(Special) — The recent slump in oil prices is causing many Canadian investors to move their money from energy-weighted markets at home to foreign markets for better yields. While this may be a profitable investment strategy, it also can create its own set of problems because many investors may not… – Continue reading
* Assets under management down 1 pct to 289 bln Sfr at end-April * Net new money growth at the low end of target range * Shares up 9.2 pct year to date (Adds detail, shares) ZURICH, May 19 (Reuters) – Swiss private bank Julius Baer said its assets under… – Continue reading
Ahead of their joint event on Deoffshorisation Compliance on 21 May, TMF Group’s Sub Regional Director for CIS and the Nordics Alex Medlock and Artem Toropov, Senior International Tax Associate at law firm Goltsblat BLP LLP (the Russian practice of Berwin Leighton Paisner), outline the key deoffshorisation/CFC compliance requirements and… – Continue reading
MEPs looking into state sanctioned corporate tax avoidance praised Luxembourg’s finance minister on Monday, despite his refusal to say how many tax rulings the Grand Duchy has issued, reports the EU Observer. The micro-state gained notoriety last year following media disclosure of some 500 government-backed rulings, also known as comfort… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI, MAY 19: In its ongoing quest to draw information on illegal incomes stashed abroad, the Indian revenue authorities are in negotiations with as many as 28 different countries/jurisdictions for tax information exchange agreement (TIEA). This agreement will enable Indian tax authorities to receive banking related information even from… – Continue reading
Maryland’s taxation policy violated the U.S. Constitution by taxing income that state residents earned in other states, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday. The nation’s apex said the state’s controversial policy imposed form of double taxation on residents. The court in its ruling said Maryland cannot impose form of… – Continue reading
The Lower House and Senate Committee investigating the existence of secret HSBC bank accounts in Switzerland met today with the presence of the bank’s internal auditor Diego Esquenazi, and external auditor Mabel Casillas. During his presentation, Esquenazi asserted that “As chief of the bank’s internal auditing, I deny all the… – Continue reading
As money laundering is estimated to cost over €1 trillion a year, MEPs are set to vote on measures to set up an EU register of beneficial company owners. One of the hot topics at this week’s plenary session is parliament’s proposed measures against money laundering and terrorist financing, which… – Continue reading
Ruling opens door for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to recoup losses from other firms which used rate-booster schemes High street retailer Next has been hit with a £22.4m tax bill after a court found that it diverted profits made in the UK to offshore havens to avoid paying tax…. – Continue reading
Chennai: Tamil Nadu’s commercial tax department is investigating into tax suppression and evasion to the tune of Rs.1,522 crore, an official statement said on Monday. The government is also taking action based on the result of audit and inspection with a total revenue effect of Rs.5,178 crore. In a statement… – Continue reading
The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) and the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Registrar of Companies (RoC), jointly hosted an outreach workshop last week regarding the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA is extra-territorial US legislation that affects Financial Institutions (FIs), particularly those which have accountholders who are US… – Continue reading
Kuwait working to ban remittances to 12 countries, including Arab states, claiming the locations are being used to funnel funds to terrorists, Arabic daily Al Anbaa has reported, citing a ministerial source. The blacklisted countries include islands known to host offshore accounts of companies that run illegal money laundering businesses,… – Continue reading
Authorities worldwide have increased scrutiny of tax-avoidance strategies in the past year, CFOs and finance directors of multinational clients told global tax consulting firm network Taxand. Sixty per cent of multinationals reported an increase in audits by tax authorities in the past year, and 70% said authorities had increased their… – Continue reading
In 1934, a distinguished American jurist, Judge Learned Hand, famously opined that “one may so arrange his affairs so that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to… – Continue reading
Compliance costs for banks in the Middle East are soaring, as a global crackdown on money laundering and higher international capital requirements squeezes their resources, a new report from Thomson Reuters said, reports Gulf News. Four out of five financial services companies in the Middle East polled by Reuters said… – Continue reading
As part of a push to control money laundering in the global banking system, the HKMA has called on lenders to peek into customers’ filings, reports the South China Morning Post. Banks in Hong Kong are calculating just how much tax expertise they will need to add over the coming… – Continue reading
In July 1997, Tyco International (with then Wall St darling Dennis Kozlowski at the helm) was “acquired” by a relatively small provider of home security services, known as ADT Inc. The deal arguably exploited some strategic synergies between the two companies, but far and away the biggest benefit to Tyco… – Continue reading
The advantages of off-shore investments Two of the top reasons that South African investors are given to encourage offshore investments are that going offshore diversifies your portfolio and that it gives you access to sectors you could never find on the resource-heavy JSE. “While those are not reasons to be… – Continue reading
“Location, location, location” the well-known real estate mantra, is a notion that advisors of high- and ultrahigh-net-worth clients might also want take to heart. “Residency drives how much sophisticated wealth structuring and asset protection you can do,” says Merrill Lynch advisor Adam Katz. While the concept that it’s better to… – Continue reading
Georgia’s freshman Senator David Perdue is a big advocate of the Fair Tax – a proposal long linked to the Peach State that calls for replacing federal income taxes with a national sales tax on all goods and services. Perdue talked up the plan in the GOP primary and general… – Continue reading
SEOUL – Tax authorities in Korea are aiming to stamp out tax evasion by requiring taxpayers to declare all of their overseas investments. On May 18th the National Tax Service of Korea issued a statement announcing that taxpayers will now be required to submit detailed information about investments or properties… – Continue reading
The bipartisan Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act, which which would simplify tax reporting requirements for those workers employed in multiple state US jurisdictions, has been introduced into the House of Representatives by Hank Johnson (D – Georgia) and Mike Bishop (R – Michigan). States currently have widely varying… – Continue reading
Marcelo Vicentini of Standard Chartered in Brazil discusses the differences between OECD member countries and non-members when it comes to asset management transfer pricing. Brazil’s diversion from the OECD is well-documented and can make life difficult for transfer pricing managers when they are trying to apply a consistent policy across… – Continue reading
THE BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government, which had made a lot of noise about black money and the illegal stashing of funds abroad in the run-up to general elections last year, finally got down to some serious work to tax ill-gotten wealth and curb its growth. Last week, the government… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The Justice Shah Committee, constituted to go into levy of MAT on FIIs, will look into all important “legacy” cases, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said blaming conflicting judicial rulings for the controversy on the issue that has riled foreign investors. He also said that foreign investors had invited… – Continue reading
Tuesday, June 30th is the filing due date for the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, known as the “FBAR.” A “U.S. person” is required to file an FBAR if: (1) the U.S. person has a financial interest in, or signature authority over, at least one financial account located… – Continue reading
Short cuts, loopholes and other forms of skulduggery will not be tolerated when the automatic exchange of tax information comes into force, a top official from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has promised Swiss bankers, reports FinFacts. Grace Perez-Navarro, second in command at the OECD’s tax policy… – Continue reading
Governments and tax partners need to work to ensure confidentiality is protected when new international tax transparency rules come into force in 2017, according to OECD director, Pascal Saint-Amans. “There is a fundamental difference between the automatic exchange of information and the existing system of exchange upon request, particularly because… – Continue reading
This note is intended as an introduction to inheritance tax (IHT) issues that need to be covered where a “non-dom” (an individual domiciled outside the UK) is planning on becoming resident in, or is already resident in, the UK. It should be emphasised that this is a complex subject, and… – Continue reading
If you are hiding income from the taxman, consider how long you are at risk. Three years, six, more? Even if you did your best with your taxes, you might be worried as taxes are horribly complex. The line between aggressive tax planning and tax evasion is sometimes less clear… – Continue reading
TS IS NO STRANGER to hyperbole and overkill, but news of a small group of church bell ringers in Kent becoming encumbered with the intricacies of the US’s FATCA deal with the UK very much takes the biscuit. In an event that can only be described as ‘disproportionate’, Neil Campbell… – Continue reading
Executive Summary: The Panamanian government has engaged in an extensive period of consultations with local and foreign experts, practitioners, professionals and regulators, in a concerted effort to ensure that the jurisdiction continues to embody the highest international standards in terms of functionality and transparency (while preserving confidentiality). To that effect,… – Continue reading
The I-T dept has received over 500 applications from MNCs for signing APAs. Income-tax department has set a target of 50 advance pricing agreements (APAs) to be sealed with multinational companies in the current fiscal that will exempt cross-border transactions by these firms from rigorous auditing to check income suppression…. – Continue reading
“We will have a black money discussion (with finance minister Arun Jaitley) to solve and clarify (the issue),” said Swiss economic affairs minister. Amid India enacting a law to deal with the menace of black money stashed abroad, Switzerland on Friday said that it is considering amendments in its domestic… – Continue reading
Smartly setting up trusts requires knowledge of state tax laws, not just federal rules. Consider Robert L. McNeil, a chemist and onetime Pennsylvania resident who amassed a fortune as the business brain behind Tylenol. McNeil established trusts for his family but chose to locate them in Delaware, for tax purposes…. – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: As corridors of power struggles to enhance tax collection, the state is taking a proposal that could see levy of 10% tax on profit made on foreign remittances put in savings accounts. The offer appears as the government doubts that the amount sent through remittances could be black money… – Continue reading
The Bank of Russia has just published a draft normative act that details the requirements for foreign Forex companies willing to set up representative offices and market their services in Russia. Several months have passed since Russia’s president Vladimir Putin signed the Forex law – since then the work on… – Continue reading
KUALA LUMPUR, May 15 ― The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) today froze 1,623 bank accounts of companies and individuals involving over RM560 million in the first day of its “Operasi Bersepadu” in Sabah. The commission’s investigation division chief Datuk Mohamad Jamidan Abdullah said the operations were launched to crack down… – Continue reading
Introduction to FATCA On December 16 2013 Malta and the United States entered into an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to implement rules and regulations under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA, enacted in 2010 by the United States, requires US taxpayers and financial institutions to report financial information to… – Continue reading
Following on from a press release issued by the Treasurer on May 11th, the government has released a draft bill containing a new limb to the general anti-avoidance provision, which is directed at foreign multinational groups who have global revenue exceeding $1 billion. The law will apply where: • the… – Continue reading
YEREVAN, 15 MAY, ARMENPRESS. On May 15, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Armenia Edward Nalbandyan, who is on a working visit to Bratislava, met with Deputy Prime Minister of Slovakia, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Miroslav Lajčák. As the Department of Press, Information and Public Relations… – Continue reading
Singer revealed he bases some business ventures in the Netherlands Tax rates in the European country far lower than in his native Ireland Bono said ‘smart people’ were ‘just be sensible’ about ‘the way we’re taxed’ Sunday Times Rich List ranked U2 as the country’s third richest musicians He has… – Continue reading
The minimum alternate tax row has damaged the credibility of government promises to enforce an investor-friendly tax regime and made the Indian stock market Asia’s worst performer this year New Delhi/Mumbai: Castleton Investment Ltd, a unit of GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK), in 2012 asked an arm of the Indian finance ministry… – Continue reading
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published stakeholders’ comments on its discussion draft on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) Action 11, on improving analysis of BEPS. Through Action 11, the OECD hopes to develop recommendations to better chart the scale and economic impact of BEPS issues,… – Continue reading
Senators and members of the House of Representatives under the Anti-Money Laundering and Cyber Security Coalition are expected to meet and suggest to President-elect retired General Muhammadu Buhari the establishment of special courts that will deal with cases of tax evasion and corruption offences. Chairman of the coalition, Senator Aloysius… – Continue reading
The parliament of Armenia has approved amendments to the law on income, setting a 13% tax rate for workers employed abroad. The Armenian government says they should be registered in Armenia and pay taxes in their homeland. Consequently, 65 MPs voted for the amendments, RusArmInfo reports. Armenian Deputy Minister of… – Continue reading
Last night, the Federal Treasurer, Joe Hockey MP, released the 2015-16 Federal Budget. After public self-evaluation of its last budget as over-reaching, the Government has gone back to basics whilst still focussing on repairing the budget deficit in the medium to long term. The budget deficit is projected to be… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON, May 15 (Reuters) – Finter Bank Zurich AG has agreed to pay $5.4 million in a deal with the Justice Department to resolve tax-related offenses, becoming the third Swiss private bank this year to reach a settlement to avoid U.S. prosecution over helping Americans evade taxes. Finter, a small… – Continue reading
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) were among the first Congressional leaders to welcome the May 7th signing of the U.S.-Armenia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), a longstanding policy priority for the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). Chairman… – Continue reading
I. Introduction Following the approval by Parliament of Law No.23 of 11 March 2014 (hereinafter “Delega Fiscale”[1]), the Italian Government is now taking action and adopting the Legislative Decrees necessary to enforce this innovative tax reform. In fact, on 21 April 2015 the Council of Ministers has approved the drafts… – Continue reading
