(CNS Business): The use of Cayman Islands funds as a wealth management tool for high net worth Latin American families was debated last week at the STEP LatAm Conference in Brazil, where kidnapping is a constant worry for the wealthy and demand for outbound investments is fuelled by privacy and… – Continue reading
Herve Falciani, the Frenchman wanted on charges of industrial espionage in Switzerland, has opted to skip his trial at the country’s top court and instead plead his case before a jury of journalists at a French hotel, less than a mile from the Swiss border. The Frenchman was the star… – Continue reading
Following the recent Irish budget statement (the “Budget”), the Finance Bill 2015 (the “Bill”) has been published and it implements the changes announced by the Irish Minister for Finance (the “Minister”). The Bill includes additional detail on: the new knowledge development box (“KDB”); and Ireland’s implementation of country by country… – Continue reading
The “Evasion in the financial system” film is a documentary directed by former minister of Culture Jorge Coscia. It is based on the information leaked in the media by Hervé Falciani, an ex-employee of HSBC’s Swiss private bank, on clients and their tax situation. The C5N news channel aired this… – Continue reading
The negotiations conducted by the Ministry of Finance and the Internal Revenue Service (SII) for Chile to sign the agreements to avoid international double taxation with Italy and Japan have concluded successfully. “The successful completion of negotiations with two of the world’s major economies crown an exceptional year in strengthening… – 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
On December 29, 2014, Uruguayan Congress ratified the Tax Information Exchange Agreement entered into between Uruguay and Brazil (“the TIEA”). The TIEA is patterned after the OECD Model. The Contracting Parties undertake to cooperate with each other through the exchange of any information which might be foreseeably relevant for tax… – Continue reading
Hervé Falciani, who exposed the global offshore industry with the HSBC data leak, is facing prosecution under skewed Swiss laws for data theft and espionage. This is his story. Swiss justice hounds those who breach banking secrecy even if in doing so they expose rogue banks. In the past decade,… – Continue reading
ESPN FC’s Fernando Palomo previews the upcoming UCL action, highlighting that Barcelona will have to learn to play without Messi. Also Mou faces his old Club, while Bayern may be playing at their best. Barcelona star Javier Mascherano was charged with two counts of defrauding the Spanish tax authorities of… – Continue reading
On 26 February 2015, the Austrian Supreme Administrative Court decided in favor of an appeal filed by WOLF THEISS for a client who received tax exempt interest income from other countries. An Austrian taxpayer received interest from Greek, Brazilian and Argentinian government bonds between 2003 and 2007. According to the… – Continue reading
On September 1, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro arrived to Beijing in an effort to strengthen economic ties between Venezuela and China. In his second visit this year, the Venezuelan President signed a number of deals that will strengthen cooperation in new areas beyond the current focus on the oil industry…. – Continue reading
Superstar-laden FC Barcelona might be among the top teams in the Spanish Liga BBVA this season but the team is making news – again – for a more undesirable reason: tax investigations. As Lionel Messi awaits trial on tax evasion charges, another Barcelona star may be joining him. Spanish news… – Continue reading
The original online payment platform, PayPal, has decided to leave the populous island of Puerto Rico next month. The commonwealth has imposed a 2 percent take on any money transmission, forcing Paypal’s hand. So what does this mean for those who need to send money from Puerto Rico? Puerto Rico… – Continue reading
HSBC’s Argentine unit told to remove CEO and one director HSBC accused of helping capital flight by wealthy Argentines Argentina’s central bank revoked the licenses of two top executives at HSBC Holdings Plc’s local unit, including the chief executive officer, arguing they had failed to prevent clients from laundering funds… – Continue reading
HSBC Argentina has been asked to appoint a new president and vice president within 24 hours by Argentina’s central bank for failing to prevent tax evasion and money laundering. Last year, HSBC was charged for helping more than 4,000 clients evade taxes by hiding their money in secret Swiss bank… – Continue reading
Navigating the murky waters of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) can be tricky. U.S businesses and individuals transacting in Latin America need to adhere to the requirements and regulations imposed by the fact. Here are four things every U.S business and individual needs to know about FATCA. Tax… – Continue reading
To check black money generation, the government today approved signing and ratification of the agreement between India and Seychelles for exchange of information with respect to taxes, reports the Economic Times. The agreement will stimulate the information exchange between India and Seychelles for tax purposes, which will help curb tax… – Continue reading
With different tax laws, exemptions, double taxation treaties and free trade zones for services exports affecting outsourcing operations across Latin America, gaining a solid understanding of the distinct tax obligations in each country is imperative. In a bid to attract investment, several Latin American countries have introduced double taxation treaties,… – Continue reading
The head of South American soccer, who skipped most of the region’s top competition, said he was forced to stay away from the Copa America to deal with the fallout from turmoil in the sport’s global governing body. Juan Angel Napout, in his first English-language interview since the FIFA scandal… – Continue reading
A recent report by Americans For Tax Fairness looks at how Walmart, the world’s largest corporation, uses a vast network of subsidiaries and branches in overseas tax havens with two purposes: 1.) to minimize taxes owed on its foreign operations. 2.) most importantly, to avoid United States taxes on those… – Continue reading
FATCA – Which Countries Are In And Out The controversial US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) law is set to start from July 1, 2014, so with less than 21 days to go, here’s a look at which countries are in and who is outside of the tax network…. – Continue reading
Paris, Jun 18 (Prensa Latina) The Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) had a network with intermediaries for Latin American countries who help launder money and evade taxes, it was learned here on Thursday. The revelation was made in this capital by former UBS Director Stephanie Gibaud, who met here with… – Continue reading
BERN, Switzerland – Reeling from an American federal investigation of bribery in soccer, FIFA was put under more pressure Wednesday as the scale of a separate Swiss investigation of suspected money laundering was revealed. Banks in Switzerland have flagged up 53 possible acts of money-laundering that could be linked to… – Continue reading
The Barcelona forward is now due to stand trial on accusations he defrauded authorities Lionel Messi’s appeal against allegations of tax evasion has been thrown out by a Barcelona court and the Argentina star will now stand trial. The Blaugrana forward and his father and agent, Jorge Messi, are accused… – Continue reading
The Argentine Supreme Court ruling on Toepfer International, a commodity exporting firm, has finally been published, tw o months after the decision, providing lessons for BEPS action 10 (cross border commodity transactions). This case, AFIP v Alfred C Toepfer Internacional, belongs to the first group of three controversies, related to… – Continue reading
“The same methodology [in the HSBC case] appeared in the JP Morgan investigation, the most important given that there is a witness who has implicated himself, the corporation’s Latin American chief. Due to a conflict with his employer, he has made a complaint in Argentina naming himself as the organizer… – Continue reading
Afip has blamed Julio Grondona for authorising a $10-million payment that prosecutors have characterised as a bribe to vote for SA for World Cup 2010. Julio Grondona, a former Fifa vice-president and head of finance who ran Argentina’s soccer federation from 1979 until his death last year at 82, will… – Continue reading
Argentina and Chile have signed a new double tax treaty to replace the treaty unilaterally terminated by Argentina in 2012. Ignacio Rodriguez and Andres Edelstein of PwC in Argentina outline the new structuring opportunities that are available for taxpayers. Argentina and Chile signed a new double tax treaty on May… – Continue reading
BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — Argentina tax officials say they’re seeking U.S. information about alleged corruption involving FIFA. Tax chief Ricardo Echegaray tells La Once Diez radio that his agency has asked the U.S. for “all the documentation that permits us to quantify” Argentina’s tax losses. And he’s not ruling out… – Continue reading
Argentine political analysis is increasingly introspective but sometimes it is worth looking at developments in the wider world in order to place things in perspective. The substantial rise in the tax burden over the past decade has led to plenty of local moaning and groaning at both national and provincial… – Continue reading
All the world’s major banks have connections between each other and work together in a secret network to help people evade taxes, whistleblower and former HSBC IT engineer Hervé Falciani said yesterday, warning that illegal offshore transactions can’t be carried out through one single bank but only with the help… – Continue reading
PANAMA CITY (AP) — – Panama took a major step in an effort to clean up its reputation as Latin America’s premier hub for money laundering. The nation’s legislature late Wednesday unanimously approved a proposed law that will toughen supervision of more than a dozen non-financial sectors where illicit proceeds… – Continue reading
Panama took a major step in an effort to clean up its reputation as Latin America’s premier hub for money laundering, reports the AP. The nation’s legislature late Wednesday unanimously approved a proposed law that will toughen supervision of more than a dozen non-financial sectors where illicit proceeds from the… – Continue reading
The number of suspicious activity reports of potential money laundering have increased by 42 per cent to 558 cases over 2012/2013, reports the Cayman Compass. The Financial Reporting Authority, the national agency which receives the reports of suspected money laundering and other financial crime, believes the record number was prompted… – Continue reading
UBS whistleblower Stéphanie Gibaud talks to the Herald before travelling to Argentina With tax evasion allegations against HSBC under the spotlight in Congress, a whistleblower from another banking giant famous for its secrecy, Switzerland’s UBS, says she is coming to the country to testify soon, and warns that emerging economies… – Continue reading
Who Will Be Next? How To Respond To A Tax Investigation The international political community continues to make the most threatening noises about those who they believe do not pay enough tax. Long gone it seems are the days where it was accepted that a person could properly organise his… – Continue reading
The present French Tax Update will focus on (i) several noteworthy French and European Union court decisions issued in the last months of 2014 and in the first months of 2015, and (ii) the recent presentation by the European Commission of a package of tax transparency measures. VALIDITY OF TAX… – Continue reading
Vanoli, account holders will be called to testify Central Bank Governor Alejandro Vanoli and the first 10 businesses to appear on the list of undeclared HSBC bank accounts in Switzerland are set to be the next to appear before the Bicameral Commission examining systematic tax evasion and capital flight, its… – Continue reading
New rules mean that almost 100 governments around the world will exchange information about bank accounts Expat tax dodgers are running out of places to hide, as information about their bank accounts and assets will soon be exchanged between 93 governments globally. At present, if tax authorities suspect people of… – Continue reading
Cross border tax fraud and tax evasion by High Net Wealth Individuals (HNWI) are serious problems for many jurisdictions. For many years exchange of information between countries has been solely upon request. In practise this procedure is not efficiently working as it requires foreseeable relevance, thus ‘fishing’ for information is… – Continue reading
The Saguier family, majority shareholder in the La Nación newspaper since the 1990s, is the subject of numerous court cases which are trying to determine the legality of the origen of those funds used in the transaction which left the Mitres outside of the management of the media outlet founded… – Continue reading
Argentina will move forward with its investigation of the HSBC offshore accounts in Switzerland, and will make public the names of those Argentine citizens and organizations that held money overseas in the financial entity, allegedly with the purpose of eluding local taxes. Swiss and French officials are also looking into… – Continue reading
Things just got worse for HSBC. Its private banking arm faces new criminal charges after a French magistrate officially requested that the Swiss bank be brought to trial over a suspected tax-dodging scheme for wealthy customers, the Guardian reports. The request for trial comes after a series of allegations against… – Continue reading
HSBC Holdings plc’s (LON:HSBA) shares were down 0.23 percent to 559.00p as of 13:13 GMT yesterday, after earlier on Friday the French financial prosecutor’s office announced it had formally requested that the lender’s Swiss private banking unit be put on trial for helping French citizens to aggressively avoid taxes. HSBC… – Continue reading
Argentina has sent requests for information to tax authorities in the Virgin Islands, Uruguay and Bermuda, according to a Reuters report. This comes as Argentina wants HSBC Holdings Plc to repatriate some $3.5 billion that it says the bank’s Argentine branch moved offshore to help clients evade taxes and move… – Continue reading
HSBC Holdings Plc (LON:HSBA) shares were steady at 560.42p this morning, as the scandal revolving around HSBC’s Swiss unit tax avoidance scheme took a political turn. Tory and Labour have traded accusations, while on the international level Argentina has demanded cash payments from the lender as compensation. Sir Alan Duncan,… – Continue reading
The head of Argentina’s tax authority has demanded that HSBC repatriate $3.5bn (£2.3bn) in funds that it says HSBC helped its clients move offshore. Ricardo Echegaray said that HSBC’s actions threatened the stability of the Argentine government. “HSBC built a platform to help clients evade tax,” said Mr Echegary in… – Continue reading
Bosses at HSBC were yesterday accused by MPs of turning a blind eye to alleged tax evasion in its Swiss private banking arm. In an ill-tempered hearing with the Public Accounts Committee, members said they did not believe that executives in London were oblivious to what was happening. Chief executive… – Continue reading
Former JP Morgan Vice President Hernán Arbizu claimed that HSBC Argentina hired JP Morgan’s employees for “advise on evasion know-how.” He incriminated himself by saying that the company he worked for helped Argentinean economic groups to evade AFIP tax bureau controls. “The banks in Argentina are to blame for the… – Continue reading
When an economist presents his opinion to the public on any subject he should be asked to swear, similar to what witnesses do in a court trial, that he will follow Henry Hazlitt’s Lesson (Economics in One Lesson – Henry Hazlitt – 1946 – Harper & Brothers): “The art of… – Continue reading
