Transportation and other issues also taken up by the Cabinet Prague, Nov 9 (ČTK) —The Czech government today approved the Industry and Trade Ministry’s program Expansion, under which Kč 9.5 billion (€350 million) should be provided in support of small and medium-sized enterprises until 2020, Deputy Prime Minister Pavel Bělobrádek… – Continue reading
Tax-driven “inversion” deals that let companies flee the U.S. tax system by relocating abroad, if only on paper, would be curbed under legislation introduced in Congress, as Pfizer Inc (PFE.N) pursues such a deal with rival Allergan Plc (AGN.N). Wisconsin Democratic Representative Mark Pocan’s bills likely have little chance of… – Continue reading
The chief executive of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations unambiguously condemned the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act in a recent series of comments. deVere Group CEO Nigel Green likened the act, which went into effect in July 2014, to a “masterclass in fiscal imperialism and the… – Continue reading
In a time of fiscal austerity, it is breathtaking to learn that Congress has allowed Fortune 500 companies to avoid an estimated $620 billion in federal taxes on earnings they are holding offshore. While the inaction by lawmakers on this issue may create the impression that there is nothing to… – Continue reading
Economist and policy consultant, Avernash Persaud is urging government to remove concessions for foreign investors, a similar advice proffered by the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Persaud said government should instead focus its attention on infrastructure development. Persaud, who has assisted in policy development in countries like Singapore, said investors will… – Continue reading
NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Business executives cited an increased compliance burden as their biggest concern with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting initiative (37.7 percent), according to an October Deloitte poll. Other concerns included double taxation of income (17 percent) and… – Continue reading
Transfer pricing by multinationals has cost South Africa an estimated R250 billion over three years and, with it, lost tax revenue. This is according to Sunia Manik, group executive for the large business centre at the SA Revenue Service (Sars), adding that it was being done through “service payments” made… – Continue reading
The UK is one of several countries to introduce voluntary disclosure schemes. More people are coming forward to regularise their affairs as they realise there is nowhere left to hide in this new world of tax transparency. Tax authorities and financial institutions are gearing up for the new automatic exchange… – Continue reading
x The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has slapped higher taxes on importers of second-hand vehicles ahead of a new duty that will push the prices up by Sh200,000. The revenue authority reviewed the current retail selling price of second-hand vehicles in October 15. This is the benchmark the taxman uses… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Dismissing apprehensions of Mauritius being used to route black money as “misconception”, its Prime Minister Anerood Jugnauth has termed the issue as an aberration in the “very special” ties with India and hoped that revision of their tax treaty won’t harm its interests. Stating that Prime Minister Narendra… – Continue reading
Millions more Greeks need to start paying taxes says OECD boss, as Athens likely to fall short in bid to secure €2bn cash injection this week Greece is battling to secure the release of €2bn in bail-out cash as one of the world’s foremost tax chiefs has warned the country… – Continue reading
Small and medium-sized businesses that don’t have the resources to patent intellectual property may still be able to benefit from the Knowledge Development Box (KDP) under plans being considered by the Government. The Department of Finance is looking at allowing SMEs with patentable assets, but without the resources to get… – Continue reading
FRANKFURT (The Street) — Europe’s allure as a tax haven for U.S. multinationals may be coming to an end. That’s because European Union regulators are closing up tax loopholes that U.S. companies have been enjoying for years. The first two to feel the heat are Starbucks (SBUX – Get Report)… – Continue reading
Clubs Australia and the American Gaming Association (AGA) to Join Forces to Table Illegal Online Gambling Trade Association Clubs Australia made recent headlines releasing a statement that confirms its partnership with the American Gaming Association to tackle an ongoing problem that has created an analogous situation with the ‘Wild West’…. – Continue reading
Leave.EU, supported by Ukip and financed by a multimillionaire, vies to lead Britain’s exit from Europe A leading campaign group seeking to take Britain out of the European Union was set up by an offshore company that offers tax avoidance services to “high net worth individuals”, the Observer can reveal…. – Continue reading
HALF a billion dollars worth of assets previously unaccounted for were declared following the passing of a law to establish a tax amnesty scheme designed for Fijians to declare all their assets held overseas Attorney-General and Minister for Finance Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, in his 2016 National Budget address, said there was… – Continue reading
On 5 October 2015, the OECD published the final reports of the OECD/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) project, which consist of a package of measures for a co-ordinated international approach to reform the international tax system. This package will be discussed by the G20 ministers of finance on… – Continue reading
The opaque governance structure of sports federations makes them less accessible to independent oversight and therefore more prone to corruption, the deputy managing director at Transparency International, a global anti-corruption movement, told Sputnik. ST. PETERSBURG (Sputnik) – Earlier this year, separate investigations by US and Swiss prosecutors uncovered deep-rooted corruption… – Continue reading
The Isle of Man has signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with Romania. The TIEA was signed during a ceremony in London on 4 November 2015, by His Excellency Mihnea Ioan Motoc, Romania Ambassador in London and Eddie Teare MHK, the Isle of Man’s Treasury Minister. Mr Teare said:… – Continue reading
LOST REVENUE:A lack of regulations on taxing cross-border Web-based content and services providers puts their local peers at a disadvantage, Ernst & Young said The nation’s tax system is relatively behind developed markets in adapting to the proliferation of the digital economy, which has resulted in lost revenues for the… – Continue reading
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has today published a Report to the G20 on actions taken to assess and address the decline in correspondent banking. This report provides an update on work by the FSB in partnership with other organisations to examine the extent and causes of banks’ withdrawal from… – Continue reading
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has issued an interpretation note to provide guidance on the term “place of effective management” for the purposes of determining the tax residence of a company in South Africa. SARS notes that, in general, a resident is liable to income tax on gross income… – Continue reading
The UAE delegation, which was headed by HE Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, has concluded its official visits to the Scandinavian countries. These visits aimed at strengthening the country’s network of agreements on exchange of information for tax purposes, reviewing the financial practices adopted by… – Continue reading
No member state of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) ranks among the top 20 jurisdictions worldwide for financial secrecy. The United States of America (at number 3), Germany (8), Japan (12) and Britain (15), all rate as bigger tax havens than any CARICOM jurisdiction, according to the Tax Justice Network (TJN),… – Continue reading
The recent corporation tax controversy highlighted by US presidential hopefuls Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump is not damaging Ireland’s reputation as a place to do business, said the former chief executive of Apple, John Sculley. According to Mr Sculley, the controversy is simply part of US election fever. Known as… – Continue reading
The Redmond tech company and the Internal Revenue Service tangled in court Friday over the government’s audit of Microsoft’s software sales through offshore subsidiaries. Microsoft and the Internal Revenue Service sparred in court Friday over the agency’s power to investigate taxpayers. Microsoft, seeking a court order to overturn a portion… – Continue reading
A FINAL decision on the so-called Rangers “big tax case” may not happen until 2017, and Scotland’s footballing authorities are unlikely to deal with the ramifications of the matter until after that. Sir David Murray’s companies are yet to decide whether or not to appeal against the decision by three… – Continue reading
On September 18, 2015, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) released Notice 2015-66 announcing its intention to amend certain of the regulations under Chapter 4 of the Code (the “FATCA regulations”), to extend the period of time that certain of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) transitional rules will apply,… – Continue reading
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, Friday November 6, 2015 – No member state of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) ranks among the top 20 jurisdictions worldwide for financial secrecy. The United States of America (at number 3), Germany (8), Japan (12) and Britain (15), all rate as bigger tax havens than any CARICOM… – Continue reading
Call to halt bank sale in favour of reform rejected by UK Government UK MINISTERS decided to “wash their hands” of a tax evasion scandal in a subsidiary of the government-owned Royal Bank of Scotland, according to damning testimony given by a former treasury official who is now a Labour… – Continue reading
First it was the scourge of public sector corruption, until now the mortifying spectacle of South Africa’s post-apartheid transition. Now, with the ground shifting beneath the world’s sclerotic economy – and the past few years have produced more tremors than ever in the 21 years of democracy – it’s a… – Continue reading
New law in Poland expands the requirements for transfer pricing documentation, and includes country-by-country (CbC) reporting. The new provisions essentially reflect the recommendations made in Action 13 the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project, and provide for CbC, master file and local file reporting. The legislation was passed… – Continue reading
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting action plan is likely to have a major impact on tax planning at multinational corporations by both tax professionals and corporate treasurers. Tom Driscoll, U.S. managing partner for international tax, transfer pricing, and indirect tax at Deloitte Tax… – Continue reading
Paul Singer has a good track record as a money manager. In 1995, he bought $20 million worth of Peruvian debt at a discounted price of $11.4 million, then forced Peru’s government, through lawsuits, to eventually pay nearly five times his initial investment — some $58 million. In 2002 and… – Continue reading
(MENAFN – Gulf Times) The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) is eyeing more financial and professional services firms, including Islamic finance firms from Asia and South East Asia as part of its strategic move to reach out to the untapped promising markets. The QFC, an onshore platform with a unique offering,… – Continue reading
With local financial institutions bracing for the impact of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Common Reporting Standard (CRS) reporting requirements, a recent partnership between a tax law firm and financial information services firm could well increase the ease of reporting for U.S. citizens living in The Bahamas…. – Continue reading
The BVI has announced amendments to its Anti-Money Laundering (AML) regime in order to ensure continued compliance with developing international standards on transparency and AML regimes. Amendments to the legislation have recently been published (Code of Practice and Regulations) and the proposed changes are to take effect on 1 January… – Continue reading
(Seychelles News Agency) – Seychelles’ efforts to comply with the widely-recognised Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s regulations on the sharing of tax information has led the island nation’s jurisdiction to be rated ‘largely compliant’. This follows a re-assessment of the island nation’s ‘practical implementation’ of its legal and… – Continue reading
On September 7, 2015, the local tax court of Cologne (the “Court”) issued an injunction against the German Federal Central Tax Office (“FCTO”) to prevent the FCTO from conducting a coordinated exchange of information with the E6 countries Canada, Great Britain, France, Australia and Japan, which aimed at gathering intelligence… – Continue reading
On 5 October 2015 the OECD published the final package of recommendations to reform the international tax system – the “BEPS” Project. Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) refers to tax planning strategies that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax locations… – Continue reading
On 14 October 2015, the Luxembourg Minister of Finance presented a bill to Parliament on the state budget for 2016. This bill contains several proposals affecting corporate taxpayers. One of the main proposals is the abolition of the intellectual property regime. Similar tax relief systems, known as “IP box” or… – Continue reading
In Canada, taxes are levied at the federal, provincial and municipal levels of government. At the federal level, the government generates most of its revenue by way of income taxes and excise taxes imposed on the distribution and consumption of goods and services in Canada. The provinces and territories also… – Continue reading
British MEP Anneliese Dodds has accused national governments of hampering progress in tackling corporate tax dodging, warning that EU capitals are “far too focussed on their own self-interests”. On the anniversary of the breaking of the LuxLeaks scandal, Dodds said MEPs had made some progress in stamping out aggressive tax… – Continue reading
Since Minister Noonan announced in October 2014 that Ireland would introduce a “best-in-class” Knowledge Development Box (“KDB” ), there has been a lot of speculation about ‘how low would he go’. Budget 2016 announced that the rate of tax which will apply for income qualifying under the new KDB will… – Continue reading
The 3 Tax Packages are as follows: 1) Tax package to boost earned income Law: Businesses that increase employee wages will receive a 10 percent tax credit (5% for large corporations) on the portion that was increased, on the condition that wage growth exceeds average growth for the past 3… – Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG – South African has lost R250 billion in the form of service payments over a three-year period, highlighting the significant risk base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) is posing to the country’s tax base, a South African Revenue Service (Sars) official has said. Almost R80 billion of this were… – Continue reading
Germany’s Federal Ministry of Finance on 3 November 2015 released final guidance notes for implementation of the FATCA regime. An intergovernmental agreement (IGA) signed by Germany and the United States follows the Model 1 IGA. Accordingly, financial institutions in Germany are required to report information concerning assets held by U.S…. – Continue reading
A delegation from the UAE’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) is on its official visit to Denmark, where it seeks to strengthen trade relations and sign an agreement on the exchange of information for tax purposes at the Danish Ministry of Taxation. The agreement was signed by Obaid Humaid Al Tayer,… – Continue reading
A question being considered in Australia—concerning country-by-country (CbyC) reporting—is whether an investment entity is to be excluded from the “group” for CbyC reporting purposes. A preliminary position being advanced is when an entity is not required to prepare consolidated financial statements for financial reporting purposes, then it would be excluded… – Continue reading
According to a recent article in the Australian news source Australia’s Clubs Australia is forming an alliance with the American Gaming Association. The common goal of the two organizations is to respond to the number of illegal online gambling web locations which pose the threat of money laundering and possible… – Continue reading
