Two heirs to Italian luxury jeweller Bulgari denied wrongdoing on Tuesday after an Italian court ordered them to stand trial along with 11 others on suspicion of tax evasion. Brothers Nicola and Paolo Bulgari will be called to respond to allegations the jeweller evaded taxes between 2006 and 2010, before… – Continue reading
Athens is in talks with Swiss authorities on plan to voluntarily declare deposits abroad Greece may impose a small levy on bank ATM withdrawals to encourage use of credit cards, as part of a package of measures aimed at fighting tax evasion, the finance minister said on Tuesday. “There may… – Continue reading
The news that Royal Bank of Canada plans to sell its wealth management services in Barbados no doubt caused some people to question the island’s future as a major centre for this type of business. After all, if the biggest player is leaving the field, what might this say to… – Continue reading
Caribbean IFCs continue to face the growing challenges as global standards struggle to manage certain risks across borders. Some of these challenges (such as cross border tax information sharing) have maintained their original format but intensified and we have seen several new initiatives (for example a push for beneficial ownership… – Continue reading
The long term weather forecast for the international finance centre of the Isle of Man is looking bright at the end of a year of legislative and regulatory change designed to ensure that the Island remains commercially friendly with a governmental and business infrastructure geared up to allow new and… – Continue reading
There is an existing global instrument to help prevent the £2tn annually lost to governments. The UN should focus on making it work Tax evasion is a major cause of underdevelopment. Against the backdrop of Greece struggling to plug budgetary holes, aggravated by rampant tax evasion, the upcoming UN financing… – Continue reading
E-commerce giant Amazon has begun booking revenue in individual European companies, a move that tax expert Heather Self of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, said is probably influenced by upcoming regulatory changes.26 May 2015 “As of 1 May, Amazon EU Sarl is recording retail sales made to customers… – Continue reading
As another season of summer travel starts, Canadian residents with US ties should make sure they are thinking carefully about their tax obligations. Tax compliance may not be first in the minds of most people planning trips to the US, but Congress and the Obama administration certainly are thinking about… – Continue reading
The company decided to declare its revenues since European regulators started to investigate its accounting practices. Internet retailer Amazon paid about US$16 million to Germany in 2014, while the giant multinational recorded a total earning of US$16 billion in that country, according to the country’s regulators. In the past, the… – Continue reading
Six of the biggest names in global finance shelled out billions of dollars Wednesday to settle charges of rigging currency markets, but liberal lawmakers complain the government is just doling out slaps on the wrist. On Wednesday, the Justice Department announced a settlement that also saw five banks plead guilty… – Continue reading
A delegation from the European Parliament’s Special Tax Rulings Committee visited Switzerland on May 22. The delegation was received by Switzerland’s State Secretary for International Financial Matters, Jacques de Watteville. According to the Swiss Federal Council, talks focused on international corporate tax reform efforts and Switzerland’s work in this area…. – Continue reading
Reporting Australian Financial Institutions must report to the Australian Taxation Office by 31 July 2015 on their U.S. accounts or recalcitrant accounts. These financial institutions must have undertaken the prescribed due diligence procedures required under the IGA. Who must report? It is critical that you determine whether you are a… – Continue reading
On May 20, 2015, the US Department of the Treasury released for public comment draft updates to the US Model Income Tax Convention, including provisions to deny treaty benefits to companies that change their tax residence via inversion transactions. The Treasury said other changes are intended to ensure that the… – Continue reading
Switzerland has begun online publication of names of foreigners and foreign firms wanted in tax probes by their countries of origin, including Germany. American citizens are identified only by their initials. The Swiss Sunday newspaper “Sonntagszeitung” said the alpine nation was flooded with formal tracing requests from foreign tax authorities…. – Continue reading
New Delhi: Government on Monday asked income tax department to take steps to unearth domestic black money while keeping a close watch on ponzi schemes, bogus IPOs and other such illegal means of raising money. The government is determined to fight menace of black money both abroad and inside the… – Continue reading
In a bold attempt to reduce frivolous tax demands, the income tax department has decided to overhaul the annual performance appraisal system for tax officials, relying on the quality and effectiveness of their work and not plainly on the quantum of tax demands raised. Sources said that error-free and well-reasoned… – Continue reading
May 25 (Reuters) – Romania’s government will send a draft law on royalty taxes for the oil and gas sector to parliament in September, Deputy Finance Minister Dan Manolescu told an energy seminar on Monday. The new tax system will likely include differentiated royalties for onshore and offshore extraction and… – Continue reading
Businesses that operate globally continue to face complex tax issues, and transfer pricing – the practice of establishing arm’s-length prices for related-party cross-border transactions – has become more important than ever. When it comes to transfer pricing, I consider the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Guidelines for Multinational… – Continue reading
Jakarta. The government is studying whether to reduce next year the corporate income tax to as low as 17.5 percent from 25 percent now, the president’s chief of staff said on Monday, in a move that would push companies to comply with tax payments. “[Regarding the corporate income tax], it… – Continue reading
Santiago de Chile, May 25 (Prensa Latina) Chile and China will sign several cooperation and trade agreements today in a ceremony at La Moneda Palace, in the presence of Chilean President Michelle Bachelet and Chinese Prime Minister Li Keqian. Li, who arrived in this capital yesterday afternoon, held a meeting… – Continue reading
Uzbekistan has developed a draft law on amendments and additions to the Tax Code regarding the companies established by the country’s residents in offshore zones. This remark was made by Uzbekistan’s Prosecutor-General Ikhtiyor Abdullayev, who was addressing the plenary session of the Eurasian Group on combating Money laundering and financing… – Continue reading
On 22 May 2015, Switzerland and Oman signed an Income Tax Treaty. The treaty will come into force after the two countries exchange ratification instruments. The provisions of the treaty will have effect from 1 January of the calendar year next following that in which the agreement enters into force…. – Continue reading
Switzerland has begun revealing alleged foreign tax dodgers that are wanted by tax authorities in their native countries, Swiss newspaper Sonntagszeitung reported. MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Names, birth dates and nationalities of people suspected by their countries of origin to have stashed money in the alpine tax haven are being published… – Continue reading
In November 2013 the governments of the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) entered into intergovernmental agreements with the United Kingdom (“UK IGAs”) which contained provisions for the establishment of a framework for the reporting of financial account information. That framework is similar in scope to the framework… – Continue reading
Exposure draft legislation to extend the application of the GST to supplies of intangible products by foreign suppliers to Australian consumers has been released for consultation. While there has been considerable focus on the proposed expansion of the GST regime to cover supplies of “digital products”, the changes will also… – Continue reading
Litigation on transfer pricing issues has reached humongous proportion in India. The existing law of the use of arithmetic mean for determination of arm’s length price can be credited as a major igniter of such litigations as arithmetic mean had a tendency to be skewed by outlier comparables. Considering this… – Continue reading
PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia and Slovak today signed a protocol agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income, here. The agreement was signed by Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and Slovak Republic’s Deputy Prime Minister Miroslav Lajčák in conjuction with… – Continue reading
Thailand’s capacity for tracking how multinational companies shift income across borders within the same group to understate tax payments will increase after a transfer pricing law comes into force. The transfer pricing law, which is being deliberated by the Council of State, will authorise Revenue Department officials to ask parent… – Continue reading
Argentine political analysis is increasingly introspective but sometimes it is worth looking at developments in the wider world in order to place things in perspective. The substantial rise in the tax burden over the past decade has led to plenty of local moaning and groaning at both national and provincial… – Continue reading
The Serenissima : Foreign Secretary replied to the interpellation submitted by Lazzari and Pedini Amati / FATCA, Valentini: “It is not to be considered as a tax shelter” / Agreement “virtually in place since July 2014”, the signature will come after the ok from Use “FATCA is not an instrument… – Continue reading
Malta’s credibility as a financial centre has taken another hit as news broke this week about a legal battle for the millions of euros accumulated by Mutassim Gaddafi – son of Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi – currently frozen in a Bank of Valletta account. Malta’s role in all this came… – Continue reading
While marketplace competition is desirable, competition among governments is not always desirable Is more competition always better? Most conventional economists would say yes. And, in the marketplace, that nugget of economists’ wisdom usually holds true. Every student of first-year economics is taught that competition is good for consumers, as it… – Continue reading
A bill offering legal amnesty to Russians who willingly declare their foreign assets sailed through Russia’s lower house of parliament on Friday, forcing companies and individuals to face a crucial question: to declare or not to declare? Under the legislation, known as the “capital amnesty bill,” businesses and citizens who… – Continue reading
America the not so brave CRACKING down on tax evasion “has been a core piece of President Obama’s agenda” since before he took office, according to a spokesman. His administration’s campaign to that end has been a “groundbreaking” success, according to the Department of Justice, the agency that has led… – Continue reading
On May 18, the Supreme Court decided a Maryland case involving double taxation. Maryland’s tax code does not give full credit to residents who also pay taxes in states where they work. The Court sided with the taxpayers, and the decision may cost some states and cities millions of dollars…. – Continue reading
The government is crafting legislation to compel mining firms to release production data to the fiscus to help curb illicit financial flows (IFFs) and transfer pricing which is costing African countries at least $50 billion annually, finance minister Patrick Chinamasa said on Friday. IFFs have become a highly emotive issue… – Continue reading
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) – a law passed in 2010 to tackle the abuse of using offshore financial accounts for the purpose of evading US taxes – is now in effect after a two-year delay. As it requires foreign financial institutions worldwide to identify and report to… – Continue reading
The head of a US technology firm that yesterday announced 100 new jobs in the Republic has rejected the “misperception” that Ireland is deemed a tax haven in the US. Qualtrics chief executive Ryan Smith said his firm’s decision to expand its Dublin headquarters was not influenced by the Irish… – Continue reading
LONDON, May 22 (Reuters) – One hallowed feature of Britain’s finances is a tax break for individuals called “non-domiciled status.” The break, which is more than 200 years old, is designed to attract foreign investors by allowing them to keep wealth they make abroad out of the reach of the… – Continue reading
A special European Parliament committee meant to examine tax breaks for multinationals is being stonewalled at every turn, prompting some MEPs to consider taking the legal route to get real powers, reports the EU Observer. Parliament president Martin Schulz is being blamed for the committee’s weak mandate. Fabio de Masi,… – Continue reading
Change to the Procedural Requirements at the Bank of Israel The Bank of Israel has recently implemented measures that are designed to minimize legal and reputational risks for Israeli banks. The Bank of Israel circulated a draft directive for all Israeli banks by virtue of which all foreign (non-Israeli resident)… – Continue reading
Hanocal Holdings, a Dutch subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi-based International Petroleum Investment Company, has filed a lawsuit against the South Korean government through the World Bank’s International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes. This is the second time that Korea is facing international arbitration under the “investor-state dispute settlement” process…. – Continue reading
The owner of the horse vying to become the first Triple Crown winner since 1978 asks that a federal judge dismiss a lawsuit that claims he owes $1.65 million in gambling debts. Ahmed Zayat’s horse, American Pharoah has already won the first two legs of the Triple Crown—the Kentucky Derby… – Continue reading
The Armenian National Committee of America has welcomed the signing of the US-Armenia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) but has said that a renegotiated double tax agreement is a priority in order to fully realize the two nations’ bilateral trade and investment potential, reports Tax News. The TIFA was… – Continue reading
Belgium and the Russian Federation announced in March 2007 that they would negotiate a new double tax treaty (the “Treaty”). Nearly seven years after discussions began on 20 November 2008, the Treaty was finally signed on 19 May 2015 in Brussels. This newsflash is based on an unofficial version of… – Continue reading
The Ukrainian legislation for transfer pricing came into force in 2013, with implementation of respective amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine (“CCU”). However, at present the transfer pricing rules (provided for the CCU) are not applied accurately. In light of the above, in order to clarify the transfer pricing… – Continue reading
The Ukrainian legislation for transfer pricing came into force in 2013, with implementation of respective amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine (“CCU”). However, at present the transfer pricing rules (provided for the CCU) are not applied accurately. In light of the above, in order to clarify the transfer pricing… – Continue reading
Located along the Northeast corridor of the United States, Rhode Island is a mere 180 miles from New York City. The small coastal state is known for its knowledge economy based on its elite universities and hospitals. In 2013, Rhode Island’s GDP was US$53.2 billion. The largest contributor to the… – Continue reading
The UK’s introduction of the diverted profits tax (DPT) has dismayed tax practitioners and their multinational clients. Rushed through parliament (ahead of its dissolution before the general election) and in effect as of April 1, the DPT seemed intended to appease public anger at multinationals failing to pay their ”fair… – Continue reading
To staff their board of directors with the best and most diverse talent, multinational companies commonly elect boards with international representation. It is also common for companies to convene periodic board meetings outside the United States. This may be done, for example, to provide board members with an opportunity to… – Continue reading
