On 8 June 2015, the Law “On optional declaration of assets and bank accounts (deposits) by individuals” (the “Capital or Tax Amnesty Law”) came into force. It was announced as part of the deoffshorisation campaign and opens a window of opportunity for the business community to declare “grey” assets without… – Continue reading
A report published today by Global Witness, alleging that an individual with ties to a former Kazakh public official owns large swathes of London, follows much recent interest in the issue of public officials owning property in the UK via secretive corporate structures that conceal their interest. Earlier this month,… – Continue reading
Categorizing it as a “large scale, continuing, complex commercial crime,” a judge has sentenced two Calgary businessmen to prison for five years for defrauding the federal government of millions in taxes that should have been paid on registered retirement savings plans. Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Peter McIntyre said Steven… – 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
Top lawmakers and the White House are in the early stages of discussing an ambitious overhaul of how the U.S. taxes its multinational firms, according to officials involved in the effort. The talks, part of an effort to find funding for a long-term highway bill, are preliminary and could yet… – Continue reading
In cooperation with their Latvian colleagues, Ukrainian investigators have uncovered and frozen more than USD 80 mln (EUR 73 mln) worth of funds in Latvian bank accounts. The funds were moved there by Serhiy Kurchenko, a well-known associate of ousted president Viktor Yanukovych, the Russian LSM site reported yesterday via… – Continue reading
SINGAPORE – Criminal investigators from the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) are investigating whether a Singapore asset-management firm accepted transfers from undeclared Swiss accounts closed by US taxpayers, the Wall Street Journal reported. Lawyers who spoke to the Journal on the matter declined to name the Singapore firm being probed… – Continue reading
Old Mutual International has launched a campaign to promote “under-utilised” trusts among offshore advisers and will launch further support tools “shortly”. Trustability, as the campaign is known, is designed to simplify the writing of trust business for advisers by guiding them through the processes of identifying opportunities, understanding local laws,… – Continue reading
PHILADELPHIA (CN) – Business owners cannot use privilege to shield offshore bank accounts that drew scrutiny from U.S. tax authorities, the Third Circuit ruled. The July 17 decision comes at a contentious time for HSBC, which reached a $1.9 billion settlement with the Department of Justice in December on charges… – Continue reading
HE Voluntary Disclosure Programme introduced in 2012 to encourage taxpayers to regularise their affairs has some flaws that need addressing to be able to expose the real amount of money that has left SA illegally. Tax experts warn that the process in SA is relatively expensive, there are uncertainties because… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: To protect confidentiality of tax information from abroad, the CBDT has warned of stern action against those making unauthorised disclosures as it amounts to breach of treaty commitments and cause embarrassment to the government. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said the confidentiality of taxpayers’ information has… – Continue reading
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has launched four consultations on the UK Government’s proposed new approach to tackling offshore tax evasion. Under the proposals, corporates who are deemed to have failed to prevent tax evasion or the facilitation of tax evasion would face a criminal offence. A separate strict liability… – Continue reading
Hong Kong (HKSAR) – The Government published in the Gazette today (July 17) the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No.2) Ordinance 2015, which seeks to extend profits tax exemption for offshore funds to private equity funds. A government spokesman said, “With the implementation of the Amendment Ordinance today, transactions conducted by offshore… – Continue reading
Investing in hard currency has become much easier. CAPE TOWN – For years, South Africans have been used to the idea of exchange controls. Since the 1960s, they have been something we have learnt to live with. However this year’s national budget really put an end to them as far… – Continue reading
The Justice Department announced Thursday that its Swiss Bank Program snared another three financial institutions in its battle against offshore tax evasion. Mercantil Bank will pay a $1.2 million fine, Banque Cantonale Neuchâteloise (BCN) will pay $1.1 million and Nidwaldner Kantonalbank will fork over $856,000 the federal government. By joining… – Continue reading
Taipei, July 16 (CNA) Chinese yuan-denominated deposits held by banks operating in Taiwan as of the end of June hit a new high, but growth has shown signs of moderating, according to the central bank. Statistics released by the central bank on Wednesday indicate that the balance of yuan deposits… – 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
SOUTHFIELD, Mich., July 16, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Most people think offshore accounts are only for the wealthy but the 1-800-LAW-FIRM Federal Tax Defense Team believes people should think again. Thousands of people in the United States have foreign bank accounts and believe that just because they are not millionaires, they… – Continue reading
July 15 — The IRS national taxpayer advocate told lawmakers she will keep up the pressure to lighten the compliance and implementation burdens of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. In part of a mid-year report to Congress on the office’s 2016 objectives, Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson said July… – 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
To launch the Offshore Insurance Units (OIU) business in Taiwan, the FSC published a ruling on May 21, 2015, amending the Offshore Banking Act Enforcement Rules. Major amendments include: (1) providing the required qualifications of an OIU, including the required capital adequacy ratio, and the requirement that an applicant shall… – Continue reading
HMRC has published the latest Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) List following the recent suspension of the list, iExpats reports. In the two week suspension, 3,037 schemes and seven financial centres have been delisted. Although HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) refuses to discuss individual QROPS, the main reason for… – 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
The US voluntary disclosure landscape has changed dramatically over the last 12 months. As a result, the options to voluntarily disclose previously unreported offshore accounts and assets have evolved to allow unprecedented relief for a broader group of US taxpayers. This is particularly true for those whose mistakes were inadvertent,… – Continue reading
Anyone in Northern Ireland with an undeclared offshore bank account could be forgiven for feeling a little anxious. Not only have revelations about the sale of Nama’s former assets in the North shone a spotlight on a certain offshore account but a new taskforce has just been unleashed which is… – Continue reading
On Friday, the Seventh Circuit upheld what it determined to be a substantively reasonable sentence for billionaire Ty Warner, the creator of Beanie Babies. We previously blogged about Warner’s district court sentencing, during which Judge Kocoras found that Warner’s “very unique” circumstances warranted a non-incarceration sentence – well below the… – Continue reading
Former IT staff member says he and colleague ‘not comfortable’ with instruction A former member of the IT department at Anglo Irish Bank has told the trial of three of its former officers that one of them issued an instruction that certain accounts were to be removed from the bank’s… – Continue reading
Over the past few months, several foreign portfolio investors registered in India have received notices from the Indian tax authorities demanding payment of Minimum Alternate Tax in respect of transactions which took place over the course of prior assessment years. The Indian Government has indicated that it could raise several… – Continue reading
HONG KONG, July 13 (IFR) – Chinese property developers are wary about relying too heavily on onshore funding, even after regaining access to the cheaper domestic bond market. Evergrande Real Estate and Longfor Properties last week became the latest Chinese developers to cut their interest costs through the issuance of… – Continue reading
BENGALURU: AGacquisitions Group, one of India’s first few hedge funds, has launched an offshore fund in the Bahamas with an exposure of $40 million raised from family offices and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) in India and overseas. Kanishk Agarwal, 32, and his brother Harsh Agarwal, 26, founders of AGacquisitions, have now… – Continue reading
The continuing speculation over Greece’s possible exit from the Eurozone and the weakening effect this might have on the shared currency in the short-term, may once again be prompting some folks to consider setting up non-resident bank accounts in non-eurozone countries. Offshore banking has a bit of a dodgy image… – Continue reading
HSBC Global Asset Management head of internationals Mark Newsam explains why he identifies Asia as potentially the strongest future growth opportunity for the group’s offshore business. How big is HSBC Global Asset Management within the inter-national space? HSBC Global Asset Management is the investment management business of the HSBC Group,… – Continue reading
On July 8, 2015, the International Tax Reform Working Group, which is co-chaired by Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), released its long-awaited report that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has said is the precursor to comprehensive tax reform in the United States. What does the… – Continue reading
House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) made it clear Thursday that tapping offshore corporate profits was his top choice for funding a longer-term highway bill. In fact, Ryan declined to even lay out what the House GOP’s “Plan B” might be, ahead of a looming July 31 deadline… – 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
HMRC has delisted thousands of overseas schemes that could previously accept pension transfers from Britain, reports the Telegraph. HM Revenue and Customs has launched a crackdown on overseas schemes open to UK expats who want to move their pension abroad, with hundreds being removed from its approved list. Australia is… – Continue reading
How should non resident or non domiciled buyers of UK residential property own or hold residential property? Overseas buyers or owners of UK residential property above £1m in value need to consider carefully in what name or legal structure they should buy or hold property for their protection and to… – Continue reading
Where Qualified Dividend Treatment Is Important, Serious Consideration Should Be Given to Ensuring the Company Is Eligible for Treaty Benefits Before Taking It Public. Dividends generally are taxed at ordinary income rates (up to 39.6 percent for individuals). Qualified dividends derived by individuals, however, are taxed at the preferential rate… – Continue reading
[NEW YORK] HSBC Holdings Plc, smarting from a US$1.9 billion fine for providing banking to money launderers and sanctions-dodgers, promised US officials it would clean up its act. Within a year, its reform efforts met resistance from leaders of HSBC’s US investment-banking unit – some of whom mounted a campaign… – Continue reading
Moshe Asher told the Institute of Certified Public Accountants that money can be raised from unreported capital instead. Israel Tax Authority head Moshe Asher stated clearly today that no new tax hikes were necessary. Speaking at a conference of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Israel at a session… – Continue reading
Five days after the emergence of the most serious allegations of large-scale corruption in recent memory, the PSNI has still not opened a criminal investigation. The TUV leader Jim Allister said that, after days of continued revelations about the irregular nature of the sale of NAMA’s – the Republic’s ‘bad… – Continue reading
PETALING JAYA: Public Bank Bhd yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saitama Resona Bank Ltd and Kinki Osaka Bank Ltd to cross-sell each other’s banking products in Malaysia and Japan. Saitama Resona Bank and Kinki Osaka Bank are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Resona Holdings Inc, which also owns Resona… – Continue reading
With a new government at India’s center and positive macroeconomic fundamentals working in its favor, the private equity industry is expected to invest more actively into India over the short to medium term. In the past year, inflation has steadily tapered, the fiscal deficit has been reduced, domestic demand has… – 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
As chancellor allegedly George Osborne prepares to crack down on non-doms in Wednesday’s budget, experts have recommended offshore bonds as an alternative to those facing an increasing amount to protect their foreign earnings from UK tax. According to The Financial Times, chancellor George Osborne has committed to increasing the annual… – Continue reading
HMRC has delisted thousands of overseas schemes that could previously accept pension transfers from Britain HM Revenue and Customs has launched a crackdown on overseas schemes open to UK expats who want to move their pension abroad, with hundreds being removed from its approved list. Australia is one of the… – 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
Three former Anglo Irish Bank officials accused of hiding bogus off-shore accounts in an alleged tax evasion scheme were involved in helping Revenue investigate tax compliance in the bank in 2003. Day 13 of the officials’ trial heard that one of them, former Chief Operations Officer Tiarnan O’Mahoney requested that… – Continue reading
