Expat savers dealing with unfamiliar banks are unlikely to know how much of their cash is protected if the foreign bank goes bust. In Britain, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) safeguards up to £85,000 held by each person in accounts under a single banking licence. Each building society has… – Continue reading
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) has been in force for a month and still more countries are joining the tax network. So far, 101 countries and financial jurisdictions have either signed or agreed to join FATCA. FATCA is aimed at identifying US taxpayers with offshore bank accounts and investments. Overseas… – Continue reading
Authorities in Gibraltar have slammed claims by a top Spanish official that the UK-held territory costs Spain €1 billion ($1.3 billion) a year in lost tax revenues, saying the figure is “a financial flight of fancy”. “The wealth that Gibraltar enjoys cannot continue to be based solely on an economy… – Continue reading
The Spanish Government yesterday stepped up its campaign of unsubstantiated accusations against the Rock by claiming that Spain was losing out on one billion euros in taxes every year because of Gibraltar’s fiscal regime. The spectacular claim was made by Iñigo Méndez de Vigo, Secretary of State for the EU… – Continue reading
Gibraltar’s financial community must immediately prepare itself for FATCA or it risks getting caught up in the legislation’s strict international net, says an authority from the jurisdiction. Helvetic, a fund adminstrator based in the British overseas territory, says many financial institutions in the area are underestimating the compliance costs of… – Continue reading
Tax expert and member of the GSD executive Chris White has said that Daniel Feetham, the Leader of the Opposition, “was absolutely right in the statements he made. The Government of Gibraltar has signed 27 Tax Information Exchange Agreements.” In a recent statement the Gibraltar Government said that Mr Feetham… – Continue reading
The Minister with responsibility for Financial Services, Albert Isola, signed an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the US Government and the Government of Gibraltar at a signing ceremony in the US Embassy in London on Thursday. The agreement aims to improve international tax compliance through mutual assistance in tax matters based… – Continue reading
Gibraltar Private Bank & Trust Co. warned its shareholders that federal regulators are seeking to hit the bank with a new enforcement action and civil monetary penalties, including against individual board members. The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency and the U.S. Department of the Treasury are pursing these harsh civil measures because they’ve… – Continue reading
In this sponsored Q&A, Gibraltar Finance’s Philip Canessa shares his views on the benefits of Gibraltar as a European Union jurisdiction, as well as the attractions of the territory’s fund regime, tax incentives and regulatory framework for the funds industry. Hedge Funds Review: How will Gibraltar-based funds benefit from all… – Continue reading
SCOTS who hide their money offshore are being targeted in a new offensive against tax evasion that costs the UK Treasury billions of pounds a year. In what are thought to be the first probes of their kind, tax officials and prosecutors have started targeting gangland bank accounts in jurisdictions… – Continue reading
The Treasury Department added 19 nations to its list of countries that have reached agreements with the U.S. on carrying out a far-reaching law aimed at preventing offshore tax dodging by American citizens. The Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service said the 19 nations – including Australia, Brazil, South Africa… – Continue reading
Gibraltar is to introduce Qualified Non-UK Pension Schemes (QNUPS), which will enable British expats to make additional contributions to pension schemes that will be administered by Gibraltar-regulated trustees. A QNUPS allows an individual to transfer UK-based pension assets to overseas-based schemes. These contributions may exceed the usual UK limit of… – Continue reading
Gibraltar lawmakers unanimously approved new legislation that will dramatically expand Gibraltar’s network of agreements for the exchange of tax information. The legislation implements OECD’s Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters in Gibraltar ahead of the March 1 deadline. The move is part of the Government of Gibraltar’s policy… – Continue reading
Pension professionals in Gibraltar will soon be able to offer Qualifying Non-UK Pension Schemes (QNUPS) from Gibraltar. The Gibraltar Government has, in consultation with the Gibraltar Association of Pension Fund Administrators (GAPFA), worked to enable the sector to offer Gibraltar QNUPS. Discussions then took place between the Government… – Continue reading
A major rebranding and restructuring of Gibraltar’s financial services industry, aimed at raising its competitive profile and increasing its focus on particular market sectors, is under way, overseen by minister for financial services and gaming Albert Isola. The restructuring is seen as having its origins in Gibraltar’s last general election,… – Continue reading
It’s no big secret that for years the Madrid Government together with their so-called impartial EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia have been on Gibraltar’s back regarding the Rock’s income tax laws. Last week I covered for Panorama the Gibraltar Government visit to Brussels where Mr Picardo and his team had… – Continue reading
Gibraltar plans to become an Insurance Linked Securities (ILS) jurisdiction within the European Union. The ILS market has grown significantly in recent years and the total volume of catastrophe bonds and ILS issued during 2013 was more than $7.5 billion and by the end 2013 there was an all-time high… – Continue reading
The European Commission is currently analysing how Gibraltar and Spain will implement recommendations made by its experts who visited the border last year. Both the Gibraltar Government and the Spanish Government have submitted detailed documents to the Commission – the former via the office of the UK permanent representative in… – Continue reading
