Other news in brief

On 11 July 2024, the OECD published Corporate Tax Statistics 2024, which compiles data from more than 160 countries and jurisdictions worldwide. The latest data shows that over the last three years, average corporate tax rates have remained steady at 21.1 percent, following an earlier decline from the average of 28 percent in 2000. The OECD comments that a contributor to this stabilisation may have been the ongoing implementation in over 35 jurisdictions of a minimum corporate effective tax rate of 15 percent effective from 2024. This year’s report contains some additional content compared to prior years, including new data on the effective tax rates available to MNEs on highly mobile intangible assets through intellectual property (IP) regimes and other similar measures. There is also anonymised and aggregated country by country reporting (CbCR) data on the activities of over 8,000 multinational enterprises (MNEs) worldwide, including new data on the variation of MNEs’ effective tax rates within jurisdictions. 

In addition to our articles in this edition about tax changes expected, colleagues in KPMG Law have also been considering what employment law reforms are likely under the new Labour Government. At the forefront of Labour’s election campaign was a promise to deliver “A New Deal for Working People”. Donna Sharp and Felicity Weston explore what this means in the field of employment law and how employers can prepare for Labour’s proposed reforms.

The EU Pay Transparency Directive introduces new and far-reaching obligations on employers across Europe (and will impact UK organisations with EU based workers). Member states will be required to implement the transparency provisions of the Directive by 7 June 2026, with the reporting obligations applying from June 2027. KPMG Law has published a guide that explains the employer obligations, explores the likely impact over the coming years, and summarises the existing pay gap obligations across individual jurisdictions globally.