The first reporting cycle for the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) kicked off with the 31 March deadline set by the US Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) for countries and territories such as Hong Kong that have a Model 2 Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA). Although the IRS has granted… – Continue reading
(Seychelles News Agency) – Onshore banking activities, including the possibility of introducing Sharia-compliant banking are being considered for the Seychelles-registered Bank of Muscat International Offshore (BMIO). The Al Salam Bank of Bahrain, which now owns 50 percent shares in the Seychelles-registered Bank is engaging with the Seychelles authorities on the… – Continue reading
The nonprofit Korean American National Coordinating Council has provided support to U.S. citizens for travel to Pyongyang. NEW YORK, Aug. 13 (UPI) — A Korean American organization that previously has helped Americans travel to North Korea is under investigation for tax evasion and political activities that violate U.S. tax laws…. – Continue reading
Seeking to allay fears, the government said full confidentiality will be maintained with regard to disclosures of unaccounted overseas wealth made under the black money compliance window and only those who do not take advantage of the scheme need to worry, reports PTI according to the Free Press Journal. Asking… – Continue reading
The rise of Islamic finance and sukuk issuances have brought with it a growing phenomenon: Shariah banking is increasingly taking advantage of offshore banking jurisdictions, and this for a number of reasons, reports the Gulf Times. Many offshore centres around the world meanwhile offer a wide range of features allowing… – Continue reading
A CAMPAIGN questioning the “fairness” of land ownership launched across Scotland yesterday. Our Land is a month-long initiative created by Common Weal, Women for Independence and land reform campaigners Andy Wightman and Lesley Riddoch and aims to highlight problems caused by a land ownership system that “allows a handful of… – Continue reading
A good test of a fair and just law is that the people who have to comply consider the rules fair and just. Now and then a law sparks controversy and one such law is the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Five years after the law hit the… – Continue reading
The Danish government is hopeful ratification of the convention for avoidance of Double Taxation agreements (DTA) with Ghana — and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital gains between the two countries — will help to double Denmark’s investment in the country. This brings… – Continue reading
The IRS today released two revenue procedures that that provide guidance regarding the advance pricing agreement (APA) program, and that offer guidance on the process for taxpayers to request and obtain the assistance of the U.S. Competent Authority under the U.S. network of income tax treaties. Rev. Proc. 2015-41 [PDF… – Continue reading
A “legislative requirement” for large businesses to publish their tax strategy could create commercial confidentiality risks IN an age where large corporates continue to engage in tax avoidance or aggressive tax planning, compelling businesses to disclose their tax strategies is, at heart, a good idea. There is a risk, however,… – Continue reading
The Australia government on 6 August 2015 released two exposure drafts in relation to its multinational tax integrity measures. In the 2015 budget, the government announced a package of measures to address multinational tax avoidance. As part of these measures, the two exposure drafts would: (1) introduce the new OECD… – 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
In doing business, companies will incur operating costs that vary according to the nature of the undertaking. For manufacturers, the key operating costs, apart from raw materials and overheads, might include such expenses as manufacturing know-how and technical assistance. For distributors, the key operating costs will normally include inventory, marketing… – Continue reading
Accommodation company Airbnb has held a meeting in Dublin, for people in Ireland who may owe tax on income earned by renting rooms and properties through the website. However, Airbnb hosts said there was no tax or legal expert to answer their questions and the meeting did not provide clarity… – Continue reading
QROPS specialists are offering free transfers to Gibraltar QROPS for August only for teachers who want to retire abroad and avoid all UK taxes and future UK taxes on their existing teacher’s pension scheme. This is the final chance for teachers living abroad to transfer their UK pensions outside the… – Continue reading
Switzerland and Belize signed a tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) on August 10, 2015. The agreement is Switzerland’s ninth TIEA. It provides for the exchange of information upon request. It covers Swiss federal, cantonal, and communal taxes on income and capital, and the cantonal and communal inheritance and gift taxes…. – Continue reading
The latest estimate of the tax potentially underpaid by the UK’s biggest businesses suggests that “the era of billion-pound tax settlements might be over” with HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) increasingly focusing on mid-tier firms, an expert has said. Heather Self of Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, was… – Continue reading
China devalued its currency on Tuesday after a run of poor economic data, a move it billed as a free-market reform but that some suspect could be the beginning of a longer slide in the exchange rate. The central bank set its official guidance rate down nearly 2 percent prior… – Continue reading
LONDON (Reuters) – Greek shares rose on Tuesday after the indebted euro zone country clinched a multi-billion euro bailout agreement with its international lenders. The latest bailout deal for Greece also resulted in the country’s sovereign borrowing costs falling back. Athens’ benchmark ATG equity index rose 1.2 percent, while the… – Continue reading
FATCA refers to provisions contained in the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (the ‘HIRE’ Act) signed into law on 18 March 2010 in the United States. The main purpose of FATCA is to identify and gather information on US persons who may be evading tax through the use of… – Continue reading
Only 23 percent of business leaders feel that recommendations from the OECD on base erosion and profit shifting will be successfully implemented, according to the findings of a new survey by Grant Thornton. Three quarters of business leaders would pay more taxes in exchange for greater clarity from authorities on… – Continue reading
In his summer budget the first exclusively Conservative one in 19 years British Chancellor George Osborne outlined several key changes for non-domiciled individuals or non-doms, reports MENAFN. These major modifications coming into effect in April 2017 arguably represent the biggest shake-up to the non-dom status since it was first introduced… – Continue reading
Many tax practitioners will meet holders of foreign accounts who have either deliberately or unintentionally failed to accurately report their foreign accounts and will need to advise them on the best way to make the disclosure to the Internal Revenue Service. Due to the fact that many U.S. taxpayers have… – Continue reading
After a landmark win for HMRC against Abbey National Treasury Services (ANTS) and Cater Allen International in June, the Revenue has yet more cause to celebrate After a first-tier tribunal decision in June secured £16m in unpaid tax from ANTS, HMRC successfully protected a further £45m late last week. The… – Continue reading
Controlled foreign companies (CFCs) that are engaged in offshore short-term insurance will be allowed to deduct reserves related to their “short-term insurance business” conducted outside South Africa, once an amendment to the Insurance Act, 2016 is promulgated. For a CFC to be eligible for this deduction (which is similar to… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WDAM) –This is a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Two tax return preparers with offices located in California, Maryland and New York were sentenced today in Los Angeles for facilitating an offshore tax fraud scheme, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the… – Continue reading
The UK government recently announced plans to introduce a legislative requirement that large businesses must publish their tax strategy as part of a consultation on large business tax compliance in which transparency is a key element, reports Economia. Jane McCormick, senior tax partner at KPMG in the UK commented, “With… – Continue reading
The Senate’s No. 2 Democrat is calling on an American fertilizer company to keep its official address in the U.S. CF Industries, now based in Deerfield, Ill., announced last week that it would buy a range of facilities from a Dutch competitor, OCI, in an $8 billion deal. As part… – Continue reading
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has further updated its guidance material on the Australia-US FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA). This is especially important in relation to self-certification requirements. The ATO has followed the US interpretation that a FATCA self-certification must be obtained before a new individual account is opened. The OECD… – Continue reading
The EU Commission has confirmed its continued endorsement of Guernsey as a cooperative jurisdiction following a meeting between officials in Brussels, reports Guernsey Finance. This news was welcomed in Guernsey, which has a strong record in meeting international standards as a cooperative and highly transparent jurisdiction – including as an… – Continue reading
The Barbados Government has taken key steps to meet the requirements of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act Intergovernmental Agreement (FATCA IGA) with the United States, Minister of Finance Christopher Sinckler said during a public consultation. Sinckler said: “With respect to legislative requirements, I am pleased to inform you that… – Continue reading
Surprising as it may seem, most of the advantages of the Cypriot Tax Regime were, up until recently, mostly directed to non- Cypriot Tax residents. This effectively meant that in order to enjoy the full benefits of the Regime one had to be a non-resident. The idea behind this was… – Continue reading
Following successful conferences in the Isle of Man in 2014 and in Gibraltar in March 2015, leading offshore law firm DQ Advocates and global law firm Latham & Watkins will be hosting their latest Global Tax Investigations Conference in the Isle of Man on 11 September 2015. The conference is… – Continue reading
[BEIJING] China’s top economic planning agency approved two policy lenders – China Development Bank Corp (CDB) and Agricultural Development Bank of China – to issue renminbi-denominated bonds offshore, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said on Tuesday. CDB, the country’s biggest policy lender and responsible for funding large infrastructure… – Continue reading
Nerijus Numavičius, large owner of Maxima Group and one of the richest businessmen in the Baltics, is being accused of tax evasion by his business partner, writes Äripäev. According to small shareholder Mindaugas Marcinkevičius, various tax schemes employed by Maxima amount to over 200 million euros in tax evasion, of… – Continue reading
NAIROBI: The civil society in Kenya wants Parliament to join them in the push to end tax evasion through enactment of laws that enhance compliance from international trade. This, they argue, will boost revenue collection by the State. They say tougher laws will criminalise tax avoidance and spell harsher penalties… – Continue reading
A new income tax treaty between the Bulgaria and the United Kingdom was signed in March 2015. The treaty, once it is ratified and enters into force, will replace the existing income tax treaty (1987). The new income tax treaty includes measures that differ from the provisions under the current… – Continue reading
On 6 August 2015, Portugal and the United States signed a Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Agreement. FATCA seeks to obtain information on accounts held by U.S. taxpayers in other countries. It requires U.S. financial institutions to withhold a portion of certain payments made to Foreign Financial Institutions (FFIs)… – Continue reading
Hundreds of millions of tax dollars are flooding into exchequers across the world, as governments offer evaders a last chance to own up to undeclared accounts, reports the Financial Times. Taxpayers with funds stashed offshore are coming forward voluntarily in their tens of thousands ahead of new transparency rules that… – Continue reading
Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority v 1. MH Investments, 2. JA Investments – CICA No. 31 of 2013; G391/2012 The Court of Appeal in rejecting the appeal of the Tax Information Authority against the decision of Mr Justice Quinn in MH Investments Ltd and JA Investments Ltd1 has confirmed in… – 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
High net worth individuals seen using illiquid stocks in options segment to evade taxes, manipulate markets; order likely soon The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is likely to act against several wealthy investors, for alleged manipulation of the stock exchange route for evading taxes. Sources said the market… – Continue reading
While CIBC FirstCaribbean and Heritage Bank are working to formalize the sale of assets, another offshore institution operating from Belize is yet to secure a correspondent bank. As we’ve reported previously, Bank of America has severed ties with Atlantic International Bank Limited as part of an ongoing de-risking exercise. The… – Continue reading
LOS ANGELES (CN) – Two tax preparers convicted of running an offshore tax-fraud scheme were given federal prison sentences on Monday, the Justice Department said. David Kalai and his son Nadav, both principals of United Revenue Service, were convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service… – Continue reading
Ukraine’s President, Petro Poroshenko, has ratified three acts containing changes to tax law in the areas of transfer pricing, the obligations of taxpayers, and tax rules for non-profit organizations. The first, “On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine Concerning Transfer Pricing,” increases the thresholds for companies’ transactions that will… – Continue reading
A thorough investigation into retail giant Lotte Group is picking up a head of steam. Korea’s Fair Trade Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service have separately requested Lotte Group provide them with related information. They are looking into Lotte’s complicated governing structure and possible tax evasion, in light of the… – Continue reading
City-state has long excelled at attracting international headquarters but now it aims to do even better by combining programmes in a more holistic approach. Singapore first established its Operational Headquarters (OHQ) programme in late 1992 to encourage multinational companies to use the city-state as a base for their incursions into… – Continue reading
The Government of the British Virgin Islands is pleased to announce that The British Virgin Islands (BVI) has been rated “Largely Compliant” for its approach to tax transparency and exchange of information, in the Supplementary Peer Review report published by The Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for… – Continue reading
NASSAU, Bahamas — This past week, a bill to enact The Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was passed in the Senate to ensure that The Bahamas continues to remain aligned with the most recent international financial standards. In an earlier debate within the House of Assembly Minister of Financial… – Continue reading
On August 10, 2015 the Dutch Government published the text of a Protocol amending the 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 with respect to taxes on… – Continue reading
