Hideaki FUJII’s Post

The Global Tax Expenditures Database (GTED) is a valuable resource, providing timely and consistent information on preferential tax treatments such as exemptions, deductions, credits, deferrals and reduced tax rates. In this Smart Incentives blog, Ellen Harpel looks at some country data and charts to better understand the role of tax expenditures in economic development in the #UnitedStates. 💼 The percentage of tax expenditures that go to businesses, as opposed to households or other beneficiaries in the US. 📊 The share of tax expenditures used to develop a priority sector or activity, when compared to the G20 or European Union (EU) averages. ⚡ The case of tax expenditures in the energy sector, where the US exceeds the G20 and EU levels. https://lnkd.in/deepZEwJ

Finland’s Tax Strategy for Economic Recovery in 2025

1. Income Tax Finland taxes residents on their worldwide income and non-residents on their Finnish-sourced income. Income is divided into two categories; a.    Earned Income: This includes salaries, wages, and pensions. Taxed at progressive rates for national tax purposes starting from 12.64% and at flat rates for municipal tax purposes. The average municipality tax rate is 7%. b.    Capital Income: This includes income from investments, such as dividends and rental income. It’s taxed at rates of 30% and 34% (the latter for income exceeding EUR 30,000 annually). 2. Municipal Tax Municipal tax rates vary between 4.40% and 10.80%, depending on the municipality. This tax is levied on the same taxable income as the national tax. 3. Church Tax Members of certain churches (Evangelic Lutheran, Orthodox, and Finnish German) pay a church tax ranging from 1% to 2.25% of their taxable income. 4. Public Broadcasting Tax This tax is 2.5% on annual income exceeding EUR 14,000, with a maximum amount of EUR 163. 5. Value-Added Tax (VAT) VAT in Finland is 25.5% for most goods and services, with reduced rates for certain items such as 14% on food products, and restaurants. 6. Corporate Tax The corporate tax rate in Finland is 20%. 7. Property Tax Property tax rates are relatively low compared to some other countries. First-time home buyers are exempt from paying it. 8. Special Regimes Foreign Expert Tax Regime: Foreign employees with special expertise can benefit from a flat tax rate of 32% on their Finnish salary income for up to 84 months.   #taxresidency If you reside in Finland for more than six months, you are generally considered a tax resident and must pay taxes on all your income, including income from abroad. #taxationinfinland #incometax #municipalitytax #churchtax #publicbroadcastingtax #finnishvat #corporatetax #propertytax #specialregimes #taxresidency #verohallinto #bookkeepingservice #accountingservice

Bulgaria’s Tax Strategy for Economic Development in 2025

 "Global Tax Expenditure Reform: To Be or Not To Be” Global Tax Expenditure Reform is already existing, therefore the issue of not to be is out of the way. Thanks to the initiative of World Bank, IMF, OECD, and UN on Tax. Sometime last two year there was this program known as SFTAS in which the world bank wanted Nigeria to access Property rate tax, and they helped the States to build a tax base and capacity. The international body has help strongly in building reforms and strong institutional capacity to assess and evaluate their fiscal impact. I still believe, we as a national can do better as stated in the conclusion of the above article. The article mentioned the Two Pillar Solution requirements, which is Pillar 1: Profit Allocation Nexus and Pillar 2: Global Minimum Taxation (GMT) which is expected to be in existence from 2024. It is mentioned that our own tax reform is being updated to be inclusive of the two pillars especially the GMT. On the above the government should simplify the Pillar 2 rules so businesses can easily understand them and encourage technology and software solutions. Inconclusion, Global Tax Expenditure Reform has come to stay, as a country we must build on our Political Will, be more transparent and accountable and simplify the rules. Also, the government should use qualified tax advisor, which I think they are working towards and should continue to do that. Furthermore, the government should work towards a structured system where the actual tax expected to be paid is actually paid.  Finally, the citizens will be willing to abide when they see how the taxes paid have been utilized and drives the economic rather than on spendthrift. 

Where does New Zealand's tax system rank globally? Third place overall—but this impressive position tells only part of the story. While our GST system is one of the world's best, our approach to taxing businesses ranks just 30th out of 38 countries. The Tax Foundation's Index is more about the structure of taxation rather than the tax take. Estonia, having held top spot for a decade, collects almost as much revenue for its government as New Zealand's, relative to the size of its economy, but more efficiently. Our GST system is exceptional—only Korea's consumption tax outranks ours, but not because it is better designed. New Zealand's is the tidiest, and that helps us rely less on other worse taxes. Yet our corporate tax system faces significant challenges. When companies cannot fully count the real cost of investments in plant, machinery, and buildings against their earnings, their effective tax rate winds up being higher than the official rate—which is already high to begin with. The abolition of capital allowances for commercial buildings, combined with council rating systems that penalise adding buildings to land, means companies have less incentive to invest here. We all have different views about how large a role government should play in the overall economy and in redistribution. Whatever your preferred level of taxation, it is better that government raise needed funds in the least harmful way possible.

 "Global Tax Expenditure Reform: To Be or Not To Be” Global Tax Expenditure Reform is already existing, therefore the issue of not to be is out of the way. Thanks to the initiative of World Bank, IMF, OECD, and UN on Tax. Sometime last two year there was this program known as SFTAS in which the world bank wanted Nigeria (State) to access Property rate tax, and they helped the States to build a tax base and also capacity. The international body has help strongly in building reforms and strong institutional capacity to assess and evaluate their fiscal impact. I still believe we as a national can do better as stated in the conclusion of the above article. The article mentioned the Two Pillar Solution requirements, which is Pillar 1 : Profit Allocation Nexus and Pillar 2: Global Minimum Taxation (GMT) which is expected to be in existence from 2024. It is mentioned that our own tax reform is being updated to be inclusive of the two pillars especially the GMT. On the above the government should simplify the Pillar 2 rules so businesses can easily understand them and encourage technology and software solutions. Inconclusion, Global Tax Expenditure Reform has come to stay, as country we must build on our Political Will, be more transparent and accountable and simplify the rules. Also, the government should use qualified tax advisor, which I think they are working towards and should continue to do that. Furthermore, the government should work towards a structured system where the actual tax expected to be paid is actually paid.  Finally, the citizens will be willing to abide when they see how the taxes paid have been utilized and drives the economic rather than on spendthrift. 

Latvia to introduce a tax on the rich. Anyone earning over 200,000 euros a year will have to pay an additional 3% in personal income tax. This additional tax payment to the wealthiest people – tax residents of Latvia – was presented at a meeting of the National Tripartite Cooperation Council by Finance Minister Arvils Aseradens. The tax administration will calculate this tax amount after filing a declaration, which will take into account all income, not just wages. “In two years, we will try to understand how effective this is and how it works,” Ascherden said. He emphasized that an agreement has also been reached on a mechanism for reviewing this provision. Unknown reaction “In simple terms, this is a tax on the rich,” tax expert Ainis Dabols assesses the situation. He points out that the desire for higher tax payments on the part of the most enterprising – the richest – is even understandable, since it is not really possible to collect any very significant additional amounts from the minimum wage or even from the average salary for objective reasons. “I am not so sure that wealthy people will simply want to pay an additional tax of 3%, because they can hire not only very high-class specialists in their field, but also implement measures to protect their earnings,” says A. Dabol about the possible reaction of the richest part of society to the innovation.

In Estonia, the turnover tax will increase from 22% to 24% (food too) from 1 July 2025, and the change in income tax from 20% to 22% and the introduction of a 2% corporate income tax are planned for 1 January 2026.