Category: Offshore

Pakistan, Bulgaria sign double taxation treaty

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Bulgaria on Tuesday signed an agreement to get rid of double taxation and cooperate in preventing tax evasion as a state delegation from the European Union member country concluded its two days visit. The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Director General and Deputy Minister of Economy Bulgaria… – Continue reading

Court rules John Doe summons to identify law firm clients isn’t barred by attorney-client privilege

Section 7609(f) of the tax code allows the Internal Revenue Service to use a “John Doe” summons when the target is unknown. It has been used successfully by the IRS against banks and other financial institutions to find offshore accounts. Now, a district court in the Western District of Texas… – Continue reading

Greenville County Councilman billed $55K in back property taxes on Anderson lake house

The Anderson County Assessor’s Office this month discovered that a Greenville County leader who owns a home on Hartwell Lake in Anderson underpaid by about $3,900 a year on his property taxes between 2009 and 2018. Calling it an oversight, Greenville County Councilman Ennis Fant said he would work with… – Continue reading

Tax authorities mount raids on 19 German banks and houses

Investigation is linked to Panama Papers and part of money laundering allegations Eleven banks and eight private homes and offices across Germany have been raided by police and tax investigators as part of a wide-ranging investigation into tax evasion. The raids, which began at dawn on Wednesday and went on… – Continue reading

UK – HMRC WINS TWO TAX AVOIDANCE CASES OVER USE OF OFFSHORE TRUSTS

The HMRC has successfully argued two cases in the First-tier Tribunal involving the use of offshore trusts to avoid tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs). The case was brought against Hyrax Resourcing Limited and Curzon Capital Limited. The Tribunal decided in both cases that the disguised remuneration arrangements being promoted… – Continue reading

Tax amnesty to regularize undeclared assets approved by Pakistan cabinet

Only a million people out of a population of more than 208 million pay income tax in Pakistan Recently signed IMF bailout plan requires government to squeeze around $5 billion in extra taxes ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government on Tuesday announced a new tax amnesty scheme aimed at broadening the government’s revenue… – Continue reading

Taxing times for SMEs

Globalisation of the economy has resulted in a shift in the way Singapore corporations operate – from local country-specific business models, to global integrated supply chains which centralise functions at a regional or global level. Singapore, in particular is a popular location to house regional and global operations, due to… – Continue reading

Non-resident capital gains tax on UK commercial property ‘could block overseas investment’ – expert view

The Government’s changes to the tax treatment of overseas investment in UK commercial property will increase revenues in the short term but might prove short-sighted, write Craig Hughes and Russell Dickie There is, as they say, no place like home. However, in recent years, solid and steady capital growth and… – Continue reading

A perspective on tax amnesty

Tax amnesty is defines as “grant of an opportunity to a specific class of society to declare their undeclared assets by payment of a meagre amount of tax in addition to grant of immunity from default surcharge, penalties and prosecution”. It is introduced by the governments to fulfill the slogan… – Continue reading

India notifies pact with US to check tax evasion by MNCs

As per the agreement, it is intended to provide relevant and reliable information to perform an efficient and robust transfer pricing risk assessment analysis. Aimed at providing relief to subsidiaries of US multinationals and ensuring a check on cross-border tax evasion, India has notified the inter-governmental agreement with the United… – Continue reading

PSX recommends CGT exemption for foreign investors in next fiscal year

—Says exemption to facilitate capital inflow by relaxing account opening, registration process ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) in its proposals for budget 2019-2020 has recommended exemption of capital gain tax (CGT) on disposal of securities by foreign investors. Budget proposals for next fiscal year 2019-20, available with Pakistan Today,… – Continue reading

Corporate Canada’s Pile of Cash in Offshore Tax Havens Has Hit $353 Billion For the First Time in History

Luxembourg, Barbados and Bermuda are three of Canada’s top five destinations in the world for corporate cash After exploding to record levels under Stephen Harper’s Conservative government, the amount of money Corporate Canada is funneling through offshore tax havens has hit a new all-time high. According to data newly released… – Continue reading

Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli to pay tax evasion fine

In late December, news of Refaeli’s potential indictment came about. Her mother, who was her modeling agent, was also subject to the money-laundering scheme, according to reports. Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli, who has been investigated by the nation’s Tax Authority since 2015, will have to pay taxes for the roughly… – Continue reading

Joint tax mechanism to enhance trade & investment among BRI countries

A new mechanism aimed at creating a more favorable tax environment for enterprises and countries involved in China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has been established. Tax officials and experts from dozens of countries and international organizations have gathered in China from April 18 to 20 for the first Belt… – Continue reading

Assad’s uncle ‘Butcher of Hama’ to stand trial on graft charges in France

Assad’s uncle ‘Butcher of Hama’ to stand trial on graft charges in France The uncle of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad is to stand trial in France on charges of building up a big property empire in the country using funds from Syrian state coffers, legal sources said on Wednesday. An investigating… – Continue reading

Around 152,518 financial information of Pakistan tax residents received so far

Islamabad Around 152,518 financial information of Pakistan tax residents have been received through Common Reporting Standard Exchange (CRSE) on various dates – from October-2018 onwards. This data is being analyzed from taxation point of view and it has been shifted to identify in first instance, cases which are of a… – Continue reading

Indonesians who hide assets abroad face punishment

The Directorate General of Taxation will seriously investigate Indonesian assets that are not reported through the annual tax return form (SPT), and is preparing punishment for non-compliant taxpayers, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said over the weekend. She said the first step would be for the Directorate General of Taxation… – Continue reading

HMRC vows crackdown on offshore tax evasion in Spring Statement

The UK has published a policy paper setting out the direction for HMRC’s updated strategy for offshore tax compliance, offshore tax compliance strategy: No Safe Havens 2019. In the document, published alongside the chancellor’s Spring Statement, HMRC said it will use hefty punishments for those who enable offshore tax avoidance…. – Continue reading

Democrats introduce bill to curb tax havens

Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., a member of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced a pair of bills aimed at stopping corporations from using offshore tax havens and outsourcing jobs to other countries. The first bill, the No… – Continue reading

Macau | City sharing tax information with New Zealand

Macau and New Zealand have signed a tax-sharing information agreement, with the OECD stating that the city had exchanged tax information with 34 jurisdictions in 2018 Macau (MNA) – Macau has recently signed a tax-sharing information agreement with the government of New Zealand. According to a release from the Cabinet… – Continue reading

Tax Netflix and other e-commerce companies, say Canadians and CRA professionals

OTTAWA, Feb. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The federal government needn’t worry about a consumer backlash to a sales tax on Canadians’ Netflix accounts, if newly released results from an Environics Research poll and a separate survey of Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) tax professionals are any indication, says the Professional… – Continue reading

Guam, other US territories in European Union’s dirty-money blacklist again

Guam, American Samoa, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are included in the European Nation’s updated list of areas that are deemed hot spots for money laundering and terrorism financing. The U.S. Department of Treasury rejected the inclusion of U.S. territories, calling into question the substance of the EU… – Continue reading

Guernsey: Investment Funds: Why Choose Guernsey?

The benefits of Guernsey as a fund domicile. Guernsey is one of the world’s largest offshore finance centres, with a thriving funds industry. Almost 1,000 investment funds, and well over 2,000 sub-funds, are currently administered in the island. The current value of funds under management and administration in Guernsey is… – Continue reading

FAMILY BUSINESSES DOMINATE LIST OF BRITAIN’S HIGHEST TAXPAYERS

Britain’s wealthiest families paid $1.2 billion in tax in the last financial year at a time when the state revenue contributions of the world’s richest individuals and corporations are coming under increasing scrutiny. Campden FB totalled the tax bills for 2017-18 of the 21 families of significant wealth as conservatively… – Continue reading

Pakistanis’ assets abroad: Government requests 10 more countries for info exchange

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has made formal requests to 10 more countries under the OECD mechanism as well as Switzerland separately for exchange of information about those Pakistanis who stashed their assets abroad to evade taxes. “We have made requests to 10 more countries for getting automatic exchange of information and so… – Continue reading

Investment banker extradited for helping clients defraud tax authorities

For facilitators in Malta, it’s business as usual. A former employee of Mossack Fonesca has been extradited to Germany on charges relating to revelations from the Panama Papers, an unprecedented leak of over 11 million files from the database of the world’s fourth biggest offshore law firm at the time…. – Continue reading

Money trail must for offshore assets’ owners: Asad

ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance Asad Umar Thursday made it abundantly clear that those having offshore properties had no option but to give the trail of their money. Addressing a post-mini budget press conference at the P-block here, he said the government had obtained assistance from friendly countries, including Saudi… – Continue reading

Antigua and Barbuda and Malta discuss Citizenship by Investment programmes

Prior to the commencement of the World Economic Forum at Davos on Wednesday, Prime Minister Gaston Browne held a bilateral meeting with the Finance Minister of Malta, Edward Scicluna. According to a release from Antigua and Barbuda’s Director General of Communications, Maurice Merchant, the main items on the agenda for… – Continue reading

Italy: Moving To Italy – The Resident Non-Domiciled Tax Regime

During 2017 the Italian Government introduced a new tax regime: The Resident Non-Domiciled Tax Regime(also known as the “Flat Tax Regime”), with the aim of attracting high net worth individuals who want to relocate to Italy. The new legislation introduced a key change to the general principle of worldwide taxation… – Continue reading

IRS releases final rules on Section 965 repatriation taxes

The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department issued final regulations spelling out how U.S.-based companies will have to pay repatriation taxes on offshore profits under Section 965 of the tax code. The IRS released proposed regulations on Section 965 in August, and the proposed rules went through a public… – Continue reading

Cook Islands joins coalition to fight tax avoidance

The Cook Islands has joined a coalition of countries aimed at fighting tax avoidance and easing cross-border tax dispute resolution. The country has joined 124 other countries in the Inclusive Framework on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) announced earlier this month…. – Continue reading

FBR probes undeclared offshore assets of resident Pakistanis

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has sought explanations from the resident Pakistanis regarding their undeclared foreign assets, sources said on Tuesday. These assets were identified under the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEoI), they added. Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) Karachi summoned around 100 people from Sindh Region to appear… – Continue reading

Government Breaking Down ‘Offshore’ Banking Divide

The Government yesterday broke down the divide between Bahamian domestic and international financial institutions to meet European Union (EU) demands. KP Turnquest, the Deputy Prime Minister, in unveiling a radical regulatory shift said the Government will “make the playing field level for all financial institutions in The Bahamas” by enabling… – Continue reading

Proportion of HNWIs investing offshore rises

The wealthy are showing a keen interest to invest offshore, as the HNWIs seek to achieve benefits from global diversification and gain tax efficiencies. The proportion of HNWIs who invest offshore has risen from 11.2% in 2014 to 16.9% by December 2018, , according to GlobalData’s HNW Offshore Investment survey…. – Continue reading

Dutch add Guernsey, Belize and Isle of Man to tax evasion blacklist

The Dutch finance ministry is expanding its official list of places it considers to be involved in tax evasion by a further 16 low tax jurisdictions, including the islands of Guernsey and Jersey, the Isle of Man, and Belize. The list contains five jurisdictions currently blacklisted by the EU: American… – Continue reading

Income Tax Dept cannot probe Foreign Assets of Assessee after Six Years: Delhi High Court [Read Judgment]

The Delhi High Court, in its recent decision, quashed an order of the Income Tax department questioning the overseas earnings and assets prior to March 31, 2005. The earnings included money in tax-haven banks, overseas properties and interests in offshore trusts and applies to non-resident Indians as well. The assessee,… – Continue reading

Vistra study: VI second-most important global financial jurisdiction

The Virgin Islands ranked as the second-most-important financial jurisdiction in the world in a recent study published by Vistra, a corporate services provider. The research — titled the “Vistra 2020 Report” — evaluated insight from more than 800 financial services industry professionals around the globe, according to the company. Published… – Continue reading