THE FINANCE DEPARTMENT will keep value-added tax (VAT) exemptions for three key sectors, but may opt to remove this benefit from senior citizens and others to arrive at a “fair” tax regime. Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III told reporters late last week that the government is looking to trim… – Continue reading
Twenty of the nation’s largest companies have voluntarily signed up to a comprehensive new code to disclose more details of their tax affairs in their latest ¬annual accounts following a series of scandals involving local and offshore firms. In the May budget, the federal government announced it was committed to… – Continue reading
Seeking better tax compliance, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said the government can usher in lower tax regime only when more and more people pay taxes and tax evasion is down. Responding to calls for keeping the good and services tax (GST) rates in 17- 18 per cent… – Continue reading
The Pakistani tax laws don’t allow the authorities to proceed against most, if not all, of those named in the Panama Papers, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) sources claim. They said the limitation clauses of the income tax laws bar the tax man from going beyond the last five… – Continue reading
Apple is a major part of why the United States is the world’s leading innovator on new technologies, particularly those involving telecommunications and computers. The company has over 66,000 domestic employees, and a large percentage of its customers are here — at least 40 percent, according to its latest annual… – Continue reading
Commenting on today’s government consultation paper on ‘Strengthening Tax Avoidance Sanctions and Deterrents’, John Cullinane, Tax Policy Director of the Chartered Institute of Taxation, said: “This is the latest in a series of measures cracking down on those who profit from tax avoidance schemes. The Government need to be careful… – Continue reading
City firms that help businesses run tax avoidance schemes could face huge financial penalties under fresh Government proposals. Banks, accountancy firms and lawyers could be forced to hand over underpaid tax if they are found to have broken the law. Currently, advisers who facilitate tax avoidance by exploiting loopholes and… – Continue reading
In order to encourage foreign investment in Pakistan, the federal government has decided to provide facilities like Panama and Virgin Islands to foreign investors in Pakistan. According to documents available with Daily Times that government is going to introduce the companies’ bill 2016 in parliament soon according to which incumbent… – Continue reading
The U.S. has used judicial might to successfully pursue offshore tax cheats all over the world. A little-noticed new rule introduced by Barack Obama’s administration gets tough on U.S. states such as Delaware and Nevada, which are notorious for murky shelters often used for illicit purposes. But there is a… – Continue reading
Indonesia has defined two islands near Singapore as its own tax havens to prevent taxpayers from keeping their assets offshore – in Singapore, for example. The two islands identified by Indonesia are Bintan and Rempang, according to a report on Monday in the Singaporean daily «Straits Times» and a story… – Continue reading
SCOTLAND has formally called on the UK to close a legal loophole that allows Scottish firms to be used as secret offshore tax shelters. Holyrood politicians have been demanding action on Scotland’s limited partnerships (SLPs) ever since some of the unique corporate arrangements were exposed as Eastern European money-laundering vehicles… – Continue reading
Apple CEO Tim Cook struck back at critics of the iPhone maker’s strategy to avoid paying U.S. taxes, telling The Washington Post in a wide ranging interview that the company would not bring that money back from abroad unless there was a “fair rate.” Along with other multinational companies, the… – Continue reading
Some of Britain’s offshore companies have continued to wriggle out of new transparency restrictions according to research released this weekend. Under rules brought in on 1 July 2016, British companies need to disclose on an annual basis any changes to directors or shareholders – both being deemed “persons of significant… – Continue reading
AN Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between Barbados and the United States will allow for greater co-operation under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). This is according to Julia Tonkovich, of the United States Treasury Department. Ms. Tonkovich stated that FATCA, which was in place since 2010, is part of the… – Continue reading
Despite Western opposition, the 134-member Group of 77 is continuing to pursue a longstanding proposal for an inter-governmental UN-affiliated tax body aimed at combating corporate tax dodging and curbing illicit financial flows, including money laundering and off-shore banking. The proposal has already been shot down twice by Western nations, first,… – Continue reading
There is little that can be done about FATCA and the change has to come from within the U.S. Death and taxes, life’s two certainties according to Keynes, sometimes have a causal relationship. One dies and some taxes are often associated with that event. Alternatively, one encounters so much regulation… – Continue reading
Countries pursuing billions in unpaid taxes push region’s wealthy to pull cash from accounts LONDON — Switzerland’s private bankers fear cash-strapped Latin American countries pursuing billions of dollars in unpaid taxes will push the region’s wealthy to pull cash from their Swiss bank accounts. For these banks, still recovering from… – Continue reading
In early April 2016 files leaked from a large Panama-based law firm (known as the ‘Panama Papers’) brought to the attention of many the ways in which offshore companies and structures can be used to obscure the identity of beneficial owners, some of whom have used such entities to avoid… – Continue reading
The government of Panama on Tuesday announced a bill that would take a range of steps against countries that put it on their blacklists of ‘tax havens’ in the wake of the Panama Papers revelations. The legislation would impose tax, trade and migration measures on companies or individuals from those… – Continue reading
New Zealand is not being singled out for investigation as a tax haven, the European Union says. In a statement released today, the EU delegation in Wellington confirmed that a committee was assessing 28 non-EU countries’ tax policies. But media reports that New Zealand was being targeted for investigation as… – Continue reading
How US tax inspectors fear firms and individuals are using Lord Ashcroft’s bank to hide assets and evade tax It was a stern message David Cameron took with him on his visit to the Caribbean last September: “If we’re to beat corruption, we need transparency.” And some in the region… – Continue reading
As worldwide pressure grows to fight offshore tax evasion, new statistics obtained by the Star show the Canadian government has convicted only 49 people and levied just $13.4 million in fines for what it calls offshore activity since 2010. These numbers are far lower than in comparable countries and show… – Continue reading
Almost every country and every government now is fighting to detect undeclared Incomes and boost their tax collection. This could potentially help various countries show and collect large taxes from offshore accounts. The renewed thrust on automatic exchange of information (AEOI) between countries could achieve what seemed like a dream… – Continue reading
Just as the Cayman Islands government was feeling confident that its relationship with the British government was better than ever and the UK was beginning to understand and accept the role of the offshore financial sector, the new prime minister, Theresa May, is believed to have ordered a clampdown on… – Continue reading
The Malaysian government won’t protect its citizens from legal action taken outside the country stemming from the scandal surrounding the state investment fund 1 Malaysia Development Berhad, a senior official said this week. Johari Abdul Ghani, who is second in command in the Finance Ministry under Prime Minister Najib Razak,… – Continue reading
OXFAM has called for action to close a legal loophole that has seen a booming number of Scottish shell firms used for tax dodging and money laundering. The global charity warned that the country was becoming one of the world’s “secret tax havens where the privileged minority hide billions from… – Continue reading
The Trudeau government has won a round in its battle against offshore tax cheats. Two banks have agreed to give the federal revenue minister information from the accounts of a Caribbean financial institution to help the government crack down on Canadian tax evaders. The Federal Court of Canada has approved… – Continue reading
Neutral Switzerland has got an overall rating of “largely compliant” in an international review of how well it shares information with other countries on tax matters, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. Swiss officials hailed the outcome as crucial recognition of their efforts to shed the country’s reputation as a… – Continue reading
Public Accounts committee criticised HMRC’s lack of strategy HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) is exploring how it can better publicise fraud investigation outcomes and increase the impact of the sanctions it uses, in order to dispel the myth “people are getting away with tax evasion”. The department said it wants… – Continue reading
Nordea has blocked 68 accounts for further analysis after finding suspicious signs in an internal investigation of the bank’s handling of the Panama Papers leaks. The bank announced some of the findings of the probe into whether it adhered to internal rules and external regulations regarding offshore structures at the… – Continue reading
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) review has called for a comprehensive reform of the US tax system, with the aim of removing exemptions, simplifying the system, rebalancing from direct to indirect taxes, and reducing statutory rates for individual and corporate income taxes According to its annual Article IV consultation report… – Continue reading
THE RECENT LEAK of millions of documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca served as a reminder of what wealthy Americans should already know: Hiding assets offshore can be risky and hiding them from Uncle Sam is a crime. Yet law-abiding folks continue to stash money offshore for reasons that… – Continue reading
The European Commission will propose on Tuesday stricter rules on trusts to prevent tax evasion, according to draft legislation seen by Reuters, in a move that Britain has long opposed and which was deferred until after the Brexit referendum. The EU push to identify owners of trusts has been in… – Continue reading
UBS (UBSG.S) has been ordered by Switzerland’s tax agency to provide France with tax information, the Swiss bank said on Tuesday, adding that it expected other countries to file similar requests. Since the financial crisis, cash-strapped governments around the world have clamped down on tax evasion, with authorities probing Swiss… – Continue reading
The European Union, faced with mounting anti-establishment furor from populist parties across the region, is speeding up efforts to thwart tax dodging after the Panama Papers leaks and wants its blacklist of tax havens ready next year. “The recent leaks exposed loopholes that still allow tax evaders to hide funds… – Continue reading
The political, economic and constitutional fallout of the UK’s referendum decision to leave the European Union (Brexit) will continue for some time. In addition to considering some of the possible domestic UK tax implications of Brexit, this OnPoint also considers some of the potential tax implications from the perspective of… – Continue reading
Representatives of more than 80 countries and jurisdictions met in Kyoto on Thursday for a two-day conference aimed at going after corporate tax avoidance in the first-ever effort of its kind to include developed and developing countries. The meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Committee on Fiscal… – Continue reading
Government most likely not to access bank data of Argentines in States despite deal As the whitewash bill is set to be approved this week, the government seeks to sign an assets deal with the United States to have access to data of the bank accounts of Argentines in the… – Continue reading
New Zealand is poised to toughen its disclosure rules for offshore trusts in the wake of the massive data leak known as the “Panama Papers.” Tax expert John Shewan on Monday released a report recommending a big increase in the amount of information disclosed when a foreign trust sets up,… – Continue reading
The CRA won’t divulge the identities of people convicted for stashing millions offshore, but it names and shames those caught owing small amounts of tax. The Canada Revenue Agency claims at least nine people have been convicted of offshore tax evasion over the last two years, receiving $4 million in… – Continue reading
The CRA won’t divulge the identities of people convicted for stashing millions offshore, but it names and shames those caught owing small amounts of tax. The Canada Revenue Agency claims at least nine people have been convicted of offshore tax evasion over the last two years, receiving $4 million in… – Continue reading
On 15 June 2016 the Bulgarian Parliament adopted long discussed amendments to the so called “Act on Economic and Financial Relations with Companies Registered in Jurisdictions with Preferential Tax Treatment, their Related Parties and Actual Owners” (the “Offshore Companies Act”, or the “Act”). The Act was adopted in 2014 and… – Continue reading
In what could be a significant development moving forward, UBS has provided the IRS with tax records and offshore accounts. UBS Group AG has come to an understanding with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), following a disagreement over client accounts in Singapore that had alleged tax evasion. The latest… – Continue reading
Foreign private equity investors typically set up offshore pooling vehicles for routing investments into India, which offer them twin advantages of ease of administration and single window compliance with the Indian regulatory regime. Setting up such pooling vehicles in a tax favourable jurisdiction ensures that the interposition of the pooling… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service is missing out on imposing approximately $21.6 million in penalties on taxpayers who are denied entry or withdraw from its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, according to a new report The report, from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, found the IRS needs to improve its… – Continue reading
The seeds of Canadian corporations hiding billions of dollars in offshore tax havens were sown more than 40 years ago, after the Canadian government pursued a series of tax treaties with tiny Caribbean and European nations. The 92 tax treaties now signed with countries such as Barbados, Jamaica and Malta… – Continue reading
Montreal-based clothing maker Gildan earned $396 million in profit last year, but paid just over $6 million in cash taxes — a rate of about two per cent. Drug maker Valeant, based in nearby Laval, Que., booked $1.1 billion in profit in 2014 but paid only $110 million in tax…. – Continue reading
The Bank of Russia could sign a deal with China to set up an offshore banking center in June, the central bank’s first deputy governor said Friday. ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) — China is expected to pick a clearing bank for all yuan exchange operations in Russia in order to make… – Continue reading
Bulgarian MPs passed at second reading on June 15 a bill easing ownership restrictions on offshore companies, amending a law that was adopted in December 2013. Under the amended law, which will go into effect on July 1, corporate entities registered in tax havens will be allowed to hold up… – Continue reading
Members of the EU Parliament have welcomed an EU Commission proposal for an anti-tax avoidance directive but demanded tougher rules on foreign income and stricter limits on deductions of interest payments. They also called for more transparency for trust funds and foundations, common rules for “patent box” tax reductions on… – Continue reading
