A report by the Government Accounting Office details who took part in the first voluntary disclosure program for offshore accounts. If you made an honest mistake and failed to keep up on international account reporting requirements, it is important to spe March 25, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ — Congress has been on… – Continue reading
Despite bilateral trade touching $83M in 2012, the two countries have greater ambitions given the untapped opportunities that the destinations offer. UAE Minister of Economy Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri stressed that the bilateral relationship between the UAE and Luxembourg is witnessing significant progress across the economy, trade and investment… – Continue reading
NAIROBI, KENYA: Seychelles Foreign Affairs Minister Jean Paul Adam has commended President Uhuru Kenyatta for his transformational leadership, terming it an ‘inspiration’ to the whole region. Mr. Adam said Seychelles was looking forward to working more closely with the Jubilee administration for the benefit of the people of the two… – Continue reading
What is FATCA? FATCA or the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, is actually a section of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act passed into United States law in March 2010, that comes into force on 1 July 2014. It is unique in its extra-territorial reach, being an attempt… – Continue reading
Both sides express interest in collaborating on small and medium enterprises and the renewable energy sectors Abu Dhabi: Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, has reaffirmed the importance of economic relations between the United Arab Emirates and the Republic of Malta during the visit of Dr. Christian… – Continue reading
The European Council has adopted a directive over exchanging information on savings incomes in a bid to clamp down on tax fraud and evasion The directive will strengthen EU rules over the exchange of information on savings incomes and help member states to share details and information more easily. Directive 2003/48/EC… – Continue reading
In the end of February 2014, Cyprus and Norway signed a double tax treaty between the two governments. The treaty signed between the two countries is a step to the further development of trade and economic relations between the two countries. The Cypriot government aims at expanding the existing network… – 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
Mar 21, Colombo: Sri Lanka will sign a revised agreement with Singapore for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income, the government media unit said. The Cabinet of Ministers has granted approval for the President, in his capacity as the… – Continue reading
The Canada-BVI Tax Information Exchange Agreement (“TIEA”) came into force on 11 March 2014. The TIEA was signed in May 2013, and the effective date provisions are set out in Article 13 of the Agreement. The BVI is now party to 25 TIEAs. What are the benefits? The BVI/Canada TIEA is significant due… – Continue reading
Vice Prime Minister Liviu Dragnea declared on Thursday after his meeting with the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region K.Y. Leung that Romania and Hong Kong will start negotiations for the signing of the double taxation agreement that was already discussed last summer during Prime Minister Victor… – Continue reading
NAIROBI (Xinhua) — The Kenyan government on Monday signed an agreement with the Seychelles to phase out double taxation on companies from the two countries. Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Treasury Henry Rotich said the elimination of double taxation will promote flow of investments, trade and labor between the two countries. “ Kenya has… – Continue reading
Switzerland and Argentina have recently signed a new agreement for the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and on capital. The treaty replaces the provisional agreement of 1997 and provides for the exchange of information upon request, in line with the current international standard. This is… – 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
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Multinational businesses that often fight with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service over their worldwide taxes may be dropped from an IRS program meant to smooth corporate audits, a senior IRS official said on Tuesday. Speaking at a conference, Michael Danilack, a deputy U.S. IRS commissioner, raised concerns… – 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
The mainland’s efforts to fight tax evasion brought in 46.9 billion yuan (HK$59.2 billion) of additional taxes in 2013, 38 times more than 2008, according to the website of the State Administration of Taxation. Since 2011, China’s transfer pricing agreements with Hong Kong and Macau have saved 34.57 billion yuan… – 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
Changes to Ireland’s residency rules, designed to eliminate mismatches between tax treaty partners, have not yet affected the residency status of any company, Finance Minister Michael Noonan has confirmed. The reforms were introduced in Noonan’s 2014 Budget and included in this year’s Finance Bill. They are intended to prevent companies… – 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
On February 5th, 2014, the Canada signed an intergovernmental agreement (“IGA”) with the U.S. regarding the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”). Under the terms of FATCA, Canadian financial institutions need to report directly to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) any information regarding bank accounts held by U.S…. – 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
Financial institutions in Bermuda, such as banks and trust companies, will soon be obliged to provide information to foreign tax authorities relating to the financial affairs of United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) resident clients. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act 2009 (US FATCA) is a US law designed… – Continue reading
Not a single company has contacted the tax authorities to say they have been affected by changes announced in the budget as part of Finance Minister Michael Noonan’s clampdown on international tax avoidance. In October’s budget, Mr Noonan included a measure that required any company incorporated in Ireland to be… – Continue reading
From “Tiger of the Indian Ocean” to “Cyber island”, Mauritius has turned now into a “Safe and Reliable Investment Hub” in terms of good governance as well as ethical, economic, political and social stability. Ranked 1st in Sub-Saharan Africa in the World Bank‘s Doing Business Report 2013, Mauritius offers a particularly favorable setting for doing business…. – Continue reading
Jersey Finance has welcomed the signing of the Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with Belgium which took place in London on Thursday (March 13, 2014). The new agreement brings the total number of tax agreements Jersey has now signed with EU Member States to 20, which includes both TIEAs and… – Continue reading
Inland Revenue today released its interpretation of what it means to be tax resident. “This is a particularly important document for New Zealanders living and working overseas. For these people, remaining tax resident in New Zealand can have significant financial implications.” says Rebecca Armour, Tax Director and Head of International… – Continue reading
12 March 2014: In its 2013 Annual Report, the Luxembourg Direct Tax Authorities reported that they have negotiated new tax treaties with Hungary, New Zealand, the UK and Uruguay. It is also reported that 659 exchanges of information upon request, spontaneous information exchanges and automatic exchanges of information have been… – 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
KUALA LUMPUR: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should tap Hong Kong’s access to the markets in China, Japan and South Korea to gain tax advantages under the double-taxation deduction pact signed between Malaysia and HK. Hong Kong Trade Development Council deputy executive director, Margaret Fong, said HK SMEs paid five… – Continue reading
MoUs on joint committee and cooperation in higher education Tirana: UAE Foreign Minister Shaikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan met in Albanian capital Tirana Ditmir Bushati, Albania’s Foreign Minister, and discussed with him avenues of joint cooperation between the two friendly countries. The two ministers signed an agreement on avoidance… – Continue reading
The Taxation (Annual Rates, Employee Allowances, and Remedial Matters) Bill contains proposed legislative amendments to give effect to the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) New Zealand is currently negotiating with the United States in respect of the United States’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The Commentary to the Bill states that… – Continue reading
Dubai: The US and UAE governments are in the process of signing the FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA). Under this agreement, banks and financial institutions in the UAE will be required to annually compile data for submission to the UAE regulatory authorities. The UAE Ministry of Finance would then send this… – Continue reading
Many UK advisers believe that the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) only applies to UK trusts if there are US beneficiaries, settlors or investments. This is not true. FATCA will apply to all financial institutions (banks, brokerage firms, trust companies and all financial accounts) in the UK and will… – Continue reading
Jersey and the Kingdom of Belgium signed a tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) at the Residence of the Ambassador for the Kingdom in London today (13 March 2014). The TIEA was signed for Jersey by the Minister for External Relations, Senator Sir Philip Bailhache. The Belgian Deputy Prime Minister and… – Continue reading
The draft double taxation agreement between Cyprus and Latvia has been published by the Latvian authorities, allowing practitioners a “sneak preview” of its provisions. The draft agreement requires the approval of the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers before signature. After signature it will need to be ratified by both countries before… – Continue reading
In order to encourage the growth of international trade including that of financial services, successive Maltese governments have sought to conclude double tax treaties with important trading partners as well as with emerging countries. This policy is expected to continue in the future. To date, treaties are in force with… – Continue reading
Georgian Finance Minister Nodar Khaduri and Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Georgia Ortwin Hennig will sign a protocol to amend the Agreement on liquidation of double taxation between Germany and Georgia on March 10. Khaduri and Hennig will also sign an agreement on financial cooperation and specific… – 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
As of January 1st 2014, Cyprus entered into five new Double Tax Treaties (DTT’s) with Estonia, Finland, Portugal, Spain and Ukraine expanding its already rich list of DTTs. All the agreements aim to avoid double taxation between the mentioned countries and follow the OECD conventional model on income and capital. The… – Continue reading
The British Virgin Islands and the United States are close to signing an agreement on implementing the US’ Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act financial law (FATCA). Last week, the two sides concluded their talks on the agreement, initialing the final text of an agreement. In a statement, the British Virgin… – 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 OECD proposes to reform transfer pricing documentation for multinational enterprises and to impose onerous country-by-country (CbC) reporting obligations, including disclosure of taxes paid in each country in which a business operates, in a bid to enhance revenue authorities’ abilities to identify high risk transfer pricing situations and to make… – Continue reading
A prominent tax lawyer says that proposed federal legislation relieving Canadian financial institutions from onerous obligations under the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act “eviscerates” an intergovernmental agreement signed between Canada and the U.S. earlier this month. “The U.S. Treasury Department may view the legislation, if passed in its current form, as an… – Continue reading
The Bermuda Court of Appeal has ruled that the target of an intergovernmental request for information under a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) may require the Attorney General to produce the terms of the request in order to confirm that the request meets the statutory requirements under the International Co-operation… – Continue reading
The inevitable march towards automatic exchange of information (AEI) as the Organization for Economic and Cooperation’s (OECD) global standard was just one of the issues discussed at a recent international tax conference held in Liechtenstein. During his address, Head of the OECD International Cooperation and Tax Administration Division, Achim Pross,… – Continue reading
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and Liechtenstein have agreed to enhance bilateral ties and co-operation between both countries, particularly in the fields of trade, investment, finance and tourism. The matter was agreed at a meeting between Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman and Liechtenstein Foreign Affairs, Education and Culture Minister Dr Aurelia… – Continue reading
Former American Peter Dunn wants Americans living in Canada to ask themselves an important question. “Am I really an American citizen?” Dunn, 50, has recently co-founded the Isaac Brock Society, a group raising awareness about the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Dunn settled permanently in Canada in 1994. FATCA,… – Continue reading
