Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

Globalisation and rapid technological innovation have spurred unprecedented economic growth but not everyone has benefited. Unions and employers, together with governments, can play a major role in making growth more inclusive and helping workers and businesses face the challenges of a changing world of work. Good labour relations are a way to reduce inequalities in jobs and wages and better share prosperity, according to a new OECD-ILO report.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team, led by Ms. Corinne Deléchat, visited Yaoundé from April 27 to May 14, 2018 to conduct discussions on the IMF’s Article IV consultation and the second review of the program supported by the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) that was approved in June last year.

More than 500,000 people living adjacent to sections of National Road 13 will benefit from the improvements planned in the National Road 13 Improvement and Maintenance Project, approved by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors, on May 18.

“Following the successful completion of the 2015-18 program, the Serbian economy continues to expand at a healthy pace. Growth is expected to reach at least 3.5 percent in 2018, driven by consumption, investment and exports. Supported by appropriate monetary policy of the National Bank of Serbia, inflation remains low, and is expected to reach about 2 percent at the end of 2018. Budget results for the first quarter of 2018 point to another year of fiscal surplus.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team led by Mr. Geoff Gottlieb visited Ulaanbaatar from May 2-17, 2018 to conduct discussions on the fourth review of the three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement approved on May 24, 2017, in an amount equivalent to SDR314.5054 million, or about US$434.3 million.

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors, on May 18, approved a US$150 million loan to improve the capacity and reliability of inland waterway transport along the Han River in China’s Hubei Province. The project will increase connectivity between the less developed central and western regions and the more prosperous eastern provinces, and yield local and global environmental benefits by promoting a green mode of transport and producing renewable energy.

The Canadian Taxpayers Federation (CTF) is calling on the federal government to remove the federal excise tax on gasoline in order to give Canadians relief at the pumps as part of the CTF’s 20th annual Gas Tax Honesty Day, with press conferences held across the country from Vancouver to Montreal.

The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) welcomes the publication of the first full annual strategy from Sir David Metcalf, the Director of Labour Market Enforcement – especially his recognition of the current problems with HMRC’s tax policing of intermediaries such as umbrella companies. LITRG hopes this report will provide a catalyst for more action by HMRC in this area.

The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) has raised serious concerns to the Government over its plans to extend the time limits for raising a tax assessment on offshore investments. Among those affected will be low income pensioners and migrants, not just the wealthy, LITRG says.

An International Monetary Fund (IMF) team led by Mr. Subir Lall visited Egypt on May 2-17, 2018 to conduct the third review for Egypt’s reform program supported by a three-year Extended Fund Facility.