George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer over here in the UK, has just announced at the Conservative party conference that he’ll be changing the tax laws to make sure that Google GOOGL +0.16% and other tech multinationals (Facebook, Microsoft MSFT -0.17%, possibly Apple AAPL +0.64%, among them) end up… – Continue reading
The European Commission’s crackdown on the deal between Irish tax authorities and Apple Inc. marks an expansion in the growing global war on tax avoidance by multinational companies. Governments that enable it are now a target. Tuesday, the European Commission said the Irish tax authorities failed to conform to international… – Continue reading
Swiss banking giant UBS AG (UBS: Quote) is poised to pay a 1.1 billion euros or $1.4 billion security deposit in a French tax-evasion case as it challenges the allegations and bond demand, according to Bloomberg report citing a person familiar with the matter. The company is reportedly proceeding with… – Continue reading
Troubled Italian fashion giant Prada stonewalled questions over its tax affairs on Monday after it emerged that its top two executives are being investigated for allegedly not disclosing many millions in overseas earnings to Italian authorities. Chinese fashion titans look to Italy for value (29 Sep 14) Global fashion circus… – Continue reading
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Brussels has challenged Luxembourg over a tax ruling offering potentially illicit support to a Fiat subsidiary, opening a… – Continue reading
The European Union has accused Ireland of swerving international tax rules by letting Apple shelter profits worth tens of billions of dollars from revenue collectors in return for maintaining jobs. European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told the Dublin government in a letter published on Tuesday that tax deals agreed in… – Continue reading
Swiss private bank Julius Baer is cooperating in a French investigation into suspected money laundering and tax fraud by a former client involved in the European carbon allowances market, a spokeswoman said, following French media reports. News agency AFP said last week the bank is suspected of receiving funds in… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: India’s largest realty firm DLF today said it has not received any findings from authorities on alleged service tax evasion of about Rs 30 crore. The company was replying to the clarification sought by stock exchange NSE on reports that DLF has come under the scanner of central revenue officials for… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: The Isle of Man appellate court last week rejected builder Niranjan Hiranandani’s appeal, challenging its jurisdiction over a case of fraud and misconduct filed against him by Hirco Plc. Hirco, a property investment fund, had raised Rs 3,000 crore from global investors in 2006, to be invested in Hiranandani’s… – Continue reading
Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL) and Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) are conducting their business operations in India. Former BJP leader, Govindacharya has filed a case, raising concerns against the usage of e-mail services by offshore providers for official purposes by government officials. His Public Interest Litigation (PIL) also mentioned the tax evasion by… – Continue reading
The European Commission is expected to announce today that Apple, now one of the world’s biggest listed companies, got special treatment from the Irish authorities, when the American company sought assurances on tax issues in 1991 and 2007 – – from the latter year, Apple’s foreign tax rate tumbled compared… – Continue reading
Prada shares have also lost 30% of their value this year because of weak investor sentiment Continue reading the main story Related Stories Prada profit hit by fall in sales Prada shares fall on luxury warning The fashion business Prada’s two chief executives are being investigated by Italian authorities for… – Continue reading
Yahoo is one of the weirdest companies in the world. That’s because it appears to be worth less than nothing. Here’s the best way to see this: Yahoo passively owns large swathes of two Asian internet companies — Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and a Japanese firm called Yahoo Japan. Add… – Continue reading
(AFP) The European Union is to accuse US tech giant Apple of taking illegal aid from the Irish state through sweetheart tax deals over two decades, the Financial Times reported Monday. A European Commission investigation into Apple’s tax affairs in Ireland, where it has enjoyed a rate of less than… – Continue reading
European regulators are set to examine whether Apple violated EU law by striking special tax deals with the Irish government. The European Commission opened an initial investigation into Apple’s tax affairs in June, looking at whether the company’s two percent tax rate in Ireland — far less than the standard 12.5… – Continue reading
The Delhi High Court has sought clarification from the Union Government on the issue of tax evasion by Internet companies with regard to their business operations in the country. The Court also asked whether the recipients of services would be liable to pay tax if the service provider was outside… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — AbbVie Inc. is examining plans to raise additional financing to complete its takeover of Shire Plc, after U.S. officials imposed new obstacles to so-called tax inversion deals, people with knowledge of the matter said. AbbVie may seek to borrow as much as $7 billion more than it originally… – Continue reading
David Beckham, cricketer David Gower and Conservative MP Andrew Mitchell are among those set to receive tax demands totalling millions of pounds after investing in potential tax avoidance projects. HM Revenue & Customs is understood to have been sending out letters to investors in film finance schemes set up by… – Continue reading
Canada should not count on building its economy by luring U.S. multinationals over the border with low tax rates in light of an announcement from the U.S. Treasury Department this week. The department outlined new measures to block companies from escaping U.S. taxes by moving earnings outside the country. This… – Continue reading
Vittorio Colao, who is currently on an India visit, said he would be open to listing his company in the country Vodafone Group chief executive officer (CEO) Vittorio A Colao does not rule out the possibility of a settlement of his company’s Rs 16,000-crore tax dispute with the Indian government… – Continue reading
Ed Miliband is under pressure to “bang up” the British chief executives of overseas firms that use tax avoidance schemes, should he win next year’s general election. Speaking to The Independent on the fringe of the Labour conference in Manchester, Paul Kenny, the general secretary of the GMB, said: “Tax… – Continue reading
Nokia, Skype and Minecraft-maker Mojang have more in common than just the fact that they are among Microsoft’s biggest acquisition targets in recent years. They are all also based outside the U.S., and that’s no coincidence. As the debate over so-called inversions heats up and critics — from President Obama… – Continue reading
Twitter is funnelling much of the revenue it generates in Britain through an offshore sales structure, newly published annual accounts suggested today. Twitter UK has filed abbreviated 2013 accounts for a small company under Companies House rules, which are usually applicable to a business with an annual turnover of less… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK, Sept 23, (Agencies): Tough new US rules on corporate “inversions” on Tuesday sent a chill through the market for the tax-avoidance deals, both pending and potential, with share prices falling sharply in nearly a dozen companies on both sides of the Atlantic. As investors sold stocks involved in inversions,… – Continue reading
Inversions are technically a financial transaction where a corporation from one country, say the United States, merges with a company in a foreign country, say Ireland. Nothing changes in the United States from a business point of view, except that the value and financial sustainability of the corporation goes up significantly. Why… – Continue reading
KARACHI: The administration of M/s Shaheen Air International Limited and other respondents have moved Sindh High Court (SHC) and filed a Constitutional Petition (CP) against Pakistan Customs in order to defend themselves in their alleged involvement in tax evasion of Rs 4145 million. According to details, the Model Customs Collectorate-… – Continue reading
AstraZeneca shares are leading the losers on the FTSE 100 after the US Treasury department revealed that it forging new rules that will make it more difficult for companies to move their bases abroad to avoid tax. The AstraZeneca stock price has tumbled by over 5% to 4348.50p by midday while rival GlaxoSmithKline was hit by 1.25% at… – Continue reading
Multinational companies could be robbing Uganda of billions of shillings through double taxation treaties (DTTs), a new survey has revealed. The study, DTTs in Uganda: Impact and Policy Implications, by Seatini Uganda and ActionAid, shows that many companies are extracting resources and selling their goods and services in Uganda, but not… – Continue reading
Reports that Lonmin was evading tax were denied by a spokeswoman on Monday, after calls that the company should be investigated. “It is completely false, we are busy preparing a statement,” spokeswoman Sue Vey said. Vey said she was not sure when the statement would be released. Earlier, Sars spokesman… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Moving against tax avoidance by corporations, the Obama administration took several actions on Monday to curb “inversion” deals that allow companies to escape high U.S. taxes by reincorporating abroad. The Treasury Department announced new rules, effective immediately, that will reduce the tax benefits available to companies that have… – Continue reading
Plans to curb tax avoidance will hit Ireland. Most countries are set to force multinationals to pay more tax and as the political controversy grows, our own role in these activities will come under ever increasing scrutiny On Tuesday the OECD, the Paris-based club of the world’s richest economies, published… – Continue reading
Lenders spent nine months poring over the books, sizing up management and even checking out the factory floor at China’s Ultrasonic before deciding in August to give the Frankfurt-listed shoemaker an unsecured credit facility of US$60m. The loan was unsecured, in keeping with regulations in China at the time it… – Continue reading
POLITICIANS in the rich world like to splutter about the ever more elaborate dodges that big multinational firms undertake to minimise their tax bills. But doing something about them is trickier. America’s Congress is struggling to agree on ways to stop companies “inverting”—switching domicile to reduce tax bills (see article)…. – Continue reading
As the finance ministers and central bank governors from the world’s 20 largest economies gather in a convention centre in the Australian city of Cairns this weekend, anti-capitalist protesters will likely accuse them of doing the bidding of the globe’s all-powerful multinational corporations. But the Group of 20’s financial chieftains… – Continue reading
Having recently blasted corporate tax evaders, the deputy president now has egg on his face after Lonmin’s Bermuda tax avoidance tactics surfaced. Evidence before the Marikana commission that Lonmin moved millions in platinum revenue from South Africa to tax-free Bermuda is likely to prove embarrassing for ANC deputy president Cyril… – Continue reading
Clients of UBS AG (UBSN), Switzerland’s largest bank, have led a five-fold surge in the number of Canadian residents reporting hidden offshore income over the past eight years. Almost 6,000 taxpayers came forward in the past 12 months as part of the Canada Revenue Agency’s voluntary disclosure program to report… – Continue reading
TORRIDGE and West Devon MP Geoffrey Cox has said he invested in an alleged tax avoidance scheme in good faith. A leading national newspaper claimed that Mr Cox is one of a number of top officials and celebrities investing in Phoenix Film Partners LLP. HM Revenue & Customs has moved… – Continue reading
The OECD wants to force businesses to declare their turnover and number of employees in each country where they are active. Among the multinationals targeted are digital giants Google, Apple and Amazon. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has announced an international action plan called “Project BEPS”, to target… – Continue reading
UBS AG, the world’s biggest manager of money for the rich, has become the test case for French President Francois Hollande’s tax-evasion crackdown. The Swiss bank is set to learn from a Paris appeals court on Sept. 22 if it must post a 1.1 billion-euro ($1.4 billion) bond to cover… – Continue reading
THE CLAMPDOWN on tax avoidance by multinational corporations has been bolstered by a series of recommendations made by the OECD. Companies including Google, Amazon and Starbucks have been in the firing line for their use of offshore jurisdictions to drive down their UK tax liabilities. In particular, the companies have… – Continue reading
Luxury brand came under investigation after routing €680m through its Irish unit Apple and Google are names regularly cited when it comes to using Ireland for aggressive tax planning, but the practice is open to a much wider range of businesses. Bulgari, the Italian jewellery giant whose products were made… – Continue reading
As Switzerland’s long-cherished banking secrecy practices evaporate, the institutions in the world’s largest offshore tax haven are dramatically rethinking their business models in a bid to survive. Already reeling from the painful process of making amends for allowing foreign nationals to hide assets from the taxman back home, the secretive… – Continue reading
Tax authorities in Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka state, are looking into why Amazon India does not pay value-added taxes – as required under the VAT Act, 2003 – on goods stored in its warehouses. The investigation was first reported by Deccan Herald late last month. Now the matter has… – Continue reading
BEIJING, Sept. 16 (Xinhua) — The Luxembourg branch of China’s largest lender, ICBC, has been appointed as a clearing bank for renminbi business in the European country, the Chinese central bank said on Tuesday. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) made the decision in accordance with a memorandum of understanding… – Continue reading
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3fbed922-3d51-11e4-871d-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz3Eo63WbfR The British Virgin Islands has long attracted Chinese companies looking to… – Continue reading
Strategy to stamp out avoidance by multinational groups to be unveiled today Ireland’s business tax regime is set to come under renewed scrutiny today as the OECD sets out the first phase of a plan to stamp out aggressive avoidance by big multinational groups. Moves by the OECD to overhaul… – Continue reading
TWO Bahamian men were arrested on Friday at an airport in Belize three days after they were indicted by US federal prosecutors over an alleged $500 million securities fraud and money laundering scheme, according to a Belize news report. #The US is seeking to extradite the men over the allegations…. – Continue reading
A CONSERVATIVE MP invested in an alleged tax avoidance scheme currently under investigation by HM Revenue & Customs. Conservative Geoffrey Cox QC – a top lawyer at Thomas More Chambers – is one of 230 who put cash into Pheonix Film Partners, run by Ingenious Media, the Mirror reports. Pheonix… – Continue reading
GENEVA: As Switzerland’s long-cherished banking secrecy practices evaporate, the institutions that helped create the world’s largest offshore tax haven are dramatically rethinking their business models in a bid to survive. Already reeling from the painful process of making amends for allowing foreign nationals to hide assets from the taxman back… – Continue reading
Britain’s highest-earning MP invests in alleged tax avoidance scheme under investigation by HMRC Tory MP Geoffrey Cox is one of hundreds of wealthy figures, celebrities and sports stars putting cash into Phoenix Film Partners LLP Britain’s highest-earning MP has invested in an alleged tax avoidance scheme being investigated by officials…. – Continue reading
