Accounting firm joined revenue minister at speech while fighting court order Top Conservative cabinet ministers met publicly with senior staff from KPMG’s tax division, and one went so far as to promote the firm, even as the Canada Revenue Agency was alleging the company set up an offshore tax “sham”… – Continue reading
Jay Fishman, who built New York-based Travelers Cos. into one of the world’s biggest insurers, lamented that disparities in tax rates are pushing established rivals and industry newcomers outside the U.S. Over the past 15 years or so, “we’ve counted 10, 12, maybe even 15 Bermuda-based startups that ultimately became… – Continue reading
A federal court judge dismissed an attempt to put an early stop to a controversial program in which the Canadian government agreed to share financial information of an estimated one million “U.S. persons” living in Canada with the Internal Revenue Service. Particularly troubling to some opponents is that the agreement… – Continue reading
IN SPITE of the challenges from large developing countries, assurance has been given that Barbados is sticking with the International Business and Financial Services sector. This is according to Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, who used the opportunity over the weekend to commend Minister of International Business, Donville Inniss, for his… – Continue reading
Google’s CEO may be “proud” of the way his company avoids taxes, but a Canadian tax watchdog group thinks the tech giant’s tax practices should disqualify it from partnering in a Canadian election debate. The Globe and Mail is hosting a leaders’ debate on the economy Thursday night in partnership… – Continue reading
Is Xi Jinping (習近平)’s anti-corruption campaign crushing it or embarrassingly ineffective? You make the call. It was widely reported the year before Xi assumed office that upwards of 18,000 corrupt officials had fled China since 1990 with about US$120 billion. In early 2012, the Ministry of Supervision released figures saying… – Continue reading
The estates of high net-worth individuals often cross borders. They might reside in one country, with assets in that country and elsewhere, and possibly family members residing are in other countries for work, education, or lifestyle reasons. The tax resulting from death can be quite harsh to their estate or… – 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
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
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
For the past few years, Canadians have been taking advantage of our dollar being worth about the same as the U.S. dollar. From buying up real estate to cross-border shopping, being on par with the U.S. dollar has had its advantages. However, in the last few months, economic factors have… – Continue reading
Stanley Amland threw it off. So did Ingrid Bracke. Rhoda May Derksen ditched hers, too. The names, picked at random for this article from the Federal Register, are among the 3,415 Americans who renounced their U.S. citizenship or relinquished their residency permits last year. As a national debate rages about… – Continue reading
Offshore buyers, primarily from China, are driving demand for luxury properties in Canada, helping to fuel sales of multimillion-dollar homes in major markets outside of Alberta. More than 570 homes priced over $3-million sold in Vancouver in the first seven months of the year, up nearly 80 per cent from… – Continue reading
Ambassador Furio De Angelis, the UN Refugee Agency’s man in Ottawa, says the media attention on the refugee crisis hitting Europe from all directions is a good thing, and one he hopes will translate into “concrete action.” He said the situation is dramatic, but it’s also a reflection of his… – Continue reading
Stanley Amland threw it off. So did Ingrid Bracke. Rhoda May Derksen ditched hers, too. The names, picked at random for this article from the Federal Register, are among the 3,415 Americans who renounced their U.S. citizenship or relinquished their residency permits last year. As a national debate rages about… – Continue reading
Security fears; Global authorities to begin sharing sensitive data If you have a bank account somewhere overseas, that information will make its way back to the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) in a couple of years. In 2018, international tax authorities will begin automatically sharing financial information under the terms of… – Continue reading
The Income Tax Act (ITA) contains many anti-avoidance rules forbidding taxpayers from misusing the provisions of the ITA to achieve tax benefits contrary to Canadian tax policy. The 2015 Federal Budget has proposed changes1 to one of these anti-avoidance rules, which may significantly impact the ability of business owners to… – Continue reading
Money laundering experts say there is no way for Canadians to know how much dirty money is being laundered in Vancouver real estate through Canadian lawyers. As a Province investigation revealed Monday, Canada’s financial intelligence unit Fintrac has ramped up an audit of Vancouver’s booming property market because of concerns… – Continue reading
Investigator says Canadian real estate market has developed reputation as a place to launder money A report prepared for Canada’s anti-money laundering watchdog points to offshore cash in the real estate sector as a “significant risk” for criminal wrongdoing. The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, commonly known… – Continue reading
Ireland has made “little or no” effort over the past four years to create a corruption-free playing field for global trade, violating its “obligation to combat cross-border bribery”, reports the Irish Times. The Transparency International Exporting Corruption report, released on Thursday, found that Ireland, along with countries such as Russia,… – Continue reading
Aug. 19 — Tax authorities and practitioners around the world are awaiting a Canadian court’s ruling on the legality of Canada’s legislation to comply with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. The Federal Court of Canada is due to issue by Sept. 30 a ruling on the validity of the… – Continue reading
The IRS on 12 August 2015 released Rev. Proc. 2015-40 with respect to requesting competent authority (CA) assistance, and it is generally effective for CA requests filed on or after 30 October 2015. Rev. Proc. 2015-40 updates and supersedes Rev. Proc. 2006-54. The IRS concurrently released Rev. Proc. 2015-41 as… – Continue reading
Excerpt from “FATCA in Canada: The Restriction on the Class of Entities Subject to FATCA” first published by the Canadian Tax Foundation in (2014) 62:3 Canadian Tax Journal by Roy Berg and Paul Barba. This article provides an introduction to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) for Canadians and… – Continue reading
Would businesses really be willing to pay more tax if they had more certainty on what is acceptable for cross-border tax planning? According to a recent Grant Thornton International Business Report, three quarters of business leaders would in fact be ready to pony up more taxes in exchange for greater… – Continue reading
A FATCA issue that has recently bubbled up relates to the differing approach to FATCA compliance by the U.S. Treasury and the governments of some countries, notably, the United Kingdom and Canada, with respect to the self-certification requirements for new individual account openings under an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA). Both sides… – Continue reading
A new inquiry from the Australian government is looking to change current tax codes for Bitcoin in Australia. The initiative seeks to establish similar progressive standards in nations like the UK, Canada and Singapore, where Bitcoin is considered money. Over the past year, bitcoin has become an increasingly popular commodity… – Continue reading
MONTRÉAL, Aug. 5, 2015 /CNW Telbec/ – Three quarters of business leaders would pay more taxes in exchange for greater clarity from authorities on what is acceptable for tax planning, according to the Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR), a global survey of 2,580 businesses in 35 economies. And while… – Continue reading
Tax evasion by Canadian companies using offshore havens promises to become election issue Canadian corporations that use tax havens like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands to reduce the taxes they pay at home have good reason to worry. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has been stepping up its scrutiny of… – Continue reading
Vancouver International Airport is the major port of entry for millions in hidden cash being smuggled into North America by mostly Chinese citizens, a federal document investigation by The Province reveals. And according to money laundering investigators, the amounts identified in Canada Border Service Agency cash seizure data, obtained by… – Continue reading
Two Canadian women begin their Federal Court case in Vancouver on Tuesday, seeking to have a judge declare that Canada’s cooperation in supplying financial information to U.S. tax collectors is unconstitutional. Gwen Deegan, 53, a Toronto graphic designer, and Ginny Hillis, 68, a retired lawyer living in Windsor, were both… – Continue reading
Commitment fees are a common feature of many lending arrangements whereby a lender is given additional compensation above and beyond the stated interest rate for agreeing to provide funding to the borrower. Similar to interest payments, Canadian withholding tax may be applicable on such fees and must be carefully considered… – Continue reading
Canadian financial institutions will be subject to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Common Reporting Standard as of July 1, 2017 with the first exchanges of financial account information beginning in 2018. The CRS, known formally as the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax… – Continue reading
While preparing its bid for Tim Hortons Inc. last year, Burger King Worldwide Inc. initially wanted to set up the new parent company of Canada’s iconic supplier of double-doubles and maple-glazed doughnuts across the Atlantic in Britain, to avoid taxes. Miami-based Burger King’s first offer to buy the doughnut chain… – Continue reading
Tax savings drove the acquisition strategy of Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. and led to Burger King’s move to Canada, according to a U.S. Senate committee report. Taxes appear to be much more important to the deals than the companies say, according to an advance copy of the report and testimony… – Continue reading
As U.S. expats struggle with the IRS’s punitively strict tax reporting requirements, Canadian expats are now grappling with harsh government measures of their own. Ontario’s top court has ruled that Canadian expats who have lived abroad for five years should not be allowed to vote in federal elections because it… – Continue reading
An investor, who purchased shares of Silver Wheaton Corp. (USA) (NYSE:SLW), filed a lawsuit in the U.S. against Silver Wheaton Corp. in connection with certain allegedly false and misleading statements made between March 30, 2011 and July 6, 2015. Investors who purchased a significant amount of shares of Silver Wheaton… – Continue reading
Where a foreign company renders professional services to a South African company in South Africa, it is important that the foreign entity considers whether, as a result of rendering such services, the foreign company will create a permanent establishment in South Africa. The reason why this becomes important is that… – Continue reading
Fraudsters behind the latest phone scam making the rounds appear to believe that Canadians pay taxes to the American Internal Revenue Service. “Notice against your name for tax fraud, for tax evasion,” the recorded message begins and continues with its threatening tone. “So before this matter goes to complaint goes… – Continue reading
This article deals with the manner in which Canada has complicated, and rendered controversial, what in most other countries is straightforward — the deductibility of business related interest expense. The reasons to write about it are threefold: the almost-concurrent issuance of the Canada Revenue Agency’s administrative views on the matter… – Continue reading
Bahamas Supreme Court rejects Baha Mar’s Delaware chapter 11 application In a ruling by Justice Ian Winder on Wednesday of this week, The Bahamas Supreme Court Denied Baha Mar’s Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Recognition Petition. This paves the way for the Supreme Court to appoint a provisional liquidator on the 31st… – Continue reading
Fatca was introduced in 2010, to curb offshore tax evasion by US entities and citizens Even after the signing of a treaty between the governments of India and America to comply with the latter’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca), mutual funds (MFs) continue to remain wary of accepting investments… – Continue reading
SINGAPORE – Singapore’s asset management industry grew strongly last year, with more sovereign wealth funds setting up shop here. Assets under management (AUM) rose 30 per cent to S$2.36 trillion in 2014 from S$1.82 trillion in 2013, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) annual report 2014/15 released on Tuesday…. – Continue reading
In recent years, the popularity of the Canada Revenue Agency’s voluntary disclosures program – which enables taxpayers to correct any mistakes or omissions in their previous tax filings – has ballooned. When taxpayers come forward, their tax problems get solved, the CRA reduces the accrued interest and, most important, waives… – Continue reading
LAUSANNE — Julius Baer Group should have cash to purchase rivals even as it prepares to settle a four-year probe into tax evasion by the US justice department. Switzerland’s third-largest wealth manager said last month it set aside $350m to fund a financial agreement over the bank’s role in helping… – Continue reading
Categorizing it as a “large scale, continuing, complex commercial crime,” a judge has sentenced two Calgary businessmen to prison for five years for defrauding the federal government of millions in taxes that should have been paid on registered retirement savings plans. Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Peter McIntyre said Steven… – Continue reading
Irish people investing in other countries often lose up to a fifth of dividends Irish tax refund specialists Taxback. com have introduced an online service to help people recover tax withheld on share dividends in other countries. *Irish people investing abroad often lose up to a fifth of their dividends… – Continue reading
The abiding complaint of those who believe offshore buyers are driving the rise in real estate prices in Metro Vancouver is the lack of data to prove it. How can you identify a problem if you can’t quantify it? The corollary to that complaint is the provincial government’s apparent inability,… – Continue reading
New Zealand China Council chairman Sir Don McKinnon says we need to have a national debate on housing that avoids sending mixed messages to valued overseas partners. New Zealand is far from alone in having a red hot property market. Headlines in Australia, Britain and Canada paint a strikingly similar… – Continue reading
Banque Syz SA of Geneva is buying Royal Bank of Canada’s Swiss private bank as foreign financial firms retreat from Switzerland amid higher regulatory costs. The business, based in Geneva, had 10 billion Swiss francs ($10.5 billion) of client assets under management at the end of October, Royal Bank said… – Continue reading
The short answer to the question of the connection between Canada’s new anti-terrorism laws and taxes is that recent amendments to the Income Tax and Excise Tax Acts which arise through the Anti-Terrorism Act permit more extensive disclosure and sharing of private and confidential taxpayer information. The longer answer is… – Continue reading
