Blatt’s all folks!’ was probably the pick of the tabloid headlines following the announcement that Sepp Blatter intends (finally) to step down as president of Fifa. Over the course of the next few months, he won’t be the only person anxiously awaiting the outcome of the current investigations into alleged… – Continue reading
Odds improve for online gaming Regulate or delegate — that’s the question facing Pennsylvania legislators as bills to legalize online gambling gain traction. A new bill in the state Senate — SB 900, allows the state, among other things, to license operators to conduct Internet gaming. It’s a practice many… – Continue reading
The United States is through trying to needle the OECD’s base erosion and profit-shifting project with pinpricks. Last week, Robert Stack, U.S. Treasury deputy assistant secretary (international tax affairs), abandoned the subtle digs Treasury had been using to attack BEPS and flat-out said the United States is extremely disappointed in… – Continue reading
The Bahamian financial industry is concerned it will have to start reporting information for the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) without the necessary legislation being in place, Tribune Business can reveal. Lawrence Lewis, a Deloitte & Touche (Bahamas) partner and accountant, confirmed to Tribune Business that there was… – Continue reading
Following the implementation of the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Directive (2011/61/EC) and associated legislation, Cyprus now lays claim to being a growth jurisdiction within the European Union for the establishment and servicing of boutique and low cost alternative investment funds based locally or offshore. The choice of fund… – Continue reading
As the financial world continues its march towards a more transparent and open environment, regulations governing private wealth are under scrutiny. The traditional is changing for good while new players emerge. Once was a time, not too long ago, the words “Swiss bank” conjured up evocative imagery: secret deals; bank… – Continue reading
The LuxLeaks financial scandal, which entailed disclosure by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists of tax rulings, galvanized public opinion and gave rise to the creation of TAXE, the European Parliament’s special committee on tax rulings. This article explains why TAXE was created and shares with you highlights from the… – Continue reading
On June 5, new EU’s anti-money laundering (AML) rules, namely the Fourth EU Anti-Money Laundering Directive (“4AMLD”) and a new Regulation on the information accompanying transfer of funds were published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Together, this legislation represents the revised EU framework on anti-money laundering and… – Continue reading
Six Indicia of Offshore Tax Criminality United States taxpayers need to be aware that a number of danger areas around offshore foreign financial accounts can be construed as evidence that could constitute criminal offenses. Some of these may seem trivial, but all the more warrant a heads-up due to the… – Continue reading
A country which is small in size but a giant in stature, Malta is rapidly gaining more and more attention on the global stage. With a rapidly expanding financial services sector which rivals some of the most established economies in the world, Malta is an extremely attractive place to do… – Continue reading
A group promoting Canadian sovereignty has raised 80% of the funds required to take the Canadian Government to court for providing residents’ details to the US for its Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The lawsuit was filed by the Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty (ADCS) on 11… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: With its subsidiary Cairn India facing Rs 20,495-crore tax notice, billionaire Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group today said it is “frustrated” by the tax demand raised on it using retrospective legislation. The Income Tax Department had in March slapped a Rs 20,495 crore tax demand on Cairn India for failing… – Continue reading
The last time the US tried repatriation – in 2004 – companies took the tax breaks and fired American workers. Better to close loopholes and invest in infrastructure If you had a spoiled 10-year-old at home who you found rifling through your wallet, what would you do? Would you spank… – Continue reading
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has won £16 million in a tax avoidance case against Abbey National Treasury Services and Cater Allen International, both part of Santander Banking Group. The courts have decided against the companies’ attempts to avoid paying corporation tax on the interest on floating loan rate notes…. – Continue reading
Payments made in advance of Tax-Avoidance Settlement Opportunity deadline The Revenue Commissioners has said it received an additional €9 million in tax settlements last week. The payments in advance of the Tax-Avoidance Settlement Opportunity deadline doubled in the last week, as the June 30th deadline approaches. Legislation contained in the… – Continue reading
Error meant that BBC Trust was not told in advance about creation of two companies designed to benefit from creative industry tax credits The BBC Trust has fired a warning shot over the bows of the corporation’s executives, calling on them to “have regard to the BBC’s reputation” following public… – Continue reading
THE North-East is becoming a “dustbin” for Scottish rubbish because of devolution, one of the region’s MPs has warned. Kevan Jones, the North Durham MP, said a “commendable” Scottish initiative to boost recycling had backfired by sending waste across the border instead, sometimes illegally. And he warned the problem was… – Continue reading
A raft of reforms to EU anti-money laundering rules will come into force later this month after they were finalised and published in the official journal of the EU, reports Out Law. The fourth Anti-Money Laundering (AML) Directive will take effect from the 26 June. EU countries will have two… – Continue reading
Sydney, 10 June (Argus) — The Australian government has released legislation to tighten rules governing corporate taxation such as the use of offshore tax havens. The bill is not aimed at any particular sector of the economy, but several resource and commodity companies have come under scrutiny following a Senate… – Continue reading
Minister of Financial Services the Hon. Hope Strachan said international best practices are evolving at a rapid pace, particularly as it relates to automatic tax exchange initiatives, tax transparency, anti-money laundering and financial crime, and e-commerce, reports the Bahamas Weekly. Making her contribution to the 2015 Budget Debate in the… – Continue reading
The Diverted Profits Tax (DPT), known by many as the “Google Tax”, is intended to stop large groups diverting profits from the UK by seeking to avoid creating a UK permanent establishment or using arrangements or entities which lack economic substance to exploit tax mismatches. Tax mismatches occur where intra-group… – Continue reading
Hong Kong, as a world financial centre, will undertake legislative changes to implement automatic exchange of information of account holders Exchange of information is a recognised tool to enhance tax transparency and combat cross-border tax evasion. As a major financial centre, Hong Kong is committed to following global standards. While… – Continue reading
Most people do not believe big companies pay their fair share of tax, according research from energy giant SSE and ICAS, the Scottish accountancy institute. The YouGov study of 2000 adults found only a third of people think most big businesses in the UK pay their fair share of tax,… – Continue reading
FOCUS: Now that the first devolved Scottish taxes have come into force, the rest of the UK will be watching with interest to see how new tax authority Revenue Scotland manages and deals with avoidance risks. Much of this interest will be on how the new Scottish General Anti-Avoidance Rule… – Continue reading
Proposed Amendments To Cyprus’s Assessment And Collection Of Taxes Law The Cyprus Government has published a draft law amending the Assessment and Collection of Taxes Law (Law 4 of 1978) in order to facilitate implementation of agreements for automatic exchange of information with other countries. When it is enacted, the… – Continue reading
An organisation that represents American expats has called on the United States Treasury to amend tax regulations to exempt those living abroad from the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FACTA was introduced in 2010 to tackle what was seen as a growing number of wealthy US citizens living abroad… – Continue reading
Transfer pricing has been raking in significant tax controversies and has also emerged as one of the leading arms of the Indian tax law. Transfer pricing has been raking in significant tax controversies and has also emerged as one of the leading arms of the Indian tax law contributing a… – Continue reading
U.S. agricultural and crop chemicals giant Monsanto (MON) could shift its headquarters to Europe in a tax-savings strategy if the company succeeds in its $45 billion unsolicited bid to merge with rival Swiss rival Syngenta. Details of the tentative plan came Monday as Syngenta reiterated its opposition to the transaction,… – Continue reading
08/06/2015 – Pushing forward efforts to boost transparency in international tax matters, the OECD today released a package of measures for the implementation of a new Country-by-Country Reporting plan developed under the OECD/G20 BEPS Project. The Country-by-Country Reporting Implementation Package will facilitate a consistent and swift implementation of new transfer… – Continue reading
On 20 May 2015, the European Parliament increased the hunt for tax evaders, money launderers and terror financiers by adopting the fourth instalment of the Anti-Money Laundering Directive (“AMLD”). The main novelty of the new directive is the introduction of a central UBO-register, a public register which identifies the ultimate… – Continue reading
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law allowing Russians to voluntarily declare foreign assets and bank deposits to avoid criminal, administrative and tax liability. Amnesty will be granted if the violation related to the declared property was made before January 1, 2015, according to the law published on the… – Continue reading
Abbott government wants to exempt 1,000 private companies from tax transparency measures, partly because of claims of abduction threats The Abbott government is pressing ahead with plans to exempt about 1,000 Australian-owned private companies from tax transparency measures after claims wealthy owners could face kidnapping threats. After the kidnapping suggestion… – Continue reading
A European probe into the Irish taxes paid by technology giant Apple, as well as multi-nationals in Luxembourg and the Netherlands, is close to finishing. The news came as Taoiseach Enda Kenny issues a robust defence of Ireland’s corporate tax regime, which has been under international pressure in recent years… – Continue reading
Retired Canadian lawyer Ginny Hillis has a message for the U.S. Congress. “They have no rights over me. None.” Hillis detests the “arrogance” of Congress for “imposing their laws on a sovereign nation with the complicity of that sovereign nation’s government.” America’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) “should embarrass… – Continue reading
Sofia. Bulgarian National Assembly is to discuss on second reading a non-reciprocal agreement between the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Government f the United States of America on the improvement of the observation of the tax legislation in international aspect and enforcement of Foreign Account Tax Compliance… – Continue reading
Bulgaria’s government has proposed to parliament to ratify the agreement with Norway to avoid double taxation of income. The agreement was signed in July of last year to update the regulation framework governing the bilateral economic relations, the cabinet said in a statement on Wednesday. The previous agreement had been… – Continue reading
In its report issued in May 2015, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned against the exceptional risks and challenges facing Lebanon as a result of several political and security factors both at the domestic and foreign levels. These challenges also result from worrying economic factors in terms of growth, the… – Continue reading
“Ireland does not have a statutory system of binding tax rulings and there is no provision in Irish law for the issuing of such rulings,” Revenue Chair Niall Cody has said, reports Tax News. Cody made the comments during an address to a session of the European Parliament’s Special Committee… – Continue reading
ZIMBABWE intends to relax rules around offshore investments by local pension funds by allowing them to invest in foreign markets –subject to regulatory approvals. Currently, pension funds are prohibited from investing offshore, but the amendments to the Pension and Provident Fund Bill of 2015 seeks to allow them to invest… – Continue reading
Luxembourg’s neighbour Belgium is to officially list the country as a tax haven, local media report, based on its non-compliant status with the OECD’s Global Forum. All countries that have been on the OECD’s list of fiscal paradises need blacklisted in Belgium, the law stipulates. This also includes Luxembourg, which… – Continue reading
Since the beginning of the global financial crisis, politicians, the media and people on the street have engaged in a series of “blame games” to point fingers and punish those responsible for their own economic ills. For the past few years, one “culprit” has been firmly in the spotlight –… – Continue reading
The present French Tax Update will focus on an overview of several noteworthy French tax court decisions issued during the past few months, in particular in relation with double tax treaty conditions to benefit from a tax credit, abuse of law challenges, increased amortization rates, and priority preliminary ruling requests… – Continue reading
The five biggest suppliers of publicly subsidised medicines in Australia recorded sales of nearly $5 billion last year but paid an average of just $10 million each in company tax. Research by the Parliamentary Library, obtained by Fairfax Media, has disclosed the tax contribution of multinational pharmaceutical companies, including Pfizer… – Continue reading
Governing and opposition MPs submitted a bill to the Hungarian Parliament yesterday that would amend legislation on the state-owned Hungarian Development Bank (MFB) to exempt a broader range of its dealings with failed brokerage Quaestor from rules on banking secrecy. The bill was designed to broaden the scope of data… – Continue reading
Following on from revelations which emerged on the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme last week, the recruitment industry has responded to reports of tax avoidance by one company. “I am very concerned to hear about such poor practice taking place, and I would like to emphasise that FCSA does not… – Continue reading
New Delhi: The government on Sunday introduced simplified income tax return forms, abandoning a previous attempt to seek detailed disclosures of foreign trips and bank accounts from taxpayers, even as it retained clauses to check evasion. While taxpayers will not have to disclose details of all foreign travel undertaken by… – Continue reading
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has in an exclusive interview with ANI said that his government is ‘fully committed’ on the black money issue, adding that they want to make it more difficult to evade taxes and siphon money abroad. “My Government is fully committed on the issue of Black Money…. – Continue reading
Anderson Group, one of the recruitment industry’s most high-profile companies, is promoting an “aggressive” tax avoidance scheme which experts are calling “abusive”. The scheme works by exploiting the government’s Employment Allowance. The scam could deprive the Treasury of tens of millions of pounds of National Insurance payments. Anderson Group says… – Continue reading
On 31 March 2015 amendments were made to the Income Tax (Approved International Agreements) (Implementation) (United Kingdom and United States of America) Regulations, 2014 (the “2014 Regulations”) which brought FATCA-based reporting into force under Guernsey law. FATCA-based reporting is implemented in Guernsey pursuant to the UK-Guernsey IGA, signed on 22… – Continue reading
Ireland still offers unfair tax deals to multinationals despite its claims of being fair and open, Alain Lamassoure, the head of the European Parliament’s tax committee has said, reports the Irish Examiner. His allegation comes as the European Commission announces it wants every member state to agree to adopt the… – Continue reading
