The amount big companies set aside to cover disputed tax bills has more than halved over the past three years to £1.7bn this year, reports the Financial Times. Even though businesses fear more disputes as tax authorities become increasingly tough, they are showing reluctance to be drawn into conflicts that… – 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
SEBI on August 26, 2015 released a notification on the captioned head. It informed the intermediaries that India has joined The Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCCA). Further on July 09, 2015, the Governments of India and United States of America signed an agreement to improve international tax compliance and to… – Continue reading
G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors released their third communique of 2015 over the weekend. Their rhetoric is notable for the calm statement of positive reassurance on the macroeconomic environment, although the direct policy commitments appear to be light on. In the communique, Ministers and Governors recognised the significant… – Continue reading
Tax Commissioner Pierre Moscovici has urged European Union (EU) member states to “take the steps needed to fight tax evasion and tax fraud,” after new figures showed that the value-added tax (VAT) gap did not narrow in 2013. According to a new Commission report, the total amount of VAT lost… – Continue reading
At the 69th IFA Congress in Basel, Taxsutra’s Arun Giri, accompanied by well known tax expert Mukesh Bhutani, interviewed India’s Competent Authority Akhilesh Ranjan. Mr. Ranjan is leading the country’s charge on BEPS, and offers candid views on various issues including confidentiality of information, possibility of a BEPS outcome that… – Continue reading
THE BUREAU of Internal Revenue (BIR) has advised Philippine financial institutions to start preparing for the implementation of a United States law requiring the reporting of bank accounts held by American taxpayers locally. In an advisory, the BIR said the start of reporting will not yet take place at the… – Continue reading
This case was an appeal from the Gauteng Division of the High Court to the Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”) pertaining to the correctness of the granting of an ex parte preservation order application that was brought against Mr Krok by the Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) in… – Continue reading
Government must make good on its vows, says Jamie Livingstone In less than two weeks, leaders from 193 states will meet at the United Nations in New York to formally adopt, in effect, a new plan to fight extreme poverty, tackle inequality and end hunger. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)… – Continue reading
Former Nudie Juice CEO Andrew Binetter allegedly sought the destruction of incriminating files at Bank Hapoalim. The names of Israeli banks Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI) and Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT) have been mentioned in the Australian press as involved in alleged tax fraud in the millions of dollars by… – Continue reading
PHUKET: In 2005 the EU Commission proposed a directive that laid the foundations for a radical change in the portability of an individual’s pension. British, Dutch and Irish nationals were given the flexibility to move certain private pensions to the jurisdiction of their choice, rather than leave it in their… – Continue reading
Tehran, Sept 6, IRNA – Economy Minister Ali Tayyebnia and visiting Iraqi Finance Minister Hoshyar Zebari, in a meeting on Sunday, signed three strategic economic agreements. The three agreements were about customs cooperation, avoiding double taxation and encouraging joint investments. Tayyebnia said that Iran-Iraq trade, including other cooperation such as… – Continue reading
The European Commission released a report on Friday which details the losses incurred by the European Union member states due to VAT tax evasion from 2009-2013 and sheds light on the extent of the problem in Greece. During these five years, the Greek State lost a total of 37.044 billion… – Continue reading
New York, NY, September 05, 2015 –(PR.com)– The Knowledge Group/The Knowledge Congress Live Webcast Series, the leading producer of regulatory focused webcasts, has announced today that Colleen P. Waddell, Managing Director, Outlier Solutions will speak at the Knowledge Group’s webcast entitled: “Latest Regulatory Developments Under FATCA: Best Compliance Practices Uncovered… – Continue reading
Ireland will probably face censure from European authorities within months in relation to its tax dealings with Apple, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. A finding against Ireland will spark a legal battle that may last years, as the government is ready to fight the decision in… – Continue reading
On 1 July 2015, the Supreme Court (in Anson v HMRC4) held that a taxpayer was entitled to treaty relief on his share of a Delaware LLC’s profits. This casts doubt on HMRC’s published position (though each case must be judged on its own facts). The taxpayer, a UK “non-domiciled”… – Continue reading
Panama’s Presidential High Level Commission for the Defense of International and Financial Services (CANDSIF) recently held a meeting to review the country’s progress on improving tax transparency and combating money laundering, reports Tax News. In particular, CANDSIF reviewed legislation passed earlier this year as part of Panama’s commitment to address… – 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
A funding line has been launched to help business taxpayers facing payment deadlines arising from Accelerated Payment Notices (APNs) APNs, introduced in 2014, enable HMRC to request full upfront payment of disputed tax within 90 days. They are issued to individuals and companies suspected of partaking in aggressive avoidance schemes…. – Continue reading
Committing to a step-up in investments in India, the UAE said it is keen to tap opportunities in smart cities and the infrastructure sector. NEW DELHI: Just a little over a fortnight since Narendra Modi became the first Indian PM to visit the UAE in 34 years, the two countries… – Continue reading
On 17 June 2015, the European Commission launched its action plan for fair and efficient taxation in the EU. Within the package to be consulted upon are plans for a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) and a number of administrative measures around cross-border cooperation, dispute resolution and greater transparency…. – Continue reading
A number of further publications have been released this quarter as part of the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. These include: The 8 June 2015 publication by the OECD of a package of measures relating to “country- by-country reporting” (relevant to… – Continue reading
Washington State Auditor Troy Kelley faces additional charges of money laundering and tax evasion. The U.S. Attorney’s office announced the new charges Thursday afternoon. The charges are contained in a superseding indictment against Kelley. The first-term Democrat now faces a total of 17 federal charges, including five new counts of… – Continue reading
Commercial finance provider LDF has launched a funding line to help taxpayers facing payment deadlines arising from accelerated payment notices issued by HMRC. Accelerated payment notices, otherwise known as APNs, were first introduced in 2014. Designed to change the economics of avoidance, the notice enables HMRC to request full upfront… – Continue reading
In a move that could add real bite to India’s war on black money, the Swiss Federal Council on Wednesday approved a bill that would allow the government to share “stolen data” with other countries. The council, Switzerland’s highest executive authority, said in a statement: “The Federal Council initiated the… – Continue reading
German business groups have hit out at Berlin’s plan to reform how it taxes investment funds, warning on Thursday that the proposed changes would hurt pension provisions and reduce the attractiveness of Europe’s largest economy as a place to invest. The finance ministry announced plans in July to reform the… – Continue reading
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) today issued a judgment concluding that the different tax treatment of dividends received by parent companies of tax-integrated groups, with such treatment depending on the location where the subsidiaries are established, is contrary to EU law. The CJEU judgment therefore holds… – 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
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
The European Commission is refusing to hand over documents to MEPs investigating whether EU member states are using special tax regimes that favour large multinational corporations such as Facebook and Amazon. EU economics commissioner Pierre Moscovici wrote to the European Parliament’s special committee on tax rulings (TAXE) this week claiming… – Continue reading
Britain’s Conservative government has relaxed demands on the Cayman Islands to create a register detailing company ownership, despite Prime Minister David Cameron’s previous call for Overseas Territories to adopt the measure to promote transparency. The UK’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies make up almost 25 percent of the world’s tax… – Continue reading
Abu Dhabi: As the world powers get ready to lift sanctions on Iran, a top banker in the UAE said the banks have to carefully understand this change as they prepare to relax their systems and enable the expected business activity. “It is one of the tougher sanctions that the… – Continue reading
Revenue Minister Todd McClay announced today that Cabinet has given its approval to a set of proposals intended to address the current inequitable situation where debt remission between related parties can, under certain circumstances, result in an incorrect taxation outcome. At present, in cases when such debt is forgiven by… – Continue reading
Grant Shapps, Foreign Office minister, says on visit that Cayman Islands could use existing systems to help tax authorities The UK government appears to have relaxed its pressure on the Cayman Islands to create a register of company ownership, despite David Cameron’s plea last year for overseas territories to do… – 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
HMRC has published draft regulations which will extend the application of the disclosure of tax avoidance schemes (DOTAS) regime to inheritance tax (IHT) avoidance structures. The draft regulations set out the circumstances in which arrangements will be required to be registered under the DOTAS regime. Registration will be required where… – Continue reading
The inquiry raises some larger and perhaps more challenging questions about Australia’s corporate tax system and what is acceptable and unacceptable tax minimisation. On 18 August 2015, the Senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance tabled a long-awaited interim report, with the subtitle “You cannot tax what you cannot see”. 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
HSBC’s Argentine unit told to remove CEO and one director HSBC accused of helping capital flight by wealthy Argentines Argentina’s central bank revoked the licenses of two top executives at HSBC Holdings Plc’s local unit, including the chief executive officer, arguing they had failed to prevent clients from laundering funds… – Continue reading
On August 12 the IRS issued final guidance (Rev. Proc. 2015-40) significantly updating procedures for requesting and obtaining an advance pricing agreement (APA) from the Advance Pricing and Mutual Agreement (APMA) program. All new APA requests will need to be filed under these “new procedures”, however, an APA request may… – Continue reading
Switzerland’s parliament will soon take up the issue of inking a crucial Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) agreement with India, a move that could help combat the menace of black money and erect a platform to enable the exchange of information between the two countries. “The domestic procedures regarding AEOI… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands are somewhat a tourism paradise. There are crystal blue waters and golden beaches, but the fate of the economy is often overlooked. For years the country has been sustaining itself on the financial services industry, but with the impending issue of tax avoidance in global media, could… – 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
Lack of information about ‘opaque’ special purpose vehicles make it difficult to assess financial stability implications The legendary Warren Buffett once described some shadow banking activities as “financial weapons of mass destruction”. By that he meant they pose a huge threat to the global financial system, as these investment structures… – Continue reading
International pensions administrator STM Group is looking to offer QROPS tailored for UK expats in Australia after HMRC scrapped thousands of schemes from its approved list in July. During an interview with International Adviser, STM – which has trading offices in both Malta and Gibraltar – cited plans to expand… – Continue reading
Three-quarters of global business leaders would accept higher taxes in exchange for greater clarity on acceptable tax planning, the Grant Thornton International Business Report has found. The survey of 2,580 businesses in 35 countries noted a significant increase from the last time the question was asked – last year –… – Continue reading
Domestic funds will now have to closely examine FATCA rules. Much ink has been spilt of late over a United States (‘US’) federal law called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (‘FATCA’) and hence we thought it fit to spend some time trying to analyse for the readers the aspects… – Continue reading
Investors could be hit hard if they are taxed on the capital gains earned from the sale of holdings in FPIs Today, a stable, predictable tax and regulatory regime is a sine qua non for creating a conducive climate for foreign portfolio investors (FPI). Investors wishing to invest in India… – Continue reading
The Luxembourg tax authorities released a final version of an administrative circular and an updated administrative circular to implement provisions under the FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) regime concerning the automatic exchange of information between Luxembourg and the United States. An intergovernmental agreement (IGA), that follows the Model 1… – Continue reading
One of Ireland’s richest persons, John P. McManus, seeks $5.2 million from the U.S. government after it was wrongfully withheld from his $17.4 million gambling winnings to cover taxes. In a complaint filed Monday in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, McManus accuses the withholding agent of erroneously withholding the… – Continue reading
