Category: Financial Institutions
Q&A: tax issues for private equity funds in Cayman Islands
Under current Cayman Islands law, there are no Cayman Islands taxes on income or gains of the private equity fund (PE fund) or on gains on dispositions of shares or partnership interests, and distributions made by a PE fund will not be subject to withholding tax in the Cayman Islands. ... - Continue reading
United States: US FinCEN Proposes Expansion Of SAR Sharing Rules
The Bank Secrecy Act ("BSA"), enacted in 1970 and amended most recently by the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020 ("AML Act"), was in intended to provide "appropriate frameworks for information sharing" among financial institutions, government authorities and others.2 The BSA provides for the reporting of suspicious transactions, authorizes the secretary of the Treasury (the "Secretary") to issue regulations and allows the Secretary to delegate to the director of FinCEN the authority to "take all necessary and appropriate actions to implement and administer the provisions of the [BSA]."3 ... - Continue reading
Impact of Mexico’s ‘controlling beneficiary’ rules
From 2022, taxpayers are obligated to obtain, keep and provide to the Mexican tax authorities when so requested, information of individuals who are considered to be the ‘controlling beneficiaries’ of legal entities, trusts and other legal vehicles, such as name, date of birth, gender, nationality, tax residence, tax ID number and marital status. ... - Continue reading
Cayman Islands: Update On Automatic Exchange Of Information – New CRS Compliance Form
New form for all Reporting Financial Institutions ("RFIs") and Trustee Documented Trusts. ... - Continue reading
$65 billion cash mystery puzzles Britain’s audit office
Mystery in the economy of Britain. How come there is an increase in circulation of pound notes when there is a decrease in day-to-day cash transactions? ... - Continue reading
Nigeria: FIRS Launches Reporting Portal for Financial Institutions
New Automatic Exchange of Information-Common Reporting Standard (AEOI-CRS) system set for Nigeria. ... - Continue reading
Malta: Extension Of FATCA & CRS Deadlines
Deadline for CRS and FATCA reporting for the year 2019 extended till 30 June 2020. ... - Continue reading
Cayman Islands: Cayman Islands Update: AEOI 2020 Amendments
Here are changes in tax laws concerning the Automatic Exchange of Information. ... - Continue reading
Canadians with US citizenship face account closures under FATCA
With the conclusion of a grace period on Jan. 1, Canadian banking institutions are required to attain US identification numbers for Canadian clients under FATCA or face fines. ... - Continue reading
Nigeria: How Nigeria’s Common Reporting Standard Regulations Will Affect Banks, Insurance Companies, Asset Managers, And Other Financial Institutions
Details about the Common Reporting Standard in Nigeria ... - Continue reading
Singapore, Tunisia tax treaty enters into force
Singapore and Tunisia join forces in favour of tax reform. ... - Continue reading
United States: Webinar: Supreme Court’s reconsideration of Auer Deference may undermine FFIEC manual.
Regulations governing BSA/AML compliance are often ambiguous, leading to disagreements with regulators about whether financial institutions are in compliance with those regulations. ... - Continue reading
Financial resources hit P31 trillion as of March
The country’s total financial resources reached P31.044 trillion as of end-March 2019, according to the latest survey of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. Preliminary results of the Other Financial Corporation Survey showed the total assets of depository corporations reached P23.068 trillion while the combined resources of other financial corporations hit… – Continue reading
Bermuda Monetary Authority: 50 Years Later
As the Bermuda Monetary Authority [BMA] celebrates 50 years in 2019, we take a look back at the last five decades. From providing sound policy advice to pushing Bermuda forward as a reputable place to conduct business, the BMA has had an incredible impact on Bermuda’s financial landscape. 1990-1999 Exchange… – Continue reading
Seychelles Signs US FATCA Agreement
On July 3, 2019, the Seychelles Government announced that it has signed an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the United States to implement the requirements of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). ... - Continue reading
Portugal: Central bank to disclose public report on large debtors
The Bank of Portugal (BdP) is to publicly disclose aggregated information about large bank debtors by 17 July, announced the chair of the Budget and Finance Committee. On 23 May, the central bank sent parliament an extraordinary report on the problematic loans and other assets that caused banking problems and… – Continue reading
Taiwan to join anti-tax evasion program CRS
Taiwan expected to share financial information with Japan and Australia in 2020 TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan is expected to exchange financial information with a number of countries in September of next year as part of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) program designed to combat tax evasion. Developed by the… – Continue reading
Taiwan to join anti-tax evasion program CRS
Taiwan expected to share financial information with Japan and Australia in 2020 TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Taiwan is expected to exchange financial information with a number of countries in September of next year as part of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) program designed to combat tax evasion. Developed by the… – Continue reading
Banks bear the biggest cost of CRS
Last year, Malaysian financial institutions commenced their CRS obligations to the Inland Revenue Board (IRB). ... - Continue reading
Canada: Canadian Update On Cross-Border Tax Planning
Tax rules regarding offshore tax planning amended ... - Continue reading
Oman to introduce Common Reporting Standards
Muscat: Oman, in line with its commitment to align itself with international best practices in tackling cross-border tax evasion and meeting the standards set by the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), is currently in the process of issuing regulations for automatic exchange of… – Continue reading
Nigeria Signs Off On Common Reporting Standard With OECD
As we await official communication, information reaching us have it that Nigeria has signed off on the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). As publicly stated on Wikipedia, ‘The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is an information standard for the Automatic Exchange Of Information… – Continue reading
Anti-Money Laundering Software Market to Generate the Revenue of US$ 4,262.0 Mn by 2026
Companies, especially in the financial services industry are investing in the anti-money laundering software to effectively track the transactions and eliminate the risk of fraudulent. Companies offering anti-money laundering software are also focusing on providing effective and efficient software including currency transaction reporting software, transaction monitoring software, compliance management software,… – Continue reading
US IRS begins FATCA crackdown
After years of deliberation and debate spanning two administrations, the Tax Information Exchange (United States of America) Bill, 2016, also known as the Foreign Account Taxpayer Compliance (FATCA) Bill was passed in the Senate on March 7, 2017. This following its unanimous passage in the House of Representatives, two weeks… – Continue reading
Court rules John Doe summons to identify law firm clients isn’t barred by attorney-client privilege
Section 7609(f) of the tax code allows the Internal Revenue Service to use a “John Doe” summons when the target is unknown. It has been used successfully by the IRS against banks and other financial institutions to find offshore accounts. Now, a district court in the Western District of Texas… – Continue reading
FBR threatens to penalise RFIs
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will penalize Reporting Financial Institutions (RFIs), which would fail to submit Common Reporting Standard (CRS) reports pertaining to required information of financial accounts of non-resident persons and any other reportable person by May 31, 2019 to the FBR. According to an announcement of the FBR… – Continue reading
Malta: How Beneficial Owners Registers Aim To Curb Money Laundering And Tax Evasion
With more complicated company structures being used, it has become increasingly more difficult to establish who the ultimate beneficial owners of entities are. In light of the new regulation, do you believe that the Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) Register can help in any way to prevent financial crime? The UBO… – Continue reading
Money trail must for offshore assets’ owners: Asad
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance Asad Umar Thursday made it abundantly clear that those having offshore properties had no option but to give the trail of their money. Addressing a post-mini budget press conference at the P-block here, he said the government had obtained assistance from friendly countries, including Saudi… – Continue reading
Angola’s parliament approves elimination of double taxation with Portugal, China and UAE
The Angolan parliament unanimously approved proposals for the resolution of agreements for the elimination of double taxation and prevention of tax evasion on income tax with Portugal, China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to official information. The Secretary of State for Cooperation, Domingos Vieira Lopes, said that the… – Continue reading
1.6 million Canadian banking records shared with IRS
CRA now transferring 600,000 banking records per year under controversial information sharing agreement The Canadian government has shared more than 1.6 million Canadian banking records with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service since the start of a controversial information-sharing agreement in 2014, CBC News has learned. In 2016 and again in… – Continue reading
Government Breaking Down ‘Offshore’ Banking Divide
The Government yesterday broke down the divide between Bahamian domestic and international financial institutions to meet European Union (EU) demands. KP Turnquest, the Deputy Prime Minister, in unveiling a radical regulatory shift said the Government will “make the playing field level for all financial institutions in The Bahamas” by enabling… – Continue reading
Pakistan to finalise new anti-money laundering law
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is fine-tuning a new law to join forces with the international community to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in line with a recommendation of a global financial watchdog, a top official said on Thursday. Khalida Habib, head of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) said… – Continue reading
British Virgin Islands: BVI AEOI Update And Introduction Of Country-By-Country Reporting
As part of the British Virgin Islands’ (“BVI”) ongoing commitment to international tax transparency pursuant to the Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”), the BVI Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) Act, 2003 has been amended by the BVI Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) (Amendment) Act, 2018 (the “Amendment Act”). The Amendment Act… – Continue reading
Government prepared to amend laws to prevent tax evasion
The Antigua and Barbuda government is willing to amend the necessary laws to ensure that local financial institutions are able to share banking information of dual citizenship holders with the relevant authorities in their original country of birth, if this becomes necessary. Prime Minister Gaston Browne made the disclosure following… – Continue reading
Bahamas Meets Tax Exchange Deadlines
The ministry of finance last night said The Bahamas had met the September 30 deadline to begin automatic tax information exchange (AEOI) with some 35 partner jurisdictions. Revealing that the first such exchange with another country had already occurred, the ministry said this further demonstrated The Bahamas’ commitment to meet… – Continue reading
IRS bank secrecy program has little impact on tax compliance
The Internal Revenue Service’s Bank Secrecy Act program, in which it is supposed to safeguard against money laundering, is having only a minimal impact on tax compliance, according to a new report. The report, from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, noted that the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting… – Continue reading
Can the PHL fully participate in ASEAN Taxation Cooperation?
(Second of two parts) Embracing the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEoI), whether in the form of FATCA and/or CRS, affects stakeholders ranging from the government and businesses down to the ordinary consumers of financial products and services. As such, the uncertainties arising from the supposed implementation are definitely not in… – Continue reading
Hong Kong Banks Divulge Client Data
HONG KONG – The majority of Hong Kong financial institutions have divulged detailed data about their international clients for an international data swap. New media reports in Hong Kong indicate that approximately 1 700 financial institutions have submitted details about their clients for international information exchanges. The information exchanges are… – Continue reading
ASEAN taxation cooperation via automatic information exchange
IN 2015, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint 2025 was adopted as part of the ASEAN 2025: Forging Ahead Together plan. This collaboration charts the broad trajectories of ASEAN economic integration from 2016 to 2025. It aims to strengthen and reinforce by 2025 these five AEC characteristics: 1. A highly… – Continue reading
Australia’s fugitive Chinese accounts frozen
The top story in the finance section on Tuesday morning is about the Chinese government’s hunt for hidden assets (and unpaid taxes) overseas. The article mentions Australia and New Zealand freezing accounts from customers who don’t identify if they are foreign taxpayers. It goes on to say many of the… – Continue reading
US fines Basel Cantonal Bank for tax evasion role
Basel Cantonal Bank has become the latest Swiss financial institution to accept a fine for helping United States citizens to evade taxes. The bank was forced to pay a total of $60.4 million (CHF58.9 million) in penalties to settle the case without having to face a criminal trial. Announcing the… – Continue reading
