A report from the Foreign Investors Council of Romania has proposed additional tax policy reforms to build on recent progress made towards a more equitable and transparent tax system. The FIC wants to see closer consultation between the tax authority (ANAF) and business representatives, with more time allowed for stakeholders… – Continue reading
UNDER fire spreadbetter Plus500 was forced to defend itself against angry shareholders yesterday as it admitted all UK customers were frozen out of their accounts. The Israeli business, which has plummeted in value since the financial watchdog clamped down on its controversial customer recruitment practices, admitted in its annual meeting… – Continue reading
CHARGES laid out by the United States Department of Justice on 14 high-ranking FIFA officials may never have come to a head had it not been for the behind the scenes workings of former FIFA executive Chuck Blazer. In 2011, after being confronted by the Internal Revenue Service in regards… – Continue reading
Thousands of Indian citizens in the US – from IT workers, health professionals, students and everyone else under the sun – will soon be innocent victims to snooping by the Indian government. If an Indian citizen holds a bank account in the US, minute details about his/her bank account will… – Continue reading
With regard to direct tax, the government promulgated in 2012 a law named ‘Transfer Pricing’. The law is scheduled to be effective from July 01, 2015. Transfer pricing is a globally common phenomenon. In different countries of the world, this law is in existence. According to the best international practice,… – Continue reading
After Switzerland initiated measures to regulate its banks, most of the unaccounted money stashed in Swiss banks is suspected to have been diverted to countries like Mauritius and Singapore. The Special Investigation Team on black money has taken cognisance of the issue raised by the enforcement agencies. “Although the Swiss… – Continue reading
The proposed common corporate tax base for companies operating in the European Union is intended to reduce tax avoidance. The European Commission is planning to crack down on international tax avoidance by proposing that companies operating in the European Union follow a single set of rules to calculate taxable profits…. – Continue reading
The International Monetary Fund has welcomed plans for corporate tax reform in Switzerland and called for its “timely completion.” Switzerland has faced international pressure in recent years to reduce the favorable tax treatment provided to multinational corporations in many cantons, the IMF noted in its 2015 Article IV Consultation report… – Continue reading
Portugal can be a very attractive country to live in from a tax point of view. The inheritance tax regime is very benign here, and there is no wealth tax. Tax efficient arrangements can lower tax liabilities on your investment and pension income. And if you are a new resident,… – Continue reading
Expat Americans have revealed they don’t feel well-represented by the US government, but many do not bother to vote in elections even if they can do so, research has found. There are an estimated 7.6 million Americans living abroad but a poll has found that only 58% of them voted… – Continue reading
Following our article at the end of last year on the potential changes to the UK patent box regime further details have been released on the new regime, timings and additional work to be done. On 6 February 2015, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published a paper… – Continue reading
Many UK expats based in Portugal have retained their trusts, even though the Government introduced a tax of 28% on trust distributions from 1 January 2015. Despite the existence of several planning options, including an offshore bond, Jason Porter, director at advisory firm Blevins Franks, said many clients remained unaware… – Continue reading
The European Parliament endorsed the anti-laundering directive under which the ultimate owners of the companies will have to be listed in central registers in EU countries. The registries will be open to authorities, financial intelligence units, and individuals having a “legitimate interest” (for example investigative journalists). The “legitimate interest” in… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Months after it failed to sign the G20 information sharing agreement, India is set to sign the global treaty on June 3 which will enable it to access data related to bank accounts from across the world, including tax havens that were earlier refusing to cooperate. While information… – Continue reading
IT’S A SECRET According to the IMF, “Money laundering is a process by which the illicit source of assets obtained or generated by criminal activity is concealed to obscure the link between the funds and the original criminal activity. Terrorist financing involves the raising and processing of assets to supply… – Continue reading
Half the 30 such cases, worth Rs 10,000 crore, to be addressed India is set to sign agreements with Japan to resolve as many as 15 transfer pricing disputes. These agreements follow the one recently signed with the US. The agreements will be for cases that fall in the ambit… – Continue reading
Ireland has been urged to keep an open mind on new plans for a common EU corporate tax base. The plans are expected to be unveiled as early as next month and will be discussed by the European Commission today, Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said yesterday. The so-called Common Consolidated… – Continue reading
Brussels competition arm investigating Ireland for use of ‘comfort letters’ to companies The European Commission is to propose a mandatory common corporate tax base next month as part of a wide-ranging clampdown on corporate tax avoidance. Under a discussion document to be looked at by EU commissioners in Brussels today,… – Continue reading
Bern, Switzerland: As India tries to uncover who has stashed untaxed money abroad, Switzerland is, in an unusual deviation from its super-secretive banking rules, releasing the names of people who are being investigated for alleged tax evasion in their countries of origin. Among the seven Indians named so far by… – Continue reading
Tax affairs of billionaire Bulgari heirs Nicola and Paolo in the spotlight as authorities target luxury brands When Bulgari, the luxury Italian jeweller, set out to celebrate its 130-year anniversary last year at its flagship store on Rome’s Via Condotti – where Richard Burton once bought Elizabeth Taylor a suite… – Continue reading
On March 18, 2015, the European Commission (the “Commission”) published a package of tax transparency measures. The tax transparency package is the result of the Commission’s ambitious agenda to confront harmful tax competition and perceived corporate tax avoidance in the European Union. The Commission has prepared a proposal for a… – Continue reading
An appeals court ruled Wednesday that Lone Star Funds should pay some 64.8 billion won ($58 million) in a corporate tax refund suit filed by the U.S. buyout fund against a regional tax office. The Yeoksam Tax Office levied some 104 billion won in corporate tax on Lone Star over… – Continue reading
There has recently been a wave of global regulatory reforms which affect fundraising. These changes are far-reaching and can impact how fund managers structure funds, their proposed investor base, how and where funds are marketed, the remuneration that may be received, registrations that may be required and dealings with investors…. – Continue reading
Operator’s CFO Nick Read tells Mobile News it doesn’t make the profits to justify paying it Vodafone says it can not “justify” paying corporation tax in the UK despite posting earnings of £1.3 billion and operating profits of £41 million in its full year financial results (ending March 31). The… – Continue reading
In a bid to fight tax avoidance by international business behemoths like Amazon and Apple, the European Commission is proposing mandatory rules to make companies pay taxes to all the countries in which they generate profit. The Commission on Wednesday unveiled plans to overhaul the European Union’s outdated tax system,… – Continue reading
Muscat: Taxpayers across the globe, including Oman, are facing increased scrutiny of their tax returns and positions taken as the pressure on governments increases to raise revenues from taxes, says an expert at KPMG. Ashok Hariharan, partner and head of tax for KPMG in the Middle East and South Asia… – Continue reading
The UK’s First-Tier Tribunal has ruled in favor of HM Revenue and Customs in a case involving a “rate-booster” tax avoidance structure. The FTT found that the scheme used by Next Brand Ltd (part of the Next group) artificially moved money around the group with the aim of claiming tax… – Continue reading
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published its Base Erosion Profit Sharing (BEPS) action plan in July 2013 to address perceived flaws in international tax rules. The Plan was endorsed by G20 with implementation to be completed by the end of 2015. WRIN.tv spoke with John O’Leary, a… – Continue reading
The Foreign Investors Council (FIC), an association of the leading investors in Romania, has asked the Government to increase penalties against companies that do not pay their taxes and to work on bringing down the subterranean economy, rather than aggressively targeting honest taxpayers. “Penalties for tax evasion should be increased… – Continue reading
Peter Scully writes: From 6 April 2015 there will no longer be tax advantages for non-UK residents who invest in the UK residential property market. These changes have seen Capital Gains Tax (CGT) exemption being removed along with restricted access to Private Residence Relief (PRR) as well as the potential… – Continue reading
It’s been called mysterious, secretive, and shadowy, but when it comes to the so-called shell company created by former president Bill Clinton as a vehicle for the delivery of consulting services, there’s a whole lot less there than meets the eye. According to the Associated Press, in 2008, Clinton set… – Continue reading
The U.S. is examining banks’ conduct as part of a wide-ranging corruption probe of international soccer that has led to charges against 14 people, including officials with the sport’s organizing body. Money involved in the two-decade-old bribery scheme passed through U.S. banks including Citigroup Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co.,… – Continue reading
Investments Derived From Structural Reforms The approved structural Reforms are an unprecedented opportunity for a transformational economic growth in Mexico, being the most relevant from an investment point of view the reforms related to Energy, Telecommunications and Antitrust, which have put Mexico in the radar of Multinational companies seeking to… – Continue reading
The FINANCIAL — Tax transparency is becoming the new norm as the OECD, European Commission and national governments demand more data from businesses. However, many companies do not have systems or resources in place to meet new requirements, according to EY’s report, A new mountain to climb: tax reputation risk,… – Continue reading
Switzerland and the European Union have signed an agreement providing for the automatic exchange of banking information, effective 2018. On Wednesday, Swiss State Secretary for International Financial Matters Jacques de Watteville signed the accord in Brussels along with EU Tax Commissioner Pierre Moscovici and Latvian Finance Minister Janis Reirs. Before… – Continue reading
Former Prime Minister Tigran Sargsyan, who is currently Armenia’s ambassador to the United States, has filed a lawsuit against former businessman Paylak Hayrapetyan with a demand that he refute the “libelous information” spread about him and pay 1 million AMD (about $2,100) in compensation for moral damages. Sargsyan demands Hayrapetyan,… – Continue reading
MANY businesses lack the systems or resources to meet new global tax disclosure and transparency requirements, according to an EY report. The report, which surveyed 962 tax and finance executives in 27 jurisdictions, found more than two thirds of respondents said they would need additional resources in order to gather… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: An investment exhibition, inviting the crème de la crème of society to put their money in real estate opportunities in the Middle East, does not sound like the kind of place the government may want to raid. But the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) – which has been worried… – Continue reading
Research shows corporation tax receipts from banks are lower than before crisis despite global tax payments staying constant Britain’s banks are paying far less in corporation tax to the Exchequer than before the crisis, despite their profits improving and global tax payments staying constant. Research from Cambridge Judge Business School… – Continue reading
The countries of the Central American region have incorporated and reformed their legislations to the international regulations of Transfer prices and practically all the applicable legal provisions to related parties have already been expanded in the region, which implies, that the companies with regional presence must visualize, review and engage… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: On a day when Prime Minister Narendra Modi hit out, albeit indirectly, at the Congress for looting the country for 60 years, Swiss authorities named five Indians among several foreign nationals with Swiss bank accounts. Their names have been made public by Switzerland in its federal gazette. The… – Continue reading
A state-run United Arab Emirates (UAE) company and its Dutch subsidiary filed a request for arbitration Thursday, seeking compensation from the Korean government over taxation worth US$170 million five years ago, a civic group said Friday, reports the Korea Times. The Lawyers for a Democratic Society said the Abu Dhabi-based… – Continue reading
The first fiscal amendment of the Juan Carlos Varela government was passed earlier this month on May 4, by Law 27 of 2015. Here are two important pointers of the fiscal reform: 1. TAXABLE INCOME PRODUCED IN PANAMA Article 694 of the CF originally included as taxable income the income… – Continue reading
Non-Resident Indians (NRI) constitutes a significant portion of buyer percentage when it comes to real estate transactions in India. Irrespective of constituting a considerable portion, they still face a lot of hassles in the process of taxation when buying or selling properties. Rajan Pillay representing his client who is an… – Continue reading
The objectives of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Finance and Investment include enhancing the productive capacity of the economies in the region and thereby increasing trade opportunities to eventually alleviate poverty. To achieve the objectives, various strategies can be employed, including, among others, improving the investment regime,… – Continue reading
The medium-term uncertainty of the UK’s continued membership of the EU remains a cloud on Gibraltar’s financial horizon, for the Rock’s membership of the 27-nation body – and thus her role as a stepping-stone into Europe’s vast financial market – is under Britain’s umbrella. And it is partly in response… – Continue reading
Many states in our nation suffer the effects of over-taxation. Whether it’s high state income taxes pushing families to seek brighter economic climates or high corporate taxes compelling businesses to relocate their headquarters, taxes play a huge role in how state economies function. One of the most contentious and potentially… – Continue reading
France and Germany want to see common basic corporation tax rates across the EU, according to reports France and Germany are pushing plans to introduce a minimum corporation tax rate across the continent, it was reported today, in a move that could result in higher taxes on British companies. European… – Continue reading
As wealthy foreigners rush to get citizenship in Malta under a new programme, the residency requirement is taking many forms. Russians rent high-end villas, then stay in five-star hotels when they visit. An American financier plans to live in Switzerland but occasionally vacation in Malta. One Vietnamese businessman, eager to… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD / KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday threw out a protective bail plea filed by Axact Chairman and CEO Shoaib Ahmed Shaikh in view of the ongoing investigation into the software company’s fake degrees mill. Arguing before a divisional bench of the SHC – headed by Justice… – Continue reading
