India’s Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on October 6 announced that it entered into two unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) in September. The new APAs bring the number of such agreements signed to date to 177, comprising 164 unilateral APAs and 13 bilateral APAs. During the current financial year,… – Continue reading
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Lebanon’s parliament approved contentious taxes needed to finance a public sector pay rise on Monday and Prime Minister Saad al-Hariri warned the alternative was a collapse of the Lebanese pound in six months. “Without taxes it would have been better in popular terms, but six months later… – Continue reading
Cyprus should consider reinstating the immovably property tax to boost revenues, the International Monetary Fund has said. Taxpayers in Cyprus previously had to pay an annual tax linked to the total value of all immovable property owned. The tax was substantially reduced in 2016 and withdrawn completely this year. The… – Continue reading
The Canadian Government has said that it will “act on what it has heard” during its 75-day consultation on the controversial reform of tax planning rules it says are being used by high-income individuals to lower their tax bills. The Government intends to prevent individuals from using private corporations in… – Continue reading
The recently proposed US tax reform package would benefit the rich but see some middle-class households face higher tax rises, says a new state-by-state analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Released on October 4, the report found that the new framework would benefit the wealthiest taxpayers… – Continue reading
Survey respondents cite high marginal rates and lack of staff reward schemes as negatives More than half of Irish business owners view the State’s tax code as a barrier to growth rather than a support, according to a survey by accounting and professional services firm Deloitte. Respondents cited Ireland’s high… – Continue reading
Ireland is set to taste cold justice at the hands of the EU which has taken it to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for failing to collect a year-old tax bill of a whopping 13 billion euros from American tech giant Apple. To be sure, the EU competition commission… – Continue reading
KUWAIT CITY, Oct 7: The Ministry of Finance has sent the first official list of names of Americans and Kuwaitis who also hold the US citizenship to the US Department of Revenue in compliance with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) based on agreement signed between the countries, reports… – Continue reading
Move on multinational tax arrangements expected to be announced in the Budget An important change to multinational tax arrangements is expected to be announced in Budget 2018, limiting the tax write-offs big companies can take up front on movements of valuable intellectual property to Ireland. The move could provide a… – Continue reading
Over 100 jurisdictions indicated they will sign up to a global framework for the exchange of tax data (CRS) at the start of 2016, but these won’t take effect in Singapore and Hong Kong until 2018 Regulators in Europe and Asia are believed to be investigating Standard Chartered – one… – Continue reading
Hong Kong (HKSAR) – The Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 5) Bill 2017 (Amendment Bill) was gazetted today (October 6). The Amendment Bill seeks to pave the way for Hong Kong’s participation in the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, and to align the Inland Revenue Ordinance (IRO)… – Continue reading
Multinational companies establishing their regional operating headquarters (ROHQs), a subsector under the business processing outsourcing (BPO) sector, in the country starting January 2018 will no longer be entitled to tax incentives under the current Senate Bill on tax reform. Senate Bill No. 1592 or the proposed Tax Reform for Acceleration… – Continue reading
New Delhi [India], Oct.6 (ANI): In keeping with India’s commitment to implement recommendations of 2015 Final Report on Action 13, titled “Transfer Pricing Documentation and Country-by-Country Reporting”, the Department of Income Tax has invited comments from stakeholders and the general public. It has said that these comments and suggestions on… – Continue reading
A memorandum of understanding between Greece and the United States that aims to fight tax evasion and money laundering was submitted to parliament on Friday by the finance ministry. The agreement will help with implementation of the US’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FACTA), which was enacted in 2014. As… – Continue reading
The latest changes in Australia’s housing affordability laws are likely to have an effect on property sales tax liabilities for Australian citizens and associated property taxes for expats living and working in the country as well as property investors. Firstly, Aussie citizens living overseas may lose their Capital Gains Tax… – Continue reading
AMMAN — The major objective behind amending the Income Tax Law is not to expand the taxpayer base but to primarily address tax evasion and improve tax compliance, a senior official said. The official, familiar with the changes under way to the Income Tax Law, cited Prime Minister Hani Mulki’s… – Continue reading
BRUSSELS — European competition regulators on Wednesday mounted a push against tax avoidance by Silicon Valley giants, announcing plans to take Ireland to court for failing to collect back taxes from Apple and ordering Luxembourg to claim unpaid taxes from Amazon. The effort, which comes as the European Union considers… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service released guidance Wednesday to give tax relief to residents of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands who have evacuated the islands or were unable to return because of Hurricanes Irma or Maria. The relief extends the typical 14-day absence period to 117 days (starting Sept…. – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: Supreme Court Justice Umar Ata Bandial remarked on Wednesday that the motive behind hiding an offshore company is to hide wealth. He made the observation while hearing a disqualification petition against Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Secretary General Jehangir Tareen. A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Mian Saqib Nisar and… – Continue reading
SAN JOSE- Manuel A. Gonzalez Sanz, Costa Rica‘s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship, has met with Mohammed Sharaf Al Hashemi, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for Economic and Commercial Affairs, at the ministry in capital San Jose. During the meeting, the UAE and Costa Rica signed… – Continue reading
4 October 2017 – Highlighting the problems posed by illicit financial flows globally, including undermining rule of law and human rights, a United Nations human rights expert has called on Switzerland to ensure that so called dirty money – which stems from tax evasion and corruption – does not enter… – Continue reading
The cash would be enough to fund the entire health service for a year Ireland faces legal action for failing to recover €13billion euros in tax from US tech giant Apple after European competition authorities blasted the country over a sweetheart deal. The European Commission said Ireland had not recouped… – Continue reading
The Russian President and the Japanese Prime Minister signed the Convention for the Elimination of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes on Income and the Prevention of Tax Evasion and Avoidance (the “Convention”) on 7 September 2017. The Convention will replace the existing treaty signed in 1986 by the Soviet… – Continue reading
Many tax avoidance schemes are not illegal. But just because it is not illegal does not mean it is not a form of abuse, fraud or corruption. Credit: Servaas van den Bosch/IPS KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 2017 (IPS) – Since the 1950s, there has been a popular dance called the… – Continue reading
On 30 September 2017, the Criminal Finances Act came into force. The Act, billed as the British response to the Panama Papers cyber breach scandal, aims to take the profit out of tax evasion. Under the Act, your business could be criminally liable for the actions of your employees. The… – Continue reading
Parliament yesterday passed changes to the law to allow more people to get property tax notices digitally. This is part of Singapore’s move to becoming a Smart Nation, Senior Minister of State for Finance and Law Indranee Rajah told MPs. Existing regulations require taxpayers to explicitly consent before the Comptroller… – Continue reading
The Federal Tax Service (FTS) removes the British Virgin Islands (BVI) from the black list of ‘tax havens’. This change will affect the interests of Russian owners of the local companies. Leaving BVI for another offshore may help them keep their secrets, but not forever. Removal of the BVI from… – Continue reading
The EU is deeply divided over how to increase the tax take from tech giants such as Google, Apple and Amazon, who have recently come under fire for being perceived as not paying their fair share of taxes A controversial set of reforms spearheaded by French president Emmanuel Macron propose… – Continue reading
(CNS Business): Premier Alden McLaughlin and Financial Services Minister Tara Rivers lobbied EU officials last week in an effort to keep the Cayman Islands off the latest Brussels list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions. During the visit to the European capital, the premier said, the delegation found that EU decision makers… – Continue reading
EU nations led by France and Italy reinforced the need for an “equalization tax” or turnover tax on large internet companies such as Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., and suggested they would use special legislative procedures to impose one in the event all 28 EU-member countries don’t back the levy…. – Continue reading
GOP Leadership’s Proposal for a “Territorial Tax System” Would Encourage Corporations to Send Jobs Offshore and Avoid Paying Taxes. WASHINGTON – Today, 100 organizations sent a letter urging members of Congress to reject a proposal that would allow U.S. multinational corporations to pay little to nothing on their offshore profits…. – Continue reading
The 30 September 2017 is an important date for HMRC and its “relentless” clampdown on global tax evasion. First, it marks the coming into force of the landmark corporate offence of failure to prevent tax evasion under Part 3 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017. Secondly, it is the commencement… – Continue reading
On the back of the Indonesian government’s issuance of its new controlled foreign company (CFC) regulation on July 26, many Indonesians are likely to sell their foreign shell companies because of the enforcement of double tax payments. The CFC regulation authorizes the government to charge a dividend tax on foreign… – Continue reading
The abolition of a scheme allowing Dutch taxpayers to fess up to their tax sins and avoid criminal charges is likely to discourage high-net worth individuals from ever disclosing money hidden abroad to local authorities, practitioners say. Deputy Minister of Finance Eric Wiebes announced that it was time to draw… – Continue reading
International pension plans involve complex questions of structuring and compliance International Pension Plans (IPPs) are pension plans sponsored and funded by an employer, for employees assigned to work outside their home country, who are expected to receive IPP benefits while they are resident in their home country, or in another… – Continue reading
The European Commission is preparing a new directive on the cross-border transfer of company headquarters, a move that could have far-reaching implications for other areas of corporate governance, including tax planning and cross-border mergers, EURACTIV has learned. With Brexit on the horizon, UK companies are busy weighing their options for… – Continue reading
President Trump on Wednesday this week announced a sketchy Republican tax reform plan that covered just 9 pages and he proposed that the headline federal corporate rate should be cut from 35% to 20%. However, there is a risk to Ireland’s low 12.5% corporate tax advantage. The average rate of… – Continue reading
Gulf states are planning to introduce value-added tax starting next year following the hit faced by the energy-rice countries due to a drop in oil prices. Gulf states are planning to introduce value-added tax starting next year following the hit faced by the energy-rich countries due to a drop in… – Continue reading
The new bill is intended to stop tax havens — especially those exposed by the Panama Papers last year. Bolivian lawmakers have proposed a new bill to help fight tax evasion. The new bill, “Bill to Combat the Use of Tax Havens,” is intended to stop tax havens — especially… – Continue reading
C&AG report reveals significant variations in average tax rate paid by top 100 companies Some 13 of Ireland’s top 100 companies pay an effective rate of tax of just 1 per cent, the latest Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) report has found. The low rate, which is significantly below the… – Continue reading
On 29 August 2017, Greenland officially joined the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes. Greenland thereby declared its commitment to implement both the international standard of exchange of information on request and the standard on automatic exchange of financial account information. On 8 February 2017… – Continue reading
Recently, ANAF announced the introduction of new Split VAT rules, At the same time, though, the tax authority made changes[i] to the procedural tax law which have largely been overlooked in the intense debate over Split VAT. But unnoticed or not, these changes are important for businesses in Romania. Four… – Continue reading
At a Glance… On September 25, Governor Brown signed into law Senate Bill No. 813, which updated the California Voluntary Disclosure Program (VDP) to include out-of-state trusts with California beneficiaries and non-resident partners of out-of-state partnerships, and to allow the Franchise Tax Board (FTB) to waive the S Corporation or… – Continue reading
Quick Guide Part Three of The Criminal Finances Act 2017 (CFA 2017) introduces two new corporate criminal offences: The failure to prevent facilitation of UK tax evasion offences The failure to prevent facilitation of foreign tax evasion offences Both “failure to prevent” offences can be committed by a body corporate… – Continue reading
Commissioner-General of the Guyana Revenue Authority (GRA), Godfrey Statia warned Guyanese businessmen against offshore tax evasion, saying that global systems are being increasingly networked to weed out tax cheats and report them to their home-countries. Addressing a luncheon organised by the Guyana Manufacturing and Services Association (GMSA) at the Georgetown… – Continue reading
American CEOs stress urgent need for a tax code overhaul Major U.S. companies are advocating for changes in the tax system that they say will boost investment, jobs, and economic growth. Business leaders are urging Congress to pass a bill by the end of this year. Chief executives of large… – Continue reading
If you live in Nigeria and you have a foreign bank account; you should read this.If things go as planned, the FIRS will soon have access to information on the money and other financial investments that you have in your foreign bank account. This will happen when the Common Reporting… – Continue reading
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union’s plans to increase taxes on digital firms risks undermining the bloc’s growth and stifle global efforts to find common solutions, U.S. companies operating in the EU said on Tuesday. Critics say online firms such as Google (GOOGL.O) or Facebook (FB.O) pay too little tax… – Continue reading
Removal of withholding tax on G-Sec income effectively frees foreign investors paying any taxes New tax law proposes to remove 10% withholding tax on G-Secs but makes such income liable for income tax up to 24% This likely to result in sizeable leakage of tax revenue to govt. as G-Secs… – Continue reading
Markus J Beyrer, Director General of Business Europe, has expressed concerns about the proposed introduction of a European Union turnover tax on digital businesses. On September 21, the European Commission launched a new agenda to ensure that the digital economy is taxed “in a fair and growth-friendly way.” This could… – Continue reading
