NEW DELHI: India, which blacklisted Cyprus in 2013 for not sharing tax information under the treaty, is in dialogue with the island nation to resolve the issue, a top finance ministry official said today. “It’s not only exchange of information but it is also the quality of exchange of information… – Continue reading
Cabinet has approved the Income Tax (Amendment) Bill of 2015, which seeks to implement the proposed changes to the mining tax regime and increase corporate income tax for mining operations from zero percent to 30 percent. Acting chief Government spokesperson Ngosa Simbyakula told journalists shortly after a Cabinet meeting yesterday… – Continue reading
Windhoek Namibia’s Inland Revenue has established a transfer pricing unit. “We will be asking you for transfer pricing supporting documents soon,” said Acting Commissioner for Inland Revenue, Justus Mwafongwe, at the recent annual tax symposium hosted by the PwC’s Namibia Business School. Mwafongwe confirmed that the draft amendment bills to… – Continue reading
Unveiling the department’s plan of making the life of tax evaders tough in the coming days, Kapur said a new and intelligent database to keep a check on such instances will be brought out later this year and made fully operational by 2016 The menace of tax evasion is “spoiling”… – Continue reading
Bring together an impressive group of respected tax professionals from all over Africa, International Bureau of Fiscal Documentation (IBFD) is set to hold “Africa Tax Symposium, Trends in International Taxation: An African Perspective,” from June 18-19, 2015 in Livingstone, Zambia. IBFD announces that its inaugural The two-day event will present… – Continue reading
US companies have regained their appetite for controversial foreign takeovers that allow them to move overseas and escape US taxes, in spite of a White House crackdown to restrict so-called tax inversions last year, reports the Financial Times. According to several senior corporate advisers in the US and Europe, demand… – Continue reading
Odds improve for online gaming Regulate or delegate — that’s the question facing Pennsylvania legislators as bills to legalize online gambling gain traction. A new bill in the state Senate — SB 900, allows the state, among other things, to license operators to conduct Internet gaming. It’s a practice many… – Continue reading
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has warned the increasing tensions generated by a planned crackdown on tax avoidance could have strong repercussions on the industry. Simon Henry, the FTSE 100 group’s chief financial officer, has urged political leaders to ensure global tax rules are not fragmented, claiming that a change… – Continue reading
The United States is through trying to needle the OECD’s base erosion and profit-shifting project with pinpricks. Last week, Robert Stack, U.S. Treasury deputy assistant secretary (international tax affairs), abandoned the subtle digs Treasury had been using to attack BEPS and flat-out said the United States is extremely disappointed in… – Continue reading
HSBC Holdings Plc and JPMorgan Chase & Co are in talks to relocate parts of their businesses to Luxembourg from the UK as they weigh the possibility of a British exit from the European Union, the Times reported. JPMorgan is close to setting up a bank based in Luxembourg to… – Continue reading
The Haifa District Court is considering whether Ofer was an Israeli resident in 2006-2010. The Israel Tax Authority is demanding payment of NIS 940 million from the estate of billionaire Sammy Ofer, who passed away on June 3, 2011 at the age of 89, according to an order issued by… – Continue reading
The Bahamian financial industry is concerned it will have to start reporting information for the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) without the necessary legislation being in place, Tribune Business can reveal. Lawrence Lewis, a Deloitte & Touche (Bahamas) partner and accountant, confirmed to Tribune Business that there was… – Continue reading
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has welcomed a court ruling against an avoidance scheme that enabled two banks to avoid corporate income tax on interest on floating loan rate notes. In this type of loan, the interest rate (and therefore the installment amount) fluctuates according to the rise or fall… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Telecom equipment maker Nokia extended an olive branch to the Indian government, saying it wants to resolve an ongoing tax dispute amicably and that arbitration is not a priority. The Finnish firm also underlined India’s potential as a manufacturing hub, saying the dispute aside, it has had a… – Continue reading
Politically incendiary proposals will set sights on multinationals’ tax planning with EU states and 30 worst offending havens could be officially blacklisted Officials in Brussels will on Wednesday announce a series of measures designed to stamp out the toxic culture of secret, sweetheart tax deals for multinationals which prevails in… – Continue reading
Following the implementation of the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Directive (2011/61/EC) and associated legislation, Cyprus now lays claim to being a growth jurisdiction within the European Union for the establishment and servicing of boutique and low cost alternative investment funds based locally or offshore. The choice of fund… – Continue reading
France is trying to squeeze more out of web businesses like EBay Inc., Amazon.com Inc. and Airbnb Inc. Soaring online sales and the use of the Internet giants by smaller businessses as a marketplace for goods and services is prompting the French Senate to look for ways to collect more… – Continue reading
Report on ‘poor’ neighborhoods full of mansions sparks calls for tax enforcement, residency documentation OTTAWA — The Canadian government takes a “zero tolerance” stand on tax evaders and is currently conducting audits on property owners in B.C., according to the Canada Revenue Agency. But Vancouver immigration lawyer Samuel Hyman said… – Continue reading
Turkey levies a 15 percent tax on footballers playing in the Spor Toto Super League and collects the second-lowest tax from footballers among European countries According to the Income Tax Law currently in force, footballers playing in the Super League pay a 15 percent tax while those playing in lower… – Continue reading
As the financial world continues its march towards a more transparent and open environment, regulations governing private wealth are under scrutiny. The traditional is changing for good while new players emerge. Once was a time, not too long ago, the words “Swiss bank” conjured up evocative imagery: secret deals; bank… – Continue reading
The LuxLeaks financial scandal, which entailed disclosure by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists of tax rulings, galvanized public opinion and gave rise to the creation of TAXE, the European Parliament’s special committee on tax rulings. This article explains why TAXE was created and shares with you highlights from the… – Continue reading
A French court reduced the bail HSBC Holdings Plc must post in connection with a criminal probe into tax evasion by its private-banking clients to 100 million euros ($112 million) from 1 billion euros. “HSBC acknowledges the decision of the French Court of Appeal to partially accept the appeal and… – Continue reading
Senior Republicans voice concerns over Obama administration’s response to plan Political divisions are opening up in Washington over the US response to the overhaul of international tax rules by the global powers, an initiative with big implications for Ireland’s corporate tax regime. The Republican leaders of the two tax-writing committees… – Continue reading
Before the 2008 financial crisis, Mexican banks had a big problem: too many dollars. Tourism and businesses in the northern border areas near the US, as well as remittances, brought greenbacks flowing into Mexico. This left Mexico awash with dollars — a massive US$14bn in surplus US bank¬notes — which… – Continue reading
Six Indicia of Offshore Tax Criminality United States taxpayers need to be aware that a number of danger areas around offshore foreign financial accounts can be construed as evidence that could constitute criminal offenses. Some of these may seem trivial, but all the more warrant a heads-up due to the… – Continue reading
AN alliance of SNP and rightwing Tory MPs failed last night to give Scotland full fiscal autonomy and introduce tax competition in the United Kingdom. SNP MPs agreed to back an amendment by Tory grandee Sir Edward Leigh, if he pushed it to a vote, which would have given Holyrood… – Continue reading
Pakistan’s FBR has stated that $200 billion stashed in Swiss banks accounts by Pakistanis cannot be recovered. It seems that FBR and Federal Government is unaware that on the basis of a formal request by Nigeria, $700 million in Swiss bank accounts belonging to corrupt late former head of state… – Continue reading
A country which is small in size but a giant in stature, Malta is rapidly gaining more and more attention on the global stage. With a rapidly expanding financial services sector which rivals some of the most established economies in the world, Malta is an extremely attractive place to do… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — Credit Suisse Group AG, the Swiss bank that paid $2.6 billion last year to settle a U.S. tax dispute, illegally sent a former employee’s details to U.S. authorities to help resolve the probe, a Geneva court ruled. The ex-employee, an assistant relationship manager at the bank’s North America… – Continue reading
MUSCAT: Japan-Oman robust economic relationship is set to leap to a new level with the signing of an investment agreement between the two countries, which is expected in the second quarter of this year, says Japan’s ambassador to the Sultanate. “The signing of the Japan-Oman Investment Agreement is expected to… – Continue reading
A report released today by the management consulting firm Boston Consulting Group (BCG) shows that Switzerland remains the world’s largest offshore centre. However, Hong Kong and Singapore could pose a challenge in the future. For now, Switzerland stands heads and shoulders above the rest booking over $2.4 trillion in wealth… – Continue reading
Some Members of Parliament and top government officials have been associated with tax evasion, with stakeholders demanding that the law take its course. Speaking at a 2015/16 budget review session over the weekend in Dar es Salaam, stakeholders warned that, tax evasion by high ranking officials and MPs encourages unscrupulous… – Continue reading
A group promoting Canadian sovereignty has raised 80% of the funds required to take the Canadian Government to court for providing residents’ details to the US for its Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The lawsuit was filed by the Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty (ADCS) on 11… – Continue reading
The deadline for those wishing to participate in Ireland’s Tax Avoidance Settlement Opportunity is June 30, the Revenue has said. The settlement opportunity was contained in the 2014 Finance Act. It applies to transactions that began on or before the publication of the Finance Bill on October 23, 2014. Revenue… – Continue reading
Nigeria and Singapore have concluded plans to sign agreements to strengthen their bilateral air services and curb double taxation on investments in both countries. The Nigeria’s Ambassador to Singapore,Amb. Nonye Rajis-Okpara, disclosed the plan in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja. Rajis-Okpara said… – Continue reading
AUSTRALIA and Germany are starting negotiations to update a tax treaty between the two countries that stretches back 40 years. TREASURER Joe Hockey says the discussions will focus on maximising the efficiency of the trade and investment relationship with the world’s fourth largest economy and Australia’s tenth largest trading partner… – Continue reading
South Korea signed a Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the United States on June 10, 2015. FATCA is intended to ensure that the US obtains information on accounts held abroad at foreign financial institutions (FFIs) by US persons. Failure by an FFI to disclose information… – Continue reading
U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin announced Monday the Bank of Mingo has been charged with failing to develop, implement and maintain an effective anti-money laundering program. According to a news release, the bank failed to implement internal controls that would have resulted in the bank obtaining “know-your-customer” information, failed to prevent… – Continue reading
Mahmud Bekir Taib tells shariah court of need for PR consultants to ensure ‘fair reporting’ of facts and proceedings. KUALA LUMPUR: The Shariah High Court here was today told that news of the divorce maintenance proceedings between Sarawak entrepreneur Mahmud Abu Bekir Taib and his former wife Shahnaz Abdul Majid… – Continue reading
The amount of money paid to informants by HMRC in its attempts to crack down on tax evasion has leapt by more than 50% in a year to a record high of £605,000. The tax authorities are increasingly rewarding tip-offs in an attempt to recoup the tens of billions lost… – Continue reading
With revenue from petroleum taxes at its lowest point in fifteen years, Nigeria is under even more pressure to tackle tax evasion and pursue other revenue enhancing initiatives. Indeed, experts have found that tax evasion plays a significant part in the over $50 billion that the continent loses every year… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: Several amendments have been proposed to the tax laws in the Finance Bill 2015-16 to empower the federal government to enter into agreements for exchange of tax-related information with provinces and other countries. The new sections proposed to be inserted in the Finance Bill will empower Islamabad to enter… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: With its subsidiary Cairn India facing Rs 20,495-crore tax notice, billionaire Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group today said it is “frustrated” by the tax demand raised on it using retrospective legislation. The Income Tax Department had in March slapped a Rs 20,495 crore tax demand on Cairn India for failing… – Continue reading
The last time the US tried repatriation – in 2004 – companies took the tax breaks and fired American workers. Better to close loopholes and invest in infrastructure If you had a spoiled 10-year-old at home who you found rifling through your wallet, what would you do? Would you spank… – Continue reading
Non-UK domiciliaries’ loans with certain offshore collateral Introduction HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) made an unexpected announcement on 4 August 2014 on the taxation of unremitted foreign income or gains used as collateral for a loan enjoyed in the UK. As a result, UK resident individuals who are not domiciled… – Continue reading
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has won £16 million in a tax avoidance case against Abbey National Treasury Services and Cater Allen International, both part of Santander Banking Group. The courts have decided against the companies’ attempts to avoid paying corporation tax on the interest on floating loan rate notes…. – Continue reading
Payments made in advance of Tax-Avoidance Settlement Opportunity deadline The Revenue Commissioners has said it received an additional €9 million in tax settlements last week. The payments in advance of the Tax-Avoidance Settlement Opportunity deadline doubled in the last week, as the June 30th deadline approaches. Legislation contained in the… – Continue reading
The Maltese Commissioner for Revenue has announced a further extension in relation to the deadline on reporting for FATCA purposes from 15 June 2015 to 3 July 2015. The FATCA reporting deadline in Malta is normally 30 April. The Commissioner has confirmed that this exception will apply for reporting in… – Continue reading
SINGAPORE — The Republic and Thailand inked four agreements yesterday, setting the stage for more collaboration between business federations and in media events and co-productions as well as cruise development. The agreements include a new Singapore-Thailand Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement that contains improved terms to provide for avoidance of… – Continue reading
Cite ambiguity over assessing officers’ power to withdraw tax demand and pending appeals Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) have decided to not file an application seeking exemption from the Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) by citing DTAAs (Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements). FPIs decided to not apply for an exemption because of the… – Continue reading
