HMRC win £450m tax avoidance scheme as football stars and celebrities lose out
The scheme had received investments from the likes of Ant and Dec, David Beckham and Celtic duo Neil Lennon and Peter Lawwell. ... - Continue reading
Category: Regulatory
Union Budget 2019: key tax highlights
This article highlights some of the key tax-related amendments introduced by the budget. ... - Continue reading
South Africa: International Tax: Proposed Amendments
The latest proposed amendments will see, inter alia, some relief for taxpayers in relation to the Controlled Foreign Company ("CFC") rules and the scope of an "Affected Transaction" as defined in section 31 of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962 ("the Act") to be extended. ... - Continue reading
Taxation of gifts to non-residents: A word of caution
The proposal intends to tax gift of money exceeding ₹50,000 made by residents to non-residents that were earlier claimed to be outside the ambit of India taxation ... - Continue reading
Tighten scrutiny of tax exemption claims on farm income: CAG to I-T Departement
The CAG report also flagged the issue of abuse of tax exemption granted to charitable trusts and institutions ... - Continue reading
Money gifts to NRIs are taxable from July 5, 2019, property gift tax rules unchanged
With the passing of Finance Bill 2019, NRIs will have to disclose such gifts received and pay tax on it as per the tax rules applicable ... - Continue reading
UAE country-by-country reporting rules published
The UAE Ministry of Finance on 30 April issued new tax rules setting out country-by-country reporting compliance obligations for multinational corporation groups effective for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2019. ... - Continue reading
Cyprus: Country Update-Cyprus: AML
The financial services and international business sector in Cyprus is one of the vital pillars of the Cyprus economy. That said, Cyprus aims to be in full compliance with the AML European framework, and in this respect constantly implements changes in its local laws to align with EU Directives and Regulations. ... - Continue reading
Mauritius leaks: Big firms leveraging legal loopholes to save taxes can cost developing countries $100 bn every year
Proposals made by Nirmala Sitharaman at G20 Summit could alter the stasis between large corporations and tax havens. ... - Continue reading
How a small tax-paying elite funds the Indian state
The top 1% individual taxpayers contribute nearly one-third of India’s taxes, while the top 5% contribute nearly two-thirds of all the taxes collected ... - Continue reading
Denmark must adopt EU controlled foreign company tax rules, Commission says
The EU Commission on July 25 decided to send a reasoned opinion to Denmark for its failure to communicate to Commission rules implementing controlled foreign company (CFC) rules required by the EU anti-tax avoidance directive (Council Directive (EU) 2016/1164 or ATAD). ... - Continue reading
Multilateral tax treaty to enter into force for Norway
The OECD today announced that Norway has deposited its instrument ratifying the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI). ... - Continue reading
Eswatini becomes the 132nd country to join the “Inclusive Framework on BEPS”
The OECD on July 26 announced the that southern Africa nation of Eswatini has joined the inclusive framework on BEPS. ... - Continue reading
Hong Kong provides guidance on transfer pricing rules and documentation requirements
The Hong Kong Inland Revenue Department (IRD) on 19 July published Departmental Interpretation and Practice Notes (DIPNs) Nos. 58, 59, and 60, and an updated version of DIPN No. 28. ... - Continue reading
United States: Anti-Money Laundering And Sanctions: Trends And Developments Emerging Under The Trump Administration
Bank Secrecy Act/anti-money laundering (BSA/AML) and sanctions matters continue to be a core focus of regulators, law enforcement agencies, policymakers and Congress, and the story of the Obama and Trump Administrations on AML and sanctions is one of general continuity. ... - Continue reading
China: Analysis On The Application Of Articles 7(6) And 7(7) Of The Multilateral Instrument To The Covered Tax Agreements
Article 7 – Prevention of Treaty Abuse – of the Multilateral Instrument (the MLI) contains three opt-in provisions. ... - Continue reading
Vietnam’s Tax Administration Law Reform to Take Effect in July 2020
In June, Vietnam’s National Assembly approved a new Law on Tax Administration 38/2019/QH14. Under the new law, tax authorities have been granted additional enforcement powers. At the same time, the new law has made it a little bit easier for both individuals and entities to file taxes. ... - Continue reading
Guernsey: Guernsey Plays Its Part In OECD Success Against Tax Evasion
Guernsey Finance Chief Executive Dominic Wheatley reflects on the findings of the latest OECD tax report to world leaders. ... - Continue reading
US-Dominican Republic FATCA agreement enters into force
The US Treasury has announced on its website that the US-Dominican Republic Model 1 FATCA intergovernmental agreement (IGA) entered into force as of July 17, 2019. ... - Continue reading
Progress Being Made On Closing ‘Harmful’ Tax Regimes: OECD
The OECD has issued another update on jurisdictions' progress to amend their preferential tax regimes to remove harmful elements under the OECD base erosion and profit shifting Action Plan minimum standard on harmful tax regimes (Action 5). ... - Continue reading
India: Tax Street – June 2019
India experiences a generation of exceptional wealth on one hand and fiscal deficit and tax revenue targets on the other. As a result of this, it is expected that the government may consider exploring the possibilities of Inheritance tax to increase the tax kitty. ... - Continue reading
Pass tax reform bills — Dominguez
The Department of Finance (DOF) has expressed the hope that President Duterte’s call in his State-of-the-Nation Address (SONA) for Congress to pass reforms in the corporate tax system along with the remaining packages of the administration’s comprehensive tax reform program (CTRP) will provide lawmakers a strong impetus to pass these… – Continue reading
Malta: Consolidated Group (Income Tax) Rules, 2019
On 31 May 2019, Malta published the "Consolidated Group (Income Tax) Rules". The rules will come into force as from year of assessment 2020 and the rules introduce the concept of fiscal units into Maltese tax law. ... - Continue reading
Kenya, Botswana inks 3 pacts to shore up bilateral ties
NAIROBI, July 23 (Xinhua) — Kenya and Botswana on Tuesday signed three key agreements to help deepen bilateral ties between the two African countries. The agreements, which cover bilateral trade, air transport and ICT, were signed at the end of talks held between visiting Botswana president Mokgweetsi Masisi and his… – Continue reading
Deal firmly with those who game the system: Sitharaman to taxmen
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday asked taxmen to firmly deal with those who try to evade taxes and game the system but act as facilitators to those who want to pay taxes honestly. ... - Continue reading
UK: Non-Resident Capital Gains Tax on United Kingdom Real Estate: A New Regime
The legislation encompassing the new regime for taxing non-residents' gains on the United Kingdom (UK) commercial real estate came into effect on 6th April 2019. Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has additionally published draft guidance on this recently introduced regime. This article briefly summarizes the new rules. ... - Continue reading
Tax laws of 12 low-tax countries including BVI, Bermuda, Cayman don’t harm other countries, 131-country group concludes
An OECD-led 131-country coalition, known as the “Inclusive Framework on BEPS,” has approved an assessment which concludes that 12 low or zero-tax countries do not have “harmful” tax regimes, the OECD today announced. ... - Continue reading
Taxpayers given six months to challenge Denmark transfer pricing assessments based on insufficient documentation
A Danish tax administration decree, published 12 July in response to the Supreme Court’s decision in the Microsoft case, establishes a new practice for determining whether transfer pricing documentation must be available at the time the taxpayer is required to file its tax return. ... - Continue reading
Journalists publish details of 200+ companies using offshore law firm, conclude Mauritius promotes tax avoidance
Data on more than 200 companies that engaged the Mauritius office of Conyers Dill & Pearman were published on the internet today by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) as a result of leak of confidential information. ... - Continue reading
Nigeria: Reviewing The Implications Of The Revised Transfer Pricing Regulations On Intangibles For Businesses
Intangibles are key sources of differentiation for businesses and typically, they help drive revenue, manage cost or both. As a result, many businesses make significant investments in developing, enhancing, maintaining and protecting unique and valuable intangibles to help drive their businesses. ... - Continue reading
European Union: Dutch Implementation Proposal On EU Anti-Hybrid Measures
On July 2, 2019, the Dutch government published the legislative proposal implementing the EU Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive II (ATAD II) that was adopted on May 29, 2017. The ATAD II mandates EU Member States to implement rules that target hybrid mismatches by January 1, 2020 (specific sections by January 1, 2022). ... - Continue reading
Banks tell BB single-digit rates not possible now
Top executives of banks on Sunday informed Bangladesh Bank that bringing down the interest rates to single digit would not be possible now considering the liquidity situation in the country’s banking sector. Some of the banks were even paying 9.5 per cent interest against deposits of state-owned entities and more… – Continue reading
Taxability of annuity paid by Australian account depends on residential status
On July 12 the Netherlands government published a legislative proposal implementing the EU mandatory disclosure directive. This follows an internet consultation on a draft legislative proposal which ran from December 19, 2018 — February 1, 2019. ... - Continue reading
Netherlands draft law requires disclosure of cross-border transactions to tax authorities
On July 12 the Netherlands government published a legislative proposal implementing the EU mandatory disclosure directive. This follows an internet consultation on a draft legislative proposal which ran from December 19, 2018 — February 1, 2019. ... - Continue reading
Georgia: Georgia Introduces Rules For Classification Of Taxpayers; Amends Refund Procedure
On February 5, 2019, the Georgian Ministry of Finance issued Order No. 30 on the classification of taxpayers, which has entered into force on February 7, 2019. ... - Continue reading
Synthesized text of Japan-UAE tax treaty published showing MLI modifications
The Japanese government on July 1 published the synthesized text of the Japan-United Arab Emirates 2013 tax treaty, taking into account changes made by the bilateral tax treaty on account of both countries’ later ratification of the the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI). ... - Continue reading
GST watchdog detects invoice fraud to the tune of ₹7,600 crore
The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGSTI), an arm of the indirect tax administration, has unearthed a racket involving 90 firms which issue fake invoices to errant companies for tax evasion, the agency said on Friday. ... - Continue reading
Amended India-China tax treaty protocol enters into force
An amending protocol to the China-India tax treaty entered into force from June 5, the Indian government announced on July 17. ... - Continue reading
Setting Up a Hong Kong Holding Company for Your Chinese Business
Many companies looking at the Chinese market choose to establish a holding company or special purpose vehicle (SPV) to hold their Chinese investments. This typically provides flexibility and an added layer of protection to their corporate structure. Foreign investors have commonly chosen Hong Kong to set up a holding company… – Continue reading
Bermuda: Update To Bermuda’s Economic Substance Legislation
The month of June 2019 saw a number of important updates to Bermuda's economic substance regime ahead of the 1 July deadline for compliance for entities in existence when the legislation came into force. This bulletin contains a summary of those developments. ... - Continue reading
G7 finance ministers agree on some features of international tax rewrite
G7 finance ministers, at their meeting in Chantilly, France on July 17–18, agreed to several aspects of a revised system for taxing multinationals. ... - Continue reading
Turkey proposes another tax amnesty for repatriation of foreign assets
Turkey comes up with another effort to fight profit shifting ... - Continue reading
OECD seeks input on tax dispute resolution in Andorra, Anguilla, Bahamas, Bermuda, BVI, Cayman, Faroe Islands, Macau, Morocco, Tunisia
The OECD on July 5 requested taxpayer feedback on the tax treaty dispute resolution process in Andorra, Anguilla, Bahamas, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Faroe Islands, Macau (China), Morocco,and Tunisia. ... - Continue reading
Govt’s new buyback tax set to hit MF investors, shareholders alike
The new budget proposal to tax buybacks and dividends at the same rate of effectively 20% may curtail the flow of distribution—that companies undertake from time to time to give investors a share in their profits—to the shareholders. ... - Continue reading
UK Finance Bill 2019-20: what international businesses need to know
Draft legislation and explanatory notes to the UK Finance Bill 2019-20 were published on 11 July. Much of the legislation was anticipated with some further clarifications provided. ... - Continue reading
CIAT releases detailed proposals aimed at stopping transfer pricing abuse
The Inter-American Center of Tax Administrations (CIAT), on July 15, released comprehensive and detailed proposals aimed at preventing abusive transfer pricing in low-income countries and in countries on the path to development. ... - Continue reading
Canada: TP Minds Holds Its First Canadian Transfer Pricing Conference
Hot topics for discussion at the conference included taxation of the digital economy, approaches for "hard to value intangibles", the adoption of technology within the tax department, and lessons learned from country-by-country reporting. ... - Continue reading
India’s hedge funds threatened by higher taxes
So much of India’s private wealth is trapped in gold that any more will be a colossal social waste ... - Continue reading
Malaysia Explains New Cap On Interest Expense Deductions
The Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia has released new guidance on restrictions to the deductibility of interest expenses. ... - Continue reading
