As India continues its pursuit of black money allegedly stashed abroad, Switzer-land 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 said… – Continue reading
Global regulators need to standardise the mechanisms by which financial institutions exchange tax information on their clients amid concern the number of tax information exchange agreements between various countries is spiraling out of control. This comes as a number of countries and global regulatory bodies introduce their own tax reporting… – Continue reading
The luxleaks scandal has been used as “cover” by big European nations to point the finger at the tax affairs of small countries like Ireland and try to push through rules that suit their own interests, according to Fine Gael’s Brian Hayes. The MEP, who sits on the parliament’s economic… – Continue reading
The Brazilian Ministry of Finance has issued Portaria MF no. 488/2014, on December 1, which reduced the maximum income tax rate from 20% to 17% for the purposes of applying the concepts of tax havens and privileged tax regimes. The reduction is an important move because it demonstrates a… – Continue reading
In his annual address to both houses of parliament, President Vladimir Putin announced a large-scale program for the liberalization of the Russian economy. In particular, he proposed an amnesty for the repatriation of offshore capital and tax breaks for small businesses. However, Russian experts point out that some of the… – Continue reading
The exchange of information between tax authorities worldwide is about to enter into a new phase of an active gathering and reporting of data. The eradication of tax evasion has now been elevated to a matter of priority amongst OECD states. There has been an unprecedented push to expand the… – Continue reading
Reversing earlier moves taken this summer and fall, a major international bank is ending its cooperation with the Internal Revenue Service’s efforts to prevent investors from investing money in foreign countries with more amenable tax structures and policies, such as Ireland or Switzerland. During a Zurich speech, Barclays bank executive… – Continue reading
Tennis legend Roger Federer is set to move into a 6.5million glass mansion in a Swiss tax-haven Wollerau Three-storey building comes with floor-to-ceiling windows, a swimming pool and view across Lake Zurich Wollerau is one of the lowest tax municipalities in Europe and has attracted other multi-millionaires Tennis ace Roger… – Continue reading
While the dust is still settling from the mid-term elections and the pundits are trying to figure out what it all means, the American people have made their collective voices heard and delivered a message that they do not like the country’s direction. Exit polling data from Election Day showed… – Continue reading
The lesson from the ongoing trial of former UBS wealth management chief executive Raoul Weil really shouldn’t be a surprise, but we’ll say it anyway: Do not fail to declare income from offshore investments to avoid taxes. Unless, that is, you and your clients would prefer a really close relationship… – Continue reading
On November 6th, 2014, the ICIJ journalists’ network revealed its investigation into leaked documents from professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Their analysis shows that over 340 multinational companies use schemes to avoid paying taxes – schemes made possible by Luxembourg’s particularly favourable tax laws. How did the ICIJ work together on… – Continue reading
The Property Council of Australia has joined efforts by the broader business community to lobby the federal government to implement significant tax reforms next year. Members of the Business Coalition for Tax Reform (BCTR) will meet with the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) on December 15 to commence discussions… – Continue reading
Nicholson stands by previous testimony to MPs, as accountants are accused of mass-marketing tax avoidance schemes The head of tax at one of the UK’s top accounting groups was accused of lying to parliament about his firm’s role in devising controversial tax deals for clients in Luxembourg. Kevin Nicholson, PwC… – Continue reading
The Irish President Michael D. Higgins is in China on a ten day visit — his first state visit to the country. Accompanying him is a delegation of leading Irish state companies, including IDA Ireland — the country’s foreign investment agency. They are set to hold meetings with leading personnel… – Continue reading
Germany’s Deutsche Bank dodged over $100 million in federal taxes, according to allegations in a lawsuit filed by the U.S. Attorney’s office in the Southern District of New York Monday afternoon. “Through fraudulent conveyances involving shell companies, Deutsche Bank tried to make its potential tax liabilities disappear. This was nothing… – Continue reading
On May 1, 1975, Princeton graduate John C. Bogle launched an investment company on a bold new idea: it would be owned by its member funds and operated for the benefit of its shareholders. That company, the Vanguard Group, is now one of the world’s largest investment companies with about… – Continue reading
Islamic Finance has garnered an increased interest in the last few years and has the potential to develop the capital markets of Sri Lanka and assist in the development of infrastructure along with encouraging foreign investment in the island state, according to an economist in Sri Lanka. In an interview… – Continue reading
* Nearly half of EM corporate overseas debt issued offshore * Accounting conventions do not capture associated risks, BIS says By Sam Wilkin LONDON, Dec 7 (Reuters) – Cross-border debt issued by emerging market companies may be less stable than it initially appears due to the increasing role of overseas… – Continue reading
GCC-based Islamic banks are increasingly eyeing international markets Islamic banks in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nations need to expand abroad to maintain their pace of growth in the future, according to Al-Baraka Banking Group, which operates in 15 countries from the Middle East to Asia. “Banks have no alternative,” says… – Continue reading
President Putin’s surprise amnesty allowing Russians with cash stashed abroad to bring it back home with no penalty may be a windfall, but then maybe not. The US, Mexico, Italy, Kazakhstan, and many others have tried it with varied success. When financial crises hit, governments have tried to reel in… – Continue reading
Luxembourg’s government is on alert for a new wave of tax revelations that Prime Minister Xavier Bettel expects to hit the country in the coming days. The country’s Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna received a new batch of questions from a group of investigative reporters that indicate more documents revealing alleged… – Continue reading
BEIRUT: There is no threat to Lebanon’s banking secrecy, despite the mounting pressure from the international community to disclose the accounts of Lebanese with dual passports, bankers said. “The United States and some European countries, which are seeking the full cooperation of other states in disclosing the bank accounts of… – Continue reading
The Treasury will this week detail sweeping new powers for the Revenue to investigate tax-avoiding global companies, and will issue a list of suspect structures which it says are designed to dodge British dues. The Chancellor declared war on tech giants such as Google, Amazon and eBay, which pay little… – Continue reading
Labour Jon Ashworth calls for explanation over why Tories’ ‘big-money backers’ benefit from autumn statement George Osborne has been accused of using his autumn statement to give tax breaks to Tory supporters as it emerged that several companies run by Conservative donors stand to benefit from a more generous tax… – Continue reading
The factbox devoted to two years of the so-called Magnitsky Act passed by US Senate. This act allows Washington to deny visas and freeze assets of Russian officials allegedly involved in the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. Five years ago, on November 16, 2009, Sergei Magnitsky, a tax and… – Continue reading
Despite earlier promises to vote in favour, many choose to abstain in the Lower House The approval of a bicameral congressional inquiry into tax evasion received almost no opposition support early yesterday morning — an about-face for some lawmakers who had initially said that they would support the probe into… – Continue reading
RETAIL billionaire Solomon Lew is threatening to ship Australian online orders from New Zealand to sidestep the GST in light of the Federal Government’s failure to axe the tax-free threshold for overseas purchases. The Premier Investments chairman has also slammed Australia Post for setting up a US mail forwarding service… – Continue reading
The Lima Stock Exchange urged Peru to eliminate a 5 percent capital-gain tax on equities, saying it has deterred investors and contributed to a drop in trading volume over the past five years. The country’s weighting in global portfolios has fallen 40 percent since 2010, and the tax has helped… – Continue reading
PRWEB.COM NewswireSingapore (PRWEB) December 06, 2014 Buoyant by Singapore Government’s foreign direct investment policies, efficient corporate tax regime, robust intellectual property safeguards, and exemptions on qualifying foreign-sourced incomes, several big Indian companies such as Flipkart, InMobi, Crayon Data, Zipdial and Mobikon have made the city-state their incorporation destination. To assist… – Continue reading
Under transitional relief, certain non-U.S. investment funds, including Cayman Islands funds, that qualify as foreign financial institutions (FFIs), have been permitted to certify their status under the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) without registering with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to obtain a Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN)…. – Continue reading
A gambling industry group says it’s drafted a first-of-its-kind guide to help casinos prevent money laundering. The American Gaming Association released its best practices Thursday to help casinos and Internet gambling sites comply with anti-money laundering laws. Casinos generally have their own plans but the group says there hasn’t been… – Continue reading
The Tax Commission, appointed by the Government in March last year to review corporate taxation in Norway in light of international developments, submitted its report on December 2, and proposed a cut in both corporate and individual income tax rates, alongside other adjustments to combat corporate base erosion and profit… – Continue reading
The Ministry of Finance this week published Ordinance MF 488/14 in the Official Gazette, which reduces from 20% to 17% the threshold income tax rate for defining the concepts of low-tax jurisdictions and privileged tax regimes. The qualifications of low-tax jurisdictions and privileged tax regimes are relevant because they may… – Continue reading
Brisbane communiqué, after the G20 heads of government summit, and that from their finance ministers, after their earlier meeting in Cairns, along with recent developments in the Forum on Tax Administration mean for business. The Brisbane communiqué contained one paragraph on tax. It read: 13. We are taking actions to… – Continue reading
Brisbane communiqué, after the G20 heads of government summit, and that from their finance ministers, after their earlier meeting in Cairns, along with recent developments in the Forum on Tax Administration mean for business. The Brisbane communiqué contained one paragraph on tax. It read: 13. We are taking actions to… – 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 Swiss banker accused of helping American clients cheat on their taxes is a fugitive who must show up in a New York courtroom if he wants bail, U.S. prosecutors argued in a legal filing. Stefan Buck, who was Bank Frey & Co.’s head of private banking in Switzerland and… – Continue reading
Corporation tax is “not a good candidate for devolution” an independent think tank has concluded. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) analysed the Autumn Statement, in which the chancellor made a conditional offer to devolve the tax to Northern Ireland. The IFS said such a move could introduce profit shifting… – Continue reading
PwC Nigeria, a leading professional services firm, has challenged financial institutions operating in Nigeria and the sector’s regulators on the need to develop a regulatory framework to drive the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in the country. Andrew S. Nevin, a partner at PwC Nigeria and… – Continue reading
(AFP) The European parliament ordered reports delving into tax evasion Thursday, a contentious topic after the “Luxleaks” scandal that has embroiled EU commission head and former Luxembourg premier Jean-Claude Juncker. A journalistic investigation using thousands of leaked files revealed last month that Luxembourg allowed hundreds of top companies to enjoy… – Continue reading
The US and Canada are at the forefront of a global increase in new mutual agreement procedures (MAPs) being initiated, OECD figures show. There were 1,910 new MAPs in 2013, a 14% increase from 2012, when there were 1,678 new MAPs. North America accounted for most of this growth, with… – Continue reading
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e3cae272-73d4-11e4-82a6-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz3LIqHN5hj A seafront car park in St Peter Port overlooked by Guernsey’s… – Continue reading
In yesterday’s Autumn Statement, the UK Chancellor announced several measures that will directly affect non-UK individuals who live or own property in or are considering moving to the UK. Although in many cases the measures will mean that such individuals are liable to pay more tax in the UK than… – Continue reading
Two things should be said about the UK’s new Google GOOGL -2.7% Tax as proposed in the Autumn Statement by George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The first is that there really is a certain amount of public anger about the manner in which the big tech companies (here… – Continue reading
Greece is currently implementing a fiscal adjustment programme aimed at tackling tax evasion. This column discusses the impact of recent tax administration reforms on tax compliance in Greece. The intensification of audits, enforcement of penalties, and efficient collection of past debts can induce tax compliance and raise the collected revenue…. – Continue reading
Forward thinking is part of the Luxembourger mentality. As the country prepares to bring its tax rules in line with the rest of the EU, it’s aiming to become a hub for storing and trading art and other high-end collectibles Luxembourg refuses to stand still. Obsessed with diversifying its economy,… – Continue reading
The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition is calling on Congress to reject the tax extenders package that includes two wasteful offshore loopholes that allow U.S. companies to dodge billions worth of taxes. The tax extenders are a set of 54 temporary tax breaks, which are ostensibly designed to… – Continue reading
John Cartwright (pictured), Chief Executive of the Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF), comments on the UK government’s objective to introduce stamp duty land tax relief in 2016… We welcome the government’s intention to introduce a stamp duty land tax (SDLT) relief for seeding investment – a much needed removal… – Continue reading
Bucharest prosecutors and officers within the Capital’s police direction are conducting 41 searches on Thursday in Bucharest and counties Dambovita, Ilfov, Arges, Braila in a tax evasion case with RON 6 million in damages that is directed at MediaPro. At least 27 people will be taken in for questioning, according… – Continue reading
Chinese tax authorities have pledged to increase supervision of multi-national companies in a campaign to crack down on tax avoidance.04 Dec 2014 Tax China Asia Pacific Chinese tax authorities have pledged to increase supervision of multi-national companies in a campaign to crack down on tax avoidance. The deputy director of… – Continue reading
