ATO advice and guidance; Consultation opens on draft legislation to increase TPB regulatory sanction powers; ATO update: How to manage super during the Payday Super changeover; First EU carbon bord...
China's economy reached total output of RMB 140 trillion in 2025, with real GDP growth meeting the official 5.0 percent target.
Yet, the headline numbers only tell part of the story.
KPMG's latest China Economic Monitor unpacks the underlying dynamics.
Overview
Exports grew 5.5 percent year-on-year and the trade surplus hit a record USD 1.2 trillion. Growth was increasingly driven by hig...
AI is no longer a future concept for tax functions.
It is already being used—sometimes well, sometimes not so well - and its impact is accelerating. The conversation is shifting from "what can AI do?" to "how do we use it safely, consistently, and at scale?"
Tax leaders are now facing a clear challenge: how to move from experimentation to real, defensible value, while meeting regulatory...
The United States' (US) consumer price index (CPI) jumped 0.9 percent in March, the fastest monthly increase since nearing the peak of the pandemic in June 2022.
The index jumped 3.3 percent from a year ago, its hottest annual pace since May 2024.
The three-month annualised pace, which better tracks momentum, rose 5.6 percent from 3.2 percent in February.
Every measure is in the wrong direct...
Energy and Natural Resources, and Renewables (ENR) sector is one of the most critical sectors in the rapidly changing global economy.
Organisations face new challenges from evolving market conditions, shifting industry practices, and complex global value chains.
As a spotlight on this sector continues to grow, transfer pricing is one of the key tax areas that is starting to get increase scrut...
The March Quarter 2026 edition of KPMG's Super Tax News covers the latest key superannuation tax updates including:
Division 296 Bills – passage through the Senate without amendments;
Division 296 – Release of draft regulations for public consultation;
Low Income Superannuation Tax Offset (LISTO) Changes;
Senate Committee's Report on the Operation of the Capital Gains Tax Disc...
With Europe's tax landscape evolving at speed, asset managers, banks and insurers are facing a level of change and scrutiny that is reshaping how they operate across the region.
Designed for Heads of Tax, Tax Directors, senior Finance leaders and other financial services decision makers, join our KPMG specialists as they share fresh insights on the tax initiatives poised to have the greatest i...
What is new?
New thin capitalisation rules applicable to infrastructure investments in New Zealand have been announced with the release this week of an Amendment Paper to the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2025-26, Compliance Simplification, and Remedial Measures) Bill, currently before Parliament.
As well as the thin capitalisation changes, the Amendment Paper includes several other remedial mea...
Global growth is projected to fall to 2.7 percent in 2026 and 3 percent in 2027 from 3.4 percent in 2025. The pace for 2026 would mark the slowest growth rate sincethe pandemic concluded. Inflation is expected to reach 4.8 percent in 2026 before cooling to 3.6 percent in 2027.
That compares to 3.4 percent in 2025. The war has renewed inflation concerns, which rise along with risks of demand de...
Last week, the Federal Government announced significant changes to both the fuel excise rate and the road user charge, in response to the rise in global fuel prices.
These changes effect a 32 cent per litre (or 61 percent) reduction to the fuel excise rate during the period from 1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026.
Whilst this delivers immediate cash flow relief at the bowser for both business...
KPMG invites you to our next Banking and Finance Tax Update on Thursday 23 April 2026.
These events are specifically designed to keep banking and finance industry professionals up to date with current and emerging tax trends, and to share insights from our recent experience.
We will be offering both an in-person and online experience, and for those who can make it, we look forward to hosting ...
United States (US) February retail sales increased 0.6 percent, slightly above expectations for a 0.5 percent rise.
Excluding autos, retail sales advanced by a solid 0.5 percent, surpassing the consensus estimate of 0.3 percent.
Early tax refunds and a return to more seasonable weather encouraged shoppers to open their wallets.
Sales at motor vehicles...
In the past week, there have been two developments of direct relevance to the tax treatment of property development arrangements (PDA).
The first is the Full Federal Court’s decision in Commissioner of Taxation v Morton [2026] FCAFC 31.
The case concerned a long-term farmer who, after farming on the relevant land became uneconomic, entered into a PDA with an independent third-party...
Energy and Natural Resources, and Renewables (ENR) sector is one of the most critical sectors in the rapidly changing global economy. Organizations face new challenges from evolving market conditions, shifting industry practices, and complex global value chains.
As a spotlight on this sector continues to grow, transfer pricing is one of the key tax areas that is starting to get increase scruti...
Australia and the European Union (EU) have finalised a landmark Free Trade Agreement, slashing tariffs and opening significant new opportunities for exporters, importers and investors.
Highlights
Australia has secured a landmark Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the European Union (EU), marking the successful conclusion of 8 years of negotiations.
Announced on 24 March 2026, the Australia-EU...
Global workforce mobility remains a key issue for multinational groups, both from the perspective of retaining and attracting talent and in responding to the increased flexibility now expected by employees.
These developments have driven a significant transformation in how international workforces are managed. In many regions, remote work has increased substantially in recent years, both in sc...
In a world where geopolitical tensions and economic shifts are unfolding rapidly, there’s little time for business leaders to react - they are expected to anticipate disruption and act early.
Given the current geopolitical environment, this event will be focused on the topic of the impact of conflict upon economies and business.
Date: Tuesday 31 March 2026
Time: 4PM AEDT
Locati...
The United States (US) Supreme Court, on 20 February 2026, held that tariffs imposed under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) were not legally authorised.
Consequently, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is developing new functionality in its Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) system to automate the process to refund these tariffs.
Executive summary
IEEPA tarif...
The monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) data, released this week, reveals the economy had started to bounce back slightly in February from the recent resurgence in inflation, but the recovery is expected to be short lived.
The figures might seem like a glimmer of good news, but unfortunately bears little significance.
The oil crisis shock ricocheting through the economy right now is expected t...
Tax Controversy Compass is a webinar series by KPMG for multinational enterprises with cross-border operations in the Asia Pacific region, bringing together relevant KPMG experts from various jurisdictions in the region to provide perspectives on emerging tax risks and dispute trends in a fast-evolving tax controversy landscape.
Date: Thursday, 26 Mar 2026
Time: 1PM AEDT
Location: Webinar
...
Commissioner of Taxation v Ho [2026] NSWSC 247 is a rare example of the NSW Supreme Court granting a stay of tax recovery proceedings, notwithstanding the clear legislative policy permitting the Commissioner to recover assessed tax immediately, even where Part IVC proceedings are on foot.
The case is particularly noteworthy because the Court stayed the recovery proceedings, rather than adoptin...
As employers prepare for the transition to Payday Super from 1 July 2026, a key consideration will be the effect on employees paid under Total Remuneration Package (TRP) arrangements, where superannuation is included in the total package value.
Under TRP arrangements, employer Superannuation Guarantee (SG) obligations are met from the TRP.
Because of the requirement under Payday Super that SG...
The US Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) – the policy setting arm of the Federal Reserve – decided to pause on rate cuts for its second consecutive meeting.
The fed funds target held steady in the 3.5 percent to 3.75 percent range. The decision was accompanied by only one dissent.
Governor Stephen Miran dissented for the fifth consecutive meeting in favour more cuts.
The firs...
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has published its decision impact statement (DIS) on the landmark High Court case of Commissioner of Taxation v PepsiCo Inc & Anor [2025] HCA 30 (PepsiCo).
In PepsiCo, the taxpayers were narrowly successful in a 4:3 split decision, with the majority of the High Court dismissing the Commissioner's appeals, finding there to be no royalty withholding tax (...
Australia's labour market weakened in February, with the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) recording a higher-than-expected lift in joblessness.
The unemployment rate increased to 4.3 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the ABS, up from 4.1 percent the prior month and above consensus estimates of 4.1 percent.
That lift was driven by a surge in the number of people looking...
KPMG would like to invite you to attend our Insurance Tax Update event.
We will update you on various direct, indirect and international tax matters impacting the insurance industry.
Date: Thursday, 30 April 2026
Time: 9:00am - 10:00am AEST
Location: Webinar
Register here
The recent decision in Commissioner of Taxation v Hicks (No 2) [2026] FCAFC 14 (Hicks (No 2)) offers clarity on the circumstances in which indemnity costs may be awarded under Rule 25.14 of the Federal Court Rules 2011 (Cth) (Rule 25.14) where a party rejects an offer of compromise.
See related article: City Beach surfs past the application of Part IVA, section 45B in the Full Federal Court
F...
As widely expected, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) lifted the cash rate to 4.1 percent, on Tuesday 17 March, for the only time in the last decade - outside of June 2023 and April 2025.
After a decade of low interest rates, pushing the cash rate into this territory will hit mortgage holders hard.
We know the last tightening cycle put considerable pressure on households and the impact will...
The Commissioner of Taxation's (Commissioner) special leave application to appeal the unanimous Full Federal Court decision of Geocon Land Holdings No. 5 Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation [2025] FCAFC 172 (Geocon) was, on 12 March 2026, refused with costs.
In this article, we examine the implications of the Geocon decision and what it means for refunds of GST overpaid in the context of Divisi...
The New Zealand Government's Taxation (Annual Rates for 2025-26, Compliance Simplification, and Remedial Measures) Bill has been reported back from the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee (FEC).
We summarise below the highlights from the revised Bill and reflect on various submissions as discussed in the Departmental Report to the Committee.
What has changed?
The policy proposals, as s...
On 28 February 2026, the US-Israeli campaign against Iran has triggered a high-risk conflict environment across the Gulf. The situation is still very fluid.
Australian industries are impacted in different ways, and here is a summary of some of the key issues identified by our Geopolitics team.
Energy prices are volatile, but the shock is unlikely to be long-term
Analysts are predicting ele...
Today's ESG landscape is shaped by differing national approaches.
Some jurisdictions are intensifying enforcement, while others are opting for simplification or even deregulation.
With so much global variation, how can organisations stay on top of the latest trends? How can you avoid misleading stakeholders – and running afoul of greenwashing rules?
This webinar aims to provide you:
...
This joint KPMG and Thomson Reuters webinar will be hosted by Hayley Lock (Partner, KPMG Workforce Advisory), Sam Gathercole (Senior Manager, KPMG Workforce Advisory), and Amesh De Silva (Product and Proposition Manager, FBT, Thomson Reuters).
Date: Tuesday, 17 March 2026
Time: 12PM AEDT
Location: Webinar
Register here
Designed for tax, finance, HR, and payroll professionals, our speci...
United States (US) payroll employment dropped by 92,000 in February after a modest downward revision to 126,000 payroll gains last month.
The three-month moving average on job gains fell to 6,000 in February from 50,000 in January.
The economy shed jobs in the fourth quarter of 2025 when more than 150,000 federal workers rolled off the payrolls on 1 October.
Public sector payrolls shed 6,000...
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has released the finalised Australian Public Country-by-Country (CbC) Report form and instructions, ahead of the first lodgements due by 30 June 2026.
This latest release is the final formal piece of the ATO's implementation of the new Public CbC reporting rules, with multinational groups now having all they need to prepare and submit their first Pub...
In Commissioner of Taxation v S.N.A Group Pty Ltd [2026] FCAFC 10, the Full Federal Court set aside the primary judge's conclusions in a decision from July 2025, finding payments between related entities were not deductible.
Background facts
S.N.A Group Pty Ltd (SNA) and ATPR Pty Ltd (ATPR) (together, taxpayers), together with CLAARS Pty Ltd (CLAARS) as trustee for the Henry Trust and PAC R...
While there have been significant Pillar Two developments at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) level, there has also been a number of Australian updates.
These include:
finalised rules for exemptions from filing Australian Pillar Two returns;
Australia signing the Pillar Two Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of GloBE Information (GIR...
Banking taxes sit at the centre of Europe's financial system - driving stability, shaping policy, and directly influencing how banks compete and grow.
With nearly half of European Union (EU) member states introducing new bank taxes since 2022, and wide variation in how those taxes are designed and applied, the tax landscape has become a defining force in how institutions manage risk, deploy ca...
Today's mobility leaders are navigating a dynamic world of rapid change and unprecedented complexity - challenging them as never before to redefine mobility's efficiency, responsiveness and audit-readiness.
Welcome to Part 2 of 'See it differently' a timely three-part series featuring informed insights from KPMG global mobility professionals on the trends, challenges and opportunities that mob...
Global forecast
Global growth is projected to hold at 3.4 percent in 2026 before decelerating to 3.2 percent in 2027.
The pace for 2027 would mark the slowest growth rate since the pandemic concluded. Inflation is expected to continue moderating and return to central bank targets.
All considered, the global economy weathered the tariff storm better than many feared, in part due to the initia...
