The Brazilian Federal Revenue – RFB and the General Attorney of the National Treasury – PGFN changed the understanding that they shared in regard to the applying of Withholding Income Tax (IRRF) over foreign remittances of remuneration of technical services supplied by non-residents in Brazil. Before that, the RFB1 and… – Continue reading
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) said it is already committed to publishing an anti-money laundering action plan after another worrying report emerged; this time listing the territory among the top 10 countries to which identified United Kingdom criminal assets have been laundered. The BVI is actually the only Caribbean country… – Continue reading
The Turnbull government has welcomed the support of the Labor party for the new laws that will add more teeth to the government’s crackdown on multinational tax dodgers. The government also offered to consider the suggestions of the opposition in improving the scope of the legislation. Labor formally announced its… – Continue reading
THE CABINET has approved the Finance Ministry’s proposal for more tax incentives to facilitate the creation of International Headquarters and International Trading Centres in Thailand. IHQs and ITCs in the Kingdom currently enjoy both tax and non-tax benefits, including complete income-tax exemption for out-out transactions, while in-out transactions will be… – Continue reading
Panamanian officials question declared payments for Enrique Iglesias, Julio Iglesias, Alejandro Sanz and other artists Enrique Iglesias, Alejandro Sanz and Julio Iglesias are among the artists named in an investigation by Panamanian tax authorities into possible tax evasion, concerning money they received for concerts in that country. According to an… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Foreign portfolio investors have sought stability in taxation policies as the government looks to lure them to set up fund management business in the country. They have made a number of suggestions, Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das said after a meeting of the finance ministry with representatives of… – Continue reading
Uber didn’t pay corporation tax on last year’s profits despite making a HUGE £11.3 million in revenue. The latest accounts for the taxi app firm show that it is the latest large company to legally exploit UK loopholes to avoid paying tax. Uber’s UK arm raked in profits of £866,302… – Continue reading
TAX TASKFORCES have brought in £109m over the past six months, HM Revenue & Customs has revealed. The figure includes £64.9m recovered in the first three months of this year, more than double the figure for the same period in 2014. Taskforces, designed to deter tax avoidance and evasion, usually… – Continue reading
Gibraltar has for many years extending long before December 2011 sought to be accepted within Moneyval. The Govt today announce that confirmation has now been received that henceforth Gibraltar will be subject to MONEYVAL’s mutual evaluation processes and procedures. Moneyval was established in September 1997 by the Committee of Ministers… – Continue reading
SOUTH African companies with operations elsewhere in Africa, such as telecommunications giant MTN, have reason to breathe a little easier having earned a tax respite, albeit considered minor by tax experts. The Treasury has made a concession on the proposed repeal of foreign tax credits for fees on services provided… – Continue reading
President Andrzej Duda signed last Friday a bill whose aim is to implement FATCA legislation – said the office of President. The law is designed to prevent US taxpayers hiding income abroad. The Act creates a legal basis that will allow implementation of the provisions under the international agreement ws…. – Continue reading
When a multinational company makes a cross-border investment, the relevant tax treaty between the two countries will generally sort out which country gets to tax which part of the ensuing activity and income streams. (Read more about tax treaties here.) A key question is this: how do the ensuing taxing… – Continue reading
South Korea is seeking ways to levy a corporate tax on profits of global technology companies and other multinationals as early as next year in response to growing criticism of their tax avoidance structures. The diverted profits tax is more widely called the “Google tax,” as U.S. tech giants such… – Continue reading
The BEPS Project involves input from the 34 member countries of the OECD, all G20 members, and more than 40 developing countries. The objective of the BEPS Project is to close gaps in international tax rules, effectively eliminating or substantially reducing BEPS; and to secure government revenues by ensuring that… – Continue reading
Executive summary A new bilateral Tax Arrangement between the Netherlands and Curaçao (TANC), which essentially functions as a tax treaty,1 was ratified by the Dutch Parliament and formally published on 9 October 2015. The TANC will apply to income received on or after 1 January 2016. This long-awaited TANC will… – Continue reading
The local implications for the Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) are far reaching. So said First Caribbean International Bank (FCIB) representative Norlan Gabriel, who was a panel member on NBC Radio’s “Views on Issues” programme last Sunday. The latest edition of the radio programme was aimed at disseminating information… – Continue reading
When U.S. authorities want to ferret out abusive tax shelters, they send an army of forensic accountants, auditors and lawyers to burrow into suspicious tax returns. Analyzing mountains of filings and tracing money flows through far-flung subsidiaries are notoriously difficult; even if the Internal Revenue Service manages to unravel a… – Continue reading
Facebook was last night accused of insulting British taxpayers as it emerged staff in London have been lined up for a £250million shares jackpot. The huge windfall will be paid out over the next three years if the US social media firm, which paid just £4,000 in corporation tax last… – Continue reading
[HONG KONG] China’s central bank has hired banks to arrange its debut offshore yuan bond issuance in London, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters on Monday. The so-called dim sum bond sale comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares for a state visit to Britain this week. Sources… – Continue reading
Business Reporter Tax administrators from all over Africa are set to meet from October 20 to 22 2015 in Lomé, Togo under the auspices of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF),the premier tax organisation on the continent,which holds its 2nd International Conference on Tax in Africa (2ICTA). The gathering of… – Continue reading
On 17 September, 2015, China State Administration of Taxation (SAT) released the Discussion Draft for the Implementation Measures for Special Tax Adjustments (“Discussion Draft”), as a complete revamp to the existing trial version of the Implementation Measures, i.e., Circular 2. Circular 2 has been serving as a backbone transfer pricing… – Continue reading
Shadow Assistant Treasurer Andrew Leigh will tell parliament on Monday that his party plans to support the coalition’s multinational tax avoidance crackdown. The federal government has welcomed support from the opposition for its planned crackdown on multinational tax dodgers. Extending the olive branch, the federal government is also prepared to… – Continue reading
The Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, a joint initiative between G20 countries and the OECD, works towards the development of a coherent global taxation system which addresses BEPS concerns. The main purpose of such initiative is to address the gaps in the current international tax rules relating to… – Continue reading
Legislative Activity House Lawmakers Schedule Markup of Transportation Bill Without Revenue Provisions Last week, on Friday, October 16, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released a six-year, $325 billion highway funding bill (the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015); a markup of the legislation is scheduled for Thursday,… – Continue reading
Introduction On 5 October 2015, the OECD delivered the final package (“Final Package”) of its comprehensive Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS“). This marks a culmination of a process that started in September 2013, when the Group of 20 (“G20”) Leaders first endorsed the Action Plan on… – Continue reading
The Irish Government has published an update on its International Tax Strategy, in which Finance Minister Michael Noonan stresses that the country is “well positioned for the post-base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) world.” According to Noonan, “This is not something that has happened by accident. Difficult but necessary changes… – Continue reading
Kolkata Bench of Tribunal in the case of Outotec GmbH v. DDIT : ITA No. 431 & 432 of 2014 & 283 of 2015 (Kol) dealt with the issue as to whether the sale of equipment, designs and drawings would be taxable under the provisions of the India-Germany DTAA and… – Continue reading
A former Valparaiso businessman who federal prosecutors say lived in Canada for seven years to avoid an obstruction and perjury trial has been sentenced to not quite two years in prison, after finally admitting that he lied under oath to protect an offshore account worth millions of dollars from creditors…. – Continue reading
JAKARTA, Oct 19: As ‘tax-havens’ are now routing some 60 per cent of international trade, multinational corporations (MNCs) have become more aggressive in evading taxes. As the volume of global trade was estimated at $23.5 trillion in 2013, of which $18.5 trillion was trade in goods and the rest was… – Continue reading
The Chartered Institute of Taxation has criticized the UK Government for proceeding with plans for a strict liability criminal offense for failing to declare offshore taxable income or gains. Under the proposals, magistrates would be given the power to impose an unlimited financial penalty and a custodial sentence of up… – Continue reading
Australia’s new Serious Financial Crime Taskforce (SFCT) is to launch investigations into serious international tax evasion and “phoenix activity” over the next two years. The SFCT has been operational since July 1 and, as of October 14, there are eight matters under investigation. More than 580 tax audits have been… – Continue reading
KEY POINTS What is the issue? Guernsey will be required to gather data for the calendar year 2016 for reporting under the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) in 2017. What does it mean for me? Practitioners should be aware that due diligence and reporting procedures are set to be amended and… – Continue reading
The number of banks with deferred prosecution agreements with the U.S. government keeps growing. The subject is tax evasion involving American account holders. Today, under FATCA, banks everywhere want to know if you are compliant with the IRS. And the IRS keeps updating its list of foreign banks where offshore… – Continue reading
Just one day after the October 15 deadline for filing personal income tax returns on extension, the Internal Revenue Service issued a strongly-worded warning to non-compliant taxpayers: take action now to fix your problem, or face serious consequences. At the same time, the IRS revealed, for the first time, that… – Continue reading
With more than 54,000 US taxpayers participating in the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) since 2009, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it has collected more than USD8bn from this initiative to date. The IRS added that more than 30,000 taxpayers have also used the streamlined filing compliance procedures… – Continue reading
Offshore asset protection trusts avoid or diminish a number of creditor exposures that apply to such trusts organized in the U.S. High net worth individuals and persons involved in high liability exposure businesses and professions should consider establishing a “nest egg” offshore trust to provide a protected fund that is… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — China Construction Bank Corp. became the first Chinese bank to receive permission to offer commercial- banking services and clear renminbi transactions in Switzerland. The Swiss financial regulator, Finma, granted the bank permission to open a branch in Zurich, a spokesman said by phone Monday. China Construction Bank applied… – Continue reading
EY: Four out of 10 Czech businessmen asked for bribe Four out of 10 Czech entrepreneurs have been explicitly asked for a bribe and up to six out of 10 have encountered the possibility of gaining an advantage in their business in exchange for a bribe, according to a survey… – Continue reading
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta – The Perkumpulan Prakarsa (Center for Welfare Studies) executive director Setyo Budiantoro viewed that the government must revise the banking secrecy provisions in the Law on Banking to reduce illicit outflows from Indonesia. According to Budi, Indonesia applies regulations that require citizens to report their wealth in all… – Continue reading
A little over a week ago the British parliamentarian, Sir Eric Pickles – a cabinet member until May of this year and a former Chairman of the Conservative Party – told the London Guardian that the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, was determined to have the BVI and the Cayman… – Continue reading
The rising wealth of Asia Pacific nations, including Singapore, means more and more people have looked internationally for opportunities to invest in overseas property markets. Recent stock market events have shown the importance of a diversified portfolio capable of riding out the storm when economic conditions put immense pressure on… – Continue reading
Cyprus will as of January 1, 2016 have a new tool in its arsenal to identify monies hidden abroad as the island will begin implementing the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), the Institute of Certified Public Accountants said. The CRS is formally referred to as the Standard for Automatic Exchange of… – Continue reading
UK Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s adviser wants Irish corporate taxes hiked Ireland is viewed as a “pariah state” by the international community due its corporate taxation policies, according to the man behind many of Jeremy Corbyn’s economic ideas. Economist Richard Murphy also said that Ireland should bring its corporate… – Continue reading
The federal government will be seeking the opposition’s support for new laws that crack down on tax-dodging multinationals but Labor looks to be on its own pursuing Malcolm Turnbull over his offshore investments. There are hopes that the four-day sitting of the lower house starting on Monday will also bring… – Continue reading
Concerned about the impact of tax havens, world powers are tightening the noose on multinationals seeking tax advantages. India wants changes to its tax treaty with Mauritius, forcing the island’s new government to re-examine its business model and focus elsewhere. There is debate in the new government, which took office… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Looking to streamline the taxation procedure, CBDT has issued detailed guidelines on transfer pricing cases that are expected to bring about uniformity in determining arm’s length price in similar instances. As per the regulations, each Transfer Pricing Officer (TPO) will be assigned a given number of important and… – Continue reading
HONG KONG: Pakistan and Hong Kong SAR signed a landmark agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income on Friday, a statement said. The agreement once implemented by Pakistan and Hong Kong SAR would encourage investment and business between the… – Continue reading
With more than 54,000 taxpayers coming in to participate in offshore disclosure programs since 2009, the Internal Revenue Service is reminding U.S. taxpayers with undisclosed offshore accounts that they should strongly consider existing paths established to come into full compliance with their federal tax obligations. Both the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure… – Continue reading
ONE in every six homes sold in Westminster and Kensington & Chelsea over the last three years for which data is available was bought by a company in an offshore tax haven, the Eye has established. The market for homes is now so skewed by sales to overseas companies that… – Continue reading
A new Protocol to the income tax treaty between Indonesia and the Netherlands was signed 30 July 2015 and will be effective 31 days after formal approval and ratification by both governments. Among the measures contained in the Protocol are revisions to the withholding tax rates on dividend payments. The… – Continue reading
