HSBC could have to relinquish its membership of the FTSE-100 index if it moves its HQ to Hong Kong, Sky News understands. HSBC is wrestling with the potential loss of its membership of London’s blue-chip share index if it moves its headquarters back to Hong Kong after a 23-year absence…. – Continue reading
Russian businesses are preparing to issue a blitz of foreign debt, despite financial sanctions that have all but closed the country’s access to international capital markets for the last year, according to the head of one of its leading banks, reports the Financial Times. Igor Vayn, chief executive of investment… – Continue reading
Bahamas Supreme Court rejects Baha Mar’s Delaware chapter 11 application In a ruling by Justice Ian Winder on Wednesday of this week, The Bahamas Supreme Court Denied Baha Mar’s Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Recognition Petition. This paves the way for the Supreme Court to appoint a provisional liquidator on the 31st… – Continue reading
London, United Kingdom, July 25, 2015 –(PR.com)– A Secure On-line Reporting System which provides a cost-effective method for financial institutions’ FATCA and Common Reporting Standard (CRS) reporting requirements has been successfully deployed. Developed by Webtech Limited in conjunction with Russell Bedford’s Isle of Man member firm SMP Partners, the solution… – Continue reading
Kenya signed several pacts with the US during talks between US President Barack Obama and Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, signalling a deepening of bilateral relations in trade and investment. Addressing a joint press conference, President Obama said discussions on the prospects of introducing direct flights between the two countries were… – Continue reading
Baku, Fineko/abc.az. The Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Taxes pays much attention to agreements on information exchange. According to Orkhan Musayev, International Relations Department Manager at the Ministry, such agreements, the same as agreements on elimination of double taxation, are very important. “So far, the Ministry of Taxes has signed agreements on… – Continue reading
Luxembourg and the United States signed, on 28 March 2014, a (reciprocal) Model I FATCA intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) to improve international tax compliance between both jurisdictions. On 27 March 2015, the Draft Law (n°6798) transposing the IGA in national law was released, requiring the first FATCA reporting to be submitted… – Continue reading
Fatca was introduced in 2010, to curb offshore tax evasion by US entities and citizens Even after the signing of a treaty between the governments of India and America to comply with the latter’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca), mutual funds (MFs) continue to remain wary of accepting investments… – Continue reading
The implementation of stricter taxation scrutiny globally shows no sign of abating. Nonetheless, Guernsey is well-placed to meet many of these challenges, and indeed thrive in this new world order. Guernsey has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to comply with international obligations and adapt to challenges and changing circumstances and the… – Continue reading
A DOUBLE TAXATION Agreement (DTA) with South Korea was a key talking point recently when Ambassador-Designate of the Republic of Korea to Barbados, Doo-Young Lee paid a courtesy call on Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Maxine McClean, at her Culloden Road Office. Acknowledging the excellent working relations… – Continue reading
Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., along with six current and former U.S. citizens living abroad, filed a lawsuit, July 14, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio challenging the constitutionality of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and foreign bank account reporting (FBAR) regime. “FATCA eschews… – Continue reading
A business partnership claims to have successfully deployed a secure online reporting system for financial institutions grappling with the headache of FATCA and Common Reporting Standard (CRS) reporting requirements. Developed by Webtech Limited in conjunction with corporate service provider SMP Partners, the ‘solution’ is said to be designed by users… – Continue reading
Introduction US tax treaty policy can be affected by pressures for tax reform from within the United States and by major developments in international taxation from without. Talk of US tax reform has been widespread for years, although it is sometimes hard to gauge how much of the talk is… – Continue reading
Hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb was singled out for criticism by labor leaders who are urging the U.S. to limit investors’ ability to lower tax obligations through offshore reinsurance ventures. “When just one hedge fund takes advantage of this loophole, it means hundreds of millions of dollars are lost that… – Continue reading
Blatant corporate and personal tax evasion contributed to Greece’s debt crisis, but it’s dwarfed by the tax avoidance of U.S. multinationals operating in countries like Australia. There’s a popular misconception that Greece’s debt crisis was self-inflicted. ‘The Greeks are a bunch of tax evaders! They should never have been allowed… – Continue reading
Plans to create a public registry of the real owners of UK companies should be extended to make it clear who is behind the companies that own high-value London properties, Global Witness has said. Plans to create a public registry of the real owners of UK companies should be extended… – Continue reading
A pressure group is calling for estate agents to conduct additional checks to ensure the legal provenance of buyers’ funds, and wants all on- and off-shore companies owning UK property to be obliged to tell the Land Registry the identify of their beneficial owners. Global Witness – a group campaigning… – Continue reading
SINGAPORE – Singapore’s asset management industry grew strongly last year, with more sovereign wealth funds setting up shop here. Assets under management (AUM) rose 30 per cent to S$2.36 trillion in 2014 from S$1.82 trillion in 2013, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) annual report 2014/15 released on Tuesday…. – Continue reading
WASHINGTON — Two more Swiss banks will pay penalties to the United States as part of settlements that mean they will not face criminal charges for helping Americans avoid taxes, US authorities said on Thursday. SB Saanen Bank AG will pay nearly $1.4m and Privatbank Bellerive AG will pay $57,000,… – Continue reading
TOKYO — Disputes over cross-border double taxation can take a decade to resolve, putting a heavy burden on multinational corporations, but this would be shortened to around two years under new rules being crafted by the OECD and the Group of 20 major economies. Corporations can seek to resolve such… – Continue reading
Effective August 17, financial institutions in Jamaica will be required to transmit relevant financial information to Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) – the competent authority – on persons who reside permanently in the United States (US) or persons who earn a substantial amount of their income from or within the United… – Continue reading
Banamex USA, a Century City unit of Citigroup Inc. that served customers doing business in Mexico and the U.S., has agreed to shut down and pay $140 million in penalties to settle state and federal money-laundering probes. Citigroup said in a news release Wednesday that it would “wind down” Banamex… – Continue reading
Travelling from the Cayman Islands to the City of London, from Panama to Hong Kong, two photographers encapsulated the hidden world of tax avoidance. The global financial crisis has led to unprecedented scrutiny of financial institutions and the individuals and companies that use them. Tax avoidance – the legal exploitation… – Continue reading
US regulators are scolding China Construction Bank Corp. (CCB) for failing to spot money laundering. The rebuke comes after loopholes were in found in its New York branch to tackle the illegal movement of tainted money, according to the Wall Street Journal. No fines were announced. CCB, one of China’s… – Continue reading
Introduction Recently, the Cayman Islands Department of International Tax Compliance (DITC) notified financial institutions that in October 2015 it will be introducing local regulations to implement the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), also commonly referred to as global FATCA or GATCA. That notice also served as a reminder that international… – Continue reading
In recent years, the popularity of the Canada Revenue Agency’s voluntary disclosures program – which enables taxpayers to correct any mistakes or omissions in their previous tax filings – has ballooned. When taxpayers come forward, their tax problems get solved, the CRA reduces the accrued interest and, most important, waives… – Continue reading
Apple, Google, and other major U.S.-based multinationals may soon be able to bring more of their foreign-earned income back to American shores without facing a huge tax burden, as lawmakers are moving forward on a tax reform framework that could eliminate taxes on international earnings and authorize a one-time repatriation… – Continue reading
You might think your bank records–especially foreign banks–are personal and confidential. Yet the government can make you hand over your bank records, even if they incriminate you. It turns out not even the Fifth Amendment can protect you. With FATCA, the pace of foreign account disclosures is frantic, and the… – Continue reading
Turkish Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek said the Turkish government and the United States administration will sign a deal on July 23 which will make financial information exchanges possible between the two countries, as a part of the efforts to fight against tax evasion, as reported by Anadolu Agency. “With the… – Continue reading
In a published report, anti-corruption organisation highlights complex structures through which swaths of UK property are owned Global Witness has called for greater transparency around the ownership of UK properties after reviewing alleged links between a former Kazakh secret police chief accused of money laundering and a London property portfolio… – Continue reading
LAUSANNE — Julius Baer Group should have cash to purchase rivals even as it prepares to settle a four-year probe into tax evasion by the US justice department. Switzerland’s third-largest wealth manager said last month it set aside $350m to fund a financial agreement over the bank’s role in helping… – Continue reading
London (July 21st 2015):- His Excellency Dr Kevin Isaac signed an Agreement on the Exchange of Information Relating to Tax Matters with the Republic of Ireland on behalf of the Federation this afternoon July 21st 2015 at the Embassy of Ireland in London. Ireland’s ambassador for Britain Dun Mulhall signed… – Continue reading
Categorizing it as a “large scale, continuing, complex commercial crime,” a judge has sentenced two Calgary businessmen to prison for five years for defrauding the federal government of millions in taxes that should have been paid on registered retirement savings plans. Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Peter McIntyre said Steven… – Continue reading
On 20 March 2015, Poland’s government approved an agreement with the United States, implementing the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in Poland. FATCA is a US anti-avoidance law. It requires financial institutions abroad to provide the US tax authority with information about their US citizen clients. Poland is one… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will seek the Union Cabinet’s approval for a model investment protection agreement that will enable India to safeguard against offshore arbitration and international litigation from global companies and also resume talks with the U.S. on a Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT). One of the reasons talks between… – Continue reading
The US can making giant vying to buy British industrial champion Rexam has sought to play down fears that the deal will stifle competition and could lead to higher prices. Earlier this year Ball Corporation swooped on Rexam in a £4.3billion takeover that will create the world’s largest beverage can… – Continue reading
Senate tax writers cleared a hodgepodge of expired tax breaks on Tuesday, as lawmakers insisted they don’t want to wait until year’s end to restore a group of incentives that historically has had bipartisan support. The Finance Committee voted to extend the roughly $95 billion collection of tax breaks, known… – Continue reading
New Delhi has proposed the setting up of a bilateral high-level group to discuss with Washington its concerns on the long-pending issue of US “visa restrictions” affecting the easy movement of Indian skilled professionals, especially in the IT sector. New Delhi has proposed the setting up of a bilateral high-level… – Continue reading
Top lawmakers and the White House are in the early stages of discussing an ambitious overhaul of how the U.S. taxes its multinational firms, according to officials involved in the effort. The talks, part of an effort to find funding for a long-term highway bill, are preliminary and could yet… – Continue reading
The Finance Ministry of the United Arab Emirates has released US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act guidance notes and the registration form for entities to access the FATCA reporting portal. FATCA, enacted by the US Congress in 2010, is intended to ensure that the US obtains information on accounts held… – Continue reading
Several measures have been taken to combat black money both by way of policy level initiatives as well as through more effective enforcement action. The fall in deposits by Indians in Swiss banks may be a result of the steps being taken by the government to unearth black money stashed… – Continue reading
Recent revelations that Walmart, the world’s biggest corporation, is maintaining secret subsidiaries in well-known offshore tax havens are outrageous but far from surprising to small business owners. That’s because we’re used to seeing large corporations abuse the tax system in ways that hurt our businesses, communities and families. Walmart’s hidden… – Continue reading
SINGAPORE – Criminal investigators from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are investigating whether a Singapore asset-management firm accepted transfers from undeclared Swiss accounts closed by US taxpayers, the Wall Street Journal reported. Lawyers who spoke to the Journal on the matter declined to name the Singapore firm being probed… – Continue reading
Irish people investing in other countries often lose up to a fifth of dividends Irish tax refund specialists Taxback. com have introduced an online service to help people recover tax withheld on share dividends in other countries. *Irish people investing abroad often lose up to a fifth of their dividends… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: To protect confidentiality of tax information from abroad, the CBDT has warned of stern action against those making unauthorised disclosures as it amounts to breach of treaty commitments and cause embarrassment to the government. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said the confidentiality of taxpayers’ information has… – Continue reading
The abiding complaint of those who believe offshore buyers are driving the rise in real estate prices in Metro Vancouver is the lack of data to prove it. How can you identify a problem if you can’t quantify it? The corollary to that complaint is the provincial government’s apparent inability,… – Continue reading
Post Finance, the banking arm of the Swiss post office, has informed clients living abroad that their credit cards will be cancelled at the end of October. The Organisation of the Swiss Abroad (OSA) has criticised the decision that has been motivated by tightening money laundering and tax evasion regulations…. – Continue reading
The IRS’ investigation into Microsoft books centers on how the company uses its overseas subsidiaries for tax purposes. The company says the IRS audit has gone on long enough and the federal agency improperly hired an outside law firm to help in the investigation. Microsoft and the federal government have… – Continue reading
A number of jurisdictions (including the US, the UK and Italy) have launched voluntary disclosure (‘VD’) programmes. A substantial number of cases involve private foundations, typically legacy structures based in Liechtenstein and Panama. As the concept of foundations is alien to common law, their tax treatment raises delicate issues in… – Continue reading
FACTA requires Americans living abroad to report bank accounts holding in excess of $50,000 along with their annual tax returns. Seven people, including U.S. Republican candidate Rand Paul and a Jerusalem attorney, are suing the U.S. Treasury Department and Internal Revenue Service asserting that the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act,… – Continue reading
