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The planned sugar and plastics taxes would not only introduce new charges, but also create a significant administrative burden.

According to Focus, citing the relevant draft legislation, the Federal Ministry of Finance expects a total of 1,046 additional full-time positions.

The plastics tax alone is expected to require 788 customs positions, 28 positions at ITZBund and three at the Finance Ministry. Annual administrative costs are estimated at €46 million.

The sugar tax would require a further 200 customs positions, 23 positions at ITZBund and additional capacity at the Finance Ministry. A further €28 million per year is budgeted for this.

Why this matters

New taxes do not only mean higher charges. They also create new government structures, control mechanisms and permanent administrative costs.

The example shows how government burdens can reinforce themselves: New tax → new bureaucracy → new ongoing costs.

Source:

Focus Online – Germany plans 1,046 new positions for sugar and plastics taxes

Japan is making permanent residency significantly more expensive for foreign nationals. Since 1 October 2026, the fee for an approved permanent residency application has been 200,000 yen instead of 10,000 yen — a twenty-fold increase, or 1,900%.

Applications submitted by 30 September remain subject to the previous fee, even if approval comes later.

At the same time, Japan is tightening the requirements for permanent residency. The revised guidelines place greater emphasis on household income and financial independence, retirement planning, tax and social-security obligations, Japanese-language ability, and integration into Japanese society. The changes are being phased in: new income criteria already apply to certain pending applications, while the revised guidelines are scheduled to apply comprehensively to applications submitted from 1 April 2027.

Why this matters

Japan shows how quickly the conditions attached to a supposedly long-term residency status can change. The costs are rising sharply, while the requirements for income, language and integration are also becoming stricter.

Residency is therefore not an unchanging form of security. Anyone planning internationally should look not only at which options work today, but also avoid making their entire residency strategy dependent on one country.

Sources:

Immigration Services Agency of Japan – permanent residency fees effective 1 October 2026

Immigration Services Agency of Japan – revised permanent residency guidelines and transitional rules

Argentina has officially announced its new Citizenship by Investment programme. Applications are expected to open in the fourth quarter of 2026.

The proposed routes are a non-refundable contribution from US$350,000 or a government bond investment of US$800,000. Several years of prior residency are not required.

The Argentine passport is the main attraction: it currently provides visa-free or visa-on-arrival access to around 169 destinations. Spouses and children up to the age of 24 are also expected to be eligible for inclusion in the application.

Why this matters

Argentina is bringing a remarkably strong passport into the international CBI market. The key distinction, however, is between citizenship and tax residence: holding the passport alone does not automatically create Argentine tax residence under the current rules.

Anyone who actually becomes tax resident in Argentina can be subject to worldwide income taxation. The wealth tax Bienes Personales may also cover assets held abroad.

The passport may therefore be strategically interesting — but tax residence in Argentina is a separate decision.

More on this topic at Detoxhelden

Argentine citizenship

Sources:

Argentine government – Citizenship by Investment

Argentine government – amended citizenship law

The United Arab Emirates tax authority has published a new official clarification on Free Zones and Designated Zones in TAXP010.

The important point: a Free Zone does not automatically have the same status for Corporate Tax, Value Added Tax (VAT) and Excise Tax. The tax classification must be assessed separately for each tax type.

This is particularly relevant because a VAT Designated Zone is not automatically a Corporate Tax Designated Zone.

The frequently advertised 0% corporate tax rate for Free Zone companies also does not apply across the board. Only a Qualifying Free Zone Person can apply the 0% rate to Qualifying Income. Other taxable income is generally subject to 9%.

TAXP010 does not introduce a new tax. It clarifies how the existing rules are applied.

Why this matters

“UAE Free Zone = 0% tax” is an oversimplification.

Whether a structure actually benefits from the 0% regime depends, among other things, on the specific zone, the business activity, the type of income and compliance with the QFZP requirements.

Anyone setting up a UAE company should therefore classify the business model for tax purposes first — and only then select the appropriate Free Zone.

Source: Federal Tax Authority – TAXP010, 2 October 2026

The European Commission has asked Eastern Caribbean countries operating Citizenship by Investment programmes to phase them out by June 2028. Saint Lucia confirmed the request following talks with EU Commissioner Magnus Brunner in September. Antigua & Barbuda had previously disclosed a requested end date of 1 June 2028.

The issue is linked to visa-free access to Europe. Under the EU’s revised Visa Suspension Mechanism, investor-citizenship schemes can provide grounds for suspending visa-free travel.

The Caribbean programmes remain operational. The June 2028 date is an EU phase-out request, not an already enacted closure.