On August 25, 2015, the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan signed an Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation regarding Taxes on Income (“the DTA”), which will enter into force when the legal procedures have been completed. The DTA’s highlights: 1. Permanent establishment (“PE”) specifications The DTA establishes a… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: To ensure compliance with FATCA — the new US law to check offshore tax evasion — regulator Sebi today asked all market intermediaries to follow reporting requirements prescribed by Income Tax Department in this regard. Under Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), foreign financial institutions that fail to… – Continue reading
Introduction Shaped three decades ago by the then Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir bin Mohamad, Vision 2020 outlined Malaysia’s goals in becoming a fully developed nation. With the country’s move towards achieving this ‘Malaysian dream’, more Malaysian companies are venturing and investing outside of Malaysia. The increase in trade transactions… – Continue reading
Japan’s ruling coalition has recently approved a long-awaited reform of the country’s corporate tax system. The plan includes reducing the tax rate by 3.29 percentage points, far more in line with other OECD countries. It is hoped that this will stem the tide of Japanese companies moving abroad, as well… – Continue reading
The OECD has told the Group of Twenty nations (G-20) that it will deliver its final recommendations to tackle base erosion and profit shifting on schedule, in October. At the G-20’s meeting on September 21-22, 2015, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said: “I hope to present in Lima [on October 8]… – Continue reading
LAND including Riverside Retail Park, the Cockhedge Centre and the former site of Mr. Smith’s is owned by companies based in offshore tax havens it has been revealed. Companies are often based offshore to gain from three tax loopholes, including no capital gains tax, no inheritance tax and no stamp… – Continue reading
China appeared to expand efforts Thursday to bolster its currency in what traders said is an attempt to align its exchange rates at home and abroad. The yuan rose a record 1.2 percent in the offshore market amid speculation the People’s Bank of China was again acting to contain the… – Continue reading
MORE than £20 million of prime Cumbrian land and property was bought by offshore firms between 2005 and 2014, according to Private Eye magazine. Properties purchased by offshore companies in Cumbria in the last ten years range from prestigious country estates to a hotel and a nursing home. The countries… – Continue reading
This week, MEPs discussed a draft report on tax rulings, with a view to a vote in the next plenary session in Strasbourg. The report proposes a comprehensive overhaul of corporate tax practices as part of the EU’s battle to tackle tax avoidance. Parliament’s special committee on tax rulings (TAXE)… – Continue reading
Individuals and business wishing to establish a business in Canada need to familiarize themselves with the laws concerning forms of organization, FDI, competition, taxation, labor, privacy, the environment, and more. Canada has weathered the recent period of international uncertainty and volatility better than most other advanced industrialized nations. It is… – Continue reading
The US State Department has issued an interim final rule that would extend the increase in its processing fees payable for renouncing US citizenship to those who relinquish their US nationality through other methods. While the majority of individuals giving up their US citizenship do so by “making a formal… – Continue reading
Negotiations took place, on 2 July 2015, at the Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Cyprus, concluding a Protocol that will amend the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect on taxes on income, when it expires. The agreed protocol, when… – Continue reading
(CNS Business): US taxpayers and Caymanian status holders Lee and Sheila Aronfeld are seeking a judicial review of a decision by the Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority (CITIA) to give their information to the IRS in the United States in connection with a criminal tax probe. Shareholders in three Cayman… – Continue reading
The Treasury Department has pushed American-based corporations to lobby against a tax provision prized by their foreign counterparts, according to people who have heard the pitch. One senior Treasury official in particular, Danielle Rolfes, urged domestic companies to more aggressively target an incentive for interest expensing during a March tax… – Continue reading
A new tax test on the sale of residential properties is coming – the bright line test. If you buy and then sell a residential property within two years new taxation rules may apply to the gain (or loss) that you make. Existing tax law provides for tax on sales… – Continue reading
The original online payment platform, PayPal, has decided to leave the populous island of Puerto Rico next month. The commonwealth has imposed a 2 percent take on any money transmission, forcing Paypal’s hand. So what does this mean for those who need to send money from Puerto Rico? Puerto Rico… – Continue reading
Johannesburg – The South African economy has been crippled by decades of transfer pricing and other forms of illegal capital flight by multinational companies, especially in the mining sector. This partly explained the country’s poisonous labour relations environment and led directly to the Marikana killings three years ago. These were… – Continue reading
EFFORTS by rich countries to find international solutions to prevent the erosion of a country’s tax base are being met with suspicion and cynicism from poor countries, tax experts warned at the annual Tax Indaba in Sandton on Tuesday. The base erosion and profit shifting (Beps) project was set in… – Continue reading
It was an American statesman, Benjamin Franklin, a gentleman of reputedly many talents, who is credited with the widely spoken remark, ‘in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.’ Technically, none of us lives forever and paying taxes is a part of life. Dodging… – Continue reading
BEFORE the General Election David Cameron promised to protect vulnerable North-East airports if Scotland carried its pledge to cut air taxes. It is now time for the Prime Minister to deliver. Speaking to The Northern Echo in March, Mr Cameron vowed that – if re-elected – he would block “unfair… – Continue reading
A wealthy Victoria, B.C., family paid virtually no tax over a span of eight years – and even obtained federal and provincial tax credits – while being involved in an offshore tax “sham” developed by one of the country’s most respected accounting firms, the Canada Revenue Agency alleges. The Canada… – Continue reading
Lawyer Patrick Poulin says he helped clients set up offshore corporations in the Caribbean. And that’s what he was working on when he flew to Miami from the Turks and Caicos last year to meet with two Americans who wanted him to invest $2 million from a real estate deal…. – Continue reading
On April 1, 2015, Cyprus and South Africa signed a Protocol amending their existing double taxation agreement (“DTA”), which was signed in 1997 and has been in force since December 8, 1998. At the time the original DTA was concluded, dividends arising in South Africa were not subjected to South… – Continue reading
The international financial sector faces a perilous future. Major challenges loom over an uncertain global economy, while a decidedly negative political climate poses an existential threat to the offshore financial community. With each passing year, thanks to demographic changes and poorly designed fiscal policies, politicians from high-tax nations will be… – Continue reading
No declaration of foreign assets can be made which have been acquired during the year for which a notice under specified sections of the I-T Act has been issued The government has recently come up with a new legislation namely Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of… – Continue reading
Suggests ending STT on equity derivatives, stamp duty on index ones; also for rupee’s internationalisation, other changes A government-appointed panel has recommended abolition of the securities transaction tax (STT) in equity derivatives. The standing council on international competitiveness of the Indian financial sector also suggested doing away with the stamp… – Continue reading
On July 30, 2015, the Netherlands and Indonesia signed a protocol (the “Protocol”) amending an agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion, originally signed on January 29,… – Continue reading
Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush has outlined a tax reform plan that would raise taxes on some private equity managers and other investors. In doing so, the plan would fulfill a goal often called for by liberal tax analysts and, more recently, fellow Republican candidate Donald Trump. Bush’s tax plan,… – Continue reading
A continent so rich with natural resources, but yet there is still a wide economic inequality gap. Money is lost due to base erosion and profit shifting, thus minimizing the opportunity to advance development. CNBC Africa is joined by Ernie Lai King, head of tax and Asia practice, at Hogan… – Continue reading
Greece’s Alternate Finance Minister in the current caretaker government, Tryfon Alexiadis, has pushed for an overhaul of the controversial property tax ENFIA. The Single Property Ownership Tax (ENFIA) is widely seen as inequitable and has been deeply unpopular since its introduction on January 1, 2014. Earlier in 2015, the Syriza… – Continue reading
On September 8, 2015 the Cypriot Ministry of Finance published an announcement titled: “Conclusion of a Protocol that will amend the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect on taxes on income between the Republic of Cyprus and the Government of Ukraine… – Continue reading
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi promised to bring home millions of dollars of illicit money stashed abroad. Indians call undisclosed money ‘black money,’ and how much there is remains unclear. But it isn’t just billions. It could be hundreds of billions to more than $1 trillion. It isn’t merely offshore… – Continue reading
Two reviews into the Ontario Provincial Police Association reveal that “tyrannical” leaders led to a complete breakdown of governance. There were harassing, expletive-filled emails, including one telling a staffer to “hurry the f— up” and another threatening to “rip off” a board member’s head. There were employees brought to tears… – Continue reading
Multinational companies are facing far more expansive and complex audits by tax authorities fighting over the same pot of profits as budget deficits continue to increase, reports BD Live. An inevitable outcome of efforts globally to prevent tax bases from erosion is double taxation and increased disputes over adjusted assessments… – Continue reading
Antigua and Barbuda’s ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders, has written to the mayor of the District of Columbia, Muriel Brower, and several members of the US congress calling for the removal of Antigua and Barbuda from a list of alleged “tax havens”, reports Caribbean News Now. Antigua… – Continue reading
The Isle of Man, located in the Irish Sea between England and Ireland, is a self-governing country with population a little over 85000. The island has seen three decades of continuous economic growth and has embraced emerging technological innovations with open arms, including satellites and cellular service. It is now… – Continue reading
In September 2014, the Hurun Research Institute published its annual listing of the richest people in China. It showed that IT tycoon Ma Yun had increased his personal fortune during the last year by 500% to $25 billion and in doing so, had climbed to first position on the list…. – Continue reading
The government is looking to adopt a global standard on exchange of financial information in 2017 in the hope of addressing the country’s tax revenue issues, according to a Cabinet minister. Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said the move would enable the government to collect financial data on accounts belonging to… – Continue reading
Intangible assets in the oil and gas industry have become incredibly valuable. Taxpayers need to understand how to manage compliance to mitigate their transfer pricing risks What do recent Western economic sanctions against Russia; the US’ growing energy independence; and ultra-deepwater oil and gas (O&G) discoveries off the coast of… – Continue reading
Saint Kitts and Nevis, BASSETERRE, (September 08, 2015) – The Governments of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis and the United States of America (USA) on August 31, 2015, signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) that will facilitate compliance by financial institutions in the Federation with the USA’s Foreign Account… – Continue reading
LAHORE (Dunya News) – All Pakisan Traders Union on Tuesday warned of marching towards Islamabad if the government did not withdraw withholding tax. Addressing a press conference at Lahore Press Club, Naeem Mir, the General Secretary of All Pakistan Traders Union, said that a protest has been scheduled on September… – Continue reading
Travis Patron, a digital money researcher, explained why bitcoin may facilitate a taxation environment subversive to national governments and that cryptocurrency is already taxed by default, in an article titled, “Why Bitcoin Creates a Voluntary Tax System”, published on CoinDesk. He questions that although many jurisdictions have already declared digital… – Continue reading
The value of merger and acquisition (M&A) activity with Irish involvement so far this year has surged to almost €100bn – nearly twice the figure at the same time last year. And Irish law firms Arthur Cox and A&L Goodbody continue to rank among the top firms advising on the… – Continue reading
Pharmaceutical sector accounts for 88% of provisions for tax disputes FTSE 100 companies have set aside £1.66 billion to cover the cost of tax disputes this year, reveals Thomson Reuters legal business, the world’s leading source of intelligent information for businesses and professionals. Thomson Reuters says that this represents a… – Continue reading
China is promoting foreign direct investment at 23 national industrial parks in the Xinjiang Uighur autonomous region by providing tax incentives to investors in a bid to boost the economy and turn Xinjiang into a core zone for trade, investment, and logistics on the Silk Road economic belt of the… – Continue reading
The amount big companies set aside to cover disputed tax bills has more than halved over the past three years to £1.7bn this year, reports the Financial Times. Even though businesses fear more disputes as tax authorities become increasingly tough, they are showing reluctance to be drawn into conflicts that… – Continue reading
Recently, the Tax Court handed down judgment in the unreported case of AB LLC and BD Holdings LLC v the Commissioner of SARS (heard in February 2015) in which it had to determine whether or not an American company acting as an advisory group for the South African airline industry,… – Continue reading
SEBI on August 26, 2015 released a notification on the captioned head. It informed the intermediaries that India has joined The Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCCA). Further on July 09, 2015, the Governments of India and United States of America signed an agreement to improve international tax compliance and to… – Continue reading
G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors released their third communique of 2015 over the weekend. Their rhetoric is notable for the calm statement of positive reassurance on the macroeconomic environment, although the direct policy commitments appear to be light on. In the communique, Ministers and Governors recognised the significant… – Continue reading
At the 69th IFA Congress in Basel, Taxsutra’s Arun Giri, accompanied by well known tax expert Mukesh Bhutani, interviewed India’s Competent Authority Akhilesh Ranjan. Mr. Ranjan is leading the country’s charge on BEPS, and offers candid views on various issues including confidentiality of information, possibility of a BEPS outcome that… – Continue reading
