee contributions; Africa
Cover IMF Staff Country Reports
Germany: Selected Issues
International Monetary Fund
This Selected Issues paper on Germany reviews investment trends and business capital stock in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Sharp wage increases are found to boost capital formation in the short term as employers substitute capital for labor at a rate that adjusts to the higher relative price for labor. To limit the political economy biases to fiscal policy, the paper explores options to strengthen budgetary institutions, notably more transparency; stronger budgetary rules; and more room for Länder governments to mobilize revenue and tailor spending to local circumstances.
Keywords:
ISCR; CR; growth rate; government; payroll burden; social security contribution rate; inflation differential; capital accumulation; equilibrium exchange rate; payroll cost; Unemployment; Labor force participation; Wages; Employment; Europe