On October 3, 2016 the Federal Government proposed changes to the Income Tax Act (the “Act”) and administrative policies that will impact claiming the principal residence exemption. 1. All dispositions of principal residences must now be reported. Previously, the CRA did not require taxpayers to report the sale of a… – Continue reading
Germany’s BDI industry group has come out against a government plan to unilaterally close so-called ‘patent box’ tax loopholes used by foreign companies to avoid paying full taxes on profits earned in Germany. The Association of German Industrialists, BDI, said Tuesday that the government’s unilateral move would send a negative… – Continue reading
In his Budget speech on 11 October 2016, the Minister for Finance announced a comprehensive programme of targeted intervention against offshore tax evasion. Positive action is required ahead of 1 May 2017 for those with undeclared income and gains from offshore assets. Finance Act 2016, which includes legislative changes required… – Continue reading
A showdown between the Australian Taxation Office and the nation’s largest companies including Chevron, Crown and BHP Billiton is looming as the tax man hits seven large companies with tax bills amounting to $2 billion. On Friday, the ATO released its corporate tax transparency report for 2014-15, which includes limited… – Continue reading
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Information in Tax Matters (Standard for AEOI) in July 2014, which aims to prevent offshore tax evasion and maintain the integrity of tax systems. Over 100 jurisdictions have committed to comply with the Standard… – Continue reading
Advisers will need to inform clients of new changes to offshore tax disclosure as the government introduces a new legal requirement to correct past failures, experts warn. As part of the Autumn Statement today, the Government said it would put in place a new legal “requirement to correct” a past… – Continue reading
New Zealand’s tax agency has set out the international tax initiatives it intends to pursue, in particular in response to the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting plan. It said it will undertake further work on a package of BEPS initiatives, which will include hybrid mismatch rules to prevent companies… – Continue reading
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), and the World Bank Group introduced a joint initiative, the Platform for Collaboration on Tax, to UN Member States. Marijn Verhoeven, World Bank Group, expressed excitement that the… – Continue reading
Revised rules affecting the way corporate debt and derivative contracts are taxed have now been drafted and are out for a brief consultation, in a bid to avoid double taxation and curb potential abuse HMRC has issued draft legislation for consultation following amendments to the Change of Accounting Practice Regulations… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Colm Imbert and US Ambassador John Estrada yesterday signed an agreement that will pave the way for the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) enacted in the United States of America in 2010. Imbert signed on behalf of T&T, while Ambassador signed on behalf of… – Continue reading
Officials from the Department of Finance and the Revenue Commissioners said they are investigating recent media reports that so-called vulture funds are using a clause in Irish law to pay small amounts of tax here. Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar has said that the Government is “very concerned” at… – Continue reading
The European Union’s Anti-Avoidance Directive, which has to be put into national legislation by 2019,is aimed at plugging loop-holes in tax systems which allow large corporations to legally avoid paying tax. While Malta has been criticised for offering competitive tax rates, despite the openness and uniformity of such competitive rates,… – Continue reading
The European Commission will propose on Tuesday stricter rules on trusts to prevent tax evasion, according to draft legislation seen by Reuters, in a move that Britain has long opposed and which was deferred until after the Brexit referendum. The EU push to identify owners of trusts has been in… – Continue reading
Multinational companies doing business in Italy, Italian companies doing business abroad and non-resident companies which intend to invest in Italy may use the new international tax ruling procedure to reach an advanced agreement with the Italian Tax Authorities regarding the taxation of income derived from cross-border transactions. Recently, Legislative Decree… – Continue reading
The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday approved an anti-tax evasion bill, which, if passed into law, would subject all companies registered overseas to the 17 percent corporate income tax. While supportive of the legislation, the committee voted 7-5 in favor of allowing the Cabinet to set the implementation date to avoid… – Continue reading
Islamabad—The Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Bill, 2016 will enable the government to tackle with the problem of tax evasion and black money and transactions being carried out in other people’s names. The said bill will also to put an end to benami transactions, and to empower the government to recover such… – Continue reading
THE Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) recently issued Revenue Memorandum Circular (RMC) No. 32-2016 setting the amendments in the provisions of the Philippines-New Zealand tax treaty, which was originally entered into on Oct. 2, 2008. The Protocol includes the following changes: 1. The rate for dividends was changed to a… – Continue reading
The Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee on Sunday advanced a bill to link tax evasion with money laundering. The bill would set certain types of tax evasion acts as predicate offenses, meaning they would be considered as part of the larger crime of money laundering. The bill, backed by… – Continue reading
Thomson Reuters Checkpoint has just released a special report, European Commission Presents Anti-Tax Avoidance (ATA) Package, summarizing the ATA Package to help businesses plan for the latest developments in advance of implementation. On January 28, 2016, the European Commission presented its Communication on the Anti-Tax Avoidance Package. The goal of… – Continue reading
With American corporations keeping a record amount of profits offshore to avoid paying U.S. taxes, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) will introduce legislation requiring corporations to “Pay What You Owe Before You Go.” During a news conference call today, Brown will outline his bill that would require corporations to settle… – Continue reading
During a political season in which populist fury and anger at big business is running high, two presidential candidates want to eliminate the ability of multinational firms to keep earnings overseas and avoid U.S. taxes. They also just happen to be the two most surprising and disruptive candidates in the… – Continue reading
Is India back on the world map as a lucrative investment jurisdiction? Does the world see the Make in India dream becoming a reality? Well, the $222 billion investment pledges received during the Make in India week do resonate the revived positive sentiment! In fact, recent policy measures have clearly… – Continue reading
Officials said the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has asked the taxman to send across to it all such cases for exchange of information which are getting “time barred” by March 31. With the current financial year coming to a close soon, CBDT has asked the Income Tax department… – Continue reading
European Commission’s tax avoidance plan announced last week includes positives, like country-by-country reporting, but doesn’t go far enough to turn the tide against corporate tax dodging; Such reporting should be made public The European Commission last week announced proposals for new laws to tackle tax avoidance and evasion in the… – Continue reading
On 10 December 2015 the remaining changes to the income tax and the capital gains tax laws aiming to improve the tax system of Cyprus and make it more attractive to both the local and international business community were voted. The changes came into effect with their publication in the… – Continue reading
THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (DC) recently enacted, as part of its budget, provisions that force entities doing business in any of 39 arbitrarily designated “tax havens” to report their income on worldwide combined reporting. Eighteen are Caribbean jurisdictions. A tax haven is defined by the DC code… – Continue reading
Legislation that enacts, as part of Belgian domestic law, the FATCA reporting provisions pursuant to an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the United States has been long-awaited. The Belgian tax authorities initially set a FATCA reporting deadline of 30 July 2015. However, without a law transposing the FATCA rules into Belgian… – Continue reading
FOCUS: New UK government plans to penalise those who help others evade tax could punish those who unknowingly enable evasion and could create conflicts of interest and the danger of double jeopardy. The government will introduce a new civil penalty for those who deliberately “enable” offshore tax evasion. It also… – Continue reading
Something unusual is happening with the Irish corporation tax in 2015 — so unusual that Ireland’s top tax man felt obliged to write to the parliament to explain what is going on. But the explanation left a lot to be desired. According to government data, Ireland received 57.7 percent more… – Continue reading
When you think of a tax haven, you probably imagine the far off tropical islands of Bermuda or Grand Cayman, but the reality is that there is a major tax haven even closer to home in the state of Delaware. A new report from Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton on Wednesday will unveil a proposal for a new “exit tax” aimed at cracking down on corporate inversions, a practice that permits U.S. companies to merge with corporations overseas to lower their tax bill. The new tax would be part of a broader effort to target… – Continue reading
The Government continues to take a tough line on tax avoidance, with both political and financial motives… Building on its consultation document from July this year (HMRC consultation on strengthening sanctions for serial tax avoidance) it confirmed it will introduce legislation in the Finance Bill 2016 to implement the following… – Continue reading
The offshore industry is poised for growth, as the industry insiders see the demand for offshore financial and corporate services likely to increase in the coming years, according to an industry survey conducted by OIL, a corporate service provider specializing in international incorporations. The industry has been battling negative perceptions… – Continue reading
Telecoms giant MTN Rwanda is in talks with the revenue authority to settle a Rwf9 billion ($12 million) tax dispute out of court. In a case that has lasted over two years, the Rwanda Revenue Authority dragged MTN Rwanda, the country’s largest mobile phone services provider by market share, to… – Continue reading
Frustrations are mounting, as foreigners keen to do business in New Zealand are getting tangled in red tape aimed at regulating overseas property speculators. EY tax partner, Aaron Quintal, warns the new laws requiring “offshore persons” to have a New Zealand bank account to get an IRD number, are causing… – Continue reading
Russia’s Ministry of Finance has given its reaction to the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) reports. The Director of the Department for Tax and Customs Policy at the Ministry of Finance, Ilya Trunin, said in a televised interview for Russia 24 that, in 2014, Russia adopted several new… – Continue reading
On October 22, 2015, the UK launched a consultation on the design of the country’s new “patent box” regime. The UK is developing a new patent box regime that would comply with the recommendations of the OECD on harmful tax practices. It was agreed at international level that, from July… – Continue reading
KEY POINTS What is the issue? Guernsey will be required to gather data for the calendar year 2016 for reporting under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) in 2017. What does it mean for me? Practitioners should be aware that due diligence and reporting procedures are set to be amended and… – Continue reading
Hong Kong (HKSAR) – The Government will, in the light of stakeholders’ views collected during consultation, refine the legislative proposals for implementing in Hong Kong the new international standard on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters (AEOI), a government spokesman said today (October 12). Hong Kong pledged… – Continue reading
HMRC has defeated an avoidance scheme used chiefly by property developers and IT contractors and could now be owed up to £200m in unpaid tax The scheme, which was used by more than 2,000 people, aimed to exploit the UK’s double taxation agreement with the Isle of Man. Those using… – Continue reading
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has defeated a £200 million tax avoidance scheme that took advantage of the UK’s double taxation agreement with the Isle of Man. The scheme exploited the UK’s double taxation agreement with the Isle of Man, whereby people are not taxed twice on the same income… – Continue reading
The deadline for participation in Italy’s current voluntary disclosure program has been extended from September 30 to November 30, 2015, following the decision taken at a Cabinet meeting on September 28, reports Tax News. In addition, those individuals who file an application form to enter the program by the new… – Continue reading
The Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Plan adopted by the OECD and G20 countries in 2013 recognised that enhancing transparency for tax administrations by providing them with adequate information to assess high-level transfer pricing and other BEPS-related risks is a crucial aspect for tackling the BEPS problem. Against… – Continue reading
Tax Reform Still in Ryan’s Sights Despite Boehner’s Departure Last week, following the sudden announcement by House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) that he would be stepping down from Congress at the end of October, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) and various other Committee members quickly confirmed… – Continue reading
Chief Minister Allan Bell has written to the District of Columbia Council to outline his concerns at the island’s inclusion in a blacklist of tax havens. Washington DC released the list of 39 ‘tax havens’ as part of its Budget Support Act, which was signed by the Mayor in August…. – Continue reading
EU committee set up to investigate aggressive tax planning concludes its report in weeks Lobbyists representing internet company Facebook could be banned from entering the European Parliament following a request by the parliament’s special committee on tax to revoke access to multinationals who refused to cooperate with the committee’s inquiries…. – Continue reading
In September 2014, the Hurun Research Institute published its annual listing of the richest people in China. It showed that IT tycoon Ma Yun had increased his personal fortune during the last year by 500% to $25 billion and in doing so, had climbed to first position on the list…. – Continue reading
PHUKET: In 2005 the EU Commission proposed a directive that laid the foundations for a radical change in the portability of an individual’s pension. British, Dutch and Irish nationals were given the flexibility to move certain private pensions to the jurisdiction of their choice, rather than leave it in their… – Continue reading
Domestic funds will now have to closely examine FATCA rules. Much ink has been spilt of late over a United States (‘US’) federal law called the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (‘FATCA’) and hence we thought it fit to spend some time trying to analyse for the readers the aspects… – Continue reading
Security fears; Global authorities to begin sharing sensitive data If you have a bank account somewhere overseas, that information will make its way back to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in a couple of years. In 2018, international tax authorities will begin automatically sharing financial information under the terms of… – Continue reading
