Malta denies claims A data leak has revealed information about 70,000 offshore companies in Malta, a German state minister claimed this morning. North Rhine-Westphalia finance minister Norbert Walter-Borjans said the data also included information about several German corporations and up to 2,000 German taxpayers. Tax authorities in the city of… – Continue reading
The OECD has launched a disclosure facility allowing the reporting of potential schemes to circumvent the Common Reporting Standard, the new international standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters. The facility is part of a wider three-step process the OECD has put in place to… – Continue reading
The federal government has pledged to create more fairness for businesses and “level the playing field” through a series of budget measures directed at tackling Australia’s so-called “black economy”. The government gave its “black economy taskforce” the job of investigating how individuals and businesses use cash payments in December 2016,… – Continue reading
The United States continues to be a magnet for immigration, with nearly 8 million new immigrants settling here between 2008 to 2014 — and some of these new immigrants are high-net-worth individuals who are unprepared for the intricacies of the U.S. tax law, according to Seth Entin, a shareholder at… – Continue reading
Luxembourg and Cyprus on Monday signed a bilateral convention for the elimination of double taxation. Luxembourg’s Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna was on a working visit in Nicosia and signed the convention with his Cypriot counterpart Harris Georgiades. Cyprus was the last EU member state not to have a tax convention… – Continue reading
European Union presidency holder Malta has launched a new attempt to salvage pending EU legislation designed to eliminate withholding taxes for cross-border interest and royalty payments in the EU single market. One of the key hurdles the Interest and Royalties Directive has faced in the Council of Economic and Financial… – Continue reading
Foreign ownership of new developments will be restricted, there will be steeper charges applied to purchases, less favourable tax treatment and charges on those with empty properties, in a raft of measures in the federal budget aimed at taking the sting out of the housing market. One measure to be… – Continue reading
Cyprus and Luxembourg, two of the EU`s financial centres, on Monday cautioned against the implementation of the proposed Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCTB) in the European Union. “Cyprus believes that we should be very cautious and very careful when it comes to corporate taxation,” Cypriot Finance Minister Harris Georgiades… – Continue reading
This article is the first of a series of articles that looks at tax aspects of the UK company which make it an attractive international business company, or “IBC”. This generic label, and its acronym, are normally associated with the BVI company, and its international competitors. An essential feature of… – Continue reading
Four of the most significant transnational organizations are working together to eliminate transfer pricing schemes and abuses. The four organizations—the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the United Nations and the World Bank Group—are seeking to achieve global cooperation in tax matters. Transfer pricing is one… – Continue reading
Income tax has long been a progressive talking point in Seattle. Washington is one of just seven states without any income tax, and it relies heavily on sales and property taxes to fill the state coffers. As such, Washington earns the dubious honor of having the most regressive tax system… – Continue reading
THE Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority has uncovered a scam where companies hire graphic artists to manipulate the value of overseas invoices. Speaking on the global move towards greater financial disclosure, FRCA director corporate services Fazrul Rahman said a Fiji company was under the microscope for incorrect invoicing. “This Fiji… – Continue reading
Tokyo: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday assured that the Goods and Service Tax (GST) will be implemented on July 1, and there will be no significant change/increase in the price of goods, even as some services may encounter marginal hikes. When the GST comes into the picture, the sectorial… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos on Monday stressed the need to combat tax evasion in order to increase tax revenues and reduce tax rates. Tsakalotos was addressing a conference of the Independent Public Revenues Authority on the dispute resolution and the protection of tax payers. The Finance Minister explained that the… – Continue reading
Only a few days left for this financial year to end and tax filing deadline is striking the calendar. Indian Government has already taken many initiatives to simplify the tax filing process by introducing new ITR forms, online filing facility etc. Yet many taxpayers tend to make silly mistakes while… – Continue reading
Kuwait became the 110th jurisdiction to sign the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters on May 5, 2017. The OECD describes the Convention as the most powerful instrument for international tax cooperation. It provides for all forms of administrative assistance in tax matters: exchange of information on… – Continue reading
EESC debate on taxation of the digital economy and the sharing economy European tax rules are not currently prepared for the digital economy. They need to be adapted to reality in order to offer the people of Europe a more prosperous future. This was the main message of the European… – Continue reading
It has been more than a year since the Australian government committed itself to remedying the nation’s double taxation scheme for cryptocurrencies. The delay in crafting a fix has left some observers wondering whether the issue had been set aside entirely. In a statement released this week, the government has… – Continue reading
Over $2.6 trillion is held as untaxed cash in offshore accounts by top US companies like Apple, Google, IBM, Pfizer, Pepsi and Coke, McDonald’s etc. according to a report by the Washington-based Institute for Tax and Economic Policy (ITEP). This is the highest-ever hoard held offshore by American companies and… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: India’s apex body for direct taxes has proposed new rules for bringing the value of unquoted shares on a par with the fair market value of underlying assets, seeking to prevent tax avoidance by firms that use the historical acquisition cost to set the price of unlisted stock…. – Continue reading
Days after it emerged that Italian tax agencies were pursuing online retail giant Amazon for taxes worth EUR130m (USD142m), it was revealed that Google will pay a EUR306m (USD335m) tax settlement. The payment relates to the tax periods between 2009 and 2015 and to an old dispute concerning tax years… – Continue reading
“The ball is in the Bahamas’ court” to meet its automatic tax information exchange commitments, a senior industry executive yesterday saying there is “no alarm” about this nation having to alter its approach. #Tanya McCartney, the Bahamas Financial Services Board’s (BFSB) chief executive, told Tribune Business that the private sector… – Continue reading
HM Revenue and Customs has updated the International Tax Compliance Regulations to include provisions on new automatic tax information exchange agreements and to clarify how non-compliance penalties will apply. The amendment clarifies due diligence and reporting requirements for financial institutions, to ensure the UK complies with international tax reporting standards,… – Continue reading
KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has initiated audit of all those taxpayers who have made offshore transactions during the last six years, sources said on Tuesday. “All corporate and individual taxpayers, who have made offshore investments, have been selected for audit to check the tax concealment,” an official… – Continue reading
A high percentage of UK executives are unaware of the impending introduction of new laws which could make a business’s failure to prevent tax evasion by its employees and agents a criminal offence, according to research by Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com. In a YouGov poll of more… – Continue reading
Governments are expanding their use of tax incentives to maintain their country’s international appeal to businesses, alongside the adoption of anti-base erosion and profit shifting measures, according to a survey from EY. EY’s survey of tax policy professionals in 50 countries found that, “While the long-term trend for countries to… – Continue reading
Germany will introduce “license barrier rules” as of January 2018. The new rules will limit the tax deductibility of license fees or royalty payments to foreign related parties that benefit from preferential regimes (“Patent Box”, “IP-Box”, “License Box”) which are incompatible with the “OECD nexus approach” (“unqualified preferential regimes”) (sec…. – Continue reading
The EU’s plan for the Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) should be suspended until a country-by-country analysis of its likely impact is undertaken by the European Commission – according to Fine Gael MEP Brian Hayes. Mr Hayes said he has written to the EU commissioner for economic and financial… – Continue reading
The total loss to EU member states from the schemes revealed in the Panama Papers could be in the region of between EUR109bn (USD119bn) to EUR237bn, according to a new study commissioned by the European Parliament’s PANA committee. The Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance, and Tax Evasion… – Continue reading
In a world of data breaches and political unrest, the concept of confidentiality faces a certain death, warned British Virgin Islands lawyer Tim Prudhoe on Tuesday. Rather than fear the future, the Kobre & Kim partner advised offshore tax jurisdictions to embrace transparency and find benefit in a turbulent world…. – Continue reading
Starting on April 27, and finishing on May 2, the European Parliament (EP)’s Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (PANA) is holding two meetings to present several related studies which address the impact of, and the fight against, tax evasion and money laundering, particularly in… – Continue reading
A newly published federal draft law introduces Russia to a three-tiered approach to transfer pricing documentation and brings Russian regulations in this area in line with the OECD minimum standards under Action 13 of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Plan. The draft law, published by the Ministry… – Continue reading
New transfer pricing regulations issued by the State Administration of Taxation (SAT), the Measures for Administration of Special Tax Investigation Adjustment and Mutual Agreement Procedures (“the Measures”), came into effect on May 1, 2017. The Measures consolidate China’s pre-existing regulations regarding self-adjustment and outbound payments with the new transfer pricing… – Continue reading
Malaysia should increase its goods and services tax (GST) rate, strengthen international anti-avoidance rules, and seek to boost compliance, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. The IMF said that increasing the current six percent rate of GST by 0.5 percentage points would increase Malaysia’s revenues by an estimated 0.25… – Continue reading
(Second of two parts) In last week’s article, we discussed the revised procedure to avail of tax treaty benefits for dividend, interest, and royalty payments under Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) No. 8-2017. Under the amended rules, a tax treaty relief application (TTRA) is no longer required and withholding agents can… – Continue reading
Finance ministry officials are considering the mandatory installment of an application across the country that will prevent cash registers from cancelling transactions, a measure ostensibly aimed at reducing the still “Olympus-sized” mountain of tax evasion in Greece. According to reports, the relevant deputy finance minister was in the German federated… – Continue reading
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled in favor of Austria in its dispute with Germany relating to the taxation of interest from profit-participation certificates received by an Austrian bank from a German bank. The case involved the interpretation and application of Article 11 of the 2000 double tax… – Continue reading
The UK parliament passed a truncated version of the finance bill (budget) for 2017 last Tuesday after strong opposition to the original bill. The removal of 72 of the 135 clauses allowed the bill to glide through the UK parliament in just two hours. A significant number of the 72… – Continue reading
It often occurs that a multinational company employs a foreign manager based on an employment contract or secondment. In the first case, the Hungarian company is considered as the legal and economic employer, therefore the salary is payed directly by it. In the second case, the employee maintains the employment… – Continue reading
President Trump has signed three executive orders to spark reviews of tax and financial regulations so taxes on businesses and individuals can be cut. The approach would be different from Trump’s earlier plan, which was criticized as an approach that would mostly benefit higher earners. Michael Zezas, a strategist at… – Continue reading
East Africa tax experts have raised concerns over increasing cases of tax evasion and fraud by some tax payers in the region which is crippling the economies. They made the remarks on Wednesday during the 6th East Africa regional meeting on tax investigation and enforcement in the Rwandan Capital Kigali…. – Continue reading
Pakistan and Bulgaria on Wednesday signed the Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income (ADTA) after the conclusion of second round of negotiations in Islamabad. The ceremony was overseen by Federal Board of Revenue Chairman Dr Muhammad Irshad and Bulgaria… – Continue reading
Witnesses call for repeal of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act An agreement that has resulted in hundreds of thousands of Canadian banking records being sent to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service could violate the U.S. constitution, a congressional subcommittee heard Wednesday. Testifying before a subcommittee of the House Committee on… – Continue reading
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are putting a new breath to the fight against tax fraud and evasion in Nigeria, as the two agencies will soon launch an anti-tax fraud and evasion team. This collaboration, according to the FIRS Executive Chairman,… – Continue reading
Deloitte survey highlights tax predictability as key to driving investment growth in Asia Pacific New Zealand well placed against backdrop of increased uncertainty in Asia Pacific’s tax landscape New Zealand’s tax policies are seen as relatively straight forward, consistent and predictable compared to other countries in the region, according to… – Continue reading
Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley released after HMRC investigation Offices at St James’ Park and club training ground raided by tax authorities The offices of Newcastle United and West Ham United were raided on Wednesday morning and Chelsea confirmed they were asked to provide information as part of a wide-ranging… – Continue reading
President said to call for taxing pass-throughs at 15% Pass-throughs are currently taxed at higher individual rates President Donald Trump plans to propose a 10 percent tax on more than $2.6 trillion in earnings that U.S. companies have stockpiled offshore, said a White House official familiar with the president’s tax… – Continue reading
Many of the data submissions made by early adopters over the next two months under the new common reporting standard (CRS) are likely to be rejected and returned for correction and resubmission, adding to compliance costs, according to predictions from Sovos, a global tax compliance solution provider The UK is… – Continue reading
The overwhelming majority of people in G-20 countries believe that cooperation between governments on tax policy is more important than competition to increase national tax revenue. According to a survey by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, the preference for cooperation over competition is strongest in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France,… – Continue reading
The Bahamas is under growing pressure to bow to international demands that it automatically exchange tax information on a ‘multilateral’ basis, with the European Union (EU) and its members refusing to accept this nation’s preferred approach. #Well-placed Tribune Business sources, both inside the Bahamas and internationally, have confirmed that the… – Continue reading
