Letter from the Chairman, no 16

Stockholm December 19^th 2015

Dear members and friends of the World Taxpayers Associations!

The news of an increase in interest rates from the Fed in the US is getting headlines this morning. What does it mean? The large economic answer is that in a normal economic cycle the consumer driven US economy picks up first, closely followed by the financially driven British economy. The countries depending on export of heavy, investment machinery lags 1.5-2 years behind, like Germany or Sweden. The difference today is of course the large importance of China both in the consumer and industrial side – and increasingly like the US depending on the attitude of the interior consumers.

The low price of oil also plays an important role – stimulating spending but holding back some investments. The Saudi rulers seem to want to keep the pressure on their political and religious opponents in Iran, Iraq, Syria – and Russia.

The new contacts between Russia and the US might be the road to peace in Syria. With a military cooperation between the US, EU and Russia in Syria the war could soon be over. But on the way, agreements would have to be made both on the future of the Assad regime in Syria and the Russian attitude and activities in eastern Ukraine. For 2016, it unfortunately seems that we will continue with the same uncertainties and problems.

On the Conference of Parties (COP21) final “agreement” (more of a letter of intent actually) companies are starting to get on the band wagon in a much larger scale not to be hurt by new policies and rather to get part of the government subsidies and investments in “green” projects. The economic rational seems to take a back seat as well as the effective use of tax money. The World Bank wants 100 billion dollars per year to invest in the developing world. The terms are more favorable than commercial loans, but most of the investments are still to be considered loans and make the receiving countries dependent on the support and directives of the Washington based institution and its 10,000 employees. More will be added to handle the increasing tasks. This may or may not be the fastest way to a higher living standard in these countries.

World Taxpayers Conference 2016 – 17-20th March 2016 – Berlin:

We are getting close to the end of the year, and we urgently want an indication of your interest and the dates you want to participate. The hotel rates definitely go up January 15^th, so we are trying to at least make preliminary books for all who are interested. This will save you money and make the planning easier.

You have a summary of the conference themes and dates on our web page under https://worldtaxpayers.org/conferences-events/

Do write to Sarah Elliott at sarah.elliott@worldtaxpayers.org with “Interest in WTA Conference” in the subject line. Then we can catch your interest and can plan. Write as well if you have specific needs, are in need of some financial support to attend the conference etc. We have a few scholarship openings.

WTA Conference Scholarships:

Please contact Sarah Elliott, sarah.elliott@worldtaxpayer.org, with “WTA Scholarship Application” in the subject line, answering these questions in the email: 1. Why are you interested in attending the WTA Conference? 2. What are your biggest goals for your organization in the upcoming year? 3. How much would you be able to contribute to your attendance?

VISA Assistance for the WTA Conference:

Don’t wait until the last minute!

Do a need a Visa?

Please visit the following link for a list of countries whose citizens need a visa to enter Germany.

How do I apply for a visa?

Please visit the German Immigration Service website for general information about the requirements for applying for a visa and the application process.

Important note: A registration confirmation letter from Taxpayers Association of Europe be required when applying for a visa. Please see who to contact below.

When and where do I apply for a visa?

Please be aware that the visa application process can take a considerable amount of time. You may submit your visa application 3 months before your departure date to Germany; however, all necessary application paperwork must be obtained and completed in advance to ensure that you are prepared to submit your application exactly 3 months prior to departure.

Please consult the website of the relevant German Embassy for information about how and where to apply for visa. A list of all German Embassies can be found here

If you need Visa assistance from the conference organizers – please email Daniel Junker – d.junker@steuerzahler.de, and cc Michael.Jaeger@taxpayers-europe.org and sarah.elliott@worldtaxpayers.org with ”VISA Assistance – WTA Conference” in the subject line.

Speakers

We have a very high number of experts to discuss the main themes of international stability and conditions for economic growth, public private partnerships and the future of infrastructure investments, good governance in practice and currency issues including cross border taxation.

Some of our confirmed speakers include Mark Littlewood, Director General of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) in the UK, Prof Neville Norman, Professor of Economics at the University of Melbourne, Laurent Picheral, CEO Hotel Services Central and Eastern Europe ACCOR Hotels, Dr. Joachim Nagel, Member of Board of the German Central Bank, and James Delingpole, journalist, author and broadcaster, winner of the Bastiat Prize for Journalism.

The seminar side gives a wide selection for your interests – from the latest in social media, to fundraising and even styling and appearance coaching.

The conference also gives a unique chance of broadening you contacts as the European Resource Bank will be part of our activities and with a separate pre program including leading international economic experts.

But the most important part might be the exchange you can have with like-minded persons in your general geographic area, the interchange and sharing of experiences and the facilitating of future contacts of great value for your organization.

Member activities
The Swedish Taxpayers are putting the finger on the large number of very expensive infrastructure projects. The politicians generally love these to make their mark, they usually run way over original budget and there is little analysis of smarter and cheaper alternatives. The latest “fad” is high-speed rail connections even though the upkeep of current train lines could be better…

Jonathan Isaby, Chief executive of the British Taxpayers Alliance writes in the Daily Telegraph and other papers about the need for a robust Freedom of Information Act. Read his article here (sorry for the long link add it together if broken…). http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/council-spending/12041981/Public-bodies-are-trying-to-destroy-Freedom-of-Information-the-same-law-that-holds-them-to-account.html?utm_source=TPA+Supporters&utm_campaign=aa33001bed-151023_TPA_Bulletin10_23_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_fded8e0455-aa33001bed-417856741&mc_cid=aa33001bed&mc_eid=6bad081cb4

The freedom of public information is an important key to more transparency and lower taxes.

OECD tax pressure figures
The OECD’s figures of the tax pressure, or taxes share of GNP, are published in this article in the Wall Street Journal. These figures are sometimes questioned as compulsory pension payments are in some countries included in the taxes and in countries like Germany and probably Sweden at least partly not included depending on how they are paid – included in the direct taxes, paid as a tax by the employer or as a compulsory payment by the tax payer.

With this in mind, the figures still give a good indication how taxes within a country change in totality and how the countries compare. Read more here:
http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2015/12/07/how-the-low-tax-u-s-stacks-up-against-other-countries/

The Human Freedom Index – reference and reading

This is an important document comparing the state of freedom in 152 countries around the world based on a number of factors. It is produced by the Fraser Institute in Canada in cooperation with other organisations. You can download or even order a printed copy here:
http://www.cato.org/human-freedom-index

Do write to me or Sarah with any questions on the conference or with questions how we might help you in your efforts. We want you to benefit from our exciting network and its wealth of experience and connections!

Finally we want to wish you a great holiday period and look forward to even closer contacts – and seeing you in 2016!

Staffan

Staffan Wennberg

Chairman World Taxpayers Associations

staffan.wennberg@worldtaxpayers.org

Phone+ 46 708 15 04 95

International Taxpayer Leaders Forum Newsletter, N.39 – Dec 7, 2015

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@taxpayerforum

North America

Online Shopping Tops Stores on Black Friday Weekend

Holiday shopping isn’t what it used to be. A National Retail Federation survey on Sunday found that more people shopped online than in stores during the Thanksgiving and Black Friday weekend, a sign of how quickly and deeply American shopping habits have changed. Continue Reading

Pentagon Crew Lived Large in $150 Million Afghan Villas

A Pentagon task force established in 2006 to help lure private businesses first to Iraq and then Afghanistan allegedly blew as much as $150 million on lavish villas in Afghanistan for a few lucky members of its staff—instead of lodging them cheaply, or for free, at the U.S. embassy or any one of numerous large American military bases in the war-torn country. Continue Reading

GM / Chrysler Bailout Cost Canadian Taxpayers $3.7 Billion

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) today released an analysis of the 2009 government bailouts of GM and Chrysler, finding that once the sale of stock and repayments are accounted for, the final cost to Ontario and federal taxpayers was approximately $3.7 billion. Continue Reading

War over soda taxes coming to a polling place near you

Government do-gooders and conservatives worried that America is becoming a nanny state have one more thing to fight about in 2016: Soda taxes. Public health advocates, flush from victories in Mexico and Berkeley, Calif., are plotting to bring voter referendums and legislation to tax soda in as many as a dozen U.S. cities in 2016. It’s all part of an international strategy backed by billionaires in New York and Texas, including former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, to reduce consumption of sodas, juices and other sugary drinks in the fight against spiraling rates of obesity, diabetes and other diet-related diseases. Continue Reading

Four Principles to Boost America’s Economic Ladder of Opportunity

In conversations with statists, I’ve learned that many of them actually believe the economy is a fixed pie. This misconception leads them to think that rich people get rich only by somehow making others poor.In this simplistic worldview, a bigger slice for one person means less for everyone else. In reality, though, their fixation on the distribution of income leads them to support policies that hinder growth. Continue Reading

Everything You Need to Know about Deductions, Loopholes, and Special-Interest Tax Provisions

Why does the tax code require more than 10,000,000 words and more than 75,000 pages?There are several reasons and none of them are good. But if you had to pick one cause for all the mess, it would be the fact that politicians have worked with interest groups and lobbyists to create myriad deductions, credits, exclusions, preferences, exemptions, and other loopholes. Continue Reading

Millennials Pay Very Little in Income Taxes

Almost every day, I see another article about millennials – the cohort of Americans born between 1980 and 2000 that are “forging a distinct path into adulthood” and “reshaping America.” But surprisingly, not much has been written about millennials and U.S. tax policy. Continue Reading

CANADIAN TAXPAYERS FEDERATION CALLS ON ONTARIO GOVERNMENT TO SCRAP GREEN ENERGY ACT AND END CORPORATE WELFARE IN WAKE OF AG REPORT

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling on the Wynne government to scrap the Green Energy Act and end all corporate welfare payments in light of today’s Auditor General report. Among other findings, the Auditor General found that Ontario electricity consumers will pay a total of $9.2 billion more for solar and wind projects as a result of the Ontario government’s Green Energy Act, which provides 20-year guaranteed prices for wind and solar. Continue Reading

ATR Urges Lawmakers to Oppose the Solar ITC and Wind PTC

As lawmakers meet this week during negotiations over the tax extenders deal, Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) encourages them to oppose any efforts to extend the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for solar past 2016 and also urges opposition to reviving the Production Tax Credit (PTC) for wind. American taxpayers have already been forced to pay billions in handouts to the wind and solar industries and the time has come to end such anti-free market practices. Continue Reading

Europe

EU to Announce Probe Into McDonald’s Tax Affairs

McDonald’s Corp. will become the fourth U.S. multinational to be targeted by European Union regulators as part of a widening investigation into alleged illegal tax deals, two people familiar with the matter said Wednesday. Continue Reading

Dixon: EU-Turkey deal is historic, if it sticks

The deal agreed between the European Union and Turkey on Nov. 29 is historic – provided it sticks. The EU has dangled the prospect that Turkey can join the Union, offered its citizens visa-free travel throughout most of the bloc and promised the government a chunk of cash in return for Ankara agreeing to stem the flow of migrants to Europe. Not all of the pact looks deliverable – but some big issues look closer to being addressed. Continue Reading

Sweden to return 22,000 migrants

Swedish police faced by the end of October a task of deporting 21,748 people from the country, reports daily Aftonbladet. It is the largest number ever. As many as 14,140 of the people have disappeared and are registered by the police as being “wanted.” Continue Reading

Finding The Best Management Accountant In Rotterdam

If you own an organization or work in one, you understand the importance of finding a reliable management consultant. You need someone who will help you to monitor the flow of cash in your organization so that you can track your expenditures and income apart from planning for the future. The following tips should help you to find a reliable management accountant in Rotterdam. Continue Reading

Taxation trends in the European Union

This report contains a detailed statistical and economic analysis of the tax systems of the Member States of the European Union, plus Iceland and Norway, which are Members of the European Economic Area. The main body of the report is a set of ‘country chapters’ which give an overview of the main trends in taxation for each of the 30 countries covered by the report. The chapters have a standardized layout: the first page contains a summary table and graphs showing trends in the country’s tax revenues under the main tax headings for the period 2004 to 2013. Continue Reading

Sadly, The OECD Entirely Misunderstands Corporate Taxation

It’s OK, well it’s sorta OK, when politicians bloviating away shout that companies have to pay their fair share of taxes. It’s a great deal more worrying when an organisation supposedly there to give us all the accurate skinny on economics does the same thing. For it’s an absolutely standard part of the basic economics of taxation that corporations just do not pay taxes. Continue Reading

Asia

Start-up North Korea?

North Korea usually only makes the news due to renewed military aggression, or when a defector publishes an account of their escape. Rarely is there any positive news coming out of the most isolated economy in the world. But today, the Washington Post reports on a hopeful new development in the Hermit Kingdom: the establishment of 20 “economic zones”, where residents will be allowed to experiment with capitalism. Continue Reading

ASEAN issues await the next Philippine president

The 2016 presidential election in the Philippines may yet to be the most challenging in the country’s electoral history. Apart from varied domestic concerns and problems, divisive regional issues await the next president of the Philippines. Continue Reading

Ibero America

The big picture of Argentina’s elections

The results of the second round of Argentina’s presidential elections will very likely provoke a major reconfiguration both in the country and in South America. On the one hand, the very structure of power of the Peronist party has been severely damaged. On the other, Argentina has provided a region victimized by populism with a success story on overcoming the tragedy. Continue Reading

Venezuelan Opposition Wins Congressional Midterm Elections

Venezuela’s opposition, riding a wave of voter anger amid a deep economic crisis, swept to a big victory in midterm elections on Sunday, delivering a major blow to the ruling Socialist party and President Nicolás Maduro. Continue Reading

Venezuela Votes “No” to Socialism

After 17 years of economic and societal deterioration under the rule of the socialist party, Venezuelan’s took action. In yesterday’s elections, the Democratic Unity Roundtable (MUD) won 99 seats in Parliament compared to only 46 for the established United Social Party of Venezuela (PSUV). Continue Reading

Africa

What does China’s role in Africa say about its growing global footprint?

China’s ties to Africa are likely to get stronger this year as the world’s biggest economy appears poised to once again double its investments across the fast-growing continent. The run-up to the sixth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) to be held early next month in South Africa is under way. The forum – in its 15th year and the first held under President Xi Jinping’s administration – has been the main venue for setting the investment, trade and integration agenda between China and countries in Africa. Continue Reading

Manufacturers say the innovation statement needs to include tax breaks for intellectual property

With the federal government about to unveil new policies in the innovation statement today, a new study suggests Australia needs more competitive taxation for intellectual property. The Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council (AAMC) report focuses on “knowledge-rich manufacturing”. Countries must compete with each other to attract investment, both by foreign and domestic companies, it says. Continue Reading

Australia

Manufacturers say the innovation statement needs to include tax breaks for intellectual property

With the federal government about to unveil new policies in the innovation statement today, a new study suggests Australia needs more competitive taxation for intellectual property. The Australian Advanced Manufacturing Council (AAMC) report focuses on “knowledge-rich manufacturing”. Countries must compete with each other to attract investment, both by foreign and domestic companies, it says. Continue Reading

Free Trade

Wilson Perspectives: The Trans-Pacific Partnership

By any measure, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) is the 21st century’s most significant trade agreement. In 30 chapters and more than 5,000 pages, it lays down new rules of the road for 12 countries, 40 percent of the world economy, and 26 percent of world trade. From Latin America to the Asia-Pacific, on issues from workers’ rights to digital commerce, this deal will have an impact. It takes a wide-angle, multidisciplinary lens to study all of its aspects. Continue Reading

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The Daily Telegraph, Australia

The Taxi Industry has Just What it Deserves

by Tim Andrews

WHEN the first automobile hit the streets of Sydney, investors in horse and carriage companies didn’t get a penny in compensation.

Australia embraced the car and has led the world in embracing all new technologies, whether they be digital cameras, smartphones, or digital downloads. Obsolete industries from camera-film sellers and typewriter salesmen to BetaMax video store owners were never bailed out by the NSW taxpayer.

So why is it that today, with the ­introduction of Uber, Airbnb, Freelancer, Airtasker, and other new technologies making our lives easier, politicians want to tax us to bail out obsolete technologies?

The taxi industry is no different to the hundreds of other businesses faced with the inevitable task of adapting or risking something new and better coming along.

This is an industry characterised by bad service, exorbitant prices, and a complete lack of care for consumers. We have all been in dirty cabs with rude drivers who insist on taking the “scenic” route, ripping us off — and then demanding an extra 10 per cent just to use a credit card.

Now that technology has given us an alternative, with safe, clean, reviewed, and GPS-tracked UBER, the rivers of gold that the cab monopoly has received from gouging NSW consumers is drying up. Have they tried to improve? Have they tried to provide better services? No, they have simply tried to get the government to ban their competition, and continue their closed shop monopoly.

It’s expected that within weeks the NSW government will finally give in to public pressure and announce it will legalise Uber. And about time. But they are also considering imposing a supertax on us, the consumer, just to pay off Cabcharge.

Up to 1000 taxi plates in NSW are controlled by Cabcharge, a multi-million dollar corporation that the Federal Court and Australian Competition and Consumer Commission found guilty of gouging consumers. They were fined $14 million just a few years ago for unethical practices.

Yet the NSW government is seriously considering a new supertax, paid for by us, to bail them out.

We are going to pay a new tax to give money to these people. It seems the only thing Cabcharge can do well is pay for great lobbyists.

If I made a huge loss on the stock market with a bad investment I wouldn’t go running to the government for a bailout. Why is the government even considering bailing out investors in the failing taxi industry? When Kodak went bust the shareholders didn’t get a handout from the taxpayer. Nobody compensated BetaMax shareholders for ­investing in a less popular product. Nobody gave Sony a taxpayer ­funded handout when Walkmans ­became a thing of the past.

The answer to the challenges of new disruptive technology should not be to ask taxpayers to fork out their hard-earned cash to compensate the industries that have failed to keep up. The answer is to let the market do what it does best.

Consumers have been penalised by the taxi industry for decades. The NSW public shouldn’t foot the bill for an industry’s failure to innovate. Any tax on either the consumer or a new market entrant like Uber, just to pay out corporations who have failed to provide a good service, is not just bad economics. It’s downright immoral.

Tim Andrews is executive director of the Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance.

This report contains a detailed statistical and economic analysis of the tax systems of the Member States of the European Union, plus Iceland and Norway, which are Members of the European Economic Area.

http://ec.europa.eu/taxation_customs/taxation/gen_info/economic_analysis/tax_structures/index_en.htm

International Property Rights Newsletter – December 4 2015, N. 39

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Please check the International Guidelines on Intellectual Property Rights supported by 85 Think Tanks

NEWS

2015 International Property Rights Index officially launched

The Property Rights Alliance has officially launched the 2015 International Property Rights Index in Malaysia on November 16th.  Click here for the executive summary or visit the website here: http://internationalpropertyrightsindex.org/

9th Annual IP Attaché Roundtable on December 15^th, 2015

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Global Intellectual Property Center (GIPC) will host the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) IP Attachés from around the world to discuss the protection and enforcement of IP rights outside of the United States. For more information & RSVP please click here

North America

President Obama Signs Bill Recognizing Asteroid Resource Property Rights into Law

On Thursday, President Obama signed the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act into law, which grants companies the rights to whatever they manage to pluck out of these extraterrestrial bodies. The new Space Act of 2015 requires approval from the House of Representatives before moving on to President Obama. Meteorites – chunks that survive and fall to earth after asteroids disintegrate in the atmosphere – yield significant amounts of precious metals like platinum, rhodium, iridium, rhenium, osmium, ruthenium, palladium, germanium and gold. Continue Reading

Copyright Principles and Priorities to Foster a Creative Digital Marketplace

Over the course of the last two years, Congress has engaged in a comprehensive review of the Copyright Act. This is the first such review in nearly two generations, and it lays the groundwork for further inquiries and proposals regarding how the law might be amended and how the institution responsible for its administration—the U.S. Copyright Office— might be modernized and restructured to better support a thriving digital marketplace of unprecedented creativity and innovation. Continue Reading

Digital Ad Industry Will Gain $8.2 Billion By Eliminating Fraud And Flaws In Internet Supply Chain, IAB & EY Study Shows

Fraudulent impressions, infringed content, and malvertising cost the U.S. digital marketing, advertising, and media industry $8.2 billion annually. That money can be recouped if companies fix badly designed business processes and repair obvious flaws in the digital advertising supply chain, a new study by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and EY shows. Continue Reading

YouTube Seeks Streaming Rights to TV Shows, Movies

YouTube is seeking streaming rights to TV series and movies to bolster its new subscription service, intensifying its rivalry with Netflix Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Hulu in the competitive market for online video. Continue Reading

NSA bulk phone surveillance program shutting down Sunday

The National Security Agency will no longer be allowed to collect phone metadata in bulk beginning Sunday, according to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The controversial surveillance program was shut down under the USA Freedom Act, signed by President Obama in early June, and has been in a six-month transition period that ends Nov. 29. Continue Reading

Kobe Bryant’s company files for trademarks linked to his final season

Kobe Bryant has taken an even bigger step into the business world on the heels of his officially announced retirement. Bryant’s company, Kobe Inc., which was incorporated in California in 2013, has filed for various trademarks that are linked to his own marketing campaign for his final season. Continue Reading

Game Companies and Intellectual Property Rights

We have been asked many times what game companies can do to protect their games, assets and IP. This is the first of a series of blog posts aiming to answer that question. We will start from the most fundamental matters. Legal affairs are often seen as complicated and time consuming. This conception is understandable, and even relatively correct in some cases, but for game companies the most essential issues are actually quite straight forward. The most important legal matter is the management of intellectual property rights (IPR). Continue Reading

Why Silicon Valley is heading right

A couple of years ago New York Magazine did some work on the political orientation of Silicon Valley in which they reported the big news that some of the giants of the tech world were – shock! horror! – moving to the right, albeit very tentatively. The irony is that this should be newsworthy since the evidence of a rightward trend was so very paltry. Continue Reading

Library of Congress, Copyright Office butt heads over IT vision

The Library of Congress took a critical step in hiring a chief information officer in September, a senior Government Accountability Office official told lawmakers. But, he said, it’s still unclear whether Library of Congress’ newly minted tech exec has the power to sort out the digital woes plaguing the agency. “It remains to be seen whether this position will have clear responsibility and adequate authority to drive needed improvements,” said Joel Willemssen, GAO’s managing director for information technology. Continue Reading

COPYRIGHT OFFICE NEEDS MORE TECH AND DATA EXPERTS

To keep pace with the demands of the digital age, the U.S. Copyright Office needs fewer file clerks and more techies, Maria Pallante, the office’s director, told lawmakers on Wednesday. “It used to be catalogers, now it needs to be technology and data [experts],” Pallante described the agency’s hiring needs. “I don’t know how we can administer the law without it.” Continue Reading

Europe

Trademark reform in Italy: a shift in focus

In what is a significant shift, impending EU trademark reforms in Italy will allow parties to challenge granted trademarks on both relative and absolute grounds. Luigi Manna of Martini Manna Avvocati reports. Continue Reading

Building Value: The Role of Trademarks for Economic Development

Investment in brands drives the allocation of resources in our economy. It increases competition, pushes firms to innovate, and decreases asymmetries in the market leading to a higher level of economic development Investment in brands and intangibles has seen an increase in the last fifteen years, especially in advanced economies such as the EU and the US. The US is a pioneer when we talk about investment in brands, whereas the EU is still investing a higher share of GDP in tangible assets. Continue Reading

Copyright reform in Europe: getting EU copyright fit for the digital age

In May 2015, the European Commission put copyright reform as key part of the Digital Single Market strategy. techUK’s Laura Weidinger argues why it is essential that the forthcoming reforms, the first major update since 2001, gets the detail right to create a functioning copyright framework fit for the digital age. Continue Reading

New Administrative Rules for Well-Known Trademarks in Russia

On October 13, 2015, new administrative rules on declaring trademarks well known entered into force in Russia. The main change concerns the prescribed time limit for the Rospatent to determine whether a trademark is well known. Continue Reading

Asia

How does the opening of the ASEAN community relate to Bangkokians? : Suggestions for adaptation (3)

Considering the effects and opportunities that will be occurring as the country enters into the ASEAN Community in the year 2015 that I have explained in the previous article, Bangkokians need to prepare and accept the change. Important areas where Bangkokians need to be prepared for are as follows: Continue Reading

Mickey Mouse operations: China fines five fake ‘Disney hotels’ in Shanghai ahead of giant theme park opening

Shanghai has fined a hotel chain for infringing on Disney’s trademarks at five of its branches as part of an effort to protect the US entertainment giant’s brand in the run-up to the opening of its theme park next year. The five hotels owned by the Shenzhen Vienna Hotels Group in Pudong district, where the theme park is due to open in the first half of next year, were found to have used the Chinese characters for Disney on their signboards, websites and electronic displays in their lobbies without authorisation, the Shanghai regulators said. Continue Reading

China Vows To Protect US Firms

US-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT) conference concluded with the commitment from both countries to protect the companies’ intellectual property (IP), minimize the trade theft, and provide them better legal protection. US Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker called the US-China JCCT “Meaningful”. Breakthroughs were expected at the meeting held in in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. The three-day conference also addressed the issues like standards, IP, and geographical indications to prevent unauthorized content, sports broadcasting, and many more. Continue Reading

India names new head of IP office

Sh O P Gupta has taken over as controller general of patents, designs and trademarks in India. The former chairman and managing director of Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co was installed as the head of the Indian Intellectual Property Office on 16 November. Continue Reading

Qualcomm Inks License Deal With China’s Xiaomi

Qualcomm Inc. said it reached a patent-licensing deal with Xiaomi Corp., one of China’s largest smartphone makers, a sign of progress in easing the chip maker’s struggles in the country. The San Diego-based company’s stock jumped 5.6% to $52.03 in afternoon trading on Wednesday in response to the announcement. Continue Reading

New national Intellectual Property Rights policy likely by December end: Amitabh Kant

The government is likely to come out with a new national Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) policy by the month-end, DIPP Secretary Amitabh Kant said on Thursday. The task force appointed by the government on the matter has already submitted its report, Kant said while speaking at a conference organised by Observer Research Foundation here. Continue Reading

Middle East

Israel freezes the EU out of peace talks with the Palestinians

Israel has frozen the EU out of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process in retaliation for Europe’s decision to label products made in West Bank settlements.Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, reacted furiously when the labelling decision was announced two weeks ago and on Sunday said he was suspending diplomatic contact with the EU on peace issues. Continue Reading

Africa

At WIPO, Former South Africa Judge Calls For Balance In IP Rights Enforcement

Alongside this week’s meeting of the World Intellectual Property Organization committee on enforcement, an event featured a former South African Supreme Court judge presenting his views on IP enforcement. There is a need to go for the “big fish,” he said, and to bring balance in sanctions and enforcement procedures. He also described courts as finding that exceptions to copyright are a public right. Continue Reading

Nigerian Journalists Dig Deep Into Land and Property Rights

Reporters from Nigeria’s leading media outlets were among the 55 professional journalists and 48 students who attended a unique journalism workshop on “Covering Land and Property Rights” held in Lagos on November 24 and 25. Continue Reading

Ibero-America

US and Brazil ink PPH to solve patent delay

The US and Brazil have agreed to form a Patent Prosecution Highway (PPH) aimed at speeding up patent applications in both jurisdictions. Continue Reading

Proposed law may remove indigenous land rights in Brazil

Maria Valdenice Nukini believes it’s her duty to protect her ancestral territory in northern Brazil and raise awareness of the role indigenous communities play in protecting nature. That’s why she recently traveled 4,700 kilometers from her isolated reserve in the northern state of Acre to Rio de Janeiro to protest oil and gas exploration that may take place near her community, located on the border with Peru. Continue Reading

Australia

Gearing and Protecting Intellectual Property for the World Market

Trade has been a big focus for the Australian Government in recent months. Newly minted bi-lateral and multi-lateral international trade agreements are in place, which are sure to open up greater export and investment opportunities for Australian companies. However, if you want to participate, can you be sure your intellectual property is protected? It is important that Australian suppliers fully protect their IP rights in those overseas markets – in relation to trademarks, patents and designs, and copyright. Continue Reading

Free Trade and Property Rights

USTR review notes gains in PHL compliance with international labor rights

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) has noted gains on the Philippines’s adherence to international labor standards, paving the way for the country to fully enjoy the benefits under the preferential trade scheme. A USTR news statement release on Friday said that the conclusion of its review is “…based on progress by the Philippine government in addressing worker rights issues in that country, including through reforms of labor laws and regulations.” Continue Reading

THE PHILIPPINES and the European Free Trade Association (Efta) have substantially moved forward negotiations on a free trade agreement following the fourth round of talks last week. “The meetings were held in a positive and efficient atmosphere and substantial progress was achieved in all areas,” the Efta said. According to Efta, the working groups convened on November 24-27 in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss all areas under negotiation, including trade in goods and services, investment, intellectual property rights Continue Reading

Plain Packaging

Plain packaging celebrates its third birthday as France green-lights brand-free tobacco packs

Plain packaging is officially three years old today, and last week France took a significant step towards becoming the latest country to introduce legislation for the presentation of tobacco products. However, as the spread of plain packaging continues, pro-IP voices are getting lost in the mix, with the narrative framed as boiling down to ‘pro-health interests v big tobacco’. Continue Reading

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Letter from the Chairman, no 15
Stockholm November 20^th, 2015

Dear members and friends of the World Taxpayers Associations!

Terror against freedom. The Islamic State (IS) has demonstrated that they have the will and resources to take their terror and aggression around the world. The confirmed blow up of the Russian plane with 244 tourists, the attack in Beirut which killed 34 and now the coordinated attacks in Paris which in the end may have killed more than 130 innocent people. In total, last year over 30,000 people were killed in terrorist attacks, most in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan. Police – and military – around Europe are given special resources and permissions to search and question suspects.

Politicians in Europe and President Obama do not understand the religiously based drive. What is the road ahead? Many want more control – will it threaten the freedom we cherish? Europe has been slow to react to the threats, but now borders are closing and the EU is threatening to again become more divided between states. The attitude towards the continuing stream of migrants is vastly differing. Sweden is still getting over 10,000 per week. Plus many just going underground without registering, though this flow has slowed with increased control. Other countries – including the US – are offering to take per year what Sweden is getting per week! Germany is looking at over 1 million new migrants this year alone.

The world is quickly changing. The UN is trying to create more of a worldwide regime with international taxation and amassing big funds for “climate investments” in the so called third world. The climate issue has been strongly and cleverly used for political and economic purposes. It is not so much about science – where experts differ – but about money and power.

The road ahead must mean a defence of freedom – down to the school yard. A spirit of suspicion and fear should not prevail. A recent report in Britain says that over half of 11 year-olds have problems sleeping because of fear of climate change. They should be rejoicing in the fantastic possibilities they have ahead – and in how our world has been able to adapt with more freedom, greater wealth and resources, more food and higher possibilities for all. Each generation has to find and defend their own freedom, ask their own question about the future and set their own goals. There lies the road ahead. And doing it across any borders of race, religion, social class, wealth or politics. In the long run freedom will win. It always has. In the mean time our national resources must join in a fair and open way to work for peace and isolate those who think they have a right to destroy the lives of others.

World Taxpayers Conference 2016

Now is the time to plan and book your participation at the WTA Conference in Berlin March 17-20^th next year!

Key stakeholders and globally acclaimed experts will discuss a wide range of important aspects of economic growth and growth of freedom and democracy. You will have a unique chance to meet with likeminded persons from all parts of the world, to learn and be inspired and build relations of future importance for your organization.

We promise you an exciting and very useful program. Our German hosts are doing their best to add also points of social and general interest. The welcome reception in a unique location a dinner combined with a Berlin-style variety show and a gala dinner with a special speaker.

The conference will combine with three other events on the 16^th and 17^th March 2016:

– The Taxpayers Leaders Forum, initiated by Americans for Tax Reform, and it will be a chance to share and learn from others experiences. This will take place in the afternoon of Wednesday March 16^th and in the morning of March 17^th.

–The Free Market Road Show – a high-level discussion of economic issues and how enterprises and economic growth can be stimulated. Time: The morning of March 17^th.

– The European Resource Bank meeting. This is a meeting of more business oriented think tanks across Europe and we will share the main meetings on Friday and they will add other seminars and workshops on Saturday.

These combinations means a large and varied conference with an expected 250 participants, so write us about your interest soon.

WTA and National Taxpayers Union in the US will be offering some scholarships for those with special needs, so write us of your interest even if you are uncertain about the expense. And if you need a visa to Germany, it is urgent that you contact us about that immediately, so it can be arranged. It may take some time considering the pressure on these authorities.

A special web page will be active soon also with payment routines for the conference fee. On the WTA website you will find information under https://worldtaxpayers.org/conferences-events/news-and-details-of-upcoming-events/.

Member activities
Our network keeps growing. We now have seven active organizations in Africa. Some of them are working under difficult circumstances. We also have new groups starting up in Asia and South America. We want to give them all the encouragement, advice and support we can.

We are very encouraged by the National Taxpayers Association (NTA) in Kenya. They are a well established group since ten years. Visit their web page describing their many activities under www.nta.or.ke It is in English.

Content marketing
Content marketing is a popular term these days. In its simplest sense it means that we have to know our stuff – to stand on our know-how of taxes, how they hit different groups, create difficulties for start up businesses or whatever the issue is. In Sweden the Taxpayers Organization has published a small pocketbook with Facts for Taxpayers for 49 years! In 36 overviews on 48 pages they give all the key facts about not only taxes, but other economic facts like international comparisons. You might find interesting ideas here – even if it is in Swedish! You can down load the report here: http://www.skattebetalarna.se/nyheter/fakta-skattebetalare-2015
We will be happy to translate details for you!

In Ghana the Taxpayers’ Alliance has made an extensive comment to the national budget for 2016. You find comments on the news page Modern Ghana here: https://www.modernghana.com/news/655609/1/tax-payers-alliance-on-2016-budget.html

In Britain, the TaxPayers’ Alliance made a “telephone catalogue” size report detailing what might be needed to balance the budget in connection with the latest election. Even the summary was book size!

They are currently getting great media coverage and political reaction based on their “Public Sector Rich List” listing public employees earning more than £100,000 per year. Many reactions on this. Here is an example from one newspaper: http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/debate/columnists/jonathan-isaby-freedom-of-information-is-a-weapon-against-town-hall-waste-1-7568559

Suggested reading

In my readings, I often find interesting comments from John Mauldin. In his latest letter he adds a long analysis by George Friedman – of Europe, migration and the terrorist threat. I am adding it as a pdf at the end of the letter for those of you who want to get more in depth comments on the current situation and where we are heading. You can also find newsletter and previous ones directly on this link: http://www.mauldineconomics.com/outsidethebox/archive

Do write to me or Sarah with any questions on the conference or with questions how we might help you in your efforts. We want you to benefit from our exciting network and its wealth of experience and connections!

Best wishes,

Staffan

Staffan Wennberg

Chairman World Taxpayers Associations

staffan.wennberg@worldtaxpayers.org

Phone+ 46 708 15 04 95

Letter from the Chairman – November 2015

International Taxpayer Leaders Forum Newsletter, N.37 – November 6, 2015

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News

Two Videos about the Interchange Fees by Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance

The Australian Taxpayers’ Alliance is a non-profit, free-market advocacy organization very similar to Americans for Tax Reform, and is a member of the International Alliance for Electronic Payments.  They have produced the following two videos in response to the Australian Central Bank’s proposal to further regulate Interchange Rates. Here is the YouTube version of the shorter of the two videos:  Video One & Video Two

North America

What Places Benefit Most From the Earned Income Tax Credit?

The Earned Income Tax Credit is a policy designed to help working Americans with low incomes. For a more general overview of what it does, I’ll refer you to this piece we put together last year, which explains it in more detail. The EITC is claimed by individual tax filers, of course, but if you map the claims on a more regional basis, you can see how the EITC is also—aggregated over millions of filings—a program that delivers an influx of cash to distressed areas in the United States. Continue Reading

Playing Politics With Internet Taxes

Lost in the news about how Congress avoided a government shutdown until December 11 by passing a short-tem funding extension was that the Internet Tax Freedom Act (ITFA) was extended for the same duration, continuing the long-standing moratorium on Internet taxes. Otherwise the moratorium would have ended on September 30, and consumers would have felt a hit in the pocketbook almost immediately. ITFA was first signed into law in 1998, and it has been extended repeatedly. Originally intended to be permanent but negotiated to be temporary, the Act bans federal, state and local governments from imposing discriminatory taxes on online sales and Internet access. Continue Reading

Reforms Cuba Needs

Fidel Castro took over the power in 1959. Shortly afterwards, he took one measure after another to dismantle all independent institutions and eliminate all individual liberties. As a consequence, all power was concentrated on him and him alone. He did not only consider that he has the right to decide on every aspect of the life of the society and any individual, but also that he has the right to decide how the society has to function for the next generations. By 2002, he changed the Constitution and declared that the laws imposed by himself cannot be invalidated by any means. Continue Reading

Trudeau tax changes a mixed bag

Canadians have chosen a change in government for the first time in a decade.  Justin Trudeau’s Liberals sailed to a majority government Monday on a message of change. So what will this “change” mean for Canadians’ pocketbooks? A look at the Liberal election platform tells us it’s a mixed bag. Continue reading

SLATE POLITICS: COMING SOON TO A CITY HALL NEAR YOU

Video killed the radio star. But it’s Peter Fassbender who is about to kill the independent civic politician. Last week, the BC Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development rolled out legislation that would limit the amount of money municipal candidates could spend on their campaigns. But this new law will have an unfortunate, unintended consequence – it will prompt civic politicians across BC to run together on slates in order to pool spending limits and allow them to share expenses. Why send out one advertising piece, when you can be on six by running a slate? Continue reading

CTF Urges Minister Bains To Refuse Further Handouts for Bombardier

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling on new Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains to reject requests from the government of Quebec and Bombardier to pledge additional federal tax dollars towards the hapless aerospace company. “We congratulate Minister Bains on his new appointment, and welcome the new Trudeau government’s pledge of ‘real change’,” said CTF Federal Director Aaron Wudrick. “If the minister is looking for a concrete way to demonstrate real change right out of the gate, he has an excellent opportunity to do so by refusing Bombardier’s pleas for yet another bailout.” Continue Reading

Europe

POLITICO Brussels Playbook, presented by Google: Single market day — Migration ultimatums — Talking to Turkey

COMMISSION WILL LAUNCH A NEW INTERNAL MARKET STRATEGY TODAY: The need to complete Europe’s single market is perhaps the biggest thing a strong majority of European leaders and citizens still agree on. President Juncker and his team (led by Vice President Katainen and Commissioner Bieńkowska) launch this strategy at noon CET to fill in the gaps. It will be a series of targeted actions rather than a big bang approach. Expect: Continue Reading

Destabilization of Polish Public Finance Instead of Reforms

In the end of September 2015 Civil Development Forum (FOR) organized press conference to inform about the 5th anniversary of the public debt clock located in the city center of Warsaw. In Poland, public expenditures have significantly exceeded revenues for many years. This, in turn, led to higher public debt. At the same time, none of the parties in power has conducted a comprehensive reform of the public finance in the last 10 years. Meanwhile, the pre-election campaign is dominated by costly promises instead of reforms necessary to lower the deficit and public debt. Continue Reading

Tragic Story of Slovakian Declining Competitiveness

In the most recent ranking of the World Economic forum, which compares the competitiveness of 140 countries around the world, Slovakia ranked 67th. Since we ranked 8 places higher the year before, the media presented this as positive news. If we, however, look at the long-term evolution of the Slovak economy’s competitiveness not only in this, but in other rankings, we realize that the picture we are looking at is drastically different. What becomes apparent is a tragic story of a dramatic decline in our competitiveness. Continue Reading

Populism Behind Land Ownership Regulation in Bulgaria

A lack of reasoned argumentation when legislating is not uncommon practice of the Bulgarian Parliament. According to our expert assessments, at least 70% of all submitted for consideration drafts of normative acts are with no justification and assessment of expected costs and benefits. This leads to wrong policies, costly policy mistakes, burdened businesses, unpredictable business environment and opportunities for lobbyist to act in favour of specific groups. Continue Reading

Tax and IP: follow the money

The release of the final BEPS reports may prompt a detailed analysis of a corporation’s global tax structure, including the location of IP ownership and profit-generating activities, says Linda Pfatteicher of Squire Patton Boggs. In the wake of the October 5, 2015 release of the final package of “Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS)” reports from the OECD, as well as the European Commission’s decision on October 21 accusing Fiat and Starbucks of violating EU state aid rules, multinational corporations are looking at their intangible property ownership globally and assessing what, if any, changes need to be made to their global transfer pricing structures. Continue Reading

Commission seeks to remove EU “digital borders” in e-commerce sector inquiry

On 6 May 2015, the European Commission launched an inquiry into the e-commerce sector, addressing concerns that commercial arrangements between private companies are unjustifiably restricting cross-border online trading. Although the Commission is looking at a wide range of arrangements, the inquiry centres on “geo-blocking” and other measures that the Commission considers prevent consumers from freely choosing an online “e-tailer” or content provider. The first set of information requests has already been sent to a vast number of companies, such as wholesalers, suppliers, online retailers and online content service providers. The Commission has set out to publish a preliminary report for consultation in 2016 and a final report in the beginning of 2017. Continue Reading

Greece: Bailout reforms go to parliament on Thursday

A bill to enact a number of the reforms required by the Greek bailout deal will go to parliament for approval on Thursday. The bill includes some, but not all measures which Greece’s European creditors require if the next tranche of next €2 billion ($2.2 billion)  tranche of its three-year, €86 billion bailout loans. One such measure is the reduction of the number of installments Greek citizens can have in repaying money owed in taxes or social security. Currently, they can enjoy 100 installments, but the bill would limit that number in certain cases. Continue reading

No way, Norway!

The Economist discussed recently the necessary ‘devolution’ of the Scandinavian model in Norway, following similar trends in Sweden and Denmark. The article makes several good points about the effects of bureaucratization and high-tax welfare on entrepreneurship and corporate culture in a country where the government owns 40% of the stock market and employs 33% of the workforce (almost double the percentage in OECD countries). Continue Reading

Asia

Asean united in fighting IS

During Malaysia’s tenure in chairing the Asean Defence Ministers’ Meeting Plus (ADMM Plus) here this year, it has gained cooperation and unanimous agreement of all 10 Asean members to jointly declare their stand against the Islamic State (IS) threat. Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said he also saw commitments by the expert working groups on cooperation of the six priority areas, among others was supporting regional stability and the fight against terrorism. “ADMM have shown a united front to the world and work very hard to endure that capable to address our ever changing security threats “Security threats today are no longer one nation affairs, we can never be completely insulated from problems beyond our borders,” he said. Continue Reading

How Beijing and the West Work Together to Manipulate the Global Currency War

From reading the commentaries you might have imagined that the process of a currency winning international reserve status depends on getting the IMF seal of approval. At least that seems to be the story with China. So, strange to tell, the great international monies of the past evolved either before the IMF was created or without its help. Think of the Deutsche mark and Swiss franc — the two upstarts of the 1970s and 1980s — or briefly the Japanese yen when it enjoyed great popularity. Their emergence was due to the path of monetary stability chosen by their issuing authorities together with complete freedom from restrictions. So why is the world of currency diplomacy now playing along with the nonsense of the IMF examining whether the Chinese yuan has met the criterion to become a reserve currency? Continue Reading

Philippines still needs to cut costs in international trade

The most hard working, most efficient persons will not be able to produce all the goods and services that they need for themselves and their families. But there are always other people willing to produce these things or render these services in exchange for money, useful goods, and services. On the macro level, no country or economy can prosper quickly without trade. And that includes countries that incur frequent trade deficits (in which their imports exceed their exports). Imported machines, vehicles, and computers become inputs for several activities used for the production of goods and services in the domestic economy. Continue Reading

ASEAN set to become next global economic powerhouse

Established to promote collaboration, peace and stability among its members, The Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has been in existence since 1967. However, this December marks a significant step in its economic development with the creation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). The advent of the AEC brings not only a master plan for regional economic integration but the likely realisation of ASEAN’s exceptional potential both as a low-cost manufacturing hub and an importer of consumer goods. Continue Reading

Ibero America

Elections in Argentina: What’s Next?

What went wrong? This is what the members of the Peronist leadership must be asking themselves after the first round of the presidential elections, held on Sunday October 25th. Just two months ago they were repeating the mantra that their candidate, Daniel Scioli, “had already won.” They were convinced that their candidate would almost certainly avoid having to compete in the second round or at least get between 8 and 10 % more votes than his closer contestant. The meager 2.5 % difference Mr. Scioli actually got over Mauricio Macri, current mayor of Buenos Aires and main opposition candidate, came as a shock for all the political landscape. Now the government has to face a second round starting from a very weak position. Continue Reading

Squandering economic freedom: Nations that forsake free markets also endanger civil and personal liberties

There was good news for Argentina last week. It was expected that Daniel Scioli, the Peronist candidate and political heir of Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, would win the presidential election. Much to most people’s surprise, Maurico Macri, the more free-market-oriented mayor of Buenos Aires, won almost as many votes as Mr. Scioli, forcing a runoff, which Mr. Macri has a good chance to win. The Peronists (named after former dictator Juan Peron) have had political control much of the last 70 years, and it has been a disaster for the country. Continue Reading

Reflections on Venezuela’s “Economic Miracle”

Back in 2013, Salon took a quick break from criticizing a caricature of libertarianism to let David Sirota write an embarrassing article praising socialism in what turns out to be a fantastic case study in both the dangers of socialist economics and of course, speaking too soon. The article was titled “Hugo Chavez’s Economic Miracle” and it was certainly not the only one of its kind to come out at the time. It may seem like twenty-twenty hindsight to criticize such foolishness, but it might be instructive as well. However, looking at Venezuela now as compared to the country Sirota saw in 2013 and thought provided an economic alternative to American capitalism (a truly free market was never discussed) serves as a good example of what Nicolás Cachanosky calls “the bait-and-switch behind economic populism.” Continue Reading

In Brazil, Free-Market Ideas Rise as the Economy Falls

For those of us not in Brazil, it is hard to interpret the commentary on Brazil’s economy right now. Brazil’s debt was recently reduced to junk status, and we can see that Brazil’s economy is not doing well. But how severe is the crisis? Antony Mueller: Part of the explanation is that for a large part of the population and for the government itself, the crisis came as a shock. At first, the Brazilian government ignored the coming of the crisis and when it arrived, the government ignored its existence. Imagine Brazil like a family with a lot of inherited wealth that spends as if there were no tomorrow. Continue Reading

Australasia

Tax reform: drive out government waste before raising taxes

Few things excite politicians more than spending money and cutting ribbons. Few things annoy voters more than tax hikes, especially if the extra tax is supporting government spending addictions. Across the world, governments have resolved this dilemma by accumulating debts, passing the buck to future generations. Australian state governments are on to a better trick — convince the federal government to raise taxes, and then get hold of the money. Continue Reading

Free Trade

The Trans-Pacific Partnership: Leveling the playing field for American workers & American businesses

The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) writes the rules for global trade—rules that will help increase Made-in-America exports, grow the American economy, support well-paying American jobs, and strengthen the American middle class. TPP will make it easier for American entrepreneurs, farmers, and small business owners to sell Made-In-America products abroad by eliminating more than 18,000 taxes & other trade barriers on American products across the 11 other countries in the TPP—barriers that put American products at an unfair disadvantage today. Continue Reading

Find the full text here: https://ustr.gov/trade-agreements/free-trade-agreements/trans-pacific-partnership/tpp-full-text

New Zealand, EU To Launch Free Trade Talks

The European Union and New Zealand have said they will launch negotiations toward a free trade agreement. The commitment was made in a joint statement issued following a meeting between European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Council Donald Tusk, and New Zealand Prime Minister John Key. They said: “Today we committed to start the process for negotiations to achieve swiftly a deep and comprehensive high-quality free trade agreement. Discussions to define the scope and overall approach to the negotiations should start as soon as possible.” Continue Reading

Hong Kong’s accession to the Trans-Pacific Partnership

Recently, 12 countries, including the United States, Japan, Singapore and Australia, reachedan agreement on the formulation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). The combined gross domestic product (GDP) of these countries accounts for 40 per cent of the world’s GDP. Although some pro-establishment commentators consider that TPP is a move of the United States aimed to exclude China or even a tool used to blockade China, there are comments that TPP will have impacts on Hong Kong’s future economic development, economic independence, role positioning and international status. Continue Reading

All recipients are free to copy and redistribute the newsletter in any medium or format with proper attribution to Taxpayer Leaders Forum/Americans for Tax Reform

The 13th WTA Conference will be upon us soon! This year it is being held in Berlin and hosted by The German Taxpayers Association, 17th-20th March 2016.

There will also be Free Market Road Show, the TaxPayer Leaders Forum, and European Resource Bank! Look at the document below for more information. A registration link is coming soon, so please start the visa process in your respective countries!

WTA Conference March 2016

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Letter from the Chairman, October 2015