Last March MEPs voted overwhelmingly to introduce a new transparency disclosure rule that would compel all 28 European states to make publicly accessible the real owners of companies and trusts. The decision was hailed as a major breakthrough by anti-corruption campaigners fighting financial crime and tax abuse. Lawyers working for… – Continue reading
The total number of new company registrations increased across offshore jurisdictions in the first half of 2014, according to Appleby, a provider of offshore legal, fiduciary and administration services. In the first half of 2014, there were 46,455 new offshore company incorporations, representing a 4% increase on the preceding six… – Continue reading
Romanian authorities have dismantled a tax evasion network suspected of cheating the treasury out of 27 million euros ($34 million), prosecutors said Monday. Police raided around 40 locations in the greater Bucharest area and in the northeast as part of the crackdown on a group suspected of also embezzling 20… – Continue reading
(CNS Business): There were 5,391 new company registrations in the Cayman Islands in the first half of 2014, a 17% increase over those incorporated in the jurisdiction in the preceding six months, a report by offshore law firm, Appleby, revealed. The Cayman Islands experienced the greatest percentage increase in new… – Continue reading
Vodafone India’s tax problems have once again worsened after a tribunal arbitrating a dispute ruled last week that the tax authorities have the power to demand the operator pay tax in a transfer-pricing case. The case involves the sale of a call-centre business back in 2007, from which the country’s… – Continue reading
Publishing and Broadcasting Limited (PBL) allegedly negotiated a secret deal with the Swiss government when James Packer was chief executive officer, which set a tax rate of less than 2.15 per cent for the media group’s intra-company loans, The Australian Financial Review reports. According to correspondence obtained by the newspaper,… – Continue reading
A secret deal with the Swiss government negotiated by media group Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd when James Packer was chief executive set a tax rate of less than 2.15 per cent on PBL’s intra-company loans. “We do have good news for you!” Ernst & Young Swiss partner Markus Huber wrote… – Continue reading
Three men accused of running a VAT scam; face 10 years in jail Prague, Dec 12 (ČTK) — The Czech Police have accused three men over tax evasion worth 261 million Kč caused by fictitious exports of tools and design services to the US, anti-corruption police spokesman Jaroslav Ibehej told… – Continue reading
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev stated that Moscow does not intend to “physically drag money” to Russia in the framework of amnesty for capital returning to country suggested by Russian President Vladimir Putin. MOSCOW, December 13 (Sputnik) — Moscow does not intend to “physically drag money” to Russia in the… – Continue reading
MONTREAL – The problem is not that Bombardier Inc. played a complex shell game since at least 2010 by refinancing and redirecting US$500 million of its financing activities to Luxembourg, a notorious tax haven. It’s that it does so legally — and is hurting its home country despite being one… – Continue reading
Jean-Claude Juncker under pressure over his deals as PM of Luxembourg The arch-federalist EU chief is alleged to have courted tax avoidance deals He has now admitted he has been ‘weakened’ by the revelations It emerged his regime agreed deals with Walt Disney and Koch Industries Jean-Claude Juncker has admitted… – Continue reading
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting The Walt Disney Co. generates $18.2 billion per year in economic activity in Florida and and is responsible for more than one in every 50 jobs in the Sunshine State, according to a study the company paid for in 2011. But here’s something Disney won’t… – Continue reading
Exports of Ukrainian goods through offshore companies fell by 90 percent in the first nine months of this year, according to the State Fiscal Service, dropping to $334 million. British Virgin Islands, a jurisdiction known for the lack of transparency, remains the most popular offshore destination with Ukrainian companies, attracting… – Continue reading
THAILAND has offered tax incentives for regional operating headquarters and international procurement centres for more than 10 years, but there are fewer than 300 companies operating ROHs or IPCs. Recently, the Cabinet approved a measure promoting Thailand as the shared-services hub of the Asean Economic Community. It is expected that… – Continue reading
Summary Corporate tax reform is getting closer, repatriation of foreign profits is a possible outcome. Reform may end the practice of deferment, meaning overseas cash hordes will no longer be part of common corporate practice. Many large U.S. companies will have decisions on how to use funds that are no… – Continue reading
Hutchison Whampoa had profit of €429.6m but paid just €65,067 tax in Luxembourg A Luxembourg company that provides indirect financial support to 3 Ireland, is among the latest batch of entities found to be availing of secret tax deals in Luxembourg. Hutchison Whampoa Europe Investments Sarl (HWEI) – part of… – Continue reading
THE map below shows the change between 2011 and 2012 in the number of subsidiaries disclosed by listed American companies. The data were provided to The Economist by Jeff Gramlich of the Hoops Institute at Washington State University. Only those firms that had reported at least ten subsidiaries located in… – Continue reading
In recent times there has been a welcome return to activity in the Irish real estate market. Overseas investors have been circling and private equity groups have started investing heavily in Irish real estate amid confidence that the Irish economy has stabilised and is returning to growth. In this briefing… – Continue reading
Fund wanted to buy distressed debt in media and communications companies Ireland played a key role in international tax and funding structures set up by a $100 million Cayman Islands fund that wanted to buy distressed debt in media and communications companies in 2010. Accountancy firm Ernst & Young (now… – Continue reading
NEW YORK (InsideBitcoins) — Federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorneys Office in Manhattan are suing Deutsche Bank, stating that the German bank owes the US Government roughly $190 million in unpaid taxes. The claims of tax evasion stem from gains related to the sale of Bristol-Meyers shares in 2000. Prosecutors… – Continue reading
LISBON (Reuters) – The former head of Banco Espirito Santo <BES.LS> on Tuesday denied any wrongdoing in the collapse of the bank his family founded and blamed the Bank of Portugal for accelerating its demise. Portugal had to rescue the country’s largest bank, known as BES, in a 4.9 billion… – Continue reading
A new leak of confidential documents expands the list of big companies seeking secret tax deals in Luxembourg, exposing tax-saving maneuvers by American entertainment icon The Walt Disney Co., politically controversial Koch Industries Inc. and 33 other companies. Disney and Koch Industries, a U.S.-based energy and chemical conglomerate, both created… – Continue reading
On November 6th, 2014, the ICIJ journalists’ network revealed its investigation into leaked documents from professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Their analysis shows that over 340 multinational companies use schemes to avoid paying taxes – schemes made possible by Luxembourg’s particularly favourable tax laws. How did the ICIJ work together on… – Continue reading
Nicholson stands by previous testimony to MPs, as accountants are accused of mass-marketing tax avoidance schemes The head of tax at one of the UK’s top accounting groups was accused of lying to parliament about his firm’s role in devising controversial tax deals for clients in Luxembourg. Kevin Nicholson, PwC… – Continue reading
Germany’s Deutsche Bank dodged over $100 million in federal taxes, according to allegations in a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York Monday afternoon. “Through fraudulent conveyances involving shell companies, Deutsche Bank tried to make its potential tax liabilities disappear. This was nothing… – Continue reading
* Nearly half of EM corporate overseas debt issued offshore * Accounting conventions do not capture associated risks, BIS says By Sam Wilkin LONDON, Dec 7 (Reuters) – Cross-border debt issued by emerging market companies may be less stable than it initially appears due to the increasing role of overseas… – Continue reading
The Treasury will this week detail sweeping new powers for the Revenue to investigate tax-avoiding global companies, and will issue a list of suspect structures which it says are designed to dodge British dues. The Chancellor declared war on tech giants such as Google, Amazon and eBay, which pay little… – Continue reading
The factbox devoted to two years of the so-called Magnitsky Act passed by US Senate. This act allows Washington to deny visas and freeze assets of Russian officials allegedly involved in the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. Five years ago, on November 16, 2009, Sergei Magnitsky, a tax and… – Continue reading
In yesterday’s Autumn Statement, the UK Chancellor announced several measures that will directly affect non-UK individuals who live or own property in or are considering moving to the UK. Although in many cases the measures will mean that such individuals are liable to pay more tax in the UK than… – Continue reading
Dechert Georgia, through the contribution of partners Archil Giorgadze and Nicola Mariani joined by senior associates, Ruslan Akhalaia and Irakli Sokolovski, is partnering with Georgia Today on a regular section of the paper which will provide updated information regarding significant legal changes and developments in Georgia. In particular, we will… – Continue reading
Late yesterday afternoon the Government published its response to the consultation on extending Capital Gains Tax (CGT) to non-UK resident owners of UK residential property. This is the latest step in a series of significant changes in the last couple of years to the tax treatment of UK residential property…. – Continue reading
The Brazilian Federal Government decided to reduce from 20% to 17% the percentage of the maximum income tax rate required from the low-tax countries classified as “favored taxation country or dependency” (país ou dependência com tributação favorecida) or “privileged fiscal regime” (regime fiscal privilegiado). This measure was adopted by means… – Continue reading
As oil prices plunge and Russia bleeds capital, the Kremlin is cracking down on residents who it says are evading taxes through holdings overseas. A law slated to go into effect on Jan. 1 is designed to clamp down on Russian citizens and companies that the Kremlin thinks are avoiding… – Continue reading
CORPORATE SECRECY, GLOBAL MONEY LAUNDERING MAKES IT HARDER FOR EMERGING ECONOMIES TO FIGHT CORRUPTION Corruption is a problem for all economies, requiring leading financial centres in the EU and US to act together with fast-growing economies to stop the corrupt from getting away with it, anti-corruption group Transparency International said… – Continue reading
BVI Business Companies A1. What is the law on keeping and retaining records? Section 98 of the BVI Business Companies Act 2004 (BCA) has always provided that a BVI business company must keep records that: are sufficient to show and explain the company’s transactions; and will, at any time, enable… – Continue reading
Taxation authorities in China said they would tighten their monitoring of foreign companies in order to prevent them from avoiding tax using numerous schemes. The official Xinhua news agency, citing tax officials in the country, reported that China would comprehensively monitor profit levels of foreign companies to make sure that… – Continue reading
Offshore accounts have made headlines recently, with 51 global jurisdictions agreeing to automatically share and exchange details of tax data. Included in this agreement is information on offshore accounts and their operational procedures. The decision brings new attention to overseas financial planning, and how top companies use offshore accounts to… – Continue reading
More than 23,000 foreign and offshore companies have developed profitable activity in Greece over the last thirty years. Data released by the Greek newspaper “TA NEA” show that most foreign and offshore companies acquired a Greek taxpayer identification number (TIM) and legal representatives in Greece between the 1980s and 2011…. – Continue reading
Pascal Soriot has said that controversial inversion tax deals, branded ‘unpatriotic’ by President Obama, are still taking place despite attempts to curb the practice AstraZeneca’s chief has said inversion deals used by US companies to escape high taxes at home are not over despite a major clampdown on the practice…. – Continue reading
The new head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker has faced, and survived a motion of no confidence, just weeks after taking up his role. MEPs wanted to censure the Commission, headed by the former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, in the wake of revelations that multinational companies used his country… – Continue reading
Bonds of Greenko Group Plc fell to a record after India’s central bank banned the method used by the hydro and wind power company to raise funds from overseas. The company used an offshore entity to sell U.S. dollar notes at a spread higher than the limit set by the… – Continue reading
On November 18, 2014, the Lower House of Russia’s Parliament, the State Duma, approved at second and third readings Bill No. 630365-6, which would introduce a new controlled foreign corporation (CFC) regime in the country. The new CFC regime contained in the Bill has an anti-offshore orientation and would give… – Continue reading
Centrist parties vote down European parliament motion criticising commission president’s role in tax avoidance schemes Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European commission, has survived a motion of censure in the European parliament brought because of his role in tax avoidance schemes. The motion brought by Britain’s Ukip, France’s Front National,… – Continue reading
THE Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) said that action is needed to mitigate the impact on the local financial services sector from a recent Russian law cracking down on Russian offshore business. Speaking at a press conference in Nicosia, ICPAC chairman Yiannis Charilaou said however that the… – Continue reading
On 21 November, the States of Guernsey Income Tax (ITO) published bulletin 2014/1 to update the most recent iteration of the draft guidance notes issued jointly by the crown dependencies on 28 July 2014 regarding the implementation under domestic law of FATCA-based reporting. The bulletin provides clarification in response to… – 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
MOSCOW, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) — Russian entrepreneurs must report to tax authorities about their ownership of shares in the off- shore jurisdictions, according to the law signed by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. The new law introduces an amendment to the Russian Tax Code that will force Russian owners of… – Continue reading
MOSCOW, November 25 (Sputnik) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a law to help the country recover money from foreign tax havens, after offshore tax sheltering over the past two decades has been shown to decrease Russian revenues by over $800 billion. In 2013, the Russian Accounts Chamber released… – Continue reading
Responsible corporations paying their taxes and revealing their ownership structure could be a possible solution in the fight of Europe against tax evasion and tax havens which cost billions of euro annually. EurActiv Czech Republic reports. “We should step up our efforts to combat tax evasion and tax fraud”, Jean-Claude… – 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
