June 8 – With the international spotlight focused on corruption and money-laundering at FIFA and doping claims in athletics, the Qatar-based International Centre for Sport Security (ICSS) is laying on a specialist session in Geneva in September to explore how sport, governments and the wider stakeholder community can tackle the… – Continue reading
MUNICH — Leaders of the Group of Seven nations are set to agree on the creation of a system to counter tax evasion and tax avoidance by multinational enterprises, during the G-7 summit meeting to be held in Germany on Sunday and Monday, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned. G-7 leaders… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: The government has proposed several provisions in the Finance Bill 2015 for documentation of economy. The bill empowers the government to obtain or render information related to transactions undertaken in and outside Pakistan regarding both resident and non-resident taxpayers. Legal cover has been provided to allow government to enter… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Mauritius has regained the position as top source of foreign direct investment (FDI) into India by pushing Singapore to the second slot in 2014-15. Mauritius accounted for about 29 per cent of the country’s total FDI inflows last fiscal. In 2013-14, Singapore had replaced Mauritius as the top… – Continue reading
Taxman should instill the fear of “incarceration, loss of liberty and social opprobrium” in tax evaders and prosecute them in large numbers to create a credible deterrence against the menace of black money… Taxman should instill the fear of “incarceration, loss of liberty and social opprobrium” in tax evaders and… – Continue reading
Amid a global black money crackdown including by India, Switzerland has announced a stringent due diligence regime for its banks to “reject” accepting illicit funds from both existing and new customers. Swiss banks, known for their strict secrecy practices, would also terminate ties with existing clients who are found to… – Continue reading
BERNE: Amid a global black money crackdown including by India, Switzerland has announced a stringent due diligence regime for its banks to ‘reject’ accepting illicit funds from both existing and new customers. Swiss banks, known for their strict secrecy practices, would also terminate relationships with existing clients who are found… – Continue reading
Gabelli Global Utility Common Shares of Beneficial Ownership (NYSE:GLU) declared a monthly dividend on Wednesday, February 18th, Market Beat reports. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 16th will be given a dividend of 0.10 per share on Tuesday, June 23rd. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and… – Continue reading
The resurgent interest in transfer pricing abuse by multinationals might be missing the first “link in the chain” – the shifting of profits inside South Africa to the detriment of empowerment partners, workers, communities and the economy. This is the emerging line from a prominent think-tank, the SA Mining Development… – Continue reading
Responding to David Cameron’s call for a global crackdown on corruption by G7 leaders meeting in Germany for their annual summit this weekend, Jorn Kalinksi, Oxfam G7 spokesperson said: “David Cameron’s is right to put a spotlight on corruption which is a problem for all countries across the globe. Corruption… – Continue reading
MiFID II – FCA Issues Discussion Paper on MiFID II Implementation Measures The FCA issued a discussion paper (DP15/3) on 26 March 2015, asking firms for their views on a range of MiFID II implementation measures, including on: The revised inducements standards. Receipt of commissions and other benefits by discretionary… – Continue reading
Australia should consider adopting tax structures like those used in Ireland and Luxembourg in order to attract greater foreign investment, the government’s tax advisory body has recommended. On Thursday night, Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg released several reports by the Board of Tax, which advises the government on how to reform… – Continue reading
“In Liberia for example, illicit financial outflows reached 61.6 percent of gross domestic product on average between 2008 and 2012, and 80.6 percent of total trade volume. The money lost could have funded its health budget four and half times over, in a country where 63.8 percent of the population… – Continue reading
Abbott government wants to exempt 1,000 private companies from tax transparency measures, partly because of claims of abduction threats The Abbott government is pressing ahead with plans to exempt about 1,000 Australian-owned private companies from tax transparency measures after claims wealthy owners could face kidnapping threats. After the kidnapping suggestion… – Continue reading
Crucial deadlines are approaching for millions of U.S. taxpayers who live abroad or have offshore financial ties. For expatriates, the annual income-tax filing deadline is normally June 15, instead of April 15. In addition, all U.S. taxpayers with offshore accounts totaling more than $10,000 in 2014–regardless of where they live–have… – Continue reading
Romanian businessman Florian Walter, who fled the country after local prosecutors charged him with tax evasion, was located abroad, and authorities have asked for his extradition, reports local Agerpres. The Prahova Court declared Florian Walter internationally wanted, after previously issuing an arrest warrant on his name. Romanian authorities, which have… – Continue reading
Tax administrators would be allowed to use hindsight to evaluate the appropriateness of transfer-pricing decisions made by companies in transactions involving hard-to-value intangible assets under an approach proposed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) on Thursday. The OECD’s discussion draft looks at the issue of arm’s-length pricing… – Continue reading
ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss government said on Friday it is doing away with a frequently criticised privileged tax status for holding companies based in Switzerland, which will lead to a billion-franc shortfall in annual tax revenue. “While these arrangements made a valuable contribution to the business location’s appeal in… – Continue reading
According to the Urban Dictionary a “New York minute” is an instant – the time between when the light changes and the car behind you honks its horn. If a New York minute is less than a minute, can a New York day be less than 24 hours? In the… – Continue reading
Romanian Prime Minister Vctor Ponta exits the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, June 5, 2015. Ponta told media that he was suspected of making false statements, money laundering and being an accomplice to tax evasion while working as a lawyer from 2007 to 2008 when he was also… – Continue reading
The government scheme dubbed “stability savings account”, which lets people repatriate offshore money, should be scrapped because it is making Hungary into a “gangsters’ paradise”, the green LMP party said. It also undermines tax morale and the credibility of the tax system, László Heltai, the party’s economic spokesman, said in… – Continue reading
A businessman caught in a money-laundering sting helped the U.S. prosecute a foreign business — and now he’s seeking $22.2 million from the government as a reward. The U.S. Tax Court ruled Tuesday in favor of the informant, allowing his claim to proceed after the Internal Revenue Service earlier denied… – Continue reading
Australia has signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information, reports Tax News. The agreement was signed by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Steven Ciobo, at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD’s) Ministerial Council meeting on June… – Continue reading
Afip has blamed Julio Grondona for authorising a $10-million payment that prosecutors have characterised as a bribe to vote for SA for World Cup 2010. Julio Grondona, a former Fifa vice-president and head of finance who ran Argentina’s soccer federation from 1979 until his death last year at 82, will… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: Two associations representing foreign portfolio investors are seeking to join the battle over minimum alternate tax in the Supreme Court, although analysts are unclear if entities without a tax treaty will benefit. Investment Association, based in London, and Hong Kong-based Asia Securities Industry & Financial Markets Association (ASIFMA) plan… – Continue reading
MR RAYMOND Koh Bock Swi raised some important issues related to Singapore’s anti-money laundering regime in his letter (“Are we well equipped to fight money laundering?”;May 28). In a subsequent letter (“Money laundering: Banks not a big worry, but watch other sectors”; yesterday), Mr Tan Sin Liang highlighted the tough… – Continue reading
Solicitors have a week to pay the tax they owe on undeclared income or face hefty penalties, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) warned today (4 June). Solicitors have until 9 June 2015 to tell HMRC about any undeclared income and pay the tax they owe. By taking this chance to… – Continue reading
A European probe into the Irish taxes paid by technology giant Apple, as well as multi-nationals in Luxembourg and the Netherlands, is close to finishing. The news came as Taoiseach Enda Kenny issues a robust defence of Ireland’s corporate tax regime, which has been under international pressure in recent years… – Continue reading
June 5: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) yesterday released a discussion draft concerning work in relation to Action 8 under the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project concerning hard-to-value intangibles. Read the BEPS Action 8 discussion draft [PDF 62 KB] The following discussion provides initial impressions… – Continue reading
IN the wake of budgetary constraints, the government of Tanzania is tightening transfer pricing regulations and bolstering its tax enforcement actions in order to create new revenues, and in doing so, has increased the administrative compliance cost and burden for companies. Indeed, the government’s apex body charged with the administration… – Continue reading
The government is likely to come out with a fresh value-added tax reform plan for the real estate, finance and consumer-oriented services industries next month, ending the three-year reform on all service industries, according to unconfirmed reports. The Ministry of Finance is believed to have already drafted the plan and… – Continue reading
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reviewing the selling activity of thousands of online sellers who use websites such as Amazon, Etsy and eBay to earn a living, as part of a fresh crack down on tax evasion. According to The Telegraph, these websites are being forced to hand over… – Continue reading
The FINANCIAL — Members of the Deloitte network have been named European Tax Innovator of the Year at the recent International Tax Review (ITR) European Tax Awards. Deloitte member firms won 15 ITR tax awards in total this year, more than any other organization, for work completed in the last… – Continue reading
McClay visits European capitals to talk Trade and sign tax agreement Minister of Revenue and Associate Trade Minister, Todd McClay has concluded a European lobbying mission by signing a tax agreement in Paris to focus on tax avoidance by multinationals. Tax Agreement The OECD’s Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement brings New… – Continue reading
Australia has been cautioned by the OECD to keep further interest rate cuts “in reserve” and that the country’s booming housing market could be at risk of a “sharp correction”. The warning from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OEDC) came in its latest economic report on Australia. Australia’s… – Continue reading
Retired Canadian lawyer Ginny Hillis has a message for the U.S. Congress. “They have no rights over me. None.” Hillis detests the “arrogance” of Congress for “imposing their laws on a sovereign nation with the complicity of that sovereign nation’s government.” America’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) “should embarrass… – Continue reading
As expatriate taxpayers face increasing difficulties from implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, the Internal Revenue Service is offering YouTube videos and other online resources to assist taxpayers overseas. The IRS noted that the June 15 filing deadline for Americans abroad is approaching soon, so it is launching… – Continue reading
Companies can face hefty expenses, and many aren’t fully familiar with their rights, says official The State Administration of Taxation will sign and update more tax treaties and step up the implementation of these agreements to help Chinese companies investing in countries that form part of the “Belt and Road… – Continue reading
LAS VEGAS, June 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Remark Media, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARK) today announced that its Board of Directors has adopted a plan, known as the Tax Benefit Preservation Plan, designed to protect the significant potential long-term tax benefits presented by the company’s net operating losses. Remark intends to seek… – Continue reading
In Comptroller of the Treasury of Maryland v. Wynne, Dkt. No. 13-485 (U.S. May 18, 2015), the U.S. Supreme Court found that Maryland’s system of personal income taxation violated the nondiscrimination prong of the dormant Commerce Clause. The Court concluded that the system did not grant a resident credit for… – Continue reading
Jersey experienced a 10% increase in new company incorporations in 2014 over the previous year, according to a report released today by Appleby, one of the world’s largest providers of offshore legal, fiduciary and administrative services. Last year also saw the total number of active companies on Jersey’s registry rise… – Continue reading
By 2013, Banque Cramer knew it had a problem. With just SFr2bn of client money, the 300-year-old Swiss private bank was too small to weather the radical changes sweeping through its industry, reports Financial Times. Extra regulatory and compliance demands were driving up costs. Big advantages that traditionally helped Swiss… – Continue reading
New Zealand has signed up to an agreement of developed nations that will enable the sharing of financial information to help fight tax avoidance by multinational companies, Revenue Minister Todd McClay said Thursday, reports the Shanghai Daily. The OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement brought… – Continue reading
In the face of increased regulatory pressure from the OECD, the European Commission and various national governments, tax transparency is becoming an extremely important issue. However, many companies lack the systems and resources to adequately respond to these new global tax disclosure and transparency requirements, according to a report from… – Continue reading
The leaders of the Group of Seven nations are contemplating a framework for joint tax audits to enhance co-operation in international tax matters. “We have to make progress not just with regards to the rules but also in everyday tax administration,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble told a press conference… – Continue reading
Chief prosecutor for canton’s decision to investigate despite inaction by other Swiss regulators shows power struggle within establishment The £28m HSBC will pay in “compensation” to the Swiss authorities following a money laundering investigation may be no more than a drop in the lake for Europe’s biggest bank, but it… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — HSBC Holdings Plc will learn the results of a Geneva probe into allegations of money laundering at its Swiss private banking unit when prosecutors hold a press conference. Representatives for prosecutors and HSBC declined to immediately comment on what will be disclosed at the press conference, which will… – Continue reading
International Christian groups are hailing a report demanding fresh solutions to tax dodging by multinational companies. The World Council of Churches and the UK’s Christian Aid cite researchers from the International Monetary Fund who say tax rules could be costing developing countries $212 billion a year. The report, from the… – Continue reading
A COMMON REPORTING STANDARD ACROSS THE WORLD The goalposts in international tax reporting are moving rapidly. In conjunction with the G20, the OECD developed the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) as a global standard for the automatic exchange of information. This was approved by the OECD Council on 15 July 2014… – Continue reading
SEOUL, June 4 (Yonhap) — South Korea and the World Bank kicked off an international tax conference in Seoul on Thursday to highlight the need for closer international cooperation to effectively deal with corporate tax evaders, organizers said. The two-day gathering is designed to stress the growing importance of tax… – Continue reading
