The number of banks with deferred prosecution agreements with the U.S. government keeps growing. The subject is tax evasion involving American account holders. Today, under FATCA, banks everywhere want to know if you are compliant with the IRS. And the IRS keeps updating its list of foreign banks where offshore… – Continue reading
On July 9, 2015, India and the US signed an agreement to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) that will facilitate exchange of information between the two countries starting on October 1, 2015. FATCA was signed by Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das and US Ambassador Richard Verma in New… – Continue reading
The Swedish Tax Agency have published its opinion 27th of August on taxation of dividends from tax havens to Swedish companies. Sweden introduced the current participation exemption rules on dividend and capital gains for companies in 2003. Dividends that is received by tax resident limited liability companies (Aktiebolag or AB)… – Continue reading
Seven leading Democrat lawmakers wrote a letter on September 12 to US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew urging him to publish an annual list of companies that have undertaken corporate tax inversions, and to use the Administration’s executive authority further to discourage the use of inversion techniques. Tax inversion techniques are… – Continue reading
Fraudster Timothy Charles Pratten has been found guilty on seven counts of obtaining a financial advantage by deception, in the Supreme Court of NSW in Sydney this week. Justice Stephen Rothman found Pratten, A 55-year-old insurance broker, failed to properly declare income of more than $5 million between 2003 and… – Continue reading
The Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is like a global think tank for advancing ideas and policy for the leading developed nations. Based in Paris with 2,500 staff, the OECD gathers social and economic data from member states which is analysed, discussed and edited into digests with recommendations… – Continue reading
The trickery of hiding assets while paying millions in legal fees emphasises the case for a solid pre-nup says Vanessa Friend A High Court judge has penalised a husband for his ‘blatant dishonesty’ by ordering him to pay all of his wife’s divorce costs of £344,000. Sir Peter Singer said… – Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG – An amended estate duty scheme won’t add vast amounts of money to government coffers, but will bring added legitimacy to the system, the chair of the Davis Tax Committee has said. Speaking at the 5th Annual Fiduciary Institute of Southern Africa (Fisa) Conference on Thursday, Judge Dennis Davis… – Continue reading
Budgeting battle But like much of the budgeting in Washington, D.C., it gets complicated. The Congressional Budget Office contends the Ex-Im Bank’s surpluses are the result of the accounting method the bank uses and would disappear — or require a taxpayer subsidy — if the bank used a more appropriate… – Continue reading
Democratic lawmakers urged the Obama administration to take a more aggressive stance toward the offshore tax deals known as inversions. Seven congressional Democrats in all called on Treasury Secretary Jack Lew to take executive action against a technique known as earnings stripping that makes the offshore deals more attractive. They… – Continue reading
An initiative intended to catch tax dodgers could have a negative impact on those with perfectly legitimate bank accounts. Tax expert Howard Bilton offers advice The draconian Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), introduced by the US Government to tackle tax evasion by its citizens, has already affected Britons living… – Continue reading
The Department of Justice announced today that Valiant Bank AG has reached a resolution under the department’s Swiss Bank Program. “Offshore enforcement remains a top priority of the department, and banks seeking to avoid prosecution pursuant to the terms of the Swiss Bank Program continue to accept responsibility, provide a… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: To ensure compliance with FATCA — the new US law to check offshore tax evasion — regulator Sebi today asked all market intermediaries to follow reporting requirements prescribed by Income Tax Department in this regard. Under Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), foreign financial institutions that fail to… – Continue reading
LAND including Riverside Retail Park, the Cockhedge Centre and the former site of Mr. Smith’s is owned by companies based in offshore tax havens it has been revealed. Companies are often based offshore to gain from three tax loopholes, including no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax and no stamp… – Continue reading
MORE than £20 million of prime Cumbrian land and property was bought by offshore firms between 2005 and 2014, according to Private Eye magazine. Properties purchased by offshore companies in Cumbria in the last ten years range from prestigious country estates to a hotel and a nursing home. The countries… – Continue reading
In the first meeting between HMRC officials and the new parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC), MPs praised the Revenue’s work but called for urgent improvements to customer service and transparency Labour MP Meg Hillier, who replaced Margaret Hodge as the PAC’s chair, opened proceedings by telling HMRC permanent secretary Lin… – Continue reading
The Treasury Department has pushed American-based corporations to lobby against a tax provision prized by their foreign counterparts, according to people who have heard the pitch. One senior Treasury official in particular, Danielle Rolfes, urged domestic companies to more aggressively target an incentive for interest expensing during a March tax… – Continue reading
A wealthy Victoria, B.C., family paid virtually no tax over a span of eight years – and even obtained federal and provincial tax credits – while being involved in an offshore tax “sham” developed by one of the country’s most respected accounting firms, the Canada Revenue Agency alleges. The Canada… – Continue reading
Lawyer Patrick Poulin says he helped clients set up offshore corporations in the Caribbean. And that’s what he was working on when he flew to Miami from the Turks and Caicos last year to meet with two Americans who wanted him to invest $2 million from a real estate deal…. – Continue reading
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to bring home millions of dollars of illicit money stashed abroad. Indians call undisclosed money ‘black money,’ and how much there is remains unclear. But it isn’t just billions. It could be hundreds of billions to more than $1 trillion. It isn’t merely offshore… – Continue reading
In September 2014, the Hurun Research Institute published its annual listing of the richest people in China. It showed that IT tycoon Ma Yun had increased his personal fortune during the last year by 500% to $25 billion and in doing so, had climbed to first position on the list…. – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued guidelines for compounding of offences under Income Tax Act, 1961/Wealth Tax Act, 1957, in cases of persons holding undisclosed foreign bank accounts/assets. The CBDT on Friday issued directions to all field formations, including principal chief commissioners, chief commissioners and… – Continue reading
CANBERRA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) — Australia is set to crack down on illegal offshore gambling, with Social Services Minister Scott Morrison flagging a review of betting operators conducting business in Australia. Morrison said on Monday that while online betting and gambling is a 1.1 billions U.S. dollar industry in Australia,… – Continue reading
As the Indian rupee touched a new 2-year low, State Bank chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya today said it must fall further to help domestic exporters. “It (further fall in the rupee) is required, otherwise exports will become absolutely unviable. It is important to maintain parity. It can be achieved only if… – Continue reading
Recently, the Tax Court handed down judgment in the unreported case of AB LLC and BD Holdings LLC v the Commissioner of SARS (heard in February 2015) in which it had to determine whether or not an American company acting as an advisory group for the South African airline industry,… – Continue reading
MUMBAI India’s tax officials, long the scourge of foreign investors, are under government pressure to avoid aggressive claims against overseas funds and companies, as the country seeks to repair an image dented by high-profile tax battles. The latest dust-up was over a largely overlooked minimum alternate tax (MAT), which had… – Continue reading
More Koreans have reported their foreign bank accounts this year, as the government has warned of increased penalties on undeclared offshore balances. The aggregate amount of money divulged in foreign bank accounts and exceeding 1 billion won ($840,000) on any last day of the month in 2014 stood at 36.9… – Continue reading
More than £375 million of land and property in Milton Keynes was bought by offshore companies between 2005 and 2014, according to research by Private Eye. The purchases are registered in a number of different countries, some of which are often described as tax havens. The countries buying the most… – Continue reading
The National Assembly’s landlord is a shadowy company based in the tax haven of the British Virgin Islands – and AMs have no idea who is benefitting from the annual rent of more than £2m it pays to the owners. Private Eye magazine has launched a section of its website… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: Indian tax authorities will ignore conventions to pierce trust structures used by most people to stash black money abroad. Persons who are named as beneficiaries in overseas discretionary trusts are likely to face enquiry even if they do not receive any money from such trusts. The taxman will look… – Continue reading
Labour leadership front-runner Jeremy Corbyn has suggested a party run by him would consider a ban on the purchase of homes by non-UK based entities or by companies and offshore trusts. With the result of the party’s leadership campaign to be announced in only eight days time, Corbyn acknowledges that… – Continue reading
The recent shocks in the global economy triggered by the Chinese devaluation of yuan and its economic slowdown are likely to dominate discussions in the two-day meeting of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors starting here tomorrow over which India has expressed serious concern. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley arrived… – Continue reading
A 12-month investigation by a national magaizne has revealed city centre properties in Bath are registered to offshore companies. The Private Eye magazine has produced a map, which details all land and property registered in England and Wales in the name of an offshore company between 2005 and July 2014…. – Continue reading
Tax avoidance practices by multinational enterprises (MNEs) often depend on corporate structures that are built by routing investments through offshore investment hubs or conduits that help shift profits from higher to lower tax jurisdictions. In essence, corporate structures built through FDI (foreign direct investment) can be considered “the engine” and… – Continue reading
A Russian nuclear energy official pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit money laundering on Monday in connection with his role in arranging more than 2 million in corrupt payments to influence the awarding of contracts from the Russian-state owned nuclear energy company to businesses in the U.S. Mikerin “admitted that… – Continue reading
UBS Group AG and Credit Suisse Group AG accounted for about three out of four job losses in the Swiss banking industry last year, even though they employ less than half the local workforce. At the end of 2014, 104,053 people were working full-time in Switzerland for the country’s banks,… – Continue reading
HMRC have increasingly been targeting the offshore arena in recent years, but it should not be overlooked that they continue to undertake civil and criminal investigations without any overseas angle whatsoever. This is all to evident in a recent case involving a chain of children’s nurseries, where the co-owner, Michael… – Continue reading
SEJONG, Sept. 3 (Yonhap) — More South Koreans reported their overseas financial accounts to authorities in 2015 than a year earlier as the government turns up the heat on individuals and companies to disclose hidden assets, the tax office said Thursday. The government has taken a firmer stance toward people… – Continue reading
The number of Swiss banks that have entered deferred prosecution agreements with the U.S. government keeps growing. The subject is tax evasion involving American account holders. Today, banks everywhere want to know if you are compliant with the IRS. Under FATCA, the entire world is lending the IRS a hand…. – Continue reading
Schroders Plc’s Swiss bank will pay a $10.4 million penalty to avoid prosecution under a U.S. program that requires participating firms in Switzerland to say how they helped American clients avoid taxes. Schroder & Co. Bank AG’s penalty is the fourth highest among 33 banks that have settled with the… – Continue reading
HMRC reintroduces Australian fund to Rops listEU member states are lobbying the European Commission to prevent it from disclosing information on tax rulings to a European Parliament probe, reports the EU Observer. EU economics commissioner Pierre Moscovici, in a letter sent Monday (31 August) to the head of the parliament’s… – Continue reading
On August 31, the government of St Kitts and Nevis signed the agreement with the Government of the United States of America to implement the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), reports WINN FM. Enacted by the US Congress in 2010, FATCA targets non-compliance by US taxpayers using foreign… – Continue reading
Program is intended to raise tax revenues by providing a temporary window for S. Koreans to avoid penalties and prosecution Between Oct. 1 of this year and Mar. 31 of the next, South Koreans who voluntarily report assets and income they have hidden overseas and pay the taxes they… – 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
By accepting the recommendations of the AP Shah panel on the issue of retrospective tax demand on FIIs, the Narendra Modi government has added one more item to the long list of its U-turns. And at the face of it, this one definitely is a wise one, though the question… – Continue reading
In 2013, the previous Belgian government introduced a new reporting obligation for individual founders and beneficiaries of so-called “legal arrangements” (i.e., trusts, foundations and certain tax haven companies). At the same time, the previous government also internally discussed a draft bill seeking to further discourage the use of such legal… – Continue reading
The Finance Ministry said Tuesday that it would pardon individuals and companies that not paid taxes on gains from overseas investments, as long as they voluntarily report their gains for tax payment by the end of March. The tax authority’s policy came from the Park Geun-hye administration’s efforts to expand… – Continue reading
Swiss banking secrecy is no longer viable as the U.S. Justice Department closes in on agreements with most of the institutions that may have helped Americans evade taxes, according to the top American diplomat in Switzerland. Negotiations with about one-third of Swiss lenders, known as Category 2 banks, to finalise… – Continue reading
In July 2015 the Hong Kong government gazetted changes to the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap 112) to extend the existing profits tax exemption for offshore funds to private equity funds. The recent amendments are a proactive move by the Hong Kong Government to encourage private equity fund managers to set… – Continue reading
Mexico’s government withheld hundreds of millions of dollars in tax refunds owed to Procter & Gamble, Unilever, and Colgate combined as it sought to coax them and other multinationals to pay more income tax locally, according to people close to the talks. After luring foreign companies with corporate tax breaks… – Continue reading
