INDONESIA - TAXATION - Tax for Capital Gain of Shares Raised to 2.5%

www.theindonesiatoday.com -JAKARTA, Indonesia Today - Tax General Directorate plans to impose 2.5% tax to capital gain from shares transaction undertaken by the founder of listed companies, compared to current 0.5% tax, Bisnis Indonesia reported this morning.

Fuad Rahmany, Tax Directorate General, said his office is now preparing this plan which will be formulated in the government regulation.

Currently, the tax for capital gain of shares transaction is stipulated on PP No. 14/1997 regarding Income Tax over Income of Shares Transaction at Stock Exchange. (source)

HONG KONG - CAPITAL MARKETS - Hong Kong consults on Islamic bonds

www.cpifinancial.net - The Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau (FSTB) launched a consultation on 29 March 2012 on the proposed amendments to the Inland Revenue Ordinance and Stamp Duty Ordinance to promote Islamic bond, market development in Hong Kong SAR.

Secretary for Financial Services & the Treasury Professor KC Chan said the amendments seek to level the playing field for common types of Sukuk (Ijarah, Musharaka, Mudaraba and Murabaha) vis-a-vis their conventional counterparts in terms of profits tax, property tax and stamp duty liabilities. (source)

INDONESIA - REGULATIONS - The treatment of Islamic banks was still differen

www.bisnis.com - JAKARTA: For the sake of fighting for the same tax equity with conventional, Indonesia Sharia Bank Association formed a task force whose function is requesting changes to Regulation 136 of the Minister of Finance that the current numbers are still multi-valued interpretation.
Achmad Kusna Permana, Head of Sharia Bank Permata Tbk PT as a member of the Association of Bank Indonesia Sharia (Asbisindo), said the association had a meeting with the Ministry of Finance of fiscal policy, to discuss the Ministry of Finance (PMK) No. 136/PMK.03/2011 about Income Tax for Business Activities Financing the Sharia.  (source)

MALAYSIA - TAX - Tax incentives for Sukuk in Malaysia

cpifinancial.net  - Malaysia’s 2012 Budget is to offer incentives boost Islamic finance, extending tax breaks on Sukuk issuance for a further three-year period

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said a tax deduction on expenses incurred for Sukuk Wakala will be given for a three-year period from 2012 to encourage more Sukuk issuances. Najib said, "The income tax exemption given for non-ringgit Sukuk issuance and transaction is extended for another three years until the year of assessment 2014." (source)

THAILAND - CAPITAL MARKETS - Thai Islamic Bank Seeks Tax Clarification Before Baht Sukuk Sale

Oct. 5 (Bloomberg) -- The Islamic Bank of Thailand is awaiting clarification from government regulators on tax breaks for Shariah-compliant bonds before proceeding with the country’s first sale of baht-denominated sukuk.

“We need to know if the tax exemptions cover both land and properties,” Dheerasak Suwannayos, president of the state-owned Islamic Bank, said in an interview today in Bangkok. “We have been told by the Securities Exchange Commission that they will get back to us in a month.” (source)

INDONESIA - BANKING - Islamic banks expect tax incentive

REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Actor Islamic banking Homeland expect any tax incentives to customers who place their funds in Islamic banks. According to the Director of Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) Sharia, Ventje Rahardjo, this could be one way of encouraging the growth of Islamic banking in the future.

"We hope that from the demand side," he told Reuters recently. He said for example on deposit products, there is a tax on customers below 20 percent. "So far, just the same as conventional," he explained. He claimed to expect leniency in order to place the acceleration in the growth of Islamic banking assets. (source)

AUSTRALIA - TAX - Aussie tax office in law review

Australia’s Federal Board of Taxation has completed the first stage of its consultation exercise to review the tax treatment of Islamic finance instruments.

According to the Tax Office, it has received submissions from various sources including: Australian law firms; accountancy firms; academics; individuals; industry bodies (including the Financial Services Council, CPA Australia and a joint submission from the Tax Institute of Australia and the AFMA); and state offices including the Department of NSW Treasury and Department of Industry & Investment NSW. (source)

LEGAL - Bermuda signs TIEA with Indonesia

The TIEA, which is the Island’s 25th signed agreement, provides for a full exchange of information on criminal and civil tax matters between the two countries. 

Negotiations took place between the two parties at the Ministry of Finance in Bermuda a year ago and the TIEA was signed at the Indonesian Embassy in London. (source)

FINANCE - Tax incentives, sovereign and corporate sukuk, streamlining approval procedure for new products

Indonesia Cuts Taxes After Trailing Malaysia: Islamic Finance

Indonesia’s plan to offer tax incentives for Islamic finance may spur sukuk issuance, which was 32 percent that of Malaysia last year.