April 2: Guidance from the State Bank of Vietnam provides financial institutions and branches an automatic 90-day extension of time in which to file their FATCA reporting forms. Therefore, financial institutions have until 30 June 2015 to file their FATCA reports to the U.S. tax agency (IRS). KPMG observation Pending… – Continue reading
An agreement to lower the mainland withholding tax for aircraft and ship leasing is a crucial first step towards realising the Hong Kong government’s ambition of making the city an international centre for financing a global aviation industry that will need US$4.6 trillion worth of planes in the next two… – Continue reading
Stanford tax expert Joseph Bankman suggests that a redesign of tax forms and the online filing experience based on social psychology insights would encourage more people to file truthful returns. Revamping the language of tax forms and the online filing process to make them more direct could reduce tax evasion… – Continue reading
The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Exchange Connected is working out its kinks and investors are taking notice. Hong Kong and Beijing signed a tax treaty on Thursday that ends double taxation for equity traders, which was one of the sticking points for local brokers hoping to buy into China’s massive mainland… – Continue reading
A new circular says multinational corporations like Google and Facebook will pay taxes on online business with Israelis. Foreign Internet companies and another other foreign corporation with significant business in Israel must register with the VAT authorities as authorized dealers, and their transactions are liable to VAT. Under certain conditions,… – Continue reading
One million American citizens in Canada face double tax troubles. Max Reed explores these challenges in a spring series If you’re a U.S. citizen living in Canada, you might be frantic about the IRS tax crackdown and hefty fines if you haven’t been tax compliant. How fast can the IRS… – Continue reading
Ireland has been targeted by a new Greek law that the country’s government says is aimed at combating the nation’s widespread corporate tax avoidance, reports the Irish Independent. However, critics say a new tax regime that explicitly targets companies doing business in Ireland, Cyprus and Bulgaria undermines Europe’s common market… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — A former Swiss asset manager pleaded guilty to helping U.S. clients hide millions of dollars in offshore accounts and avoid paying federal income taxes. Peter Amrein, 53, a Swiss citizen, told U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein in Manhattan Tuesday that from 1998 to 2012 he helped Americans evade… – Continue reading
85% of the 160 compliance professionals in the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) region surveyed by Thomson Reuters in collaboration with Deloitte, said that they have been investing in technology rather than skills over the last 2 years. The survey, which examined the anti-financial crime technology used by a… – Continue reading
Puerto Rico’s governor has signed a law that requires service providers to accept at least two different types of payment in a push to crack down on tax evaders. The law applies to anyone requiring a license or legal authorization to provide services. It is common for doctors, lawyers and… – Continue reading
AS PART of its Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, the OECD has launched a public consultation on Action 12 – the mandatory disclosure of tax avoidance strategies by multinational companies. The 83-page draft document provides examples of various disclosure regimes in place in member countries, setting out recommendations… – Continue reading
The Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar (BCIM) economic corridor and China’s proposed ‘Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st-Century Maritime Silk Road’ are “closely” related, Beijing says as it has unveiled action plans on this joint ‘Belt and Road Initiative’. Chinese President Xi Jinping during his visits to Central Asia and Southeast Asia in 2013… – Continue reading
DONETSK: The year-long conflict in east Ukraine has closed businesses across this industrial heartland, ramping up unemployment, crippling finances and leaving it ever more reliant on Moscow. Fierce fighting between government forces and pro-Russian rebels has ravaged a region that once provided 25 percent of the nation’s exports and has… – Continue reading
[NEW YORK] A Swiss asset manager pleaded guilty on Tuesday to participating in a scheme to help US citizens hide millions of dollars in Swiss bank accounts and evade paying taxes. Peter Amrein, 53, entered his plea in Manhattan federal court to conspiring to defraud the United States and Internal… – Continue reading
Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan has pledged the Australian Taxation Office will beat a budget target of hitting $1.1 billion in revenue from multinationals by 2017, and says it expects to clock much of it by the end of the year through audits of technology companies. In an interview with Fairfax… – Continue reading
Hundreds of members of the diamond exchange attended a meeting on anti money laundering in the diamond sector held at the Cullinan restaurant last Thursday. During the meeting, members received a detailed review of the main elements of the order against AML that takes effect next year, and the measures… – Continue reading
On March 19, 2015, the Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority (“TIA”) officially opened the Cayman Automatic Exchange of Information (“AEOI”) Portal. Reporting Process The TIA indicated that the Portal is now available for Cayman Islands Reporting Financial Institutions (“Cayman Reporting FIs”) to submit their Notification (due by April 30, 2015)… – Continue reading
In 2015, Singapore celebrates its 50th year of independence and also mourns the passing of its first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew who steered Singapore’s success for many critical years. From its origins as a British trading post in 1819, Singapore has grown into one of the busiest ports and… – Continue reading
Cross border tax fraud and tax evasion by High Net Wealth Individuals (HNWI) are serious problems for many jurisdictions. For many years exchange of information between countries has been solely upon request. In practise this procedure is not efficiently working as it requires foreseeable relevance, thus ‘fishing’ for information is… – Continue reading
I. Introduction In an effort to crack down on individuals obtaining U.S. citizenship illegally, the U.S. Department of Justice recently raided several “maternity tourism” operations in Southern California.1 These companies cater to wealthy foreigners seeking to give the gift of U.S. citizenship to their children. Since at least 1868, the… – Continue reading
Hong Kong (HKSAR) – The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor K C Chan, signed the Fourth Protocol to the Arrangement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income with the Mainland (the Fourth Protocol) with the Deputy Commissioner… – Continue reading
Australia’s biggest 900 companies claimed tax deductions and exemptions worth a total $25 billion last year – enough to wipe out two-thirds of the current federal budget deficit at a stroke. As Treasurer Joe Hockey prompted a national “conversation” about tax reform, including the prospect of a higher and broader… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – The government of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) said it has no plans to establish a central register of true company owners, despite pressure from Britain to adopt the anti-money laundering and tax evasion measure. The BVI said in a statement on Wednesday it was backing other measures… – Continue reading
Hong Kong’s Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, K C Chan, has described the various tax policies that the Government intends to pursue in the coming year. As part of his testimony before the Legislative Council (LegCo) Finance Committee special meeting on the 2015-16 Budget, Chan stressed that the… – Continue reading
Greece submitted a list of economic reforms to the European Union (EU) in an effort to secure emergency financing. Greece submitted a list of economic reforms to the European Union (EU) in an effort to secure emergency financing. The reforms include proposals to raise revenue by curbing tax evasion and… – Continue reading
PETALING JAYA: Local car companies can claim the 10% sales tax on unsold stock after the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) – if they can produce documented proof of purchase. “If you’re holding stocks that had been paid for, you will get a full refund if you… – Continue reading
As Tax Day approaches, homeland Americans scurry to file their annual tax filing obligations. But for an estimated 7.6 million Americans working and living overseas, they have an obligation to not only pay taxes in their respective countries where they live; they need to pay the piper in homeland America… – Continue reading
United Kingdom In Tower Radio Limited and another v HMRC5, the taxpayers successfully utilised a scheme which was designed to take advantage of Part 7 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA). Background During the periods relevant to this case, no liability to income tax arose under… – Continue reading
Malaysia has introduced a new Goods and Services Tax of six percent. However, the country’s Customs Department has said that confusion over the new tax will last six months to a year. Consumer concerns regarding the GST have been over price increases, whereas businesses concerns have focused on compliance costs… – Continue reading
A recently released discussion paper has found that Australia finds Bitcoin as becoming a threat to the country’s tax system. The paper said new technology and globalisation are among the main factors pushing multinational practices to engage in tax avoidance. According to the paper, news ways transacting such as Bitcoin… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Bank of America, Citi Bank and HSBC are interested in setting up their offshore branches in the country’s first international financial services centre (IFC) in Gujarat, said AK Jha, CEO of GIFT City to ET Now. “All Indian banks that have offshore branches are willing to set up… – Continue reading
Russia’s Parliament, the Duma, has approved a draft law to allow taxpayers to regularize previously undeclared assets held offshore. The Russian Government said on March 27, 2015, that the law, “On the Voluntary Declaration of Property and Bank Accounts (Deposits) by Individuals,” will allow taxpayers to repatriate assets taken out… – Continue reading
Multinational companies who have filed applications for advance pricing agreements can now file their rollback applications by 30 June The income tax department has extended the deadline for filing of roll back applications for transfer pricing agreements by three months. Multinational companies who have filed applications for advance pricing agreements… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Customs detected 6,660 cases of seizures, mis-declaration or under/over invoicing involving an amount of customs duty and other taxes of Rs 15.825 billion in the last two fiscal years; 2013-14 and 2012-13. “In this connection, 110 FIRs were lodged whereas 179 persons have been arrested; resultantly, an… – Continue reading
Bulgaria complained Monday to the European Commission about a new Greek law battling corporate tax avoidance that Sofia warns could undermine trade between the two Balkan neighbours. In a letter to European Economic Affairs Commissioner Pierre Moscovici, Bulgarian Finance Minister Vladislav Goranov took exception with Athens’ introduction of a 26… – Continue reading
The Tax Information Authority of the Cayman Islands, the country with the highest number of financial institutions registered with the Internal Revenue Service under United States FATCA, recently went live with the Vizor Software for FATCA & AEOI solution in order to meet their FATCA obligations. Today, Vizor Ltd. announced… – Continue reading
New EU plans to force governments to send quarterly reports on tax rulings are a “revolutionary” step towards overcoming corporate secrecy, the bloc’s tax commissioner has said. The blueprint published two weeks ago by the Commission would establish a system of automatic exchange of information on tax rulings and require… – Continue reading
Government threatens to disclose identities in official gazette after Switzerland pledges to help tax officials in India HSBC customers in India suspected of tax evasion have been given 30 days to nominate a legal representative in Switzerland or face seeing their names published in the country’s official gazette. The bank… – Continue reading
TOKYO: Japan companies have pressure to use their near-record cash stockpiles to help drive growth, with Finance Minister Taro Aso saying Thursday the government should consider a tax to prod businesses into action. “Japan should carefully consider issues like this,” Aso said in Parliament in response to a question from… – Continue reading
Sukankan Roy’s Sound of Joy has won the best Animation Film at the 62nd National Film Festival. The movie is based on Swami Vivekananda’s childhood stories. Sukankan Roy and the entire team of Aura Cinematics along with animator Rishi Sahay won a cash prize of Rs 50,000 from the President… – Continue reading
The Diet on Tuesday approved legislation for tax system revisions for fiscal 2015, including postponement of the next consumption tax hike. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced late last year he was putting off the planned tax hike to 10 percent until April 2017, a year and a half after the… – Continue reading
U.S. multinationals represent the healthiest segment of the economy, with higher profits and more than $1 trillion of cash on hand. This has kept corporate tax reform alive as a political issue. ON Semiconductor had a solid 2014, boosting net income by 36 percent to $196 million on revenue of… – Continue reading
CO-OPERATION on investment within the SADC region is an integral part of achieving the overarching objectives of the SADC Treaty. Investment, be it foreign direct investment, cross-border investment or domestic investment is needed to enhance the productive capacity in the region, which is a pre-requisite for increasing trade across borders… – Continue reading
London: Customers of HSBC in India, suspected of tax evasion, have been given a 30-day timeframe to get a lawyer in Switzerland to manage or challenge the disclosure of their names in the official gazette. The UK-based banking group at the heart of a series of tax-related revelations over the… – Continue reading
The tax man is coming for Guy Wildenstein, and may file charges against a wealth management company in the Bahamas in connection to the case against the billionaire art dealer. As reported by the Globe and Mail, the French agency that investigates tax evasion has recommended that a judge charge… – Continue reading
In order to guide the implementation of the Tax Law on amending key tax laws which was effective from January 20151, the following guidance regulations have been issued: Decree 12/2015/ND-CP dated 12 February 2015 of the Government (“Decree 12”); and Circular 26/2015/TT-BTC dated 27 February 2015 of the Ministry of… – Continue reading
New criminal offences in crack down on tax evasion Following on from the recent Budget announcement, tax evaders and professionals who enable tax evasion will face more severe consequences, including two criminal offences and higher penalties, under a new regime designed to come down hard on tax evaders. In announcing… – Continue reading
Today the Justice Department announced that BSI SA of Lugano, Switzerland, one of the 10 largest private banks in Switzerland, is the first bank to reach a resolution under the Department of Justice’s Swiss Bank Program. The DOJ press release announcing the news is as follows: “Because of the department’s… – Continue reading
The Palestinian Authority has denied that an Israeli move to unfreeze the PA’s tax revenues was part of a deal to get the Palestinians to halt their bid to have Israel prosecuted at the International Criminal Court (ICC) Ha’aretz reported yesterday. The report cited an anonymous senior Palestinian official. “We… – Continue reading
Australians working in Hong Kong should be aware of the various complexities that affect their residency, super and tax status. Going overseas to work is a grand adventure for many professionals. But the way income earned outside your home country is taxed is a complex area, and it’s worth seeking… – Continue reading
