Jean-Claude Juncker under pressure over his deals as PM of Luxembourg The arch-federalist EU chief is alleged to have courted tax avoidance deals He has now admitted he has been ‘weakened’ by the revelations It emerged his regime agreed deals with Walt Disney and Koch Industries Jean-Claude Juncker has admitted… – Continue reading
Russia’s President, Vladimir Putin, has said that tax legislation should remain unchanged for the next four years, and that he wants a one-off tax amnesty for individuals who repatriate capital to Russia. Addressing the Federal Assembly, Putin said that there is a need for stable legislation and predictable rules, which… – Continue reading
Florida Center for Investigative Reporting The Walt Disney Co. generates $18.2 billion per year in economic activity in Florida and and is responsible for more than one in every 50 jobs in the Sunshine State, according to a study the company paid for in 2011. But here’s something Disney won’t… – Continue reading
Iceland appears to be looking to remove its capital controls early in 2015, but would, at the same time, impose an “exit tax” on those foreign investors who have been unable to retrieve their funds that were locked in after the country’s banks defaulted in 2008. It is believed that… – Continue reading
Corruption Scandals In May, the legal committee of Parliament’s lower house approved a proposal to expand Swiss banks’ scrutiny of accounts and transfers to include international sporting organizations. The legislation comes in the wake of a series of corruption scandals that have tarnished the image of FIFA. Last year senior… – Continue reading
There’s big news from across the pond. The U.K. government’s Autumn Statement (formerly known as the pre-Budget report), released December 3, promises to change how multinational corporations will be taxed – and offers a cautionary tale for would-be U.S. tax reformers. Britain will introduce a “diverted profits” tax, targeting corporations… – Continue reading
Responding to another leak, the Luxembourg Finance Ministry has said that the advance tax rulings issued to multinationals by the country’s tax authority are not, and never have been, secret. The Ministry issued a statement on December 10 acknowledging the publication by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) of… – Continue reading
For busy in-house counsel and compliance professionals, we have tried to summarize the most important international anti-corruption developments in the past month with links to primary resources. November was definitely a busy month with a variety of developments. Here is our Top Ten list: Bio-Rad $55 Million FCPA Resolution. On… – Continue reading
Law360, New York (December 11, 2014, 3:21 PM ET) — Amazon.com Inc. CEO Jeff Bezos got out of having to testify in a suit concerning a Luxembourgian subsidiary and tax obligations for the years 2005-2006, when the U.S. Tax Court granted his motion to quash the Internal Revenue Service’s subpoena… – Continue reading
Findings from Americans for Tax Fairness directly contradict Burger King’s earlier insistence that the merger would create ‘no tax benefit’ Burger King acquires Tim Hortons and calls Obama’s bluff on tax Burger King stands to avoid paying hundreds of millions of dollars in US taxes if it completes its pending… – Continue reading
Jean-Claude Juncker breaks silence to say revelations are personally damaging as calls increase for harmonisation of EU tax rules European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has admitted that his position has been weakened by a scandal exposing Luxembourg’s role in corporate tax avoidance schemes. Juncker survived a no-confidence vote in the… – Continue reading
Jonathan Gruber, MIT professor and Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare) architect, faced the House Oversight committee earlier this week. Gruber was grilled over his comments pertaining to the passage of ObamaCare through Congress and the law’s mechanics. The professor has been caught on camera multiple times almost bragging about the deception… – Continue reading
While some Owners create their own bespoke site to publicise their Local Lodging offering, most rely on the major websites that have become popular in recent years. However, not all Operators work in the same way. The nature of their business can influence the way the activity is classified by… – Continue reading
Jeb Bush, a front-runner to become the Republican Party’s next presidential nominee, has used Britain to set up a private equity fund that could possibly allow it to avoid paying tax in America. The potentially damaging revelation was uncovered by the financial news wire Bloomberg and could pose a serious… – Continue reading
Stocks rose today for the first time in four trading days in the wake of a report showing strong retail sales in November and as oil continues its sharp decline. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 63.19 points to 17,596.34, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 9.19 points to… – Continue reading
The Swiss banking sector, which has been forced to give up its traditional secrecy, is now looking to China for new financial investment. “One of the first ports that the Swiss financial center is steering for is the port of China,” Claude Alain Margelisch, chief executive of the Swiss Bankers… – Continue reading
The Dail’s Public Accounts Committee has declined a legal demand from former Fianna Fail Finance Minster Ray MacSharry to hand over the Ansbacher dossier to him. Lawyers acting for Mr MacSharry had given PAC seven days to hand over the Ansbacher dossier, the Irish Independent has learned. Mr MacSharry took… – Continue reading
This Alert provides more details on the most significant measures contained in the draft Finance Bill. Draft clauses of the UK Finance Bill 2015 were published on 10 December 2014. They will now be the subject of consultation until 4 February 2015. This Alert provides more details on the most… – Continue reading
The US Treasury estimated that it will cost foreign banks and financial institutions $8 billion to comply with Fatca. This amount does not take into account the amount of time and cost that US citizens will need to take to comply with the demands of foreign banks and financial where… – Continue reading
The new EU Competition Commissioner has said there is reasonable doubt about whether Apple’s tax arrangements with Ireland were legal. In her first comments on the investigation into the US tech giant’s tax affairs in Ireland, the Danish Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said the case remained open. This is despite Minister… – Continue reading
Do trustees need to register with the US Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) before 1 January 2015? Does registration need to be made in respect of a trust? These questions need to be given due consideration by Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) trustees and the trusts in respect… – Continue reading
In the second half of the current calendar year, issuances had slowed. Most companies had front-loaded their fund-raising plans, in anticipation of a rise in US interest rates Fund raising by Indian companies through the offshore debt market is expected to rise in 2015 for refinancing of old loans and… – Continue reading
Exports of Ukrainian goods through offshore companies fell by 90 percent in the first nine months of this year, according to the State Fiscal Service, dropping to $334 million. British Virgin Islands, a jurisdiction known for the lack of transparency, remains the most popular offshore destination with Ukrainian companies, attracting… – Continue reading
In the light of new revelations in the Luxembourg tax evasion schemes, some MEPs will push to fast-track the European Parliament’s legislative reports being drafted by the legislature’s economic committee. “The new revelations show this is a European problem that needs a European solution. Citizens and SMEs pay their taxes,… – Continue reading
Bank Leumi Le-Israel Ltd. (LUMI) expects to reach an accord with the U.S. government by next month over accusations Israel’s second-largest bank helped Americans evade taxes. “The management believes it is right to reach an agreement with authorities, just as global banks have done,” Leumi’s legal adviser Hanan Friedman said… – Continue reading
THAILAND has offered tax incentives for regional operating headquarters and international procurement centres for more than 10 years, but there are fewer than 300 companies operating ROHs or IPCs. Recently, the Cabinet approved a measure promoting Thailand as the shared-services hub of the Asean Economic Community. It is expected that… – Continue reading
Maples and Calder Michael Gagie, Richard Grasby, Tim Clipstone, Christopher Capewell, Jon Fowler and Tim Frawley Do trustees need to register with the US Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) before 1 January 2015? Does registration need to be made in respect of a trust? These questions need to be given… – Continue reading
More paperwork as governments force wealthy to declare overseas assets. What you need to know. It won’t be long before there is no place in the world to hide money from your home country. Governments have tried to catch people who aren’t paying their taxes, or worse, are laundering money… – Continue reading
Summary Corporate tax reform is getting closer, repatriation of foreign profits is a possible outcome. Reform may end the practice of deferment, meaning overseas cash hordes will no longer be part of common corporate practice. Many large U.S. companies will have decisions on how to use funds that are no… – Continue reading
December 11: The Treasury Department and IRS today released for publication in the Federal Register final regulations (T.D. 9706) concerning the requirement that individual taxpayers report to the IRS specified foreign financial assets for tax years beginning after March 18, 2010 (the date of enactment of the FATCA rules). The… – Continue reading
The ministry of Finance acknowledges the publication by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) and affiliated medias of a further series of advance tax decisions (“rulings”) issued by the Luxembourg tax administration. As with previous publications (“Luxleaks”), the way in which these documents were acquired is highly questionable. The… – Continue reading
Ferrari SpA is considering moving its fiscal residence outside Italy to save on corporate taxes as the supercar maker prepares for its spinoff from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCAU), people familiar with the matter said. The manufacturer, which uses the colors of the Italian flag in its logo, may follow… – Continue reading
Bernard Madoff’s former teenage secretary, who went on to run the investment-advisory business at the center of a $17.5 billion fraud, was sentenced to six years behind bars by a New York judge, less than half what prosecutors sought and four years shy of what her own lawyer suggested. Annette… – Continue reading
A new UK tax on the ‘diverted profits’ of multinationals operating in the UK “is probably not needed, will be hard to apply and will raise little money” according to one expert. 10 Dec 2014 Corporate tax Tax International tax UK Europe Heather Self of Pinsent Masons, the law firm… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service has issued an announcement extending the “deemed compliant” status of countries that are treated as if they had an intergovernmental agreement with the U.S. Treasury Department in place for purposes of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. FATCA, which was included as part of the HIRE… – Continue reading
Rudolf Elmer, the former employee of Julius Baer Group Ltd. accused of revealing details of client accounts via WikiLeaks, collapsed at the start of his trial, forcing the court to postpone the case. It was not clear when the trial in Zurich District Court would continue. Proceedings had been under… – Continue reading
TWICE-WORLD champion in MotoGP Marc Márquez is reported to have moved to Andorra to reduce his taxes. The 21-year-old, who scooped up the top title in his rookie year, 2013, and repeated the performance the following season, is said to be earning around 10 million euros a year – but… – Continue reading
Hutchison Whampoa had profit of €429.6m but paid just €65,067 tax in Luxembourg A Luxembourg company that provides indirect financial support to 3 Ireland, is among the latest batch of entities found to be availing of secret tax deals in Luxembourg. Hutchison Whampoa Europe Investments Sarl (HWEI) – part of… – Continue reading
China set up a website to collect tips about officials who have fled with ill-gotten gains, as leaders press ahead with a campaign that’s resulted in the arrests of hundreds of alleged economic fugitives so far. The Communist Party’s anti-graft watchdog, the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, encouraged whistle-blowers at… – Continue reading
Minister of state stresses taxation rates remains a matter for member states Ireland has “nothing to fear” from European proposals to tackle multinational tax avoidance, the Minister of State at the Department of Finance Simon Harris said on Tuesday as EU finance ministers rubber-stamped new rules on the automatic exchange… – Continue reading
This transfer pricing dispute arose from transactions involving Vodafone in 2007-08. The I-T department had red flagged the sale of call centre business to Hutchison Whampoa Properties India and the assignment of Call Options. n the latest from Vodafone’s Rs 8,500 crore trasfer pricing case versus the Income Tax department,… – Continue reading
RUSSELS, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) — European Union (EU) finance ministers Tuesday agreed on two taxation measures towards combating corporate tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning. According to a statement, finance ministers have given their political backing to the anti-abuse clause of the Parent Subsidiary Directive and to the mandatory exchange… – Continue reading
The European Investment Bank, which gives loans and grants using taxpayers’ money, acted wrongly when it refused to disclose details of alleged tax evasion by mining giant Glencore, the EU’s watchdog has ruled. The EIB failed to disclose the results of its own investigation into the allegations surrounding a mining… – Continue reading
Indian corporates are likely to increasingly access the offshore debt capital markets for their funding requirements once the investment cycle restarts, according to Fitch Ratings. “The growth is likely to be driven by the need to refinance debt and fund capex once the investment cycle restarts and as many corporates… – Continue reading
THE map below shows the change between 2011 and 2012 in the number of subsidiaries disclosed by listed American companies. The data were provided to The Economist by Jeff Gramlich of the Hoops Institute at Washington State University. Only those firms that had reported at least ten subsidiaries located in… – Continue reading
LUXEMBOURG — Palm Beach billionaire David Koch and his equally-loaded brother Charles got the government of Luxembourg to sign a secret, custom-made deal that allowed their companies to save hundreds of millions of dollars that otherwise would have been taxed in the United States. On its website this morning, the… – Continue reading
This publication provides a brief overview of the expected impact on entities established in Bermuda of (a) the foreign account tax compliance provisions (“FATCA”) of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act, 2010 of the United States of America (the “US”); and (b) equivalent rules implemented in relation to United… – Continue reading
Australia’s GST rate is now half the average of the developed world, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, building the case for the issue to be looked at as part of the federal government’s upcoming tax review. In an interview with Fairfax Media the OECD’s head of… – Continue reading
Peter Mac Swedish “flatpack” furniture manufacturer IKEA has suffered a number of blistering mass media attacks for business practices that reduce their Australian tax liabilities to a tiny fraction of the company’s profits here. The criticism is certainly justified. Most ordinary working taxpayers, as well as companies that don’t engage… – Continue reading
Malta continues to receive glowing reviews internationally as a stable financial services centre of repute within the European Union. Over the past fifteen years, Malta has moved seamlessly from being an offshore to an onshore jurisdiction, through the implementation of several legal, tax and regulatory rules intended to stimulate domestic… – Continue reading
