Banks are threatening to close accounts of British expats living in the USA if they fail to complete piles of paperwork to comply with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Millions of US expats worldwide are already caught by the law which requires foreign financial institutions to supply details… – Continue reading
The Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is like a global think tank for advancing ideas and policy for the leading developed nations. Based in Paris with 2,500 staff, the OECD gathers social and economic data from member states which is analysed, discussed and edited into digests with recommendations… – Continue reading
BARBADOS’ OFFSHORE FINANCIAL SERVICES SECTOR is again under threat. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), G20 and the European Union (EU) are acting in concert, armed with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). Once implemented, the confidentiality which once protected financial… – Continue reading
Introduction Shaped three decades ago by the then Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, Vision 2020 outlined Malaysia’s goals in becoming a fully developed nation. With the country’s move towards achieving this ‘Malaysian dream’, more Malaysian companies are venturing and investing outside of Malaysia. The increase in trade transactions… – Continue reading
Individuals and business wishing to establish a business in Canada need to familiarize themselves with the laws concerning forms of organization, FDI, competition, taxation, labor, privacy, the environment, and more. Canada has weathered the recent period of international uncertainty and volatility better than most other advanced industrialized nations. It is… – Continue reading
Negotiations took place, on 2 July 2015, at the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Cyprus, concluding a Protocol that will amend the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect on taxes on income, when it expires. The agreed protocol, when… – Continue reading
It was an American statesman, Benjamin Franklin, a gentleman of reputedly many talents, who is credited with the widely spoken remark, ‘in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.’ Technically, none of us lives forever and paying taxes is a part of life. Dodging… – Continue reading
Greece’s Alternate Finance Minister in the current caretaker government, Tryfon Alexiadis, has pushed for an overhaul of the controversial property tax ENFIA. The Single Property Ownership Tax (ENFIA) is widely seen as inequitable and has been deeply unpopular since its introduction on January 1, 2014. Earlier in 2015, the Syriza… – Continue reading
Two reviews into the Ontario Provincial Police Association reveal that “tyrannical” leaders led to a complete breakdown of governance. There were harassing, expletive-filled emails, including one telling a staffer to “hurry the f— up” and another threatening to “rip off” a board member’s head. There were employees brought to tears… – Continue reading
China is promoting foreign direct investment at 23 national industrial parks in the Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region by providing tax incentives to investors in a bid to boost the economy and turn Xinjiang into a core zone for trade, investment, and logistics on the Silk Road economic belt of the… – Continue reading
MUMBAI India’s tax officials, long the scourge of foreign investors, are under government pressure to avoid aggressive claims against overseas funds and companies, as the country seeks to repair an image dented by high-profile tax battles. The latest dust-up was over a largely overlooked minimum alternate tax (MAT), which had… – Continue reading
Tax avoidance practices by multinational enterprises (MNEs) often depend on corporate structures that are built by routing investments through offshore investment hubs or conduits that help shift profits from higher to lower tax jurisdictions. In essence, corporate structures built through FDI (foreign direct investment) can be considered “the engine” and… – Continue reading
The Finance Ministry said Tuesday that it would pardon individuals and companies that not paid taxes on gains from overseas investments, as long as they voluntarily report their gains for tax payment by the end of March. The tax authority’s policy came from the Park Geun-hye administration’s efforts to expand… – Continue reading
For the past few years, Canadians have been taking advantage of our dollar being worth about the same as the U.S. dollar. From buying up real estate to cross-border shopping, being on par with the U.S. dollar has had its advantages. However, in the last few months, economic factors have… – Continue reading
Increased investment in offshore regions such as Asia by Australians could pose a high risk for Australian businesses and Australian jobs, Treasurer Joe Hockey has warned practitioners. At a recent Sydney event hosted jointly by the Tax Institute and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, Mr Hockey said that as… – Continue reading
Key developments Rossi v FC of T In this case, the ATO issued a garnishee notice to a bank and to a company, on the basis that the Taxpayer owed the Commissioner $6,422.00 in unpaid income tax. The Taxpayer applied to the AAT for the garnishee notice decision to be… – Continue reading
A recent Central Board of Direct Taxes (‘CBDT’) press release of August 6, 2015 announced signing of 2 unilateral APAs, including one with a rollback provision, and this has raised hopes of many MNCs, that hope to witness expeditious and reasonable closures. n July 2012, with a view to providing… – Continue reading
If Hockey gets his way and personal income tax rates are massaged to give higher earners some more breathing space, the gap in funds will have to be filled somehow, and given the government’s history it’s pretty likely people less well-off will end up getting slugged more – either at… – Continue reading
What to think about when moving your money. SANDTON – Since 2000 there has been a dramatic change in how much money South African residents are legally allowed to transfer overseas. Fifteen years ago, individuals were only entitled to a lifetime allowance of R750 000, and that required a tax… – Continue reading
With the objective of long-term sustenance of wealth created both inside as well as outside India and continuous revenue generation, high net-worth individuals (HNIs) in India have decrypted and adopted innovative methods for asset protection and estate planning. The latest addition to the existing gamut of methods are offshore investments… – Continue reading
The recommendations of Justice AP Shah-led three-member committee on minimum alternative tax (MAT) has come in for big relief to foreign investors. The 64-page report, exclusively accessed by dna, says a foreign investor is not liable to pay MAT prior to April 1, 2015. The report, however, is silent on… – Continue reading
Germany has the largest economy in Europe. Along with the developed infrastructure, investors will also benefit from the advanced technology that will ease integration in many industrial sectors, and the highly specialized as well as educated workforce. In terms of the taxation of foreign investment, the taxation system in Germany… – Continue reading
Cyprus and the Islamic Republic of Iran signed a double taxation and a fiscal evasion treaty which aim at helping the two countries develop bilateral trade and economic links, the finance ministry said today. “Expansion and upgrading the network of double taxation agreements, is of high economic and political importance… – Continue reading
THOUSANDS of pieces of land across Scotland have been snapped up by huge offshore companies – many of which are based in the world’s biggest tax havens. The revelation has prompted fears that firms owning Scottish land are dodging taxes, or even acting as fronts for laundering money. In total… – Continue reading
These proposals can be implemented individually or as part of other reforms that may be in the pipeline PKF wishes to contribute its part towards the next budget implementation and for this purpose it has researched new areas which in its opinion warrant attention by the government during the public… – Continue reading
On June 22, 2015, the finance ministry issued Circular 96/2015/TT-BTC, guiding the corporate income tax regime in Decree 12/2015/ND-CP (“Decree 12”) of the government, dated February 12, 2015. Decree 12 provides the details for the implementation of the law that amends and supplements some articles of tax laws, tax decrees… – Continue reading
In recent years, the popularity of the Canada Revenue Agency’s voluntary disclosures program – which enables taxpayers to correct any mistakes or omissions in their previous tax filings – has ballooned. When taxpayers come forward, their tax problems get solved, the CRA reduces the accrued interest and, most important, waives… – Continue reading
The government has sought the opinion of legal experts on allowing foreigners to directly invest in Indian venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) funds. A direct access under the “automatic route” would quicken fund inflows, cut cost and do away with investment pooling vehicles in tax havens such as… – Continue reading
Categorizing it as a “large scale, continuing, complex commercial crime,” a judge has sentenced two Calgary businessmen to prison for five years for defrauding the federal government of millions in taxes that should have been paid on registered retirement savings plans. Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Peter McIntyre said Steven… – Continue reading
Investing in hard currency has become much easier. CAPE TOWN – For years, South Africans have been used to the idea of exchange controls. Since the 1960s, they have been something we have learnt to live with. However this year’s national budget really put an end to them as far… – Continue reading
New Zealand China Council chairman Sir Don McKinnon says we need to have a national debate on housing that avoids sending mixed messages to valued overseas partners. New Zealand is far from alone in having a red hot property market. Headlines in Australia, Britain and Canada paint a strikingly similar… – Continue reading
Advisers have been warned that time is running out to utilise the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF) before it is replaced by a stricter system at the end of the year. The agreement between Liechtenstein and HM Revenue & Customs, which offers clients with undeclared offshore assets an opportunity of anonymously… – Continue reading
BENGALURU: AGacquisitions Group, one of India’s first few hedge funds, has launched an offshore fund in the Bahamas with an exposure of $40 million raised from family offices and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) in India and overseas. Kanishk Agarwal, 32, and his brother Harsh Agarwal, 26, founders of AGacquisitions, have now… – Continue reading
NEW YORK and SHORT HILLS, N.J., June 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Marking the one-year deadline for foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to identify their preexisting entity account base for purposes of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm, and Dun & Bradstreet… – Continue reading
Offshore investors in UK real estate face a range of tax obligations and charges to be managed. This briefing introduces some of the key tax aspects for investors using various offshore structures. UK tax on gains Gains realised by non-residents on the disposal of commercial (non-residential) UK real estate are… – Continue reading
Turnover at UK and offshore investment companies has risen rapidly, with almost one in five fund managers being replaced in the past 18 months amid growing pressure to improve performance, reports the Financial Times. Figures from the Association of Investment Companies showed that 18 per cent of funds had appointed… – Continue reading
On May 24, Premier Li Keqiang and a delegation of Chinese senior officials arrived in Chile. During the visit, China and Chile signed a double taxation avoidance agreement (DTA), updated their Free Trade Agreement and agreed on setting up an RMB clearing center in Chile, reports China Briefing. China and… – Continue reading
The country’s affluent investors have roughly doubled their offshore investment, curbing growth at Brazil’s wealth management firms. Scandal, recession and weak oil prices have caused economic vitality to seep out of Brazil. Now the money is following. Wealthy Brazilians are sending more of their assets overseas because of concerns about… – Continue reading
Australia should consider adopting tax structures like those used in Ireland and Luxembourg in order to attract greater foreign investment, the government’s tax advisory body has recommended. On Thursday night, Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg released several reports by the Board of Tax, which advises the government on how to reform… – Continue reading
Crucial deadlines are approaching for millions of U.S. taxpayers who live abroad or have offshore financial ties. For expatriates, the annual income-tax filing deadline is normally June 15, instead of April 15. In addition, all U.S. taxpayers with offshore accounts totaling more than $10,000 in 2014–regardless of where they live–have… – Continue reading
Companies can face hefty expenses, and many aren’t fully familiar with their rights, says official The State Administration of Taxation will sign and update more tax treaties and step up the implementation of these agreements to help Chinese companies investing in countries that form part of the “Belt and Road… – Continue reading
Many mid-size U.S. cities and other areas now make attractive alternatives to India and other offshore locations for companies considering consolidating finance, IT, and other business services operations for shared service or global business services centers, according to new research from The Hackett Group, Inc. The diminishing gap in labor… – Continue reading
ZIMBABWE intends to relax rules around offshore investments by local pension funds by allowing them to invest in foreign markets –subject to regulatory approvals. Currently, pension funds are prohibited from investing offshore, but the amendments to the Pension and Provident Fund Bill of 2015 seeks to allow them to invest… – Continue reading
Since the beginning of the global financial crisis, politicians, the media and people on the street have engaged in a series of “blame games” to point fingers and punish those responsible for their own economic ills. For the past few years, one “culprit” has been firmly in the spotlight –… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: India’s capital markets regulator has stepped in to back foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) as they oppose the minimum alternate tax (MAT). In a recent letter to the finance ministry, Sebi has voiced its concerns over the possible impact of MAT on foreign funds — the largest group of investors… – Continue reading
A report from the Foreign Investors Council of Romania has proposed additional tax policy reforms to build on recent progress made towards a more equitable and transparent tax system. The FIC wants to see closer consultation between the tax authority (ANAF) and business representatives, with more time allowed for stakeholders… – Continue reading
Bangladesh Bank will take all possible measures to liberalise country’s foreign-exchange rules and regulations for attracting foreign investors to a number of proposed economic zones. The decision was taken at a meeting between the central bank and the Bangladesh Economic Zones Authority (BEZA) at the BB headquarters Tuesday. Presided over… – Continue reading
Foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) and foreign organizations last year topped all other economic sectors of Vietnam’s economy in social insurance debt with over VND2.13 trillion (US$97.9 million), according to a government report on the management and use of social insurance funds in 2014. This was a staggering 192.5 percent year-on-year surge,… – Continue reading
Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Foreign investors may not fear the U.S. sanctions on FATCA during operations on the Azerbaijani stock market. Director of local investment company PSG¬Broker Matanat Iskenderova has stated that the stock market of Azerbaijan is fully compliant with the standards in the field of counteraction to money¬laundering. “Likewise, it… – Continue reading
It has become a $2 trillion question. Why don’t companies have to make clear exactly how much of their profits are generated offshore each year and not taxed in this country? Why must investors engage in jujitsu to estimate these figures and the risks associated with them? Companies, like individuals,… – Continue reading
