The Governments of Brazil and Switzerland have released a joint declaration expressing their intent to introduce, on a reciprocal basis, an automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters based on the OECD Common Reporting Standard, beginning in the year 2018. The first transmission of data will take place… – Continue reading
The Isle of Man Government’s Agreement for the Exchange of Information relating to Tax Matters with the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands enters into force on 29 December 2016. The Agreement was signed by His Excellency Peter Beckingham, Governor to the Turks and Caicos Islands, on 30 June… – Continue reading
Ireland’s Ministry of Finance, the EU and several other governments have emphatically rejected claims by Oxfam International that the countries are tax havens, with Ireland insisting its corporate tax laws are “fully compliant” with international best practices when it comes to transparency and information exchange. The Irish government said the… – Continue reading
Finance minister Bob Richards has expressed dismay at Oxfam’s claim that Bermuda is the world’s worst corporate tax haven. And the Progressive Labour Party joined him to condemn the report as “extremely disappointing”. Mr Richards pointed to “serial errors” in the global charity’s report on offshore centres, which found that… – Continue reading
Lower corporate tax rates around the world are expected to play an important part in multinational companies’ tax planning in 2017, with a rate as low as 15 percent on the table in the U.S. and countries such as the U.K. planning to maintain or lower their current rates. A… – Continue reading
Changes in the way international taxation is collected, thanks to recommendations made by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) could “pose a major challenge to the sustainability and profitability” of many iGaming operations in Malta. This information came to light through a report issued by Country Profiler on… – Continue reading
A showdown between the Australian Taxation Office and the nation’s largest companies including Chevron, Crown and BHP Billiton is looming as the tax man hits seven large companies with tax bills amounting to $2 billion. On Friday, the ATO released its corporate tax transparency report for 2014-15, which includes limited… – Continue reading
Recent social and economic developments have had a powerful impact on many Ukrainian citizens and businesses and have led them to look for a better life beyond the borders of Ukraine. Obviously, Ukrainians moving abroad is not something new. Periods of economic crisis in almost every state are usually accompanied… – Continue reading
1. Why was a new offshore provision introduced by this year’s Finance Bill? Following revelations in the “Panama Papers” of major worldwide tax evasion in April 2016 (which included certain Irish Resident account holders), the Minister for Finance announced on budget day, 12 October 2016 that this year’s Finance Bill… – Continue reading
Tax sovereignty is incompatible with the globalised world, according to OECD tax policy director Pascal Saint-Amans Speaking at the Public Accounts Committee’s Global Tax Transparency Summit, Saint-Amans told told ministers, tax professionals and international representatives ‘a gap’ still exists ‘between the world globalising and tax sovereignty’. ‘As members of parliament,… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan and China signed third protocol to the avoidance of double taxation agreement that would allow a Chinese bank and a state-owned investment fund to avail income tax exemption on interest income from loans for energy projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman… – Continue reading
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has released guidance, in a question and answer format, for financial institutions (FIs) seeking to understand the impact of the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS). The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s CRS obliges countries and jurisdictions to obtain financial information from their FIs… – Continue reading
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) welcomes the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD)’s release last week of a multilateral convention which allows for swift implementation of a series of tax treaty measures encompassed in the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. The release follows the conclusion… – Continue reading
Also commits to country-by-country reporting Cayman has committed in principle to a project reforming the application of tax rules in cross-border business to combat the erosion of tax bases and the artificial shifting of profits to low or no-tax jurisdictions. Developed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, base… – Continue reading
There are signs of a growing urgency in mainland China to better understand the implications of next year’s introduction of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). Institutions from within China’s trust and banking sectors, as well as private clients, are increasingly seeking guidance from jurisdictions which were early adopters of the… – Continue reading
Common reporting standard: Implementation in Asia The Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”) is an internationally agreed standard for automatic exchange of financial account information (“AEOI”) on financial account information, endorsed by the OECD and the Global Forum for Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. The CRS framework requires financial… – Continue reading
Switzerland, which has been working to end its years-long practice of banking secrecy, on Thursday said it aimed to dramatically increase the number of countries it cooperates with toward international fiscal transparency. The Swiss government said in a statement that it wanted to extend the automatic exchange of information (AEOI)… – Continue reading
The amount of tax potentially underpaid by big businesses by shifting profits to other jurisdictions has increased by 60 percent in the last year, to GBP3.8bn (USD4.8bn), according to figures obtained by international law firm Pinsent Masons. The figure is the “tax under consideration” by HMRC’s Large Business Directorate, being… – Continue reading
The Kenya Revenue Authority has signed an international memorandum of understanding on tax collaboration with Botswana, to provide administration assistance from next year. Tax officials from Kenya and Botswana on Thursday agreed to the assistance project that marks the first South-South cooperation pact under the Tax Inspectors Without Borders programme… – Continue reading
Pyrenees principality approves automatic sharing of information on accounts held by non-residents from EU countries Andorran lawmakers have agreed to end banking secrecy in the Pyrenees mountains principality, approving automatic sharing of information on accounts held by non-residents. The General Council, Andorra’s unicameral parliament, approved a measure that will come… – Continue reading
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Information in Tax Matters (Standard for AEOI) in July 2014, which aims to prevent offshore tax evasion and maintain the integrity of tax systems. Over 100 jurisdictions have committed to comply with the Standard… – Continue reading
European Union member countries are considering a “substance test” to determine whether a country or jurisdiction with a zero corporate tax rate qualifies as a tax haven that doesn’t reflect “real economic activity.” After a host of EU member countries rejected in early November the use of a zero corporate… – Continue reading
When introducing the draft legislation for the Diverted Profits or so-called “Google Tax”, Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison claimed it would: …reinforce Australia’s position as having amongst the toughest laws in the world to combat corporate tax avoidance. Australia is the second country to introduce this type of tax, after the… – Continue reading
Indonesia is widening its tax net to target global technology giants like Google and Facebook Inc., a strategy that’s raising red flags for fear it may deter foreign investment. Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati is seeking to squeeze more revenue out of an economy that’s been hit by weak commodity… – Continue reading
The OECD’s ground-breaking multilateral tax treaty, which will potentially amend thousands of bilateral tax treaties, will add “another layer” to treaty administration—but actual changes to bilateral agreements will be clear to both tax administrations and multinational companies, the organization’s tax chief said. Taxpayers and tax administrations “will know what the… – Continue reading
The UAE’s Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of the UAE are working with banks and other financial services companies in the country to prepare for the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), which will come into effect starting 2018. The CRS is a system developed by the Organisation for Economic… – Continue reading
A resurgent U.S. economy would help offset softness elsewhere in the world. Global growth will pick up faster than previously expected in the coming months as the Trump administration’s planned tax cuts and public spending fire up the U.S. economy, the OECD said on Monday, revising up its forecasts. In… – Continue reading
94 countries have committed to implement the joint disclosure system by 2017 and 2018 Abu Dhabi: The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has announced that the UAE will begin implementing the standards of joint disclosures and the exchange of information for tax purposes set out by the G20 and Organisation for… – Continue reading
Switzerland’s Ordinance on the International Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) in Tax Matters will enter into force on January 1, 2017. The Swiss Federal Council adopted the ordinance on November 23. The ordinance contains the Federal Council’s implementing provisions for the Federal Act on the International Automatic Exchange of Information… – Continue reading
On 24 November 2016, Switzerland and South Africa signed a joint declaration on the introduction of the automatic exchange of information (AEOI) in tax matters on a reciprocal basis. Both countries intend to start collecting data in accordance with the global AEOI standard in 2018 and to exchange it from… – Continue reading
On November 22, 2016, the Minister of Finance of Ukraine handed an official letter on Ukraine’s accession to the BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) plan to the Secretary-General of OECD. Being the final stage in the process of joining the project, Ukraine is to become a member of the… – Continue reading
Switzerland has signed declarations to exchange tax information automatically with Brasil, Mexico and Uruguay and Mexico in coming years, but the deals must still go before Swiss parliament for approval. Under the declarations, banking information would be collected from 2018 and exchanged by 2019, the State Secretariat for International Financial… – Continue reading
Big U.S. internet companies in France could get hit by a new BEPS-inspired penalty on “diverted profits” under a so-called Google tax measure that France’s National Assembly is set to consider next week. The amendment, proposed by Socialist Deputy Yann Galut and adopted by the Assembly’s finance committee, targets foreign… – Continue reading
Nov. 15 — The German Cabinet is preparing to address a bill Dec. 21 to combat tax evasion by cracking down on letterbox companies and banking secrecy as a response to the Panama Papers and other scandals involving sophisticated forms of tax planning. The bill, prepared by the Federal Ministry… – Continue reading
Adoption of legislation for a common consolidated corporate tax base by 27 EU member states would resolve current patent box conflicts and end transfer pricing disputes that cost multinational companies hundreds of millions of dollars in double taxation, according to EU and industry officials. Speaking at a Nov. 15 conference… – Continue reading
Bermuda has reportedly avoided being placed on an European Union blacklist after Britain blocked a French-led proposal that would have automatically branded the island a tax haven. Territories with a zero per cent corporate tax rate, such as Bermuda and the Cayman Islands, would have been denounced as potentially “non-co-operative”… – Continue reading
Background The Federal Inland Revenue Service [FIRS] has begun Transfer Pricing [TP] audits and has been requesting TP documentation and other documents from taxpayers relating to their related party transactions. These actions are in line with its powers under the Income Tax (Transfer Pricing) Regulations No. 1 of 2012 [Regulations]… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: The government has stepped up to check corruption and regulate offshore investments in a bid to promote transparency and good governance, finance minister said on Tuesday. “New measures, such as the companies’ global register of beneficial ownership, will curb corruption, help (government) address challenges related to offshore investments and… – Continue reading
Cayman could find itself on a new EU list of “non-cooperative jurisdictions” in tax matters after the European Council of finance ministers published the criteria for including third countries in the blacklist last week. The provisions emphasize that a jurisdiction “should not facilitate offshore structures or arrangements aimed at attracting… – Continue reading
The European Parliament risks losing the right to veto plans to make multinational companies publish tax and profit details for the countries in which they operate, according to the European Union’s legal advisers. The Council of Ministers’ legal service insisted in its opinion, seen by Bloomberg BNA, that the European… – Continue reading
Eighty-five Canadians identified in the Panama Papers leak are now being investigated for tax evasion, the Canada Revenue Agency has revealed. Details of Canada’s enforcement effort were provided to the Star the same week the U.K., which is a major hub of the offshore finance world, said it has launched… – Continue reading
The European Commission has launched a public consultation on how best to deter promoters of aggressive tax planning schemes. The Commission said it is particularly interested in gathering views on how a mandatory disclosure scheme for tax advisers could be put in place. If implemented, this would require intermediaries to… – Continue reading
The European Council has reached an agreement on the criteria and the process for the establishment of an EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions in taxation matters. On November 8, the Council resolved that an EU list of non-cooperative jurisdictions “will be determined by the Council in 2017.” The “screening” of… – Continue reading
Finland will have “more possibilities” to tax Finnish pensioners living in Portugal under a recently revised bilateral double taxation avoidance treaty, the Finnish Government has said. The new agreement was signed on November 7 by Portuguese Finance minister Mario Centano and his Finnish counterpart Petteri Orpo, who declared himself “very… – Continue reading
New Zealand’s tax agency has set out the international tax initiatives it intends to pursue, in particular in response to the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting plan. It said it will undertake further work on a package of BEPS initiatives, which will include hybrid mismatch rules to prevent companies… – Continue reading
New Zealand has delayed cracking down on multinational tax avoidance due to private sector concerns over timing and concerns about “scaring away” foreign investment, the Inland Revenue Department says. Wide-ranging reforms to corporate tax rules proposed by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), known as the base erosion… – Continue reading
Ninety-eight countries are poised to formally adopt the OECD’s innovative multilateral tax treaty, which will place recommendations from the BEPS project into more than 3,000 bilateral accords, when the ad-hoc group meets later this month. The “Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty-Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting”… – Continue reading
The United Arab Emirates’ tax-free perks could soon come to an end as the OECD group of wealthy nations lays down the pressure to tackle global tax-evaders. The Gulf state’s hesitation to sign up to a world treaty to assist in the exchange of information on tax evaders is a… – Continue reading
The OECD is calling on all jurisdictions to conform to the latest tax transparency standards under exchange of information rules at the same time as they develop their own tax transparency initiatives The majority of OECD members have committed to implement the automatic exchange of information (AEOI) standard, with a… – Continue reading
Network of foreign subsidiaries reported key to €923 million windfall over five years German chemicals manufacturer BASF has been accused of avoiding close to €1 billion of tax. In a report published on Monday, the company is alleged to have used aggressive tax-planning strategies in the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland and… – Continue reading
