FATCA compliance is going to cost more than anticipated, research has revealed More than half (55%) of financial organisations now expect to exceed their original budget to adhere to the new rules, while only 35% believe they will stay on budget, a survey from Thomson Reuters has found. The Foreign… – Continue reading
Americans in Canadian plans no longer have to fill out paperwork to qualify for tax deferral The Internal Revenue Service recently simplified the filing procedures for Americans with Canadian registered retirement plans and allowed for those plans to qualify as “tax free” savings. Under the change, the IRS said that… – Continue reading
A source revealed that in order to settle the investigation into whether Bank Leumi Le-Israel (LUMI) BM helped Americans evade taxes, New York’s banking regulator will ask for over $300 million. The head of the state’s Department of Financial Services, Benjamin Lawsky, is looking for an amount that surpasses what… – Continue reading
Onetime Texas billionaire Sam Wyly and the estate of his late brother Charles just can’t seem to outsmart the Securities and Exchange Commission. Their latest attempt to evade the consequences of their allegedly fraudulent offshore trust scheme failed Monday, when U.S. District Judge Shira Scheindlin of Manhattan, in a ruling… – Continue reading
The Writ Petition filed by the NDA Government in mid-October consists of two parts. The first part deals with the issue of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement [DTAA], the information obtained from Liechtenstein through Germany and confidentiality obligations of Indian Government under the said DTAA. I had dealt extensively on this… – Continue reading
Nov 5 (Reuters) – Israel arrested 14 people, including a senior UBS investment adviser, as part of an investigation into Israelis allegedly holding undisclosed bank accounts with UBS worth hundreds of millions of euros, the Tax Authority said on Wednesday. All 14 had been released on bail soon after their… – Continue reading
The Bahamian government yesterday took a “critical step” in complying with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) by signing an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the U.S. During a press conference held at the Ministry of Financial Services, Minister of Financial Services Ryan Pinder stated that industry consultation represents the… – Continue reading
Apple is debuting €2.8bn of bonds as the iPhone maker seeks to fund another round of shareholder rewards without using overseas cash that would be subject to US repatriation taxes. The technology company is offering €1.4bn of eight-year notes and €1.4bn of 12-year securities, a source said. Goldman Sachs Group… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON, Nov 5 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Most of the world’s biggest companies get a failing grade for transparency and are far too secretive about how they operate, despite mounting pressure for business to stand firm against bribery, corruption and tax avoidance, a survey has found. Transparency International, the leading… – Continue reading
This publication provides a brief overview of the expected impact on entities incorporated in the British Virgin Islands (the “BVI”) of (a) the foreign account tax compliance provisions (“FATCA”) of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act, 2010 of the United States of America (the “US”); and (b) equivalent rules… – Continue reading
Financial Supervisory Commission Chairman William Tseng (曾銘宗) is leading a group of officials on a trip to the US in an effort to confirm details of the US’ Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and to ink a tax treaty with Washington. Officials said Vice Minister of Finance Wu Tang-chieh… – Continue reading
(From left) Stephen Ross, Raghad Al-Khudhari, Kristin Konschik and Husain Al- Ghareeb KUWAIT: A child born in the United States, even taken out of the US after an hour or two after birth, is a US citizen and therefore subject to a recent tax law being implemented by the US… – Continue reading
It was anticipated that with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US, uncertainty over FATCA implementation would come to an end. However, the Indian government is yet to make any announcements on the FATCA implementation after giving an in-principle approval to FATCA Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA) -Model -1, few… – Continue reading
Private sector arm of DfID and other EU development institutions channel significant investments to offshore havens, study finds More than two-thirds of the investments made by the private sector arm of the UK’s aid programme last year were channelled through “notoriously secretive” tax havens, according to a report that calls… – Continue reading
Apple Inc. (AAPL) is gearing up for its first bond offering in euros as the iPhone maker seeks to fund another round of shareholder rewards without tapping overseas cash that would be subject to repatriation taxes. Banks hired by the world’s most valuable technology company have started gauging investor interest… – Continue reading
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) became law in March 2010. However, as with many things “government,” several extensions were provided for guidance and regulations to be promulgated. FATCA targets tax non-compliance by U.S. taxpayers with foreign accounts and focuses on the reporting: (1) by U.S. taxpayers about certain… – Continue reading
High Court refuses special leave application in capital gains tax dispute The High Court has refused the special leave application by the taxpayer in a case involving the liability to capital gains tax (CGT) of a ‘limited partnership’ formed in the Cayman Islands. The application for special leave followed the… – Continue reading
Top UK regulator says threat of fines is scaring banks and poses risk of cutting off financial services to emerging economies Andrew Bailey, the UK’s most senior banking regulator, has highlighted a ‘serious international coordination problem’. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images There should be more international cooperation on money laundering rules to… – Continue reading
The taxation of a person is based on two principles: Source and Residence. A person for tax purposes includes an individual, trust, company, partnership and any form of business arrangement one chooses to take on. It should be noted that with globalisation, there is a constant mix of these two… – Continue reading
It is important that the Brisbane G20 Summit on Nov. 15–16 is a success. In an increasingly integrated global economy, effective forums for economic cooperation are needed. The 2008 global financial crisis was the catalyst for the G20 becoming a leaders’-level forum. The Washington, London, and Pittsburgh summits helped save… – Continue reading
NEW YORK — Shifting the address of his Liberty Global Inc. from Colorado to London last year didn’t just put billionaire John C. Malone in a position to reduce his company’s tax bill. He also took precautions to avoid the capital-gains hit that the so-called inversion would trigger for him… – Continue reading
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said that the issue over the disclosure of the names of those who have illegally stashed their black money abroad is not a debate over the admission of confidential information but is a matter pertaining to the unauthorized expose of the names in… – Continue reading
Property purchases in Ireland help Liberty Global chairman John Malone avoid tax Billionaire Irish American businessman John Malone, who owns a number of prestigous properties in Ireland, didn’t just reduce his company’s tax bill when he shifted the address of UPC parent Liberty Global from Colarado to London last year…. – Continue reading
In a big setback to the IRS’s juggernaut against tax evasion and offshore accounts, a former top UBS banker has been acquitted of tax evasion. The U.S. charged Raoul Weil with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government. The former exec was facing five years in prison and a $250,000 fine,… – 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
Since the global economic crash of 2008, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the U.S. has been trying to find other ways to generate income and much needed revenue. One avenue they are pursuing aggressively involves trying to stem tax evasion by U.S. citizens who are purposely hiding their funds… – Continue reading
New York • Shifting the address of his Liberty Global Inc. from Colorado to London last year didn’t just put billionaire John C. Malone in a position to reduce his company’s tax bill. He also took precautions to avoid the capital-gains hit that the so-called inversion would trigger for him… – 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
Mark Hendrickson teaches economics at Grove City College. He writes the “No Panaceas” blog at Forbes.com and is a contributing editor of the St. Croix Review. Hendrickson’s most recent book is “God and Man on Wall Street: The Conscience of Capitalism” with Craig Columbus. The political left in America remains… – 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. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e56ca00c-6010-11e4-98e6-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz3I617l1GT It is no secret that Apple, Starbucks and Amazon are among several high-profile companies… – Continue reading
A retired senior vice president at Israeli-based Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd. (MZTF) was acquitted in Los Angeles federal court on charges he helped U.S. customers conceal their assets from the Internal Revenue Service. Jurors deliberated four hours yesterday before clearing Shokrollah Baravarian, 82, of conspiring to defraud the U.S. and… – Continue reading
Foreign profits sit on sidelines as companies seek tax reform. WASHINGTON — They are all companies that call Minnesota home: Medtronic, 3M, St. Jude Medical, General Mills and Ecolab. But they also all hold 90 percent or more of their cash outside the United States. Amid a growing national political… – Continue reading
Bruton says new business can be won after end of ‘Double Irish’ with fresh tax proposals More than 1,000 new jobs could be created based on commitments received from US multinationals on a Government trade mission, the Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation Richard Bruton said. Speaking at the end… – Continue reading
With FATCA having been officially implemented for the most part this past July 2014, withholding agents will want to be especially vigilant in their duties and obligations regarding the solicitation and receipt of the appropriate Form W-8 from foreign persons. They will also want to be up on the rules… – Continue reading
Medical device companies Wright Medical Group Inc. and Tornier NV have agreed to merge in an all stock USD3.3bn transaction that will involve the transfer of Wright’s tax domicile from the US to the Netherlands. Wright’s deal with Tornier is one of the few corporate tax inversions that have been… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The government’s ability to keep a secret could determine whether it will be able to sign a key accord with the US before the year-end deadline. It’s not just private capital flows that face the risk of higher withholding tax there if India is unable to sign the… – Continue reading
U.S. tax law creates perverse incentives for American companies to hold cash offshore, and the U.S. Treasury recently announced proposals to deter the practice. The proposals have triggered an outcry that ranges from criticisms that the Obama administration has overstepped its authority, on one side, to criticisms that the proposals… – Continue reading
Financial institutions based in certain British Overseas Territories (BOTs) and Crown Dependencies (CDs) will be subject to stricter reporting requirements covering accounts held with them by UK resident non-UK domiciled taxpayers from 2016 if specific “carve outs” are not negotiated, an expert has said.31 Oct 2014 Private wealth tax Tax… – Continue reading
At the September 2014 convention of American labor unions, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont specifically urged taxation of wealth, asserting that, “We need a tax system which asks the billionaire class to pay its fair share of taxes and which reduces the obscene degree of wealth inequality in America.” The… – Continue reading
In one of the bluntest statements on the topic by any globalist thus far, controversial German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble (shown) openly called for “global standards” and “global governance” in taxation to ensure that governments can continue extracting huge sums in taxes from the wealth-producing class in perpetuity. In an… – Continue reading
In the fight against tax evasion, member banks of the Association of Cyprus Banks (ACB) are currently in the process of implementing the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), in anticipation of the upcoming intergovernmental agreement between the United States of America and Cyprus, ACB Director General Michael Kammas said…. – Continue reading
In front of European Commissioners, leading politicians, chief executives of huge multinationals, senior bank bosses and billionaires, the Egyptian investment tycoon was asked to set the tone of the forum, a three-day lobbying event funded by the EU. Dr Heikal is founder and chairman of Qalaa, an African investment fund… – Continue reading
As the OECD’s proposals for global reform of corporate taxation advance, the challenge facing the Government is how best to adapt to major change, while ensuring Ireland remains competitive and continues to attract foreign direct investment. In the budget, Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan took a bold first step by… – Continue reading
The Government continues to move slowly on global tax evasion and no action is likely for four to five years, according to a statement by Revenue Minister Todd McClay. Companies like Facebook and Google have been under fire around the world for shifting revenue and profits to different jurisdictions to… – Continue reading
Ireland’s role in Apple’s affairs means the sums involved are material to Ireland Ireland has done extraordinarily well at attracting foreign direct investment, and the politicians and public servants involved must be hoping that when the current fuss over global tax competition subsides, that will continue to be the case…. – Continue reading
FORT LAUDERDALE Fla./ZURICH (Reuters) – 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… – Continue reading
New Delhi: A day after the Centre submitted its list of 627 Indians who have accounts in HSBC bank, Geneva for tax probe for suspected black money to Supreme Court, India has pulled out of multilateral information sharing agreement. The Mutilateral Competent Authority Agreement was signed by 51 countries in… – Continue reading
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in an interview last week that 2015 could present a very difficult filing season because of uncertainty about expired tax provisions and the implementation of new rules under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). More than 50 provisions… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service is encouraging taxpayers with previously undeclared foreign bank accounts to enter into its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, but there are now choices between a new streamlined version of the OVDP and the regular program that will require careful consideration and advice from practitioners. Since March 26,… – Continue reading
Some 51 countries, including the UK, have signed a new agreement at the Global Forum in Berlin to automatically exchange tax information, in an attempt to clamp down on tax evasion. Under the agreement, “unprecedented levels” of information, including account balances, interest payments and beneficial ownership, will be shared with… – Continue reading
