November 28: The French legislative assembly on 18 November 2014 passed a draft Finance Bill for 2015, thereby sending the bill to the Senate for its consideration. One of the provisions in this legislation would “tighten” the transfer pricing penalties for a taxpayer’s failure to respond to a request by… – Continue reading
Reminder: All Cayman Islands funds are likely to be caught by the FATCA legislation – regardless whether the fund has any USA investors. With the end of 2014 in sight, Cayman Islands funds must check for compliance with the obligations imposed under the FATCA / tax information sharing regime. For… – Continue reading
Even as Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said a heavy tax regime was responsible for black money, his ministerial colleague M Venkaiah Naidu told parliament amidst uproar that BJP had never promised to bring back black money stashed aboard in first 100 days of power. Reading BJP manifesto, Naidu,… – Continue reading
BARBADOS AND COLOMBIA have taken significant steps to improve the exchange of information on arrangements with the signing of a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) recently. The Barbados-Colombia signing took place on November 25, in Washington D.C. Ambassador John Beale initialled the document on behalf of Barbados, while Colombia’s Ambassador… – Continue reading
PwC’s UK head of tax, Kevin Nicholson, who previously headed the firm’s entrepreneurs and private clients division, has been called to appear before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) As part of a larger inquiry into tax avoidance and related to the recent Lux-leaks scandal, where PwC Luxembourg was shown to… – Continue reading
Demands for an independent investigation into ‘Lux Leaks’ tax avoidance affair remain after censure vote World Bulletin/News Desk Although the European Commission’s new president, Jean-Claude Juncker, has comfortably survived a no-confidence vote, demands for an independent investigation into the so-called “Lux Leaks” tax avoidance affair are continuing. The censure motion… – Continue reading
Proposals by the Smith Commission to allow Scotland to vary income tax rates could lead to a rise in tax avoidance unless properly managed, according to a tax expert at Pinsent Masons, the international law firm. Karen Davidson, a legal director and tax specialist at Pinsent Masons says that any… – Continue reading
The revelations that global and multinational businesses have been brokering “secret” tax deals with Luxembourg to avoid paying taxes in their home countries, may be the first time an entire country has been implicated in tax avoidance collusion. A cache of leaked agreements uncovered by the International Consortium of Investigative… – Continue reading
To prevent cross-border tax evasion, we endorse the global Common Reporting Standard for the automatic exchange of tax information (AEOI) on a reciprocal basis. We will begin to exchange information automatically with each other and with other countries by 2017 or end-2018, subject to completing the necessary legislative procedures,’’ says… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said tax rates should be brought down to reasonable levels to get rid of rampant instances of evasion and to improve the environment for investments. “Our tax system has to be friendly for tax payers and that is what we are trying to do… – Continue reading
On 13 October 2014, China and Russia concluded a new double taxation agreement (DTA) and protocol (together referred to as ‘the new DTA’). The new DTA embodies the new trends in the development of international tax treaty. Main changes in the new DTA include: time threshold for service permanent establishment… – Continue reading
Recently approved incentives for companies to set up international headquarters and international trading centres in Thailand could have a positive effect on foreign investment, say foreign executives. “After Singapore, I think Thailand could be the next big attraction for [such offices] to open here,” said Stanley Kang, chairman of the… – Continue reading
Passage by the French assembly on 18 November 2014 of a draft Finance Bill for 2015 (which now will be presented to the Senate) Introduction by the French government on 12 November 2014 of a second draft amended Finance Bill for 2014 In general, the draft Finance Bill for 2015… – Continue reading
Latest updates as proposals for new devolution to Scotland unveiled in Edinburgh 14.00 We’re going to wrap it there for today. Thank you for following. 13.30 Labour are concerned about regional airports in the north of England, and tax competition from lower levels of air passenger duty in Scotland. Is… – Continue reading
The new head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker has faced, and survived a motion of no confidence, just weeks after taking up his role. MEPs wanted to censure the Commission, headed by the former Prime Minister of Luxembourg, in the wake of revelations that multinational companies used his country… – Continue reading
Summary: The Australian Taxation Office’s treatment of bitcoin and other digital currencies could see businesses operating in the space close up shop or move offshore, a Senate Committee hearing has heard. Leon Spencer By Leon Spencer | November 27, 2014 — 01:15 GMT The Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) decision to… – Continue reading
Refund Management Services (http://www.RefundManagement.com), the number one choice for Canada’s biggest winners for U.S. gaming and casino tax refunds, is issuing its congratulations to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion and weighing in on international gaming tax exemption laws. The WSOP is held annually in Las Vegas,… – Continue reading
With the Opposition targeting the government on the black money issue, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday that the identity of 427 foreign account holders has been established, of which 250 have admitted to having these accounts. Replying to a debate on the issue, Jaitley said… – Continue reading
Bonds of Greenko Group Plc fell to a record after India’s central bank banned the method used by the hydro and wind power company to raise funds from overseas. The company used an offshore entity to sell U.S. dollar notes at a spread higher than the limit set by the… – Continue reading
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT), once again finds itself deep in controversy and this time, on foreign shores. The company has been hit with a $140 million in taxes and interests presented by the Chinese government. This came to light in a rare incident of cross-border tax invasion. An article was published by… – Continue reading
The numbers don’t lie, but when it comes to business tax avoidance they might be hiding the truth. Auckland University tax expert Craig Elliffe says IRD is reporting record high dollar figures of tax avoidance by Kiwi firms. But he doesn’t think it’s an issue of increasing crime. “I think… – Continue reading
Most People Can’t Afford To Move Home To Avoid Tax. But The Rich Can, And They Pay Most Tax. The Scots Should Be Careful Before Raising Taxes. You have to be very rich to move to Monaco to escape UK taxes but you need to be only fairly rich to… – Continue reading
The Ministry of Financial Services has floated for consultation a draft bill aimed at providing a framework for the implementation of the agreement which was signed on November 3, 2014 between The Bahamas and the United States (U.S.) to implement the provisions of the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Thursday said that of the 28 accounts identified in the tax-haven of Liechtenstein, income tax proceedings have been concluded against 18 “illegal” account holders and cases filed against them. Of the 28 accounts in Liechtenstein on which Germany had information, 18 accounts were illegal (najaiz). We… – Continue reading
* Sistema’s Q3 net income down 71.5 percent * CEO says reporting period “most challenging” (Recasts, adds detail, CEO quotes) Nov 27 (Reuters) – Russian conglomerate Sistema is reviewing its costs, portfolio of investments and future plans, it said on Thursday, after a drop in profits and a “challenging” year… – Continue reading
On November 18, 2014, the Lower House of Russia’s Parliament, the State Duma, approved at second and third readings Bill No. 630365-6, which would introduce a new controlled foreign corporation (CFC) regime in the country. The new CFC regime contained in the Bill has an anti-offshore orientation and would give… – Continue reading
The direct taxes international automatic information exchange bill harmonises the Estonian laws with the FATCA agreement. The FATCA agreement is based on the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which aims to collect information about persons obliged to pay tax in the USA, to prevent tax evasion. The bill… – Continue reading
UPDATE 1-Argentina charges HSBC with aiding tax evasion via Swiss accounts AFIP said it received the information on the secret accounts from France, which last week placed HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm under formal investigation for possibly aiding tax evasion. “We denounce the existence of an illegal platform created by… – Continue reading
Centrist parties vote down European parliament motion criticising commission president’s role in tax avoidance schemes Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European commission, has survived a motion of censure in the European parliament brought because of his role in tax avoidance schemes. The motion brought by Britain’s Ukip, France’s Front National,… – Continue reading
BUENOS AIRES — Argentina’s tax agency accused the HSBC bank on Thursday of helping more than 4,000 Argentines evade taxes by placing their money in secret Swiss accounts. The head of country’s AFIP tax agency, Ricardo Echegaray, said Argentine citizens had evaded about $3 billion in taxes that were handled… – Continue reading
I’m afraid to say we made the wrong choice as Ukip are beginning to prove time and time again their insignificance in Europe. The European Parliament took a vote of confidence today on the newly appointed Commission of Jean Claude Juncker. The vote, triggered by the Luxleaks tax avoidance revelations,… – Continue reading
THE Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) said that action is needed to mitigate the impact on the local financial services sector from a recent Russian law cracking down on Russian offshore business. Speaking at a press conference in Nicosia, ICPAC chairman Yiannis Charilaou said however that the… – Continue reading
Sol Campbell owns £25m house in London and Northumberland mansion He appeared on BBC2’s Daily Politics to explain mansion tax was unfair Ex-England footballer said proposed levy was a ‘tax on aspiration’ He said Labour should instead pursue companies who had avoided tax But MP Owen Smith said people had… – Continue reading
Hal Hicks cleared his throat and addressed a roomful of peers in a midtown Manhattan auditorium. The topic: the tax-avoidance technique called inversion, in which a U.S. company claims a foreign legal address. Waving his hands back and forth as if tracing a pendulum’s swing, Hicks explained how four government… – Continue reading
The tax office said that Australia’s commitment to the automatic global exchange of information will mean accessing overseas banking information will become easier and hiding income and assets offshore will become harder. “Recent developments in exchange of information between countries and improved data matching capability mean there’s nowhere left to… – Continue reading
Despite the Obama administration’s ongoing efforts to crackdown on American companies moving overseas to avoid U.S. taxes, the Treasury Department is still awarding millions of dollars in federal contracts to these companies. Tyco International for example, moved their firm from the U.S. to Bermuda in 1997 and currently operates out… – Continue reading
Legal disputes, lack of an ecosystem for smartphones and personnel availability are challenges As speculation swirls that Micromax, HTC and Chinese mobile handset manufacturer Xiaomi are eyeing the idle Nokia plant at Sriperumbudur near Chennai, experts say buyers will have to negotiate legal disputes, the lack of a smartphone supply… – Continue reading
Public accounts committee will demand intricate details from Kevin Nicholson about tax avoiding schemes in Grand Duchy One of Britain’s top tax advisers at PricewaterhouseCoopers has been summoned to give evidence before MPs in the wake of revelations about controversial tax deals for PwC clients in Luxembourg. Kevin Nicholson, PwC… – Continue reading
Love him or hate him, you have to say that Boris Johnson makes a very good point about FATCA. Having been hit with a US tax bill due to his unwanted dual citizenship, Johnson – who is as British as they come in all fairness – says he will not… – Continue reading
European tax experts say that despite rule changes, Britain has one of the clearest systems Tax professionals view the Netherlands and the UK as the most attractive European countries in which to do business, according to a new survey. The two countries scored well on how simple their tax rules… – Continue reading
An Australian parliamentary committee on Thursday (Nov 27) recommended strengthening rules on foreign investment in the country’s booming housing market, calling enforcement of the current framework “severely lacking”. SYDNEY: An Australian parliamentary committee on Thursday (Nov 27) recommended strengthening rules on foreign investment in the country’s booming housing market, calling… – Continue reading
Bloomberg Beijing CHINA was expanding efforts to rein in what authorities said was tax evasion by foreign companies, with Microsoft being required to pay more than $150 million (R1.61 billion), an official familiar with the matter said yesterday. The payments – including 840 million yuan (R1.5bn) in back taxes, interest… – Continue reading
Bank Leumi Le Israel (LUMI) BM is close to a $400 million settlement of federal and state investigations into whether it helped Americans evade taxes, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Under the proposed accord, Bank Leumi would pay about $270 million to the Justice Department and… – Continue reading
Reuters) – Only a handful of staff at Swiss banks have drawn on a $2.6 million (2 million pound) fund set up to help bankers and other employees who have fallen on hard times because of a U.S. crackdown on tax evasion through hidden offshore accounts. At least 25 people,… – Continue reading
Nov. 26 (Bloomberg) — Bank Leumi Le Israel BM is close to a $400 million settlement of federal and state investigations into whether it helped Americans evade taxes, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Under the proposed accord, Bank Leumi would pay about $270 million to the… – Continue reading
New Delhi: Industry body Ficci has welcomed Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi asking the Income Tax Department to not file an appeal against the Bombay High Court judgment in the transfer pricing case of Vodafone. “FICCI welcomes the decision of the government not to appeal against the judgment relating to the… – Continue reading
November 26: Legislation concerning the ratification of the fourth Protocol to amend the Luxembourg-France income tax treaty is expected to be submitted in early 2015. Consequently, the Protocol (signed in September 2014) is expected to be effective—at the earliest—as from the 2016 civil or financial year. Scope of Protocol Provisions… – Continue reading
On 21 November, the States of Guernsey Income Tax (ITO) published bulletin 2014/1 to update the most recent iteration of the draft guidance notes issued jointly by the crown dependencies on 28 July 2014 regarding the implementation under domestic law of FATCA-based reporting. The bulletin provides clarification in response to… – Continue reading
Good news for South Africans who worked abroad. JOHANNESBURG – A number of pensioners and tax specialists heaved a collective sigh of relief after the South African Revenue Service (Sars) ruled that any pension South Africans accumulated while working outside the country will generally not be subject to local tax…. – Continue reading
Strategies: Economists suggest removing easy avoidance VANCOUVER — Never mind that business-friendly tax policies – reforms like the dramatic reductions in federal and provincial corporate taxes over the past decade or so – enhance international competitiveness. This doesn’t impress the electorate when the benefits go mostly to the relative handful… – Continue reading
