On Friday the Conservative government tabled legislation to implement key elements of this year’s Budget. But it contains more than tax credits. Buried within is a revised version of draft legislation implementing the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the U.S. on FATCA. A Department of Finance press release makes no mention of this… – Continue reading
The European Council this week adopted a directive strengthening EU rules on the exchange of information on savings incomes, aimed at enabling the member states to better clamp down on tax fraud and tax evasion. The EU Directive requires the member states to exchange information automatically so as to enable… – Continue reading
EU AGREES ON SYSTEM TO TACKLE TAX EVASION. The Associated Press has the story, “European Union nations on Thursday agreed on a sweeping policy to fight tax evasion after tiny Luxembourg dropped its reservations to new rules which render its secretive banking culture more transparent. Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel… – Continue reading
Look before you leap out of Israeli residence. Israel now has tax rates below the OECD average and no estate or inheritance tax. Israeli residents relocate abroad for a variety of reasons, sometimes business, sometimes personal. If the relocation is for a short period, they will typically claim various expense… – Continue reading
STUDIES show multinationals shift profits of $365bn a year from developing to developed countries through transfer pricing mechanisms, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) said on Tuesday. Over three years South Africa has seen “hundreds of billions of rand” leaving in royalties, management and service fees and intellectual property payments,… – 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. The British Virgin Islands, Liechtenstein and Jersey are among 44 countries that have set… – Continue reading
The British Virgin Islands Government has today announced the conclusion of negotiations with the United States on a Model 1 Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). In a statement the Ministry of Finance of the BVI Government said the final text of the agreement has been… – Continue reading
The Swiss Council of States has adopted a bill forwarded on from the Federal Council with modifications, implementing the revised Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Recommendations. Lawmakers increased the tax threshold for a case of tax evasion to be deemed to be a serious tax offence, from CHF200,000 (USD229,164) to… – Continue reading
THE INTRODUCTION of changes to the taxation of limited liability partnerships will go ahead on 6 April 2014 despite calls from the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee and practitioners for 12 months’ delay to the measures. The lords recommended the easement to be put in place until 2015 in order… – Continue reading
There has been considerable publicity in recent months on the alleged tax avoidance perpetrated by multinationals that has resulted in the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) publishing its action plan on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). The action plan, consisting of 15 proposals to counter the perceived… – Continue reading
Last summer, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) published proposals for major changes to the UK’s rules on the taxation of partnerships. The primary aim of the proposals was to counter arrangements which HMRC regarded as tax avoidance—in particular: disguised employment – the appointment of an individual as a member of a UK Limited… – Continue reading
European Union finance ministers failed once again Tuesday to agree on a sweeping new policy to fight tax evasion because of resistance from Luxembourg, a tiny country that long has prospered from a secretive banking culture. EU Taxation Commissioner Algirdas Semeta said their failure was disappointing because, if approved, the… – Continue reading
The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, a city state of just over a half million inhabitants, on Tuesday refused to agree on a proposed key EU tax evasion law at the monthly Ecofin meeting of European Union finance ministers. Algirdas Šemeta, EU taxation Commissioner, said Tuesday’s failure was “disappointing” because the legislation… – Continue reading
The law’s onerous provisions are scheduled to go into effect in the coming year. However, even as this regulatory reckoning approaches, a group of US citizens residing abroad is making progress pushing for repeal. The looming United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), intended to prevent tax cheating, is… – Continue reading
