A ruling at the First-tier Tribunal has allowed different form of tax credit relief on certain types of offshore dividends taxed in the UK. Overpayment claims for 2010/11 and later years should be considered immediately. Shirley v HMRC A UK resident who benefited from an overseas trust has successfully claimed… – Continue reading
The Dubai International Financial Centre spent the first 10 years of its existence looking to banks in the West. It’s planning to spend the next decade looking East, reports the Gulf Times. DIFC, as the tax-free business park is called, became the Middle East’s biggest financial centre by attracting the… – Continue reading
THE focus of a high-level inquiry into corporate tax avoidance will move to some of the globe’s biggest drug companies during hearings today. After revealing details of the tax minimisation strategies at Google, Apple and Microsoft, the Senate’s Standing Committee on Economics will hear from pharmaceutical executives in Sydney. Among… – Continue reading
Offshore accounts can keep you up at night. Starting in 2009 with changes in 2011, 2012, and 2014, the IRS has had big success in bringing people into compliance. Over the last 6 years, over 50,000 people have done it, paying about $7 billion in back taxes, interest and penalties…. – Continue reading
Andrew Tyrie MP, chairman of the Treasury select committee, has proposed a variety of ways for the government to strengthen the Office of Tax Simplification, one of which is that the OTS must be “more independent” and should not be a “creature” of the tax man. The Conservative party manifesto… – Continue reading
WILKES-BARRE — The Wilkes-Barre Area School Board approved a property tax increase of 2.7 percent and authorized the official submission to the state of a plan to build a new, consolidated high school. About a dozen critics of the plan to merge Coughlin and Meyers high schools attended Monday’s board… – Continue reading
A common mistake when analyzing the tax implications of a cross border transaction is to jump too quickly to the ramifications of a tax treaty without first having a clear handle on the tax implications under the Income Tax Act (Canada) (“ITA”). A related issue is that even though a… – Continue reading
The UAE ranked 15th in an index rating countries’ residency-in-return-for-investment programmes As global economic growth slackens, a number of countries are offering citizenship or residency permits in return for investment in their markets. According to the latest Global Residency Programme Index by Henley & Partners, Portugal topped the list with… – Continue reading
We consider the retirement options for three top expat destinations – New Zealand, Bahrain and Singapore Retiring overseas is an aspiration for many expats, especially after they have spent much of their working life outside the UK. But while you may think you know what’s involved, there are many things… – Continue reading
A new HMRC taskforce has been launched to go after wealthy tax cheats in Northern Ireland. Investigators from HM Revenue and Customs will use Land Registry and Merchant Acquirer data to identify those with “badges of wealth” such as large houses, aeroplanes, boats and undeclared offshore bank accounts, which are… – Continue reading
FATCA will have an impact on virtually all trusts regardless of whether they have any US connection. Trustees must consider their status under FATCA as soon as possible to ensure that they comply with its provisions. What is FATCA? FATCA is an anti-avoidance measure introduced by the US authorities which… – Continue reading
FATCA will have an impact on virtually all trusts regardless of whether they have any US connection. Trustees must consider their status under FATCA as soon as possible to ensure that they comply with its provisions. What is FATCA? FATCA is an anti-avoidance measure introduced by the US authorities which… – Continue reading
NEW YORK and SHORT HILLS, N.J., June 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — Marking the one-year deadline for foreign financial institutions (FFIs) to identify their preexisting entity account base for purposes of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm, and Dun & Bradstreet… – Continue reading
Insurance and financial advisors are being reminded that they will be in the position from time to time to defend Barbados’ reputation as a ‘fine jurisdiction’ in the area of international and financial services, reports the Barbados Advocate. This was pointed out by Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade,… – Continue reading
South Korea will serve as chair of an inter-governmental policymaking body on preventing money laundering starting next month, the country’s financial regulator said Monday. South Korea was appointed as the chair country of the Financial Action Task Force at its plenary meeting in February last year to become the third… – Continue reading
Banks and other financial companies want the new Conservative government to cut the cost of complying with a swath of new regulation, according to a survey by the Confederation of British Industry, reports The Guardian. When the employers’ lobby group asked firms what the government should do to help the… – Continue reading
Switzerland’s private banks are close to ridding themselves of undeclared European accounts, a salutary process but one which has undermined efforts to grow their businesses. Following the financial crisis, cash-strapped governments chased accounts hidden at banks in Zurich, Geneva and Ticino where wealthy Europeans had taken advantage of Switzerland’s famous… – Continue reading
By ESTHER MSETEKA, Mazabuka LUSAKA Stock Exchange (LuSE) chief executive officer Brian Tembo says there is need for Government to formulate a capital market policy that links foreign direct investment to listing. Mr Tembo said the country needs to find ways which can help create linkages between companies that invest… – Continue reading
“THE decision by a group of European Union (EU) Member States to blacklist Barbados as being non-cooperative and further claim that Barbados and 29 other countries, mostly small islands, do not meet its standards of transparency, exchange of information and fair tax competition, is hypocritical and on the face of… – Continue reading
The accusation that Hong Kong is a tax haven is unfounded and unfair, says Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Ceajer Chan Ka-keung. Chan wrote in his blog that the European Commission should review its inclusion of Hong Kong in the list of non- cooperative tax jurisdictions in mid-June…. – Continue reading
Belize’s banking sector has caught up with the standards and regulations set by the US and European Union for accountability and transparency in our offshore sector. That’s what the new Director of the Financial Intelligence Unit had to say at press conference rarely called by the stat. Unless you’re a… – Continue reading
When it comes to the topic of offshore corporations, some people immediately think of illegal tax shelters, but that is not the case. Currently, the IRS is working tirelessly to track down U.S. citizens and residents with unreported offshore income or assets and the new FATCA regulations make it virtually… – Continue reading
VAM Funds has entered into a partnership with UK-based Close Brothers Asset Management (CBAM) to meet a rising demand for discretionary fund management services from international advisers. The tie-up will see three of CBAM’s products, which are normally available only in the UK, become available internationally through VAM Discretionary Funds…. – Continue reading
Transnational agrochemical and seed giant Monsanto has reiterated its desire to merge with fellow chemical-producing behemoth Syngenta, a company that has already rebuffed three previous purchase attempts by Monsanto. Announcing unexpectedly positive third quarter earnings late last week, Monsanto said that it is still seeking ways to woo Switzerland-based Syngenta… – Continue reading
The “wall of Chinese capital” hitting property markets in Sydney and Melbourne will not ease up until the government introduces its anti-money laundering legislation, says an expert in ‘flight capital’. James Tee, an ethnic Chinese property developer whose business specialises in “capital expatriation” – that is, getting money out of… – Continue reading
The U.S. Justice Department said on Friday it reached a resolution with the Swiss regional bank Ersparniskasse Schaffhausen AG (EKS) on possible tax-related criminal offenses. According to terms of the agreement, EKS will cooperate in any related criminal or civil proceedings, show implementation of controls to stop misconduct and pay… – Continue reading
The Baltic republic of Latvia has pulled Bermuda off its blacklist of uncooperative tax jurisdictions supplied to the European Commission. And the move means the Island has dropped below the ten-nation threshold for inclusion on the EU hitlist — leading Finance Minister Bob Richards to demand Bermuda be taken off… – Continue reading
Multinational drug companies are presenting a united front ahead of their appearance at the Senate’s corporate tax avoidance inquiry, insisting they are honest, ethical and pay their fair share of tax. Nine pharmaceutical companies, which between them receive billions of dollars in taxpayer-subsidised sales via the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme, will… – Continue reading
Mara could have set up an Australian subsidiary but instead chose to construct an elaborate network in several countries. KUALA LUMPUR: National Oversight & Whistleblowers (NOW), an NGO headed by Pandan MP Rafizi Ramli, has alleged that the nature of Mara property purchases overseas was camouflaged through various offshore companies… – Continue reading
The US Administration has put more of its hoped-for, but perhaps poltically difficult, tax reforms into the Fact Sheet that was issued after the 2015 United States-China Strategic and Economic Dialogue held in Washington on June 23-24. In the 2014 Fact Sheet, the Administration had merely stated that it was… – Continue reading
The UK’s Supreme Court has ruled that a KPMG scheme to enable dealer group Pendragon to recover VAT on demonstrator cars sold as used cars was “abusive” of the law. Its decision earlier this month has overturned a previous Court of Appeal ruling on the scheme, which Pendragon used on… – Continue reading
Fijians who have assets overseas now have time until October 15 to declare them. Government had announced in the 2015 budget an amnesty period for all Fijians to declare the assets they have offshore. Since then $13.5million worth of overseas assets owned by Fijians had been declared. Attorney-General and Minister… – Continue reading
Bank Leumi was found to have failed to fulfill reporting requirements. The Banking Corporations Sanctions Committee that oversees the prohibition on money laundering and terror financing yesterday imposed a NIS 4.2 million fine on Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) for violations of regulations under the Prohibition on Money Laundering Law. Bank… – Continue reading
The UK’s largest bank HSBC has clung on to a place in the world’s top 10 banks, in a year which saw the global banking model under increasing threat. HSBC fell to ninth place from fifth last year with 153 billion dollars (£97 billion) of Tier 1 capital at hand,… – Continue reading
The Policy and Advocacy Manager of Tax Justice Network – Africa (TJN-A) has urged African governments to review tax incentives for free zone companies. “Tax incentives must apply to companies that have something to show. These companies must be able to create massive employment and other services to benefit the… – Continue reading
Romania’s Directorate for Investigation of Organized Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT) prosecutors carried out searches at the Red Dragon, China Town, Sam Expo and Smart Expo shopping centers on Friday last week, following notifications from the Tax Authority ANAF. They found 70 companies that have damaged the state budget by over… – Continue reading
The Italian Supreme Court has ruled that transfer pricing adjustments applied by the tax authorities may be deemed legitimate even if they have been applied after a comparison between the transactions assessed and the ones carried out by and among third independent parties. In the case at issue, the tax… – Continue reading
A sidenote in a money laundering case in California led ESPN straight to the door of Phil Mickelson on Monday. The network’s Outside the Lines investigative crew is reporting that a 56-year-old former sports gambler pleaded guilty to acting as an intermediary between Phil Mickelson and an illegal offshore gambling… – Continue reading
The Unified Patent Court (UPC) Agreement will not be ratified in the UK this year, the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) has confirmed. In a statement sent to Out-Law.com, the IPO ruled out ratification of the Agreement this year but said that it intends to complete the “domestic preparations” for ratification… – Continue reading
GENEVA — The FIFA corruption scandal is prompting fresh moves to stem money laundering in Switzerland, but the nation long known as a haven for hiding money may be slow to change. The Swiss government announced new measures this month following the investigation of soccer’s governing body to tighten control… – Continue reading
(MENAFN – The Peninsula) A former high-ranking executive of US computer chip giant Qualcomm was fined 500,000 and sentenced to 18 months in prison Friday for insider trading, US officials said. Jing Wang, 52, the former executive vice president and president of global business operations at Qualcomm pleaded guilty last… – Continue reading
Financial Action Task Force on Money Laundering (FATF), an international intergovernmental organization created to combat money laundering has recently issued guidance in the form of a report titled ‘Guidance for a Risk-Based Approach to Virtual Currencies’ for closer monitoring of cryptocurrency exchanges. The report discusses about various benefits associated with… – Continue reading
To check laundering of black money through stock market platform, regulator has enhanced its vigil for the entities engaged in such illicit trades and has suggested further probe by other agencies in this regard. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has found hundreds of entities to have devised… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Anecdotes about the first Income Tax searches in the T-20 IPL cricket tournament and a letter by former Finance Minister P Chidambaram seeking information about alleged illegal accounts by Indians in Switzerland find place in a new book on black money. The recently launched book “It’s Raining Black!… – Continue reading
India and Thailand will sign a double taxation treaty and an MoU for setting up an Ayurveda Chair in one of the Thai Universities during the three-day visit of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj beginning on Saturday. The Minister will be the guest of honour on Sunday at the inaugural… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI, India – Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete was recently in New Delhi at the invitation of Indian investors and to drum up more foreign investment for his country The interactive session was attended by several hundred businesspeople and organised by the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). Kikwete said although… – Continue reading
KAMPALA, Uganda – Between July 2014 and June 2015, Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) has recovered over Ush 26 billion (about $8.1million) of the Ush36 billion ($11.2 million) from people trying to avoid paying taxes on goods The money is from 5236 seizures. This represents a 21.9% increase in overall enforcement… – Continue reading
Luxembourg, home of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, is the EU’s richest country and a notorious tax haven for multinationals including Disney, Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Office Depot — among more than 300 firms who allegedly shifted profits to Luxembourg through sweetheart tax deals uncovered in last year’s ‘LuxLeaks scandal. The… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Anecdotes about the first Income Tax searches in the T-20 IPL cricket tournament and a letter by former Finance Minister P Chidambaram seeking information about alleged illegal accounts by Indians in Switzerland find place in a new book on black money. The recently launched book “It’s Raining Black!… – Continue reading
It is that time of the year when you get your Form 16 from your employer and gear up to file income tax returns (ITR) for the financial year gone by. This year the government has come out with a new ITR form. Also there is more to disclose while… – Continue reading
