Professional landlords are using Airbnb and other home-sharing websites to avoid taxes and evade planning laws, according to Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association (BHA) Ibrahim provided evidence to the Business Innovation and Skills committee this week, where he argued that home-sharing websites like Airbnb are made… – Continue reading
Dominican Republic, in January 2016. The Dominican Republic could soon be part of an initiative of the OECD would force financial institutions of the country to exchange information on the accounts of their customers in other countries that are part of this project. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development… – Continue reading
Oil is the lifeblood of Labuan and the drastic drop in the commodity’s price has affected the international offshore financial centre and tax haven. KOTA KINABALU: Business is down by 40 per cent in Labuan in the wake of the crude oil price heading south to USD32 per barrel, 50… – Continue reading
Pakistan can double its tax revenues by concerted efforts to broaden tax bases, strengthening tax compliance, eliminating distortionary tax expenditures, and rationalizing the tax system in an efficient and equitable manner, says a latest study of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). The study, Unlocking Pakistan’s Tax Revenue Potential notes, Pakistan’s… – Continue reading
Last year Jersey cemented its position as a leading centre for companies looking to list – as reflected in the rise in volume and value of Jersey companies listed on exchanges around the world. Here are some challenges that lie ahead in this jurisdiction over the next 12 months. In… – Continue reading
Reforms to corporate tax rules and fiscal transparency will be pursued by EU policy makers in 2016, the EU’s tax commissioner Pierre Moscovici has said. “We have a serious problem with tax avoidance and lack of transparency. Too many people have looked the other way,” Moscovici said. Moscovici told a… – Continue reading
‘We’re not a tax haven, we have never been involved in any kind of tax malpractice’ – Michael Noonan, Irish Minister for Finance 5th October 2015 ‘Nobody is using Ireland as a tax haven’ – Minister for Agriculture, Simon Conveney, The UN’s Philip Aston says, ‘When lists of tax havens… – Continue reading
The Ministry of Finance on 21 December 2015 released for public comment a proposal to revise the transfer pricing documentation rules and introduce country-by-country (CbC) reporting. The proposal—released as a draft bill—includes CbC reporting, master file and local file requirements, and penalty provisions, and generally follows the recommendations of the… – Continue reading
Information will feed into relaunch of the revised common consolidated corporate tax base The European Commission has received more than 170 submissions on its proposal for a revised common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) ahead of its re-launch later this year. The closing date for the commission’s three-month public consultation… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI:The Narendra Modi government, which has pledged a predictable and non-adversarial tax regime, is likely to begin a sweeping revamp of direct taxes in the Budget that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present next month. Simplification and rationalisation will be the two themes driving the overhaul, which is aimed… – Continue reading
FATCA letters are going out from banks around the world to millions of US expats in readiness for reporting their financial information to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). If you are one of the 8 million US expats subject to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), what do you… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI:The Narendra Modi government, which has pledged a predictable and non-adversarial tax regime, is likely to begin a sweeping revamp of direct taxes in the Budget that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will present next month. Simplification and rationalisation will be the two themes driving the overhaul, which is aimed… – Continue reading
Americans living abroad feel that the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act negatively impacts their professional lives and that compliance with the related tax reporting requirements is overly burdensome, a survey by Americans Abroad Global Foundation and the University of Nevada has found. But most survey respondents believe the U.S. government… – Continue reading
KUWAIT: Kuwaiti citizens who possess US passports need to straighten out their US tax status to avoid the penalty of having their US passports scrapped, said Abdulaziz Al-Anjeri, head of the American Tax Bureau in Kuwait. Technically Kuwaitis are barred from holding a second citizenship but many are suspected of… – Continue reading
The IRS has announced important changes to its offshore account programs. They come as FATCA is taking hold worldwide. Many foreign banks are rooting out Americans with increasing vigilance. One key target of the changes? Americans living abroad and certain others who can now come within the IRS Streamlined Program…. – Continue reading
The Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No.2) Ordinance 2015 (the “Amendment Ordinance”) came into effect on July 17, 2015, extending Hong Kong profits tax exemption to offshore private equity (“PE”) funds. Profits Tax Exemption prior to the Amendment Ordinance This is a welcome development for the private equity industry since, in the… – Continue reading
On January 11, 2016 the Luxembourg tax authorities issued a newsletter announcing that on January 13, 2016 the Agreement between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the Republic of Croatia for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on… – Continue reading
Filippo Noseda has examined the impact of the OCED’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS) on trusts at a time when they are under threat in a number of continental European jurisdictions in an article which was first published in Trust Quarterly Review, Volume 13, Issue 3 2015. Filippo concludes that these… – Continue reading
Ogier partner Marcus Leese has welcomed news from Italy that Guernsey and Jersey are no longer on any Italian ‘black lists’ and will be included on Italy’s ‘white lists’ from early 2016, reports Isle News. Among other benefits, it is anticipated that this will enable Italian resident investors to invest… – Continue reading
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s base erosion and profit shifting process will not have significant implications on Luxembourg-based companies, Fitch Ratings has said. The agency on January 8 re-affirmed Luxembourg’s AAA rating, with a stable outlook. According to Luxembourg for Finance, the territory’s financial services promotional agency, the… – Continue reading
The BVI has passed legislation to implement the Organisation for Economic Co-Operating and Development (OECD) Common Reporting Standard for the exchange of tax information (CRS). The amendments to the Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) Act, 2003, which implement CRS in the BVI, will come into force on 1 January 2016…. – Continue reading
The BVI and Cayman are often referred to as “tax neutral” and you might have been told that, for this reason, it would be advantageous to establish your fund in either jurisdiction. What does this actually mean and what does it mean for your fund? Primarily, it means that BVI… – Continue reading
Jan. 11 — The European Union is resuming efforts to create a common system for calculating the tax base of businesses operating in the EU, and aims to adopt the OECD BEPS package by the end of the Dutch EU presidency in June, a top official said. “This is the… – Continue reading
The KPMG member firm in India has prepared reports concerning the following developments (read more at the hyperlinks provided below). Income attributable to taxpayer’s foreign branches not taxable in India: The Bombay High Court held that income attributable to a taxpayer’s foreign branches, permanent establishments (PEs) outside India, is not… – Continue reading
Irish drug giant’s long-standing plan to acquire US rival – and lower its tax bill – is finally sealed thanks to beefed-up cash offer The drugs maker Shire yesterday clinched a $32bn (£22bn) takeover of US rival Baxalta after sweetening the deal with a bumper cash component despite fears such… – Continue reading
Tax inversions and corporate tax rate cuts would be huge for these stocks Certain politicians are decrying a tax move known as an “inversions,” which allow a U.S. company to merge with a foreign one with a more favorable tax rate. Yet, it’s the politicians who created the necessity for… – Continue reading
Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland denies treaty benefits in case of dividend paid on shares acquired for hedging derivative contracts. Court stated that due to the fully hedged nature of ownership, there was economic nexus and interdependency between two independent transactions and therefore, the “intermediary” bank did not have beneficial… – Continue reading
Washington — JUST about every American chief executive has the same dream: to get out from under the corporate income tax. For many, that means lobbying Congress to change the tax code. But for a growing number, it also involves increasingly creative — and successful — tricks to avoid their… – Continue reading
The UK tax authority, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), has announced that new double tax avoidance treaties with Bulgaria and Croatia have entered into force. The 2015 UK-Bulgaria double tax agreement was signed on March 26, 2015, and replaces the former 1987 treaty. It generally limits the withholding tax rate… – Continue reading
On 10 December 2015 the remaining changes to the income tax and the capital gains tax laws aiming to improve the tax system of Cyprus and make it more attractive to both the local and international business community were voted. The changes came into effect with their publication in the… – Continue reading
BRUSSELS – Three Italian consumer organizations have urged EU antitrust regulators to investigate McDonald’s (MCD.N) franchise system in Europe, a month after the opening of an EU inquiry into the U.S. fast food company’s tax deals with Luxembourg. Codacons, Movimento Difesa del Cittadino and Cittadinanzattiva filed their complaint with the… – Continue reading
‘We’re not a tax haven, we have never been involved in any kind of tax malpractice’ – Michael Noonan, Irish Minister for Finance 5th October 2015 If your top political figures need to constantly state that your country is not a tax haven, then the chances are it probably is… – Continue reading
A web of offshore companies was used to shield controversial builder Tom McFeely’s ownership of an apartment building close to London’s Olympic stadium, an Insolvency Service official has claimed. The allegation was one of several levelled against the Priory Hall developer as part of proceedings issued by official assignee Christopher… – Continue reading
A lawyer for the Internal Revenue Service on Monday disclosed a series of emails and legal memos from 2004 apparently showing that Dallas entrepreneur Sam Wyly was interested in knowing the legal and financial ramifications if he renounced his U.S. citizenship. The IRS also introduced testimony from previous court proceedings… – Continue reading
AB InBev says it’s `disappointed’ and is assessing its options Vestager lashes out at `double non-taxation’ schemes BRUSSELS – The European Union ordered Belgium to recover about 700 million euros ($763 million) in illegal tax breaks given to at least 35 companies, including Anheuser-Busch InBev and BP, as regulators continued… – Continue reading
The focus has been on increasing global participation in India through liberalisation of foreign direct investment (FDI) laws. It covered easing FDI sectorial caps and conditions in diverse sectors ranging from highly regulated sectors like defence, construction& development, civil aviation to single brand retailing, automatic route for FDI in Limited… – Continue reading
As part of the ATO’s reinvention agenda we have been reviewing our Advance pricing arrangement (APA), Mutual agreement procedure (MAP) programs and our Competent Authority Network to identify opportunities to: improve the client experience and better support willing participation improve our bilateral and multilateral engagement increase our efficiency and effectiveness…. – Continue reading
An Australian Taxation Office (ATO) report issued last month on “corporate tax transparency” showed that 1,539 of the country’s biggest firms had a combined turnover of $1.6 trillion but paid a total of only $39.9 billion in company tax—about 2.5 percent of the collective turnover. Five hundred and seventy-nine of… – Continue reading
According to a recent petition, the Israeli government has taken the wrong side in a world war that the US is waging over taxes of its overseas dual citizens. The financal future of 9 million Americans worldwide and hundreds of thousands living in Israel could be at stake. According to… – Continue reading
Royce Gracie isn’t scheduled to fight at Bellator 149 until February, but he’s in a serious fight with the IRS over his taxes, including whether he rightfully claimed a tax credit for the poor. Remember the scrawny guy in a gi who smoked the field at UFC 1 and had… – Continue reading
Once known as “Spain’s Princess Diana,” King Felipe’s younger sister is facing criminal fraud charges. Monday saw the start of the trial of Princess Cristina de Borbón – the first member of Spain’s royal family ever to be put on trial in a criminal court. Cristina, 50, is charged with… – Continue reading
Changes in I-T Act likely to curb tax evasion by multinational companies The government might change transfer pricing provisions in Budget 2016-17 to ensure companies with overseas presence and consolidated revenue of more than Rs 5,000 crore comply with extensive data reporting and documentation. Legislative changes in the Income Tax… – Continue reading
This is the first of our series of posts on Brazilian tax treaties. In each post we will provide an overview of a specific tax treaty between Brazil and a particular foreign country, as well as comments on any Brazilian administrative or judicial precedents applying the treaty, and highlights on… – Continue reading
Christmas Island has timely picked the festive holiday to join the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) list of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) jurisdictions. The small Indian Ocean outpost has a single financial institution reporting to the IRS. Interestingly, the FATCA list of financial centres now exceeds the United Nations… – Continue reading
Ireland collected EUR3.3bn (USD3.6bn) more in tax revenue in 2015 than forecast, helping to reduce the fiscal deficit by EUR5.2bn, the latest Exchequer Returns show. EUR45.6bn in tax revenue was collected in 2015, up 10.5 percent on 2014. Revenue collections were 7.8 percent ahead of target, and corporation tax accounted… – Continue reading
The Nigerian Transfer Pricing (TP) Regulations officially known as Income Tax (Transfer Pricing) Regulations No 1, 2012 regulates transactions between connected taxable persons (controlled transactions). The regulation seeks to ensure that transactions among connected taxable persons are carried on at arm’s length. Applying the arm’s length principle to controlled transactions… – Continue reading
The year 2015 will be marked as the year of slow economic growth and haphazard fiscal and monetary policies due in part to the uncertainties brought about by the change in government. There were also leadership changes at the FIRS and a number of state tax authorities. This article outlines… – Continue reading
On December 21, 2015, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Treasury Department (Treasury) released proposed regulations (REG-109822-15) on country-by-country (CbC) reporting (the Proposed Regulations). In general, the Proposed Regulations are modeled after, and are consistent with, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recommendations for CbC reporting,… – Continue reading
[SHANGHAI] Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rates (HIBOR) all hit record highs on Monday, led by the overnight rate which spiked to over 13 per cent from 4 per cent Friday, as investors bailed out of offshore yuan for dollars. All HIBOR tenors have been rising recently given that the onshore… – Continue reading
few days before Christmas, in the full light of an Australian summer, the Australian tax commissioner published the tax details of 1,500 large corporate taxpayers which showed a staggering one-third of these companies paid no tax in 2014. This transparency measure was part of a wider package of ground-breaking legislation… – Continue reading
