The union cabinet on Wednesday approved signing an agreement for amending the double taxation avoidance convention with Japan that was first signed in 1989 to check fiscal evasion, an official statement said. “The protocol will facilitate information exchange on tax payments, including bank transactions and on those without domestic tax… – Continue reading
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) sees treaty shopping as an important source of Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). In this context, it identified the prevention of treaty abuse as one of fifteen issues or “actions” in respect of which recommendations were to be formulated as part… – Continue reading
On November 30, 2015, the UK tax authorities at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) reached an agreement with Jersey about the interpretation of the company residence tie-breaker provision of the Jersey-UK income tax treaty. After reviewing other income tax treaties that contain similar provisions, HMRC will now take the view… – Continue reading
We are all aware of “base erosion and profit shifting” or “BEPS”. On 5 October 2015, the OECD released its final reports in connection with its BEPS Action Plan including its final report on Action 15 dealing with the development of a multilateral instrument to modify bilateral tax treaties (“Final… – Continue reading
By SYLVESTER MWALE – THE Government has resolved to liquidate the outstanding US$300 million owed to Eastern and Southern African Trade and Development (PTA) Bank accumulated through petroleum importation. The arrears would be dismantled in four installments within a period of one year. Chief Government Spokesperson Chishimba Kambwili said in… – Continue reading
Thailand’s vote this past May to implement a new transfer pricing law is expected to come into effect in the early part of the new year. Transfer pricing refers to the sale of goods or services between branches of a company or subsidiary companies to a parent enterprise, and most… – Continue reading
UK tax authority HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced a change of view on the interpretation of the company residence articles in 16 double taxation agreements (DTAs), reports Tax News. The change was prompted by an agreement with Jersey on the interpretation of the company residence tie-breaker article in… – Continue reading
Taxes levied on foreign stock dividends can be recouped, but it makes most sense for high-net-worth clients with multimillion-dollar positions Advisers could be missing out on a way to maximize returns on their clients’ foreign investments. Americans investing in non-U.S. stocks could be earning less of a return than they’d… – Continue reading
Things are heating up in the economic substance doctrine area, which could lead to a U.S. Supreme Court review of the IRS’s aggressive arguments for the doctrine. Certiorari Petitions Salem Financial Inc. and Bank of New York Mellon Corporation have both petitioned for Supreme Court review of the Federal Circuit… – Continue reading
Taxes levied on foreign stock dividends can be recouped, but it makes most sense for high-net-worth clients with multimillion-dollar positions Advisers could be missing out on a way to maximize returns on their clients’ foreign investments. Americans investing in non-U.S. stocks could be earning less of a return than they’d… – Continue reading
A new international framework is targeting tax avoidance—and it has implications for captive insurers. Jenny Coletta of Ernst & Young explains In recent years, tax authorities around the world have been increasingly scrutinising captive insurance arrangements, focusing on questions relating to commercial purpose, pricing and substance. In what is likely… – Continue reading
1. On November 30 (Mon.), an exchange of diplomatic notes for the entry into force of the Agreement between the Government of Japan and the Government of the State of Qatar for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income (signed… – Continue reading
In a previous article we have discussed that you might be entitled to reclaim withholding tax on your foreign investments in Russia (including ADRs, GDRs). For transactions where the ultimate beneficial owner is not declared prior to the payment of income, local Russian custodians apply 30% withholding tax on dividends1… – Continue reading
The new Income Tax Treaty between the Netherlands and Germany has entered into force today, 1 December 2015. The new Treaty generally applies from 1 January 2016 and replaces the old treaty of 1959. In accordance with the new treaty, the following withholding taxes will apply: Dividends: 5% if the… – Continue reading
“Luxembourg is famous for two things: its steel industry and its rose cultivation industry”. This quote from an Italian guidebook of the 1930s was uttered by Luxembourg’s Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna at the annual conference of the Luxembourg Directors’ Association on 17 June 2015[1]. The economic outlook of the tiny… – Continue reading
The 28 nations of the European Union lose up to $1 trillion per year in revenue thanks to multinational corporations that use a spider’s web of completely legal constructs to lower their taxes. Now, Europe’s law enforcers and lawmakers want to wipe away these intricate tax-avoidance systems. If they have… – Continue reading
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados, Senator Maxine Mc Clean, called on the Minister for Foreign Affairs, George Vella. Minister Mc Clean praised the Government of Malta for the organisation of the CHOGM, at which Barbados was represented by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, and congratulated Minister Vella… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said the government does not have any evidence of Rs 430 billion being taken out by Pakistanis abroad adding the figure was based on media reports. The Minister stated this while addressing a news conference after a special meeting of the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC)… – Continue reading
The House and Senate held hearings Tuesday on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting action plan, also known as OECD BEPS, for combating tax avoidance by multinational corporations. A number of the lawmakers expressed a skeptical view of the international tax reforms. “The OECD’s… – Continue reading
UK tax authority HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced a change of view on the interpretation of the company residence articles in 16 double taxation agreements (DTAs). The change was prompted by an agreement with Jersey on the interpretation of the company residence tie-breaker article in their 1952 DTA…. – Continue reading
The current international tax regime was developed in the last century when the internet was not yet invented. At that time, a foreign company would typically require a substantial physical presence in Australia before it could be in a position to earn significant amount of income from Australian customers. This… – Continue reading
The Australian Board of Taxation has released for public comment a discussion paper on the implementation of the anti-hybrid rules developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). As part of the 2015 Budget, on May 12, 2015, Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey wrote to Michael Andrew, Chair of… – Continue reading
Mauritius plans to launch a trading platform to hedge African currencies against the US dollar, part of a bid to expand its role as a financial hub for the continent, the financial services minister said. The Indian Ocean island is also in talks to boost ties with stock exchanges in… – Continue reading
Multinationals operating in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda will be among the first in Africa to feel the impact of new measures to be adopted in January to curb tax losses caused by manipulation of contracts between related companies. The three countries together with Nigeria, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Senegal, Botswana and… – Continue reading
The new Income and Capital Tax Treaty between Switzerland and Argentina entered into force on 27 November 2015. The new treaty generally applies from 1 January 2015 for withholding taxes and from 1 January 2016 for other taxes and article 25 (Exchange of information). The new agreement will replace the… – Continue reading
(SARS) The Government of the Republic of South Africa have signed a signed an Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income with the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China. The date… – Continue reading
TEHRAN, Nov. 30 (MNA) – Islamic Republic of Iran and Hungary signed eight cooperation documents for widening and deepening of relations. During his visit to Tehran, Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban, heading a group of 120 economic activists, businessmen and officials from the European country’s banks, and Iranian side signed… – Continue reading
What is the whole point of the 15 actions in the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) code? How will they curb tax dodging and make taxation of multinationals more transparent? Historically, the interaction of different tax policies lead to instances where taxes paid are not commensurate to economic value… – Continue reading
East African countries expect to collect more revenue under a new code drawn, by the world’s richest economies to stop foreign multinationals from dodging taxes in host countries. The new code — Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) — adopted by G20 at its meeting in Turkey two weeks ago,… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: Formula One is seeking to encash a $15.45-million guarantee by debt-laden Jaiprakash Associates BSE 1.18 % on the ground that it hadn’t paid the sport’s organiser money that had been contractually agreed upon. The company said the amount is caught up in tax litigation and hence can’t be given…. – Continue reading
Last summer, a client received a letter from their bank, a major German bank in which it was asked to indicate “whether you are a US tax or not” and also in the form of an affidavit (“Under penalties of perjury”) in to make English more detailed information about himself… – Continue reading
The Kenya-South Africa double taxation agreement comes into force from January 1. An announcement in the November 19, South African government gazette says the agreement applies for taxes withheld at source. “A resident of Kenya will not be taxed on any South African business profits, unless it carries on business… – Continue reading
Abuja – The speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Yakubu Dogara, yesterday reiterated the resolve of the legislature to domesticate all pending treaties, memoranda of understanding and agreements that will bring benefit to Nigerians. Dogara said this while speaking to a Korean delegation that paid him a courtesy… – Continue reading
PRESS RELEASE Mauritius and Morocco signed on November 25 in Port Louis a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) that will provide for greater tax certainty for businessmen of the two countries. The signatories were the Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Mr Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo, and the Ambassador of the Kingdom… – Continue reading
The OECD published 13 final reports along with an explanatory statement under its base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project on the 5th October 2015. This was endorsed three days later on the 8th October 2015 by the G20 Finance Ministers’ meeting in Peru’. The BEPS project outlines 15 action… – Continue reading
Introduction Transfer pricing is a term used to define the price charged between associated enterprises for the transfer of goods, services and intangible property. Increasing cross-border activities have made transfer pricing a real issue as enterprises seek to use transfer pricing as a tool for tax avoidance. Consequently, HK has… – Continue reading
In response to the announcement that pharmaceutical firms Pfizer and Allergan would merge, Hillary Clinton released a statement that completely missed the real issue behind these inversions – they are a symptom of the greedy, complex, and inefficient U.S. tax code. “Inversion is a symptom, not a disease,” said Grover… – Continue reading
The new provisions of the 4th Amendment to the France/Luxembourg double tax treaty on profits deriving from sale of real estate assets signed on September 5, 2014 will not be applicable in 2016. Currently, the right to tax the capital gains realized by a Luxembourg company upon the transfer of… – Continue reading
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Government of India, via press release dated September 24, 2015, assured the inapplicability of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) provisions to Foreign Companies with effect from 01.04.2001. The Government recently issued a circular, accepting the recommendations of the Committee (A P Shah Committee) appointed… – Continue reading
The Governments of the United Arab Emirates and Republic of South Africa have signed an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital gains, and its annexed protocol. Inked by Hamad Hareb Al Habsi, UAE Ambassador to South… – Continue reading
The number of Swiss institutions have seen “asset outflows” and the tax status of many of their clients have been found to be “inappropriate”, as per the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), which also has the mandate to combat money laundering activities. Switzerland authorities revealed on Tuesday that India… – Continue reading
COUNTIES should harmonise taxes to promote intra-county trade and attract investments, the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry has said. KNCCI chairman Kiprono Kittony yesterday said high and uncordinated taxes and levies are unfavorable for businesses, a move that has kept trade low between counties. He said the business… – Continue reading
ITR Correspondent Italy has updated its rules governing transactions with parties located in tax havens. Following a legislative process which began in 2013, the Italian Government on September 14 2015 enacted a decree addressing a wide array of international tax matters, including one of the most controversial Italian tax rules… – 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
Over 90 jurisdictions have committed to the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), creating comprehensive global automatic information exchange for financial assets and the entities through which such assets may be held. Over 70 jurisdictions have signed the OECD’s Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement, which implements the CRS. The CRS is scheduled… – Continue reading
Of these, one advance pricing agreement has a ‘rollback provision’ The government has concluded 11 agreements to tax multi-national companies via the transfer-pricing mode. Of these, one advance pricing agreement (APA) has a ‘rollback provision’, which means those relating to previous years. The government has signed 22 APAs so far… – Continue reading
Bern, 11.24.2015 – Four additional double taxation agreements (DTAs) have entered into force between Switzerland and Cyprus, Iceland, Estonia and Uzbekistan. They contain provisions on mutual assistance in accordance with the internationally applicable standard. At the same time they promote the development of bilateral economic relations. With Cyprus, Switzerland has… – Continue reading
Bern, 24.11.2015 – On 23 November 2015, Switzerland and Brazil signed in Brasilia an agreement on the exchange of information on tax matters (“Tax Information Exchange Agreement” TIEA). The Agreement with Brazil is the tenth TIEA signed by Switzerland. The agreement deepens the bilateral relations between Switzerland and Brazil. Switzerland… – Continue reading
Earlier we already reported that Malta and Curaçao had signed a DTA. When we wrote our earlier article we had not yet been able to locate the text of the DTA. Now however, the English version of the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal… – Continue reading
The English version of the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes on Income and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion as concluded on August 24, 2015 between the Government of the Italian Republic and the Government of Barbados (Hereafter: the DTA) has been made available on… – Continue reading
