Barclays Wealth & Investment has struck a deal to sell its offshore trust and fiduciary business to an independent investor group. The Barclays offshore trust business is based in Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Cayman Islands, Singapore and Switzerland. The purchaser, an independent investor group led by the Sarikhani and… – Continue reading
The number of voluntary disclosures of offshore income and assets to Canada’s tax authority nearly doubled in the year ended March 31 from the previous 12 months, the first time such figures have been gathered since the Canada Revenue Agency put in a whistleblower reward system to root out tax… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Some large wealth managers feel the time is not ripe to start an onshore private bank in China, despite steps taken by Beijing to open up its financial services industry. Ownership restrictions and a relatively less developed capital market are impediments for Citigroup to start onshore private banking… – Continue reading
SINGAPORE, June 11 (IFR) – By selling what market sources say is the first offshore bond from a Chinese trust company, Zhongrong International Trust has opened a new funding route for the country’s shadow banks as they look to expand overseas. Zhongrong, China’s second largest trust company in asset terms,… – Continue reading
Toothless Eurocrats wail and gnash gums over big biz invite snub Amazon, Facebook and Google are among those who have been invited to a pow-wow with MEPs over their tax practices – but not all plan to show up. MEPs said on Tuesday that it’s regrettable that the multinationals “seem… – Continue reading
Sydney, 10 June (Argus) — The Australian government has released legislation to tighten rules governing corporate taxation such as the use of offshore tax havens. The bill is not aimed at any particular sector of the economy, but several resource and commodity companies have come under scrutiny following a Senate… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: A district and sessions court on Monday handed over 17 Axact employees here on physical remand over their alleged involvement in fraudulent practices, issuing fake degrees, money laundering and deceiving the public by acting as student counsellors. Civil judge Islamabad Rasool Bakhsh sent the suspects on physical remand for… – Continue reading
The UK tax body, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC), has completed a successful trial of Google Apps and will be rolling out the service to more of its staff throughout the year, reports The Register. HMRC has 70,000 staff, and as such will be Whitehall’s first mass deployment of… – Continue reading
Swiss banks that aren’t dependent on the country’s crumbling financial secrecy laws may find international expansion easier than those that sold hidden accounts in the past, according to Switzerland’s financial supervisor. “The shift away from businesses which rely on some elements of banking secrecy is changing the perception” of Swiss… – Continue reading
LONDON — Like other global institutions, HSBC, Europe’s largest bank, has been under severe pressure since the 2008 financial crisis to cut costs, meet stringent new regulatory demands and satisfy restless shareholders. To that end, the British bank said on Tuesday that it would shed as many as 50,000 of… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI — India’s goal of a friendlier tax regime for global companies to help power China-beating economic growth is hitting a manpower hurdle. Fewer than 20 officials face the complex task of working with hundreds of multinationals on pacts to avert tax rows, people familiar with the matter said,… – Continue reading
Zhongrong International Trust became the first issuer from the Chinese trust industry to venture into the offshore bond markets on Monday with a $225 million three¬year transaction. Over the past decade trust companies have become the second largest segment of China’s financial sector behind commercial banks, racking up assets of… – Continue reading
In November 2014 the WikiLeaks scandal known as “LuxLeaks”, the large scale exposure of over 340 companies (such as IKEA, Coca-Cola and Disney) who paid a rate of one per cent or less tax on profits moved to Luxembourg by advance pricing arrangements has affected all nationalities and brought the… – Continue reading
In a year when technology deals are set to break records, U.K. targets are proving popular. About $20 billion of deals were struck for British technology companies in the last 12 months, almost double the amount spent a year earlier. U.S. buyers accounted for about half the acquisitions. They included… – Continue reading
Shire is considering a move to acquire Swiss biopharma company Actelion in a move that would boost its rare disease portfolio. According to a report in the Sunday Times, Shire made an informal approach to Actelion about a possible £12.4bn takeover several weeks ago, but the opening bid was turned… – Continue reading
Demands for greater transparency from business about their tax affairs have prompted more than half of all FTSE 100 companies to disclose information about their approach to taxation, compared with less than a third two years ago, reports the Financial Times. The rise in disclosures is a sign of the… – Continue reading
“The same methodology [in the HSBC case] appeared in the JP Morgan investigation, the most important given that there is a witness who has implicated himself, the corporation’s Latin American chief. Due to a conflict with his employer, he has made a complaint in Argentina naming himself as the organizer… – Continue reading
The country’s affluent investors have roughly doubled their offshore investment, curbing growth at Brazil’s wealth management firms. Scandal, recession and weak oil prices have caused economic vitality to seep out of Brazil. Now the money is following. Wealthy Brazilians are sending more of their assets overseas because of concerns about… – Continue reading
U.S. agricultural and crop chemicals giant Monsanto (MON) could shift its headquarters to Europe in a tax-savings strategy if the company succeeds in its $45 billion unsolicited bid to merge with rival Swiss rival Syngenta. Details of the tentative plan came Monday as Syngenta reiterated its opposition to the transaction,… – Continue reading
BRUSSELS–The European Union said it was seeking fresh information from 15 EU countries on tax deals granted to individual companies, and ordered two governments to comply with its requests, deepening a high-profile tax investigation that has so far embroiled four multinationals including Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. The twin moves… – Continue reading
Chevron Australia boss Roy Krzywosinski was complaining two weeks ago that taxes were too high in Australia. It was a pretty suave call from Krzywosinski. The latest financial statements for Chevron Australia Holdings show the company not only managed to avoid paying tax last year but it even pulled off… – Continue reading
MUNICH — Leaders of the Group of Seven nations are set to agree on the creation of a system to counter tax evasion and tax avoidance by multinational enterprises, during the G-7 summit meeting to be held in Germany on Sunday and Monday, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. G-7 leaders… – Continue reading
MiFID II – FCA Issues Discussion Paper on MiFID II Implementation Measures The FCA issued a discussion paper (DP15/3) on 26 March 2015, asking firms for their views on a range of MiFID II implementation measures, including on: The revised inducements standards. Receipt of commissions and other benefits by discretionary… – Continue reading
Australia should consider adopting tax structures like those used in Ireland and Luxembourg in order to attract greater foreign investment, the government’s tax advisory body has recommended. On Thursday night, Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg released several reports by the Board of Tax, which advises the government on how to reform… – Continue reading
Google’s European chief has admitted that the company screwed up in Europe. The search giant has a strained relationship on the continent, facing a litany of complaints and accusations on issues ranging from alleged tax avoidance to anti-trust allegations. In response, the Californian company shook up its operational structure in… – Continue reading
Companies take a second look at domestic outsourcing options as Syracuse, Jacksonville, Tampa and Lansing top the list of American hot spots for IT and business process services. A number of midsize American cities now make attractive alternatives to offshore locations in India and elsehwere for IT and business process… – Continue reading
A paper production line of SAScoat Viet Nam. The company is suspected of engaging in transfer pricing. HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The Debt and Asset Trading Corporation (DATC) has asked the General Department of Taxation to investigate SAScoat Viet Nam for transfer pricing, online newspaper Investment said. The request… – Continue reading
A businessman caught in a money-laundering sting helped the U.S. prosecute a foreign business — and now he’s seeking $22.2 million from the government as a reward. The U.S. Tax Court ruled Tuesday in favor of the informant, allowing his claim to proceed after the Internal Revenue Service earlier denied… – Continue reading
Tax doesn’t have to be taxing for US firm with inside track Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is the first major department to move to Google Apps, part of an apparent loosening of Microsoft’s stranglehold on the government’s software services. The department will join the Cabinet Office and Department… – Continue reading
A European probe into the Irish taxes paid by technology giant Apple, as well as multi-nationals in Luxembourg and the Netherlands, is close to finishing. The news came as Taoiseach Enda Kenny issues a robust defence of Ireland’s corporate tax regime, which has been under international pressure in recent years… – Continue reading
June 5: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) yesterday released a discussion draft concerning work in relation to Action 8 under the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project concerning hard-to-value intangibles. Read the BEPS Action 8 discussion draft [PDF 62 KB] The following discussion provides initial impressions… – Continue reading
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reviewing the selling activity of thousands of online sellers who use websites such as Amazon, Etsy and eBay to earn a living, as part of a fresh crack down on tax evasion. According to The Telegraph, these websites are being forced to hand over… – Continue reading
The FINANCIAL — Members of the Deloitte network have been named European Tax Innovator of the Year at the recent International Tax Review (ITR) European Tax Awards. Deloitte member firms won 15 ITR tax awards in total this year, more than any other organization, for work completed in the last… – Continue reading
LAS VEGAS, June 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Remark Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARK) today announced that its Board of Directors has adopted a plan, known as the Tax Benefit Preservation Plan, designed to protect the significant potential long-term tax benefits presented by the company’s net operating losses. Remark intends to seek… – Continue reading
Medtronic is on the lookout for early-stage technologies developed by medical device firms in the United States, as well as larger acquisitions that can help the company implement a three-pronged strategy, in the wake of its $43 billion merger with Covidien. The tax inversion deal allowed Medtronic to relocate to… – Continue reading
Jersey experienced a 10% increase in new company incorporations in 2014 over the previous year, according to a report released today by Appleby, one of the world’s largest providers of offshore legal, fiduciary and administrative services. Last year also saw the total number of active companies on Jersey’s registry rise… – Continue reading
By 2013, Banque Cramer knew it had a problem. With just SFr2bn of client money, the 300-year-old Swiss private bank was too small to weather the radical changes sweeping through its industry, reports Financial Times. Extra regulatory and compliance demands were driving up costs. Big advantages that traditionally helped Swiss… – Continue reading
NEW YORK (TheStreet) — General Electric (GE – Get Report) CEO Jeffrey Immelt, discontented with Connecticut’s plans to raise taxes by what he says will be $1.9 billion statewide, informed workers today that he will consider moving its headquarters out of state. The announcement may be a bargaining chip to… – Continue reading
In the face of increased regulatory pressure from the OECD, the European Commission and various national governments, tax transparency is becoming an extremely important issue. However, many companies lack the systems and resources to adequately respond to these new global tax disclosure and transparency requirements, according to a report from… – Continue reading
Chief prosecutor for canton’s decision to investigate despite inaction by other Swiss regulators shows power struggle within establishment The £28m HSBC will pay in “compensation” to the Swiss authorities following a money laundering investigation may be no more than a drop in the lake for Europe’s biggest bank, but it… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — HSBC Holdings Plc will learn the results of a Geneva probe into allegations of money laundering at its Swiss private banking unit when prosecutors hold a press conference. Representatives for prosecutors and HSBC declined to immediately comment on what will be disclosed at the press conference, which will… – Continue reading
Benjamin Fuchs is unfazed by being caught in the first dollar bond default of a Chinese developer. The chief investment officer of BFAM Partners (Hong Kong), a hedge-fund firm overseeing $1.2 billion of assets, said offshore debt of Chinese property developers with a single-B credit rating was “extremely cheap” and… – Continue reading
International Christian groups are hailing a report demanding fresh solutions to tax dodging by multinational companies. The World Council of Churches and the UK’s Christian Aid cite researchers from the International Monetary Fund who say tax rules could be costing developing countries $212 billion a year. The report, from the… – Continue reading
There’s been a preliminary investigation into the amount of money that secret bank accounts Belgians have in Switzerland can yield for the Belgian treasury. It turns out the answer is EUR 540 million. Finance Minister Johan Van Overtveldt (Flemish Nationalists) revealed the figures to financial newspaper De Tijd. “However, the… – Continue reading
KARACHI: A district and sessions court remanded on Wednesday four more suspects in Axact-gate scandal for one day. The four – Muhammad Rizwan, Atif Hussain, Imran Ahmed Khan and Adnan Saboor – who were recently taken into custody after some leads given by the detained suspects were presented by the… – Continue reading
Many mid-size U.S. cities and other areas now make attractive alternatives to India and other offshore locations for companies considering consolidating finance, IT, and other business services operations for shared service or global business services centers, according to new research from The Hackett Group, Inc. The diminishing gap in labor… – Continue reading
In a note to investors published today, Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi weighed in on why Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) has chosen to keep a large offshore cash balance and not repatriate to the US. Mr. Sacconaghi noted activist investor Carl Icahn’s notion that Apple’s real tax rate is roughly 20% below… – Continue reading
The special committee leading the European Parliament’s inquiry into tax rulings has upped the pressure on businesses and European governments. The inquiry will be extended until October. EurActiv France reports. Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg and Switzerland have one thing in common. These five countries have all received an investigative… – Continue reading
Two Switzerland-based banks have agreed to disclose secret accounts belonging to US taxpayers as part of a new US program to fight offshore tax evasion, the US Department of Justice announced in a statement on Wednesday. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — “The days of safely hiding behind shell corporations and numbered bank… – Continue reading
THE South African Revenue Service (SARS ) is to significantly beef up its capacity to deal with base erosion and profit shifting, which has received intense focus by MPs over the last few months. SARS commissioner Tom Moyane said on Wednesday 24 more tax specialists would be employed in the… – Continue reading
