Radar archive — December 2025
Mexico renews its border-zone tax breaks for one year only
A decree published in the Diario Oficial de la Federación on 31 December 2025 extends the fiscal stimulus for the northern and southern border regions — a reduced IVA rate and a partial income-tax credit — together with the IEPS stimulus on automotive fuels, but only through 31 December 2026, in place of the multi-year renewals granted previously. The border regime continues to apply an effective 8% IVA and a one-third ISR credit for qualifying taxpayers.
Implications for capital — Businesses and investors relying on the border-zone regime gain only a single further year of certainty, shortening the horizon over which the reduced IVA and income-tax treatment can be assumed when structuring operations there.
Italy tightens when short-term letting becomes a business
The 2026 Budget Law lowers the threshold at which short-term residential letting is treated as a business activity, triggering from the third property let rather than the fifth. Reclassification carries the tax and compliance consequences of operating a business.
Implications for capital — Investors holding several Italian residential units for short-term rental cross into business taxation sooner, affecting how residential property portfolios are structured and held.
Italy doubles its financial transaction tax from 2026
The 2026 Budget Law doubles the rates of Italy's financial transaction tax (the 'Tobin tax') with effect from 2026. The levy falls on transfers of shares in Italian issuers and certain derivatives referencing them.
Implications for capital — The cost of trading affected Italian instruments rises, feeding into the execution costs borne by funds and investors holding Italian equity exposure.
Portugal completes its MiCA framework and divides crypto supervision
Law 69/2025 puts in place the national measures giving effect to the EU Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA), allocating supervisory powers between Banco de Portugal and the CMVM and setting cooperation mechanisms for the legal classification of crypto-assets. A transitional regime allows providers already registered with Banco de Portugal to keep operating until MiCA authorisation is granted or refused, or until 1 July 2026 at the latest.
Implications for capital — Crypto-asset service providers based in Portugal must secure MiCA authorisation to continue past the transitional window, with oversight split between the central bank and the securities regulator.
Source: Diário da República
AFSA overhauls capital-market, digital-asset and crowdfunding rules
Effective 1 January 2026, the Astana Financial Services Authority amended three core AIFC frameworks following a public consultation held between July and September 2025. The changes narrow governance duties to equity issuers, widen market-institution membership and cross-listing options, revise capital requirements and consolidate rulebooks for Digital Asset Service Providers, and strengthen borrower due-diligence and retail lending limits under the crowdfunding regime.
Implications for capital — The amendments recalibrate licensing, capital and disclosure requirements for capital-market, crypto and crowdfunding firms operating in the Astana International Financial Centre.
UAE VAT law amendments take effect January 2026
Amendments to the VAT law remove the requirement to issue self-invoices under the reverse-charge mechanism (though documentation must still be retained), set a five-year limit for reclaiming excess refundable tax, and empower the Federal Tax Authority to deny input-tax deductions on supplies linked to tax-evasion schemes. The changes took effect on 1 January 2026.
Implications for capital — The input-tax denial provision raises counterparty-verification obligations for businesses, while the refund time limit fixes a closing window on recoverable VAT.
Source: UAE Ministry of Finance