In recent times there has been a welcome return to activity in the Irish real estate market. Overseas investors have been circling and private equity groups have started investing heavily in Irish real estate amid confidence that the Irish economy has stabilised and is returning to growth. In this briefing… – Continue reading
A senior figure is suspected of secretly keeping accounts in a Swiss bank that were not reported to the tax authorities in Israel, in an affair called the “Swiss Bank Affair,” sources inform “Globes.” Israel Tax Authority investigators conducted a search of the senior figure’s home. As in the information… – Continue reading
KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 10 (Bernama) — Awareness of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) among local financial institutions remains low, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) said. “I’d venture an educated guess that there are more than 1,000 local financial institutions, which fall under the FATCA purview, some of which may not… – Continue reading
Some statistics rank London as the fourth largest ‘French’ city by population, and the number of French individuals moving to the UK is growing. This is not surprising – the UK offers a highly favourable tax regime for ‘non-domiciled’ individuals moving to the UK, while entrepreneurs, professionals and high net… – Continue reading
Quebec’s finance minister says he understands Bombardier Inc. pays its taxes according to Quebec and Canadian laws and that “we receive what we should receive.” But nevertheless, Carlos Leitão said he has asked Revenue Quebec to look into whether Bombardier is using a European tax haven to avoid provincial taxes…. – Continue reading
Grand Duchy accused of allowing multinational firms to pay virtually no tax Leaked documents reveal more firms used Luxembourg to lower tax There is no suggestion that the tax schemes used by firms are illegal But scandal has dragged in Luxembourg’s former PM Mr Juncker Giant US businesses Disney and… – Continue reading
Tax rulings “issued by the Luxembourg tax authorities are not, and have never been, secret,” the nation’s finance ministry said in an e-mailed statement. “In fact, Luxembourg, spontaneously and upon request, exchanges information on rulings with other countries, as foreseen by non-double taxation treaties as well as by directives and… – 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
In advance of the UK Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, Geoff Cook, CEO of Jersey Finance said: “The Chancellor has shown a strong commitment to tackling tax evasion and I look forward to hearing more detail behind his future plans in this regard in the Autumn Statement. It is vital that the… – Continue reading
The Bombay High Court had in February directed the tribunal to hear both parties expeditiously and pass a ruling at the earliest. The heated debate between Vodafone India and the Income Tax Department on the Rs 8500 crore transfer pricing case will be put to rest as The Income Tax… – Continue reading
Fund wanted to buy distressed debt in media and communications companies Ireland played a key role in international tax and funding structures set up by a $100 million Cayman Islands fund that wanted to buy distressed debt in media and communications companies in 2010. Accountancy firm Ernst & Young (now… – Continue reading
Padoan: “It marks the end of banking secrecy in the European Union” The Council adopted a directive that will help the member states to clamp down on tax evasion and fraud by extending the scope for the automatic exchange of information. The directive brings interest, dividends, gross proceeds from the… – Continue reading
The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee on Monday held a hearing on the role of accountancy firms in tax avoidance and PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), the Big 4 accounting firm, was represented by Kevin Nicholson, PwC head of tax in the UK and former HMRC (HM Revenue & Customs) tax inspector,… – Continue reading
A Dublin-based amusement arcade operator, a Co Sligo farmer and a Dublin company director topped the latest list of tax defaulters. The 107-strong list, published by the Revenue Commissioners, made settlements totalling €19.64 million. The largest settlement was made by fair and amusement arcade operators Groundview Limited, of 15 Lower… – Continue reading
About 10 years ago Citigroup’s then chief executive Chuck Prince started his global apology tour, aimed at mending relationships with regulators and bolstering Citi’s reputation. Tokyo was the first stop. The US bank had been embroiled in scandals that led to the termination of its Japanese private banking licence. To… – Continue reading
The Australian Tax Office is auditing 10 multinational corporations and the government will consider introducing new laws aimed at targeting tax avoidance, Joe Hockey has said. The treasurer said on Tuesday the ATO was “embedded in the offices” of multinationals operating in Australia to closely scrutinise whether those companies were… – Continue reading
Padoan : “it will enable member states to better fight aggressive tax planning by groups of companies” The Council approved an amendment to an EU directive with the aim of preventing tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning by corporate groups. To this end, it agreed that it would introduce a… – Continue reading
Australia may follow the UK in implementing a “diverted profits” tax on multinationals to crack down on tax avoidance. Joe Hockey, Australia’s treasurer, said on Tuesday that his office is exchanging information with London on its “Google tax”, which was announced last week, writes Jamie Smyth in Sydney. I am… – Continue reading
Some of the world’s leading tech companies are reportedly being audited by the tax office for off-shore ‘super profit’ shifting. Up to 10 multinational companies, one believed to be the Google, have been forced to open their books as the ATO begins a $1.5 billion tax hunt. Commissioner of Taxation… – Continue reading
NEW YORK (InsideBitcoins) — Federal prosecutors with the U.S. Attorneys Office in Manhattan are suing Deutsche Bank, stating that the German bank owes the US Government roughly $190 million in unpaid taxes. The claims of tax evasion stem from gains related to the sale of Bristol-Meyers shares in 2000. Prosecutors… – Continue reading
The US government sued Deutsche Bank Monday for creating shell companies that allowed it to avoid paying tens of millions of dollars in taxes. The suit filed by the US attorney in New York asks for $190 million in back taxes and penalties for an operation it alleged was made… – Continue reading
The European Commission welcomes two breakthrough agreements reached by the Council today towards combating corporate tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning. The Council has given its political backing to the anti-abuse clause of the Parent Subsidiary Directive and to the mandatory exchange of information between EU tax authorities. “I applaud… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Tax deals that entertainment giant Walt Disney Co., commodities group Koch Industries [KCHIN.UL] and others agreed with the Luxembourg authorities were revealed on Tuesday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The ICIJ said the two companies engaged in complex restructurings, and channeled hundreds of millions of… – Continue reading
Juncker has put corporate tax reform firmly back on the EU agenda The “Lux leaks” scandal may have cast a shadow over Jean-Claude Juncker’s first months as European Commission president, but its real significance will be how it impacts the EU’s position on corporate tax. Some contend the scale of… – Continue reading
Four years after entering a punishing €67bn bailout, the Irish economy is booming again. Gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 5.5 per cent between January and June. The European Commission expects Ireland to be the fastest-growing country in the eurozone in 2014. Yet a chorus of economists… – Continue reading
The EU’s most powerful official is under mounting pressure as dozens more multinational corporate names are dragged into the Luxembourg tax scandal following a new leak of confidential documents on Tuesday. Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European commission, has been battling to distance himself from the growing furore over the… – Continue reading
Ambassador to London Matthew Barzun says US citizens must pay up Boris Johnson was born in New York so faces a tax bill in America London Mayor has branded the Transatlantic rules ‘outrageous’ Barzun defends US firms like Amazon and Google over tax dodging Insists they are just playing by… – Continue reading
China and Turkey have fallen in international rankings of perceived corruption, according to a new report released by the Berlin-based anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI).09 Dec 2014 Regulatory Europe Asia Pacific Gulf Africa According to the latest edition of TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2014, which scores countries on a… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Singapore said on Tuesday that it has finalised an information-sharing agreement with the United States that is aimed at combating offshore tax dodging. The deal will make it much easier for financial institutions in one of Asia’s biggest wealth management centres to comply with U.S. tax law. The… – Continue reading
New Delhi: Citing national security and confidentiality clauses, Finance Ministry has declined to disclose information on exchange of correspondence among India, Swiss and German authorities in connection with the black money probe. Replying to an RTI query, the ministry said it was obtaining information regarding Indians having accounts in foreign… – Continue reading
The Swedish Tax Agency has, on request by the Swedish Government (Ministry of Finance), evaluated the transfer pricing documentation rules’ functionality and proposed possible changes to simplify the application. The first step was to make an international comparison of the rules in relevant, comparable OECD countries. An overall assessment showed… – Continue reading
New Delhi: The government on Tuesday said Mauritius is yet to agree to certain proposals to the long pending revision of bilateral tax treaty. “India has made certain proposals for revision of DTAC (Double Taxation Avoidance Convention) to end round tripping and other aspects. Mauritius is yet to agree to… – Continue reading
The Mohegan and Mashantucket Pequot tribes recently met with legislators who oversee gambling issues in Connecticut to talk about competition in other states and what to do about it, a key lawmaker said Tuesday. State Rep. Steve Dargan, D-West Haven said he and state Sen. Joan Hartley, D-Waterbury, who oversee… – Continue reading
LISBON (Reuters) – The former head of Banco Espirito Santo <BES.LS> on Tuesday denied any wrongdoing in the collapse of the bank his family founded and blamed the Bank of Portugal for accelerating its demise. Portugal had to rescue the country’s largest bank, known as BES, in a 4.9 billion… – Continue reading
Bulgaria has formally signed up to the US’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), just over six months after the two countries concluded a transitional “in substance” agreement. FATCA, which was enacted by the US Congress in 2010 and took effect on July 1, 2014, is intended to ensure that… – Continue reading
Significant numbers of people are continuing to renounce their U.S. citizenship or end their long-term U.S. residency. There are 776 names on the Treasury Department list published Friday for the third quarter of 2014. That’s the third highest quarterly figure ever, according to Andrew Mitchel, an international tax lawyer in… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Luxembourg is giving details of its tax deals with foreign firms to governments that ask for them, its finance ministry said on Tuesday, addressing critics of its role in helping companies avoid taxes on a global scale. In a statement issued after a Belgian minister revealed he was… – Continue reading
Perhaps it was just a matter of time until the Internal Revenue Service decided to “outsource” its tax audit and litigation function to a private entity, i.e., a law firm. As reported in the December 8th issue of Tax Notes, the Service has hired the law firm of Quinn Emanuel… – Continue reading
European Union nations that offer “patent box” tax breaks should retool their laws so that only deserving companies can claim benefits tied to technical innovations, according to a draft report from a European Union working group. Countries that use this kind of technology tax break should start legislative work next… – Continue reading
A new leak of confidential documents expands the list of big companies seeking secret tax deals in Luxembourg, exposing tax-saving maneuvers by American entertainment icon The Walt Disney Co., politically controversial Koch Industries Inc. and 33 other companies. Disney and Koch Industries, a U.S.-based energy and chemical conglomerate, both created… – Continue reading
Thousands of rich Australians have come forward to declare billions of dollars in untaxed assets and income stashed in bank accounts in Switzerland and in other countries. The rush comes as what the Australian Taxation office says is the last tax amnesty it will ever offer comes to an end…. – Continue reading
The MT Conferences section did not involve the reporting or the editorial staff of The Moscow Times. Russian business is trembling in expectation of the new year when major changes recently introduced to the tax legislation will enter into force. There has been a lot of discussion regarding the increase… – Continue reading
The Joint Committee on Taxation has increased, from USD19.5bn to more than USD33.5bn, its estimate of tax revenue that could be saved over a ten-year period from legislation to restrict corporate inversions introduced by Democrat lawmakers in the United States House of Representatives in May this year. A recent letter… – Continue reading
Hong Kong’s financial institutions have been urged to assess whether their Occupational Retirement Schemes Ordinance (ORSO) retirement schemes are required to comply with the requirements of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which aims to prevent tax avoidance by US residents, according to law firm Deacons. ORSO schemes… – Continue reading
MOSCOW, December 8 (RAPSI) – The world’s four largest audit firms, which provide services under the FATCA norms, have provided contradictory consultations to their Russian clients, Kommersant newspaper writes on Monday. The Big Four are the four largest international professional services networks, offering audit, assurance, tax, consulting, advisory, actuarial, corporate… – Continue reading
DAVID Murray’s financial system inquiry has left Australia’s big four banks at the whim of constantly changing global capital rules, analysts say. “By targeting a dynamic benchmark, there is a risk the Australian banking system enters a global ‘race to the top’ of capital levels,” said UBS analyst Jonathan Mott,… – Continue reading
The accountant PricewaterhouseCoopers and drugs giant Shire are due face a tense parliamentary showdown over tax avoidance with an angered Margaret Hodge today. PwC’s head of tax, Kevin Nicholson, was summoned to face Ms Hodge’s powerful Public Accounts Committee following reports last month that multinational corporations advised by PwC Luxembourg… – Continue reading
Although Thailand’s largest bank, Bangkok Bank (BBL), already has the greatest foot-|print overseas, it continues to look for further opportunities in the |offshore market and plans to open at least four additional branches next year. One will be a sub-branch |in Shanghai’s free-trade zone, |and another will be located |in… – Continue reading
Mumbai: As India continues its pursuit of black money allegedly stashed abroad, Switzerland has said it would not entertain any ‘fishing expedition’ and authorities cannot ask for names of all Indian account holders in Swiss banks without doing their own independent investigations. Switzerland’s ambassador to India Linus von Castelmur also… – Continue reading
THE media and civil society organisations should join hands and work together to ensure a fair taxation system in Africa, an advocacy group has said. Tax evasion, illicit financial flows and harmful tax incentives are rampant among governments, investors and multinational companies in Africa, Tax Justice Network’s Africa executive director… – Continue reading
