There were nearly four times the number of changes in indirect taxes such as sales and use taxes and value-added taxes around the world in the second quarter of this year, compared to the same period last year, according to a new report.
There were 1,025 tax code changes in Q2 2012, compared with 270 in Q2 2011, according to the latest
“Globally, businesses had to comply with over 1,000 tax changes this past quarter,” said Thomson Reuters vice president of tax research and content Carla Yrjanson, in a statement. “That’s a huge burden. Whether the changes are increases, decreases or exemptions, the cost to implement them is essentially the same for businesses. Without the right technology, domain expertise and accurate tax information at the country and jurisdiction levels, it’s difficult to achieve compliance in a cost effective manner.”
The report covers changes in tax laws for over 175 countries. It found that the total number of state, county, city and transit sales tax rate increases in the U.S. declined from 111 in Q2 2011 to 104 in Q2 2012. The number of value added tax rate increases globally declined from 13 to 5.
In the U.S., the average state sales tax was 5.48 percent in Q1 2012, down from 5.52 percent in Q1 2011.
