The following is a guest post by Louis Myers, a legal reference librarian at the Law Library of Congress. Louis has authored several blog posts for In Custodia Legis, including New Acquisition: The Trial of Governor Picton, A Case of Torture in Trinidad, Indigenous Law Research Strategies: Settlement Acts, Looking into the Past: Space Telescopes and the Law of Outer Space, and Law Library of Congress Report Explores Sanctions for Worldwide Human Rights Abuses.
The Law Library of Congress recently published a new report, Investment Incentives, discussing “investment incentives and tax treatment investments” in a selection of jurisdictions. Individual reports highlight major tax frameworks including sections on income tax, capital gains tax, and corporate or business tax. Special investment incentives are also identified, which include industrial categories, employee benefits, and foreign direct investments.
The report consists of a comparative analysis of the tax regimes and investment structures of Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Egypt, France, Greece, Israel, India, Iran, Japan, Kenya, South Korea, Mexico, Portugal, Russia, Sweden, Turkey, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Jurisdictions were chosen based on the size of their economies. The report also contains several maps that demonstrate various data points explained in the individual jurisdictional components.
The report is based on a framework of incentives available in the U.S. tax code. Since each jurisdiction has its own unique system, individual report components highlight the primary incentives available. Common topics addressed amongst each of the surveyed jurisdictions are the tax rates for individuals and businesses, and the treatment of capital gains. Other aspects discussed in individual reports include incentives for investments made in various industrial sectors, such as mining and technology. There is also discussion about Value Added Tax and special rules applying to real estate investments. Most reports close with a discussion of international agreements related to tax and investment.
This report is an addition to the Law Library’s Legal Reports (Publications of the Law Library of Congress) collection, which includes over 4,000 legal reports covering a variety of jurisdictions, researched and written by foreign legal specialists with expertise in each area.
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