Reform tracker

Following the major reforms under way, country by country: what the text provides, where it stands, and what its supporters and opponents say. Every fact is sourced; Citoyen takes no position.

62 reforms

Russia Economy & public finances
10 min readUpdated: November 12, 2026In forceProgressive personal income tax and corporate tax at 25%, 2025Federal Law No. 176-FZ of 12 July 2024 replaces Russia’s two-band personal income tax (13%, then 15% above 5 million roubles a year) with five bands from 1 January 2025: 13% up to 2.4 million roubles, then 15%, 18%, 20% and 22% above 50 million, each higher rate applying only to the part of income above its threshold. The same law raises the corporate profit tax rate from 20% to 25%, introduces a federal investment tax deduction, imposes VAT on businesses on the simplified tax system with income above 60 million roubles and turns the resort fee into a tourist tax. The Ministry of Finance, which drafted it after the President asked in February 2024 for a « fairer distribution of the tax burden », says the higher income-tax rates concern about 3% of the working population. Dividends, deposit interest and property sales keep a 13% / 15% scale, as do Far North wage supplements and pay linked to the « special military operation ». Figures from official Russian sources are cited as published.Read the factsheet →
China Economy & public finances
9 min readUpdated: November 11, 2026In forcePrivate Economy Promotion Law (2025)Adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress on 30 April 2025 and in force since 20 May 2025, the Private Economy Promotion Law is China’s first law devoted specifically to the private sector (9 chapters, 78 articles). It writes into law the « two unwavering » principle and the equal legal status of private firms, a single nationwide negative list for market access, equal treatment in public tenders and credit, limits on seizures and on enforcement by authorities from other regions, and a duty for state bodies, state-owned firms and large companies to pay private suppliers on time. It also requires private firms and their managers to support the leadership of the Communist Party. One year on, the National Development and Reform Commission reports more than 170 implementing measures, while official statistics show private fixed-asset investment falling (−6.4 % in 2025, −10.4 % from January to September 2026).Read the factsheet →
Brazil Economy & public finances
12 min readUpdated: November 11, 2026In forceConsumption tax reform: a dual VAT (CBS and IBS) and a selective tax replace five taxes (Constitutional Amendment 132/2023)Constitutional Amendment No. 132, promulgated on 20 December 2023, replaces Brazil’s five main consumption taxes (federal PIS, Cofins and IPI, state ICMS, municipal ISS) with a dual value added tax: a federal contribution on goods and services (CBS) and a tax on goods and services (IBS) shared by states and municipalities, plus a selective tax (Imposto Seletivo) on goods and services harmful to health or the environment. Complementary Law No. 214 of 16 January 2025 sets out the rules: reduced rates for listed sectors, a zero-rated national basic food basket and a refund (« cashback ») to low-income families. The transition started in 2026 with test rates of 0.9% (CBS) and 0.1% (IBS), offset against PIS and Cofins; the CBS is due in full and PIS and Cofins end in 2027, while ICMS and ISS are phased down from 2029 and abolished in 2033. The Senate must set the CBS reference rate for 2027 by 15 December 2026; the Federal Court of Accounts (TCU) proposed 11.3%.Read the factsheet →
Argentina Economy & public finances
11 min readUpdated: November 11, 2026In forceBases Law (Law 27,742): State reform, privatisations and the RIGILaw 27,742, the « Law of Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines », was passed by Congress on 27 June 2024 after a Senate vote decided by the Vice President’s casting vote, and published on 8 July 2024. It declared a one-year public emergency, delegated powers to the executive to reorganise or dissolve State bodies, declared six State companies subject to privatisation (two more only partially), rewrote the administrative procedure and public employment rules, and changed labour law (six-month probation period, repeal of the fines for undeclared work, regularisation scheme). It also created the Large Investment Incentive Regime (RIGI): for projects of at least USD 200 million, a 25% income tax rate, gradual freedom to keep export proceeds abroad and 30 years of tax, customs and exchange stability. The delegated powers ran for one year; the RIGI adhesion window was extended to 8 July 2027.Read the factsheet →
Brazil Economy & public finances
13 min readUpdated: November 11, 2026In forceNew fiscal framework: primary balance targets and a spending limit tied to revenue (Complementary Law 200/2023)Complementary Law No. 200 of 30 August 2023, the « Sustainable Fiscal Regime » or « arcabouço fiscal », replaces the federal spending cap of Constitutional Amendment 95/2016, which only let primary spending grow with inflation. Each year the budget guidelines law sets a primary balance target for the central government, met within a band of plus or minus 0.25 point of GDP, while primary spending limits grow with inflation plus 70% of real revenue growth (50% if the target was missed), never less than 0.6% nor more than 2.5% in real terms. Missing the target triggers automatic restrictions, and a floor protects public investment. The target was declared met in 2024 and 2025 after legally authorised deductions, while the Federal Court of Accounts and the Senate’s Independent Fiscal Institution judge the effort insufficient to stabilise public debt.Read the factsheet →
Turkey Economy & public finances
10 min readUpdated: November 11, 2026In forceLaw No. 7524 amending tax laws (2024): domestic minimum corporate tax and global minimum taxAdopted by the Grand National Assembly on 28 July 2024 and published in the Official Gazette on 2 August 2024, Law No. 7524 is a 61-article omnibus package, presented by its AK Party sponsors as a step towards a fairer tax system with a larger share of direct taxes. Its centrepiece is a domestic minimum corporate tax: from 2025 profits, corporate tax may not be lower than 10% of profit before deductions and exemptions. It also brings the OECD global minimum tax into Turkish law: multinational groups with consolidated revenue above 750 million euros pay a top-up tax so that their profits are taxed at 15% at least, from the 2024 financial year. The law also raises the corporate tax rate on build-operate-transfer and public-private partnership companies to 30%, limits several exemptions, steps up penalties and controls against the informal economy, and raises the minimum pension from 10,000 to 12,500 lira.Read the factsheet →
Argentina Economy & public finances
10 min readUpdated: November 11, 2026In forceDeregulation decree DNU 70/2023 (« Bases for the Reconstruction of the Argentine Economy »)Decree of necessity and urgency 70/2023, signed by President Javier Milei with all his ministers on 20 December 2023 and published the next day, has 366 articles and modifies or complements 87 laws and other norms: it repeals the rent law, the supply law and the « gondola » law, turns State companies into public limited companies, bars the executive from restricting trade for economic reasons, frees prepaid health plans and rewrites part of labour law. It took effect on 29 December 2023. The Senate rejected it on 14 March 2024 (42 votes to 25), but under Law 26,122 a decree only falls if both chambers reject it, and the Chamber of Deputies has not voted on it: an opposition session called for that purpose failed for lack of a quorum on 15 October 2026. The decree therefore remains in force, except where courts have suspended it: the labour title was declared invalid by the National Labour Appeals Chamber in January 2024 (appeal pending before the Supreme Court, most of its content later re-enacted by law), and the Supreme Court suspended on an interim basis, on 9 October 2026, the article repealing the rural land law.Read the factsheet →
Brazil Economy & public finances
8 min readUpdated: November 10, 2026In forceIncome tax reform: zero tax up to R$ 5,000 a month and a minimum tax on high incomes (Law 15.270/2025)Law No. 15.270 of 26 November 2025 amends Brazil’s personal income tax. Since January 2026, a tax reduction cancels the monthly tax on taxable income up to R$ 5,000 and phases out between R$ 5,000.01 and R$ 7,350. To offset the cost, profits and dividends above R$ 50,000 a month paid by one company to one resident individual bear a 10% withholding, dividends sent abroad a 10% withholding, and individuals with total annual income above R$ 600,000 owe a minimum tax rising to 10%, settled from the 2027 annual return. Submitted by the government in March 2025, the bill was passed by the Chamber of Deputies on 1 October and by the Senate on 5 November 2025. Several of its dividend provisions are challenged before the Supreme Federal Court.Read the factsheet →
Russia Economy & public finances
7 min readUpdated: November 10, 2026In forceVAT increase from 20% to 22%, 2026Federal Law No. 425-FZ of 28 November 2025 raises Russia’s standard rate of value added tax (НДС) from 20% to 22% from 1 January 2026, while keeping the 10% reduced rate on socially significant goods (food, medicines, children’s goods). The Ministry of Finance, which proposed it in September 2025 as part of the budget package, says the measure is aimed first of all at financing defence and security. The same law lowers the income threshold above which businesses on the simplified tax system (УСН) must pay VAT, from 60 million roubles to 20 million; a law of July 2026 keeps that threshold at 20 million for several more years. The Bank of Russia attributes January 2026’s jump in prices mainly to the pass-through of the VAT increase, which it describes as a one-off.Read the factsheet →
Germany Economy & public finances
9 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In force2025 debt brake reform and the €500bn infrastructure and climate neutrality fundThe constitutional amendment of 22 March 2025 exempts from the debt brake the defence and security spending above 1% of GDP, gives the Länder as a whole a structural borrowing margin of 0.35% of GDP and allows a special fund of up to €500bn, financed by borrowing outside the debt brake, for additional investment in infrastructure and climate neutrality by 2045. The SVIKG act set up the fund from 1 January 2025: €100bn for the Länder, €100bn for the Climate and Transformation Fund, investments approved until the end of 2036.Read the factsheet →
European Union Economy & public finances
8 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceEU economic governance reform of 2024: the new fiscal rulesThree acts of 29 April 2024, in force since 30 April 2024, rewrote the Stability and Growth Pact. Each Member State now commits to a four- or five-year medium-term fiscal-structural plan built around a single indicator, net expenditure, whose path is set by the Council. The 3% of GDP deficit and 60% debt reference values stay; adjustment can be spread over up to seven years in exchange for reforms and investment, and every Member State must have an independent fiscal institution.Read the factsheet →
Canada Economy & public finances
10 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceOne Canadian Economy Act (Bill C-5): internal free trade and fast-tracked national interest projectsPassed in three weeks and assented to on 26 June 2025, the act has two parts. Part 1, in force since 1 January 2026, deems goods, services and workers that meet provincial or territorial requirements to meet comparable federal ones. Part 2, the Building Canada Act, lets the federal cabinet list « national interest projects » for five years: their federal approvals are deemed favourable and grouped into a single document. Two projects were listed in October 2026, including a West Coast oil pipeline.Read the factsheet →
Australia Economy & public finances
6 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceRedesign of the « Stage 3 » income tax cuts (2024) and the 2026-2027 top-upsThe « Stage 3 » income tax cuts legislated in 2018 and 2019 under the Coalition were to apply, from 1 July 2024, a single 30% rate from A$45,000 to A$200,000. On 25 January 2024 the Albanese government announced a redesign, passed on 27 February 2024: from 1 July 2024 the 19% rate falls to 16%, the 32.5% rate to 30%, and the 37% and 45% thresholds rise to A$135,000 and A$190,000. A 2025 act lowers the first rate again, to 15% since 1 July 2026 and 14% from 1 July 2027.Read the factsheet →
United States Economy & public finances
6 min readUpdated: November 3, 2026In force« One Big Beautiful Bill Act » (Public Law 119-21): tax cuts, Medicaid and SNAP changes, higher debt limitThe 2025 budget reconciliation law, signed on 4 July 2025, makes the 2017 tax cuts permanent, adds temporary deductions for tips, overtime and seniors, raises the cap on the state and local tax deduction, adds work requirements to Medicaid and SNAP, phases out several clean-energy tax credits, funds immigration enforcement and defense, and raises the federal debt limit by $5 trillion. The CBO estimates it adds $3.4 trillion to deficits over 2025–2034 relative to its January 2025 baseline. Known as the « One Big Beautiful Bill Act », it has no official short title: the Senate struck it before passage.Read the factsheet →
United States Economy & public finances
7 min readUpdated: November 3, 2026Struck down2025 emergency tariffs (IEEPA): “Liberation Day” reciprocal tariffs and fentanyl duties, struck down by the Supreme CourtIn 2025 the President used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose additional duties: 25% on Canadian and Mexican goods and 10% on Chinese goods over fentanyl flows (February), then a 10% duty on almost all imports plus higher country-specific rates under Executive Order 14257 of 2 April 2025. On 20 February 2026 the Supreme Court held that IEEPA does not authorize the President to impose tariffs. The duties were terminated, refunds to importers began in April 2026, and the administration switched to other legal bases: a temporary 10% surcharge under Section 122, then Section 301 duties from 24 July 2026.Read the factsheet →
Saudi Arabia Purchasing power & prices
7 min readUpdated: November 11, 2026In forceVAT tripled from 5% to 15%: Saudi Arabia’s response to the 2020 oil and Covid shockOn 11 May 2020 the Minister of Finance, Mohammed Al-Jadaan, announced that the standard rate of value added tax, in force at 5% since 1 January 2018, would rise to 15% on 1 July 2020, and that the cost-of-living allowance paid to state employees since 2018 would stop from June 2020, within a package valued at around 100 billion riyals to face the fall in oil revenue and the Covid-19 pandemic. Royal Order No. A/638 of 15 Shawwal 1441 AH amended article 2 of the VAT law to set the 15% rate, and the increase took effect on 1 July 2020, with transitional rules for contracts signed before 11 May 2020 that ended on 30 June 2021. Year-on-year consumer price inflation measured by GASTAT went from 0.5% in June 2020 to 6.1% in July 2020, then fell back to 0.4% in July 2021 once the effect dropped out of the comparison. In April 2021 the Crown Prince described the increase as temporary; the consolidated law published by the tax authority still sets the rate at 15%.Read the factsheet →
India Purchasing power & prices
8 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceGST rate rationalisation (« GST 2.0 »), 2025On 3 September 2025 India’s GST Council, which brings together the Union and the States, replaced the four main rates of the goods and services tax (5, 12, 18 and 28%) with a standard rate of 18% and a merit rate of 5%, plus a special 40% rate for a few « sin » and luxury goods, into which the compensation cess is merged. The new rates apply since 22 September 2025; tobacco products and pan masala followed on 1 February 2026, when the compensation cess on them was withdrawn. The government puts the net revenue cost at about ₹47,700 crore; States such as Kerala fear a larger loss for themselves.Read the factsheet →
Indonesia Labour market
9 min readUpdated: November 11, 2026In forceIndonesia’s Job Creation omnibus law (Cipta Kerja) and its labour clusterLaw No. 11 of 2020 on Job Creation, an omnibus law of 186 articles in force since 2 November 2020, rewrote dozens of sector laws to attract investment, including the 2003 Manpower Law: a minimum wage set by a formula, contract durations and outsourcing left to government regulations, a fixed severance scale and a new job loss insurance. On 25 November 2021 the Constitutional Court declared its formation conditionally unconstitutional and gave two years to fix it; the government replaced it with Government Regulation in Lieu of Law No. 2 of 2022, enacted as Law No. 6 of 2023. On 31 October 2024 the Court reinterpreted 21 labour provisions and asked for a separate labour law within two years. Law No. 27 of 2026 on Labour Protection, promulgated on 28 October 2026, repealed the labour cluster (Article 81) and the 2003 law; the rest of the omnibus law, including the job loss insurance, stays in force.Read the factsheet →
Saudi Arabia Labour market
9 min readUpdated: November 11, 2026In forceLabor Reform Initiative: expatriate workers may change employer and leave the country without their employer’s consent, under conditionsSince 14 March 2021, expatriate workers in Saudi Arabia’s private sector can move to a new employer without their current employer’s consent once their contract has expired, and during the contract after one year of service and a notice to the employer, through the Ministry’s Qiwa platform. They can also request an exit and re-entry visa or a final exit visa themselves on Absher, the employer being notified electronically; a worker who leaves before the end of the contract bears the consequences of breaking it. The Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, which announced the initiative on 4 November 2020, presents it as basing the relationship on the documented employment contract; Human Rights Watch judged that it does not dismantle the kafala sponsorship system and, like the ILO, points out that domestic workers remain outside the Labor Law. The Labor Law amendments in force since 19 February 2025 (Royal Decree M/44) added a resignation procedure and set the worker’s notice period at 30 days.Read the factsheet →
Argentina Labour market
7 min readUpdated: November 10, 2026In forceLabour Modernisation Act (Law 27,802)Law 27,802, passed by Congress on 27 February 2026 and published on 6 March 2026, rewrites dozens of articles of the Employment Contract Law and several other labour laws. It changes the basis and ceiling of severance pay, creates Labour Assistance Funds (FAL) financed by a monthly employer contribution offset by a cut in social security contributions, allows hour banks, requires a minimum service of 75% during disputes in essential services, and creates incentives to register new hires and regularise undeclared employment. Most articles applied from publication; the FAL is scheduled for 1 December 2026 and other provisions for 2027 and 2028.Read the factsheet →
Mexico Labour market
6 min readUpdated: November 10, 2026In forceThe 40-hour working week: a gradual cut from 48 hours (2026 reform)A constitutional reform published on 3 March 2026 writes into article 123 of the Constitution a working week of 40 hours, and its implementing reform of the Federal Labour Law, in force since 1 May 2026, sets the timetable: the legal maximum stays at 48 hours in 2026, then falls by two hours on 1 January of each year, to 46 hours in 2027, 44 in 2028, 42 in 2029 and 40 in 2030, with no cut in wages or benefits. Overtime, paid double, is capped at 12 hours a week by 2030 (9 hours in 2026 and 2027), plus at most 4 hours a week paid triple; workers under 18 may not work overtime. Employers must also record each worker’s working hours electronically, under rules from the Labour Ministry applying from 1 January 2027.Read the factsheet →
India Labour market
8 min readUpdated: November 6, 2026In forceThe four labour codes (2019-2020)Parliament adopted the Code on Wages in August 2019, then the Industrial Relations Code, the Code on Social Security and the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code in September 2020. Together they replace 29 central labour laws: a minimum wage for all employments above a national floor wage, prior government permission for lay-offs, retrenchment and closure only from 300 workers, a first legal framework for gig and platform workers, « inspectors-cum-facilitators » instead of inspectors. The four codes came into force on 21 November 2025; the central rules were notified on 8 May 2026 and a few States and Union Territories were still finalising theirs in mid-2026.Read the factsheet →
United Kingdom Labour market
8 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceEmployment Rights Act 2025The Act of 18 December 2025 (chapter 36), introduced in October 2024 as the Employment Rights Bill, overhauls UK employment law: day-one paternity and parental leave, statutory sick pay from the first day of sickness, a qualifying period for unfair dismissal cut from two years to six months, restrictions on « fire and rehire », a right to guaranteed hours for zero-hours workers, the repeal of most of the Trade Union Act 2016 and a new Fair Work Agency. It comes into force in stages from December 2025 to 2027.Read the factsheet →
Germany Labour market
10 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In force2026 reform of basic income support for jobseekers: from Bürgergeld to GrundsicherungsgeldThe act of 16 April 2026, wanted by the CDU/CSU-SPD coalition, reshapes the basic income support for jobseekers (SGB II) introduced as « Bürgergeld » on 1 January 2023. Since 1 July 2026 the benefit is called « Grundsicherungsgeld »: job placement takes priority, a breach of duties cuts the standard rate by 30% for three months, three missed appointments in a row can end the entitlement, the one-year asset grace period is abolished and housing costs are capped from the first day. The standard rate itself is unchanged (€563 a month for a single adult in 2026).Read the factsheet →
South Korea Labour market
8 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In force« Yellow Envelope Act »: amendment of articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union ActLaw No. 21045 of 9 September 2025 amends articles 2 and 3 of the Trade Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act. Whoever substantially and specifically controls a worker’s working conditions (typically a principal contractor towards subcontracted workers) becomes an employer within that scope; industrial disputes may cover business decisions that affect working conditions; courts must split damages for strikes worker by worker. Passed twice and vetoed twice (2023, 2024), the text was adopted on 24 August 2025 and has been in force since 10 March 2026.Read the factsheet →
Japan Labour market
10 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceWork Style Reform: the legal cap on overtime (2018 act)The Work Style Reform act of 6 July 2018 wrote into the Labour Standards Act, with penalties, a cap on overtime: 45 hours a month and 360 a year as a rule, and never more than 720 hours a year, less than 100 hours in a month and 80 hours on average over two to six months, holiday work included for the last two. It applied from April 2019 in large firms and April 2020 in small ones; road drivers, construction and doctors only came under it in April 2024, with special ceilings: up to 960 hours a year for drivers and 1,860 for some doctors. Since October 2025 the government has been reviewing working-time rules; no change to the cap has been adopted.Read the factsheet →
France Labour market
7 min readUpdated: November 3, 2026In force2023 Full Employment Act: France Travail and automatic registration of RSA recipientsThe law of 18 December 2023 replaced Pôle emploi with France Travail on 1 January 2024 and created a « network for employment ». Since January 2025, recipients of the RSA minimum income, young people supported by local youth agencies and disabled people supported by Cap emploi are automatically registered with France Travail and sign a single « commitment contract », with in principle at least 15 hours of activity a week. A graduated « suspension-remobilisation » sanction applies since 1 June 2025. The Constitutional Council struck down the data-sharing provisions and issued interpretation reservations.Read the factsheet →
South Africa Health
10 min readUpdated: November 11, 2026AdoptedNational Health Insurance Act: a single public fund to buy health care for all, adopted in 2024 but not yet in forceThe National Health Insurance Act 20 of 2023, assented to by President Ramaphosa on 15 May 2024, creates a National Health Insurance Fund meant to become the single purchaser and single payer of health care services, funded through mandatory prepayment, with medical schemes limited to complementary cover once the scheme is fully implemented. The Act only takes effect on dates the President fixes by proclamation, and no section has been put into operation: on 24 February 2026 the President agreed to delay any proclamation until the Constitutional Court rules on challenges by the Board of Healthcare Funders and the Western Cape government to the public participation process. The Court heard the cases on 5 to 7 May 2026 and has reserved judgment. The Democratic Alliance, a partner in the Government of National Unity, opposes the Act in its current form.Read the factsheet →
Canada Health
7 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceCanadian Dental Care Plan and the interim Canada Dental BenefitFederal dental coverage for residents without dental insurance and with an adjusted family net income below $90,000, with no co-pays below $70,000. It started with an interim benefit for children under 12 (Dental Benefit Act, November 2022), then the Canadian Dental Care Plan, an administrative programme of Health Canada announced in Budget 2023 ($13.0bn over five years). Enrolment opened by age group from December 2023 and to every eligible resident in May 2025.Read the factsheet →
South Korea Health
8 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026AbandonedMedical school admission quota: the 2,000-place increase and its reversalOn 6 February 2024 the government raised the medical school admission quota, frozen at 3,058 since 2006, by 2,000 places a year from 2025 (5,058). Residents walked out; 4,567 students were finally recruited in 2025, then 3,058 in 2026. Under a framework act amended in April 2025, an independent estimation committee and the Health and Medical Policy Deliberation Committee replaced the plan in February 2026 with a smaller increase: 3,548 places in 2027, 3,671 in 2028 and 2029, then 3,871 with new schools in 2030 and 2031.Read the factsheet →
European Union Immigration & integration
9 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceEU Pact on Migration and Asylum (2024)Ten EU acts adopted on 14 May 2024 and applied since 12 June 2026 overhaul asylum and migration rules: mandatory screening of irregular arrivals at the external borders (up to seven days), a common asylum procedure with a mandatory border procedure (up to 12 weeks), a reformed Eurodac database, new rules on which Member State is responsible for an application and a permanent solidarity mechanism. The first Annual Solidarity Pool, for 2026, sets 21,000 relocations and €420 million of financial contributions as reference numbers.Read the factsheet →
South Africa Housing
9 min readUpdated: November 11, 2026AdoptedExpropriation Act 2024: a constitutional framework for taking property in the public interest, with possible nil compensation, not yet in operationThe Expropriation Act 13 of 2024 replaces the Expropriation Act of 1975 with one procedure for every organ of state that takes property for a public purpose or in the public interest: negotiation first, then notice, compensation offer, mediation and the courts. Compensation must be « just and equitable », and section 12(3) lists four situations, such as land held only for speculation or abandoned, where nil compensation « may be » just and equitable. Passed by Parliament on 27 March 2024, assented to on 20 December 2024 and published on 24 January 2025, the Act only comes into operation on a date the President sets by proclamation: none had been issued on 11 November 2026, and no court has suspended it. The Democratic Alliance, AfriForum, IRR Legal and the Vaderland Stigting challenge it in the Western Cape High Court, which heard the consolidated cases from 3 to 7 August 2026; the Act also drew a United States executive order cutting aid to South Africa.Read the factsheet →
Saudi Arabia Housing
7 min readUpdated: November 10, 2026In forceLaw of Real Estate Ownership by Non-Saudis: foreigners may buy property in designated zonesIssued by Royal Decree No. M/14 of 19 Muharram 1447 AH (14 July 2025) after its approval by the Council of Ministers on 8 July 2025, and published in the official gazette Umm Al-Qura on 25 July 2025, the law replaces the 2000 regime on real estate ownership by non-Saudis. It came into force on 22 January 2026, 180 days after publication. Non-Saudi individuals, companies and non-profit entities may own property within geographic zones set by the Council of Ministers; a legally resident foreigner may also own one home outside those zones, except in Makkah and Madinah, where individual ownership is reserved for Muslims. The Real Estate General Authority (REGA) levies a fee of up to 5% on the value of non-Saudis’ dispositions, set at 2% in Riyadh, Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah by the implementing regulation and the zones approved on 23 June 2026.Read the factsheet →
United Kingdom Housing
7 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forcePlanning and Infrastructure Act 2025 and the 1.5 million homes targetThe Planning and Infrastructure Act 2025 (Royal Assent on 18 December 2025) speeds up consent for major infrastructure, allows regulations letting English councils set their own planning fees, allows the government to require planning decisions to be delegated to officers or committees, creates a « Nature Restoration Fund » in which developers pay a levy to Natural England instead of mitigating site by site, and reforms compulsory purchase and grid connections. It is phased in by commencement regulations. The government presents it as a pillar of its milestone of 1.5 million new homes in England over this Parliament; MHCLG estimates 437,900 net additional homes from 9 July 2024 to 20 September 2026.Read the factsheet →
Australia Housing
7 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceNational Housing Accord and Housing Australia Future Fund: 1.2 million homes in five yearsAnnounced in the October 2022 federal Budget, the National Housing Accord commits the federal, state and territory governments to a housing supply target, raised by National Cabinet on 16 August 2023 to 1.2 million new well-located homes over five years from 1 July 2024. Its main legislative instrument, the Housing Australia Future Fund Act 2023 (Royal Assent on 28 September 2023, in force since 1 November 2023), sets up a $10 billion fund whose returns finance social and affordable housing through the agency Housing Australia. Together with the Accord facility, the programme now targets 40,000 social and affordable homes by 30 June 2029; as at 30 June 2026, 1,529 of them were complete.Read the factsheet →
Turkey Pensions
9 min readUpdated: November 11, 2026In forceEYT: retirement without a minimum age for people insured before September 1999 (Law No. 7438, 2023)Law No. 7438, adopted unanimously by the Grand National Assembly (395 votes cast, 395 in favour) and in force since its publication on 3 March 2023, removes the minimum age that Law No. 4447 of 1999 had imposed on people first insured on or before 8 September 1999, known in Türkiye as « EYT » (those stuck on retirement age). They can now draw an old-age pension as soon as they meet the other conditions of their scheme (years of insurance and contribution days), with no retroactive payment. During the committee examination, the public administration put the number of people expected to retire in 2023 at about 2.2 million and the total eventually covered at about 4.8 million. The law also funds a discount on employer contributions for new pensioners who return to work, and lets former subcontracted public workers keep their jobs once entitled to a pension.Read the factsheet →
Mexico Pensions
10 min readUpdated: November 11, 2026In forceThe 2020 pension reform: fewer contribution weeks, higher employer contributions and a cap on AFORE feesA decree amending the Social Security Law (LSS) and the Retirement Savings Systems Law (LSAR), published in the Official Journal on 16 December 2020 and in force since 1 January 2021, changes the funded pension scheme of private-sector workers insured by the IMSS since July 1997. The number of contribution weeks required for an old-age pension and for the guaranteed pension falls from 1,250 to 750 in 2021, then rises by 25 weeks a year to 1,000 in 2031. Contributions to the individual account rise from 6.5% of salary plus the State’s social quota to 15% by 2030: the worker’s share stays at 1.125%, and the employer’s share for old age rises gradually from 2023 to 2030, by wage bracket, up to 13.875% of salary in total for the highest brackets. The guaranteed pension is recalculated by age, weeks and salary, and the fees charged by the pension fund managers (AFORE) are capped at the average of the United States, Colombia and Chile.Read the factsheet →
Russia Pensions
9 min readUpdated: November 11, 2026In forceGradual increase of the retirement age (2018)Federal Law No. 350-FZ of 3 October 2018, in force since 1 January 2019, raises Russia’s general age for the old-age insurance pension from 60 to 65 for men and from 55 to 60 for women, by one year for each annual cohort, so that the new ages apply in full from 2028 (men born in 1963 or later, women born in 1968 or later). People who were due to retire in 2019 or 2020 under the former rules could claim their pension up to six months before their new age. The government’s bill, introduced in June 2018, first planned 63 for women; amendments proposed by the President in August 2018 brought it down to 60 and added early retirement for long careers and mothers of three or more children, longer protection for people close to retirement and pension indexation from 1 January. Figures and statements on this page come from official Russian sources and are cited as published.Read the factsheet →
China Pensions
6 min readUpdated: November 10, 2026In forceGradual increase of the statutory retirement age (2025)A decision of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress, adopted on 13 September 2024 and in force since 1 January 2025, raises the statutory retirement age over 15 years: from 60 to 63 for men, and from 55 to 58 and from 50 to 55 for women, depending on their previous statutory age. From 2030 the minimum contribution period for a monthly basic pension rises from 15 to 20 years, and workers may retire up to three years earlier or later under a flexible scheme.Read the factsheet →
South Africa Pensions
8 min readUpdated: November 10, 2026In forceTwo-pot retirement system: one-third of contributions accessible before retirement, two-thirds preservedSince 1 September 2024, contributions to South African retirement funds are split: one-third goes into a savings component that members can draw on once per tax year (at least R2,000, taxed at their marginal rate) without leaving their job, two-thirds into a retirement component preserved until retirement. Savings built up before that date stay in a vested component under the old rules, from which a one-off seed of 10% (at most R30,000) was moved into the savings component. The reform rests on the Revenue Laws Amendment Act 12 of 2024 and the Pension Funds Amendment Act 31 of 2024; SARS reported 2.4 million approved withdrawal tax directives by 31 January 2025.Read the factsheet →
South Korea Pensions
8 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceNational Pension reform of 2025: contributions from 9% to 13%, replacement rate of 43%Adopted by the National Assembly on 20 March 2025 and in force since 1 January 2026, the amendment to the National Pension Act raises the contribution rate (unchanged at 9% since 1998) by 0.5 point a year to 13% in 2033, sets the nominal replacement rate at 43% instead of letting it fall to 40% by 2028, writes the State’s guarantee of payment into the law and extends childbirth and military-service credits. It is the first parametric reform since 2007; the structural reform is left to a special committee of the Assembly.Read the factsheet →
France Pensions
4 min readUpdated: October 31, 2026Suspended2023 pension reform: legal retirement age raised to 64The law of 14 April 2023 gradually raises the legal retirement age from 62 to 64 and speeds up the increase in the required contribution period. The 2026 social security financing act shifted this phase-in by one generation for pensions starting from 1 September 2026.Read the factsheet →
Indonesia Education & training
11 min readUpdated: November 11, 2026In forceIndonesia’s Free Nutritious Meals programme (MBG)Launched on 6 January 2025 with 190 kitchens in 26 provinces, the Free Nutritious Meals programme (Makan Bergizi Gratis, MBG) gives free meals to pupils from pre-school to secondary school, to children under five and to pregnant and breastfeeding women. The meals are cooked by local kitchens (SPPG) run by partners under the National Nutrition Agency (BGN), created by Presidential Regulation No. 83 of 2024; Presidential Regulation No. 115 of 2025 set the programme’s governance in November 2025. According to BGN, it reached about 55.1 million beneficiaries in January 2026, and its 2026 budget ceiling of Rp 268 trillion was later trimmed to Rp 229.75 trillion. Food-safety incidents (about 250 in 2025 according to BGN), thousands of kitchen suspensions and governance problems have fuelled the debate; since June 2026 the agency’s new leadership has refocused beneficiaries, paused new kitchens and cut costs.Read the factsheet →
Australia Education & training
8 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceSocial media minimum age of 16 (2024 Act and 2026 enforcement Act)Since 10 December 2025, platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, X and YouTube must take « reasonable steps » to prevent Australians under 16 from holding an account. Children and parents face no penalty: the obligation and fines fall on platforms, up to 150,000 penalty units (A$49.5m) for a company, doubled by a 2026 Act.Read the factsheet →
Turkey Environment, energy & climate
7 min readUpdated: November 10, 2026In forceClimate Law No. 7552 and the Turkish emissions trading system (ETS), 2025Türkiye’s first climate law, adopted by the Grand National Assembly on 2 July 2025 (242 votes to 141) and in force since its publication on 9 July 2025, sets the legal framework for fighting climate change « in line with the green growth vision and the net-zero emission target » (2053). Its main instrument is a national emissions trading system (ETS) run by the Climate Change Presidency: since the ETS regulation of 27 August 2026, a pilot phase covers 2026 and 2027 emissions of large installations in electricity generation, cement, iron and steel, aluminium and fertilisers, with 100% free allocation.Read the factsheet →
Canada Environment, energy & climate
7 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceRemoval of the consumer carbon price (federal fuel charge), 2025Since 1 April 2025 the federal fuel charge (the « consumer carbon price » in force since 2019, $80 (Canadian) per tonne in 2024-25) has been set at zero, and households received a final Canada Carbon Rebate in April 2025. The Making Life More Affordable for Canadians Act (royal assent on 12 March 2026) removes it from law; the repeal of Part 1 of the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act as a whole takes effect on 1 April 2035. Industrial carbon pricing (Part 2, output-based pricing system) remains.Read the factsheet →
United Kingdom Social cohesion, poverty & inequality
6 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceAbolition of the two-child limit in Universal Credit (2026)Since April 2017, the child element of Universal Credit (and of Child Tax Credit until it closed in 2025) was paid for at most two children, with exceptions. Announced in the Budget of 26 November 2025, the Universal Credit (Removal of Two Child Limit) Act 2026 abolishes this limit for assessment periods starting on or after 6 April 2026. In April 2026, 478,120 households with 1.7 million children were not receiving the element for at least one child. The OBR puts the cost at £3.0bn in 2029-30; the government expects 450,000 fewer children in relative poverty in 2029-30.Read the factsheet →
Italy Social cohesion, poverty & inequality
8 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceDifferentiated autonomy act for ordinary-statute regions (Calderoli act, 2024)Law no. 86 of 26 June 2024 sets the procedure by which an ordinary-statute region can obtain extra powers from the State under article 116(3) of the Constitution, through an agreement (intesa) approved by Parliament. In December 2024 the Constitutional Court struck down or rewrote several provisions: only specific functions justified by subsidiarity can be transferred, and the delegation to set the essential levels of services (LEP) fell. In January 2025 it declared the repeal referendum inadmissible. In October 2026 the government approved agreements with Liguria, Lombardy, Piedmont and Veneto on four matters; the four bills are before the Chamber of Deputies.Read the factsheet →
Mexico Justice
9 min readUpdated: November 11, 2026In forceElecting judges by popular vote: Mexico’s 2024 constitutional reform of the JudiciaryThe constitutional decree published on 15 September 2024 makes every federal judge in Mexico, from district judges to the nine Supreme Court justices, elected by direct popular vote from candidates put forward by the three branches of government. It cuts the Supreme Court from eleven to nine members with twelve-year terms, replaces the Federal Judicial Council with an elected Judicial Discipline Tribunal and an appointed administration body, and caps judicial pay at the President’s. The first judicial election, held on 1 June 2025, filled 881 federal posts with a turnout of about 13 % according to the electoral institute, and the new Court took office on 1 September 2025. A further constitutional decree of 2 June 2026 postponed the second stage, which renews the remaining federal and local judges, from 2027 to June 2028 and simplified the nomination lists.Read the factsheet →
Indonesia Justice
8 min readUpdated: November 10, 2026In forceIndonesia’s new Criminal Code (KUHP, Law No. 1 of 2023)Promulgated on 2 January 2023 and in force since 2 January 2026, Law No. 1 of 2023 replaces the criminal code inherited from the Dutch colonial administration. It adds supervision and community service to the main penalties, asks judges to avoid prison where possible for minor cases, turns the death penalty into an alternative penalty with a 10-year probation, and recognises « living law » in society. It also contains contested offences (attacks on the honour of the President, insulting state institutions, adultery, cohabitation). It came into force alongside a new Criminal Procedure Code (Law No. 20 of 2025) and a law adjusting criminal penalties (Law No. 1 of 2026). In August 2026 the Constitutional Court struck down articles 240 and 241 and limited complaints under articles 218 and 219 to the President and Vice President.Read the factsheet →
Italy Justice
7 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026AbandonedConstitutional reform separating the careers of judges and prosecutors, rejected by referendumThe constitutional bill tabled by Giorgia Meloni and Carlo Nordio split the ordinary judiciary into two careers, judges and prosecutors, each with its own High Council of the Judiciary whose members would be drawn by lot, and moved disciplinary jurisdiction to a new High Disciplinary Court. Parliament adopted it in second deliberation on 30 October 2025 by an absolute majority but below two thirds, which opened the way to a confirmatory referendum. At the vote of 22-23 March 2026 the result was not favourable to the text, which therefore never entered into force.Read the factsheet →
France Justice
7 min readUpdated: November 3, 2026In forceJustice orientation and programming act 2023-2027The act of 20 November 2023 sets the payment appropriations of the « Justice » budget mission (excluding pensions) from €9.58bn in 2023 to €10.75bn in 2027, 10,000 net job creations including 1,500 magistrates and 1,800 court clerks, and authorises a rewrite of the Code of Criminal Procedure by ordinance. An organic act passed alongside reforms the status of magistrates. The 2025 and 2026 budgets fell short of the path; the 2027 finance bill exceeds it.Read the factsheet →
United States Justice
7 min readUpdated: November 3, 2026In forceFirst Step Act of 2018: federal prison and sentencing reformSigned on 21 December 2018, the First Step Act lets federal prisoners earn time credits (10 to 15 days per 30 days of recidivism-reduction programmes, assigned by a risk assessment tool (PATTERN)) toward home confinement or early supervised release. It also cuts some mandatory minimum sentences for repeat drug offences, broadens the « safety valve », makes the 2010 Fair Sentencing Act retroactive and bans restraints on pregnant prisoners. It applies to the federal system only, not to state prisons.Read the factsheet →
Germany Defense
7 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceMilitary Service Modernisation Act (« new military service »)Fifteen years after compulsory call-up was suspended in 2011, the act of 22 December 2025, in force since 1 January 2026, brings back military registration: men born from 2008 must fill in a questionnaire and are again subject to a medical examination (« Musterung »), while service itself stays voluntary. It writes into law a growth path to 460,000 soldiers by 2035 (up to 260,000 active, at least 200,000 reservists); if it is not met, only a new act of the Bundestag can order a needs-based conscription.Read the factsheet →
Japan Defense
8 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceJapan’s defence buildup: the 2022 security documents and their financing actOn 16 December 2022 the Cabinet adopted three security documents: Japan will acquire counterstrike capabilities, spend about ¥43 trillion on its defence buildup over fiscal 2023-2027 and bring defence and related spending to 2% of GDP in fiscal 2027. A 2023 act, later amended, finances part of it through non-tax revenue, a dedicated fund and new defence surtaxes. The government says the 2% level was reached in fiscal 2025, two years early, and is revising the three documents in 2026.Read the factsheet →
France Defense
9 min readUpdated: November 3, 2026In forceMilitary programming act 2024-2030 and its 2026 updateThe act of 1 August 2023 sets the armed forces’ resources for 2024-2030: €413.3bn of programmed needs, including €400bn of payment appropriations for the « Défense » budget mission, rising from €47.2bn in 2024 to €67.4bn in 2030. The act of 16 August 2026 updated it, adding €36bn over 2026-2030 for an updated total of €435.7bn.Read the factsheet →
United States Defense
7 min readUpdated: November 3, 2026In forceNational Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2026 (Public Law 119-60): $890.6 billion authorized, acquisition reform, troop floors in Europe and KoreaThe annual defense authorization law for fiscal year 2026 (1 October 2025 – 30 September 2026), signed on 18 December 2025, authorizes $890.6 billion for national defense programs within the Armed Services Committees’ jurisdiction, $8 billion above the President’s request. It sets active-duty end strengths, rewrites defense acquisition around « portfolio acquisition executives », writes the « Golden Dome for America » missile defense policy into law, extends Ukraine aid authority to 2029, bars funds from reducing U.S. forces in Europe below 76,000 or in South Korea below 28,500 before a certification, and repeals the 1991 and 2002 Iraq war authorizations. An authorization act does not appropriate money: the funds themselves were provided by the Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2026, enacted on 3 February 2026.Read the factsheet →
Italy Institutional trust
8 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026Under debateThe « premierato » constitutional reform: direct election of the Prime MinisterThe Meloni government’s constitutional bill would have the President of the Council of Ministers elected directly, for five years and at the same time as Parliament, with a nationwide seat bonus guaranteeing a majority to the lists linked to them; it also ends the appointment of senators for life by the head of State. The Senate approved it at first deliberation on 18 June 2024. As of 5 November 2026 it is still before the Constitutional Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, which held hearings until July 2025: the Chamber must still approve it, then both chambers must vote on it a second time, at least three months after their first vote.Read the factsheet →
European Union Artificial intelligence
8 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceEU Artificial Intelligence Act (2024) and its 2026 « Digital Omnibus » amendmentRegulation (EU) 2024/1689, in force since 1 August 2024, regulates AI according to risk: eight practices banned since 2 February 2025, rules for general-purpose AI models since 2 August 2025, obligations for high-risk systems, transparency duties, fines of up to €35m or 7% of worldwide turnover. Regulation (EU) 2026/1744 (« Digital Omnibus on AI »), in force since 27 July 2026, postponed the high-risk obligations to 2 December 2027 and 2 August 2028 and added a ban on « nudification » apps and AI-generated child sexual abuse material from 2 December 2026.Read the factsheet →
India Artificial intelligence
7 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceDigital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and its 2025 RulesAssented to on 11 August 2023, India’s general data protection law sets the rules for processing digital personal data: consent or « legitimate uses », duties for « data fiduciaries », rights for individuals, a Data Protection Board and penalties of up to ₹250 crore (₹2.5 billion) per breach. It also exempts State bodies notified by the government and rewrites a personal-information exemption of the Right to Information Act. The Rules notified on 13 November 2025 phase it in: the Board first, consent managers one year later, most obligations eighteen months later.Read the factsheet →
China Demography
8 min readUpdated: November 11, 2026In forceNational childcare subsidy for children under 3 (2025)An implementation plan issued by the General Offices of the CPC Central Committee and of the State Council, published on 28 July 2025, creates China’s first nationwide childcare subsidy: 3,600 yuan a year for every child under 3, whatever its birth order, backdated to 1 January 2025. The subsidy is exempt from personal income tax, is not counted as income for social assistance, and is mainly funded by the central budget (about 90%). Families apply online at the child’s place of household registration; by March 2026, 33 million families had received it, according to the National Health Commission. The central government allocated 99.9 billion yuan for 2026, 10.6% more than in 2025.Read the factsheet →
Japan Demography
7 min readUpdated: November 5, 2026In forceChildren’s Future Strategy and the child-rearing support levyAdopted by the Cabinet on 22 December 2023 to reverse the fall in births « before the 2030s », the Children’s Future Strategy sets an « acceleration plan » of about ¥3.6 trillion: child allowance without income cap and up to high-school age, ¥100,000 pregnancy benefit, leave benefit worth 100% of take-home pay. The act of 12 June 2024 finances part of it with a new levy collected with health insurance premiums since April 2026, rising to about ¥1 trillion in fiscal 2028.Read the factsheet →