A recommendation by the Davis Tax Committee to stop taxpayers from using trusts to reduce tax could result in people who have established trusts for tax purposes only reconsidering their viability. The trustees of a discretionary trust can cause the income and/or capital gains of the trust to be distributed… – Continue reading
Corporations, usually based in offshore tax havens, are sometimes used by buyers keen to hide ownership of assets, says National Crime Agency spokesman Foreign criminals are using the London housing market to launder billions of pounds, pushing up house prices for domestic buyers, a senior police officer has warned. Donald… – Continue reading
Companies have just days left to settle their use of employee benefit trusts (EBTs) with HM Revenue & Customs or risk facing substantially higher tax bills, accountancy firm Moore Stephens has warned. Employers have until 31 July to settle their use of EBTs, which were offshore trusts widely used to… – Continue reading
Switzerland lies in “pole position” to gain from changes to the UK tax system which could encourage high net worth individuals living there to consider moving, according to a leading tax expert, John Huber. However, Malta should be doing more to attract a share of them, he said. “Chancellor George… – Continue reading
One of five estate agents identified in a TV documentary has denied any wrong-doing and has specifically denied any involvement in money laundering offences. The agents named in the Channel 4 programme, From Russia With Cash, were Winkworth, Marsh & Parsons, Domus Nova, Chard and Bective Leslie Marsh. The show… – Continue reading
IN A range of far-reaching proposals, the Davis tax committee has rejected a wealth tax, but proposed a drastic overhaul of trusts to increase tax revenue. Trust income — which is vested and taxed in the hands of beneficiaries — is set to fall away, while trusts should be taxed… – Continue reading
Shipping should not panic in wake of proposed U.K. non-dom tax changes, Moore Stephens says Shipowners likely to be affected by wide-ranging changes to the taxation of non-U.K.-domiciliaries introduced in the U.K. Summer Budget have been urged not to panic by international accountant and shipping adviser Moore Stephens, which says… – Continue reading
The UK’s chancellor of the exchequer has said serial users of tax avoidance schemes will be ‘named and shamed’ as he promised to introduce further measures to tackle evasion, avoidance and aggressive tax planning in his Summer Budget. This move is part of a plethora of changes which chancellor George… – Continue reading
Channel 4 documentary shows agents in wealthy districts agreeing to continue with purchase to be made with ill-gotten gains from Russian health budget Top estate agents in Britain’s wealthiest postcodes are willing to turn a blind eye to apparent money laundering by corrupt foreign buyers, according to an investigation by… – Continue reading
With the increasing focus by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) on offshore activities, it is important to understand the tax return and information return filing obligations that may be associated with such activities. Because application of many of these obligations is not entirely clear in certain common situations, many taxpayers… – Continue reading
Booming demand for offshore tax services will trigger a £240m takeover deal involving a unit of Appleby Global, Sky News learns. The booming demand for offshore trust and fund administration services will be underlined in the coming days by a $370m (£238m) takeover deal involving Bridgepoint, the London-based buyout firm…. – Continue reading
Confidence has returned to real estate markets in Europe, and London is still a firm favourite with investors, offering vast tax-efficient opportunities for Qatari investors, according to Aqua Group, the first offshore trust company to receive licence from the Qatar Financial Center (QFC). In view of the need for better… – Continue reading
The children of craft store kingpins Charles and Sam Wyly say they shouldn’t suffer for their fathers’ transgressions. The U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission says they shouldn’t be allowed to spend the proceeds of the brothers’ fraud. The Wyly brothers used gains from secret, illegal, offshore transactions “as their own… – Continue reading
Turnover at UK and offshore investment companies has risen rapidly, with almost one in five fund managers being replaced in the past 18 months amid growing pressure to improve performance, reports the Financial Times. Figures from the Association of Investment Companies showed that 18 per cent of funds had appointed… – Continue reading
Barclays Wealth & Investment has struck a deal to sell its offshore trust and fiduciary business to an independent investor group. The Barclays offshore trust business is based in Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Cayman Islands, Singapore and Switzerland. The purchaser, an independent investor group led by the Sarikhani and… – Continue reading
Dubai: The word offshore banking often evokes quite a number of unsavoury connotations. It’s associated with tax evasion, money laundering and high-level of secrecy, but the truth is that anyone can open an offshore bank account and it’s completely legal. Most expatriates set up a bank account offshore to protect… – Continue reading
Part I of this series of articles reviewed some of the basic tax requirements for using trusts to split income, Part II discussed a number of tax planning opportunities that can be accessible through the use of trusts, and Part III reviewed traditional testamentary trust income splitting planning and the… – Continue reading
A COMMON REPORTING STANDARD ACROSS THE WORLD The goalposts in international tax reporting are moving rapidly. In conjunction with the G20, the OECD developed the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) as a global standard for the automatic exchange of information. This was approved by the OECD Council on 15 July 2014… – Continue reading
Many UK expats based in Portugal have retained their trusts, even though the Government introduced a tax of 28% on trust distributions from 1 January 2015. Despite the existence of several planning options, including an offshore bond, Jason Porter, director at advisory firm Blevins Franks, said many clients remained unaware… – Continue reading
LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) – One hallowed feature of Britain’s finances is a tax break for individuals called “non-domiciled status.” The break, which is more than 200 years old, is designed to attract foreign investors by allowing them to keep wealth they make abroad out of the reach of the… – Continue reading
May 22 (Reuters) – “Non-domiciled” status lets British residents use offshore trusts to keep profits made on British businesses out of reach of the tax authority. Here are some of the non doms who have held assets offshore: South-Africa born Abe Jaffe built automobile dealership Currie Motors, which operates under… – Continue reading
May 22 (Reuters) – “Non-domiciled” status lets British residents use offshore trusts to keep profits made on British businesses out of reach of the tax authority. Here are some of the non doms who have held assets offshore: South-Africa born Abe Jaffe built automobile dealership Currie Motors, which operates under… – Continue reading
This note is intended as an introduction to inheritance tax (IHT) issues that need to be covered where a “non-dom” (an individual domiciled outside the UK) is planning on becoming resident in, or is already resident in, the UK. It should be emphasised that this is a complex subject, and… – Continue reading
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) were among the first Congressional leaders to welcome the May 7th signing of the U.S.-Armenia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), a longstanding policy priority for the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). Chairman… – Continue reading
With its enviable reputation in offshore trusts, pensions and insurance, Bermuda is an ideal jurisdiction for employers to establish international pension and employee benefit plans (IPPs). Global organisations may consider establishing Bermuda IPPs for employees who work outside their home country or the home country of both the employees and… – Continue reading
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the IRS are opposing bankrupt billionaire Samuel Wyly’s motion to sell his Woody Creek ranch because they believe he would hide sales proceeds in offshore accounts, according to court filings made earlier this month. Wyly, who filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Oct. 19… – Continue reading
The tax status of (usually well-heeled) long-term foreign residents in the United Kingdom hit the headlines again recently as the opposition Labour Party pledged to abolish the non-domicile tax rules if its wins the general election on May 7. At least, that seemed to be the message when Labour leader… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is seeking to recoup $2.03 billion from Texas businessman Samuel Wyly and $1.19 billion from his brother’s estate. The massive bill owed by Sam Wyly and the estate of Charles Wyly is believed to be the biggest in history. Brothers used trusts to avoid taxes… – Continue reading
DALLAS (AP) — The IRS wants $3.2 billion to cover back taxes that it says are owed by a prominent Texas businessman and his late brother who the IRS says hid income by setting up overseas trust funds. The Internal Revenue Service detailed its claim in documents filed Wednesday in… – Continue reading
Introduction Every non-US entity has FATCA status Passive NFFEs report substantial US owners Trustee of trust or its sponsoring entity will report US persons Other reporting FFIs in structure will carry out FATCA due diligence Reporting when US account holders are identified Enforcement Comment Introduction The policy statement in the… – Continue reading
Law firm boss Tom Maher has been invited to be a speaker at a prestigious conference alongside the FBI special agent who caught the notorious ‘Wolf of Wall Street.’ He will also share the platform with a host of other newsworthy people in the business world including the whistleblower who… – Continue reading
Frank R. Suess writes: Every time you think the US establishment can do no more to threaten the freedom and livelihood of the very Americans who contribute the most to the prosperity of the country, they increase the heat in the furnace by a notch with more cheap money and… – Continue reading
‘His failure to make more noise is odd’ says prominent tax QC His father, Nicholas, has worked for banks operating in tax havens Wife, Miriam Gonzalez Durantez’s, firm advertises ‘tax-planning services’ Lib Dems insist there is no conflict of interest involved in his position Not long ago, a law firm… – Continue reading
A country known for its clocks, chocolate and most importantly banks, the agreement by Switzerland’s government to share details of those super-secret bank accounts is one that will change the world at large. Gone are the days of the elusive Swiss bank account. The arrival of Common Reporting is upon… – Continue reading
Not long after the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division (“DOJ”) made international headlines in 2009 for its bombshell announcement that it had entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the United Bank of Switzerland (UBS), lawmakers in Washington, D.C. began reviewing the testimony of hundreds of UBS’s U.S. clients… – Continue reading
Sir David Garrard transferred shares offshore before some were later sold The tycoon has given the Labour Party more than £1.2million Ed Miliband attacked ‘dodgy Tory donors’ for having off-shore accounts Sir David held accounts in Liechtenstein and Jersey according to reports By GLEN OWEN FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY… – Continue reading
Former Enemalta chairman Tancred Tabone had set up a Jersey offshore trust into which he deposited $1 million, according to the HSBC data revealed in Swiss leaks. Reporting on the matter today, The Guardian said Mr Tabone planned to transfer more funds, with the bank noting “the potential is evaluated… – Continue reading
Documents detail customers who faced allegations including drug-running, corruption, doping and money laundering This article is the subject of a legal complaint made on behalf of Anura Perera. HSBC’s Swiss bank concealed large sums of money for people facing allegations of serious wrongdoing, including drug-running, corruption and money laundering, leaked… – Continue reading
Labour too has received cash and loans from bank’s clients, while leaked documents also reveal many donors with HSBC accounts had non-dom tax status Conservative donors, peers and a high profile MP are listed among the wealthy who legally held accounts in Switzerland with HSBC’s private bank, for a wide… – Continue reading
International clients include those involved in arms trade and blood diamondsA huge cache of secret files from the Swiss branch of one of the world’s largest banks includes Irish people who made tax settlements with the Revenue Commissioners for more than €4.5 million. Other clients include arms dealers who sold… – Continue reading
Are you confident that your clients will never be sued? And if they are sued, are you certain that they will be treated fairly by the U.S. legal system? People are now being forced to protect themselves and their assets from liabilities that were never a concern in the past. … – Continue reading
Over the past few years, Canadian courts have started taking note of the existence of trust protectors. Despite comments from a certain Saskatchewan judge in 2009 (“As indicated, the term “trust protector” is foreign to me…”[1]), recognition of trust protectors as a legitimate party to a trust may be on… – Continue reading
THE taxman has checked up on more than 3000 of the super rich it says dodged more than $1.3 billion in tax last year. So far, it says it has recouped half that money. The Australian Taxation Office said that in 2013-14 it did compliance checks on 2440 of the… – Continue reading
CBDT to make provisions for MAT and reduce tax liability on Reits Jayshree P Upadhyay | New Delhi January 9, 2015 Last Updated at 00:50 IST Real estate investment trusts (Reits), notified last year, have so far found few takers due to taxation-related issues. To address this, the Central Board… – Continue reading
Many factors influence a foreign buyer’s decision to purchase residential real estate in the United States. Generally, most of these decisions tend to be driven by concerns over political and economic uncertainty in the buyer’s home country. Most foreigners do not leave their home country, family, and friends for trivial… – Continue reading
Massive growth in the global foreign currency exchange (forex) markets has attracted the interest of traders and investors alike. With a plethora of currencies available and trade volumes running into the trillions of dollars, forex markets provide a convenient way to take advantage of inherent leverage and volatility, and to… – Continue reading
Trusts established by Portuguese resident individuals are now to be taxed for the first time after new rules were introduced on 1 January. On 17 December last year, the Government of Portugal introduced a change to its tax law meaning distributions from trusts to Portuguese residents would be taxed at… – Continue reading
More countries are requiring an exchange of client information In 2014, we saw a marked increase in transparency regarding foreign assets. The United States took the lead, and other countries followed suit. It looks like we’ve reached the tipping point, that is, “the magic moment when an idea, trend, or… – Continue reading
KOTA KINABALU: For Malaysian property investors, especially in the London property market where some Malaysian developers, welcomed by Mayor Boris Johnson are active in projects, the United Kingdom Government will introduce new Capital Gains Tax (CGT) on the sale of UK residential property with effect from April 6, 2015. Following… – Continue reading
Gov. Maggie Hassan has done an excellent job working with legislative leaders to craft and oversee the state’s current two-year budget. An array of problems is being effectively managed. This budget will end in balance. But looking ahead to the next two-year budget, we in state government face difficult challenges…. – Continue reading
