The recent cases of FCT v Darling [2014] FAM CAFC 59 (Darling) and International Litigation Partners Pte Ltd v FCT [2014] FCA 671 (Litigation Partners) have cast the spotlight on the Commissioner of Taxation’s (Commissioner) ability to access information from the contents of Family Court files in order to assist… – Continue reading
Opposition firebrand Alexey Navalny called Tuesday for the dismissal of hockey legend Slava Fetisov from Russia’s Federation Council, alleging that the senator owns offshore assets in Cyprus in violation of Russian law. Navalny, the head of the Anti-Corruption Foundation, uploaded to his blog a series of documents allegedly evidencing Fetisov’s… – Continue reading
The measure The Chancellor confirmed that the new diverted profits tax (DPT) will be introduced from 1 April 2015. DPT will apply in two distinct situations, being: Where a foreign company has artificially avoided having a taxable presence in the UK; and Where a UK company (or a UK permanent… – Continue reading
The Cook Islands has been rated “largely compliant” in a phase two peer group review conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. The key findings of the review were that the Cook Islands has adequate laws… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — Luxembourg’s status as a fortress of wealth in the heart of Europe is in peril. The country transformed itself from a rural economy into the European Union’s richest in less than a century by swapping fields and steel mills for hedge funds and multinationals. That model may now… – Continue reading
European states including Ireland and Luxembourg will be compelled to share information on private tax deals they have granted to multinational businesses under proposals from Brussels to clamp down on corporate tax avoidance. The European Commission was due today to publish reforms aimed at bringing into line rogue member states… – Continue reading
1.GENERAL QUESTIONS 1.1 Why is the Commission presenting a Tax Transparency Package? The Commission has made the fight against tax evasion and corporate tax avoidance a political priority, with a view to creating a socially and economically more efficient Single Market. While much has been done to advance this agenda… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — Switzerland has frozen $400 million of assets in more than 30 banks as the country’s attorney general probes money laundering related to Petroleo Brasileiro SA’s widening corruption scandal. Nine investigations have been opened since last April based on allegations of corruption involving eight Brazilian citizens, the Bern-based Federal… – Continue reading
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has responded to announcements in the Budget speech by the UK Chancellor, George Osborne. On the new diverted profits tax, John Danilovich, ICC Secretary General, said: “We welcome the UK Government’s efforts to consult business on the introduction of a ‘diverted’ profits tax in… – Continue reading
The agreement under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act will enable exchange of information on cases of tax avoidance through overseas entities The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the signing of an inter-governmental agreement between India and the US seeking to impose higher withholding tax on Indian companies on their US… – Continue reading
Two Calgary men have been convicted of defrauding the federal government of $14.1 million in taxes that should have been paid on registered retirement plans, in which the money was used for offshore investments. Steven Kendall and Christopher Houston were found guilty on Wednesday on one of four charges by… – Continue reading
The disclosure period for the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF) is to be shortened and will now end in December 2015 rather than April 2016, the UK chancellor announced in today’s Budget. The LDF allows those with UK tax irregularities to make a disclosure to HMRC on a voluntary basis in… – Continue reading
Irish eyes are smiling in corporate America. The Emerald Isle has emerged as the world’s top recipient of U.S. foreign direct investment, according to a report from the American Chamber of Commerce Ireland. In the first nine months of 2014, Ireland beat the likes of Canada, Mexico, the U.K. and… – Continue reading
Transactional work varies from jurisdiction-to-jurisdiction with the ebb and flow of various economic cycles, but a prevailing theme across the EMEA region has been that more and more advisory firms are urging taxpayers to prepare for the impact of the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) action plan. Joe… – Continue reading
In 2013, STHL and its subsidiaries generated $38.6 billion in sales of crude oil, after purchasing $38.5 billion in crude and fuel products from third party and other companies from the SOCAR group. Malta has been hosting Azerbaijan’s state oil company (SOCAR) since 2007 thanks to its favourable tax regime… – Continue reading
FOCUS: As charity trustees, university governing bodies have an overriding duty to act in the best interests of their institution. However, the HMRC’s hardening stance on tax planning and the current political climate could leave them treading a fine line between their desire to maximise revenue for the university’s purposes… – 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
HSBC is closing all accounts on Jersey belonging to customers living in the UK. It is part of a move by UK banks carrying out checks on the identity and addresses of thousands of their customers on the Channel Islands. HSBC is among those carrying out the move, according to… – Continue reading
THE LAW SOCIETY has “denounced” HM Revenue & Customs’ plans to curb tax avoidance activity as “premature”. HMRC and the government are proposing to introduce new penalties for serial users of tax avoidance schemes and those whose planning is counteracted by the general anti-abuse rule (GAAR). In particular, the society… – Continue reading
The ongoing global initiatives around exchange of tax information and publication of beneficial ownership information, while ostensibly in pursuit of transparency, have their origins in the need for the larger, richer countries to increase tax revenues, and the perception that taxpayers are hiding assets abroad and out of the tax… – Continue reading
Switzerland is moving towards “greater transparency” in providing administrative assistance on tax matters, a global body today said amid India making efforts to bring back illicit funds stashed by its citizens in Swiss banks. Long perceived as a safe haven for unaccounted wealth, Switzerland has been facing international pressure to… – Continue reading
A group of U.S. senators is renewing a push to allow states to collect sales tax from remote retailers that don’t have a physical presence in the state, a move they say would level the playing field between online and traditional retailers. The Marketplace Fairness Act, which passed the Senate… – Continue reading
(CNS Business): After months of preparation, the exchange of tax information from the Cayman Islands to other jurisdictions will become more efficient with the launch of a new online system. The Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) Portal will be launched this month and will be used by Cayman’s financial institutions… – Continue reading
Permal Group is moving some of its British Virgin Island accounts to Ireland, after the Irish Collective Asset-management Vehicle (ICAV) was signed in to law last week, reports the Asset Servicing Times. The alternative asset manager will move a total of almost US$4 billion from separate accounts to a newly-launched… – Continue reading
Ras Al Khaimah, close to Dubai, is one of the fastest growing emirates in the United Arab Emirates. The emirate has also gained a reputation for being a transparent, tax free, corruption free, no red tape and inexpensive to do business jurisdiction. Ras Al Khaimah is the most popular offshore… – Continue reading
Yesterday, The Treasury released draft legislation that it said was intended to modernise the Commonwealth’s Offshore Banking Unit regime. The draft explanatory material states that the proposed changes would implement some of the recommendations from Mark Johnson’s ‘Australia as a Financial Centre’ report, as well as plug some integrity shortcomings… – Continue reading
Accountancy firms predict that a new offence of aiding and abetting tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance will be announced in next week’s Budget It is expected that George Osborne will outline proposals to introduce special measures, aimed at professional service firms, to deter serial avoiders and scheme promoters. The… – Continue reading
Under a plan baked into the White House’s budget for 2016, U.S. corporations would theoretically be forced to pay hundreds of billions in new taxes on money kept abroad. Levying fees on the $2.1 trillion in funds largely held by shell companies through an accounting trick called deferral, the move,… – Continue reading
The Chancellor will take credit for the improving state of the economy and public finances, but real policy changes will have to wait until after the election. Chris Sanger, Head of Tax Policy at EY, comments: “With this Budget announced in the dying embers of the coalition, next week’s event… – Continue reading
Tax avoidance schemes are hitting the headlines on a daily basis, particularly in light of the recent allegations that HSBC supposedly assisted clients to “dodge tax” and the reported involvement of thousands of celebrities, sports stars and politicians in film finance schemes. Any such scheme which bears the hallmarks of… – Continue reading
On 9 March 2015, the State Secretary of the Latvian Foreign Ministry, Andrejs Pildegovics, met with the members of the South Korean Parliament, Byun Jae Ill and Park Young-sun, who are visiting Latvia from 9 to 11 March in order to strengthen cooperation between the Latvian and South Korean Parliaments,… – Continue reading
The regional operating headquarters (ROH) provisions that Thai tax authorities introduced in 2002 have never been popular, as they are difficult to understand and comply with. As a result, many businesses have bypassed Thailand and chosen Kuala Lumpur for their regional offices. Even a major revamp of ROH regulations in… – Continue reading
The long-awaited double tax agreements entered into by Kenya with South Africa and Mauritius respectively did not come into force on 1 January 2015 as expected. The treaty between Kenya and South Africa that was signed in November 2010 was ratified by Kenya in October 2014, following earlier ratification by… – Continue reading
Promoters of tax avoidance schemes that have been identified as “high risk” by UK tax authorities must now publicise that they are being monitored so that potential customers are aware of the risks of using them, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced.10 Mar 2015 Tax Disputes and Investigations Tax… – Continue reading
*BELIZE HITS NEW MILESTONE IN AML/CFT COMPLIANCE The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) recognizes the tremendous strides Belize has made in strengthening its regime for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and concluded that Belize no longer poses a risk to the international financial system. At… – Continue reading
The Government of the Virgin Islands enhanced relations with the Portuguese Republic by concluding a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) this week bringing the total signed TIEAs to 19. Deputy Premier and Minister of Health and Social Development, Honourable Dancia Penn, OBE, QC, and Secretary of State for Tax Affairs… – Continue reading
Skip to content Using Gmail with screen readers Click here to enable desktop notifications for Gmail. Learn more Hide 34 of 34 Web Clip Forbes.com: Most popular stories – Volt Vs. Tesla: The Dealership Experience – 7 hours ago ready to post 9 mar 2015 D Ready to post –… – Continue reading
The Caribbean Financial Action Task Force (CFATF) recognizes the tremendous strides Belize has made in strengthening its regime for anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) and concluded that Belize no longer poses a risk to the international financial system. At the recently concluded CFATF Plenary, member countries… – Continue reading
FATCA could have a bearing on the provisions of the proposed Indian law A new bill to deal with black money parked abroad that the government is planning to bring in the current session of Parliament is likely to be influenced by the law in the United States to check… – Continue reading
A tax loophole is denying British youth and unemployed workers the chance to earn a living or to be trained in a new career. The sneaky technicality, which is fully supported by the European Union, is predominantly used when projects are funded from ‘European regional funds’ such as roads and… – Continue reading
Introduction In the autumn statement the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced the introduction of a new Diverted Profits Tax (DPT). Against the context of international co-operation in the OECD led consultation on ways to ensure profits are taxed where they are generated (the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project (BEPS),… – Continue reading
Chile is the fifth largest economy in South America and increasingly one of the most significant U.S. trading partners in the region. U.S. foreign direct investment into Chile was $39.9 billion for 2012 (the latest year for which official figures are available). And in 2013, the U.S. exported $17.6 billion… – Continue reading
On December 2, 2014, the State Administration of Taxation (SAT), China’s highest tax authority, issued the Administrative Measures for the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (Trial) (GAAR), which went into effect on February 1, 2015. Prior to this legislation, China had no specific GAAR, only a few general anti-avoidance principles in various… – Continue reading
NEW PACTS WITH AMSTERDAM AND TOKYO BOOST TRANSFER PRICING IN HONG KONG When combined with aggressive tax planning, Hong Kong’s onshore-offshore tax regime often results in a reduced tax burden for taxpayers that operate through Hong Kong companies by pricing intra-group transactions. The Advance Pricing Arrangement agreement with the Netherlands… – Continue reading
Cyril Ramaphosa said government would be improving tax collection and combating illicit financial flows. JOHANNESBURG – Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday announced that government would be improving tax collection and combating illicit financial flows. Ramaphosa was answering questions in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon. The Economic Freedom Fighters’ Floyd Shivambu… – Continue reading
Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s largest business advocate The issue of “tax havens” garnered early interest from the House and Senate Revenue Committees as the Oregon Department of Revenue issued a new report outlining which additional countries should be considered “tax havens” for purposes of Oregon tax law. AOI testified in… – Continue reading
UK official data show that almost 41,000 London properties owned by foreign companies 90% are based in tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands (BVI), which do not have to disclose ownership information. Transparency International, the anti-corruption organisation, used Land Registry and Metropolitan Police data to identify 40,725 properties… – Continue reading
On 9 February 2015, Insurance Europe published its comments on the discussion draft on action point 4 of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Plan published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in December 2014. The draft aimed to address weakness in the international tax… – Continue reading
Ministry of Finance Enlists EY and Convey to Develop and Deploy FATCA Model Nassau, Bahamas – The Government of the Bahamas through the Ministry of Finance announced today that it has moved to a new stage in the development and rollout of its Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Model… – Continue reading
The year 2015 promises to be an active one in U.S. international tax policy, as new players take the stage in the tax reform debate, the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) effort continues to develop and even begins to go into effect around the world, and corporate inversions remain… – Continue reading
