President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday signed two agreements with two countries following the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC). The agreements, according to a statement issued by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, include the instrument for ratification of agreement between Nigeria and… – Continue reading
The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently published a document reminding taxpayers that income derived from virtual currency transactions must be reported on income tax returns. The IRS states that taxpayers who fail to report virtual currency earning may be audited or made liable for “penalties and interest.” IRS… – Continue reading
The Republic of Cyprus and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, signed on March 22, in Nicosia, an updated Convention on the Elimination of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital Earnings and the Prevention of Tax Evasion of tax… – Continue reading
Foreign Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin and Finance Minister of Qatar Ali Shareef Al-Emadi have signed an agreement on avoiding double taxation and preventing income tax evasion between the government of Ukraine and Qatar. According to a Thursday posting on the website of the Finance Ministry of Ukraine, avoiding double… – Continue reading
The European Commission is to take steps to ensure that EU external development and investment funds cannot be channelled or transited through entities in countries included on the EU’s “blacklist” of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions. The Commission has published guidelines which set out the applicable legislation on how EU funds should… – Continue reading
The assessment to companies like Google, Facebook or Apple would raise 5 billion a year Google, Facebook and Apple have specialized in locating in a fictitious way their operations in microaffiliates located in territories or countries where corporate tax is low or even practically nil. And they have thus turned… – Continue reading
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi today gave its approval for revision of the Agreement between India and Qatar for the avoidance of double taxation and for the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. The existing Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Qatar… – Continue reading
Malta has reiterated its commitment to fighting aggressive tax planning, joining other EU member states who have unanimously agreed to amend the EU’s tax information sharing law, the Directive on Administrative Cooperation. The amendments to the Directive, which were agreed last week by EU finance ministers, will require intermediaries, such… – Continue reading
IN THE aftermath of The Bahamas’ blacklisting by the European Union for being a tax haven, Financial Services Minister Brent Symonette says it might be time for The Bahamas to consider appointing an ambassador to the EU to increase dialogue on matters concerning this country. The St Anne’s MP said… – Continue reading
Hong Kong (HKSAR) – The Financial Secretary, Mr Paul Chan, on behalf of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, signed in Hong Kong today (March 19) a comprehensive agreement for the avoidance of double taxation (CDTA) with the Ambassador of India to China, Mr Gautam Bambawale, signifying… – Continue reading
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has warned taxpayers to beware of scammers demanding Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency as a form of payment for fake tax debts. Assistant Commissioner Kath Anderson said that the ATO became aware of scammers seeking payment in Bitcoin in late 2017, with over AUD50,000 (USD38,974) paid… – Continue reading
Investigators are in pursuit of more than £580million that was funnelled out of Toys R Us’s UK business and into a tax haven on the British Virgin Islands. Accountants and hedge funds are understood to be on the trail of the cash – a loan that was handed over by… – Continue reading
“The important thing to remember here is this is a brand-new, very complicated space,” warned John Oliver on last weekend’s episode of “Last Week Tonight.” “Literally nobody knows how it’s going to develop, so you need to be careful.” Oliver was discussing cryptocurrencies and blockchain on his show, highlighting the… – Continue reading
European Union countries have agreed on new rules to crack down on cross-border schemes that help companies evade taxes. Tax professionals who fail to inform authorities about these ploys will be hit with penalties. European Union finance ministers on Tuesday backed transparency measures requiring financial advisors, accountants, lawyers and banks… – Continue reading
Royalty taxation shall be set at 5% and 10%. The tax rate is being raised from 2% to 5%, while the zero taxation of dividends and royalty payments are being abolished. Such are the main changes in the Convention between Ukraine and the Kingdom of the Netherlands on double taxation… – Continue reading
The Deputy Prime Minister and minister of financial services were yesterday travelling to Europe in a last-ditch bid to plead the Bahamas’ case against being ‘backlisted’. Carl Bethel QC, the Attorney General, confirmed to Tribune Business that both K P Turnquest and Brent Symonette are leading a government delegation that… – Continue reading
While more and more people who can’t afford to pay council tax are being prosecuted and jailed. Not a single person has been jailed or even prosecuted for tax evasion since the Tories brought in what they claimed were “tough” new measures against tax dodgers, it was shown today. Two… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI, MARCH 11 Worried about tax evasion under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), officials are keen that the new returns filing system should ensure that the tax is first paid before the credit is given. Sources said inclusion of such a provision is one of the key differences… – Continue reading
On March 1st, President Joko Widodo signed the Presidential Decree No. 13/2018 on beneficial ownership, which enables authorities to identify the beneficial owners of firms and cooperatives, among other institutions. The decree will help to curb money laundering and terrorism funding practices. Experts have said it will also provide a… – Continue reading
India and Iran signed a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) in February, during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s official visit to India. The ‘Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income’ aims to encourage the movement of investments and services… – Continue reading
KARACHI: Foreign investors expressed concern over a proposed tax amnesty scheme to bring back offshore investments, terming it as an injustice with compliant taxpayers, officials said on Monday. Overseas Investors’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry (OICCI), representing major foreign companies in Pakistan recently shared its concerns, through a letter, with… – Continue reading
ULAN BATOR, March 5 (Xinhua) — Mongolia has formulated a draft law on tax reform in a bid to attract more investment and optimize the business environment, Prime Minister Ukhnaa Hurelsukh said on Monday. “We aim to encourage the fair businessmen and good taxpayers by reducing their taxes,” Hurelsukh said… – Continue reading
THE GOVERNMENT recently held bilateral talks with the Code of Conduct Group (COCG) to discuss tax transparency and fair taxation in the territory. A press release from the Office of the Premier issued on Tuesday (February 27), said Premier Sharlene Cartwright Robinson and other TCI representatives met with the COCG… – Continue reading
EU MEPs have supported plans to require intermediaries promoting aggressive, cross-border tax schemes to report those plans to the authorities. Under the proposal, service providers who design or promote such plans would be required to provide details of their schemes in a central directory. The disclosed information would then be… – Continue reading
The Federal Government is ready to prosecute, name and shame tax evaders that fail to utilise the tax amnesty programme, the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), to regularise their tax profiles, Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, declared on Thursday. She also disclosed that the Federal Government would… – Continue reading
Businesses must report to a central EU database which will pass information onto their respective national tax authority THE EU has dealt a blow to businesses contributing to cross-border tax avoidance. MEPs overwhelmingly voted to back a new proposal which states that companies must now report their plans for any… – Continue reading
According to regional reports, China’s police agency is allegedly monitoring cryptocurrency exchanges based outside of the country. An informant details that China’s Public Information Network Security Supervision task-force is closely watching both domestic and foreign trading platforms involved with cryptocurrencies to prevent fraud, pyramid schemes, and money laundering. China’s Regulators… – Continue reading
Parliament is considering the passage of yet another law to track tax revenue of business owners who operate both in and out of Ghana. The Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information Law will allow the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) to request for tax information on the operations of… – Continue reading
The OECD has recently launched a consultation on tackling the circumvention of its latest international tax transparency standard, the Common Reporting Standard, through the use by individuals of residency by investment (RBI), or citizenship by investment (CBI) schemes. These schemes typically entitle individuals to reside or gain citizenship through making… – Continue reading
The Government of the Netherlands has announced a comprehensive package of tax anti-avoidance proposals designed to bring the jurisdiction’s rules into line with new European Union anti-avoidance laws and fulfill its obligations under the international BEPS agenda. The plans were detailed in a parliamentary paper sent by State Secretary for… – Continue reading
The Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) has reinstated some of its personnel who had been interdicted for alleged acts of misconduct. About 21 members of staff of the GRA were interdicted in January 2017 for allegedly aiding some private companies to evade duties and taxes. Those interdicted were mostly from the… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The Indian and Kenyan governments have revised their double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) to bring down the withholding tax rates, protect treaty from abuse and check tax evasion, an official statement said on Thursday. The revised DTAA was notified on February 19, said a Finance Ministry statement. “The… – Continue reading
Businesses have expressed mixed reactions to the new Tax Amnesty policy being implemented by the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA). Some have cast doubt over the policy’s ability to reduce tax evasion while others believe the policy could increase tax compliance. The concerns were raised at a session on the relevance… – Continue reading
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III said Tuesday the government is studying three kinds of tax amnesty programs. Dominguez said these programs would include amnesty for the estate taxes, amnesty for those who were remiss in paying their taxes and amnesty for those who had tax cases. “There are three kinds… – Continue reading
‘The companies think that they have not evaded any tax and went for legal help. But they will pay the claimed dues if they lose the legal battle’ Eight insurance companies have allegedly avoided around Tk345 crore in Value Added Tax (VAT) in four years, according to officials at the… – Continue reading
India and Iran today signed an agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with regard to taxes on income. The agreement is on similar lines as entered into by India with other countries, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said in a statement. “The agreement… – Continue reading
Puerto Rico’s Governor, Ricardo Rossello in a move to attract crypto investors and holders to live in its land made an open call to everybody to come and take advantage of the tax haven. Puerto Rico recently got devastated by hurricanes Maria and Irma and is trying to recover slowly… – Continue reading
The Australian Tax Office on February 7 released draft Practical Compliance Guideline 2018/D2 on the operation of Australia’s Diverted Profits Tax for consultation. In the 2016-17 Budget, the Government announced that it would introduce a diverted profits tax (DPT), intended to ensure that the tax paid by significant global entities… – Continue reading
MEPs follow UK Treasury approach Allegations the Isle of Man was used as a base for international tax evasion have triggered a fresh investigation in the European Parliament. It comes precisely three months after the Paradise Papers claimed to expose widespread exploitation of VAT loopholes facilitated by the Island’s aircraft… – Continue reading
MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Pierre Moscovici said Monday that bank secrecy was no longer a reality in Europe since EU tax authorities automatically exchanged information about bank accounts opened within the bloc. “Bank secrecy no longer exists in Europe. If anyone has a bank account in Switzerland we are immediately being… – Continue reading
ONCE again reports are appearing in the media about the billions of dollars stashed by Pakistanis in foreign accounts or the investments they have made especially in property market abroad. National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance was informed on Friday that seven thousand Pakistanis have invested a whopping Rs 800… – Continue reading
It is a known fact that many of the cryptocurrency traders, as well as investors, are not paying taxes. The reason for this is that there is no proper legal framework to pay taxes. Moreover, the exchanges are not compliant with the tax laws. Owing to this very reason, investors,… – Continue reading
HÀ NỘI– Foreign direct investment (FDI) enterprises, which have enjoyed multiple tax incentives, pay the lowest State taxes despite reporting high profits, statistics show. FDI enterprises have achieved the highest profit growth among the economic sectors, generating VNĐ327.4 trillion (US$14.4 billion) in pre-tax profits in 2016, an increase of 17.3… – Continue reading
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, February 7) — The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) on Wednesday said it will begin investigating Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno’s alleged failure to pay taxes. BIR Deputy Commissioner for Operations Arnel Guballa made this commitment in response to an order from the House Committee on… – Continue reading
KUALA LUMPUR: The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) will raise the level of awareness among taxpayers and boost compliance rate among them to achieve a collection target of RM134.7 billion this year. It chief executive officer (CEO) Datuk Seri Sabin Samitah said that in 2017, tax collection rose by 8.15% compared… – Continue reading
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia on January 31 ruled in favor of Starr International Company in a case concerning an erroneous refund paid to the taxpayer, which the IRS sought to reclaim. In 2011, the IRS erroneously issued a USD21m refund to Starr International Company,… – Continue reading
SUBANG: The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) will this year put in place strong measures to deter tax avoidance and evasion by focusing on individuals and firms engaging in such misconduct. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Datuk Dr Sabin Samitah said the offences included those who engaged in aggressive tax planning, by… – Continue reading
The Spanish tax authority has published its annual tax and customs control plan for 2018, which details the tax compliance and enforcement measures that it intends to undertake in the coming year. The plan, published by the tax authority on January 23, features four key pillars: preventative measures, including a… – Continue reading
JEDDAH — Saudi Customs will inspect companies, clearance offices and importers to check violations such as bill manipulations to evade tax or customs duty. Violators will be fined an amount ranging between SR500 and SR5,000 and imprisoned for no more than two years. Their licenses may also be revoked, said… – Continue reading
The European Commission has recommended that the EU Council approve a request from Italy to derogate from the VAT Directive in introducing a mandatory electronic invoicing obligation on all taxable persons established in Italy except exempt small firms. In its request, Italy submitted that introducing an obligation to provide such… – Continue reading
