Nine out of ten adults in marginal constituencies say tax dodging by large companies is morally wrong, according to a new ComRes poll for ActionAid, with nearly two thirds stating that political party promises to tackle tax avoidance have not gone far enough Tax avoidance could prove to be a… – Continue reading
An independent group of tax professionals should report annually to parliament on whether new legislation complies with the rule of law, the Law Society’s tax committee recommended this week. Publishing a position paper on tax and the rule of law, committee chair Gary Richards said that ‘legislative hyperactivity has become… – Continue reading
SAN FRANCISCO, April 30 — Apple Inc. has raised a flag about the potential cost if the company is required to pay past taxes to Ireland as part of a European Commission investigation that started last year. While Apple hasn’t been able to estimate the amount, it could be “material,”… – Continue reading
Cayman Islands investment entities that have been classified as “Reporting Cayman Islands Financial Institutions” for purposes of FATCA should make every effort to enroll with the Cayman government by the April 30, 2015 deadline in order to comply with their obligations under FATCA, regardless of whether they will be required… – Continue reading
France’s minister for digital affairs says abolition of ‘double Irish’ was a welcome move Multinational companies, particularly those in the digital sector, will need to pay tax where they create value in a new digital single market for Europe, France’s minister for digital affairs has said. Speaking to The Irish… – Continue reading
Hong Kong’s Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, K C Chan confirmed that the Government and regulators remain fully committed to combating money laundering and tax evasion, following the latest reports of foreign banks being used to open offshore accounts. In response to a question in the Legislative Council,… – Continue reading
Gulf state intends to set itself up as a new hub for wealth management as finance chief declares Switzerland’s old model to be ‘dead’, reports the Irish Times. Abu Dhabi intends to set itself up as a new hub for wealth management, with the head of its nascent international financial… – Continue reading
The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed Conrad Black’s bid to have his multi-million-dollar battle with the Canada Revenue Agency over back taxes heard by the country’s highest court. The Supreme Court of Canada has dismissed Conrad Black’s bid to have his multi-million-dollar battle with the Canada Revenue Agency over… – Continue reading
The Prime Minister’s father held assets in Jersey, which he left to his family when he died David Cameron’s father left assets in an offshore tax haven to his family, it has been revealed. According to an investigation by Channel 4 News , the Prime Minister’s father, Ian Cameron, personally… – Continue reading
Big hue and cry from the rich and the powerful against modification of tax return forms has again pushed the govt on back foot John Maynard Keynes famously said the avoidance of tax is the only intellectual pursuit that carries a reward. Historically, tax ‘avoidance’ is understood as an intellectual… – Continue reading
A corporate tax holiday, one of the proposals currently being floated to help fund new highway projects, would actually cost the government around $118 billion, according to a new official projection. The proposal from Sens. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) would allow companies to bring back profits currently… – Continue reading
COMPANIES that engaged in tax avoidance practices such as the abuse of transfer pricing should be expropriated without compensation, Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) MP Floyd Shivambu proposed in Parliament on Wednesday. This was one of a raft of “aggressive” measures that he believed the government should adopt to deal with… – Continue reading
As discussed in our previous briefing, Labour calls time on the remittance basis, Ed Miliband has announced a policy of abolishing what he called the “non-dom tax regime”, to be implemented in the event of a Labour victory in the coming election. Many individuals who are UK resident but non-UK… – Continue reading
The Tax Office is cracking down on what it’s described as “contrived arrangements” that allow hundreds of wealthy individuals with self-managed superannuation funds (SMSFs) to pay no tax on income from shares. Cases are still being reviewed and it’s unclear how much tax revenue may be at stake. But the… – Continue reading
Autumn Statement 2014, Budget 2015 and Finance Act 2015 The UK Chancellor delivered his Autumn Statement on 3 December 2014 and his Budget speech on 18 March 2015. For an overview of some of the key announcements, please see our Autumn Statement 2014 briefing and Budget 2015 briefing. The UK’s… – Continue reading
ZURICH: Switzerland’s money laundering office received a record number of suspicious activity reports last year, in part due to increased vigilance from Swiss banks. The Alpine nation has faced intense international pressure over bank secrecy, tax evasion and money laundering, most recently highlighted by allegations that the Swiss arm of… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: In order to check flight of capital, the country’s tax machinery is planning to reach out to authorities in the Gulf states to seek details of real estate investments by around 660 Pakistanis. “Real estate in the Gulf has emerged as one of the strongest areas for capital flight… – Continue reading
TEHRAN, Apr. 29 (MNA) – Leading a high-ranking delegation of officials, Iran Minister of Economic Affairs and Finance departed for Prague this morning. Ali Tayyeb Nia is scheduled to hold meetings with his Czech counterpart and Czech vice-president of the Republic Parliament. Discussing development of ties and singing the MoU… – Continue reading
Most people have heard of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and are probably aware it wants to make the world a “better” place. Its work is probably of little interest to most companies based in the UK. But this would change if constitutional arrangements between Scotland and… – Continue reading
There has been a lot of uncertainty with regard to withholding taxes imposed by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) on cross-border payments made by South Africans to offshore recipients, and the ambiguous administrative and compliance procedures relating thereto. Based on the information available directly from SARS, any amounts received… – Continue reading
There is a great need to protect traditional knowledge in order to curb the exploitation of holders of indigenous knowledge, particularly the elderly. It has been observed that the elderly have indigenous knowledge but their wisdom is being stolen from them and used for commercial purposes while they languish in… – Continue reading
Hong Kong (HKSAR) – Following is a question by the Hon Frederick Fung and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor K C Chan, in the Legislative Council today (April 29): Question: It has been reported that an investigation conducted jointly by an international… – Continue reading
New business sales of UK-distributed offshore bonds fell by 10.7% last year but were contracting at a slower pace than in recent years, while the onshore version saw sales pick up in 2014 for the first time since the financial crisis. The latest statistics from the Association of British Insurers… – Continue reading
The IRS on Tuesday proposed to amend its regulations so that taxpayers that are subject to withholding under Secs. 1441 through 1443 (chapter 3 of the Code, imposing withholding tax on nonresident aliens, foreign corporations, and foreign exempt organizations) or Secs. 1471 and 1472 (chapter 4 of the Code or… – Continue reading
Home to 5,000 plus FDI projects, HCM City has comfortably remained Viet Nam’s growth engine, and it plans to make full use of its position to rise to international standards in many areas, Xuan Huong reports. Despite all the international and regional competition, Viet Nam has remained an attractive destination… – Continue reading
Bern, 29.04.2015 – At its meeting today, the Federal Council decided to put into effect in two stages the Federal Law of 12 December 2014 on the implementation of the Financial Action Task Force recommendations, revised in 2012. On 12 December 2014 the Federal Assembly approved the Federal Law on… – Continue reading
The Companies (Amendment) Act 2014 (the “Amendment Act”) which will introduce wide-ranging changes to the Companies Act, will be implemented in two phases. Two-phase implementation: 1 July 2015 and Q1 2016 About 40% of the changes in the Amendment Act will take place in the first phase on 1 July… – Continue reading
Athens: Greek authorities arrested one of the most important businessmen in the country, Leonidas Bobolas on Wednesday, for tax evasion. He was released later after paying €1.8 million in back taxes. This is just one of the Greek government’s attempts to collect money from tax evaders. In Greece, income tax… – Continue reading
The new omnibus bill presented by the Greek ministry of finance will be tabled in parliament on Thursday in order to expedite negotiations with creditors and reach an intermediate deal. The new bill includes several measures and reforms such as methods of tackling tax evasion, revenue increase from value added… – Continue reading
Top Bay Area CPA Firm, Safe Harbor LLP, bolsters its focus on FBAR compliance issues in light of the upcoming June, 2015, deadline. FBAR (Foreign Bank Account Reporting) requirements are often necessary for residents with foreign financial accounts and assets. Safe Harbor LLP, a CPA firm in San Francisco specializing… – Continue reading
The Italian Minister of the Economy and Finance, Pier Carlo Padoan, has confirmed that he expects additional tax revenue from Italian citizens with undeclared investments in San Marino from the Italian voluntary disclosure program. In a television interview in San Marino, he noted that Italy had definitively removed San Marino… – Continue reading
Ontario’s 2015 Budget, delivered on April 23, overhauled a number of the province’s tax credits and set out plans for a further crackdown on tax avoidance. The Budget made numerous changes to creative tax breaks, effective from April 23, 2015. The Ontario Production Services Tax Credit was reduced from 25… – Continue reading
Starting with 1 June 2015, non-resident taxpayers earning interest income from Romania are allowed to apply the same tax treatment as resident taxpayers. The change in the law results from a European Commission infringement procedure against Romania regarding the discriminatory treatment applied to non-resident legal entities compared to resident taxpayers…. – Continue reading
The regulations require reporting FIs to notify TIA if they have reporting obligations under US FATCA and/or UK CDOT. With respect to US FATCA, Reporting FIs have until tomorrow (April 30th) to file their notification with an initial reporting deadline May 31st. With respect to UK CDOT, Reporting FIs have… – Continue reading
David Cameron says he will press on with welfare reforms after Miliband’s earlier claim Tories have plan for cuts to tax credits that would devastate family finances David Cameron declined an opportunity to rule out imposing further cuts to tax credits in the next parliament an hour after Labour accused… – Continue reading
As compared to past federal Budgets, Budget 2015 contained fewer (and arguably less controversial) international tax measures. Nevertheless, Budget 2015 did announce the Government’s intention to address taxpayer concerns relating to (i) the withholding obligations borne by non-resident employers that have non-resident employees that work in Canada, and (ii) the… – Continue reading
THE global economic recovery, which has been assessed as uneven with manifest divergences across countries and regions, has however, been supported by Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDCs) as the major drivers of global growth, although it is currently moderating in some countries. But the Intergovernmental Group of Twenty-Four on… – Continue reading
International investors are finding the compliance around qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) licences burdensome as they prepare to file their tax returns before the July deadline. The QFII program, and its renminbi equivalent (RQFII), allows institutional investors – like non-resident Chinese fund managers – to invest in Chinese A-shares. The… – Continue reading
Mitsubishi UFJ Fund Services warn managers are up against a time crunch ahead of the April 30 registration deadline The upcoming April 30 deadline for registration on the Cayman Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca) portal marks another milestone but could prove a significant test for the industry, according to… – Continue reading
The convention for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of tax evasion with respect to taxes on income was signed at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Portugal yesterday between the Government of Oman and the Government of Portugal, reports the Oman Observer. The convention was signed on… – Continue reading
Australia’s richest live in harbourside Sydney and earn more than eight times the nation’s poorest, who live in rural NSW, Tax Office statistics show. The latest Taxation Statistics for 2012-13, based on information people report in their tax returns, again highlights the enormous pay gap between the nation’s richest and… – Continue reading
The British Virgin Islands Government has received a report that it commissioned on finding a new direction for the financial services industry, the recommendations from which will now be implemented, reports Tax News. The BVI engaged consulting firm McKinsey and Company to develop a pragmatic new strategy and implementation plan… – Continue reading
The Income Tax department has directed its officers that cases of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) seeking tax exmption under the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) with other countries must be decided within a month of claim filing, reports the New Kerala. “It has been decided that in all cases of… – Continue reading
“Why are we doing this to folks? Why are we tormenting them in this way?” IRS Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson asked in an address to Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association FATCA Policy Symposium in Washington last year. These “folks” are Americans living abroad: NGO workers, English teachers, physicians, taxi… – Continue reading
Although you may be working in China, does the ATO still consider you an Australian resident? It’s just one of the things you need to get absolutely right. The tax requirements for Aussies working overseas vary from region to region. Aussies working in Hong Kong will find last month’s tax… – Continue reading
With the Delhi High Court to resume hearing on Wednesday on the Rs.20.495 crore tax case slapped on Cairn India, experts voiced the apprehensions of foreign investors about an adversarial tax regime. “Foreign investors expect stability and clarity in tax policy, which has been coming from the top with the… – Continue reading
India’s rupee rose for a second day as the dollar weakened and global funds resumed purchases of local bonds after the government sought to clear uncertainties over a retrospective tax on capital gains. Overseas funds bought a net $130 million of local-currency notes on April 24, the latest figures show,… – Continue reading
Turkey is to host a G20 international tax symposium next month to discuss developments to address Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) and the exchange of information between tax administrations The event, organised by Turkish Ministry of Finance, also aims to ensure that developing and low-income countries benefit from the… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan informed the National Assembly on Monday of what he called major steps taken by the government to facilitate the oft-troubled Afghan transit trade, which he said he had also conveyed to Kabul during a visit there earlier this month. The move, he said in… – Continue reading
According to the most recent estimates, the quantity of goods carried by containers has risen from around 100 million metric tons in 1980 to about 1.5 billion metric tons in 2012. Out of these numbers, one container in every 11 that is engaged in global trade is either bound for… – Continue reading
