Mauritius has signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI). Once ratified, the MLI will affect as many as 23 tax treaties entered into by this island nation, which has been an important jurisdiction for routing investments into India. Interestingly,… – Continue reading
Indonesia and Switzerland have signed a joint declaration on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information (AEOI) yesterday. The signing was held at the Directorate General of Tax in Central Jakarta. At the signing ceremony, Indonesia was represented by Director General of Tax for the Finance Ministry Ken Dwijugeasteadi and Switzerland… – Continue reading
Companies will have to disclose “uncertain” tax positions, including amounts disputed by the Australian Tax Office, under new accounting rules designed to increase information available to investors. Australia will adopt international accounting guidance with effect from 2019 that RSM Australia national technical director Ralph Martin said would result in some… – Continue reading
OECD lauds major progress made €85 billion in additional tax revenue has been identified thanks to progress in creating a fairer and more effective international tax system, the OECD said today. The moves include increasing efforts to close down loopholes, improve transparency and ensure that multinational enterprises pay tax where… – Continue reading
The European Parliament on Tuesday passed a directive requiring big multinationals to report tax and financial data separately in all countries where they operate, a measure aimed at tackling tax avoidance and profit shifting to countries with lower taxes. The new rules are part of a wider overhaul of tax… – Continue reading
Tax executives are worried about some of the risks to their companies from the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project and U.S. tax reform proposals. A recent survey by Ernst & Young polled 901 tax and finance executives in 69 jurisdictions around the world… – Continue reading
The Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr Babatunde Fowler said the organisation plans to join the global forum on Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) to reduce tax evasion. Fowler disclosed this on Sunday in Lagos on the sideline of the just concluded workshop on Automatic Exchange… – Continue reading
Banks will have to share customer information after a new tax law took effect Saturday, according to New Zealand Bankers’ Association. The new law requires banks and other financial institutions to identify accounts held by foreign tax residents. This customer information will be provided to Inland Revenue, which will in… – Continue reading
India has cancelled the registration of more than 100,000 companies which were “in violation of laws”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, in the latest effort by the government against “black money” and tax evasion. The decision was taken based on an extensive data analysis conducted by the government after Mr… – Continue reading
EU Tax Commissioner Pierre Moscovici has described the proposed common consolidated corporation tax base as a “decisive tool against corporate tax avoidance.” Moscovici made the comment during a speech on tax fairness. He said the CCCTB will provide companies with a single rulebook for calculating their taxable profit throughout the… – Continue reading
Introduction Finance Act 2016 replaced the test for corporate residency of foreign companies from “control and management being situated wholly in India” to “place of effective management (POEM) in India”. POEM has been defined to mean a place where key management and commercial decisions that are necessary for conduct of… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service has created a new section on its IRS.gov website dedicated to information on the Country-by-Country Reporting rules of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project, which aims to discourage tax avoidance by multinational companies. The new Country-by-Country Reporting web pages… – Continue reading
On June 28, 2017, the Swiss Federal Council adopted the dispatch on a revised double taxation agreement with Latvia and submitted it to Parliament for approval. A protocol to revise the agreement was signed by the two countries in November 2016. The revised agreement contains an anti-abuse clause in line… – Continue reading
The country has been rated as ‘Largely Compliant’ by the OECD-hosted Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF). Due to the rating, the country will not be included in the list of non-cooperative jurisdictions that will be prepared for… – Continue reading
New Zealand’s Inland Revenue has issued clarification around the types of account that will be exempt from reporting under the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard for the Automatic Exchange of Information. The authority said that the exempted accounts include Whai Rawa Unit Trust Fund member’s accounts, dormant accounts, and accounts under… – Continue reading
Sri Lankan companies that violate transfer pricing rules can be fined up to two percent of the total value of transactions between related parties in case of non-disclosure of any required information under the new tax law. The new law also provides for the Commissioner-General of Inland Revenue to impose… – Continue reading
A number of territories that had failed to demonstrate they have complied with international tax transparency standards have had their ratings upgraded by the OECD, following “fast-track” peer reviews. It said that the territories’ frameworks were reevaluated to assess whether recent progress would result in an upgrade to their ratings… – Continue reading
The OECD’s body for assessing compliance with international tax transparency standards plans to tell an upcoming summit in Hamburg, Germany, that Trinidad and Tobago is the world’s only tax haven. Group of 20 country leaders meeting last year in China asked that body, the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange… – Continue reading
New Zealand has updated its double tax agreement with Hong Kong to allow for the automatic exchange of information in tax matters between the two jurisdictions. Once in force, the updated double tax treaty will require both Hong Kong and New Zealand to automatically exchange tax information with each other,… – Continue reading
The OECD has released for stakeholders’ comments two new discussion drafts as part of its base erosion and profit shifting work. The first draft builds on the OECD’s final report on BEPS Action 7 (on preventing the artificial avoidance of permanent establishment status). The final Report on Action 7 of… – Continue reading
Ghana signed another Double Tax Agreement (DTA) with the Czech Republic on 11 April, 2017. Ghana already has DTAs in force with Denmark, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy, South Africa, Switzerland, Netherlands, France and Germany. DTAs with Mauritius, Singapore and the Czech Republic are in the process of being ratified… – Continue reading
The Australian Taxation Office has reversed its stance on the tax treatment of trustee dividend-equivalent payments to participants in employee share schemes. The ATO’s June 8 draft guidance, Draft determination TD 2017/D2, deals with circumstances in which an employer establishes a trust to provide shares to employees under an employee… – Continue reading
The Juncker Commission has made the fight against tax avoidance, money laundering and terrorism financing one of its priorities. Today, the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive enters into force. It strengthens the existing rules and will make the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing more effective. It also improves transparency… – Continue reading
Global leader in cross-border information exchange for Tax Authorities has been selected by the Government of Bermuda, Ministry of Finance, Treaty Unit to meet Common Reporting Standards. Today, Vizor Ltd. announced the Government of Bermuda, Ministry of Finance, Treaty Unit has selected the Vizor for FATCA & AEOI Solution for… – Continue reading
Tax returns and annual financial disclosures contain different information Candidates and members of Congress are required by law to file personal financial disclosures that are designed to shed a light on their potential conflicts of interest. These documents show a lawmakers’ assets and liabilities, reported in broad ranges. Tax returns,… – Continue reading
The Bank of China paid 20 million euros ($22.4 million) to resolve a tax dispute with Italy over thousands of money transfers the bank orchestrated between Chinese nationals in Italy and their home country, the Italian government said June 21. Commentators told Bloomberg BNA the agreement could have an impact… – Continue reading
KARACHI: Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Friday issued a list of at least 88 countries, including tax haven Switzerland to automatically swap financial information of their citizens — but does not mention United Arab Emirates and Panama, the tax avoidance hubs for wealthy Pakistanis. The country will exchange financial… – Continue reading
A. Introduction In February 2017 Cyprus Tax Department has announced that the current practice regarding profit margins between related Company loans will be abolished by the 30th June 2017. The announcement indicates that the minimum acceptable margins will apply up to 30th June 2017, and as from 1st July 2017… – Continue reading
Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) reported on Tuesday that local financial institutions required to report under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) are now 100 per cent compliant. FATCA is United States legislation designed to target US taxpayers holding accounts and assets outside that country and are non-compliant with US… – Continue reading
A new report shows the offshore jurisdiction is home to assets of $1.5tn, double an estimate by the International Monetary Fund in 2010. Assets held offshore in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) are worth $1.5 trillion (£1.19 trillion), double the International Monetary Fund’s 2010 estimate. That’s according to a new… – Continue reading
SINGAPORE – Singapore has signed two international agreements which will make it easier for the country to automatically exchange tax information with other jurisdictions. The agreements are part of ongoing global efforts to combat tax evasion and money laundering as well as improve tax transparency. Called multilateral competent authority agreements… – Continue reading
Indian immigrants in Saudi Arabia are set to be hit by the Kingdom’s newly introduced ‘family tax’ that will come into effect starting from July 1. The tax requires employed persons to pay a fee of 100 riyals (Rs 1,700 approx) per dependent each month. So, an Indian expat living… – Continue reading
The Senate Committee on Finance has asked for public input on US tax reform options. The Chairman of the Senate’s tax-writing committee, Orrin Hatch (R – UT), wrote an open letter asking stakeholders to provide ideas, proposals, and feedback on how to improve the US tax system. “It is essential… – Continue reading
A Europe-wide crackdown on tax avoidance schemes is set to have a “chilling” effect on recruiters and intermediaries marketing such schemes. The Guardian reported this week that the European Commission will publish proposals tomorrow to force financial intermediaries to automatically disclose any new cross-border tax schemes offered to clients. According… – Continue reading
Japan should commit to new gradual increases to its consumption tax rate, beyond 10 percent, to help rein in its substantial deficit, a new report from the International Monetary Fund says. It said the Government should “place emphasis on a gradual, pre-announced schedule of consumption tax rate hikes, of 0.5… – Continue reading
India has, for long, been always regarded as the one of the most aggressive transfer pricing jurisdictions. To mend this image and reduce litigation, the government introduced various measures like Advance Pricing Agreements (APA), the safe harbour regime, risk-based selection of transfer pricing audit cases etc. While most of these… – Continue reading
President Donald Trump and Republican leaders in Congress will soon confront a complex challenge for tax reform: how to limit U.S. corporate tax avoidance schemes that take advantage of low tax rates in foreign countries. Congressional and administration staff have begun to examine options to address profit-shifting schemes that include… – Continue reading
Madrid (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo under suspicion, Radamel Falcao investigated, Lionel Messi sentenced… Spain’s courts have been busy tackling the alleged and real multi-million-euro tax evasion of football’s greatest stars. But while they may be aware of what they are doing, footballers rely on expert go-betweens like big banks to… – Continue reading
The Government Emergency Ordinance no. 42/2017 amending Law no. 207/2015 regarding the Fiscal Procedure Code (“GEO 42/2017“), entered into force on 13 June 2017, transposes within the Romanian legislation the EU Directive 2016/881 which provides the mandatory automatic exchange of information from reports that multinational enterprise groups (“MNE Groups“) must… – Continue reading
The Irish Revenue has this year recruited more than 100 additional staff to undertake audit and compliance activities. Prior to his retirement as Finance Minister, Michael Noonan was asked to provide parliament with information on the Revenue staff resources allocated to tax audit and investigation activities. Answering a written parliamentary… – Continue reading
The Government of Australia has announced it is taking steps to become a global financial services leader by loosening a number of policy standards. One includes removing the double tax that currently implemented on digital currencies. The Australian Government has announced it will no longer be imposing a double tax… – Continue reading
In the first of a two part commentary, global advisory firm Maitland Group, explains what the Common Reporting Standard means for protectors of family trusts. Being the protector of a family trust can seem a pretty thankless task. The role comes with a swathe of duties and obligations, albeit laudable,… – Continue reading
Nigeria has ratified multilateral conventions on tax related treaties to end profit shifting and tax evasion by multinational companies. The ratification of the treaties Wednesday followed the approval of a memo submitted by the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, who said this was part of government’s plan to widen its… – Continue reading
The new Common Reporting Standard (CRS) regime will apply to most Australian managed investment schemes from 1 July 2017. Additional procedures for collecting information from new investors will need to be introduced from this date and additional work will be required in respect of existing investors. Overview of CRS Many… – Continue reading
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) announced on Tuesday that Botswana has joined the Inclusive Framework on base erosion profit shifting (BEPS) becoming the framework’s 99th member.The Inclusive Framework on BEPS is a group of countries that have pledged to implement measures designed by OECD and G20 countries… – Continue reading
BISHKEK (TCA) — On June 13, the first Double Taxation Agreement was signed between the Kyrgyz Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland by British Ambassador Robin Ord-Smith and Kyrgyz Minister of Economy Arzybek Kojoshev, the British Embassy in Bishkek said. This Double Taxation Agreement represents… – Continue reading
HA NOI — Viet Nam’s long-standing efforts to tackle the practice of transfer pricing as a tax avoidance ploy have gained sharper legal teeth with a new decree. Transfer pricing is the pricing of goods, services and intangibles between related parties, like a parent company and its affiliates. Apart from… – Continue reading
In Federal Budget 2017, the Government is clamping down on tax avoidance by foreign investors in real estate, by tightening the foreign resident capital gains tax withholding regime. The new laws apply to both Australian resident and foreign resident vendors: Australian resident vendors of real property of $750,000 or more… – Continue reading
SOUTH Australia is set to become the most competitive tax jurisdiction for commercial investment in Australia according to Collier’s International’s latest Radar research. The boast is prompted by the introduction, on July 1, of the state government’s second stamp duty reform which will come into effect as part of comprehensive… – Continue reading
Italy June 30 will apply OECD guidelines for “patent box” rules, a new version of the tax break for intangible property that will remove protections for brand identities originally put in place to protect iconic Italian fashion brands, observers told Bloomberg BNA. The new regime is substantially similar to the… – Continue reading
