Category: Jurisdiction

Malta: Business, Investments And Residency Opportunities!

TL: What are the main considerations and advantages for doing business in Malta? AB: Malta’s positive approach to business promotion, development and standard of living within the EU makes the island a destination of choice for relocation of business purposes. Malta offers noteworthy benefits to individuals and investors who are… – Continue reading

Australia property sector needs money laundering safeguards: report

(Reuters) – Australia needs to tighten safeguards against money laundering in its booming property market, which has attracted Chinese funds with likely links to corruption, an international anti-money laundering body said in a report released late on Tuesday. The intergovernmental Financial Action Task Force said real estate agents and lawyers… – Continue reading

Mylan $23 Million Chairman Shows Looming Teva Culture Clash

Mylan NV Executive Chairman Robert Coury made $22.7 million, including $1 million for his personal use of the drugmaker’s two corporate jets, in 2012 and 2013. At Israeli rival Teva, shareholders in 2012 balked at raising the chairman’s salary to $900,000 a year. The contrast highlights the sharp differences that… – Continue reading

S’pore, Mauritius FIIs still out of MAT net: Dinesh Kanabar

Dinesh Kanabar, CEO, Dhruva Advisors explains that there are three kinds of FIIs: protected by double taxation avoidance treaty, no treaty but physical presence in India, and no treaty and no presence in India. So far notices have been sent only to the second category of investors. Minimum alternate tax… – Continue reading

New Agreement between Bulgaria and Romania for the avoidance of double taxation will stimulate bilateral business relations

Sofia. The Bulgarian government approved a draft of a new agreement between Bulgaria and Romania for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. The document will be signed in case of following ratification. That is what the government information service announced…. – Continue reading

Cayman: Money laundering reports spike

The number of suspicious activity reports of potential money laundering have increased by 42 per cent to 558 cases over 2012/2013, reports the Cayman Compass. The Financial Reporting Authority, the national agency which receives the reports of suspected money laundering and other financial crime, believes the record number was prompted… – Continue reading

Luxembourg thrives after tax regime shake-up

An inflow of bank deposits to Luxembourg from Asia and the Gulf have replaced reductions from European countries such as France and Germany following an overhaul of the Grand Duchy’s tax secrecy regime, reports the Financial Times. Pierre Gramegna told the Financial Times in an interview that “bank secrecy had… – Continue reading

EIB must tighten rules on low tax jurisdictions, NGOs warn

The European Investment Bank (EIB) must tighten up its lending rules to prevent its money being funnelled through tax havens, NGOs have warned in a new report, reports EU Observer. The report ‘Towards a Responsible Taxation Policy for the EIB’, published on Tuesday (21 April) by transparency NGOs Re-Common and… – Continue reading

Government of India versus FPI: Is there a solution?

MUMBAI/NEW DELHI: Markets fell 500 points on Monday. Punters’ worries about current tax disputes between Modi Sarkar and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) being one reason why the Sensex dived. There has been a battle of phrases between FPIs and North Block. And it looks as if this will be a… – Continue reading

Why Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is Pranab Mukherjee 2.0 for the markets

The Finance Minister has failed to assuage markets’ fears on the issue of retrospective tax Markets are getting jittery each time the finance minister or his ministry utters the T word. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley reminds the market of UPA’s finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, who introduced the now-dreaded retrospective tax…. – Continue reading

EIB: From bad banking to good banking

Like many other public banks, the European Investment Bank (EIB) leverages its own means by acting as a catalyst for private investment through various financial mechanisms. Too often, though, attempts to attract private capital result in unpredictable risks and higher-than projected costs for the public coffer, write Xavier Sol and… – Continue reading

China beefs up tax services to spur investment in Belt and Road

BEIJING, April 20 (Xinhua) — China’s taxation authority unveiled ten measures on Monday to improve taxation services for investors to serve the Belt and Road Initiative. The measures will protect investors’ interests, promote development and achieve a win-win outcome, said the State Administration of Taxation (SAT). Tax guides will be… – Continue reading

The Cost of Business in Myanmar Compared With China

Myanmar remains an enigmatic country – one of the largest and most populated in Asia but also one of its poorest and least understood. It remains a country that has largely stood still for seventy years – hardly any infrastructure of note was developed in the country since the end… – Continue reading

Starbucks and Harris + Hoole share the dregs in ethical coffee rankings

UK’s biggest coffee shop brands Costa, Caffè Nero and Starbucks perform poorly in new ethical scorecard ranking companies on treatment of staff and suppliers, environmental policies and tax avoidance Consumers have been urged to switch to independent coffee shops after major brands including Costa, Caffè Nero and Starbucks scored poorly… – Continue reading

Metro Vietnam found owing over $23.6mn in tax in transfer pricing inspection

The Vietnamese unit of Germany’s Metro Cash & Carry will have to pay almost US$24 million in tax arrears after its wrongdoings have been unearthed in a transfer pricing inspection that concluded Monday. Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam Co. Ltd. began coming under scrutiny on suspicions of transfer pricing in… – Continue reading

Google tax: Hockey top adviser attacked plan in former role

The man chosen by Treasurer Joe Hockey to lead the review of the nation’s tax system has publicly criticised the British government’s “Google tax”, the inspiration for the Coalition’s looming crackdown on multinational profit shifting. Robert Jeremenko, who is running the tax white paper process in Mr Hockey’s office, described… – Continue reading

HSBC ‘will consider leaving UK again’

London – HSBC has once again raised the prospect of moving its headquarters out of the UK. The bank, which was the subject of intense public anger earlier this year after details of how its Swiss arm had facilitated tax evasion emerged, yesterday said that it would soon reconsider the… – Continue reading

Communist Party launches election manifesto

The Communist Party has launched its manifesto under the slogan “Tax The Rich”, with pledges to end austerity and renationalise the railways. The 22-page document promises policies for the “millions, not millionaires” and to plug tax-avoidance loopholes. The party, formed in 1920, is fielding nine candidates, including six who are… – Continue reading

Attempt to fix Stock Connect pre-trade checking goes live

The Hong Kong bourse has launched a special segregated accounts system for Stock Connect in an attempt to address investors’ concerns over the much-criticised pre-trade checking rules. A reformed trade settlement system was rolled out to Stock Connect investors yesterday in a bid to address concerns over the pre-trade checking… – Continue reading

Global Law Experts distinguishes GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors as a leading law firm in the field of tax law

The internationally recognized handbook for legal experts Global Law Experts has distinguished GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors as one of the leading law firms in the field of tax law. GRP Rainer Lawyers and Tax Advisors in Cologne, Berlin, Bonn, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart and London has been… – Continue reading

Firms may raise record $20 bn via offshore bonds in ’15: Vijayan Subramani

Indian companies had raised a record $18.6 billion in 2014 through offshore bonds. This year, it may cross $20.50 billion, says MD, Treasury and Markets, India, at DBS Bank Vijayan Subramani. In an interview with Bhavik Nair, Subramani indicates Singapore dollar-denominated bond issues from India are likely to make a… – Continue reading

OECD MAP Statistics Show Pressing Need for Mandatory Binding Arbitration

The OECD Mutual Agreement Procedure Statistics for 20131 (MAP Statistics), released on November 25, 2014, show a dramatic surge in the inventory of mutual agreement procedure (MAP) cases among OECD member countries. The MAP Statistics confirm that the potential for double taxation is increasing. This is reflected most starkly in… – Continue reading

New aggressive approach towards Foreign Enterprises acting in Israel over the internet

On April 2, 2015, the Israeli tax authority (“ITA”) published a draft new circular containing new and unprecedented guidelines with respect to the income tax and VAT aspects applicable to foreign enterprises that transact with Israeli customers over the internet (“the Circular” and “Foreign Enterprises”, respectively). The Circular, in its… – Continue reading

Tax inspectors find $23.7 mln worth of violations at Metro Cash & Carry

Vietnamese tax inspectors have found multiple violations at the local subsidiary of German retail giant Metro, estimating them to be worth VND507 billion (US$23.7 million). Of the total amount, Metro Cash & Carry Vietnam was ordered to immediately pay VND62 billion ($2.8 million) in arrears of income taxes for its… – Continue reading

UK Firms, Economy Burdened By High Tax Rates

The UK is inhibiting its economy with a tax burden 18 percent heavier than the global average and should consider setting a specific target for lowering the overall tax take, according to research by accountants UHY Hacker Young. UHY’s findings show that tax revenue in the UK represents a third… – Continue reading

Our disappearing sovereignty

U.S. guards at Canada’s rail hubs? April 20 If years from now, we discover that Prime Minister Stephen Harper turned out to be working for the U.S. government, who could be surprised? He almost had Peter MacKay indenture us to Lockheed Martin for 65 ruinously expensive F-35s. When he isn’t… – Continue reading

African leaders advised to focus on tax policies

SOUTH Africa’s Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene says African leaders need to focus more on tax policies and the diversification of tax resources in order to foster growth. Speaking at an African Tax Administration Forum conference on Tuesday, he said the global focus on international taxation offered a unique opportunity for… – Continue reading