MUMBAI: Anxiety still prevails among foreign institutional investors (FIIs) with regard to General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR), which will come into effect from April 1, 2017. While the draft rules in GAAR may have cleared the air over retrospective taxation and treatment of Participatory Notes ( P-notes), experts say doubts… – Continue reading
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has askedMauritius to set up a ‘macro-prudential authority’ to monitor the offshore investments from the island. One of the largest destinations of such offshore investments is the Indian stock market. The proposed authority will have a central role for the banking regulator, the Bank of… – Continue reading
The Mauritius central bank said it has issued a banking licence to Bank of China , the first Chinese bank licensed to operate on the Indian Ocean island. Zhang Xiaoqing, who is leading a team setting up the Mauritius unit, said Bank of China wanted to provide financial services to… – Continue reading
The financial watchdogs of Mauritius and the Seychelles have joined together in a Memorandum of Understanding. The Financial Services Commission of Mauritius (FSC Mauritius) and the Financial Services Authority of the Seychelles (FSA) have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the beginning of March. According to… – Continue reading
MAURITIUS has emerged as the biggest source of investment into Zimbabwe, accounting for projects worth $4,56 billion in the past five years. According to statistics released at an investment strategic meeting in Harare this week, a ZBCtv report indicated Mauritius was leading in terms of investments into the country while… – Continue reading
Outstanding issues relating to the existing Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) are under negotiation between India and Mauritius through the mechanism of Joint Working Group (JWG), Parliament was informed today. “India has proposed changes in the existing DTAA to address concerns relating to treaty abuse, around tripping of funds, double… – Continue reading
While the various reforms initiated by the Centre has led to a significant increase in FDI inflows into India, the Economic Survey feels the need for a closer examination of such FDI flows to determine whether there has been any instances of tax evasion. The survey noted that out of… – Continue reading
A new report from ActionAid titled ‘Mistreated’ released this week has revealed that Zambia has 13 restrictive tax treaties that dramatically restrict the government’s power to tax global companies doing business on our soil and therefore unfairly limit our country’s potential to collect tax revenue. The report also found that… – Continue reading
The government reportedly wants to extend to three years the holding period for investments in listed shares to qualify for capital gains tax exemption. This accepts the need to change the present capital gains tax regime but might not be the best way to go about it. It would discriminate… – Continue reading
Mumbai Tribunal rules buyback transaction taxable as capital gains, exempt under India-Mauritius Tax Treaty; even if considered as dividend, tax withholding does not apply This EY Tax Alert summarizes a recent ruling of the Mumbai Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (Tribunal) in the case of Goldman Sachs (India) Securities Pvt. Ltd…. – Continue reading
If Swiss banking secrecy laws gave Switzerland the world banking capital status, Monaco’s residence policy gives its realtors a thriving business. What is common between the Canadian Raonic who lost in the Australian Open semifinals and the Serbian Djokovic who won it? Well, they are both residents of Monaco, and… – Continue reading
To search for a tax haven to free yourself from tax burden, you need not have to go to Bermuda, Isle of Man, Cayman Islands, Dubai, Switzerland, Mauritius or any other country. It is just right here in India where we are living, hidden in various sections of our Income… – Continue reading
The Authority for Advance Rulings, a quasi-judicial tax body under the finance ministry, has reaffirmed that capital gains earned by a Mauritius-registered company from transfer of shares of an Indian firm shall not be taxable in the country if the foreign corporation doesn’t have a local permanent establishment. In doing… – Continue reading
Treasury is still fighting to keep a tax agreement out of parliament after a lobby group sued them over a pact it signed with Mauritius back in 2012. The double taxation avoidance agreement allows firms registered in the two countries to pay taxes in only one country. It also allows… – Continue reading
Mauritius will start automatic exchange of tax information with other nations only from September 2018, as it has postponed by a year implementation of global common reporting standard on tax matters. The delay could impact Indian authorities’ efforts to gather more tax-related information from Mauritius, which is allegedly being used… – Continue reading
Anguilla levies a 3% flat rate of personal income tax and is otherwise a tax haven with a stunning climate and amazing Carribean lifestyle Whilst there are various categories of flat tax, including marginal flat tax and Hall-Rabushka flat tax, in its simplest form flat tax is simply a rate… – Continue reading
Whilst there are various categories of flat tax, including marginal flat tax and Hall-Rabushka flat tax, in its simplest form flat tax is simply a rate of tax that remains consistent with a constant marginal rate. What this means is, as an income tax payer in a country with such… – Continue reading
Generally, if a South African taxpayer sells shares in a foreign company, he will be hit with South African capital gains tax (CGT) on any gain realised on that sale. However, South Africa provides exemptions from this CGT in certain circumstances, one of which relates to the sale of foreign… – Continue reading
The Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) has confirmed the first exchanges of information under the Common Reporting Standard will now take place from September 2018, rather than September 2017. The OECD’s CRS, the new global standard for automatic exchange of information for tax purposes, obliges all participating countries and jurisdictions to… – Continue reading
India’s biggest source of FDI is India itself, money departing on a short holiday to a tax haven and then routed back as FDI. Will the government muster up the political will to clamp down on the tax-allergic business elite? This could be a bumper year for the ever-lucrative tax… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: In what could lead to an increase in domestic tax liabilities of many Indian conglomerates and multinationals, the government is set to introduce a framework for Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), a global agreement to check tax avoidance by multinationals, in the upcoming Budget. Industry sources expect the… – Continue reading
PM Narendra Modi also announces a Rs.10,000 crore fund to provide support to innovation driven enterprises New Delhi:In an effort to give a fillip to the start-up ecosystem in the country, the government on Saturday announced its intention to exempt capital gains tax on investments in start-ups and a Rs.10,000… – Continue reading
Offshore Financial Centres (OFCs) are jurisdictions, usually self-governing, which because of their low tax regimes, have specialized in providing commercial services to corporations and individuals, whether or not they are normally resident in that jurisdiction. The better-known offshore financial centres are small and sparsely populated countries or islands, and are… – Continue reading
Bermuda has “long been a popular tax haven” according to a story by gobankingrates.com, which ranked the island as one of the “top 10 best tax havens in the world.” The story said “Bermuda has long been a popular tax haven, said Ravi Ramnarain, an independent certified public accountant. “Wealthy… – Continue reading
According to the CBDT communique, foreign investors and companies will not be liable to pay MAT prior to April 1, 2015. According to estimates, foreign investors have to pay tax of Rs 40,000 crore for the 14-year period since April 1, 2001, when MAT was introduced. Foreign investors and companies… – Continue reading
Dreyfus Sons & Co. has operated for two centuries as a private Swiss bank, catering to Jewish clients who wanted to hide assets from the Nazis during the 1930s and World War II. More recently, it helped U.S. clients hide assets from the Internal Revenue Service by concealing their true… – Continue reading
India and Korea on December 9 agreed to suspend collection of taxes during the pendency of Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP). This MoU will relieve the burden of double taxation for the taxpayer in both the countries. Two days later, India and Japan signed a protocol for amending the existing convention,… – Continue reading
THE African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) has come up with a draft document on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion within the continent. The Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (Zimra), a member of ATAF, has said avoidance of taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion was with respect to taxes… – Continue reading
There are a variety of benefits to moving offshore, yet few would argue the assertion that tax neutrality is paramount among them. As anyone familiar with the phrase “tax haven” would surely recognize, many countries offer strongly favorable tax terms as an incentive to draw new business. Written by CT… – Continue reading
Akhilesh Ranjan, joint secretary (foreign tax), who led India’s initiative in the BEPS project, candidly shared his views on India’s plans for its implementation and what lies in the future. The fundamental principle of the BEPS project, is that income of MNCs should be taxed in that country where economic… – Continue reading
The Indian Government has accepted the recommendation of the Shah Committee that the Income Tax Act 1961 be amended to clarify that minimum alternate tax (MAT) does not generally apply to foreign institutions investors (FIIs) and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). The Committee proposed that Section 115JB of the Income Tax… – Continue reading
Singapore has displaced Mauritius as the top source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in India during the first half of this fiscal. Figures compiled by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion show that during April-September, India attracted $6.69 billion (Rs 43,096 crore) FDI from Singapore and $3.66 billion (Rs… – Continue reading
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today called on Mauritius President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim and discussed a range of issues of mutual interest including impediments to investment inflows. Gurib-Fakim, the first woman President of Mauritius, who is a distinguished scientist, arrived here yesterday on a three-day visit. In the meeting, Gurib-Fakim and… – Continue reading
Right to levy capital gains tax by India is also part discussions, he said India is engaged in “positive talks” with Mauritius on revision of bilateral tax treaty as some issues still need to be sorted out, an official said today. “Negotiations have been going on. Talks with Mauritius have… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI, DEC 3: Domestic taxpayers would do well to fully disclose their foreign assets with Indian tax authorities, Jayant Sinha, Minister of State for Finance, has said. Non-disclosure of foreign assets could turn a “risky” proposition for taxpayers, Sinha said in his inaugural address at the 6th meeting of Automatic… – Continue reading
What is the whole point of the 15 actions in the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) code? How will they curb tax dodging and make taxation of multinationals more transparent? Historically, the interaction of different tax policies lead to instances where taxes paid are not commensurate to economic value… – Continue reading
East African countries expect to collect more revenue under a new code drawn, by the world’s richest economies to stop foreign multinationals from dodging taxes in host countries. The new code — Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) — adopted by G20 at its meeting in Turkey two weeks ago,… – Continue reading
The Kenya-South Africa double taxation agreement comes into force from January 1. An announcement in the November 19, South African government gazette says the agreement applies for taxes withheld at source. “A resident of Kenya will not be taxed on any South African business profits, unless it carries on business… – Continue reading
PRESS RELEASE Mauritius and Morocco signed on November 25 in Port Louis a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) that will provide for greater tax certainty for businessmen of the two countries. The signatories were the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo, and the Ambassador of the Kingdom… – Continue reading
Israel has joined 90 other countries in signing up to the OECD’s instrument to combat offshore tax avoidance and increase transparency in tax matters. The middle-eastern country became the 91st jurisdiction to sign the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters yesterday, which enables the exchange of information,… – Continue reading
ITR Correspondent Italy has updated its rules governing transactions with parties located in tax havens. Following a legislative process which began in 2013, the Italian Government on September 14 2015 enacted a decree addressing a wide array of international tax matters, including one of the most controversial Italian tax rules… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Concerned over the misuse of double taxation treaty with Mauritius by certain entities, the government is working on measures to check such practices, a Finance Ministry official said today. The government is in the process of revising the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Mauritius. Tax treaty amendments,… – Continue reading
THE liquidation of Kingdom Bank Africa Limited (KBAL) Botswana has been derailed after creditors declined to give the liquidator, Max Marinelli, autonomous authority to sell the assets of the defunct offshore bank. KBAL depositors and debtors are predominantly in Zimbabwe where the bank originates. In a seven-hour long heated meeting… – Continue reading
Foreign investors are still concerned about the retrospective taxation in India, but the concerns have alleviated a little due to assurances by the government, says John Hobster, global head (transfer pricing), EY. He tells Dilasha Seth that in terms of transfer pricing, things are changing in India not only at… – Continue reading
An ED officer said, “In spite of earning a profit in the first few IPL seasons, Shah Rukh failed to provide any satisfactory explanation for selling the equity shares within a year, that too to a company situated in a tax haven”. Mumbai, November 11 (PTI): The Enforcement Directorate has… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Dismissing apprehensions of Mauritius being used to route black money as “misconception”, its Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth has termed the issue as an aberration in the “very special” ties with India and hoped that revision of their tax treaty won’t harm its interests. Stating that Prime Minister Narendra… – Continue reading
Prime Minister of Mauritius, Anerood Jugnauth, on Tuesday said there will be no revisions to the main provisions of its Double Tax Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with India as both countries are happy with the existing provisions of the tax treaty. “This treaty between our two countries has been there for… – Continue reading
The government has been accused of opening a loophole that allows super rich individuals and multinational companies to avoid taxes. The Tax Justice Network (TJN), a lobby group, has sued the government over agreements, which it says are robbing Kenya of the ability to raise revenues domestically, driving the country… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Switzerland has retained its top spot in the financial secrecy index (FSI) 2015, unveiled by the Tax Justice Network (TJN) on Monday. Switzerland is followed by Hong Kong, the US, Singapore and the Cayman Islands. The biggest surprise is the US, which has climbed to third place from… – Continue reading
The most common error NRIs commit while filing tax returns is to use the status of residents in India. Non-resident Indians (NRIs) in the UAE enjoy the twin advantages of not having to pay tax in their country of domicile and most sources of income are exempted from tax in… – Continue reading
