THE THAWING OF RELATIONS between the United States (US) and Cuba will open up the opportunity for Barbados to “serve as an intermediary for investment into Cuba”. But two prominent American lawyers, including one who advises Government, have warned that the “on paper” advantage Barbados has under its double taxation… – Continue reading
New Delhi: Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has asked bourses to take immediate action against entities involved in misuse of stock exchange system for tax evasion, Parliament was told Friday. Preliminary enquiries conducted by the regulator in the recent past, inter alia, indicate that certain persons/companies… – Continue reading
Two roadshow events in Canada to promote Bermuda as the jurisdiction of choice for captive insurance companies and e-commerce business have been hailed a success. The Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA) hosted the sessions in Toronto and Calgary this week. It was standing-room only at the first event, in Toronto… – Continue reading
The BSE Sensex dropped over 750 points in intraday trade on Wednesday, its biggest fall since January 6 this year, when the Sensex had plunged over 900 points on global triggers. The Nifty is now firmly below the 200 day moving average, and there’s a big chance that it will… – Continue reading
The Government and the IRD are moving to crack-down on the big banks, overseas customers, and other offshore-owned entities that are not believed to be paying their fair whack of New Zealand tax. The IRD’s produced a 46 page issues paper making suggestions for new rules that would tighten up… – Continue reading
Axa Wealth International has seen funds under management grow by nearly £500m throughout the first quarter of 2015, as the wider Axa Wealth group records across-the-board growth. The international arm’s FuM reached £9.1bn, up £400m from the £8.7bn recorded in Q1 2014. Mike Foy, managing director at Axa Wealth International,… – Continue reading
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have gained huge popularity in recent times with Irish investors; however, there has been much complexity and uncertainty in relation to their tax treatment. The concept of an ETF is not specifically provided for in Irish tax legislation. It depends on the legal form and characteristics… – Continue reading
OTTAWA —The Liberal plan for the middle class, two planks of which were unveiled this week, could risk another brain drain in Canada, stalling the national economy, says one public policy and economics expert. “It’s a real possibility,” said Charles Lammam, director of fiscal studies at the right-leaning think tank… – Continue reading
While Illinois Governor Bruce Rauner is busy pitching his idea to shake up the budget by shaking out money from the pockets of the state’s poorest, a children’s advocacy group says a focus on revenue is the key to shoring up the $6 billion deficit. Voices for Illinois Children released… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to South Korea this month, the Cabinet today approved revising the double tax avoidance pact with Seoul to provide tax stability and facilitate flow of investment and technology between the countries. The Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister gave its approval… – Continue reading
UK funds invested in India could face demands for tax from which they thought they were exempt. Minimum alternate tax (MAT), a tax on the book profit of a company, has been in existence in India in its current form since 2001 and is levied at 18.5 per cent. Because… – Continue reading
Saudi Arabia’s capital markets regulator said on Monday it has finalised rules ahead of the opening up of its $550 billion (Dh2 trillion) equity markets — equal to the size of Russia — for foreigners, reports Gulf News. Institutional investors with US$5 billion of assets under management will be allowed… – Continue reading
Bipartisan legislation has been introduced into the House of Representatives to amend the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) of 1980 that requires foreign investors to pay taxes on capital gains when selling commercial properties or real estate securities in the United States. To encourage foreign investment in… – Continue reading
The Romanian Government has approved a new law to introduce tax relief for foreign venture capitalists. The law aims to encourage start-up businesses and was passed by the Chamber of Deputies on April 29, 2015. It applies where a foreign individual, who was previously unconnected with the company in question,… – Continue reading
Dubai – The Ministry of Finance (MoF) recently signed a MoU with Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (RAKIA). This MoUhas been signed to ensure the implementation of international standards of transparency in the exchange of information for tax purposes, as per Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) regulations and… – Continue reading
Jason Porter explores the tax regimes in Portugal, France, Malta and Cyprus – four of the most advantageous territories for UK ex-pat retirees People aged 55 and over are now entitled to their pension in the form of a lump sum, to be taxed at marginal rates applying in the… – Continue reading
U.S. Ambassador to Armenia Richard Mills on Tuesday confirmed reports that a U.S.-Armenia Trade and Investment Treaty will be signed during President Sargsyan’s working visit this week to Washington, DC, the final step in the negotiation of a bilateral economic accord long sought by the Armenian National Committee of America… – Continue reading
No investor in the world believes that India is a tax haven and the large tax demands on Cairn and FIIs have rattled investors and must be resolved quickly, said Patricia Hewitt, head of the UK India Business Council backed by the British government. With industry sentiment about the Modi… – Continue reading
The Government will provide $127.6 million over four years to aid financial investigations and prosecutions addressing superannuation and investment fraud, identity crime, and tax evasion, it announced today. It will establish a taskforce building on work done by Project Wickenby — a cross agency task force fighting against tax evasion,… – Continue reading
The patent box regime, adopted at the end of 2014 with Italy’s Stability Law, was recently modified by the Investment Compact Decree and implemented into law at the end of March 2015. A distinctive feature of the Italian regime is that the measure now also covers trademarks and designs. A… – Continue reading
Warren Buffett, the billionaire chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc., said he expects a slump in reinsurance results in the coming decade as investors enter the market. “It’s a business whose prospects have turned for the worse and there’s not much we can do about it,” Buffett said Saturday at his… – Continue reading
With its enviable reputation in offshore trusts, pensions and insurance, Bermuda is an ideal jurisdiction for employers to establish international pension and employee benefit plans (IPPs). Global organisations may consider establishing Bermuda IPPs for employees who work outside their home country or the home country of both the employees and… – Continue reading
The debate around transparency, information exchange and beneficial ownership continues to evolve and has demanded a real focus for those working in International Finance Centres (IFCs), which frequently find themselves in the frame when it comes to ill-considered accusations relating to secrecy and illicit financial flows. In fact, Jersey and… – Continue reading
The game of cat and mouse between tax authorities and citizens has been played for a very long time. People have been dodging taxes for centuries. But the more nuanced and sophisticated game of avoiding tax is a more recent phenomenon. Indeed, when it comes to tax avoidance the game… – Continue reading
Many of London’s wealthy are preparing to leave the U.K. amid signs Labour Party leader Ed Miliband may become prime minister after the May 7 general election, according to luxury-hotel operator Rocco Forte. “We haven’t seen such a left-wing manifesto since the 60s and 70s,” he said in an interview… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: In order to check flight of capital, the country’s tax machinery is planning to reach out to authorities in the Gulf states to seek details of real estate investments by around 660 Pakistanis. “Real estate in the Gulf has emerged as one of the strongest areas for capital flight… – Continue reading
Home to 5,000 plus FDI projects, HCM City has comfortably remained Viet Nam’s growth engine, and it plans to make full use of its position to rise to international standards in many areas, Xuan Huong reports. Despite all the international and regional competition, Viet Nam has remained an attractive destination… – Continue reading
The Italian Minister of the Economy and Finance, Pier Carlo Padoan, has confirmed that he expects additional tax revenue from Italian citizens with undeclared investments in San Marino from the Italian voluntary disclosure program. In a television interview in San Marino, he noted that Italy had definitively removed San Marino… – Continue reading
Ontario’s 2015 Budget, delivered on April 23, overhauled a number of the province’s tax credits and set out plans for a further crackdown on tax avoidance. The Budget made numerous changes to creative tax breaks, effective from April 23, 2015. The Ontario Production Services Tax Credit was reduced from 25… – Continue reading
THE global economic recovery, which has been assessed as uneven with manifest divergences across countries and regions, has however, been supported by Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDCs) as the major drivers of global growth, although it is currently moderating in some countries. But the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on… – Continue reading
International investors are finding the compliance around qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) licences burdensome as they prepare to file their tax returns before the July deadline. The QFII program, and its renminbi equivalent (RQFII), allows institutional investors – like non-resident Chinese fund managers – to invest in Chinese A-shares. The… – Continue reading
Although you may be working in China, does the ATO still consider you an Australian resident? It’s just one of the things you need to get absolutely right. The tax requirements for Aussies working overseas vary from region to region. Aussies working in Hong Kong will find last month’s tax… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: India may set up a panel to resolve legacy tax cases that have revived allegations of ‘tax terrorism’, making it difficult for the government to meet its pledge to boost investor sentiment. “I am considering a high-level committee to explore what can be done to resolve the past,… – Continue reading
NEW YORK — Introduced in the 1920s to ease the tax burden of farmers who wanted to swap property, it soon became a tool for real estate investors flipping, say, office buildings for shopping malls. Now, this little-known provision in the tax code, known as a like-kind exchange, has become… – Continue reading
On Saturday 25 April, at the second session of the informal meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN), one of most important issues on the agenda was the further development of the Capital Markets Union concept, which was broadly supported by the ministers and Governors of central banks…. – Continue reading
International finance centres (IFCs) are frequently used to structure Russian inward and outward investment and it has been observed that in 2012, 11 of the 40 main recipients of Russian FDI were IFCs1. The BVI is at the forefront of offshore investment into Russia, and the share of outward FDI… – Continue reading
Neil Saunders, whose wife is the Director of Public Prosecutions, is a member of a controversial scheme being investigated by the taxman, The Telegraph can disclose The Director of Public Prosecutions’ husband is a member of a controversial “tax loophole” scheme that has been investigated by the taxman, it can… – Continue reading
The trio have NOT appealed against a tax tribunal ruling from last May that the Icebreaker scheme they poured millions into was designed to exploit legal loopholes TV sports presenter Gabby Logan has kept her promise to pay back all the money she owed from a controversial “tax shelter” scheme…. – Continue reading
FPIs are battling it out with the income-tax department, which has issued notices demanding that they pay MAT to the tune of Rs40,000 crore New Delhi/Mumbai: Despite the government affirming that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) can use tax treaties to fight tax demands on past capital gains, a majority of… – Continue reading
Company accounts provide insight into Parlesse Investments A Larry Goodman company based in Luxembourg made a profit of €52.6 million in 2013 and paid just 0.4 per cent tax, according to accounts in the tiny EU member state. The company, Parlesse Investments Sarl, began operations in 2010 and had accumulated… – Continue reading
A company announcement on the Malta Stock Exchange website announced on Tuesday that Arun Shankardass and Oumeshing Sookdawoor have tendered their resignation from the office of director of the company with effect from 17 April. Mr Shankardass will also be stepping down as chairman of the Audit Committee of the… – Continue reading
Georgia and Belarus are stepping up their bilateral cooperation in taxation, customs affairs, and a number of other avenues. Representatives of both countries today signed a cooperation agreement on avoidance of double taxation, prevention of evasion of income and capital taxes, which would act as a basis for further talks…. – Continue reading
The true cost of the debt that China’s real estate developers peddled to eager international investors during a five-year property boom is now becoming clear. Having found themselves shut out of local bond and loan markets seven years ago, a band of developers began looking elsewhere for funds. First an… – Continue reading
Investment vehicles set up by Paulson & Co. and Highbridge Capital Management in tax-friendly Bermuda may be under threat from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The IRS, in proposed rules published Thursday, said that the favorable treatment enjoyed by insurers under the tax code shouldn’t extend to companies that borrow… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: In a bid to attract investments into Luxembourg, once seen as a “tax haven”, its ambassador today assured industrialists and investors that his government “does not encourage money laundering.” “We do not encourage dirty money. It is a misconception that the Luxembourg is a tax haven,” the alpine nation’s… – Continue reading
1 General news 1.1 HMRC organisation chart HMRC has published its latest organisation chart showing the names of senior management. One point to note is the number of senior people now in roles such as change management as opposed to being in pure technical roles. This clearly demonstrates the direction… – Continue reading
The Minister of Finance (Canada), the Honourable Joe Oliver, presented the Government of Canada’s 2015 Federal Budget (“Budget 2015”) on April 21, 2015 (“Budget Day”). Budget 2015 contains several significant proposals to amend the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the “ITA”) while also providing updates on previously announced tax measures and… – Continue reading
Minister of Finance Joe Oliver today tabled the 2015 Federal Budget (the “Budget”), his first budget as Minister of Finance, entitled “Strong Leadership: A Balanced-Budget, Low-Tax Plan for Jobs, Growth and Security”. We are pleased to provide our summary of tax measures contained in the Budget. The Budget proposed no… – Continue reading
As has been widely predicted, today’s federal budget (Budget 2015) delivered a handful of tax “goodies” in the lead-up to the coming election. It also includes a number of important proposed changes to the corporate tax rules. They are noteworthy, although not as extensive as the corporate tax changes proposed… – Continue reading
[HONG KONG] China is set to enhance the convertibility of its yuan currency by allowing capital to be taken out on a daily basis from the largest investment scheme open to foreign investors, people with knowledge of the plans told Reuters. This could strengthen the global standing of the yuan… – Continue reading
