The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has warned against international tax proposals, including changes to thin capitalization rules, that have been put forward by the Opposition in Australia. The Council said that any changes to the thin capitalization rules – which it said are already among the world’s most robust… – Continue reading
Abuja — NIGERIA and Republic of Seychelles relations Wednesday received a boost even as both countries have renewed commitment to further strengthen bilateral relations between them. Speaking during the presentation of his Credence Letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali, in Abuja, the Honourary Consul of Seychelles… – Continue reading
Bermuda and other international financial centres are “routinely attacked and demonised” in Europe, according to Bermuda’s top financial regulator, reports the Royal Gazette. Jeremy Cox, chief executive officer of the Bermuda Monetary Authority, said in opening remarks in the BMA’s Business Plan 2015, published today, that it was “time for… – Continue reading
The UAE and Luxembourg are modern, dynamic economies that have emerged as major financial centres and hubs for international banking, reports the Khaleej Times. Dubai — Luxembourg, which is home to assets under management to the tune of more than €3000 billion, seeks to boost collaboration with the UAE in… – Continue reading
It’s early March and that means tax time for tens of millions Americans. As we become an increasingly mobile society, millions of U.S. taxpayers are wondering what forms are needed to report offshore income, assets and bank accounts. While no substitute for a good tax lawyer, CPA or enrolled agent,… – Continue reading
KUALA LUMPUR: Georgia is motivated to enhance economic cooperation with Malaysia, which has one of the most open economies in the world, its Charge d’Affaires ad interim (a.i.) to Malaysia Levan Machavariani said. “Malaysia is one of the world’s most open economies and fully integrated in the world’s trade and… – Continue reading
The outgoing High Commissioner of Pakistan, Major General Ulfat Hussain Shah, paid a courtesy call yesterday on the Prime Minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, at the Treasury Building in Port Louis, to bid him farewell after having served for two years in Mauritius. Both parties agreed that there is a need… – Continue reading
Notorious tax dodger GE recently released its annual financial report and the only thing eye-raising about the company’s paltry 0.9 percent federal income tax rate is that it’s marginally higher than the 0.4 percent average rate it paid over the past decade. Released without fanfare late in the afternoon last… – Continue reading
France has always been an attractive place to live but, there is a long-held perception that French taxes will eat up much of your income and savings, says Jason Porter, business development manager at Blevins Franks. Where annual income exceeds €1m (£729m, $1.1m), taxation at a rate of 75% (a… – Continue reading
An investment registration scheme launched by the government last year attracted a total of 1,469 valid registrations covering an aggregate of €455.8 million worth of eligible assets, The Finance Ministry told The Malta Independent. Of the total amount registered, €69.8 million or 15% of the total was repatriated following registration…. – Continue reading
Foreign subsidiaries may now have to pay tax both in India and the country of their operations At present, a company incorporated outside India is considered a tax resident only if the control and management of its affairs is situated wholly in India. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint New Delhi: A budget… – Continue reading
Corporate tax reform has emerged as an area of potential bipartisan action in the United States Congress over the next few months. But fundamental questions about the right approach remain. There is widespread agreement that the US corporate tax system is deeply flawed. The rate is too high; the base… – Continue reading
The Conversation Five years ago the Henry Review undertook a detailed examination of Australia’s tax and transfer system. Today, the Tax and Transfer Policy Institute at ANU’s Crawford School has revisited the Henry Review, as the Australian government prepares to release its tax white paper. Tax reform should not be… – Continue reading
In previous updates we have alerted clients to the introduction of Cayman Islands regulations1, which give effect to the automatic exchange of tax information principles established by the US and UK intergovernmental agreements (the “Cayman US Regulations” and the “Cayman UK Regulations”, respectively). While many Cayman Islands entities will be… – Continue reading
British mobile giant Vodafone hasn’t been bailed out, with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley maintaining status quo on taxing past offshore deals. However, foreign investors can draw comfort as tax will be charged in India only on certain offshore deals where the underlying asset and the value derived thereon are in… – Continue reading
The art of taxation, declared King Louis XIV’s Minister of Finances Jean-Baptiste Colbert, is in “so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest amount of feathers with the least amount of hissing”. The Budgets of Singapore and Hong Kong – released two days apart this week – have thrown… – Continue reading
After several rounds of revisions and consultations in the past few years, the State Administration of Taxation (“SAT”) has recently promulgated the Bulletin on Several Issues concerning the Enterprise Income Tax (“EIT”) on Indirect Asset Transfer by Non-Resident Enterprises (“Bulletin 7”)[1]. Tax matters occurred but have not been settled before… – Continue reading
As recommended by Tax Administration Reforms Commission (TARC) under Parthasarathi Shome, for taxation, the appellate functions must be housed separately from the field functions, in order to have fair and judicious orders passed. Indian Revenue should be divided into two distinct sets—the operational side and the technical/adjudication side. The quasi-judicial… – Continue reading
Two medical device companies, Cyberonics Inc from the United States and Italy’s Sorin SpA, have agreed to form a joint medical devices company with a combined equity value of USD2.7bn and will take advantage of the lower tax rate in the United Kingdom. Under the terms of the proposed transaction,… – Continue reading
Bank of America and four other banks have been queried by financial regulators about a complex trading maneuver that allows hedge funds to escape certain taxes. Reuters Financial regulators are heightening their focus on banks involved in complex international trades designed to skirt taxes, the Wall Street Journal reports. The… – Continue reading
Making tax-transparency standards watertight will be difficult THE optimistic view of the tax-evasion scandals that have bedevilled banks since 2008 is that they can only be seen in the rear-view mirror. The incriminating files in the latest case, regarding tax-dodging personal accounts held at the Swiss arm of HSBC, date… – Continue reading
MCC interviews three attorneys from Mourant Ozannes. Hayden Isbister is a partner and head of the Corporate practice in the Cayman firm. He specializes in investment funds, general corporate and commercial work. James Burch is a partner and leads the Structured Finance/Banks practice in the Cayman Islands, and Tim Dawson… – Continue reading
The Bombay High Court, in its landmark judgments in the cases of Vodafone India and Shell India, held that issue of shares, being a capital transaction, does not attract transfer pricing (TP) provisions under the Indian income tax law. The court observed that investment in shares does not fall within… – Continue reading
It is estimated that there are at least 100,000 Greeks with American citizenship living in Greece. In addition, thousands of US citizens live and work in Greece, either on a short-term or permanent basis. According to US law, all of these citizens, with very few exceptions, are required to file… – Continue reading
As for the central message that an NRI/PIO want to hear from Modi’s most important budget of his term can be best summed by what he said during an event in central park New York “May the force be with you “Veni Vidi Vici!” he came, he saw and he… – Continue reading
Not long after the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division (“DOJ”) made international headlines in 2009 for its bombshell announcement that it had entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the United Bank of Switzerland (UBS), lawmakers in Washington, D.C. began reviewing the testimony of hundreds of UBS’s U.S. clients… – Continue reading
São Paulo, Brazil. International transfer pricing is able to take place in Brazil, outside of the OECD While Brazil is not a member of the OECD, many multinational groups there are able to successfully navigate international transfer pricing standards, yielding effective results The economic view of Brazil has always been… – Continue reading
An Alberta online bank is believed to be the first Canadian financial institution to deny service to Americans, citing the burden of complying with strict new U.S. tax rules. Canadian Direct Financial, a subsidiary of Edmonton-based Canadian Western Bank, is refusing to open new Internet accounts for U.S. citizens, even… – Continue reading
IRA plans can be excellent ways to save for retirement, but there are some investments to avoid if you want to take full advantage of IRA tax savings. Two that come immediately to mind are tax-exempt municipal bonds and high-yielding stocks from foreign countries with dividend withholding taxes. Tax-exempt municipal… – Continue reading
This is the time of the year for millions of Americans to begin the annual ritual of gathering information about income, taxes, charitable giving, health insurance, expenses and sundry other items, and prepare to send mountains of information to the IRS –and to those who prepare their tax returns. Overseas… – Continue reading
Tax season is under way with Forms 1099 and W-2 already in mailboxes, and the Internal Revenue Service has also issued its annual list of the most common tax-related scams, called the dirty dozen. At the top of the list is identity theft, followed by potential tax swindles pitched by… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: The Securities and Exchange Board of India has banned 33 entities for allegedly misusing the stock exchange system to generate fictitious long-term capital gains of over Rs 1,800 crore and for converting their unaccounted income into legal money. Sebi said Kamalakshi Finance Corp (KFCL) made preferential shares to connected… – Continue reading
It’s been tough for investors in the U.S. to get much income from their portfolios from traditional sources like fixed-income investments, and so dividend stocks have gotten a lot more popular in recent years. Although there are thousands of U.S. stocks that pay dividends, many international companies also have lucrative… – Continue reading
Algiers — Algeria and Great Britain signed Wednesday, at the headquarters of Foreign Affairs Ministry in Algiers, an agreement on non-double taxation and prevention of tax evasion relating to tax on income and capital. This agreement, between the Algerian and British governments, is meant to encourage trading and investments between… – Continue reading
The entire IT ecosystem must be tuned to ensure that it is easier to do business in India. Many countries are now attracting technology start-ups that are working on the next big thing. India must not lose out in this race. India has been facing a flight of talent with… – Continue reading
Research highlights the money pipeline between political parties and private equity houses A tax loophole is being used by the executives at private equity firms to save huge amounts on their personal income tax, according to research published today. An investigation, published by campaign group 38 Degrees, uncovers the private… – Continue reading
The Companies Registry, Hong Kong has launched a full scale electronic filing system with effect from 15th February 2015 known as e-Registry. It is a 24 hour portal that allows electronic submission of applications for: Registration of Hong Kong companies Registration of non-Hong Kong companies 84 different specified forms under… – Continue reading
On February 3, 2015, the PRC State Administration of Taxation (“SAT”) released the Announcement of SAT Concerning Several Matters Relating to Corporate Income Tax on Indirect Transfer of Properties by Non-tax Resident Enterprises, Announcement [2015] No. 7 (国家税务总局关于非居民企业间接转让财产企业所得税若干问题的公告, 国家税务总局公告2015年第7号; “Announcement 7”). Below is a brief summary and discussion of the… – Continue reading
NUMBER OF THE WEEK: 3,415. The number of people who renounced their citizenship in 2014 according to IRS data. This is one of the five highest totals on record since the U.S. Congress passed the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act in 2010. In the past five years, more than 10,000… – Continue reading
Mumbai: As a probe continues into the misuse of stock markets for evading taxes and laundering black money, 4-5 cartels of market operators have been identified for making illicit gains or showing fictional losses of several thousands of crores of rupees over last 2-3 years. According to sources, both ‘bull’… – Continue reading
CHINA China Releases GAAR Administrative Measures Courtesy of Mr Glen Wei, an attorney at law, certified tax adviser, and CPA based in China.China’s State Administration of Taxation (SAT) on December 12 issued Decree 32 (dated December 2) introducing administrative measures for applying the domestic general anti-avoidance rule to special tax… – Continue reading
Ukip donor Stuart Wheeler tells Channel 4 News that he does not think Nigel Farage will be “in a government role” after the general election. Stuart Wheeler told Channel 4 News: “I don’t think he’ll be in a government role. He’s said that he won’t have a coalition.” Would he… – Continue reading
HM Revenue & Customs has defeated in the Court of Appeal a tax avoidance scheme which made false investments into Disney films. Eclipse 35 claimed to trade in film rights but has been defined as a tax avoidance scheme by UK courts. HMRC said an estimated £635m in tax has… – Continue reading
Last month, President Obama traveled to India where he famously befriended Narendra Modi and others. There, he heralded a new era of joint cooperation on many fronts, including the exchange of offshore account information. Last week, US Treasury Secretary, Jacob Lew was in India to follow up and meet with… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The government plans to defer implementation of the General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) until the time the tax administration is able to rebuild trust with companies on the controversial issue. “Given the low level of confidence in tax authorities, investors fear that the provisions may result in harassment…. – Continue reading
If the Davis tax committee’s recommendations are followed, tax avoidance could be effectively reined in. Zeroing in on the super-wealthy and tax reluctant remains at the top of the global agenda as budgets across the world grow increasingly hungry for extra revenues. Now a draft report from the Davis tax… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Committing to boost trade ties, India and the US today resolved to enhance cooperation, remove obstacles to investment flows and work towards early adoption of FATCA to facilitate automatic flow of tax information. “We are committed to share our experiences in tackling offshore tax evasion and avoidance. We… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — The backlash against acquisitions meant to skirt U.S. tax laws could spur more midsize U.S. drugmakers to sell to overseas buyers, Bill Ackman, the billionaire activist hedge fund manager, said Thursday. Takeover activity in 2014 was highlighted by U.S. companies — including Medtronic Inc. and Pfizer Inc. —… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The much-feared general anti avoidance rules (GAAR) could be deferred by about two years so that business sentiment is allowed to improve in India but will need to be rolled out in some form or the other by 2017, in sync with the international framework on preventing treaty… – Continue reading
Private Sector Key KUWAIT CITY, Feb 11: The Parliament on Wednesday approved the development plan for fiscals 2015/2016 to 2019/2020 in its first and second readings with 33 votes in favor, four against and one abstention. It also approved the 20th report of the Finance and Economic Affairs Committee on… – Continue reading
