Latest news with #multinationals
Irish Times
22-05-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Relieve tax burden on employers providing housing for staff, says KPMG
Employers should be given tax relief to incentivise them to provide accommodation for staff as part of a wider suite of tax measures to boost housing activity, KPMG has said. In a pre-budget submission , the Big Four accounting firm has also called on the Government to ensure the Republic's offering to multinationals is best in class to counteract the potential impact of protectionist US trade policies. It said the lack of available accommodation at affordable prices is hurting 'the attractiveness of the country as an investment location'. The housing crisis is also 'contributing to a demographic shift', with many younger workers feeling the need to emigrate, KPMG warned. 'This will impact Ireland's ability to maintain a competitive and highly skilled workforce,' it said. READ MORE KPMG's wish list for Budget 2026 includes an extension of the mortgage interest relief to the 2025 and 2026 tax years. It also wants the Coalition to introduce a benefit-in-kind (BIK) tax exemption for employer-provided accommodation for staff earning less than €50,000. [ Earning a decent income but still scraping by? Your situation may be about to get worse Opens in new window ] KPMG said: 'Given the current issues within the housing sector, some employers have found it necessary to make subsidised accommodation available for their employees. 'We suggest that an exemption from BIK be introduced in respect of employer-provided accommodation for staff with income of €50,000 or less, where it is provided free of charge or subsidised.' 'We're at a critically low level of housing stock' for buyers and renters Listen | 33:06 To improve the supply of housing, KPMG wants the Government to lower the corporation tax rate on forward-funded residential developments to 12.5 per cent from 25 per cent. Forward funding arrangements, in which developers agree to sell unfinished development land to investors, are an 'increasingly common' feature of the market here, KPMG said. As it stands, developers who sell land before its development are taxed on their profits at the higher 25 per cent rate of corporation tax. 'This seems unfair and is not aligned with Government policy in this year,' KPMG said. Overall, the firm said the Government should look to reduce the administrative burden and the cost of doing business by simplifying the tax code. Recent agreements at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) have added 'significant complexity' to the Republic's corporation tax regime, and to ensure it remains competitive, an office of tax simplification should be set up to cut through the red tape, according to the submission. On the domestic front, KPMG wants the Coalition to increase the entry point to the marginal income tax rate to align with the average wage and cap the amount of income subject to employers' PRSI to €75,000. Orla Gavin, head of tax at KPMG, said global uncertainty has underscored the need for a 'nimble approach' to tax measures in Budget 2026, given the Republic's disproportionate exposure to shifts in international tax policy.
RNZ News
21-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Labour slams 'big tax breaks' for tech giants as government ditches digital levy
Labour calculated the tax would have brought in about $479m over the next four years - starting from January 2026 - and $146m a year after that. Photo: AFP Labour says the government's decision to dump earlier work on ] a digital services tax] is a tax break for tech giants like Facebook and Google. The government has confirmed it is removing the bill from its legislative agenda. It would have imposed a 3 percent tax on digital services for New Zealand users starting in January this year. Chris Hipkins told reporters at Parliament scrapping it would not have been a priority for the savings from pay equity claims in a Labour Budget. "We already know where some of that money's going - it's going to tax cuts for landlords , tax breaks for tobacco companies ; just today we found out it's hundreds of millions of dollars are going to tax breaks for multinational tech firms like Google and Facebook." Labour, using forecasts from the Half-Year Economic and Fiscal Update in December , calculated the tax would have brought in about $479m over the next four years - starting from January 2026 - and $146m a year after that. "Frankly, paying Kiwi women properly would be my priority," Hipkins said. "I think this government should stand up to New Zealand - I don't think giving big tax breaks to Google and Facebook is how we should be trying to ingratiate ourselves with Donald Trump's administration." Simon Watts. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone Revenue Minister Simon Watts, announcing the move in a statement on Tuesday, said the previous Labour government had introduced the bill in 2023 because of a perceived lack of progress from other countries in developing a similar measure - but the situation had since changed. "A global solution has always been our preferred option, and we have been encouraged by the recent commitment of countries to the OECD work in this area," he said. "New Zealand has long supported, and benefited from, collective action and the global rules-based system. By focusing on a global solution, it will enable an agreed, consistent outcome across participating countries." Watts said a multi-lateral process would be a more enduring model. "Our assessment is, is there a better process to deal with the underlying challenge out there, and as a basis we've made a decision to take away the DST Bill that was put on the order paper." He said Inland Revenue remained focused on compliance and integrity, including for offshore customers. Hipkins however said he had seen "no evidence whatsoever that there's going to be an international solution to that". "Frankly it's not right that Google, Facebook and other big tech companies aren't paying their fair share of tax whilst other New Zealanders are being asked to pay more, and low-paid Kiwi women are basically being told that they're not going to be paid fairly." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Bloomberg
19-05-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Hong Kong Finds a New Calling After Liberation Day
Small, open economies get nervous when superpowers clash. Ironically, Hong Kong, whose status as a global financial hub has lost some shine over the years, is finding its feet again. The city's latest calling in the middle of the US-China trade war? Provide financing for Chinese businesses that want to go global and become multinationals.
The National
17-05-2025
- Business
- The National
‘Designed in California, assembled in the Gulf': Region gains traction as a friendshoring destination
Multinational businesses are recalibrating their global supply chains, with one eye focused firmly on Washington. As the Donald Trump administration reignites the use of tariffs as a blunt instrument of economic leverage, so-called 'friendshoring' is gaining traction as multinationals re-evaluate the geography of their supply chains. Friendshoring, the practice of moving production or final assembly to countries with favourable trade relations, is not new. But with US-China trade tensions and unpredictable tariff regimes, it is becoming more of a core consideration in companies' global manufacturing strategies. Among the options for final-stage manufacturing, the Middle East – particularly the UAE and Saudi Arabia – stands out for its combination of low trade friction with the US and a broader ecosystem that facilitates the fast establishment of manufacturing operations. Mexico remains the most common US nearshoring destination, while Vietnam, Thailand and Malaysia are among the top choices for so-called 'China+1' strategies, where companies shift some production out of China to reduce geopolitical and tariff risk. However, the US's strong and consistent trade surplus with the UAE – reaching approximately $19.5 billion in 2024 – and a recently improved trade balance with Saudi Arabia, which recorded a modest surplus last year after a deficit in 2023, make both countries relatively low-risk from a tariff standpoint. While trade surpluses do not guarantee immunity, they reduce the likelihood of politically motivated levies compared to countries with persistent deficits. While still far behind more established friendshoring destinations like Mexico and South-East Asia, the Middle East is beginning to attract interest. Continuing economic reforms and significant investments in manufacturing infrastructure are among the factors prompting a selective set of companies to take a closer look, especially for final-stage assembly and packaging. Although activity remains limited, the strategic posture of both the UAE and Saudi Arabia suggests that interest is likely to grow. For instance, Saudi Arabia recently signed nine investment agreements worth more than $9.3 billion with foreign companies – including India's Vedanta and China's Zijin Group – as part of a broader push to anchor supply chain infrastructure and industrial capacity within the kingdom. Additionally, Gulf states are pouring investment into critical mineral extraction, to embed themselves earlier in the global industrial supply chain, where mineral access is fast becoming a chokepoint. However, for companies facing steep and lingering tariffs on Chinese-origin goods, countries such as the UAE and Saudi Arabia offer a relatively low-risk location for final-stage manufacturing. While not covered by a formal free trade agreement, their exports have largely avoided punitive US tariffs, making them a potential workaround for companies seeking to reclassify the country of origin through assembly or packaging. But this strategy is legally viable only if the process results in what US customs defines as a 'substantial transformation'. For instance, assembling a laptop from imported components – integrating the motherboard, installing software and calibrating the system – may qualify. By contrast, simply packaging a Chinese-made circuit board in a new case or attaching accessories to a nearly finished vehicle would not suffice. Still, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are actively courting this type of investment as part of broader economic diversification plans – Vision 2030 in Riyadh and Operation 300bn in the Emirates. Both initiatives aim to reduce reliance on hydrocarbons. While labour costs in the UAE and Saudi Arabia remain significantly higher than in traditional manufacturing hubs such as Vietnam or Bangladesh, both countries are investing heavily in workforce development to attract advanced manufacturing. Saudi Arabia, in particular, is leveraging its young and growing population through national training initiatives such as the Human Capability Development Programme, aimed at aligning skills with industrial needs. However, reconfiguring supply chains is a multi-year endeavour. Factories, even final assembly sites, take time and capital. A company betting on friendshoring now must do so under the assumption that Mr Trump's tariff policies – or similar measures by a future administration – are more than a passing phase. The Trump administration has shown a proclivity for sweeping actions, including targeting shipping lanes, re-evaluating trade classifications and tying tariffs to broader diplomatic concerns. Then there is the ecosystem factor. Manufacturing thrives not in isolation but in networks – of parts suppliers, logistics companies and quality control specialists. Rebuilding even a slice of this in a new geography requires co-ordination not just between private firms, but often between companies and host governments. For now, companies face a stark choice: absorb rising tariffs or re-architect the back end of their supply chains. While such shifts are complex and capital-intensive, a growing number of companies are weighing long-term bets on geopolitical stability and tariff insulation. And for many, the Middle East is starting to look less like an outpost and more like a pivot point. So, a new kind of label may soon become more familiar to American consumers: 'Designed in California, assembled in the Gulf'. Carlos Cordon is IMD professor of strategy and supply chain
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Eurozone economic growth weaker than expected amid Trump's tariff turmoil
Growth in the euro area expanded at a slower pace than expected in the first quarter of the year thanks to tensions surrounding tariffs. The EU's official data agency said on Thursday that the 20-country single currency area recorded an expansion of 0.3% in the January-March period compared to the previous quarter. This marks a slight acceleration from the 0.2% growth recorded in the final quarter of 2024, but was down from the initial 0.4% figure estimated last month. The first quarter growth figure for the European Union as a whole came in unchanged at 0.3%, Eurostat said. Ireland recorded the fastest rise in GDP – up 3.2% in the quarter, due to an increased activity at its multinationals. Contractions were measured in Slovenia (-0.8%), Portugal (-0.5%) and Hungary (-0.2%). This updated data confirms that the UK outpaced Germany (+0.2%), France (0.1%) and Italy (+0.3%). Meanwhile, the eurozone employment change for Q1 was at 0.3% and 0.8% year-on-year. A strong performance in industrial output added to signs of economic momentum. In March, eurozone industrial production jumped by 2.6% on a month-over-month basis, marking the sharpest one-month gain since November 2020. The figure beat expectations of a 1.8% rise and followed a revised 1.1% gain in February. Read more: Bank of England may keep interest rates higher for longer, warns chief economist Eurostat data revealed robust monthly increases in capital goods (3.2%), durable consumer goods (3.1%) and non-durable consumer goods (2.3%). Intermediate goods saw a more modest rise of 0.6%, while energy production dipped 0.5%. It comes as president Donald Trump has now reduced his 20% tariffs on the EU to 10% for 90 days, establishing a window for Brussels and Washington to negotiate. The EU has threatened to impose countermeasures on the US if the trading powers fail to strike a deal. Lars Klingbeil, German finance minister, reiterated on Thursday that the EU was poised to retaliate to Trump's tariffs. 'We expect that the negotiations will lead to a good result, but I would also like to make it very clear that we are prepared to act if this does not succeed,' he said. Elsewhere, the UK economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter of 2025, according to official figures, from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Gross domestic product (GDP) — the standard measure of an economy's value — grew 0.7% in the first quarter of 2025. This ahead of market estimates of 0.6% and a marked improvement of the 0.1% growth recorded over while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
