AS PART of its Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, the OECD has launched a public consultation on Action 12 – the mandatory disclosure of tax avoidance strategies by multinational companies. The 83-page draft document provides examples of various disclosure regimes in place in member countries, setting out recommendations… – Continue reading
The banking sector’s risk from a cooling housing market might be contained, as prudential measures and the likely reversal of an accommodative monetary policy have helped check property speculation and the buildup of systemic risk, Fitch Ratings Ltd said yesterday. “The sector’s household debt servicing would remain manageable under a… – Continue reading
The federal government is set to target profit shifting by multinationals in the May budget using a so-called Google tax in a bid to raise revenue and wrest the political initiative back from Labor. While Australia is leading a push within the Group of 20 for a joint approach to… – Continue reading
Russia’s Finance Minister, Anton Siluanov, announced that the deadline to report on CFCs will be postponed from 1 April to 15 June 2015. As such, failing to file before 15 June 2015 will not result in any penalties. Submissions of notifications on participation in CFCs must have actual information as… – Continue reading
Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan has pledged the Australian Taxation Office will beat a budget target of hitting $1.1 billion in revenue from multinationals by 2017, and says it expects to clock much of it by the end of the year through audits of technology companies. In an interview with Fairfax… – Continue reading
On March 19, 2015, the Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority (“TIA”) officially opened the Cayman Automatic Exchange of Information (“AEOI”) Portal. Reporting Process The TIA indicated that the Portal is now available for Cayman Islands Reporting Financial Institutions (“Cayman Reporting FIs”) to submit their Notification (due by April 30, 2015)… – Continue reading
The measure of bank strength favoured by the financial system inquiry – capital levels – is too narrow, and assessing capital by reference to offshore banks will create “uncertainty and unintended consequences”, National Australia Bank has told Treasury. The more capital a bank holds, the less leveraged it is, which… – Continue reading
In 2015, Singapore celebrates its 50th year of independence and also mourns the passing of its first Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew who steered Singapore’s success for many critical years. From its origins as a British trading post in 1819, Singapore has grown into one of the busiest ports and… – Continue reading
Cross border tax fraud and tax evasion by High Net Wealth Individuals (HNWI) are serious problems for many jurisdictions. For many years exchange of information between countries has been solely upon request. In practise this procedure is not efficiently working as it requires foreseeable relevance, thus ‘fishing’ for information is… – Continue reading
Prime Minister David Cameron has admitted the north-east will be adversely affected by “unfair tax competition” if Scotland abolishes APD. Air passenger duty was introduced on November 1, 1994 and has since increased seven-fold — more than 3.5 times the rate of inflation — and is the highest aviation tax… – Continue reading
I. Introduction In an effort to crack down on individuals obtaining U.S. citizenship illegally, the U.S. Department of Justice recently raided several “maternity tourism” operations in Southern California.1 These companies cater to wealthy foreigners seeking to give the gift of U.S. citizenship to their children. Since at least 1868, the… – Continue reading
Hong Kong (HKSAR) – The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor K C Chan, signed the Fourth Protocol to the Arrangement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income with the Mainland (the Fourth Protocol) with the Deputy Commissioner… – Continue reading
New York, NY (April 1, 2015) – Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today announced the indictment of individuals charged with conspiring to abuse the unique 19th century America’s Cup Charitable Trust to shelter profits to the offshore tax havens in Bermuda, Guernsey, and The Isle of Man. Beginning in January… – Continue reading
Australia’s biggest 900 companies claimed tax deductions and exemptions worth a total $25 billion last year – enough to wipe out two-thirds of the current federal budget deficit at a stroke. As Treasurer Joe Hockey prompted a national “conversation” about tax reform, including the prospect of a higher and broader… – Continue reading
The British Virgin Islands has published revised guidance notes on the international tax compliance requirements under its intergovernmental agreements with the United States and the United Kingdom. The original version, dating back to July 2014, has been updated to reflect subsequent developments. Attention is drawn to the revised deadline of… – Continue reading
Greece submitted a list of economic reforms to the European Union (EU) in an effort to secure emergency financing. Greece submitted a list of economic reforms to the European Union (EU) in an effort to secure emergency financing. The reforms include proposals to raise revenue by curbing tax evasion and… – Continue reading
The US and Canada are fuelling a record influx of foreign investment in the Netherlands; our local expert looks at why Despite a fair bit of doom and gloom over global economy figures, foreign companies continue to grow – and they continue to look at the Netherlands to help fuel… – Continue reading
Like a savvy bargainer on a used car lot, big multinational corporations have mastered the art of feigning indifference and walking away. What they walk away with is their profits, stockpiling them abroad where they legally remain untaxed until returned to the United States. Then these corporations threaten to keep… – Continue reading
As Tax Day approaches, homeland Americans scurry to file their annual tax filing obligations. But for an estimated 7.6 million Americans working and living overseas, they have an obligation to not only pay taxes in their respective countries where they live; they need to pay the piper in homeland America… – Continue reading
United Kingdom In Tower Radio Limited and another v HMRC5, the taxpayers successfully utilised a scheme which was designed to take advantage of Part 7 of the Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003 (ITEPA). Background During the periods relevant to this case, no liability to income tax arose under… – Continue reading
Malaysia has introduced a new Goods and Services Tax of six percent. However, the country’s Customs Department has said that confusion over the new tax will last six months to a year. Consumer concerns regarding the GST have been over price increases, whereas businesses concerns have focused on compliance costs… – Continue reading
Russia’s Parliament, the Duma, has approved a draft law to allow taxpayers to regularize previously undeclared assets held offshore. The Russian Government said on March 27, 2015, that the law, “On the Voluntary Declaration of Property and Bank Accounts (Deposits) by Individuals,” will allow taxpayers to repatriate assets taken out… – Continue reading
Multinational companies who have filed applications for advance pricing agreements can now file their rollback applications by 30 June The income tax department has extended the deadline for filing of roll back applications for transfer pricing agreements by three months. Multinational companies who have filed applications for advance pricing agreements… – Continue reading
The Tax Information Authority of the Cayman Islands, the country with the highest number of financial institutions registered with the Internal Revenue Service under United States FATCA, recently went live with the Vizor Software for FATCA & AEOI solution in order to meet their FATCA obligations. Today, Vizor Ltd. announced… – Continue reading
New EU plans to force governments to send quarterly reports on tax rulings are a “revolutionary” step towards overcoming corporate secrecy, the bloc’s tax commissioner has said. The blueprint published two weeks ago by the Commission would establish a system of automatic exchange of information on tax rulings and require… – Continue reading
Riga, 2015-03-31 08:32 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In the audited financial report of AS “TRASTA KOMERCBANKA” has been made some changes in the design of the document. These changes do not affect the important financial information about the Bank. In 2014, Latvia’s GDP grew by 2.4%, and this growth was… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd., the Chinese developer in talks to restructure its debt after being tied to a graft probe, postponed its results announcement for 2014 because auditors need more time to verify its accounts. There may be a “significant adjustment” to its unaudited accounts, Shenzhen-based Kaisa said… – Continue reading
CANBERRA – The tax system in Australia cannot adequately deal with modern cryptocurrencies, and the tax system needs to be updated to take such technologies into account. In a discussion paper issued on March 30th the Treasury of Australia claimed that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies undermine the national tax system… – Continue reading
Asia-Pacific Banks: Chart of the Month – Taiwan here TAIPEI, March 31 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings says in a new report that it expects risks to the Taiwanese banking sector from a cooling housing market to be contained. Macro-prudential measures and the likely reversal of an accommodative monetary policy have helped… – Continue reading
U.S. multinationals represent the healthiest segment of the economy, with higher profits and more than $1 trillion of cash on hand. This has kept corporate tax reform alive as a political issue. ON Semiconductor had a solid 2014, boosting net income by 36 percent to $196 million on revenue of… – Continue reading
In order to guide the implementation of the Tax Law on amending key tax laws which was effective from January 20151, the following guidance regulations have been issued: Decree 12/2015/ND-CP dated 12 February 2015 of the Government (“Decree 12”); and Circular 26/2015/TT-BTC dated 27 February 2015 of the Ministry of… – Continue reading
The Reserve Bank of India may ask large corporations to raise a certain portion of their funding needs from rupee bonds in a bid to deepen the domestic bond market and reduce India Inc’s dependence on bank loans. The unprecedented proposal is part of a discussion paper, released last week,… – Continue reading
Australians working in Hong Kong should be aware of the various complexities that affect their residency, super and tax status. Going overseas to work is a grand adventure for many professionals. But the way income earned outside your home country is taxed is a complex area, and it’s worth seeking… – Continue reading
The Ministry of Finance yesterday issued two statements saying the government has yet to reach conclusions on tax rates or an implementation date for a proposed income levy on property gains. The ministry made the clarifications after the Cabinet called a meeting on the proposed tax and gave its go-ahead… – Continue reading
The UK’s Finance Bill was published on 24 March 2015. It was subsequently enacted on 26 March 2015 without further amendment and became the Finance Act 2015. The “disguised investment management fee” provisions contained in this Act, summarised below, will be effective from 6 April 2015. These rules apply to… – Continue reading
March 31 marks the end of the tax-saving season and the beginning of the tax-filing season. Everyone will soon get busy collecting proofs of investment and try to minimise their tax outgo. However, in the hurry to get maximum deductions, do not cross the thin line between tax-saving and taxevasion…. – Continue reading
The Netherlands’ tax regime is enabling a Canadian gold mining company to pay less tax in Greece, a report by a Dutch foundation concluded Monday (30 March). The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations found that Greece has missed out on at least €1.7 million in tax revenues, because the… – Continue reading
March 27 — Competent authorities should step in to resolve potential disagreements between the U.S. and other jurisdictions on how to treat new accounts under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association said. In a letter to the Treasury Department released March 27, SIFMA… – Continue reading
30 March 2015 – The International Tax Authority (ITA) of the Ministry of Finance, Government of the Virgin Islands, is informing the public that it has now published Version 2.0 of the Guidance Notes on the International Tax Compliance Requirements of the Intergovernmental Agreements (IGAs) between the British Virgin Islands… – Continue reading
A Secret Service agent and a DEA agent with lead roles in the investigation to take down the Internet drug bazaar Silk Road allegedly stole proceeds from the underground site and hid their booty in offshore accounts. Former DEA agent Carl Force, 46, of Baltimore, the task force agent charged… – Continue reading
As growth slows, the government toughens its stance on the tax practices of foreign businesses. China’s slowing economy and fiscal readjustment have led central and local governments to begin a crackdown on foreign corporate tax breaks in a search of higher revenue. The central government has become increasingly vigilant against… – Continue reading
European trade unionists have called for the split-up of the Big Four accountancy firms, PWC, Ernst & Young, Deloitte and KPMG, who they say are using their dominant position to help multi-national companies avoid trillions of Euros in tax. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has called for the break-up… – Continue reading
Canada’s Eldorado Gold Corp., the biggest foreign investor in Greece, is engaged in a tax-avoidance scheme that uses mailbox companies in the Netherlands to lower its tax load, a new report from a Dutch foundation says. The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations, known as SOMO, made the claim in… – Continue reading
After 2008, BSI has more than 3,000 US accounts on its books The Lugano-based BSI bank has been fined $211 million (CHF203 million) by the United States for aiding and abetting tax cheats. It is the first Swiss-based bank to complete the non-prosecution programme set up in 2013 to clear… – Continue reading
Summary:A new discussion paper released by the Australian government suggests that the emergence of new financial transaction technology such as bitcoin is making it tough for the country’s authorities to clamp down on tax avoidance. The emergence of new technology is proving to be problematic for Australia’s tax system, according… – Continue reading
Government questions dividend imputation and company tax rate Australian investors appear to have dodged a bullet, with the government’s first paper on tax reform discussing the dividend imputation system but falling short of attacking it outright as an idea that has outlived its usefulness. David Murray’s inquiry into the Australian… – Continue reading
Ted Cruz has developed a reputation as the most conservative of the major 2016 Republican presidential candidates, but he hasn’t taken many specific policy positions to earn that moniker. One exception? His longtime support for a flat tax. The flat tax dramatically lowers the top tax rate and exempts capital… – Continue reading
British expats in France can claim a share of millions of pounds of compensation after the European Court ruled in their favour against unfair social security payments imposed by President Francois Hollande’s government. Around 200,000 expats who have rented out or sold homes in France during the past three years… – Continue reading
Greece’s economic recovery is being undermined by large-scale corporate tax avoidance, whereby companies use loopholes in places like the Netherlands and Luxembourg to pay little or no income tax, according to a new report from Dutch research group, SOMO. Greece has been gripped by harsh austerity measures imposed by the… – Continue reading
HMRC has secured a hat-trick of tribunal wins against tax avoidance schemes, protecting over £260m in tax. All three rulings uphold earlier judgments in HMRC’s favour at the first-tier tribunal. The upper tribunal dismissed an appeal brought by users of a scheme promoted by NT Advisors, the taxman’s ninth successive… – Continue reading
