Hong Kong’s Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, K C Chan confirmed that the Government and regulators remain fully committed to combating money laundering and tax evasion, following the latest reports of foreign banks being used to open offshore accounts. In response to a question in the Legislative Council,… – Continue reading
The European Union (EU) needs an “ambitious blueprint for taxation,” Tax Commissioner Pierre Moscovici has said. Speaking at a recent conference, Moscovici said: “The European Union needs an ambitious roadmap to put an end to the distortionary nature of its tax policy and regulatory framework. In my view, the way… – Continue reading
The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed Conrad Black’s bid to have his multi-million-dollar battle with the Canada Revenue Agency over back taxes heard by the country’s highest court. The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed Conrad Black’s bid to have his multi-million-dollar battle with the Canada Revenue Agency over… – Continue reading
Big hue and cry from the rich and the powerful against modification of tax return forms has again pushed the govt on back foot John Maynard Keynes famously said the avoidance of tax is the only intellectual pursuit that carries a reward. Historically, tax ‘avoidance’ is understood as an intellectual… – Continue reading
COMPANIES that engaged in tax avoidance practices such as the abuse of transfer pricing should be expropriated without compensation, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Floyd Shivambu proposed in Parliament on Wednesday. This was one of a raft of “aggressive” measures that he believed the government should adopt to deal with… – Continue reading
As discussed in our previous briefing, Labour calls time on the remittance basis, Ed Miliband has announced a policy of abolishing what he called the “non-dom tax regime”, to be implemented in the event of a Labour victory in the coming election. Many individuals who are UK resident but non-UK… – Continue reading
The Tax Office is cracking down on what it’s described as “contrived arrangements” that allow hundreds of wealthy individuals with self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) to pay no tax on income from shares. Cases are still being reviewed and it’s unclear how much tax revenue may be at stake. But the… – Continue reading
Autumn Statement 2014, Budget 2015 and Finance Act 2015 The UK Chancellor delivered his Autumn Statement on 3 December 2014 and his Budget speech on 18 March 2015. For an overview of some of the key announcements, please see our Autumn Statement 2014 briefing and Budget 2015 briefing. The UK’s… – Continue reading
ZURICH: Switzerland’s money laundering office received a record number of suspicious activity reports last year, in part due to increased vigilance from Swiss banks. The Alpine nation has faced intense international pressure over bank secrecy, tax evasion and money laundering, most recently highlighted by allegations that the Swiss arm of… – Continue reading
TEHRAN, Apr. 29 (MNA) – Leading a high-ranking delegation of officials, Iran Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance departed for Prague this morning. Ali Tayyeb Nia is scheduled to hold meetings with his Czech counterpart and Czech vice-president of the Republic Parliament. Discussing development of ties and singing the MoU… – Continue reading
Most people have heard of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and are probably aware it wants to make the world a “better” place. Its work is probably of little interest to most companies based in the UK. But this would change if constitutional arrangements between Scotland and… – Continue reading
There has been a lot of uncertainty with regard to withholding taxes imposed by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) on cross-border payments made by South Africans to offshore recipients, and the ambiguous administrative and compliance procedures relating thereto. Based on the information available directly from SARS, any amounts received… – Continue reading
There is a great need to protect traditional knowledge in order to curb the exploitation of holders of indigenous knowledge, particularly the elderly. It has been observed that the elderly have indigenous knowledge but their wisdom is being stolen from them and used for commercial purposes while they languish in… – Continue reading
Hong Kong (HKSAR) – Following is a question by the Hon Frederick Fung and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor K C Chan, in the Legislative Council today (April 29): Question: It has been reported that an investigation conducted jointly by an international… – Continue reading
Bern, 29.04.2015 – At its meeting today, the Federal Council decided to put into effect in two stages the Federal Law of 12 December 2014 on the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force recommendations, revised in 2012. On 12 December 2014 the Federal Assembly approved the Federal Law on… – Continue reading
The Companies (Amendment) Act 2014 (the “Amendment Act”) which will introduce wide-ranging changes to the Companies Act, will be implemented in two phases. Two-phase implementation: 1 July 2015 and Q1 2016 About 40% of the changes in the Amendment Act will take place in the first phase on 1 July… – Continue reading
If Illinois small business owners were to collectively offset state and federal revenues lost annually due to corporations using offshore tax havens, they would each have to pay $4,570 in additional taxes a year. That what-if scenario is laid out in a recent report from the Illinois Public Interest Research… – Continue reading
Athens: Greek authorities arrested one of the most important businessmen in the country, Leonidas Bobolas on Wednesday, for tax evasion. He was released later after paying €1.8 million in back taxes. This is just one of the Greek government’s attempts to collect money from tax evaders. In Greece, income tax… – Continue reading
The new omnibus bill presented by the Greek ministry of finance will be tabled in parliament on Thursday in order to expedite negotiations with creditors and reach an intermediate deal. The new bill includes several measures and reforms such as methods of tackling tax evasion, revenue increase from value added… – Continue reading
The Italian Minister of the Economy and Finance, Pier Carlo Padoan, has confirmed that he expects additional tax revenue from Italian citizens with undeclared investments in San Marino from the Italian voluntary disclosure program. In a television interview in San Marino, he noted that Italy had definitively removed San Marino… – Continue reading
State Representative Natalie Manley (D-Joliet) is sponsoring legislation that would prohibit Illinois from double taxing income that is earned in another state when the taxpayer’s home office is based in Illinois. “Right now Illinois residents are taxed on most income received in other states, rather than just income earned in… – Continue reading
Starting with 1 June 2015, non-resident taxpayers earning interest income from Romania are allowed to apply the same tax treatment as resident taxpayers. The change in the law results from a European Commission infringement procedure against Romania regarding the discriminatory treatment applied to non-resident legal entities compared to resident taxpayers…. – Continue reading
The regulations require reporting FIs to notify TIA if they have reporting obligations under US FATCA and/or UK CDOT. With respect to US FATCA, Reporting FIs have until tomorrow (April 30th) to file their notification with an initial reporting deadline May 31st. With respect to UK CDOT, Reporting FIs have… – Continue reading
As compared to past federal Budgets, Budget 2015 contained fewer (and arguably less controversial) international tax measures. Nevertheless, Budget 2015 did announce the Government’s intention to address taxpayer concerns relating to (i) the withholding obligations borne by non-resident employers that have non-resident employees that work in Canada, and (ii) the… – Continue reading
THE global economic recovery, which has been assessed as uneven with manifest divergences across countries and regions, has however, been supported by Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDCs) as the major drivers of global growth, although it is currently moderating in some countries. But the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on… – Continue reading
Mitsubishi UFJ Fund Services warn managers are up against a time crunch ahead of the April 30 registration deadline The upcoming April 30 deadline for registration on the Cayman Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca) portal marks another milestone but could prove a significant test for the industry, according to… – Continue reading
The convention for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of tax evasion with respect to taxes on income was signed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal yesterday between the Government of Oman and the Government of Portugal, reports the Oman Observer. The convention was signed on… – Continue reading
The British Virgin Islands Government has received a report that it commissioned on finding a new direction for the financial services industry, the recommendations from which will now be implemented, reports Tax News. The BVI engaged consulting firm McKinsey and Company to develop a pragmatic new strategy and implementation plan… – Continue reading
The Income Tax department has directed its officers that cases of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) seeking tax exmption under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) with other countries must be decided within a month of claim filing, reports the New Kerala. “It has been decided that in all cases of… – Continue reading
“Why are we doing this to folks? Why are we tormenting them in this way?” IRS Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson asked in an address to Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association FATCA Policy Symposium in Washington last year. These “folks” are Americans living abroad: NGO workers, English teachers, physicians, taxi… – Continue reading
Although you may be working in China, does the ATO still consider you an Australian resident? It’s just one of the things you need to get absolutely right. The tax requirements for Aussies working overseas vary from region to region. Aussies working in Hong Kong will find last month’s tax… – Continue reading
India’s rupee rose for a second day as the dollar weakened and global funds resumed purchases of local bonds after the government sought to clear uncertainties over a retrospective tax on capital gains. Overseas funds bought a net $130 million of local-currency notes on April 24, the latest figures show,… – Continue reading
Turkey is to host a G20 international tax symposium next month to discuss developments to address Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) and the exchange of information between tax administrations The event, organised by Turkish Ministry of Finance, also aims to ensure that developing and low-income countries benefit from the… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan informed the National Assembly on Monday of what he called major steps taken by the government to facilitate the oft-troubled Afghan transit trade, which he said he had also conveyed to Kabul during a visit there earlier this month. The move, he said in… – Continue reading
According to the most recent estimates, the quantity of goods carried by containers has risen from around 100 million metric tons in 1980 to about 1.5 billion metric tons in 2012. Out of these numbers, one container in every 11 that is engaged in global trade is either bound for… – Continue reading
The April 21, 2015 Federal budget released by the Conservative Government includes updates on Canada’s involvement in the BEPS project and how Canada intends to fulfill its obligations to implement an automatic exchange of tax information with the G-20. Notably (with the exception of the common reporting standard discussed below),… – Continue reading
The Shareholders Association is making “strenuous representations” to the Inland Revenue Department over what it says is an unfair tax facing possibly thousands of New Zealand investors as a result of a proposed demerger of Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton. In an effort to simplify its business, Melbourne-based BHP is… – Continue reading
Asks Jaitley why the govt not keen to avail of German offer to share info on offshore accounts Former Union Law minister and senior lawyer Ram Jethmalani on Tuesday put the Union finance minister Arun Jaitley on the witness box and slapped him with a dozen questions on the Narendra… – Continue reading
They are even engaging in strong-arm tactics with US account holders Swiss banks, for decades the bastions of secrecy, are preaching the virtue of transparency to their US clients as they try to head off billions of dollars in potential fines for helping Americans evade taxes. Faced with the threat… – Continue reading
Premier Michael Dunkley spoke at a recent Transcontinental Trusts Conference forum here on the island, the first time that the conference’s flagship event has been held outside of Europe in 30 years. In his remarks, Premier Dunkley said, “As this is the leading trust event for private client professionals, our… – Continue reading
The Greek government will table a new draft bill to Parliament that will allow Greek citizens to voluntarily reveal deposits held in Switzerland in exchange for a smaller tax payment, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Swiss State Secretary for International Financial… – Continue reading
A 15-strong delegation of Bermuda industry, government and regulator representatives will take part in a Canada roadshow next week, targeting top-level executives and touting the corporate benefits of setting up a captive insurance company in Bermuda, reports the Bermuda Business Development Agency. Led by Bermuda’s Economic Development Minister Dr. Grant… – Continue reading
The former head of parliament’s public accounts committee – and a fierce critic of tax avoidance and “secretive” offshore funds – has received more than £1.5m in shares from the tax haven of Liechtenstein, according to a report. The money came through a controversial scheme that lets wealthy Britons move… – Continue reading
A bill that could allow the state to collect taxes on corporate profits in offshore tax havens to fund Colorado schools survived a narrow party-lane vote in the state House of Representatives on Tuesday. The Democrats’ bill, which passed the House 33-31, faces a tough road as it moves from… – Continue reading
LONDON (Reuters) – HSBC shares have rallied after the bank said it was reviewing whether to move its headquarters out of Britain and potentially back to its former home in Hong Kong. The following are some of the regulatory issues raised if Europe’s biggest bank were to relocate to Hong… – Continue reading
In brief: At the recent G20 meeting in Washington, Treasurer Joe Hockey announced the establishment of a working group between Australia and the UK to develop initiatives to address so-called diverted profits involving multinational enterprises. What are the implications for multinationals doing business in Australia? Partner Martin Fry (view CV)… – Continue reading
Ireland found itself surrounded by supporters, for the first time, on the issue of corporate tax rates, during an informal meeting of EU finance ministers, reports the Irish Examiner. Finance Minister Michael Noonan was not present, as he returned to Dublin early, but the head of the Central Bank, Patrick… – Continue reading
One million American citizens in Canada face double tax troubles. Max Reed explores these challenges in a spring series. The United States has two tools with which to collect information on accounts held by its citizens, FATCA and FBAR. Lots of attention has been paid to FATCA, less so to… – Continue reading
Hong Kong’s Government has launched a consultation on proposals to apply, with certain adaptations, new international standards on the automatic exchange of account information (AEOI) in tax matters. The Government’s AEOI proposals would alter the definition of financial institutions (FIs), the information FIs would be required to secure from account… – Continue reading
Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced a corporate tax bill earlier this month. Unsurprisingly, it cuts in a different direction than most tax proposals floating around Washington these days. The bill (S.922) is titled the Corporate Tax Dodging Prevention Act of 2015. A companion bill was introduced in the House by… – Continue reading
