Gold Fields and Sasol have clinched the top awards in PwC’s Building Public Trust Awards: Excellence in the field of tax reporting in 2015. Gold Fields was the overall winner in the category for tax reporting for multinational companies, while Sasol was announced the overall winner in the category tax… – Continue reading
Barbados has formally endorsed the AEOI global standard during a signing ceremony held in Barbados on Wednesday. The event was held in conjunction with a meeting of the OECD’s Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes that was also hosted in Barbados. “Transparency and the exchange… – Continue reading
Applying to renounce U.S. citizenship costs $2,350, up from the $450 it cost just last year. The U.S. government made more than $7.5 million from the record number of people who decided to officially renounce their citizenship in the first nine months of 2015. Simply applying to renounce U.S. citizenship… – Continue reading
Australia’s largest bookmaker, Tabcorp, has called for less gambling advertising, which it argues is harmful to the community, and delivered its annual attack on international betting operators for paying minimal tax. Tabcorp’s business, which includes horse racing, sports wagering, Keno and a substantial media unit, remains the market leader in… – Continue reading
FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, is up and running. If you have foreign accounts or foreign assets, it is an important law that has changed banking and privacy in radical ways. And it has done so worldwide, not just for Americans, but for anyone having even remote American… – Continue reading
Russia’s Ministry of Finance has given its reaction to the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) reports. The Director of the Department for Tax and Customs Policy at the Ministry of Finance, Ilya Trunin, said in a televised interview for Russia 24 that, in 2014, Russia adopted several new… – Continue reading
The European Commission (Commission) has adopted a decision on 21 October 2015 on the tax rulings – also referred to as “comfort letters” – granted by Luxembourg to Fiat Finance and Trade (FFT) and by The Netherlands to Starbucks. Rejecting the decisions of domestic authorities in Luxembourg and The Netherlands,… – Continue reading
Switzerland stands on a provisional Russian tax havens list: The document lists 119 countries and territories which do not ensure the exchange of tax information with Russia Russian authorities consider. If the document actually come into force as planned in the form of a regulation, threaten Russian investors in Switzerland… – Continue reading
Case involving Dr Brian Mulrean and firm Keveney Monahan settled confidentially An accountant who sued a Dublin dentist for just under €50,000 in professional fees told a judge he had to navigate his way through 41 offshore and local bank accounts. Barrister Jeananne McGovern said in the Circuit Civil Court… – Continue reading
Bern, 10.29.2015 – The double taxation agreement (DTA) in the area of taxes on income and on capital between Switzerland and Argentina is on 27 November 2015 to enter into force after the ratification procedures in Switzerland has been completed. It will replace the agreement of 1997 and corresponds to… – Continue reading
The aim is that the neighboring country will have greater control over information. Merida, Yucatan. The Tax Compliance Act relating to accounts abroad (FATCA, for its acronym in English) is not a tool to seek to collect more taxes from 65 member countries, said Enrique Hernandez, international tax specialist. “It… – Continue reading
Most double tax avoidance treaties between two countries attempt to repel probable abuse of benefits under the pacts. Incorporating a clause for limitation of benefits (LOB) in the treaty is the usual practice adopted for checking such abuses. LOB provisions are for denying benefits of the tax treaty to those… – Continue reading
(MENAFN – Arab Times) The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) model has spurred the rise of a global automatic exchange of information, informed Hannah Shipley, Director at Ernst & Young, while speaking about FATCA and its implications during a business panel discussion held at the Kuwait Chamber of… – Continue reading
Viet Nam’s milk price is more expensive than that of many regional countries. Statistics from the department showed that Viet Nam has 13,000 foreign direct investment companies of which 4,098 transactions having signs of transfer pricing. — File Photo HA NOI (VNS) — The Ministry of Finance yesterday in Ha… – Continue reading
Hong Kong needs more double tax agreements to grow its exchanged-traded funds (ETFs) market, according to a new report from the Financial Services Development Council. Although there are currently over 100 ETFs listed in Hong Kong, the territory has been overtaken in Asia by Tokyo and Shanghai. The report recommends… – Continue reading
HM Treasury has published a consultation on the tax deductibility of corporate interest expense in the UK. The consultation has been prompted by the recent publication by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) of its final Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) reports, in particular BEPS Action 4,… – Continue reading
KINGSTON, Jamaica – Externally imposed requirements have had unintended and undesired consequences on Jamaica’s financial institutions, says Tasha Manley, Executive in charge of Compliance for Jamaica National Building Society (JNBS). Miss Manley was addressing this year’s annual conference co-hosted by the Jamaica Bankers’ Association (JBA) and the Jamaica Institute of… – Continue reading
The tax authorities continue to abide by the principle of “what is not forbidden is allowed”, using contradictory norms of the Russian Tax Code to their advantage. As a result, there is a surge in tax audits by territorial tax authorities during which they check whether prices charged in transactions… – Continue reading
Final recommendations about how multinational companies should be allowed to shift profits among different tax jurisdictions were issued this month, and the U.S. Congress has not yet indicated whether it will consider legislation in response to the proposals. Issued by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on October… – Continue reading
The yuan in Hong Kong rose the most in more than two weeks on speculation China’s central bank intervened to prop up the currency after its discount to the Shanghai spot price widened. Large Chinese banks sold dollars in the offshore market in early Asian trading hours Thursday, according to… – Continue reading
Budgets are made up of spending and revenue. But budget negotiators in Washington are talking only about what spending to cut, not what revenue to raise — even though there are gaping tax loopholes to close. Closing them would eliminate the need to cut critical services that benefit tens of… – Continue reading
The declining trend in the income tax department’s estimates of alleged income suppression by multinational companies would get buttressed, thanks to the new set of transfer pricing (TP) rules issued earlier this week. Currently, transfer pricing adjustments become necessary when the transaction price with related parties abroad reported by a… – Continue reading
Republican and Democratic lawmakers vowed on Thursday to push for the ratification of eight tax treaties which have been held up for years because of one Republican senator’s objections, despite support from companies that want consistency in rules for how to do international business. U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky… – Continue reading
Barcelona defender Javier Mascherano has reportedly pleaded guilty to a charge of tax evasion after appearing in court on Thursday. AS says that the Argentine was accused of using tax havens to funnel money from image rights and defrauding the Spanish authorities of around €1.5m in 2011 and 2012. Mascherano… – Continue reading
A new report by Allen & Overy has revealed that corporate clients’ tax functions are now more concerned about risk management than tax minimisation. ATO sophistication, combined with heightened media interest, has forced tax directors to focus on compliance instead of dedicating their efforts to achieving the low tax rates… – Continue reading
RIO DE JANEIRO, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) — Brazil’s Secretariat of Federal Revenue is carrying out an official investigation of Eduardo Cunha, head of House of Representatives, for tax evasion and other fiscal crimes, local daily O Globo said on Wednesday. Started in August, the investigation was based on information which… – Continue reading
The Ministry of Finance yesterday announced establishment of Transfer Pricing Inspection Agency under the Inspection Department of the General Taxation Department. This aims to fight against complicating transfer pricing which has resulted in budget revenue’s losses. The agency will act as a counselor for the Taxation General Department to work… – Continue reading
Mexico is experiencing a rough time, economically speaking at the moment, but hopes are high for better times ahead. With new tax laws and a relatively young government, these are interesting times for this country. To find out more about how the recent tax reforms will affect Mexico and the… – Continue reading
The earnings momentum of Taiwanese banks has tapered off this year due to China’s slowing economy and yuan devaluation, CIMB Securities Ltd said on Tuesday. Overseas earnings, which drive 35 percent of local banks’ pretax profits, might not see a hefty increase this year as in previous years, as banks… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The Central Board of Direct Taxes ( CBDT), India’s apex direct taxes body, has said investors will not face any tax on capital gains on offshore rupee bonds. “It has been decided that capital gains, arising in case of appreciation of rupee between the date of Issue and… – Continue reading
(October 28, 2015, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) “I and my family members have no secret accounts in Dubai banks,”said the Rajapaksa ‘Crown Prince’ Namal when the media published reports about a secret account in a Dubai bank of a son of a VVIP. The media reports stated that the Sri… – Continue reading
With the starting line for implementation only two months away, Justin Hayes, product manager at Linedata, the leading international software and technology provider, says fund administrators and investment managers need to get to grips with the OECD’s Common Reporting Standards, dubbed ‘Global FATCA’, before it’s too late. “Financial institutions in… – Continue reading
A record number of Americans are renouncing their U.S. citizenship in 2015, new figures released by the federal government show. Since 1996, the IRS has published a list of citizens renouncing their citizenship every three months. The most recent IRS report, released Monday, reveals that 1,426 Americans ditched their citizenship… – Continue reading
Parliament’s Special Committee on Tax Rulings recommended measures to make corporate taxes in the EU fairer and more transparent, after eight months of fact finding, in a vote Monday evening in Strasbourg, EU News reports. The report – prepared by co-rapporteurs Elisa Ferreira and Michael Theurer – was approved by… – Continue reading
An income tax treaty between Italy and Hong Kong has entered into force, with the exchange of instruments of ratification. The official communication of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announcing this exchange was published in the official journal on 26 October 2015. BLACK LIST, WHITE LIST Italy’s “black list”… – Continue reading
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – Finance Minister Bambang Brodjonegoro said that a total of 4,000 foreign investment (PMA) companies were under scrutiny over tax evasions. “Mostly, [the companies] practiced transfer pricing,” Bambang said at his office on Tuesday, October 27, 2015. Bambang explained that the probe was not about the potential of… – Continue reading
Australia’s corporate tax rate is higher than the global average, according to KPMG’s 2015 global tax rate survey, SmartCompany reports. While Australia’s corporate tax rate currently sits at 30 per cent, the global average sits at 23.68 per cent. The United States has the highest corporate tax rate at 40… – Continue reading
Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf, who played a key role in the bailout of UBS Group and in the U.S. dispute over offshore bank accounts, announced she won’t run for re-election to Switzerland’s government. Speaking at a press conference in Bern on Wednesday, she said she has told her government colleagues that she… – Continue reading
With effect from November 1, mutual fund investors will have to make additional declaration pertaining to foreign account tax compliance act (FATCA) and common reporting standards (CRS) for all new accounts opened, failing which their applications will get rejected. Under FATCA and CRS, Indian financial institutions will be required to… – Continue reading
MPs have proposed that the basic rate of profit tax should be reduced to 15% from the current of 18%, and taxation of distributed profit and payments equaled to it should be introduced, according to a draft bill on tax reform registered in the parliament by 114 lawmakers on Monday…. – Continue reading
Investment managers and fund administrators should act now in order to be prepared for the Organisation for Co-operation and Development (OECD) Common Reporting Standard (CRS) ahead of the start of the first reporting period, according to Justin Hayes, product manager for Linedata. The CRS, sometimes called a global version of… – Continue reading
A record 1,426 US taxpayers gave up their passports or their green cards in the third quarter of 2015, according to Treasury Department statistics published in the Federal Register. The previous record was in the first quarter of this year, which saw a total of 1,335. The second quarter saw… – Continue reading
Under the new agreement, Liechtenstein and EU Member States will automatically exchange information on the financial accounts of each other’s residents from 2017. Pierre Moscovici, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs, said: “Today the EU and Liechtenstein are sending out a clear message: we are partners in… – Continue reading
UK tax authority HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has published guidance on who will be considered a Scottish taxpayer when the Scottish Rate of Income Tax (SRIT) enters into effect in April 2016. From April 1, 2016, the Scottish Parliament will have responsibility for a SRIT. Parliament will be able… – Continue reading
In a BEPS seminar organised by the Federation of Enterprises in Belgium this week, with a special focus on the practical consequences for Belgian enterprises, a representative of the Belgian Ministry of Finance, Steven Van Elsuwe;, provided more details on the new legislative proposals that have been prepared so far,… – Continue reading
Multinationals have generated big-time revenues with its subsidiaries spread all over the world, which means huge profits and that’s taxable income. In recent years, a number of conglomerates – Amazon, Apple, Google and Starbucks – have engaged in so-called profit-shifting (profit allocation) via transfer pricing methods to pay minuscule taxes…. – Continue reading
Sunday 1st November will mark two months until the start of the first reporting period under the OECD’s Common Reporting Standards (‘Global FATCA’). Justin Hayes, product manager at Linedata, comments on why there is now no time to waste for investment managers and fund administrators to prepare for the burdensome… – Continue reading
For many years, policymakers have criticized the strategies that American corporations use to reduce their taxes by shifting income and capital offshore. The impetus behind these strategies is the U.S. corporate income-tax rate — at 35 percent, the highest of any industrialized nation, easily surpassing countries such as the U.K…. – Continue reading
The long-running saga of the Sheriff Gaming / Bubble Group online-casino fraud has moved nearer to its conclusion following the release by a Dutch court of its ruling in a tax-evasion case brought against three of the company’s primary owners in late 2013. The tax-evasion charges were just one part… – Continue reading
The Ambassador of the United States of America, John R. Phillips, today in the Republic for the signing of the intergovernmental FATCA, met this morning at Palazzo Begni, the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Pasquale Valentini. A bilateral especially focused on the issues – all current – which has… – Continue reading
