If you want to know how your local school is performing, you can check the My School website for data on its results, funding, enrollments and more. If you want to be sure about a company you’re doing business with, you can search ASIC’s registers for details of its ownership,… – Continue reading
Tax avoidance is morally wrong even if it is legal, the majority of people surveyed in a poll for two leading charities said. Four in five of those asked said it is too easy for large companies to avoid paying tax in the UK while almost three-quarters said the next… – Continue reading
December 1: The Inland Revenue last week released its annual compliance guide for taxpayers and reports on progress with respect to the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) work and time frames, for New Zealand consultation on possible domestic law changes to address BEPS concerns. The 2014/15 compliance guide… – Continue reading
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/0092eb7c-788d-11e4-a33c-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz3KooWgw9y Multinational companies are braced for a tax crackdown after George Osborne vowed to use… – Continue reading
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has welcomed long-awaited recommendations from the Smith Commission on the devolution of additional tax powers to the Scottish Parliament. Cameron established the Commission in the wake of the “no” vote in September’s Scottish independence referendum. He sought to keep Scotland in the UK with promises… – Continue reading
Top cable firm, lawmaker allegedly stashed funds in Swiss accounts Argentina’s top cable-TV operator, a former professional soccer player and a lawmaker are among the holders of some 4,000 secret Swiss bank accounts used to evade taxes, the Argentine tax agency said on Friday. The agency’s revelation came a day… – Continue reading
Swiss citizens voted against a referendum to dramatically slash immigration, in what had been described as an effort to protect the environment from a wave of resource-consuming new arrivals. Early results by polling agency gfs.bern, published by public broadcaster RTS, showed that 74 percent of Swiss voters turned down the… – Continue reading
WEALTHY foreigners who have sought tax exile in Switzerland could be tempted to find a new home elsewhere — many in Britain — if Swiss voters back a referendum today abolishing their special status. Polls suggest the move could be approved by a narrow margin, leaving the 5,600 beneficiaries of… – Continue reading
New European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker on Friday defended Luxembourg’s controversial tax deals with global firms, saying it had no choice if it wanted to stay competitive. Juncker survived a no confidence vote in the European Parliament on Thursday over revelations by the “Luxleaks” journalistic investigation this month showed the… – Continue reading
More than 23,000 foreign and offshore companies have developed profitable activity in Greece over the last thirty years. Data released by the Greek newspaper “TA NEA” show that most foreign and offshore companies acquired a Greek taxpayer identification number (TIM) and legal representatives in Greece between the 1980s and 2011…. – Continue reading
New Delhi, India is moving towards a tax-friendly regime to erase the “bad name” it has earned over the years, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday. “Our tax system has to be friendly with tax payers and that is what we are trying to do step by step,” he… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Tax authorities are making a fresh bid to engage with taxpayers as they attempt to present a friendly face and wipe out the ghosts of controversial tax disputes of the past, which attracted global criticism. Reaching out to the taxpayer, both small and large, the department has lined… – Continue reading
November 28: Nigeria’s Federal Inland Revenue Service previously indicated that it would no longer accept tax returns filed by non-resident companies on a “deemed profit basis,” but that non-resident companies must file their tax returns on an “actual profit basis.” These returns are to include audited financial statements as well… – Continue reading
November 28: The French legislative assembly on 18 November 2014 passed a draft Finance Bill for 2015, thereby sending the bill to the Senate for its consideration. One of the provisions in this legislation would “tighten” the transfer pricing penalties for a taxpayer’s failure to respond to a request by… – Continue reading
Reminder: All Cayman Islands funds are likely to be caught by the FATCA legislation – regardless whether the fund has any USA investors. With the end of 2014 in sight, Cayman Islands funds must check for compliance with the obligations imposed under the FATCA / tax information sharing regime. For… – Continue reading
Even as Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said a heavy tax regime was responsible for black money, his ministerial colleague M Venkaiah Naidu told parliament amidst uproar that BJP had never promised to bring back black money stashed aboard in first 100 days of power. Reading BJP manifesto, Naidu,… – Continue reading
BARBADOS AND COLOMBIA have taken significant steps to improve the exchange of information on arrangements with the signing of a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) recently. The Barbados-Colombia signing took place on November 25, in Washington D.C. Ambassador John Beale initialled the document on behalf of Barbados, while Colombia’s Ambassador… – Continue reading
Demands for an independent investigation into ‘Lux Leaks’ tax avoidance affair remain after censure vote World Bulletin/News Desk Although the European Commission’s new president, Jean-Claude Juncker, has comfortably survived a no-confidence vote, demands for an independent investigation into the so-called “Lux Leaks” tax avoidance affair are continuing. The censure motion… – Continue reading
Proposals by the Smith Commission to allow Scotland to vary income tax rates could lead to a rise in tax avoidance unless properly managed, according to a tax expert at Pinsent Masons, the international law firm. Karen Davidson, a legal director and tax specialist at Pinsent Masons says that any… – Continue reading
The revelations that global and multinational businesses have been brokering “secret” tax deals with Luxembourg to avoid paying taxes in their home countries, may be the first time an entire country has been implicated in tax avoidance collusion. A cache of leaked agreements uncovered by the International Consortium of Investigative… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said tax rates should be brought down to reasonable levels to get rid of rampant instances of evasion and to improve the environment for investments. “Our tax system has to be friendly for tax payers and that is what we are trying to do… – Continue reading
Recently approved incentives for companies to set up international headquarters and international trading centres in Thailand could have a positive effect on foreign investment, say foreign executives. “After Singapore, I think Thailand could be the next big attraction for [such offices] to open here,” said Stanley Kang, chairman of the… – Continue reading
Passage by the French assembly on 18 November 2014 of a draft Finance Bill for 2015 (which now will be presented to the Senate) Introduction by the French government on 12 November 2014 of a second draft amended Finance Bill for 2014 In general, the draft Finance Bill for 2015… – Continue reading
Latest updates as proposals for new devolution to Scotland unveiled in Edinburgh 14.00 We’re going to wrap it there for today. Thank you for following. 13.30 Labour are concerned about regional airports in the north of England, and tax competition from lower levels of air passenger duty in Scotland. Is… – Continue reading
Summary: The Australian Taxation Office’s treatment of bitcoin and other digital currencies could see businesses operating in the space close up shop or move offshore, a Senate Committee hearing has heard. Leon Spencer By Leon Spencer | November 27, 2014 — 01:15 GMT The Australian Taxation Office’s (ATO) decision to… – Continue reading
Refund Management Services (http://www.RefundManagement.com), the number one choice for Canada’s biggest winners for U.S. gaming and casino tax refunds, is issuing its congratulations to the World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event champion and weighing in on international gaming tax exemption laws. The WSOP is held annually in Las Vegas,… – Continue reading
Bonds of Greenko Group Plc fell to a record after India’s central bank banned the method used by the hydro and wind power company to raise funds from overseas. The company used an offshore entity to sell U.S. dollar notes at a spread higher than the limit set by the… – Continue reading
Most People Can’t Afford To Move Home To Avoid Tax. But The Rich Can, And They Pay Most Tax. The Scots Should Be Careful Before Raising Taxes. You have to be very rich to move to Monaco to escape UK taxes but you need to be only fairly rich to… – Continue reading
The Ministry of Financial Services has floated for consultation a draft bill aimed at providing a framework for the implementation of the agreement which was signed on November 3, 2014 between The Bahamas and the United States (U.S.) to implement the provisions of the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance… – Continue reading
On November 18, 2014, the Lower House of Russia’s Parliament, the State Duma, approved at second and third readings Bill No. 630365-6, which would introduce a new controlled foreign corporation (CFC) regime in the country. The new CFC regime contained in the Bill has an anti-offshore orientation and would give… – Continue reading
Centrist parties vote down European parliament motion criticising commission president’s role in tax avoidance schemes Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European commission, has survived a motion of censure in the European parliament brought because of his role in tax avoidance schemes. The motion brought by Britain’s Ukip, France’s Front National,… – Continue reading
I’m afraid to say we made the wrong choice as Ukip are beginning to prove time and time again their insignificance in Europe. The European Parliament took a vote of confidence today on the newly appointed Commission of Jean Claude Juncker. The vote, triggered by the Luxleaks tax avoidance revelations,… – Continue reading
THE Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) said that action is needed to mitigate the impact on the local financial services sector from a recent Russian law cracking down on Russian offshore business. Speaking at a press conference in Nicosia, ICPAC chairman Yiannis Charilaou said however that the… – Continue reading
Sol Campbell owns £25m house in London and Northumberland mansion He appeared on BBC2’s Daily Politics to explain mansion tax was unfair Ex-England footballer said proposed levy was a ‘tax on aspiration’ He said Labour should instead pursue companies who had avoided tax But MP Owen Smith said people had… – Continue reading
Hal Hicks cleared his throat and addressed a roomful of peers in a midtown Manhattan auditorium. The topic: the tax-avoidance technique called inversion, in which a U.S. company claims a foreign legal address. Waving his hands back and forth as if tracing a pendulum’s swing, Hicks explained how four government… – Continue reading
Despite the Obama administration’s ongoing efforts to crackdown on American companies moving overseas to avoid U.S. taxes, the Treasury Department is still awarding millions of dollars in federal contracts to these companies. Tyco International for example, moved their firm from the U.S. to Bermuda in 1997 and currently operates out… – Continue reading
Legal disputes, lack of an ecosystem for smartphones and personnel availability are challenges As speculation swirls that Micromax, HTC and Chinese mobile handset manufacturer Xiaomi are eyeing the idle Nokia plant at Sriperumbudur near Chennai, experts say buyers will have to negotiate legal disputes, the lack of a smartphone supply… – Continue reading
Love him or hate him, you have to say that Boris Johnson makes a very good point about FATCA. Having been hit with a US tax bill due to his unwanted dual citizenship, Johnson – who is as British as they come in all fairness – says he will not… – Continue reading
European tax experts say that despite rule changes, Britain has one of the clearest systems Tax professionals view the Netherlands and the UK as the most attractive European countries in which to do business, according to a new survey. The two countries scored well on how simple their tax rules… – Continue reading
An Australian parliamentary committee on Thursday (Nov 27) recommended strengthening rules on foreign investment in the country’s booming housing market, calling enforcement of the current framework “severely lacking”. SYDNEY: An Australian parliamentary committee on Thursday (Nov 27) recommended strengthening rules on foreign investment in the country’s booming housing market, calling… – Continue reading
Bloomberg Beijing CHINA was expanding efforts to rein in what authorities said was tax evasion by foreign companies, with Microsoft being required to pay more than $150 million (R1.61 billion), an official familiar with the matter said yesterday. The payments – including 840 million yuan (R1.5bn) in back taxes, interest… – Continue reading
November 26: Legislation concerning the ratification of the fourth Protocol to amend the Luxembourg-France income tax treaty is expected to be submitted in early 2015. Consequently, the Protocol (signed in September 2014) is expected to be effective—at the earliest—as from the 2016 civil or financial year. Scope of Protocol Provisions… – Continue reading
On 21 November, the States of Guernsey Income Tax (ITO) published bulletin 2014/1 to update the most recent iteration of the draft guidance notes issued jointly by the crown dependencies on 28 July 2014 regarding the implementation under domestic law of FATCA-based reporting. The bulletin provides clarification in response to… – Continue reading
Good news for South Africans who worked abroad. JOHANNESBURG – A number of pensioners and tax specialists heaved a collective sigh of relief after the South African Revenue Service (Sars) ruled that any pension South Africans accumulated while working outside the country will generally not be subject to local tax…. – Continue reading
Strategies: Economists suggest removing easy avoidance VANCOUVER — Never mind that business-friendly tax policies – reforms like the dramatic reductions in federal and provincial corporate taxes over the past decade or so – enhance international competitiveness. This doesn’t impress the electorate when the benefits go mostly to the relative handful… – Continue reading
MOSCOW, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) — Russian entrepreneurs must report to tax authorities about their ownership of shares in the off- shore jurisdictions, according to the law signed by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. The new law introduces an amendment to the Russian Tax Code that will force Russian owners of… – Continue reading
Mr. Eduardo Morgan of Morgan and Morgan Group spoke to United World to clear up misconceptions about Panama’s tax laws. Panama is not a tax haven. The country has none of the aspects that, according to Colombia, identify a tax haven. Our tax legislation does not have any law that… – Continue reading
Canadian taxpayers with an interest in a partnership that holds specified foreign property (as defined in subsection 233.3(1)) may face uncertainty when assessing their form T1135 (“Foreign Income Verification Statement”) filing obligations. Depending on the partnership’s structure, either (1) the taxpayer may be required to file form T1135 in respect… – Continue reading
ZURICH (Reuters) – Many of Switzerland’s foreign millionaires will be watching nervously on Sunday as voters decide whether or not to scrap one of the country’s biggest tax perks for expatriates. Switzerland’s system of charging foreign residents with no gainful activity in the country a lump sum based on their… – Continue reading
Martin Lock was formerly the top withholding-tax specialist at the Tax Office, a role that encompassed oversight of profit shifting by multinationals. He is one of many former officers who have voiced their concerns to Fairfax Media about the challenge of arresting the slide in tax receipts from multinational companies… – Continue reading
