Special Business News article by Rob Rotherham, KPMG tax division senior manager, on the effects of the UK Budget. With effect from April 1, 2015, the UK Government introduced a new tax: the Diverted Profits Tax. (DPT). The DPT is aimed at countering the use of aggressive tax planning techniques… – Continue reading
ARLINGTON, Va., July 14, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Bloomberg BNA today announced the latest event in its Global Transfer Pricing Conference series with Baker & McKenzie, in association with the Tax Management Educational Institute, to be held September 17-18, 2015 in Shanghai, China. The conference provides an opportunity to hear from… – Continue reading
A seismic change in the international private wealth arena is under way. Over 90 jurisdictions have committed to automatically exchange comprehensive financial information on an annual basis under the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS). The CRS will start in 2016 in over 55 jurisdictions. This article comments on the CRS… – Continue reading
European Commission to issue decisions on four test cases, including Apple in Ireland, Until a few months ago, the medieval town of Athenry in County Galway owed its fame mainly to a song. Irish rugby and football fans often burst into stirring renditions of “The Fields of Athenry”, a ballad… – Continue reading
It’s well-documented that profitable Fortune 500 companies are stashing profits offshore to the tune of at least $2.1 trillion and avoiding as much as $550 billion in U.S. taxes. But instead of taking steps to halt this brazen tax dodging, lawmakers have floated various misguided “reform” proposals that would actually… – Continue reading
Muscat: His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said today issued two Royal Decrees as follows: Royal Decree No. 30/2015 establishes Oman Governance and Sustainability Centre and promulgates its bylaw. Article (1) states that a centre to be named “Oman Governance and Sustainability Centre” shall be set up and affiliated to the… – Continue reading
Hopes for a broad overhaul of the corporate tax system are fading as the 2016 elections draw closer, but momentum is building for one key change — the U.S. tax that companies would pay on overseas profits. A bipartisan proposal, to be introduced soon in Congress, would tax the estimated… – Continue reading
On 07th July 2015, the United States and Vietnam signed an income tax treaty with Vietnam, the first ever between the two countries. The Double Taxation Agreement applies to personal income tax and enterprise income tax in the case of Vietnam. What is a permanent establishment? Under the Double Taxation… – Continue reading
Ukraine and Cyprus have agreed to review bilateral agreements on taxation to prevent the withdrawal of capital to offshore zones, Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko wrote on Facebook. “After very lengthy negotiations, we’ve finally taken an important step in the fight against capital withdrawal to offshore zones: we have with the… – 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
Developing nations and advocacy groups at a United Nations conference in Ethiopia are pushing for a new global body to tackle tax avoidance by companies, a move opposed by richer nations. Responsibility for tax standards should be moved to the UN from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, a… – Continue reading
Addis Ababa, Jul 12 (AFP) Prominent economist and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz accused Germany today of displaying a “lack of solidarity” with debt-laden Greece that has badly undermined the vision of Europe. “What has been demonstrated is a lack of solidarity by Germany. You cannot run a eurozone without a… – Continue reading
The benefits of switching to Bangkok Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) are often overlooked by expats who believe the low cost of living in Thailand is already making their money stretch further. Bangkok offers a great life for expats with even modest financial resources with a tropical climate and… – Continue reading
Portugal is an increasingly desirable destination, thanks to its tax-friendly stance. Portugal may not be top of everyone’s list in terms of tax-friendliness, particularly given the recent backdrop of the recession and bail-out, but it does have a history of running successful tax-friendly programmes, for example the Madeira and Azores… – Continue reading
The short answer to the question of the connection between Canada’s new anti-terrorism laws and taxes is that recent amendments to the Income Tax and Excise Tax Acts which arise through the Anti-Terrorism Act permit more extensive disclosure and sharing of private and confidential taxpayer information. The longer answer is… – Continue reading
TWO NEW SWISS BANKS REACH JUSTICE AGREEMENT On June 19th, 2015, the Department of Justice (DOJ) came to an agreement under the Swiss Bank Program with two new Swiss banks, Bank Linth LLB AG and Bank Sparhafen Zurich AG. BANK LINTH 126 U.S.-related accounts are attributed to Bank Linth Bank… – Continue reading
KUWAIT, July 13 (KUNA) ¬¬ The cabinet, under the chairmanship of His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Jaber Al¬Mubarak Al¬Hamad Al¬Sabah, approved Monday a number of agreements to boost cooperation with several friendly countries. The endorsed agreements included a memorandum of understanding for cooperation in social insurance with Bahraini government,… – Continue reading
OECD guidance needs to be clear otherwise the process could favour the bigger nations In Paris last week, as Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande discussed events in Greece, the international tax system was being discussed in an underground meeting room at OECD headquarters. For almost two days tax authority delegates… – Continue reading
As part of what experts call a war on tax competition and low taxes, a coalition of high-tax governments from around the world is working to erect a radical new planetary taxation regime that would further smother what remains of financial privacy and national sovereignty while seriously harming the global… – Continue reading
According to a local newspaper report, the Cayman Islands, the Caribbean territory often called an offshore financial haven, could be the site of a future diamond bourse. The proposed exchange is the brainchild of local jeweler Dennis Smith, who sees it as a way for overseas companies to service the… – Continue reading
In the midst of turmoil in the Chinese stock markets, one serious problem that may appear is increased currency outflows created by current and potential investors who would rather move their assets to foreign countries viewed as safer havens. Money laundering should be under close surveillance. Chinese involvement in money… – Continue reading
Private client banks such as Royal Bank of Scotland’s Coutts, HSBC and UBS have been sued by clients for wrongly advising them to invest in film investment specialist Ingenious as its schemes have since been labelled by tax authorities as tax-avoidance vehicles. Ingenious Media and around 50 other associated financial… – 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
The Supreme Court ruled on Sunday that the country’s tax authority may have imposed double taxation on real estate holders, a decision that could make the National Tax Service (NTS) responsible for handing back massive refunds to domestic businesses. On Sunday, the Supreme Court sent back to the Seoul High… – Continue reading
Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov has signed a protocol to make amendments to Uzbek-Belgian convention on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of tax evasion on income and capital. Uzbek president’s decree “On approving the international agreement” published in the local media July 13, approves the amendments to the convention of… – Continue reading
OTTAWA – The federal revenue agency has written off at least $4 billion in debts in the last two years — including accounts worth more than $10 million, newly released records show. Debts were declared uncollectible because those owing had died, gone bankrupt, could not be located or lived outside… – Continue reading
Senior judges and magistrates from 13 out of 17 Eastern and Southern African Anti-Money Laundering Group Member States will gather in Swakopmund next week for a judicial retreat. The main purpose of the meeting will be to deliberate on issues related the effective and timely adjudication of civil and criminal… – Continue reading
On 10 July 2015, Liechtenstein and Switzerland signed a new Income and Capital Tax Treaty. Once in force and effective, the new treaty will replace the old one of 1995. The new treaty will come into force after the two countries exchange ratification instruments. The provisions of the new treaty… – Continue reading
The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has announced a further extension to the deadline for Maltese financial institutions (FIs) to comply with the reporting requirements under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The deadline for FIs to submit FATCA data to the IRD has been moved forward to July… – Continue reading
Experts have warned of the impact of UK Chancellor George Osborne’s decision to abolish permanent non-dom status and tighten non-dom inheritance tax (IHT) rules. The Government will abolish permanent non-dom tax status, meaning that anyone resident in the UK for more than 15 of the past 20 years will have… – 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
One of the most immediate and obvious consequences of globalisation is the impact of domestic tax policies in other countries on the economy of Tanzania. This has necessitated the continuous evaluation of the tax regime in Tanzania and brought about crucial fiscal and economic reforms in the country. Hence, the… – Continue reading
Australian authorities urged to undertake prosecution of those linked to property purchases KUALA LUMPUR: Three activist groups have lodged reports with Australian authorities to investigate overpriced property purchases in Melbourne by a Mara subsidiary for possible prosecution on grounds of tax evasion and money laundering. The three groups are National… – Continue reading
A “tax allowance”. That’s what the Government calls the new £5,000 tax-free band of dividend income announced in the Budget. In other words, it’s a favour they are doing us – offering a tax perk, akin to the breaks on Isas or the tax-free personal allowance. By introducing a dividend… – Continue reading
Multinationals were probably waiting for result of British referendum on EU before deciding where to locate, says head of Irish investment authority Global corporations will think twice about investing in the UK while uncertainty reigns over Britain’s European Union membership, according to the head of the Irish state body that… – Continue reading
Switzerland and the EU have signed a major accord to automatically exchange information on the financial accounts of each other’s residents. EU taxpayers will no longer be able to hide undeclared funds in Swiss banks. After coming up to increased international pressure in recent years, Switzerland has signed up to… – Continue reading
Initiative aims to deepen dialogue with developing countries and develop diagnostic tools for member countries to evaluate and strengthen tax policies The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) launched a new initiative Friday, to help developing countries strengthen their taxation systems. The move comes on the back of… – Continue reading
The Abbott government has been accused of trying to water down language on tax evasion in a crucial document ahead of the UN’s Finance for Development meeting in Ethiopia next week. The Third International Conference on Financing for Development will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from Monday next week…. – Continue reading
Although this summer’s football transfer window has been one of the busiest ever, question marks have been raised once again over Turkey’s flawed tax system, under which multimillionaire football stars contribute a lower percentage of their salary to the state budget than public sector workers. The transfer window in Turkey… – Continue reading
(CS) Fitch Ratings has kept its AAA rating of Luxembourg with a stable outlook unchanged, leaving the Grand Duchy one of only nine countries worldwide to hold the top rating by the three leading agencies. Luxembourg has also been rated AAA with a stable outlook by Standard & Poor’s and… – Continue reading
Two more Swiss banks have agreed deals with the US Justice Department over tax evasion by Americans, reports BBC News. Banque Pasche will pay US$7.22m (£4.7m) and Arvest Privatbank US$1.04m in penalties under a deal that means they will not face criminal charges. Fifteen Swiss banks have already cut deals… – Continue reading
Forcing banks to pay more corporation tax on their profits is not a “well targeted” way to punish lenders that did the most damage to the UK economy or got the biggest bail-outs during the financial crisis, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), reports The Telegraph. The IFS… – Continue reading
As many of our readers know, the Canadian Income Tax Act (the “Act”) provides for an unlimited exemption from the imposition of Canadian income tax on the gains resulting from a disposition of a “principal residence”. Access to the principal residence exemption can be valuable, especially in cities (e.g. Vancouver,… – Continue reading
Jakarta, GIVnews.com – The Indonesian government is mulling over a tax amnesty plan that is projected to add billions of dollars to the state’s tax revenue. This huge amount of money, if realized, could help boost development and government spending in a country which have recently undergone its slowest economic… – Continue reading
Finance Ministry has informed that the negotiations on the double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) between India and Mauritius are in advanced stage and the pact would be revised soon. Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das has said that “DTAA treaty (with Mauritius) is in very advanced stage of negotiation. It is progressing… – Continue reading
Poor countries need to get better at raising tax, and multinational firms need to get better at paying it SOMALIA is not only one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries, it is also one of the most dangerous for tax collectors. By one reckoning a fifth of tax… – Continue reading
The Indo-US deal on the Act will help both fight coountries tax evasion. Here’s a primer on how you could be affected The United States and India struck a bilateral deal on Thursday that would enable them to track the assets of nationals from both countries. As per the terms… – Continue reading
Banks and other financial institutions in the Federation are bracing for the imminent implementation of the US’ FATCA regulations. With the US Inland Revenue Service (IRS) Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act will come a drastic change to how local banks do business with US citizens and companies. Under FATCA, financial… – Continue reading
CHICAGO (AP) — A U.S. appeals court on Friday agreed with a sentence of probation for the billionaire creator of Beanie Babies stuffed toys, rejecting arguments by federal prosecutors that he deserved prison time for hiding millions of dollars in a Swiss bank account. H. Ty Warner was accused of… – Continue reading
10/07/2015 – The OECD set out a clear path for Lithuania’s accession to the Organisation, reinforcing the OECD’s commitment to further extend its global membership. On 8 July 2015 the 34 OECD Members adopted the Roadmap for the Accession of Lithuania to the OECD Convention setting out the terms, conditions… – Continue reading
