Finance Minister Joe Oliver faced formidable challenges, both economic and political, in delivering his first Budget. In a time of depressed oil prices, and mere months ahead of the next federal election, it appears he felt it was imperative to follow through with prior commitments to balance the budget, provide… – Continue reading
With funding for the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) set to expire yet again on May 31st, many states are already delaying much needed infrastructure projects due to concerns over the fund’s ongoing solvency. Such delays and the fund’s impending expiration are putting fire to the feet of congressional lawmakers to… – Continue reading
1. NON-TAX ISSUES 1.1 Domestic law 1.1.1 Briefly describe your legal system and its origins The legal system of the Republic of Ireland is a common law system. In order to ensure consistency, a legal principle developed whereby courts were generally required to follow earlier relevant decisions. This doctrine of… – Continue reading
India said foreign portfolio investors can use tax treaties to reject demands on past capital gains, seeking to defuse a row that cast a cloud over the $48 billion poured into stocks and bonds from overseas. Foreign institutional investors domiciled in countries that have signed double taxation avoidance treaties with… – Continue reading
TL: What are the main considerations and advantages for doing business in Malta? AB: Malta’s positive approach to business promotion, development and standard of living within the EU makes the island a destination of choice for relocation of business purposes. Malta offers noteworthy benefits to individuals and investors who are… – Continue reading
Dinesh Kanabar, CEO, Dhruva Advisors explains that there are three kinds of FIIs: protected by double taxation avoidance treaty, no treaty but physical presence in India, and no treaty and no presence in India. So far notices have been sent only to the second category of investors. Minimum alternate tax… – Continue reading
The European Investment Bank (EIB) must tighten up its lending rules to prevent its money being funnelled through tax havens, NGOs have warned in a new report, reports EU Observer. The report ‘Towards a Responsible Taxation Policy for the EIB’, published on Tuesday (21 April) by transparency NGOs Re-Common and… – Continue reading
The Finance Minister has failed to assuage markets’ fears on the issue of retrospective tax Markets are getting jittery each time the finance minister or his ministry utters the T word. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley reminds the market of UPA’s finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, who introduced the now-dreaded retrospective tax…. – Continue reading
Like many other public banks, the European Investment Bank (EIB) leverages its own means by acting as a catalyst for private investment through various financial mechanisms. Too often, though, attempts to attract private capital result in unpredictable risks and higher-than projected costs for the public coffer, write Xavier Sol and… – Continue reading
Myanmar remains an enigmatic country – one of the largest and most populated in Asia but also one of its poorest and least understood. It remains a country that has largely stood still for seventy years – hardly any infrastructure of note was developed in the country since the end… – Continue reading
UK’s biggest coffee shop brands Costa, Caffè Nero and Starbucks perform poorly in new ethical scorecard ranking companies on treatment of staff and suppliers, environmental policies and tax avoidance Consumers have been urged to switch to independent coffee shops after major brands including Costa, Caffè Nero and Starbucks scored poorly… – Continue reading
Indian companies had raised a record $18.6 billion in 2014 through offshore bonds. This year, it may cross $20.50 billion, says MD, Treasury and Markets, India, at DBS Bank Vijayan Subramani. In an interview with Bhavik Nair, Subramani indicates Singapore dollar-denominated bond issues from India are likely to make a… – Continue reading
The continued public outcry about U.S. companies keeping profits overseas in order to avoid U.S. taxes has obscured an interesting fact about much of that money. In fact, about half of the “overseas” cash that businesses are declining to repatriate is already in the U.S. – it’s just not taxable…. – Continue reading
CHINA Tax Free Reorganisations • With circulars 109 and 116 jointly issued in December 2014 by the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation, the Chinese authorities have relaxed the conditions for internal reorganisations. • Circular 109 deals with internal reorganisations. Provided the pertinent requirements are met, the… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is seeking to recoup $2.03 billion from Texas businessman Samuel Wyly and $1.19 billion from his brother’s estate. The massive bill owed by Sam Wyly and the estate of Charles Wyly is believed to be the biggest in history. Brothers used trusts to avoid taxes… – Continue reading
The government’s recent steps to check the flow of unaccounted wealth to foreign assets and bank accounts have had the unintended result of making tax compliance tough for expatriates on corporate assignments here, who have legitimate assets in their home countries, say experts. The tax troubles of these people over… – Continue reading
The Ministry of Trade will be launching a trade policy that will re-ignite Fiji’s interest in the Australian and New Zeaand markets in the next few months. Minister for Trade Faiyaz Koya says this single reference document will identify the trade capacity, constraints and needs of each sector. ‘’The policy… – Continue reading
ABU DHABI: The UAE Cabinet on Sunday endorsed hosting the headquarters of the joint Police Force of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) in Abu Dhabi. By hosting the GCC Police Force, the UAE aims to foster its relations with the other Gulf countries to safeguard the region from any form… – Continue reading
Business is braced for a slew of new anti-avoidance measures after the UK general election next month as politicians compete on promises to raise billions of pounds from closing tax loopholes, reports the Financial Times. A cross-party consensus is emerging over the scope for a renewed crackdown. Last week Vince… – Continue reading
India and China developing frameworks for Reits but while their sheer sizes impress, both face tax and high interest rate hurdles, reports the Business Times. India and China are both developing frameworks for real estate investment trusts (Reits), but the threat to Singapore’s position as a major regional Reit centre… – Continue reading
EUROPEAN M&A DOS AND DON’TS FOR NON-EUROPEAN BUYERS Inbound M&A in Europe by non-European buyers increased in 2014 by 68.6% compared to 2013, representing over a third of USD 901.4 billion total European M&A.1 For non-European buyers the basic framework of transactions may be similar, but there are a number… – Continue reading
For Ghana to close the gap between cash resources and funding needs for services and infrastructure, there is the need for a total rehash of the taxation system, Participants at a sensitisation tax justice workshop say. They said the rehash would recover taxes seeping through bad structural deals with multinationals… – Continue reading
Nothing is certain in India except death and tax disputes. Ask foreign portfolio investors: they now face demands for past dues of as much as $6.4 billion. The wrangle stems from the Minimum Alternative Tax, or MAT, which officials say leads to a 20 percent levy on capital gains by… – Continue reading
A British company run by the Conservative’s election guru Lynton Crosby lost more than £1 million in two years, public records show. Accounts filed by Crosby Textor Ltd reveal that the firm, owned by Mr Crosby and his business partner Mark Textor made losses of £511,000 in 2014 and £510,000… – Continue reading
In response to Pranay Gupte’s story on a story published by Firstpost, the Secretary to the Mauritius cabinet, S Seebaluck, has rebutted some of the points made in the story titled: “Mauritius cracks whip on Muslims, not a’ role model of democracy’ as PM Modi said after all.” The following… – Continue reading
HONG KONG: small group of asset managers is pushing for more protection for offshore holders of Chinese bonds, in a sign that growing default fears are putting established funding structures under scrutiny. The ongoing debt restructuring of troubled Chinese property developer Kaisa Group Holdings has rattled many on the buy… – Continue reading
“Tax policy and administration should incentivise compliance. They should be administered fairly, transparently, with minimum discretion, with no harassment of taxpayers but also ensuring that tax evasion is dealt with firmly.” Promising a ‘modern tax system’ with low and globally competitive rates, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has assured foreign investors… – Continue reading
Foreign owners of UK property assets are being advised to seek property valuations to avoid falling foul of changes to Capital Gains Tax, writes David Westgate – Managing Director, Andrews Letting & Management CHANGES to Capital Gains Tax for UK property investors based overseas were first announced by George Osborne… – Continue reading
Portugal’s deputy prime minister, Paulo Portas, and Saudi Arabia’s minister of trade, Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, recently signed an agreement abolishing double taxation between the two countries, as part of a continued broader effort by Portugal’s government to boost exports and investment. The document was signed after a meeting in… – Continue reading
Wealthy Americans are running out of ways to hide their money. The IRS has been relentless in prying open the secret Swiss bank account—dozens of Swiss banks are cooperating with the agency. Just last month, a settlement with the private bank BSI revealed bankers used coded language and nameless credit… – Continue reading
Cross border transactions involving German entities investing in French real estate may need to be restructured as a result of proposed changes to the France/Germany double tax treaty, according to two experts. French tax expert Franck Lagorce and German tax expert Werner Geisselmeier, both of Pinsent Masons, the law firm… – Continue reading
The funds management industry has welcomed a commitment from Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg to make tax and corporate law changes that will boost the export of asset management services to Asia. Complex and uncompetitive legal and tax settings in Australia have acted as a handbrake on the export of financial… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: India’s syndicated loan borrowing in overseas markets has collapsed in the January-March quarter as Indian companies have taken the bond route to fund their expansions, and investments are yet to pick up. Loans denominated in US dollar, Japanese yen or euro dropped 75 per cent year-on-year. India G3 syndicated… – Continue reading
Beijing enlists seven firms, including PwC, to investigate projects and holdings this year Beijing has appointed seven audit companies, including international firm PwC, to look into the overseas assets of major state-owned enterprises as it tightens the reins on the business giants. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (Sasac)… – Continue reading
Everyone’s “favorite” day of the year is less than 24 hours away – Tax Day. And the big question is: Have you filed your return yet? (If you haven’t, stop reading this and go take care of that. This will still be here when you’re done.) By now, most people… – Continue reading
The South Korean government is going to construct a natural gas plant in Turkmenistan, which has the world’s fourth largest natural gas reserves. The government is supporting a US$13 billion scale project in total, which includes natural gas-to-liquids (GTL) plant construction and the modernization of essential oil factories. South Korean… – Continue reading
Duncan Card believes that his new law firm will be instrumental in attracting foreign investment to the Island. Bennett Jones (Bermuda) Ltd, which practises in association with the Canadian law firm of the same name, will be led by managing principal Mr Card, a Bermudian who has returned with his… – Continue reading
Only one change in expat offshore money rates for the week – a new account launched by Skipton International. The 18 month fixed rate bond follows the market lead in offering shorter fixed terms. The rate is 1.75% and savers can open an account with £10,000. The savings market is… – Continue reading
His softball sentence of two years probation ended five years ago. But billionaire real estate developer Igor Olenicoff still can’t put behind him his December 2007 guilty plea to lying on his federal tax return about some $200 million he kept offshore. For that, he can blame his own litigiousness… – Continue reading
The Ministry of Finance (MoF) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Umm Al Quwain Free Trade Zone Authority (UAQ FTZ). This agreement has been signed to ensure international standards of transparency in the exchange of information for tax purposes, as per Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)… – Continue reading
The Texas Windstorm Insurance Association (TWIA) is returning to the catastrophe bond market, as expected, with its largest transaction to date, a proposed $450m two tranche Alamo Re Ltd. (Series 2015-1) offering. TWIA had always been planning to include a catastrophe bond within its 2015 reinsurance renewal, as long as… – Continue reading
One of the most financially damaging taxes facing wealthier British families is UK inheritance tax. Living in Malta does not automatically protect you since liability does not rest on residence but on domicile. Domicile is a complex UK common law concept. If claiming a change of domicile, the onus is… – Continue reading
BERLIN: The Governments of France and Germany signed an amendment to the France-German treaty dated (the “Treaty”), which will have an impact in the future for certain investments in real estate. For France, this amendment follows the amendment to France-Luxembourg signed on 5 September 2014 which also impacts foreign investments… – Continue reading
All eyes will be on former Secretary of State, and now presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton as she sets out a policy agenda during the opening months of her campaign. While in recent years Clinton has not gotten into the nitty-gritty of tax policy, she does have a long voting record… – Continue reading
On 31 March 2015, the Governments of France and Germany signed an amendment to the France-German treaty dated (the “Treaty”), which will have an impact in the future for certain investments in real estate. For France, this amendment follows the amendment to France-Luxembourg signed on 5 September 2014 which also… – Continue reading
Tax and business consultants KPMG are warning the government to be cautious in reforming corporate tax law in its moves to target offshoring of corporate profits. In its submission to the Senate inquiry examining corporate tax avoidance, KPMG said while governments need to ensure they are receiving appropriate amounts of… – Continue reading
Draft plans to remove tax benefits for cross-border funds to eradicate Base Erosion and Profit Sharing could significantly impact investment into Ucits, the Alfi conferences hears. New draft OECD rules designed to combat Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (Beps) could have dire unintended consequences for cross-border funds, warned Roger Exwood,… – Continue reading
Corporations like Apple shouldn’t get a sweetheart deal to “onshore” profits, tax expert Scott Klinger tells Salon One of the more consequential paradoxes of American politics concerns the myth and the reality of bipartisan legislation. The myth is that American voters want it, and they want it bad. In fact,… – Continue reading
Since entering the Illinois Senate race last week, Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth has been running a protectionist campaign, railing against her Republican opponent’s alleged support for outsourcing jobs and overseas tax havens. But financial records obtained by The Daily Caller show that Duckworth has investments in companies that use offshore… – Continue reading
Many Canadian Snowbirds who have become fed up with Canada’s long, hard winters (and there are bound to be many more this year, especially from the Eastern provinces) have purchased winter homes in Southern U.S. states. This has been an especially popular move over the past few years, with U.S…. – Continue reading
