It’s unlikely that RCM will be there for agricultural produce such as fruit, vegetables or cereals In services and goods prone to tax evasion, there will be a mechanism under the proposed goods and services tax (GST) regime to make buyers or receivers liable to pay the tax, instead of… – Continue reading
The government’s plan to issue a regulation in lieu of law (Perppu) concerning banking transparency, which includes allowing the tax authority to access taxpayers’ bank data, has sparked hot public debate. The proponents argue that such an initiative is critical, outlining the fact that the government has to comply with… – Continue reading
Tax reform is widely expected under the Trump administration by the corporate tax executives polled by BDO USA in a new survey. BDO’s 2017 Tax Outlook Survey polled 100 tax executives at public companies across the U.S., and found that 100 percent of the surveyed tax executives believe tax reform… – Continue reading
Ghana has signed an agreement with the government of Mauritius to ensure that its investors will not be taxed twice by the two countries and vice-versa. Known as the Double Taxation Avoidance agreement (DTA), the both Foreign Affairs ministers Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey and Mauritius counterpart Hon SeetanahLutchmeenaraidoo signed the agreement… – Continue reading
With the April 18 tax filing deadline almost a month away, the US Internal Revenue Service has reminded taxpayers to ensure the security of their personal, financial, and tax information. In the sixth in a series of 10 IRS tips called the Tax Time Guide, designed to help taxpayers navigate… – Continue reading
People still be able to shift pensions overseas tax-free if they and their pot are located in same country Stiff new penalty is aimed at those who retire to one country while parking their pension in an offshore tax haven The Chancellor is to slap a 25 per cent charge… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON — In the current deregulatory environment, investment advisers might expect a reprieve from new federal compliance rules. But one exception is the proposal for an anti-money-laundering regulation, which experts believe is likely to become the law of the land, bringing with it a significant new compliance responsibility. A year… – Continue reading
Creating a fairer tax system is on the state budget agenda again with a proposal from Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf to eliminate a business tax loophole. Wolf wants to close the Delaware loophole — a mechanism that allows businesses headquartered in other states to avoid paying taxes on their operations… – Continue reading
The United States Court of Federal Claims has turned down a claim from an Irish citizen that more than USD5m in US tax withheld on gambling winnings should be refunded under the US-Ireland double tax avoidance treaty. The claim was filed by the plaintiff, John P McManus, after USD5.22m in… – Continue reading
These three CGT exclusions have remained unchanged for five years. Over the last few years government has collected a significant amount of tax revenue by not fully adjusting the personal income tax tables for inflationary increases in earnings, thereby increasing the effective tax rate of individuals. A middle-class individual earning… – Continue reading
The Hong Kong Government has put forward a proposal to amend its tax laws to establish a dedicated tax regime for aircraft owners/lessors based in Hong Kong and leasing to offshore (including PRC) lessees/airlines (see Timeline / References below) (“Proposed Regime”). Assuming there are no surprises or drafting issues in… – Continue reading
Accounting firm’s contracts with federal government questioned. A former client of the accounting giant KPMG says a tax dodge that involved wealthy people gifting their money to an offshore jurisdiction was a “facade” designed to hide money from the taxman. The client, who spoke to CBC’s the fifth estate and… – Continue reading
What is a business expense deduction? A business expense deduction is a deduction allowed for ordinary and necessary expenses paid or incurred in connection with an individual’s trade, business or profession. IRC Section 62(a)(1) operates to assure that all trade or business expenses, deductible as delineated under specific IRC Sections,… – Continue reading
Federal agents raided three Caterpillar buildings near its Illinois headquarters on Thursday, company and law enforcement officials said, in an escalation of an inquiry into the heavy equipment manufacturer’s offshore tax practices. Caterpillar has been dogged by accusations that it slashed its domestic tax bill by shifting corporate profits from… – Continue reading
On 30 December 2016 the Commercial Court of Voronezh Oblast delivered a judgement in case No. А14-10190/2014 (the “Decision”) under the claim of Ilyushin Finance Co. Open Joint Stock Company (the “Company”). The case is an example of a broad interpretation of the list of documents confirming entitlement to a… – Continue reading
Nonresident Alien NRA tax withholding is applicable to U.S sourced income paid to foreign person and does not apply to payments made to U.S. persons. Foreign persons include nonresident alien individual, foreign partnerships, foreign corporations, foreign estates, and foreign trusts. The tax generally must be withheld from the payment made… – Continue reading
The European Parliament’s Monetary Affairs and Civil Liberties committees’ overwhelming support for access by EU citizens to information concerning the beneficial owners of companies without having to demonstrate a ‘legitimate interest’ and trusts would have to meet the same requirements. MEPs agreed the on their position on EU Anti-Money Laundering… – Continue reading
THE ORGANISATION for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) initiated the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project in 2013 to address perceived gaps in international tax rules causing a loss of revenues for governments of about US$100 billion to $240 billion (Bt3.5 trillion to Bt8.4 trillion) annually. The OECD’s BEPS… – Continue reading
The importance of taxation to a nation’s economic wealth and development cannot be overemphasised. However, the achievement of this goal is often undermined by tax evasion and deliberate attempts by multinationals to shift profits from one jurisdiction to another, amongst others. Over the years, Nigeria has attempted to use taxation… – Continue reading
KARACHI: Directorate Intelligence and Investigation, (DI&I) Inland Revenue Karachi has detected around 453 fake registered persons, who were reportedly involved in Rs 5.6 billion tax evasion. According to sources, the DI&I-IR, Karachi under the supervision of its Director Hyder Ali Dharejo has kicked off a crackdown against tax mafia, who… – Continue reading
Transfer pricing—the price charged for intercompany transactions between entities in different tax jurisdictions—can be used to shift funds within a multinational corporation (MNC), and serves as an effective means to manage a firm’s finances. Transfer pricing—the price charged for intercompany transactions between entities in different tax jurisdictions—can be used to… – Continue reading
Global banking giant HSBC has disclosed being probed by tax authorities in India and several other countries, including against its Swiss and Dubai units, for allegedly abetting tax evasion of four Indians and their families. Besides, the bank has been approached by the regulatory and law enforcement agencies of various… – Continue reading
Since President George W. Bush signed the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006, the IRS has had a program that rewards Americans who inform the agency on tax dodgers. In its first decade, the program has helped the IRS recover $3.4 billion, and resulted in payouts of $465… – Continue reading
Finance Minister, Sri Mulyani, says that Indonesia continues to make preparations for implementing exchange of information in financial services and taxation sectors like alignment of the rules in the Law on the General Rules and Procedures of Taxation (KUP). “We will try various ways to incorporate various articles for KUP… – Continue reading
Enugu State government has sealed eight banks for failure to remit to its coffers about N1billion in withholding taxes said to have accrued since 2007. As early as 6.00 a.m. yesterday, enforcement officials of the State Board of Internal Revenue had stormed the premises of the affected banks and effected… – Continue reading
The Australian Government has introduced legislation to extend the goods and services tax (GST) to low value imports from July 1, 2017. The legislation, introduced on February 16, requires overseas vendors, electronic distribution platforms, and goods forwarders with an Australian turnover of AUD75,000 (USD57,528) or more to register for, collect,… – Continue reading
The EU has signalled plans to ramp up its work to tackle harmful tax practices internationally, with the Council working group that oversees implementation of the EU’s code of conduct on business taxation finalising a list of jurisdictions that are considered non-cooperative in tax matters to be published shortly. The… – Continue reading
Italy must reform its banking system if it is to continue on a “weak” path to recovery, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The country should be prepared to force holders of Italian bank debt to lose money rather than using public funds to bail them… – Continue reading
Business leaders are calling on Chancellor Philip Hammond to tackle anomalies in the tax system that see high street shops pay higher rates on small premises than online giants do for vast warehouses. The Institute of Directors said the Chancellor should use next month’s Budget to set up a New… – Continue reading
A prominent QC yesterday backed calls for the Bahamas to switch to a ‘low tax’ business model, warning: “The survival of financial services is not an option.” Brian Moree QC, senior partner at McKinney, Bancroft & Hughes, said the Bahamas had to “figure out how to adjust its business model”… – Continue reading
EU lawyers are preparing to mount a legal challenge against President Trump’s hugely controversial US border tax proposals in what could be the biggest case in World Trade Organisation history. Mr Trump’s proposed “border adjustment system” would see US imports subjected to tax, while export revenues exempted. The reforms have… – Continue reading
A new paper that calls for the introduction of a US carbon tax has been released by a group of former Republican administration members and economic advisers and leading business representatives. Issued under the auspices of the Climate Leadership Council, the paper proposes that the tax might begin at USD40… – Continue reading
On 7 February 2017, the Minister of Finance of Ukraine and the US Ambassador to Ukraine signed a treaty on Ukraine’s performance of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) (the Treaty). According to the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine, the Treaty is based on the Model 1B Intergovernmental… – Continue reading
Last Autumn, HMRC issued “Measuring Tax Gaps”, an annual report on the estimated UK tax gap. The tax gap being the shortfall in tax estimated by HMRC as being due in any one tax year from that which is eventually collected. In the accompanying press releases and in comments made… – Continue reading
Selection of Foreign Company as a tested party – practical considerations Introduction Transfer pricing regulations adopted by India are based on the arm’s length principle which revolves around the concept that the price or margin determined in a controlled transaction involving two Associated Enterprises (AE) should be commensurate with an… – Continue reading
MARTINSBURG — The Internal Revenue Service has started releasing this year’s top 12 scams targeting consumers known as “The Dirty Dozen.” The annually compiled list features a variety of scams the agency says are common and that taxpayers could encounter anytime, but especially during peak filing season. Phishing schemes lead… – Continue reading
In the latest published data from the US Treasury Department and Federal Reserve Board in respect of November 2016, the value of Treasury Securities held by foreigners was $5.9tn with Japan’s holdings at $1.1tn and China at $1.0tn, followed by Ireland at $275bn. However, some further data show that the… – Continue reading
The US taxes its citizens and permanent residents on their worldwide income regardless of where they live or how long they’ve lived outside of the US. There is only one other country in the world that operates like the US – Eritrea – an African nation. According to the IRS:… – Continue reading
After India’s banknote ban, private companies are using the country’s biometric database to bring financial services to millions For two years, Indian officials have been trawling the country, from city slums to unelectrified villages, zapping eyeballs, scanning fingerprints and taking photographs. Last month, Indian shoppers started to see the results…. – Continue reading
HYDERABAD: Tennis player Sania Mirza has been issued notice by the Service Tax department over alleged non-payment or tax evasion. Service Tax office in Hyderabad has issued summons to the tennis star on February 6 and she will have to appear before it in person or by an authorised agent… – Continue reading
‘Private Banking’ is a term that usually conjures up images of secret banking transactions being carried out on behalf Royal families, the landed gentry and wealthy individuals. That’s how private banking started, but is not a fair reflection of private banking today. Today, it’s not your family tree that matters… – Continue reading
With the arrival of the new year, don’t be surprised if your bank asks for information about yourself and your accounts that you didn’t have to provide before. These questions signal an important development as banks in Hong Kong and around the world prepare to share certain information with tax… – Continue reading
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) United States of America Implementation and Enforcement of the Inter-Governmental Agreement was passed in Parliament without opposition, making it mandatory for Antigua & Barbuda’s banks to provide the banking information of US citizens to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The Act requires local… – Continue reading
The Conference of State Bank Supervisors (CSBS) and state regulators have developed a self-assessment tool to help banks and financial institutions identify, monitor and communicate Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) risk. The BSA/AML Self-Assessment Tool is a spreadsheet intended to reduce uncertainty surrounding BSA/AML compliance and support more transparency within… – Continue reading
Business Council of Australia is urging tax cuts to remain competitive but transparency report show members’ effective rate is 24.3% The members of the Business Council of Australia, who are leading the push to cut Australia’s corporate tax rate from 30%, already pay an effective tax rate five percentage points… – Continue reading
The Kuwait Ministry of Finance (MOF) has issued a ministerial resolution announcing that Deloitte & Touche, Al-Wazzan & Co in Kuwait has been certified with the ministry for the provision of Foreign Account Tax Compliance (FATCA) services. FATCA is a US legislation which aims to combat tax evasion by US… – Continue reading
Individuals who will be deemed UK domicile from 6 April 2017 should be considering their options with regard to offshore trusts as a matter of priority. On 5 December 2016, the UK Government published the Reforms to the taxation of non-domiciles: further consultation outcome, which provided clarity on the following… – Continue reading
THE scope of the withholding tax — a tax imposed on non-residents for services rendered to Malaysia-based companies — has been widened. It is one of the major tax changes that came into effect on Jan 17 under the Finance Act 2017. Under the changes, non-residents must pay withholding tax… – Continue reading
The Caribbean Association of Banks (CAB) has expressed concern about the number of countries in the region which have not yet put in place inter-governmental agreements (IGAs) with the United States on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). It said it was therefore renewing the call for Caribbean countries… – Continue reading
Legislation reintroduced in both the Senate and the House of Representatives calls for the repeal of the estate tax, or “death tax” as it is commonly known in the United States. Until 2012, estates paid a 35 percent tax above a USD5m cap. The tax was scheduled to revert in… – Continue reading
