Stymied in their efforts to fully repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Republican leaders in Congress continue their efforts to undermine the law by starving it of funding. Today, the Senate Finance Committee will consider legislation that would repeal some of the tax changes enacted to pay for the ACA…. – Continue reading
FATCA 1. New FATCA IGA guidance notes On 3 February 2015, the Jersey Chief Minister’s Department published the latest version of the Guidance Notes on the Taxation (International Tax Compliance) (Jersey) Regulations 2014 in relation to the implementation of obligations arising under the intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) with the US and… – Continue reading
1 General news 1.1 HMRC organisation chart HMRC has published its latest organisation chart showing the names of senior management. One point to note is the number of senior people now in roles such as change management as opposed to being in pure technical roles. This clearly demonstrates the direction… – Continue reading
The Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) is urging parliament to expedite a batch of bills aimed at facilitating much-needed foreign investment in Cyprus. Chief among the proposals are the establishment of foreign leasing companies and cell companies, opening up the professional provident fund business to foreign concerns, and updating company… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Joe Oliver faced formidable challenges, both economic and political, in delivering his first Budget. In a time of depressed oil prices, and mere months ahead of the next federal election, it appears he felt it was imperative to follow through with prior commitments to balance the budget, provide… – Continue reading
On March 18th 2015, the European Commission published a new initiative on tax transparency to fight tax evasion and avoidance. The initiative includes a proposal to extend the scope of the Directive on Administrative Co-operation in the field of direct taxation (2011/16/EU), amended by Council Directive 2014/107/EU (the “Directive”) by… – Continue reading
Two Kent fraudsters who denied £11.7 million from British taxpayers in a fraud worth £23 million have been jailed for a combined 15 years. Narinder Chada, 62, of The Russetts, Meopham, and Gurmail Dosanjh, 46, of Singlewell Road, Gravesend, were sentenced to seven and eight years in jail respectively, yesterday… – Continue reading
HM Revenue and Customs has amended its list of registered pension schemes in what appears to be a bid for clarity in light of the new pension freedoms, toughening risk warnings and modifying language to emphasise that appearing on the list does not confer authorisation, reports the FT Adviser. The… – Continue reading
SOUTH Africa’s Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene says African leaders need to focus more on tax policies and the diversification of tax resources in order to foster growth. Speaking at an African Tax Administration Forum conference on Tuesday, he said the global focus on international taxation offered a unique opportunity for… – Continue reading
EUROPEAN M&A DOS AND DON’TS FOR NON-EUROPEAN BUYERS Inbound M&A in Europe by non-European buyers increased in 2014 by 68.6% compared to 2013, representing over a third of USD 901.4 billion total European M&A.1 For non-European buyers the basic framework of transactions may be similar, but there are a number… – Continue reading
CHEYENNE, WY, April 17, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ — OUTPOST PROVISIONING LLC today announced the launch of its “Wyoming…the Offshore Alternative” campaign alongside release of its Wyoming Paymaster Purpose Trust product. “Wyoming…The Offshore Alternative” touts Wyoming as being the Offshore-equivalent for wealth protection without the inconvenience, scrutiny, compliance costs and risks involved… – Continue reading
Get three tax advisers in the same room and they will come up with at least four definitions of tax avoidance: put in a couple of members of the public and the total will double. There are a few purists who dispute that tax avoidance exists – either something is… – Continue reading
As foreign portfolio investors balk at India’s claim of $6.4 billion in back taxes, the finance ministry’s latest demand isn’t damping interest in the nation’s stocks and bonds. Foreigners were net buyers of local equities every day barring one since the finance ministry said April 6 it is well within… – Continue reading
Lithuania thanks Japan for lending support to the ambition to join OECD On 15 April 2015, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevicius in a meeting with Parliamentary Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Kentaro Sonoura expressed his gratitude to Japan for supporting Lithuania’s ambition to join the… – Continue reading
Top Democrats in both the House and the Senate are bringing back legislation to crack down on offshore tax deals. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) and five other Democratic lawmakers are proposing to ban companies that shift their legal address abroad and score a lower… – Continue reading
Within the current discussion of corporate tax there are a number of terms used to describe the corporate strategies and behaviours involved, such as “tax minimisation” or “tax avoidance”. There are also other terms used in the academic accounting literature on tax. This can result in confusion about what exactly… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street banks and other financial firms should pay new fees to bankroll their own government oversight, according to a member of the top U.S. derivatives regulator. Sharon Y. Bowen, a Democrat on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said Congress should let the agency set fees on banks… – Continue reading
Introduction Soft commodity prices, divergent monetary policies across major economies, high unemployment rates and weak world trade have all conspired to slow down global economic recovery over the past seven years. Consequently, governments have had to cut spending as future revenues remain uncertain. This has led governments to look for… – Continue reading
Washington, D.C. – As tax day approaches, it’s important to remember that small businesses end up picking up the tab for offshore tax loopholes used by many large multinational corporations. U.S. PIRG joined Senator Bernie Sanders, Bryan McGannon of the American Sustainable Business Council, and Bob McIntyre of Citizens for… – Continue reading
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) drops a bomb on corporations who are dodging taxes by hiding money overseas by introducing new legislation that will force tax dodgers to pay their fair share. Here is part of what The Corporate Tax Dodging Prevention Act of 2015 would do: 1. Ending the rule… – Continue reading
The Panama Government on its continuous interest of complying with the requirements of international organizations and global standards of highly reputable financial centers has decided to take measures to accelerate the entry into force of Act 47 of 2013, which establishes a regime for the immobilization of Bearer Shares, and… – Continue reading
Voters in November could determine whether corporations doing business in Colorado must report and pay state taxes on profits funneled into offshore tax havens. Doing that would create a tax windfall of up to $150 million a year, according to a legislative analysis. Rep. Brittany Pettersen, D-Lakewood, and Rep. Mike… – Continue reading
New Jersey is known for many things. As a burial ground for New York mobsters. Home to an impressive array of environmentally toxic factories. Atlantic City is the established gambling capital of the Eastern United States. Newark, New Jersey: one of the United States’s most criminal-minded cities. And a catchy… – Continue reading
The European Commission has announced a package of measures aimed at increasing tax transparency between Member States. The central focus of the measures is the automatic exchange of cross-border tax rulings given by tax authorities. Under current rules, Member States are obliged to provide details on their tax rulings to… – Continue reading
On 26 March 2015, the United Kingdom Parliament passed into law the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (the “Act”). The Act will bring about a number of fundamental changes to UK company law including, amongst others, the abolition of bearer shares and corporations acting as directors and, perhaps… – Continue reading
International and local experts discuss best judicial solutions for intellectual property and money laundering crimes UAE – Dubai Judicial Institute (DJI), in partnership with the Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT) of the U.S. Department of Justice, held a special joint workshop designed to raise more awareness… – Continue reading
Who Will Be Next? How To Respond To A Tax Investigation The international political community continues to make the most threatening noises about those who they believe do not pay enough tax. Long gone it seems are the days where it was accepted that a person could properly organise his… – Continue reading
Pakistan-Japan Business Forum has recommended to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to immediately de-notify Federal Excise Duty (FED) on royalty and technical fee, which is now chargeable under the provincial legislation promulgated in Sindh, Punjab and KP, as sales tax on services. Sources told Business Recorder on Saturday that… – Continue reading
Pakistan-Japan Business Forum has recommended to the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to immediately de-notify Federal Excise Duty (FED) on royalty and technical fee, which is now chargeable under the provincial legislation promulgated in Sindh, Punjab and KP, as sales tax on services. Sources told Business Recorder on Saturday that… – Continue reading
An Australian Senate parliamentary committee hearing on Wednesday was dominated by the fire and brimstone of Labor and Greens politicians directed against tax avoidance by major corporations. Labor Senator Sam Dastyari called on Australian Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan to “name some of Australia’s worst corporate offenders,” declaring that they “should… – Continue reading
The present French Tax Update will focus on (i) several noteworthy French and European Union court decisions issued in the last months of 2014 and in the first months of 2015, and (ii) the recent presentation by the European Commission of a package of tax transparency measures. VALIDITY OF TAX… – Continue reading
The Ukrainian government will review the system of taxation of gas production companies irrespective of their form of ownership. This is stipulated in the draft guidelines of Ukraine’s budget policy, or the budget resolution, for 2016, which was tabled by the Cabinet of Ministers in parliament. Among the other priorities… – Continue reading
Savers who inadvertently incur a heavy tax bill by drawing down funds from an offshore bond in a tax inefficient manner may be able to apply to the courts to reverse their decision, according to a recent legal decision. In the ruling on a case known as Lobler vs. HMRC,… – Continue reading
Treasurer Joe Hockey is working on new laws to counter tax avoidance by global companies, but the OECD is urging countries not to go it alone. The Paris-based institution has been working on a so-called base erosion and profit-shifting action plan through the G20 since 2013 and is aiming to… – Continue reading
One of the most senior judges in the United Kingdom, speaking to Cayman’s judiciary and legal fraternities last week, said the jurisdiction chosen for a legal dispute can often be the deciding factor for many cases. Lord Mance, a justice for the Supreme Court of England and Wales, sits on… – Continue reading
Changes are in the pipeline which will have a dramatic impact on the way that auditing firms handle public-interest entities (PIEs) as from December 2016 – but Deloitte CEO Malcolm Booker is very wary about how this could work in practice. According to the legislation, auditors would have to enter… – Continue reading
CINCINNATI — March traditionally is the best month for gambling operations, and new tallies show the Horseshoe Cincinnati Casino had its best month for revenues since a year ago. Last month’s results for the Horseshoe Cincinnati, with $17.5 million in revenues, bested every month since March a year ago. Revenues… – Continue reading
Malta has become the only jurisdiction to offer full UK-style pension freedoms for British ex-pat savers in qualifying registered overseas schemes, after a deal forged last week between the country’s financial regulator, reports the FT Adviser. One provider, TMF Group, has announced it has reached agreement with the Malta Financial… – Continue reading
The financial arrangements of some of Australia’s biggest companies will be in the spotlight this week with a Senate inquiry taking evidence on corporate tax avoidance. The inquiry was initiated by the Greens leader Christine Milne and supported by the Federal Opposition. “We have to actually start really pushing on… – Continue reading
Says India not a tax haven, dues have to be paid if demands are right Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday said India’s tax regime wasn’t confrontational, but added legitimate demands by the Income Tax Department had to be paid. He said there were challenges on the road towards reforms… – Continue reading
New freedoms mean you can move your pension abroad. We show you where you’ll pay the least tax It is the ultimate dream for many people – to work hard, build up a nest egg and retire abroad to a climate with year-round sunshine. Now there is an added financial… – Continue reading
The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has criticised the Government’s decision that it will be pressing ahead with the introduction of a new ‘strict liability’ offence for offshore tax evasion. The tax body is opposed to the creation of a criminal offence which will require no proof of intention. Patrick… – Continue reading
No member of Congress has been more active in the cause of protecting tax cheaters and tax avoidance by our nation’s wealthiest individuals and corporations than Sen.(now presidential candidate) Rand Paul. While Paul is a standard bearer of anti-tax conservatives through his advocacy of radical policies such as the flat… – Continue reading
A major tax plan proposed by Assembly Republicans — that features an expansion of the Modified Business Tax as a main component — met its major adversary Tuesday at the Legislature. And that is the gaming industry — Nevada’s largest taxpayer and employer. The Nevada Resort Association made its opposition… – Continue reading
Tax avoidance takes centre stage this week with a parliamentary inquiry due to hold its first public hearings. The Senate inquiry into Tax Avoidance and Profit Shifting will start taking evidence from major technology and mining companies. The inquiry was prompted by a report which found tax minimisation strategies employed… – Continue reading
The Luxembourg supervisory authority, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), has recently issued FAQs regarding the immobilisation of bearer shares and units, as well as a press release to remind Luxembourg alternative investment fund managers (AIFMs) and non-EU AIFMs that market alternative investment funds (AIFs) in Luxembourg under… – Continue reading
National tax laws are struggling to keep pace with the rise of the digital economy and the progress of multinational companies. These factors leave gaps that are susceptible to misuse and lead to cases of double non-taxation, which undermine the integrity and fairness of tax systems around the world. The… – Continue reading
Interview with Partner and National Leader, Human Capital Services, EY India The Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Bill, 2015, popularly called the “anti-black money bill” has been in the news for its stringent and sweeping provisions. Sonu Iyer, partner and national leader, human capital services, EY India,… – Continue reading
Last month US Senator Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) introduced a budget amendment SA 621 to repeal the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) FATCA requires foreign financial institutions to disclose to the IRS about their U.S. customers’ accounts. The U.S. loses an estimated $150 billion in tax revenue each year to… – Continue reading
The likely centrepiece of Treasurer Joe Hockey’s assault on multinational profit-shifting – a so-called “Google tax” – risks breaking Australia’s international tax treaties, the Parliamentary Budget Office has found. The independent adviser warned that the unilateral introduction of a “diverted profits tax” like ones being considered by Australia and Britain… – Continue reading
