BANGKOK: The United Nations’ Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has proposed to the regional countries creation of an ‘Asia-Pacific Tax Forum’ to monitor tax legislation and regulations across the region. This is to help develop regional best practice and address issues such as avoidance of… – Continue reading
>PRWEB.COM NewswireLONDON, UK (PRWEB UK) 7 August 2014 As reported on July 9th in an article by money.aol.co.uk, a new wave of celebrities have made HMRC’s tax-avoidance hit-list, joining past high-profile victims such as Jimmy Carr, who famously succumb to the taxman’s eagle-eyed scrutiny and merciless demand for recompense. Some 33,000 people… – Continue reading
The New Zealand arm of the French bank, BNP Paribas, is the latest international bank to fall foul of the New Zealand tax department’s campaign against the use of cross-border convertible notes, quietly agreeing to pay back tax of $18.435 million in an out of court settlement reached on March… – Continue reading
In March 2010, the US Congress enacted the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act, which included provisions that are known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA. This was aimed at preventing tax evasion by US persons through the use of accounts held with foreign financial institutions…. – Continue reading
MULTINATIONAL companies shifting their profits from Africa to low-tax jurisdictions are only partly responsible for the erosion of the continent’s tax revenue bases. The African Tax Administration Forum (Ataf) believes some countries have signed away their tax revenue because of weak domestic policies, and ill-conceived tax incentives and mining contracts…. – Continue reading
MOSCOW, August 5 (RAPSI) – The Russian Finance Ministry intends to exclude Malta from the list of offshore zones due to the double taxation and prevention of tax evasion convention having been ratified between the governments of Russia and Malta, RIA Novosti reports. Respective changes to the list of offshore zones… – Continue reading
Germany’s Ministry of Finance announced that a law enabling the implementation of the United States’ Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) has come into force. The ministry said that the FATCA-USA Implementation Regulation, known in German as FATCA-USA-Umsetzungsverordnung or FATCA-USA-UmsV, entered into force on July 23, 2014. Germany signed the… – Continue reading
While Congress has been obsessing about tax inversions, it turns out another—potentially more important–tax avoidance technique is getting increased attention from the business community: Spinning off tangible assets into Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs). If these deals become widespread, they’d be another nail in the coffin of the corporate income… – Continue reading
A decision on Northern Ireland’s bid to have the right to set its own corporate tax rate is due after next month’s referendum on Scottish independence. Conor O’Brien reflects on the latest controversy surrounding the Republic’s corporation tax regime 5 AUGUST 2014 President Obama’s recent remarks about the practice of… – Continue reading
July 31 (Bloomberg) — Swiss banks will on the whole meet the deadline for delivering information on offshore accounts to the U.S., improving their chances of settling the cases this year. Roiled by the demise of the country’s oldest bank, the lenders are helping the Justice Department build cases against… – Continue reading
Dear Reader, This is a really timely question. Renting vacation homes, or even a part of your primary residence, is becoming more common thanks to a variety of online sites that make it easy to market property and attract renters. The pluses are obvious. Not only can a vacation home… – Continue reading
MONTREAL — Changing a liquidator and the tax consequences of owning two properties were among the topics raised in the latest batch of reader questions. Here’s what they wanted to know. Q: “My father recently passed away. He named a financial institution as co-liquidator but they tell me their fee… – Continue reading
The findings of a two-year investigation into possible tax avoidance by a Zambian copper operation of Swiss commodities giant Glencore (LON:GLEN) will not be made public by The European Investment Bank. In 2005, the EIB – which is owned by EU member states and in 2013 provided some $75 billion… – Continue reading
Tax dodgers are being warned that authorities will begin a crackdown later this month. An anti-tax avoidance campaign will be launched in August and announced in state-run newspapers in a bid to increase the Ministry of Finance’s revenue generation by 20 percent for the 2014-15 fiscal year, said Internal Revenue… – Continue reading
Despite being among the smallest countries in terms of area and population, over the past 40 years Cyprus has developed into one of the world’s most important financial and business centres. It has numerous advantages, including a strategic location, a mature and transparent legal system based on common law, world… – Continue reading
In March 2014, the British Virgin Islands Government announced that it had concluded negotiations with the US with respect to a Model 1B Intergovernmental Agreement with the United States (the IGA). The IGA (which was eventually signed on 30 June 2014) provides the framework for the implementation of the US Foreign… – Continue reading
For weeks, concerns have been mounting across the UK about a tidal wave of shock tax demands about to hit tens of thousands of individuals and businesses – and with good reason. Now that the Finance Bill 2014 has received Royal Assent, HMRC has two new weapons it can use… – Continue reading
FATCA Background The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) was enacted in response to concerns that US taxpayers were avoiding US tax by using offshore financial institutions to hide assets and avoid reporting income. Generally, FATCA imposes due diligence, information reporting and withholding obligations on non-US financial institutions (“FFIs”) and… – Continue reading
Illinois gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner (R) made part of his fortune from investments in a Caribbean tax haven, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. But because Rauner won’t release details on his tax filings it is impossible to tell just how much of his wealth comes from those offshore accounts. The newspaper… – Continue reading
Measures to discourage Jersey companies engaging in “abusive tax schemes” for UK residents have been welcomed by industry body Jersey Finance. Geoff Cook, Jersey Finance CEO, said new rules were “pro-active and forward thinking”. He also said he supported tax competition and legitimate tax planning. In July the Times newspaper… – Continue reading
Russia’s Finance Minister, Anton Siluanov, has told President Vladimir Putin that a new bill to deter Russian tax residents from hiding income offshore is expected to raise about RUB30bn (USD844m) from overseas accounts in Cyprus and the Netherlands. During a Government meeting on July 30, 2014, Siluanov explained that entrepreneurs… – Continue reading
Property in England and Wales worth £122bn or more is held through companies in offshore tax jurisdictions where ownership is tricky to establish, according to Land Registry data analysed by the Financial Times. The detailed report showed that around two-thirds of the 91,248 foreign-company owned properties were held through the… – Continue reading
LONDON — When the British tax authorities struck a landmark deal with the Swiss to crack down on tax evasion, they sat back and waited for the cash to flow in. Almost three years later, they are still waiting. So far, only about $1.7 billion of the $8.4 billion windfall… – Continue reading
AROUND 16,000 TAX AVOIDERS are to be given the chance to settle their outstanding liabilities with HM Revenue & Customs, the department has confirmed. On average, each of the users of the contractor loan schemes covered by this settlement opportunity owes £11,000 a year in tax. The schemes involve complex… – Continue reading
Once was a time when what was Swiss was as clear as an alpine lake. Its Gruyère could be relied upon to be meltingly delicious in a fondue. The finely crafted watches of Zurich could be relied upon to keep the time to the second. And the bankers could be… – 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/0/26dbdbce-1409-11e4-8485-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz39PGGY2lR Property ownership through an offshore company evokes an image of a rich foreign buyer… – Continue reading
Tax avoidance, the American way. Little Rock, Arkansas-based telco Windstream has caused a stir by announcing a novel scheme to reduce the amount of federal taxes it has to pay. It intends to spin off certain network assets into a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT). In so doing,… – Continue reading
Hong Kong’s banks, in the midst of adapting to the new US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), are now facing a tax headache on a global scale. In July, the month where FATCA became a reality for the region, the OECD published guidelines on the adoption of a much… – Continue reading
(CS) The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, more commonly known as FATCA, will be submitted to a vote at the Luxembourg parliament this autumn, before coming into force next year, Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna has revealed. In answer to a parliamentary question by CSV MP Laurent Mosar, Gramegna said that… – Continue reading
Guyana and the United States have concluded “in substance” an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) for implementation of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA was enacted by the US in March 2010 as a mechanism designed to reduce the level of tax evasion which currently exists. It seeks to… – Continue reading
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A former partner at defunct law firm Jenkens & Gilchrist, whom prosecutors have called the most important cooperating witness in the largest criminal tax fraud case in U.S. history, was sentenced on Wednesday to six months in prison. At a court hearing in New York, U.S…. – Continue reading
This June the IRS modified its offshore disclosure programs to encourage U.S. citizens to come forward and report their assets and mitigate risk of penalty or prosecution. To help your clients avoid running afoul of FATCA, a bulletin from PwC advises them to: Determine citizenship. In some cases, non-resident Americans are… – Continue reading
Ex-Catalan premier Jordi Pujol is to be stripped of his honorary privileges after admitting to 34-years’ worth of tax evasion. He ruled the region for 23 years and as such earns an annual pension of over 86,000 euro; has an official car; and is honorary president of the CDC pro-independence… – Continue reading
Nova Scotia’s offshore regulator is asking the Federal Court to strip the copyright from a Calgary company’s images of the ocean floor. It’s the latest move in an ongoing legal battle between Geophysical Service Inc. and the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board over millions of dollars’ worth of seismic maps… – Continue reading
Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance is focusing on real estate as a key area of taxation, writes our sister paper Commercial Times. From August, the ministry will strive to eliminate cases where properties are sold separately to individuals from a parcel of land that belongs to a single person, understood to… – Continue reading
Swiss banking giant UBS has agreed to pay Germany a hefty fine for its involvement in helping German clients hide money from tax authorities. It’s the biggest fine ever paid to the country by a Swiss lender. Zurich-based UBS confirmed Tuesday it had settled investigation charges of aiding German clients… – Continue reading
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Hyderabad Bench has recently held in the case of DCIT, Hyderabad vs. M/s IJM (India) Infrastructure Ltd, Hyderabad (2014-TII-114-ITAT-HYD-TP) that a permanent establishment (PE) of a foreign company has to be treated as separate entity for the purpose of transfer pricing and that any… – 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. Emailftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b494286e-171e-11e4-b0d7-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz393LkTft5 Pfizer refuses to rule out tax inversion deals By Andrew Ward, Pharmaceuticals CorrespondentAuthor alerts… – Continue reading
How to Stop Canadian Multinationals from Dodging Their Taxes And if you thought low rates bought their loyalty, you’re wrong. Tax avoidance has become an accepted part of doing business for corporations the world over. But it isn’t just Google, Starbucks and Amazon working the system. Canadian corporations like Cameco… – Continue reading
“The investigation of the income tax returns for each successive year reveals the increasingly stubborn fight of wealthy individuals and corporations against the payment of their fair share of the expense of their Government.” Treasury Secretary Henry Morgenthau, 1937 “More and more enterprises organized abroad by American firms have arranged… – Continue reading
It’s a bad idea when governments demand information on your bank accounts and investments so they can impose economically destructive double taxation. It’s a worse idea when they also demand the right to tax economic activity in other jurisdictions (otherwise known as “worldwide taxation“). And it’s the worst possible development… – Continue reading
With FATCA and its grave burdens and consequences for Americans living in Canada now a reality, the more than 1 million individuals affected now have the benefit of a useful guide self-published by Altro Levy, a multi-jurisdictional law firm with nine offices in Canada and the U.S. The guide is… – Continue reading
If you are from the US then you’ve probably heard of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca), but are you aware of how it could affect you? The legislation came into full effect on July 1, 2014 and has many implications, particularly for US expatriates. Fatca is a US… – Continue reading
THE Ministry of Finance and Planning has given an assurance that it will withdraw some of the measures proposed in the Tax Collection (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act and the Tax Penalties (Harmonisation) Act which are aimed at facilitating increased tax revenues. In response to growing opposition over one of the most… – Continue reading
JEMIMA WHYTE AND BIANCA HARTGE-HAZELMAN Institutional investors are increasingly open to the merits of Australian companies expanding offshore, as local growth looks set to be outpaced by foreign economies. “There’s no doubt that there have been plenty of Australia companies that have gone offshore in search of new revenue opportunities…. – Continue reading
Bruton says it is up to US government to resolve tax obligation anomalies The Government has insisted it does not facilitate the so-called tax inversion practices criticised by president Barack Obama in comments that referenced Ireland. Minister for Jobs and Enterprise Richard Bruton responded to Mr Obama’s remarks by saying… – Continue reading
Taiwan’s Ministry of Finance is focusing on real estate as a key area of taxation, writes our sister paper Commercial Times. From August, the ministry will strive to eliminate cases where properties are sold separately to individuals from a parcel of land that belongs to a single person, understood to… – Continue reading
US bankers and lawyers are inciting a sense of urgency among corporate clients to get tax-reducing acquisitions of offshore companies signed before the end of this year, now that a slew of recent so-called tax-inversion trades has set off alarms in Congress. Heated debates about how to limit such acquisitions… – Continue reading
June 30 — Poland’s Sejm, the lower house of parliament, June 26 approved proposals to introduce guidelines to distinguish a foreign-controlled company for tax purposes, and approved Poland’s agreement for the avoidance of double taxation with the United Arab Emirates, as well as its tax information exchange agreements with Bermuda,… – Continue reading
Denmark said on Thursday it had signed a double taxation treaty with Ireland to ensure Danish citizens who work for Irish-registered airlines are taxed in their home country. The previous agreement “resulted in unequal tax treatment for Danish companies,” the Danish tax ministry said in a statement. Irish budget airline… – Continue reading
