(Reuters) – Wealthy Asians are increasingly wary of letting banks look after their money and would rather use smaller asset managers instead, according to one of the region’s leading lawyers to the ultra rich. David Chong, chairman of Asia’s largest independent trust company, Portcullis TrustNet, said huge fines imposed on… – Continue reading
Competition takes many forms in capitalism. Financial engineering by corporations to avoid paying taxes is one aspect of this competition — under the rigors of market competition, evading responsibility is an innovation to be emulated. The magnitude of tax evasion on the part of multi-national corporations through one channel —… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands needs to be more assertive in addressing its reputation as a so-called tax haven, that according to chairman of the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange Anthony Travers. A recent report by US-based watchdog groups Citizens For Tax Justice and the US PIRG named the Cayman Islands as one… – Continue reading
A temporary tax holiday for US companies to repatriate offshore profits would cost the government $95.8 billion in revenue over a decade, said the Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress’s nonpartisan scorekeeper. Lawmakers occasionally talk about a repatriation tax break as a way to pay for spending such as replenishing the… – Continue reading
Government’s recent initiative to allow unlisted companies to list on offshore markets through the depository receipt (DR) mechanism without the requirement of simultaneous listing in India is likely to be a major shot in the arm for many sectors, and also offer exits to private equity players looking to monetize… – Continue reading
Walgreen, the biggest U.S. retail drugstore chain, is considering decamping to Switzerland in a quest for bigger tax breaks, just two years after reaping a hefty package of Illinois tax credits in exchange for keeping corporate jobs in the state. Such a move, through a maneuver called an inversion, would… – Continue reading
● UKIP leader says no-one would pay more tax than they had to ● Says he paid money into company Thorn in the Side Limited to save cash ● He saved £11,000 by paying 20p corporation tax instead of 40p income tax Nigel Farage has said that some tax avoidance… – Continue reading
Despite international efforts to clamp down on offshore tax havens, small offshore havens for tax dodging and money laundering are becoming even busier. As the international community focuses on well-known havens like Switzerland and the British Virgin Islands, small remote outposts have become more popular, according to the International Consortium of Investigative… – Continue reading
One hundred of Australia’s richest people have taken advantage of a rare amnesty from the Australian Taxation Office – issued in March this year – to reveal their use of secretive offshore tax havens without severe punishment. There has also been a ”large number of expressions of interest” in addition… – Continue reading
More South Korean conglomerates have been registering subsidiaries in offshore tax havens, according to corporate researcher Chaebul.com. The number of South Korean companies established in the top 10 offshore tax havens last year jumped nearly 60 percent on-year from 54 to 86, indicating more conglomerates taking advantage of lower tax… – Continue reading
South Korea’s largest business conglomerates have been setting up more paper companies in tax havens around the world, a report by a local corporate research firm showed Monday. With the exception of holding companies for shipping lines, the number of South Korean companies located in the top 10 offshore tax… – Continue reading
The US tax authorities are set to make the amnesty programme aimed at encouraging US citizens to declare any offshore bank accounts less tough. Recently appointed head of the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), John Koskinen, said at a tax conference in Washington D.C. that re-striking the balance between enforcement… – Continue reading
The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) has set up new tax determination guidelines aimed at providing consistency in tax administration on both domestic and cross-border transactions.The new system –“Transfer Pricing Regulation” will also provide taxpayers with insights on the procedures followed in determination of income tax, duty and levies in various… – Continue reading
Muscat: Oman and Bulgaria expect to sign a double taxation avoidance treaty in September this year, as both countries are in negotiations to finalise the treaty, said Antoaneta Petrova of Bulexpo AA & Co. She noted that once the agreement is in place, Bulgarian companies operating in Oman will need… – Continue reading
International moves to shut down profit-shifting from high to low tax countries is starting to have an impact on Australian companies doing business offshore. A new EY report says these local companies are feeling the heat of a global trend of “increasingly aggressive” tax authorities. EY’s 2014 Tax Risk and… – Continue reading
Funds flowing from Australia to tax havens such as Vanuatu, Liechtenstein and Jersey are at a five year low, according to government analysis. The Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC) numbers for 2012-13 show $47 billion was sent from Australia to tax havens, a fall of 13% compared to… – Continue reading
Russian business is certainly facing a challenging time. The Russian Government has sights set on the offshore business of Russian entities and individuals, and when they get their way it may have wide-reaching implications not only for Russian business, but for anyone doing business with Russian partners across the globe…. – Continue reading
If any U.S. company seems ripe for moving to an island tax haven, it’s Chiquita. Based in Charlotte, the company’s sale of bananas, grown largely in Central America, accounts for two-thirds of its profits. But Chiquita isn’t bound for the tropics. It’s headed to Ireland, where the climate may be… – Continue reading
Is every item buried in Table S-9 of the President’s budget a big can of worms? The only one I understand is big like a roadside attraction. By my count it’s item 237 out of 373: “Provide for reciprocal reporting of information in connection with the implementation of FATCA.” FATCA… – Continue reading
About two dozen U.S. companies ranging from Liberty Media to Sara Lee have quietly moved their headquarters out of the United States to places like Ireland and Canada and England since 2008 in search of lower corporate income taxes. Few people other than tax techies noticed. But now, thanks to… – Continue reading
Switzerland isn’t the only tax haven feeling the heat from countries that are trying to scrape more revenue by raking in taxes from citizens with undeclared offshore assets. According to the U.K.-based Ethical Consumer, mini-states, like Andorra and the Cayman Islands, and financial centers, like Hong Kong and Singapore, all offer banking… – Continue reading
Google has revealed that it has a $20bn to $30bn war chest outside the US to fund future acquisitions of overseas companies, such as a $5bn deal it scrapped last year. The company revealed the size of its foreign-held coffers in a letter responding to questions by the US Securities… – Continue reading
HumaneWatch.org, a project of the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), is running a full-page ad today in USA Today calling out the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for parking $20 million of donor funds in offshore investment shelters in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. The practice is only the latest in… – Continue reading
Exchange controls have been relaxed to allow for the practice, though the rules remain fairly strict. South African technology firms and other companies can now transfer intellectual property (IP) offshore thanks to a relaxation of exchange control regulations in this regard. One of challenges that private companies in South Africa… – Continue reading
Puerto Rico’s tax incentive acts are tailor-made for traders, investors, investment managers and financial institutions. Enacted in 2012, Puerto Rico’s Act 22 allows investors and traders with bona fide residence in Puerto Rico to exclude 100% of all short-term and long-term capital gains from the sale of personal property accrued… – Continue reading
Introduction Article 10 of the Russia-Cyprus double tax agreement grants taxing rights over dividends to the state of residence of the company paying the dividends (in addition to the state of residence of the recipient). The tax that may be imposed in the state in which the dividends originate is… – Continue reading
The European Council this week adopted a directive strengthening EU rules on the exchange of information on savings incomes, aimed at enabling the member states to better clamp down on tax fraud and tax evasion. The EU Directive requires the member states to exchange information automatically so as to enable… – Continue reading
Hong Kong may feel affect of any new law to uncover financial information China is expected to impose its own version of the new US tax law which requires financial institutions around the world to provide Washington with information on US taxpayers, analysts say. On March 25, the Secretary for… – Continue reading
In the early hours of Thursday Morning, Australia announced a tax amnesty on any tax resident with offshore assets not declared to the Australian Taxation Office Geraint Davies, Managing Director of Montfort International sees this move as significant from many perspectives. “We have seen the breaking news of a complete… – Continue reading
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, March 26th 2014 (CUOPM) – The Member Governments of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) have commenced discussions with the United States of America (US) towards executing an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for the implementation of the provisions of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The… – Continue reading
FATCA was enacted in the US in 2010 in an effort to combat tax evasion by US persons holding investments in offshore accounts. Isreli currency. Photo: Reuters This article is relevant to US citizens and green card holders living in Israel. The Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act is due to be… – Continue reading
Ghana and Denmark have signed a Double Taxation Agreement, moving the bilateral cooperation between the two countries to another level. A Double Taxation Agreement regulates the tax treatment of income or capital gains in situations where the same taxpayer is subject to tax in two states with respect to the… – Continue reading
LONDON — They are the most expensive and luxurious flats in the whole of London. Their ultramodern bay windows offer an unobstructed view onto Hyde Park. An underground corridor connects them to the Mandarin Oriental, the palace where Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal has one of his prized restaurants. In total, the… – Continue reading
As 2008 began, the future looked brilliant for green energy giant Suntech Power and its high-flying founder, Shi Zhengrong. Suntech was one of the world’s largest makers of solar panels, the first non-state-owned Chinese company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. And Shi, born to a farm family so… – Continue reading
From “Tiger of the Indian Ocean” to “Cyber island”, Mauritius has turned now into a “Safe and Reliable Investment Hub” in terms of good governance as well as ethical, economic, political and social stability. Ranked 1st in Sub-Saharan Africa in the World Bank‘s Doing Business Report 2013, Mauritius offers a particularly favorable setting for doing business…. – Continue reading
FATCA drives up demand for overseas pension schemes Dubai: The looming implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), a law designed as a tool to counteract tax evasion, is prompting a growing number US expatriates to look for tax efficient investment options. An estimated 7.2 million American expatriates… – Continue reading
Many UK advisers believe that the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) only applies to UK trusts if there are US beneficiaries, settlors or investments. This is not true. FATCA will apply to all financial institutions (banks, brokerage firms, trust companies and all financial accounts) in the UK and will… – Continue reading
The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) will be implemented on July 1 this year, and it would be better for Taiwan’s financial institutions not to speculate any more, a prominent accountant has said in an interview our sister paper Commercial Times. Chou Sih-ci said several financial operators still… – Continue reading
Gibraltar is to introduce Qualified Non-UK Pension Schemes (QNUPS), which will enable British expats to make additional contributions to pension schemes that will be administered by Gibraltar-regulated trustees. A QNUPS allows an individual to transfer UK-based pension assets to overseas-based schemes. These contributions may exceed the usual UK limit of… – Continue reading
Think your taxes are confusing? Ha! Try living and working abroad as a U.S. citizen. As the following guest column details, even something as seemingly ordinary as participating in a pension plan can create huge tax complications. (For less esoteric advice on preparing your 1040 for 2013 and minimizing your… – Continue reading
Luxembourg’s plan to issue an Islamic bond faced its first test this week as a proposal to securitise assets to back the transaction was scrutinised by the Council of State, a body which advises the national legislature. AAA-rated Luxembourg could pip Britain’s ambitions to become the first Western country to… – Continue reading
A tightening noose around the necks of tax avoiders in some parts of the world saw Guernsey’s financial regulator approve 103 new investment funds in the crown dependency during 2013. There is no capital gains tax or inheritance tax in Guernsey. The corporation tax on financial firms is just 10%,… – Continue reading
A tightening noose around the necks of tax avoiders in some parts of the world saw Guernsey’s financial regulator approve 103 new investment funds in the crown dependency during 2013. There is no capital gains tax or inheritance tax in Guernsey. The corporation tax on financial firms is just 10%,… – Continue reading
Pension professionals in Gibraltar will soon be able to offer Qualifying Non-UK Pension Schemes (QNUPS) from Gibraltar. The Gibraltar Government has, in consultation with the Gibraltar Association of Pension Fund Administrators (GAPFA), worked to enable the sector to offer Gibraltar QNUPS. Discussions then took place between the Government… – Continue reading
Feb 26 (Reuters) – Luxembourg is talking to China about allowing mutual recognition of investment funds based in the two countries, a senior Luxembourg official said on Wednesday. Such an agreement would boost the European financial centre’s bid to be a major hub for the offshore renminbi, or yuan, currency,… – Continue reading
Luxembourg has been widely hailed as an international investment center for years. The Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) provides a number of reasons underlying the country’s designation as a top fund-industry choice. Its legal and regulatory framework for investment funds is recognized for its excellence by the global… – Continue reading
The Vodafone tax issue has affected investor sentiments towards India: ABAX Corporate CEO NEW DELHI, FEBRUARY 26: The Vodafone tax dispute and General Anti-Avoidance Rules have impacted investor sentiment badly. Coupled with the delay in revising the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Mauritius, fund flow from the island-nation has… – Continue reading
Feb 24 (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors are widening their probe of how Swiss banks helped wealthy Americans avoid taxes to look at insurers as well, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources. Insurers in Switzerland have been preparing for months for U.S. officials to investigate products known as insurance… – Continue reading
The company has found a home in the British Virgin Islands, the finance ministry admits, though it might change that policy. Israel Bonds, a Zionist stalwart that fosters the country’s economic development, is registered in the British Virgin Islands, without the organization ever making the fact known in its English-… – Continue reading
UTI International (Singapore) chief executive officer Praveen Jagwani says the asset manager had to remove American investors because of the compliance burden Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca) brings. The regulation requires financial institutions to use enhanced due diligence to identify US citizens that have invested in either non-US financial… – Continue reading
