Uzbekistan’s President Islam Karimov has signed a protocol to make amendments to Uzbek-Belgian convention on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of tax evasion on income and capital. Uzbek president’s decree “On approving the international agreement” published in the local media July 13, approves the amendments to the convention of… – Continue reading
OTTAWA – The federal revenue agency has written off at least $4 billion in debts in the last two years — including accounts worth more than $10 million, newly released records show. Debts were declared uncollectible because those owing had died, gone bankrupt, could not be located or lived outside… – Continue reading
Senior judges and magistrates from 13 out of 17 Eastern and Southern African Anti-Money Laundering Group Member States will gather in Swakopmund next week for a judicial retreat. The main purpose of the meeting will be to deliberate on issues related the effective and timely adjudication of civil and criminal… – Continue reading
On 10 July 2015, Liechtenstein and Switzerland signed a new Income and Capital Tax Treaty. Once in force and effective, the new treaty will replace the old one of 1995. The new treaty will come into force after the two countries exchange ratification instruments. The provisions of the new treaty… – Continue reading
The Inland Revenue Department (IRD) has announced a further extension to the deadline for Maltese financial institutions (FIs) to comply with the reporting requirements under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The deadline for FIs to submit FATCA data to the IRD has been moved forward to July… – Continue reading
Experts have warned of the impact of UK Chancellor George Osborne’s decision to abolish permanent non-dom status and tighten non-dom inheritance tax (IHT) rules. The Government will abolish permanent non-dom tax status, meaning that anyone resident in the UK for more than 15 of the past 20 years will have… – Continue reading
BENGALURU: AGacquisitions Group, one of India’s first few hedge funds, has launched an offshore fund in the Bahamas with an exposure of $40 million raised from family offices and high-net-worth individuals (HNIs) in India and overseas. Kanishk Agarwal, 32, and his brother Harsh Agarwal, 26, founders of AGacquisitions, have now… – Continue reading
The continuing speculation over Greece’s possible exit from the Eurozone and the weakening effect this might have on the shared currency in the short-term, may once again be prompting some folks to consider setting up non-resident bank accounts in non-eurozone countries. Offshore banking has a bit of a dodgy image… – Continue reading
One of the most immediate and obvious consequences of globalisation is the impact of domestic tax policies in other countries on the economy of Tanzania. This has necessitated the continuous evaluation of the tax regime in Tanzania and brought about crucial fiscal and economic reforms in the country. Hence, the… – Continue reading
Australian authorities urged to undertake prosecution of those linked to property purchases KUALA LUMPUR: Three activist groups have lodged reports with Australian authorities to investigate overpriced property purchases in Melbourne by a Mara subsidiary for possible prosecution on grounds of tax evasion and money laundering. The three groups are National… – Continue reading
Multinationals were probably waiting for result of British referendum on EU before deciding where to locate, says head of Irish investment authority Global corporations will think twice about investing in the UK while uncertainty reigns over Britain’s European Union membership, according to the head of the Irish state body that… – Continue reading
Switzerland and the EU have signed a major accord to automatically exchange information on the financial accounts of each other’s residents. EU taxpayers will no longer be able to hide undeclared funds in Swiss banks. After coming up to increased international pressure in recent years, Switzerland has signed up to… – Continue reading
Initiative aims to deepen dialogue with developing countries and develop diagnostic tools for member countries to evaluate and strengthen tax policies The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) launched a new initiative Friday, to help developing countries strengthen their taxation systems. The move comes on the back of… – Continue reading
Tax avoidance tactics of multinational companies have angered Australians, but an Australian mining firm used such methods in Malawi. Tax avoidance tactics of multinational companies have angered the public and placed pressure on the Abbott government to prevent profits being exported offshore. But an Australian uranium miner is defending the… – Continue reading
The Abbott government has been accused of trying to water down language on tax evasion in a crucial document ahead of the UN’s Finance for Development meeting in Ethiopia next week. The Third International Conference on Financing for Development will be held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from Monday next week…. – Continue reading
Although this summer’s football transfer window has been one of the busiest ever, question marks have been raised once again over Turkey’s flawed tax system, under which multimillionaire football stars contribute a lower percentage of their salary to the state budget than public sector workers. The transfer window in Turkey… – Continue reading
(CS) Fitch Ratings has kept its AAA rating of Luxembourg with a stable outlook unchanged, leaving the Grand Duchy one of only nine countries worldwide to hold the top rating by the three leading agencies. Luxembourg has also been rated AAA with a stable outlook by Standard & Poor’s and… – Continue reading
Wealthy City investors are suing finance firm Ingenious along with banks Coutts and HSBC over the billion-pound film production schemes that Revenue & Customs has labelled tax avoidance vehicles. More than 100 investors, including Ken Costa, former chairman of investment bank Lazard, and Christian Hess of investment bank Investec, have… – Continue reading
Two more Swiss banks have agreed deals with the US Justice Department over tax evasion by Americans, reports BBC News. Banque Pasche will pay US$7.22m (£4.7m) and Arvest Privatbank US$1.04m in penalties under a deal that means they will not face criminal charges. Fifteen Swiss banks have already cut deals… – Continue reading
Forcing banks to pay more corporation tax on their profits is not a “well targeted” way to punish lenders that did the most damage to the UK economy or got the biggest bail-outs during the financial crisis, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), reports The Telegraph. The IFS… – Continue reading
As many of our readers know, the Canadian Income Tax Act (the “Act”) provides for an unlimited exemption from the imposition of Canadian income tax on the gains resulting from a disposition of a “principal residence”. Access to the principal residence exemption can be valuable, especially in cities (e.g. Vancouver,… – Continue reading
Jakarta, GIVnews.com – The Indonesian government is mulling over a tax amnesty plan that is projected to add billions of dollars to the state’s tax revenue. This huge amount of money, if realized, could help boost development and government spending in a country which have recently undergone its slowest economic… – Continue reading
Given the way its corporation tax rate is going, Britain may soon be seen as the world’s the biggest offshore corporate tax haven. We might even have to rename Henley-on-Thames Zug-on-Thames after the Swiss City (and canton) that hedge funds, mining companies and other entities none to keen on paying… – Continue reading
Finance Ministry has informed that the negotiations on the double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) between India and Mauritius are in advanced stage and the pact would be revised soon. Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das has said that “DTAA treaty (with Mauritius) is in very advanced stage of negotiation. It is progressing… – Continue reading
Prices for smartphone applications sold in South Korea through Google and Apple platforms rose 10 percent starting this month, industry sources said Friday, as the government started imposing taxes on overseas-based open markets. According to the sources, U.S. tech giants Google Inc. and Apple Inc. rolled out new price policies… – Continue reading
Poor countries need to get better at raising tax, and multinational firms need to get better at paying it SOMALIA is not only one of the world’s poorest and least developed countries, it is also one of the most dangerous for tax collectors. By one reckoning a fifth of tax… – Continue reading
The Indo-US deal on the Act will help both fight coountries tax evasion. Here’s a primer on how you could be affected The United States and India struck a bilateral deal on Thursday that would enable them to track the assets of nationals from both countries. As per the terms… – Continue reading
Banks and other financial institutions in the Federation are bracing for the imminent implementation of the US’ FATCA regulations. With the US Inland Revenue Service (IRS) Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act will come a drastic change to how local banks do business with US citizens and companies. Under FATCA, financial… – Continue reading
HSBC Global Asset Management head of internationals Mark Newsam explains why he identifies Asia as potentially the strongest future growth opportunity for the group’s offshore business. How big is HSBC Global Asset Management within the inter-national space? HSBC Global Asset Management is the investment management business of the HSBC Group,… – Continue reading
CHICAGO (AP) — A U.S. appeals court on Friday agreed with a sentence of probation for the billionaire creator of Beanie Babies stuffed toys, rejecting arguments by federal prosecutors that he deserved prison time for hiding millions of dollars in a Swiss bank account. H. Ty Warner was accused of… – Continue reading
Banque Pasche SA Will Pay $7.229 Million Penalty and ARVEST Privatbank AG Will Pay $1.044 Million Penalty; Both Continue to Cooperate With Department of Justice Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—July 9, 2015. The Department of Justice announced today that two banks, Banque Pasche SA and ARVEST Privatbank AG, have reached resolutions under the… – Continue reading
10/07/2015 – The OECD set out a clear path for Lithuania’s accession to the Organisation, reinforcing the OECD’s commitment to further extend its global membership. On 8 July 2015 the 34 OECD Members adopted the Roadmap for the Accession of Lithuania to the OECD Convention setting out the terms, conditions… – Continue reading
NAIROBI (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Negotiators locked horns until 2 a.m. some nights in New York this past month, trying to agree on a way to finance the United Nation’s bold new global development agenda — without success. The disputed 31-page document is headed to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa,… – Continue reading
The National Board of Revenue (NBR) introduced the ‘Transfer Pricing Scheme’ hurriedly in the financial year 2011-2012. It, however, did not make any provision for infrastructure development to promote the scheme among concerned members of the public. Even it did not make any publicity for assessees, multinational and local companies… – Continue reading
U.S. Department of Justice prosecutors are investigating former Deutsche Bank AG traders in connection with their participation in the interest rate-rigging scandal and could bring charges this year, Bloomberg reported, citing two people with knowledge of the situation. At least five former traders are under investigation for their role in… – Continue reading
DAKAR – Africa is usually perceived as a net beneficiary of the global financial system, with aid and investment flowing to the continent from richer parts of the world. This is simply not true. Illicit capital flight is draining Africa dry – costing the continent about one trillion dollars over… – Continue reading
On July 8, 2015, the International Tax Reform Working Group, which is co-chaired by Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY), released its long-awaited report that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT) has said is the precursor to comprehensive tax reform in the United States. What does the… – Continue reading
Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—July 9, 2015. The Department of Justice announced today that two banks, Banque Pasche SA and ARVEST Privatbank AG, have reached resolutions under the department’s Swiss Bank Program. “Banque Pasche and ARVEST have provided detailed information regarding the ways in which Swiss banks helped U.S. taxpayers conceal foreign accounts… – Continue reading
Georgia and the United States (US) are deepening their bilateral relationship to improve international tax compliance and ensure all citizens pay their appropriate taxes when living abroad. Today Georgia signed an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with the US on tax compliance and mutual understanding, which encompasses implementation of the Foreign Account… – Continue reading
10/07/2015 – The OECD set out a clear path for Lithuania’s accession to the Organisation, reinforcing the OECD’s commitment to further extend its global membership. On 8 July 2015 the 34 OECD Members adopted the Roadmap for the Accession of Lithuania to the OECD Convention setting out the terms, conditions… – Continue reading
The government’s grip over information is tightening not only in respect of transactions undertaken within the country but also overseas In a liberal economic and low tax rate environment, people are expected to go straight. Tax fraud and tax evasion deprive governments of revenues needed to restore growth and at… – Continue reading
The government’s grip over information is tightening not only in respect of transactions undertaken within the country but also overseas In a liberal economic and low tax rate environment, people are expected to go straight. Tax fraud and tax evasion deprive governments of revenues needed to restore growth and at… – Continue reading
(RTTNews.com) – Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (FCAU) on Thursday confirmed that the proposed separation of Ferrari from itself, does not and will not entail a change in the tax residence of Ferrari. The announcement by Fiat is in response to comments and opinions that are now circulating regarding the shift… – Continue reading
Kenneth Landgaard had what he thought was a foolproof plan for moving illicit cash out of the U.S. to safe havens in Belize and Panama, prosecutors said: pack it in Louis Vuitton duffel bags. The idea was meant to reassure the crew that the deal wasn’t a set-up, according to… – Continue reading
Swiss Poised To Support Greek Tax Amnesty by Matthew Allen, swissinfo.ch Struggling to pay off more than €300 billion (CHF313 billion) in debts, Greece is banking on Switzerland to help it recover a treasure trove of undeclared assets that tax cheats have stashed in alpine vaults. But anti-tax haven campaigners… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: Mauritius, which serves as the gateway to Dalal Street for most foreigners, will be back in news soon. India and the tax haven are believed to be close to finalising a revised tax treaty that would lower tax on interest income of overseas investors betting on Indian debt papers…. – Continue reading
On 4 June, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) published a discussion draft on “hard-to-value-intangibles” in terms of which the OECD proposes revising its Transfer Pricing Guidelines. In particular, it is proposed that tax authorities will be allowed to use ex post “evidence”, (i.e. hindsight), to assess the… – Continue reading
The International Tax Authority (ITA) of the British Virgin Islands has released templates for Individual and Entity Self-Certification Forms under US and UK FATCA. Copies can be found on the BVI Government’s website. The templates have been issued to assist BVI Reporting Financial Institutions (FFIs) – they can be used… – Continue reading
The implementation of tax information reporting agreements is costing the financial services sector a pretty penny. Financial Services Councillor Roy McTaggart told Cayman 27 the industry has spent time and money making sure their systems are compatible with government’s recently established reporting portal, which ultimately transmits the information to the… – Continue reading
The Luxury Car Tax (LCT) is “absolutely an unfair tax”, says Audi general manager of corporate communications Anna Burgdorf. The LCT, which was implemented in Australia on July 1, 2000, was designed to protect the local car industry and slug buyers of ‘luxury cars’ with a 25.0 per cent tax… – Continue reading
