Multinational companies (MNCs) in India which have been evading tax on profits created due to a function carried out in the country by shifting contractual risk to some other location may soon find it difficult to escape the domestic tax net. Experts closely working with the government on how to… – Continue reading
James Packer defended his gambling empire on Wednesday, calling the casino owner Crown Resorts a “role model” business that meant more to him than anything except his family. Speaking at the annual general meeting, Mr Packer said Crown paid more tax as a percentage than any other business in Australia’s… – Continue reading
What has happened? On 5 October 2015 the OECD issued its final paper on BEPS Action 12 Mandatory Disclosure Rules, Action 12 – 2015 Final Report (Paper). In this Alert we highlight the main issues and recommendations for taxation reform raised in the Paper. The Australian Treasurer’s BEPS Press Release… – Continue reading
Bill amending the income tax transparency laws passed The highly confidential income and taxation information of Australian-owned private companies will now be exempt from public disclosure. Currently, disclosure is required under the income tax transparency laws. HopgoodGanim Lawyers’ Taxation & Revenue team has previously published an alert on 8 July… – Continue reading
The rogue regime in Banjul is on the verge of finalizing an Offshore Banking deal with some Hong Kong multi-million dollar companies, the Freedom Newspaper can reveal. Under the new deal, the Jammeh government is going to open an Offshore Bank in The Gambia, with the primary objective of helping… – Continue reading
A recent Thomson Reuters survey report reveals that European companies are outpacing all others in developing their Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) action plans by Dec. 31, 2017 – the deadline set by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). But most respondents voiced several concerns about BEPS… – Continue reading
AUSTRALIA’S Future Fund has money invested in funds based in a notorious tax haven. FUTURE Fund Management Agency managing director David Neal told a Senate estimates hearing on Tuesday the fund – which stood at $117.8 billion at the end of September – had money invested in funds that used… – Continue reading
The Turnbull government has welcomed the support of the Labor party for the new laws that will add more teeth to the government’s crackdown on multinational tax dodgers. The government also offered to consider the suggestions of the opposition in improving the scope of the legislation. Labor formally announced its… – Continue reading
Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh will tell parliament on Monday that his party plans to support the coalition’s multinational tax avoidance crackdown. The federal government has welcomed support from the opposition for its planned crackdown on multinational tax dodgers. Extending the olive branch, the federal government is also prepared to… – Continue reading
Australia’s new Serious Financial Crime Taskforce (SFCT) is to launch investigations into serious international tax evasion and “phoenix activity” over the next two years. The SFCT has been operational since July 1 and, as of October 14, there are eight matters under investigation. More than 580 tax audits have been… – Continue reading
The federal government will be seeking the opposition’s support for new laws that crack down on tax-dodging multinationals but Labor looks to be on its own pursuing Malcolm Turnbull over his offshore investments. There are hopes that the four-day sitting of the lower house starting on Monday will also bring… – Continue reading
Labor has urged Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull to sell out of his hedge fund investments in the Cayman Islands, in an escalation of its attack in Parliament this week. Despite criticism his party had stooped to the “politics of envy”, NSW Senator Sam Dastyari told Fairfax Media on Friday that… – Continue reading
Government has made it easier for Australian companies to avoid paying tax, says Greens spokesperson Adam Bandt Greens MP Adam Bandt has lambasted the passing of new laws that ensure tax details of Australian-owned private companies are exempt from public disclosure rules, saying the government has made it easier for… – Continue reading
We are entering a new world of tax revenue wars, and no one can say who will emerge as the victor. All we know is that there will be tension over the next five years as governments seek to implement the global plan to end to tax havens from Luxembourg… – Continue reading
Transfer pricing firms have been called upon to educate foreign tax authorities and the ATO on technical areas, as the topic receives unprecedented attention. Shannon Smit, director of Transfer Pricing Solutions, winner of the 2014 Australian Accounting Awards Boutique Firm of the Year award, spoke of the emphasis placed upon… – Continue reading
Orica has again found itself at odds with the Australian Taxation Office, this time over the circular financing arrangements the explosive maker put in place in 2002 to improve profits for the then struggling group. Orica has disputed the amended tax assessment from the ATO in relation to its “round-robin”… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — The People’s Bank of China is considering starting direct trading between the yuan and the Swiss franc, according to three people with direct knowledge of the matter. The Swiss franc would become the seventh major currency to be exchangeable directly for yuan in Shanghai, joining the U.S., Australian… – Continue reading
Finance professionals will play a key role in dealing with changes brought about by a global project to combat corporate tax avoidance. A GLOBAL effort to tackle the problem of companies that attempt to reduce their tax burden by exploiting loopholes in tax rules will impact the way global businesses… – Continue reading
A series of recent developments means that tax is now a key part of the Australian foreign investment regime and the foreign investment rules have significantly more bite. When determining whether a foreign investment proposal is “contrary to the national interest”, the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) actively considers the… – Continue reading
Last week’s OECD release of the final package of measures for a coordinated international approach to the reform of the international tax system, under the OECD/G20 base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project, marks the end of the discussion and recommendation phase, and the start of the implementation and practical… – Continue reading
To facilitate the exchange of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) data under the intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) with Australia and the U.K., the U.S. Competent Authority has signed Competent Authority Arrangements (CAAs) with the Competent Authority of each country, announced IRS officials on September 24. The CAAs are the first… – Continue reading
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is behind the new measures to automatically exchange tax information between nations and manage the differences on how tax issues are dealt with. Top ten countries The contractor management specialist CXC Global has identified the ten countries with the most aggressive approach… – Continue reading
Labor has accused Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of not playing by the same rules as the rest of the country by investing in funds based in a notorious tax haven. The attack was launched by Labor senator Sam Dastyari who used parliamentary privilege to accuse the prime minister of inappropriate… – Continue reading
The Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released its final reports on the G20/OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project on Monday October 5th, 2015. The final package of BEPS measures includes new minimum standards on: country-by-country reporting, which for the first time will give tax administrations a… – Continue reading
x Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announces his new federal cabinet during a media conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, September 20, 2015. Australia got its fifth prime minister in as many years on Monday after the ruling Liberal Party voted to replace Abbott with former investment banker Malcolm… – Continue reading
Companies around the world are scrambling to overhaul how they communicate with the public when it comes to how much tax they pay, according to professional services firm KPMG. While the Senate is currently investigating multinational firms such as Apple and Google over potential tax avoidance, other countries are also… – Continue reading
What has happened? On 5 October 2015, the OECD issued its final report on BEPS Action 4 – Limiting Base Erosion Involving Interest Deductions and Other Financial Payments (Paper). In this Alert we consider the main issues, recommendations and options for taxation reform raised in the Paper and consider the… – Continue reading
Authorities in China have been doubling their efforts since April to track down illicit assets exported overseas. The People’s Bank of China, the Ministry of Public Security, the Supreme People’s Court, the Supreme People’s Procuratorate, and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange have been working together in this operation. Chinese… – Continue reading
A former head of Australia’s anti-money-laundering agency wants tough rules introduced to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for foreign corrupt funds. Despite credible warnings that large volumes of illicit money leaving China are being laundered in Australia, an investigation by ABC programme Four Corners has found no… – Continue reading
The OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) final reports that focus on transfer pricing are comprised of a number of updates to different parts of existing OECD transfer pricing guidance. In particular, BEPS Actions 8-10 are designed to provide that transfer pricing outcomes are aligned with value creation, and… – Continue reading
As a newly-elected Australian lawmaker a decade ago, Malcolm Turnbull wrote an unsolicited 52-page proposal to reform the tax system. The report and its 281 recommendations were dismissed by the government and his costings called into question. Now, a month after replacing Tony Abbott as leader of the world’s 12th-largest… – Continue reading
The fallout for Australian firms from the BEPS project “won’t be radical in Australia, as we have already moved pre-emptively to strengthen our laws,” Assistant Treasurer Kelly O’Dwyer has said. Commenting on the release of the OECD’s final BEPS reports, O’Dwyer said: “The Coalition Government’s measures line up with the… – Continue reading
Singapore has given the thumbs up to an international plan that aims to clamp down on tax avoidance by multinational firms, reports the Straits Times. The Republic says if the plan is soundly implemented, it will help foster free and fair economic competition. Singapore agrees with the main principle of… – Continue reading
There are implications for multinational enterprises in Australia with this week’s release by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) of final recommendations for substantial international tax reform under the base erosion profit shifting (BEPS) project. OVERVIEW The final BEPS package follows on from, and is largely consistent with,… – Continue reading
Multinationals selling more than $75k into Australia asked to comply. The Australian government has released its revised exposure draft of legislation that would see GST added to all locally-bought digital products and services sold by overseas vendors by July 2017. In May this year former Treasurer Joe Hockey revealed plans… – Continue reading
In brief On 18 September 2015, Treasury released exposure draft legislation in relation to the implementation of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Common Reporting Standard (CRS) for the automatic exchange of financial account information. The CRS is intended to reduce international tax evasion and represents the next… – Continue reading
The Australian Tax Office will open negotiations with 80 multinational companies to encourage them to “restructure” in order to pay more tax on profits generated in Australia. The move represents a near tripling of the ATO’s multinational watch list after it embedded staff inside 30 companies to learn more about… – Continue reading
Federal government increases number of companies under tax office scrutiny from 30 to 80 under budget measures announced in May The federal government has widened the scope of legislation aimed at tackling multinational tax avoidance, increasing the number of large companies under the tax office’s microscope from 30 to 80…. – Continue reading
Uber and Airbnb have revealed in submissions to a federal inquiry that they route profit through companies in the Netherlands and Ireland, where taxes are lower. Uber and Airbnb have told a Senate corporate tax avoidance inquiry that while they comply with Australian tax laws, their Australian operations merely provide… – Continue reading
The OECD-G20 plan to stop multinational tax avoidance could put companies in the middle of border disputes between revenue authorities, tax experts have warned. But civil society groups say the plan has not gone far enough and could make it easier for some multinationals to dodge tax. Treasurer Scott Morrison… – Continue reading
Countries should commit to minimum standards on the resolution of international tax disputes, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said in a report published as part of its base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project.06 Oct 2015 The standards would include a commitment to “seek to resolve” cases… – Continue reading
On October 2, 2015, the Internal Revenue Service announced that it had achieved a key milestone in implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), a critical anti-tax evasion law passed by Congress in 2010 but not fully implemented until July 2014. The milestone announced by the IRS was… – Continue reading
The IRS has announced that as of September 30, 2015 it will implement the automatic exchange of tax information as set forth in the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, (FATCA). The IRS Commissioner in announcing the implementation of the automatic exchange of information stated: “This information exchange is part of… – Continue reading
One in five corporations with annual profits greater than $100 million paid no tax last year, the Australian Tax Office has revealed. Michael Cranston, one of the ATO’s deputy commissioners, revealed the figure to a Senate hearing into corporate tax avoidance. Corporations avoid paying tax by what is euphemistically called… – Continue reading
Tax Reform Still in Ryan’s Sights Despite Boehner’s Departure Last week, following the sudden announcement by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) that he would be stepping down from Congress at the end of October, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and various other Committee members quickly confirmed… – Continue reading
ATO to force Uber drivers to pay GST Uber is to mount a legal challenge against the Australian Tax Office after a decision to force drivers to register and pay GST. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has praised ride-sharing company Uber as part of the “agile” economy he envisages for Australia…. – Continue reading
Thousands of Australians head offshore each year to expand their horizons and a lucky few will fund their adventure by working overseas. Some may live overseas and work for an extended period. There can often be confusion about the tax implications for taxpayers who take advantage of such offshore opportunities…. – Continue reading
Bloomberg BNA’s first transfer pricing conference in Asia—the latest offering in our Global Transfer Pricing Conference series with Baker & McKenzie—could not have been better timed. The day the conference opened, Sept. 17, China issued a revised draft circular on transfer pricing that completely changed the game for multinational companies… – Continue reading
BHP Billiton has defended the use of a Singapore marketing hub to minimise its tax payments, saying most of its Australian profits continue to be taxed in its home country. The resources giant, which came under fire earlier this year over allegations of tax avoidance, says its global adjusted effective… – Continue reading
Floor traders work during afternoon trading at the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in this November 6, 2013 file photo. Hong Kong is working night and day to launch an initiative that will let global investors trade Chinese stocks from the city for the first time and secure the former British… – Continue reading
