Federal Treasurer Joe Hockey has left open the option of scaling back superannuation concessions as part of the tax white paper process. Speaking at the Australian Israel Chamber of Commerce lunch in Melbourne, Mr Hockey also flagged a package for small business and startups in the upcoming federal budget. Mr… – Continue reading
Fond du Lac County Treasurer’s Office is notifying the public that the Wisconsin Department of Revenue is auditing the 2014 Lottery and Gaming Credits claimed within Fond du Lac County. The Treasurer’s Office has mailed information to those individuals who may be affected by this audit. Those individuals are asked… – Continue reading
Income Tax authorities in Bangalore have initiated proceedings against two prominent local businessmen who were featured in a list of Indians holding accounts with HSBC bank in London that was provided to Indian Income Tax authorities. I-T authorities have filed tax evasion cases against real estate businessman Jitendra Mohandas Virwani,… – Continue reading
The government on Wednesday assured over 1,000 foreign institutional investors (FIIs) across the United States, Hong Kong and Singapore they can avail of treaty benefits to ward off tax demands on capital gains booked over the years till March 31, reports the Financial Express. The development is significant given the… – Continue reading
Bobolas, managing director of Greece’s biggest construction firm Ellaktor and whose family also owns newspapers, was detained on suspicion of tax evasion and money-laundering on Wednesday. He was released a few hours later after paying 1.8 million euros ($1.94 million) in back taxes to avoid charges. Bobolas is the first… – Continue reading
Stymied in their efforts to fully repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), Republican leaders in Congress continue their efforts to undermine the law by starving it of funding. Today, the Senate Finance Committee will consider legislation that would repeal some of the tax changes enacted to pay for the ACA…. – Continue reading
Arris Group Inc. agreed to buy British set-top box maker Pace Plc for about $2.1 billion and incorporate in the U.K. in a deal designed to save on taxes. Shares in Pace, one of Britain’s few global technology companies, rose as much as 44 percent. The acquisition will combine two… – Continue reading
FATCA 1. New FATCA IGA guidance notes On 3 February 2015, the Jersey Chief Minister’s Department published the latest version of the Guidance Notes on the Taxation (International Tax Compliance) (Jersey) Regulations 2014 in relation to the implementation of obligations arising under the intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) with the US and… – Continue reading
1 General news 1.1 HMRC organisation chart HMRC has published its latest organisation chart showing the names of senior management. One point to note is the number of senior people now in roles such as change management as opposed to being in pure technical roles. This clearly demonstrates the direction… – Continue reading
During an April 22 hearing of the US House of Representatives Ways and Means Subcommittee on Oversight, Republican lawmakers raised concerns at issues arising during the 2015 tax filing season and the service offered by the Internal Revenue Service. On the day of the hearing, the Republican-led Ways and Means… – Continue reading
The Inland Revenue Department has announced an extension to the deadline for financial institutions to comply with the reporting deadlines under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act framework. The deadline for FIs to submit FATCA data has been moved forward to June 15, 2015. FATCA requires all FIs outside of… – Continue reading
MPs say transfer pricing, though legal, presents challenges when determining if firms have evaded taxation and they want the practice criminalised. The portfolio committee on trade and industry has heard calls for the criminalisation of transfer pricing – a practice that, when abused, results in large corporations shifting profits offshore… – Continue reading
The Minister of Finance (Canada), the Honourable Joe Oliver, presented the Government of Canada’s 2015 Federal Budget (“Budget 2015”) on April 21, 2015 (“Budget Day”). Budget 2015 contains several significant proposals to amend the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the “ITA”) while also providing updates on previously announced tax measures and… – Continue reading
In This Issue: • It’s Stifling in Here! SEC Rules That Companies Can’t Put Restrictive Language in Confidentiality Agreements That Could Potentially Stifle Whistleblowers • An Opinion on Opinions: U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Omnicare • Is OFAC the New Black? Schlumberger and PayPal—The Rise in the Enforcement of Sanctions… – Continue reading
Minister of Finance Joe Oliver today tabled the 2015 Federal Budget (the “Budget”), his first budget as Minister of Finance, entitled “Strong Leadership: A Balanced-Budget, Low-Tax Plan for Jobs, Growth and Security”. We are pleased to provide our summary of tax measures contained in the Budget. The Budget proposed no… – Continue reading
As has been widely predicted, today’s federal budget (Budget 2015) delivered a handful of tax “goodies” in the lead-up to the coming election. It also includes a number of important proposed changes to the corporate tax rules. They are noteworthy, although not as extensive as the corporate tax changes proposed… – Continue reading
The Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) is urging parliament to expedite a batch of bills aimed at facilitating much-needed foreign investment in Cyprus. Chief among the proposals are the establishment of foreign leasing companies and cell companies, opening up the professional provident fund business to foreign concerns, and updating company… – Continue reading
Spanish taxpayers who hold money and financial assets outside Spain barely use Gibraltar compared to other jurisdictions, according to figures revealed by the head of the Spanish tax agency in parliament in Madrid yesterday. Santiago Menéndez, director general of the Agencia Tributaria, told the parliament’s tax commission that 197,000 taxpayers… – Continue reading
The arrival of Netflix in Australia has brought into sharp relief the GST base erosion problem caused by global digital commerce. Along with the non-taxation of low-value imported goods, the absence of GST on services and digital products imported by consumers represents an omission from the tax base that is… – Continue reading
After years of upheaval in the financial sector, taxpayer confusion, and widespread international angst, the IRS has finally unveiled its FATCA registration and reporting system. The system is known as IDES, or the International Data Exchange Service, and claims to provide “a secure web application … to transmit FATCA data… – Continue reading
The Virgin Islands government has created an Internet-based reporting system to help the territory’s banks, trust companies and other financial institutions comply with their obligations under a United States tax law. The system, called the BVI Financial Account Reporting System, will allow VI firms to pass along information about their… – Continue reading
San Francisco, California – The United States filed a complaint to bar a San Francisco enrolled agent and tax return preparer from implementing, facilitating and promoting allegedly abusive tax shelters and tax avoidance schemes, the Justice Department announced today. According to the complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District… – Continue reading
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
IF THE South African Revenue Service (SARS) focused on recovering money from transfer pricing abuses‚ Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene probably wouldn’t have had to raise taxes by 1% in his budget speech‚ Judge Dennis Davis‚ head of the Davis Tax committee, told Parliament on Tuesday. He was briefing the portfolio… – Continue reading
Commissioner Chris Jordan delivers rebuke to multinational tech giants contesting evidence they gave to a Senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance The tax commissioner, Chris Jordan, has delivered a public rebuke to multinational tech giants Apple, Google and Microsoft, vigorously contesting evidence they gave to a recent Senate inquiry hearing… – 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
On March 18th 2015, the European Commission published a new initiative on tax transparency to fight tax evasion and avoidance. The initiative includes a proposal to extend the scope of the Directive on Administrative Co-operation in the field of direct taxation (2011/16/EU), amended by Council Directive 2014/107/EU (the “Directive”) by… – 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
Bankrupt ex-billionaire Samuel Wyly told a judge it’s too soon for regulators to fret over what he’ll do with as much as $50 million from the planned sale of his family’s Colorado ranch, the site of six custom-built mansions. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and the Internal Revenue Service,… – Continue reading
In the end, Dale travelled most of the way across his adopted country to cut his last ties to his old one. Originally from Kansas, the Strathroy, Ont. man had become a Canadian citizen in 2004, which he thought of as marking the loss of his U.S. citizenship. Global News… – 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
(Reuters) – Australia needs to tighten safeguards against money laundering in its booming property market, which has attracted Chinese funds with likely links to corruption, an international anti-money laundering body said in a report released late on Tuesday. The intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force said real estate agents and lawyers… – Continue reading
Mylan NV Executive Chairman Robert Coury made $22.7 million, including $1 million for his personal use of the drugmaker’s two corporate jets, in 2012 and 2013. At Israeli rival Teva, shareholders in 2012 balked at raising the chairman’s salary to $900,000 a year. The contrast highlights the sharp differences that… – Continue reading
SEJONG, April 22 (Yonhap) — South Korea and China on Wednesday signed a so-called advance pricing agreement (APA) that can ease tax audit burdens for companies operating in each other’s country. The new accord, signed during a meeting of their tax chiefs, will allow authorities to better check “transfer prices”… – 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 number of suspicious activity reports of potential money laundering have increased by 42 per cent to 558 cases over 2012/2013, reports the Cayman Compass. The Financial Reporting Authority, the national agency which receives the reports of suspected money laundering and other financial crime, believes the record number was prompted… – Continue reading
An inflow of bank deposits to Luxembourg from Asia and the Gulf have replaced reductions from European countries such as France and Germany following an overhaul of the Grand Duchy’s tax secrecy regime, reports the Financial Times. Pierre Gramegna told the Financial Times in an interview that “bank secrecy had… – 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
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Markets fell 500 points on Monday. Punters’ worries about current tax disputes between Modi Sarkar and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) being one reason why the Sensex dived. There has been a battle of phrases between FPIs and North Block. And it looks as if this will be a… – 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
Companies would be forced to reveal any arrangements that are used to avoid tax, and those not paying their fair share of tax would be named and shamed on a “worst offenders” list, under a plan by the Greens. The party has released a discussion paper detailing policies to fight… – Continue reading
Consumers want fair tax reform and increased spending on health and education Consumer pulse survey reveals top concerns With the federal budget just weeks away, the latest CHOICE consumer pulse research shows Australians support tax reform that doesn’t over-burden average households, and many want to see increased spending on healthcare… – Continue reading
The Vietnamese unit of Germany’s Metro Cash & Carry will have to pay almost US$24 million in tax arrears after its wrongdoings have been unearthed in a transfer pricing inspection that concluded Monday. Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam Co. Ltd. began coming under scrutiny on suspicions of transfer pricing in… – Continue reading
The man chosen by Treasurer Joe Hockey to lead the review of the nation’s tax system has publicly criticised the British government’s “Google tax”, the inspiration for the Coalition’s looming crackdown on multinational profit shifting. Robert Jeremenko, who is running the tax white paper process in Mr Hockey’s office, described… – Continue reading
SHANGHAI-The Chinese property developer Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd said it has defaulted on interest payments on its offshore bonds as it negotiates with its creditors to restructure its debts. The developer, based in Shenzhen, said in a statement published on the Hong Kong stock exchange website that it made neither… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Tax authorities have issued a fresh notice to UK-based telecom giant Vodafone seeking reassessment of tax returns for two years. The notice has been served under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act which seeks to deal with income that has escaped assessment. Sources said the notice seeks… – Continue reading
The double tax treaty signed on September 17th 1970 between the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg and the Kingdom of Belgium (the “DTT”) provides in its article 15 that employment income derived by a resident of a contracting State in respect of an employment exercised in the other contracting State is in… – Continue reading
Why Does Residency Status Matter? An Ohio resident must pay Ohio income tax on his or her worldwide income (including investment income (i.e., dividends, capital gains etc.) and pass-through income from LLCs and S corporations with operations outside of Ohio), subject to credits for taxes paid in other jurisdictions. A… – Continue reading
Doing so would get rid of ‘overlapping and duplicative disclosure requirements,’ says advocacy group for Americans abroad The IRS’ taxpayer advocate is urging the tax service to simplify rules for Americans living overseas. Currently, foreign bank accounts must be reported both to the Treasury, in a Report of Foreign Bank… – Continue reading
