The total number of reports on controlled transfer pricing operations, received by the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, as of October 1, 2014 exceeded 2,500. The head of the department for transfer pricing inspections at the Fiscal Service, Mykola Mishin, said at the round table “Transfer pricing in Ukraine: problems… – Continue reading
The European Commission has announced that its ongoing inquiry into advance tax rulings will be expanded to cover all European Union member states. The Commission said on December 17 that it will ask member states to confirm whether they offer tax rulings. If they do, they will be requested to… – Continue reading
The European Union has agreed rules to stamp out tax evasion and stop dirty money from criminal gangs or terrorism finance being channelled through anonymous companies. EU states and the European Parliament struck the agreement on Tuesday evening to update the bloc’s anti-money laundering rules, a statement from parliament’s economic… – Continue reading
An investigation into tax rulings provided by certain EU member states is to be widened to cover all member states, according to a press release from the European Commission.17 Dec 2014 Tax Disputes and Investigations EU & Competition Tax Public procurement and state aid Corporate tax International tax UK Europe… – Continue reading
Last March MEPs voted overwhelmingly to introduce a new transparency disclosure rule that would compel all 28 European states to make publicly accessible the real owners of companies and trusts. The decision was hailed as a major breakthrough by anti-corruption campaigners fighting financial crime and tax abuse. Lawyers working for… – Continue reading
Former PricewaterhouseCoopers auditor charged with theft and violating trade secrets in wake of LuxLeaks scandal speaks out A 28-year-old former PricewaterhouseCoopers auditor charged with theft and violating trade secrets in Luxembourg in the wake of the LuxLeaks tax avoidance scandal has revealed his identity and claimed he acted out of… – Continue reading
Around the world, countries are desperately seeking ways to stop multinational companies from earning profits within their borders without paying taxes on them, while stashing trillions in tax havens like the Cayman Islands. The British government, after a search, says it knows how to tax the profits Google earns in… – Continue reading
The Income Tax Department has informed the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Black Money that prosecution proceedings for non-furnishing of account details by Indians stashing black money abroad are in progress in 27 cases (under Section 276 D of the I-T Act) and has even filed a case in court… – Continue reading
The suspected leaker of documents that revealed confidential tax avoidance deals between Luxembourg and hundreds of multinational companies has been charged with theft, money-laundering and exposing trade secrets, prosecutors said. The suspect’s identity has not been revealed, but at Luxemburger Wort we have identified that he is a French former… – Continue reading
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting The Walt Disney Co. generates $18.2 billion per year in economic activity in Florida and and is responsible for more than one in every 50 jobs in the Sunshine State, according to a study the company paid for in 2011. But here’s something Disney won’t… – Continue reading
Minister of state stresses taxation rates remains a matter for member states Ireland has “nothing to fear” from European proposals to tackle multinational tax avoidance, the Minister of State at the Department of Finance Simon Harris said on Tuesday as EU finance ministers rubber-stamped new rules on the automatic exchange… – Continue reading
Some statistics rank London as the fourth largest ‘French’ city by population, and the number of French individuals moving to the UK is growing. This is not surprising – the UK offers a highly favourable tax regime for ‘non-domiciled’ individuals moving to the UK, while entrepreneurs, professionals and high net… – Continue reading
In the past fifty years, European nations have become increasingly reliant on value-added taxes, according to a recent study released in December by the Tax Foundation. The study, authored by Tax Foundation Center for Federal Tax Policy economist Kyle Pomerleau, details the rising popularity in Europe of the value-added tax… – Continue reading
Juncker has put corporate tax reform firmly back on the EU agenda The “Lux leaks” scandal may have cast a shadow over Jean-Claude Juncker’s first months as European Commission president, but its real significance will be how it impacts the EU’s position on corporate tax. Some contend the scale of… – Continue reading
The EU’s most powerful official is under mounting pressure as dozens more multinational corporate names are dragged into the Luxembourg tax scandal following a new leak of confidential documents on Tuesday. Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European commission, has been battling to distance himself from the growing furore over the… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Luxembourg is giving details of its tax deals with foreign firms to governments that ask for them, its finance ministry said on Tuesday, addressing critics of its role in helping companies avoid taxes on a global scale. In a statement issued after a Belgian minister revealed he was… – Continue reading
A new leak of confidential documents expands the list of big companies seeking secret tax deals in Luxembourg, exposing tax-saving maneuvers by American entertainment icon The Walt Disney Co., politically controversial Koch Industries Inc. and 33 other companies. Disney and Koch Industries, a U.S.-based energy and chemical conglomerate, both created… – Continue reading
Reversing earlier moves taken this summer and fall, a major international bank is ending its cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to prevent investors from investing money in foreign countries with more amenable tax structures and policies, such as Ireland or Switzerland. During a Zurich speech, Barclays bank executive… – 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. Business has never been better at Knappworst and Partner, a tax advisory firm in Potsdam, a leafy city… – Continue reading
In the African tax sphere, the trend remains for headline tax rates to continue to remain stable or decrease. Withholding tax rates have generally remained stable, although the experience of Dentons and our clients is that African tax authorities are requiring tax to be withheld from payments that have not… – Continue reading
Even though it was the French tax office that handed over encrypted information to AFIP head Ricardo Echegaray, the source of the revelations was former HSBC employee and whistleblower Hervé Falciani, a man responsible for giving the details of up to 130,000 Swiss bank accounts he suspected were linked with… – Continue reading
November 28: The French legislative assembly on 18 November 2014 passed a draft Finance Bill for 2015, thereby sending the bill to the Senate for its consideration. One of the provisions in this legislation would “tighten” the transfer pricing penalties for a taxpayer’s failure to respond to a request by… – Continue reading
Passage by the French assembly on 18 November 2014 of a draft Finance Bill for 2015 (which now will be presented to the Senate) Introduction by the French government on 12 November 2014 of a second draft amended Finance Bill for 2014 In general, the draft Finance Bill for 2015… – Continue reading
UPDATE 1-Argentina charges HSBC with aiding tax evasion via Swiss accounts AFIP said it received the information on the secret accounts from France, which last week placed HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm under formal investigation for possibly aiding tax evasion. “We denounce the existence of an illegal platform created by… – Continue reading
November 26: Legislation concerning the ratification of the fourth Protocol to amend the Luxembourg-France income tax treaty is expected to be submitted in early 2015. Consequently, the Protocol (signed in September 2014) is expected to be effective—at the earliest—as from the 2016 civil or financial year. Scope of Protocol Provisions… – Continue reading
Arlette Ricci accused of hiding money from France’s tax authorities in test case related to the HSBC tax-avoidance scandal Arlette Ricci’s name is on a list handed over by an HSBC Private Bank employee of French citizens alleged to have hidden cash in offshore accounts. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images The… – Continue reading
French magistrates examining whether the bank helped wealthy clients avoid a new tax, the European Union Savings Directive French judges have put the Swiss branch of HSBC under official investigation over allegations that Britain’s biggest bank helped wealthy clients avoid taxes. It was revealed on Friday that the unit had… – Continue reading
The United States has treaty language that allows us to work with the taxing authorities in other countries to collect U.S. taxes owed from U.S. Citizens or their property located in those countries and to allow those countries to have IRS collect from their citizens or property located in the… – Continue reading
Economic growth in France may exceed the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) 0.4 percent target this year, finance minister Michel Sapin told CNBC over the weekend. “The last figures for the third-quarter are figures that fill me with trust. This year, France will reach the 0.4 percent [target],… – Continue reading
NGO report calls for central listing of beneficial owners of EU firms and trusts The European Union should introduce a centralised public register revealing the identities of beneficial owners of companies and trusts, according to a pan-European report to be published today. Hidden Taxes: the EU’s Role in Supporting an… – Continue reading
The world must work together to fight tax avoidance, France’s finance minister said Thursday after leaked documents showed Luxembourg helped global companies dodge billions of dollars. “The fight against tax avoidance must be global,” Michel Sapin told reporters when asked about the revelations, which have piled pressure on Jean-Claude Juncker,… – Continue reading
PARIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–On September 2, 2014, under the aegis of the President of the Commercial Court of Paris, LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton (“LVMH”) and Hermès International (“Hermès”) entered into a settlement agreement (the “Settlement Agreement”) aimed at restoring a climate of positive relations between them. “Communiqué – Distribution exceptionnelle… – Continue reading
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla./ZURICH — From bundles of cash inside scraps of newspaper to setting up shell companies, the trial in Florida of a former UBS executive is a reminder of the extreme methods some Swiss bankers used to hide clients’ cash. Raoul Weil, 54, is the highest ranking Swiss banker… – Continue reading
We are witnessing profound changes in the way that the world economy works. As a result of the growing pace and intensity of globalization and digitization, more and more economic processes have an international dimension. As a consequence, an increasing number of businesses are adapting their structures to domestic and… – Continue reading
The automatic exchange of information on financial accounts around the world is coming. More than fifty countries have committed to this at an international tax conference hosted by Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble. The exchange of information now agreed will make it easier for fiscal authorities to obtain information about… – Continue reading
(BERLIN) – The finance ministers of around 50 countries meet in Berlin on Wednesday to sign a deal they hope will put an end to banking secrecy and aid the worldwide fight against tax fraud and evasion. “Banking secrecy, in its old form, is obsolete,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble… – Continue reading
UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, has had to set aside Sfr1.84bn (or £1.2 billon / $1.9 billion) in legal provisions to pay for possible fines and to settle regulatory investigations. It has also warned shareholders that these costs are likely to be “at elevated levels” for the “forseeable future”. The Swiss… – Continue reading
Tabcorp is pushing the Federal Government to even the playing field when it comes to wagering. Tabcorp’s chairman Paula Dwyer wants a ban on rival offshore betting companies operating in Australia. An estimated 14 per cent of betting by Australians is with non-licensed offshore operators, Ms Dwyer told shareholders at… – Continue reading
23/10/14 – After a comprehensive review in October 2012, the OECD Working Group on Bribery asked France, through a series of concrete recommendations, to intensify its actions to fight the bribery of foreign public officials and undertake important reforms. In October 2014, the Working Group welcomed several significant reforms, including:… – Continue reading
In a decision on June 11, 2014, the French Administrative Supreme Court held that a French national residing in Monaco may be subject to social taxes on property income (dividends, interest, property income, etc.) if the French national qualifies as French tax resident under French national law (Article 4 B… – Continue reading
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has recommended a number of direct tax reforms to build on the French Government’s efforts to improve the nation’s competitiveness in Europe. The report points out that the tax wedge (the cumulative burden of taxes on workers) in France is among the… – Continue reading
Internet giant plays down speculation it is considering closing Bermudan arm Google has played down speculation in France that it is considering shutting its Bermudan arm and boosting its operations in Dublin, following the closure of the Double Irish tax loophole in last week’s budget. Le Monde yesterday reported that… – Continue reading
IMF President Christine Lagarde (right) poses with OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria, prior to a meeting with International economic organisations at the OECD in Paris. PARIS: The moribund French economy could get a sharp boost each year over a decade if highly controversial reforms to help businesses are enacted, predictions… – Continue reading
17/10/2014 – Full implementation of the structural reforms adopted and announced in France would boost potential annual economic growth by one third, or 0.4 percentage points per year over ten years, according to the OECD. In a report entitled Structural reforms in France: Impact on growth and options for the… – Continue reading
Ireland puts an end to a tax loophole that saved Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook billions in taxes “Double Irish” might sound like a drink that corporate tax lawyers reach for at the prospect of paying higher tax bills, but it’s actually the name of a controversial — albeit legal… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Luxembourg agreed on Tuesday to end its bank secrecy rules from 2017, yielding to a decade of pressure from Germany and the United States and marking a breakthrough in global efforts to reduce tax evasion. Luxembourg, whose banks hold deposits worth 10 times the nation’s annual economic output,… – Continue reading
TORONTO, Oct. 10, 2014 /CNW/ – The Global Citizen Forum 2014, hosted in Toronto, proved to be a launch platform for significant initiatives. On October 3, 2014, its second day, in front of more than 260 delegates, Mykolas Rambus, CEO, Wealth-X, announced the establishment of the Global Residence and Citizenship… – Continue reading
UBS AG (UBSN), the Swiss bank facing French allegations of helping clients evade taxes, has handed over details on about 100 accounts, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Swiss authorities at the start of the year notified UBS of a request from France for information on 300… – Continue reading
When the U.S. fined Credit Suisse Group (CSGN:VX) $2.6 billion in May, the Justice Department said it was the biggest penalty ever in a criminal tax-evasion case. That record could soon be shattered. France could impose a fine of €4.9 billion ($6.2 billion) on another Swiss bank, UBS (UBSN:VX), for… – 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
