Digital Taxation around the World | Tax Foundation Skip to content taxA tax is a mandatory payment or charge collected by local, state, and national governments from individuals or businesses to cover the costs of general government services, goods, and activities. policies, a significant number of countries adopted unilateral tax measures targeted at digital businesses, … Read more
Fact: The pharmaceutical industry pays the lowest effective tax rate in 2022 at 11.6%, with some companies like Pfizer and Abbvie paying even lower rates.
President Nikos Christodoulides expressed his support for the creation of a European Union defence commissioner. The idea was first proposed by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and has gained support from other countries as well. Christodoulides believes that strengthening the EU’s defence and security sector is important and that Cyprus should participate in EU missions. He also emphasized the importance of strengthening the National Guard due to Cyprus being under occupation for 50 years.
The U.S. Department of Justice is considering reclassifying marijuana as a schedule three drug, which would indicate a moderate to low potential for physical and psychological dependence. This potential policy change could be the biggest shift in federal cannabis policy in 40 years.
Columbia University has begun suspending pro-Palestinian student activists who refused to dismantle a protest camp on campus after negotiations failed. The crackdown follows similar protests at other university campuses across the U.S. Students are demanding divestment, transparency in university finances, and amnesty for those disciplined for participating in protests. The protests have sparked intense debate over freedom of expression and hate speech, with some students facing censure for criticizing the Israeli government or expressing support for Palestinian rights. Other campuses, like UCLA, have seen clashes between pro-Israeli activists and pro-Palestinian protesters. Law enforcement tactics, such as the use of pepper spray and flash-bang charges, have been criticized. Arrests have occurred at various universities, including Virginia Commonwealth University and Virginia Tech.
The European Union has identified 200 essential “critical medicines” to address shortages and ensure consistent supply across member states. The EU is promoting cooperation among countries to allow for drug procurement from nations with available stocks. The Critical Medicines Alliance aims to help smaller states like Cyprus, which often struggle with stock levels. Efforts include strengthening EU drug production capacity, creating European stockpiles, and aligning funding to tackle shortages. Elena Panayiotopoulos, Cyprus’ Director of Pharmaceutical Services, emphasized the importance of addressing medicine shortages that disrupt treatment and endanger patients. The EU Regulation ‘HTA’ will provide Cyprus with a common clinical assessment in 2025 to help access innovative treatments and effective medicines.
The Minister of Health stated that the state is obligated to provide cancer patients and their families with a full range of health services.
Interior Minister Constantinos Ioannou extolled the virtues of Cyprus’ migrant returns policy during an inter-ministerial meeting attended by the European Union’s 27 member states’ ministers responsible for asylum and migration in Ghent. Cyprus has seen a 66% increase in the number of irregular migrants returned to their countries of origin in 2023 compared to the previous year. Cyprus has the highest number of migrant returns per head of any EU member state. The EU pact on migration and asylum, set to be fully implemented in June 2026, includes provisions for managing surges in migrant flows and screening third country nationals entering the EU. Ioannou hopes for mandatory relocation of asylum seekers between member states.
– Economic sentiment in Cyprus improved marginally in April, with the Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) increasing by 0.8 points compared to March 2024.
– The rise in the ESI was driven by strengthening business sentiment across all sectors, with the largest increases occurring in the manufacturing and construction sectors.
– Services sentiment improved marginally in April, driven by more optimistic estimates of turnover in the next quarter.
– Retail trade sector sentiment rose slightly, supported by more favorable assessments of current inventory levels and improved expectations for the next quarter’s sales.
– Construction sector sentiment strengthened due to more favorable assessments of ongoing projects and optimistic estimates of number of employees.
– Manufacturing sector sentiment improved due to better assessments of current order levels, finished goods inventories, and expectations for production in the next quarter.
– Consumer sentiment declined in April as consumers appeared more pessimistic about the future economic situation of their households and the country in general compared to March.
– Economic Policy Uncertainty (EPU) index increased marginally in April, with greater uncertainty among businesses in the services and retail sectors.
– Sales price expectations in retail trade moved upward, and consumer price expectations were revised upward, reaching their highest point in six months.
The GBPUSD pair is holding positive ground near 1.2520 in early trading in Asia, supported by a softer US Dollar. The US Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates unchanged, with speculation that the first cut might not come until September. The Bank of England may start lowering borrowing costs in its June meeting, as Governor Andrew Bailey mentioned the possibility of two or three rate cuts this year.