Finance & Economics | WPN World People News

On January 12, 2018, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

On January 17, 2018, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the 2017 Article IV consultation with Tonga. The decision was made without a Board meeting.

Additional funding, aimed to help the NHS get on a financially sustainable footing, has instead been spent on coping with existing pressures, according to the National Audit Office’s (NAO) report, published on Jan 19, 2018.

The 14th South Asia Economic Students’ Meet (SAESM) commences in Chittagong, Bangladesh on January 18, embracing the arrival of over 110 top economics undergraduates and faculties from seven countries in South Asia towards the realization of a more integrated South Asia.

A new report presented by the World Bank proposes alternatives to improve the efficiency of the Dominican Republic’s tax system to support the Government in its efforts to increase public revenue, promote inclusive growth and competitive business climate, on January 17.

The Internal Revenue Service, state tax agencies and the tax industry on Jan 17 urged all employers to educate their payroll personnel about a Form W-2 phishing scam that made victims of hundreds of organizations and thousands of employees last year.

LITRG has recently responded to the call for evidence from HM Treasury in connection with their 2017 manifesto commitment to implement a ‘breathing space’ scheme for those in problem debt. We highlighted the many problems that taxpayers experience when dealing with tax and tax credit debt.

Government efforts to improve the quality and take-up of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills have yielded some positive results. There remains, however, an urgent need for departments to set out a shared view of what they are trying to achieve and a co-ordinated plan for achieving it before government can demonstrate that it is delivering value for money, according to report from the National Audit Office on Jan 17, 2018.

While the 31 January 2018 deadline for submitting your 2016/17 tax return and paying your tax bill is well known, the experience of the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) is that many newcomers to Self-Assessment fail to realise they may have to pay some money in advance towards their next tax bill on that day, too.

Commenting on the news on Jan 15 that Carillion has gone into liquidation, John O'Connell, Chief Executive at the TaxPayers' Alliance, said: Despite the extremely well publicised financial difficulties Carillion has been experiencing in recent months, the government continued to award it contracts, disregarding its own risk management policies in the process.