Deloitte: Tax responses to the global economic crisis, Published 20 March 2009 (updated); 24 pages.
“Countries worldwide are taking steps to counter the effects of the global financial and economic crisis. From a tax and fiscal perspective, the approaches taken thus far range from formal “stimulus” packages, to ad hoc measures, to temporary provisions, to accelerating the introduction of planned measures or alternatively scrapping them altogether. The 2009 budgets/finance acts of a number of countries have served as the platform for many provisions – in some instances, the measures specifically target the economic downturn and, in others, they incidentally mitigate some of the effects of the crisis. It appears that, in some cases, planned measures that have gone into effect were not drafted to address the challenges, but, because of the urgency of the situation, have advanced through the legislative process more expeditiously than they might otherwise have done. This report provides a high level summary of responses, through tax and fiscal policies, of more than 50 countries worldwide to tackle the crisis. The focus is on implemented corporate, individual income, and indirect tax measures, other types of fiscal measures and corporate governance, and proposed and deferred measures.”