BUENOS AIRES — Argentina’s tax agency accused the HSBC bank on Thursday of helping more than 4,000 Argentines evade taxes by placing their money in secret Swiss accounts. The head of country’s AFIP tax agency, Ricardo Echegaray, said Argentine citizens had evaded about $3 billion in taxes that were handled… – Continue reading
The tax office said that Australia’s commitment to the automatic global exchange of information will mean accessing overseas banking information will become easier and hiding income and assets offshore will become harder. “Recent developments in exchange of information between countries and improved data matching capability mean there’s nowhere left to… – Continue reading
Bank Leumi Le Israel (LUMI) BM is close to a $400 million settlement of federal and state investigations into whether it helped Americans evade taxes, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Under the proposed accord, Bank Leumi would pay about $270 million to the Justice Department and… – Continue reading
Reuters) – Only a handful of staff at Swiss banks have drawn on a $2.6 million (2 million pound) fund set up to help bankers and other employees who have fallen on hard times because of a U.S. crackdown on tax evasion through hidden offshore accounts. At least 25 people,… – Continue reading
Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Bank Leumi Le Israel BM is close to a $400 million settlement of federal and state investigations into whether it helped Americans evade taxes, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Under the proposed accord, Bank Leumi would pay about $270 million to the… – Continue reading
Good news for South Africans who worked abroad. JOHANNESBURG – A number of pensioners and tax specialists heaved a collective sigh of relief after the South African Revenue Service (Sars) ruled that any pension South Africans accumulated while working outside the country will generally not be subject to local tax…. – Continue reading
LABUAN: Former DAP Chairman here Lau Seng Kiat has questioned the Government’s rationale for parking billions of ringgit in 1MDB funds in distant Cayman Islands instead of the Labuan Financial and Business (ILFB) centre. Lau was referring to on-going controversies relating to the investment prudence of 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB)… – Continue reading
HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) will pay $12.5 million to settle claims that its Swiss private-banking unit solicited U.S. investors without being registered. HSBC Private Bank Suisse SA improperly amassed as many as 368 U.S. client accounts after starting to provide cross-border services more than 10 years ago, the SEC said… – Continue reading
The central bank resumed its foreign-exchange support through selling the US dollar to the commercial banks after nearly two years and a half to keep the market stable, officials said. As part of the move, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) sold US$45 million at market rate to five commercial banks directly… – Continue reading
The law introduces amendments to the country’s tax code that will oblige Russian owners of companies registered in offshore tax havens to pay taxes in Russia MOSCOW, November 25. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on Tuesday a new tax law intended to return Russian capital and assets from foreign… – Continue reading
RBC Wealth Management has announced plans to discontinue its private wealth management business in the Caribbean. The strategy to “realign certain businesses within [its] international operations” was presented to staff in an internal memorandum last Thursday. It is not clear whether the business will be closed or sold. Paul French,… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: As the market touches a new high, Sebi is clamping down on dubious inflows from loosely regulated, offshore entities, particularly those located in the Gulf. According to a Sebi communique on Monday evening, foreign funds investing on behalf of unknown investors and through opaque structures will now find it… – Continue reading
The Government of Barbados and the United States have signed an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) to facilitate compliance with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA, which was enacted by the US Congress in 2010 and took effect on July 1, 2014, is intended to ensure that the US… – Continue reading
The Future of the Department of Justice’s High Visibility Offshore Tax Evasion Initiative. On August 29, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Tax Division announced the Program for Non-Prosecution Agreements and Non-Target Letters for Swiss Banks (the “Program”). The announcement of this unprecedented program was the culmination of the… – Continue reading
PETALING JAYA: Public Bank Bhd and PT Bank Central Asia, Tbk, Indonesia have entered into a non-exclusive memorandum of understanding on business collaboration. The primary objective of the collaboration is to leverage upon the respective strengths expertise and networks of Public Bank and Bank Central Asia to enable the two… – 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
UK resident non-domiciliaries (RNDs), who have offshore bank accounts and interests in non-UK structures, are currently not required to provide any information about those accounts/structures to HMRC, provided that they claim the remittance basis of taxation in the UK, those accounts do not hold assets which produce UK source income… – Continue reading
On November 21, 2014, as part of its Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), the OECD released a discussion draft on “Follow-up work on BEPS Action 6: Preventing Treaty Abuse” (the Discussion Draft) for comments. The Discussion Draft deals with a number of issues relating to tax… – Continue reading
Each U.S. citizen and permanent resident must report worldwide income to the IRS even when paying taxes elsewhere. Moreover, you must file an annual FBAR (now called FinCEN Form 114) disclosing your foreign bank accounts if their aggregate value exceeds $10,000 at any point during the year. The penalties for… – Continue reading
This Black Friday, legions of shoppers will throng to their local Walmart in frenzied pursuit of holiday deals. But it turns out that Walmart has saved the sweetest deals for itself. In a recent analysis of Walmart’s tax spending, Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) found that the company “avoids $1… – Continue reading
New Delhi: Aiming to intensify government’s drive on black money, the PMO has asked the revenue department to look for ways other than bilater24al tax treaties to bring back funds stashed abroad. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has suggested the tax department to think of other ways to tackle the… – Continue reading
Rüschlikon is just a 20-minute boat ride from the centre of Zurich, yet a world away from the intense rivalry of the city’s financial powerhouses. Every autumn, the sleepy lakeside settlement hosts the Private Banking Summit, where delegates seek safeguards for their threatened industry. “Swiss private banking is in turmoil,… – Continue reading
Banking regulators in Jersey have warned consumers and investors not to deal with a bank claiming to operate in the Channel Islands. Channel Offshore Bank advertises a St Helier address on its website and says it has been in business since 1989. The Jersey Financial Services Commission says the bank’s… – Continue reading
* Asian, Gulf banks in talks about obtaining Jersey licence * 18 percent of Jersey banking deposits from Asia, Mideast * Jersey Finance custodian of 1.2 trillion pounds DUBAI, Nov 23 (Reuters) – Jersey Finance, the island’s financial centre which acts as custodian of 1.2 trillion pounds ($1.88 trillion), is… – Continue reading
Mumbai: While the Central Government has expressed its commitment to bring back black money stashed abroad, the Mumbai bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) took a first concrete step towards this direction. It recently passed a crucial order in a case where unaccounted money was stashed in LGT… – Continue reading
Companies based in the United States now have over $2.1 trillion stashed overseas shielded from U.S. taxes. That’s a sixfold increase in 12 years, NBC News reported citing research provided by Capital Economics. Generally, the U.S. tax policy allows companies based in the country to defer any tax obligation on… – Continue reading
When FATCA was signed by Barack Obama in 2010, many commentators were quick to argue that such ‘breathtakingly extra-territorial’ provisions would never come to fruition. Fast-forward only a few years and those five letters, FATCA, have become etched in the minds of exasperated US taxpayers (many of whom are queuing… – Continue reading
HM Revenue & Customs has introduced “safeguards” to reduce the potential impact of its proposals to recover tax directly from debtors’ bank accounts. The plans, which are known as Direct Recovery of Debts (DRD), will allow the Revenue to recover cash directly from the bank accounts, building society accounts and… – Continue reading
Credit Suisse AG (CSGN)’s $2.6 billion plea bargain resolving allegations it helped wealthy Americans avoid paying taxes faces a final hurdle from a federal judge who will decide whether to accept it or throw it out. The first global banking unit in more than a decade to plead guilty to… – 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
Washington, DC – Credit Suisse AG was sentenced today for conspiracy to aid and assist U.S. taxpayers in filing false income tax returns and other documents with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Credit Suisse pleaded guilty to conspiracy on May 19. The sentencing of the Swiss corporation is the result… – Continue reading
MOSCOW — There is nothing new about offshore tax shelters. In ancient Athens, after the government decided to levy a 2% tax on all trade operations, merchants started avoiding the city, conducting business on the surrounding islands instead. Those Greek islands became the first offshore tax havens. The current offshore… – Continue reading
Background In July 2013, the G20 Finance Ministers, including Australia, fully endorsed the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) Action Plan. As a result of the Action Plan, the Australian government encouraged a new commitment to focus resources on investigating international business structures to ensure companies pay tax in the… – Continue reading
People curious to know the amount of “black money” stashed by Indians in foreign banks may be in for yet another disappointment after the Supreme Court monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT), submits its findings. After six months in office, the Narendra Modi Government has not been able to lay its… – Continue reading
The European Commission will use the ‘Luxleaks’ documents uncovered by investigative journalists three weeks ago in its ongoing investigation of tax avoidance at the European level, Margrethe Vestager, the EU competition chief, said on Thursday (20 November). The documents, known as the ‘Luxleaks’, showed that more than 300 companies, including… – Continue reading
An increasing number of South Africans are sending substantial amounts of money offshore each year due to frequent travel, a greater appetite for offshore investing, business interests abroad and a growing trend to educating their children there. The UK has proven to be the popular choice due largely to the… – Continue reading
The Central Bank says it is only a matter of time before this country becomes fully compliant with the United States’ Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which was enacted by the US Congress in March 2010. FACTA is a US law designed to prevent tax evasion by US citizens… – Continue reading
A recent Internal Revenue Service ruling now allows certain individuals to move after tax contributions from a 401(k) or IRA to a Roth IRA on a tax free basis. Fatca has caused local banks to document which of its clients are US citizens or residents and who are not. And… – Continue reading
Small- and medium-sized firms are unprepared for tough new US tax reporting legislation, a survey has found. Software firm Blue Bison, part of the Ignition group of companies, found that more than half of respondents to its readiness survey admitted that understanding the requirements of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance… – Continue reading
U.S. multinational corporations are hoarding an estimated $2 trillion “offshore” to take advantage of a loophole in our tax laws. At our 35 percent top federal corporate tax rate, that represents up to $700 billion in taxes owed but “deferred” because they are “offshore.” This is not imaginary or future… – Continue reading
Taipei, Nov. 19 (CNA) Taiwan’s top financial regulator has relaxed restrictions on the business scope of offshore banking units (OBUs) of local banks and offshore securities units (OSUs) of local brokerages in a bid to boost turnover of the local bourse. The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said Tuesday the new… – Continue reading
MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/. The Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s parliament, approved a new tax law on Wednesday as part of President Vladimir Putin’s “deoffshorization” initiative designed to return Russian capital and assets from foreign jurisdictions. The law introduces amendments to the country’s tax code that will oblige… – Continue reading
KUALA LUMPUR: IT is not against Malaysian law for companies to keep funds in offshore accounts. Malaysian Companies (SSM) acting chief executive officer Zahrah Abd Wahab Fenner said it was not unusual for companies to keep their funds in offshore accounts. She said this when commenting on 1 Malaysia Development… – Continue reading
A bank clerk counts renminbi banknotes, Oct. 16. (File photo/CNS) The Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) says renminbi-denominated deposits accepted by domestic banking units (DBUs) of Taiwanese banks at the end of October fell for the first time since the DBUs were allowed to conduct transactions in… – Continue reading
Domestic banks are to be required to allocate 1.5 percent of their total housing loans as provision for bad debts within the next three years to reduce risks should the property market slow down, the Financial Supervisory Commisson (FSC) said yesterday. The announcement came after the commission reached an agreement… – Continue reading
In our previous post, we looked at the ways that global corporations minimise their tax burdens by routing income through offshore tax havens and transfer pricing. The ultimate beneficiaries of these shenanigans, of course, are actual people rather than legal entities. Many of these people also take advantage of offshore… – Continue reading
Nobody likes paying taxes. The rich, however, can reduce the burden more easily than others because capital is more mobile than labour. A clever new paper in the Journal of Economic Perspectives by Gabriel Zucman attempts to measure how much government revenue is lost because of the careful re-routing of… – Continue reading
Barbados has agreed to share information with the U.S. under a new law aimed at preventing offshore tax evasion by American citizens. One of the most controversial laws of the Barack Obama administration, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) requires financial firms to report information on U.S. account-holders to… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: Parent HDFC will pare its stake in HDFC Bank to create room for foreign investors. HDFC, the country’s oldest mortgage lender which owns 22.5 per cent in HDFC Bank, will not step in as a buyer when the bank issues shares to local and foreign investors to raise Rs… – Continue reading
Domestic banks are to be required to allocate 1.5 percent of their total housing loans as provision for bad debts within the next three years to reduce risks should the property market slow down, the Financial Supervisory Commisson (FSC) said yesterday. The announcement came after the commission reached an agreement… – Continue reading
