Hopes are rising that multinational companies operating in New Zealand may soon be paying a fairer share of tax. The French official leading the global clampdown on multinational tax rorts says the scrapping of the notorious “double Irish” tax loophole shows aggressive tax planning is on the way out. Organisation… – Continue reading
At the Justice Department, senior officials like to congratulate themselves on the headline-making, big bucks settlements they have imposed upon banks and lenders for their part in causing the 2008 mortgage meltdown that sparked the biggest American financial crisis since the Great Depression. But wait a moment. Those settlement figures… – Continue reading
Colombia’s minister of finance stated this weekend that Colombians are hiding $50 billion abroad in an attempt to avoid paying taxes over their assets. Finance Minister Mauricio Cardenas told Spanish news agency EFE that no penalties for Colombia tax evaders had been finalized, but that they were on the agenda…. – Continue reading
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Tax inversion deals have effectively been repriced by the US Treasury signaling an end to “hop-scotch” loans and other tax structuring opportunities, according to Fitch Ratings. AbbVie’s purchase of Shire and the planned merger of Salix Pharmaceuticals and Cosmo Technologies, both pulled since the Treasury announcement, were scuttled… – Continue reading
Finance ministers from at least 37 countries will take the biggest step yet in fighting tax evasion at a conference this week hosted by Germany’s Wolfgang Schaeuble, German officials said. Fifty states and jurisdictions are sending representatives to Berlin to sign an agreement on Oct. 29 on the automatic exchange… – Continue reading
There is nothing illegal about tax planning. Yet some things are legal while others are not, and the lines can sometimes get fuzzy. Add to that the fact that some people go to extraordinary lengths to avoid paying taxes, and it can be a recipe for disaster. Increasingly, if you… – Continue reading
An informed, mature and realistic debate on black money is too much to ask for in a country where the issue attracts intense, almost emotional public reaction. It does not help when political games and systemic problems in the economy that aid tax evasion and stashing of illicit money in… – Continue reading
Tax evaders will have fewer places to hide as an era of banking secrecy comes to an end with the signing of an international agreement to disclose non-resident accounts, the German finance minister has told The Times. Wolfgang Schäuble will preside over a “paradigm shift” in the fight against tax… – Continue reading
Hundreds of people tip-off the authorities on suspected tax dodging a day HMRC pay up to £1,000 for useful information that leads to a ‘big win’ The taxman has paid out more than £400,000 in a year to informants Nearly 100,000 people phoned the tax dodging hotline in the last… – Continue reading
73 per cent of Americans who live outside the U.S. are tempted to give up their U.S. passports in response to the introduction of FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), reveals a new survey by one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations. The findings come as Federal Register… – Continue reading
The amendments see the addition of new provisions that were determined based on the Ministry of Finance’s suggestions Abu Dhabi: Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs and Pierre Gramegna, Luxembourg’s Minister of Finance, today signed a protocol to amend the agreement on the avoidance of double… – Continue reading
KIGALI, Rwanda – The need of a tax law on reverse VAT to be harmonized among EAC states was highlighted during the recently concluded East African Business Summit that took place in Kigali. “Tax law on reverse VAT can be harmonized among EAC states,” Rwanda Revenue Authority Commissioner General Richard… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The renewed vigour to unearth suspected blackmoney of Indians in Swiss bank accounts after a recent meeting of top officials on both sides is expected to initiate final prosecution in one of the most prominent tax crime cases related to Pune-based stud farm-owner Hasan Ali Khan. Sources privy… – Continue reading
In a recent Senate Estimates hearing, Greens Senator Christine Milne probed ASIC representatives to explain why they consider Facebook Australia a ‘small’ company, especially considering the parent organisation is worth a staggering $US33.3 billion. Facebook Australia is a ‘small’ company by its own determination and it is registered as such… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Amid a growing clamour for naming of alleged black money holders, industry body Assocham today said the government should not prematurely disclose the names of such persons as it could hamper battle against this menace. “The double taxation avoidance treaties are important for the Indian residents and corporates… – Continue reading
Genuine tax planning will remain legitimate despite a new anti-avoidance crackdown relating to inheritance tax, says a tax partner at Lodders Solicitors in Cheltenham. Eamonn Daly said HM Revenue & Customs was only after those who constantly tried to push the boundaries, coming up with ruse after ruse. He explained:… – Continue reading
Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan has published the 2014 Finance Bill, which gives effect to the tax reforms announced in his Budget and introduces a number of new anti-avoidance measures. Noonan’s October 14 Budget included plans to reduce the marginal tax rate from 52 percent to 51 percent, through a… – Continue reading
The number of Americans renouncing U.S. citizenship increased 39 percent in the three months through September after rules that make it harder to hide assets from tax authorities came into force. People giving up their nationality at U.S. embassies increased to 776 in the third quarter, from 560 in the… – Continue reading
SPECULATION is swirling over what the Treasury will do to raise R44-billion in additional tax revenue over the next three years — without inflicting too much pain on a fragile economy. Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene confirmed that there would be tax policy and administrative “reforms” to shore up flagging revenue… – Continue reading
Supreme court reverses decision against fashion duo, who had been sentenced to imprisonment The Italian supreme court on Friday overturned fraud convictions and 18-month jail terms against celebrated fashion duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, their company announced. “We have always been honest and we are extremely proud of this… – Continue reading
The Treasury Department has spent millions of dollars on federal contracts for companies that have shifted their legal address abroad, even as the Obama administration pushes to rein in the practice. Just last month, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew moved to limit the appeal of those tax deals, known as inversions,… – Continue reading
Significant numbers of people are continuing to renounce their U.S. citizenship or end their long-term U.S. residency. There are 776 names on the Treasury Department list published Friday for the third quarter of 2014. That’s the third highest quarterly figure ever, according to Andrew Mitchel, an international tax lawyer in… – Continue reading
The sovereignty of individual nations is increasingly under threat from international governance bodies that want to force a range of new regional and international taxes on states. The latest attempt to bypass state sovereignty occurred when the World Health Organization (WHO) met behind closed doors in Moscow last week. In… – Continue reading
Introduction The economy has come to the forefront of the Second U.S. House District race between incumbent Democrat Dave Loebsack and Republican challenger Dr. Mariannette Miller-Meeks. Loebsack’s campaign accuses Miller-Meeks of being in favor of “special tax breaks to outsourcing corporations” and claims she partnered with a company that sent… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Lawyers representing 73 Swiss banks seeking to avoid a tax-evasion probe by U.S. authorities wrote a letter to the U.S. Department of Justice raising questions over a dozen demands, including the banks’ cooperation with other nations. In the letter dated Oct. 21, the lawyers questioned the terms of… – Continue reading
Measure means small shareholders will face no tax bill over recent windfall from telecoms group under €1,000 In February, following the sale of its stake in US telecoms group Verizon, Vodafone paid more than €600 million back to its 380,000, mostly small-scale, Irish investors. At the time, shareholders could choose… – Continue reading
This year’s Bill makes it easier for Revenue to refuse tax reliefs The Finance Bill represents a significant upping of the pressure from the Revenue Commissioners in closing off what it sees as the improper use of tax avoidance schemes. In most Bills there are measures to close off some… – Continue reading
The Swiss Federal Council has launched a consultation on legislation for the unilateral application of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD’s) Standard on the Exchange of Information to all double tax agreements that are not already in line with this model. The legislation would only involve the exchange… – Continue reading
There’s no doubt the arms length principle has holes, and it may be the time to reconsider the way governments approach transfer pricing Amazon, Fiat, Vodafone, Starbucks, Apple… The list of companies facing scrutiny for their failure to properly implement the arms length principle into their transfer pricing policies this… – Continue reading
Swiss police carried out a series of raids across German-speaking Switzerland in the early hours of Thursday morning, including the premises of private bank, J. Safra Sarasin. The authorities were acting on a request for legal assistance from Germany in a fraud and tax evasion case against the bank and… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Italy’s top court cleared fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana on Friday over charges of hiding hundreds of millions of euros from Italian tax authorities. Two lower courts had previously convicted the pair, who are as famous as the stars they dress, on allegations that they used… – Continue reading
Law360, New York (October 24, 2014, 2:10 PM ET) — The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development delivered an agreement among over 130 tax commission delegates from 38 nations on its corporate base erosion and profit-shifting plan at the close of the Ninth Forum on Tax Administration in Dublin on… – Continue reading
With the announced end of banking secrecy for non-residents, the time has come to make use of favourable repatriation schemes, such as the voluntary disclosure regime in Italy. Despite increasing pressure for fiscal transparency and exchange of information, beneficial owners still have a choice: move the capital out (of Luxembourg),… – Continue reading
Since all economic theories – even Marxism and socialism – recognize that capital formation is a key to long-run growth, higher wages, and improved living standards, it obviously doesn’t make sense to penalize saving and investment. Yet that’s exactly what happens because of double taxation in the United States, as… – Continue reading
Green Left Weekly and ActionAid will be co-sponsoring a Political Economy Society seminar at Sydney University on October 29 to discuss the case for greater international efforts to combat corporate tax avoidance before the G20 summit. Large corporations systematically avoid paying the statutory level of company tax — a low… – Continue reading
On October 14, 2014, the Irish Minister for Finance released proposals as part of the 2015 Irish Budget that would cause Irish incorporated non-resident (“INR”) companies to be treated as tax resident in Ireland beginning January 1, 2015. The goal is to shut down the use of so-called “Double Irish”… – Continue reading
India Blooms News Service New Delhi, Oct 24 (IBNS): Supreme Court advocate Ram Jethmalani, who was also an ex-BJP member, has written a letter to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley accusing him of not taking proper steps to bring back black money. n his letter, Jethmalani has slammed Jaitley’s stand that… – Continue reading
Council leader Jo Lovelock laid down a motion at a meeting on Tuesday saying “aggressive corporate tax avoidance schemes are unfair, unjust and morally wrong” Big name brands like Vodafone, Starbucks, Apple and Facebook were bandied around the council chamber as companies the council did not want to do business… – Continue reading
Plan ‘is to reduce the risk that owners will outlive their retirement funds’ The Finance Bill has changed the tax rules in relation to Approved Retirement Funds (ARFs), the structures into which many people move their defined contribution pensions on retirement. In 2011, the Government increased the “imputed or notional… – Continue reading
The Crown has asked that a couple who laundered millions in drug money for a prolific trafficker before he was murdered receive the maximum sentence for their crimes. Prosecutor Marie Michèle Meloche said sentences of between eight and 10 years were justified for Sy Veng Chun, 67, and his wife… – Continue reading
Officials from the Treasury and HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have been meeting with representatives of the PPP/ PFI industry to discuss the implications for infrastructure projects of possible restrictions to interest relief.24 Oct 2014 Corporate tax Tax Projects Construction Advisory & Disputes Infrastructure UK Europe In a report on… – Continue reading
By the wide margin of a 250-76 vote on October 16, the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament passed a decree law to introduce a voluntary disclosure program for undeclared assets and funds held abroad or in Italy. Under the new program, such taxpayers would be allowed to declare… – Continue reading
Move intended to make Ireland more attractive to firms wanting to bring key decision makers The Government is to relax the rules governing a special tax incentive scheme to attract foreign executives into Ireland after just 31 individuals availed of the scheme last year. The move, contained in the Finance… – Continue reading
Wednesday, October 22, 2014 – The BVI Advantage was the theme of a feature presentation at the recent China Offshore Summit. The summit was held from October 15-16 in Shanghai, China. Global Head of BVI Practice at Maples and Calder, Mr. Michael Gagie presented on behalf of the BVI International… – Continue reading
The Gibraltar Betting & Gaming Association (GBGA) is continuing its challenge against changes to the United Kingdom’s regulatory and licensing changes for gambling-service providers by asking for a judicial review of a recent High Court decision which went against the GBGA’s interests, specifically challenging whether the new 15% “UK point… – Continue reading
Star Business Report The National Board of Revenue is set to gather information on Bangladeshis who have bought properties abroad, its Chairman Md Ghulam Hussain said yesterday. The decision was taken to check whether the individuals have paid an appropriate amount of taxes to the state coffers, Hussain said during… – Continue reading
The European Union Court of Justice (CJEU), Europe’s highest court in matters of EU law, ruled against the Italian government in a dispute related to the Italian taxation on gambling. According to the CJEU, Italy’s tax legislation operates in conflict with Article 52 and Article 56 of the Treaty on… – Continue reading
Measures to ensure people who are not on social welfare or paying tax get relief on water charges will be brought forward at the committee stage of the Finance Bill, the Finance Minister has said. This follows controversy when it emerged that thousands of people would not be able to… – Continue reading
“The issue of substance and taxation is, and always will be, a core column of the Irish taxation system,” Michael Noonan, Ireland’s Finance Minister, said at his Department’s Tax Policy Conference on October 21, 2014, underscoring that Ireland’s strategy is to play fair but play to win. Beginning by discussing… – Continue reading
The European Union and Singapore have announced the completion of negotiations towards a free trade agreement (FTA), after concluding talks on the investment protection portion of the pact. Negotiations on an FTA between the EU and Singapore began in March 2010 and a text including all but the investment portion… – Continue reading
