ISLAMABAD: To check the revenue-related corruption and tax evasion of an estimated Rs2,000 billion annually, the National Accountability Bureau, on the recommendation of its committee of experts, has sent to the FBR a comprehensive package for implementation to overhaul the country’s tax machinery. The creation of an independent Pakistan Revenue… – Continue reading
UBS whistleblower Stéphanie Gibaud talks to the Herald before travelling to Argentina With tax evasion allegations against HSBC under the spotlight in Congress, a whistleblower from another banking giant famous for its secrecy, Switzerland’s UBS, says she is coming to the country to testify soon, and warns that emerging economies… – Continue reading
Britain’s Conservative Party returned a donation of £50,000 from a wealthy businesswoman on Monday after it emerged she was once wanted on charges of tax fraud in the United States. Beatrice Tollman, founder of luxury hotel chain Red Carnation, made an election campaign donation to the Tories earlier this month…. – Continue reading
Australia’s $29 billion system of franking credits for investors is skewed heavily to the rich and is ripping a hole in the budget, a new analysis has found, with one tax break found nowhere else in the world costing almost $5 billion a year. Millions of Australians benefit from franking… – Continue reading
HSBC and Standard Chartered are looking at the viability of quitting London for a new home in Asia because a big jump in a tax on UK banks makes staying in Britain increasingly painful, reports Reuters. Several investors told Reuters they want the two banks to do a thorough analysis… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: April is turning out to be the cruellest month for HSBC Geneva account-holders in India. Till now, only one — a Mumbai-based senior professional — among the thousands named on the list based on stolen data has been able to obtain a clean chit from Swiss authorities. Most others… – Continue reading
Apple Australia denies tax avoidance but the numbers just don’t add up. The media spokeswoman for Apple Australia has been very busy the past two weeks. Her boss appeared at a Senate hearing on corporate tax evasion a couple of weeks ago, so she’s had to do some mopping up… – Continue reading
Summary:Australia and the UK have reached a deal aimed at helping tackle profit-shifting practices by multinational companies, such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Australia and the United Kingdom have agreed to form a joint working group to tackle profit shifting by multinational companies such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft. The… – Continue reading
The United States of America (USA) has toppled Mauritius to become the top jurisdiction from where India is receiving the highest amount of foreign portfolio investment (FPI) into the equity markets. Mauritius lost out due to the uncertainty over the double tax avoidance treaty (DTAA) between India and Mauritius and… – Continue reading
In recent years we have seen a seismic shift in the tax transparency landscape. The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (US FATCA) has proved to be a watershed moment and we are rapidly moving towards a global network of automatic information exchange spearheaded by the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard… – Continue reading
The Customer Owned Banking Association is calling on the Abbott Government to stay the course on the Financial System Inquiry (FSI) to stop anti-competitive behaviours creeping into the banking system. COBA CEO Mark Degotardi says that we are seeing an apparent willingness to reject the FSI’s recommendation against a deposit… – Continue reading
Regular Pitch readers know that key elements of the ongoing criminal tax case against Mission Hills businesswoman Cheryl Womack rest on how the government obtained evidence against her. Womack remains under an indictment issued by a federal grand jury in 2013 that accuses the self-made millionaire of misleading government investigators… – Continue reading
Ben Franklin’s famous dictum, “Nothing is certain except death and taxes” is crying out for an urgent revision. Why? Because even if still holds true for people like you and me, it has little to do with some of the country’s richest corporations. The truth is that for corporate giants… – Continue reading
The continued public outcry about U.S. companies keeping profits overseas in order to avoid U.S. taxes has obscured an interesting fact about much of that money. In fact, about half of the “overseas” cash that businesses are declining to repatriate is already in the U.S. – it’s just not taxable…. – Continue reading
CHINA Tax Free Reorganisations • With circulars 109 and 116 jointly issued in December 2014 by the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation, the Chinese authorities have relaxed the conditions for internal reorganisations. • Circular 109 deals with internal reorganisations. Provided the pertinent requirements are met, the… – Continue reading
BUFFALO, N.Y. — M&T Bank Corp. (NYSE: MTB) and Paramus, N.J.–based Hudson City Bancorp. Inc. (NASDAQ: HCBK) have again extended the deadline for finalizing their merger that they first announced in late August 2012. The banking companies said in a news release last Friday that they have pushed the deadline… – Continue reading
The former chairman of an LED lighting provider was charged by U.S. officials with scheming to boost the company’s share price in part by making secret payments to conspirators through a firm based in Belize. ForceField Energy Inc.’s Richard St-Julien, who stepped down from his position after his arrest Friday,… – Continue reading
The Union Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, expressed concern over transfer pricing and several other measures taken by MNCs to avoid paying tax on international transactions. The Dollar Business Bureau Stressing on the need to keep a check on tax evasion by multi-national companies (MNCs), India has asked the G20 members… – Continue reading
THE xenophobic attacks that have rocked SA over the past two weeks will continue to dominate headlines this week. The crisis at Eskom will also be keenly watched following the appointment of Transnet CEO Brian Molefe as Eskom acting CE. Hopes are high that Mr Molefe — who has had… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is seeking to recoup $2.03 billion from Texas businessman Samuel Wyly and $1.19 billion from his brother’s estate. The massive bill owed by Sam Wyly and the estate of Charles Wyly is believed to be the biggest in history. Brothers used trusts to avoid taxes… – Continue reading
Washington, April 20 (IANS): Finance Minister Arun Jaitley here has sought urgent implementation of the automatic exchange of financial account information globally to tackle the menace of black money. “We strongly feel that there is a need to ensure that the common reporting standards on automatic exchange of information should… – Continue reading
Vodafone’s long-standing tax woes in India have hit another hurdle after the country’s income tax department asked the operator to re-file its 2009-10 tax return for re-assessment. An inside source told the Economic Times he didn’t know what triggered the request, but the tax authority is looking to review the… – Continue reading
The government’s recent steps to check the flow of unaccounted wealth to foreign assets and bank accounts have had the unintended result of making tax compliance tough for expatriates on corporate assignments here, who have legitimate assets in their home countries, say experts. The tax troubles of these people over… – Continue reading
UK Chancellor George Osborne and Australian Treasurer Joe Hockey have committed to establishing a working group to urgently consider and develop initiatives centered around the UK’s Diverted Profits Tax. The announcement was made at the Group of Twenty (G-20) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting, which was held in… – Continue reading
The Senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance will unexpectedly return on Wednesday after the Australian Taxation Office requested a supplementary public hearing to refute allegations made in evidence by former ATO executive Martin Lock. Mr Lock told the inquiry earlier this month that the Tax Office gives up “billions of… – Continue reading
The Ministry of Trade will be launching a trade policy that will re-ignite Fiji’s interest in the Australian and New Zeaand markets in the next few months. Minister for Trade Faiyaz Koya says this single reference document will identify the trade capacity, constraints and needs of each sector. ‘’The policy… – Continue reading
ABU DHABI: The UAE Cabinet on Sunday endorsed hosting the headquarters of the joint Police Force of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) in Abu Dhabi. By hosting the GCC Police Force, the UAE aims to foster its relations with the other Gulf countries to safeguard the region from any form… – Continue reading
Global cues are negative with the Asian markets starting the week on the back foot, following a lower finish on Wall Street on Friday. Moneycontrol Bureau The Indian equity market is likely to open in the green as suggested by SGX Nifty, that was trading at 8618.00, up 3 points… – Continue reading
Business is braced for a slew of new anti-avoidance measures after the UK general election next month as politicians compete on promises to raise billions of pounds from closing tax loopholes, reports the Financial Times. A cross-party consensus is emerging over the scope for a renewed crackdown. Last week Vince… – Continue reading
India and China developing frameworks for Reits but while their sheer sizes impress, both face tax and high interest rate hurdles, reports the Business Times. India and China are both developing frameworks for real estate investment trusts (Reits), but the threat to Singapore’s position as a major regional Reit centre… – Continue reading
Technology companies with international operations are increasingly using global tax avoidance methods, despite growing opposition from the public and politicians in the U.S. and abroad. As this opposition fuels ongoing changes in tax rules, organizations must be able to quickly adapt their corporate structures and tax strategies to maintain a… – Continue reading
The European Court of Justice recently ruled that the Netherlands may restrict the 30% fixed tax-free allowance for expatriate costs to employees living more than 150 kilometres from the Dutch border. The 150-kilometre restriction does not restrict the free movement of employees within the European Union. Consequently, an employer and… – Continue reading
EUROPEAN M&A DOS AND DON’TS FOR NON-EUROPEAN BUYERS Inbound M&A in Europe by non-European buyers increased in 2014 by 68.6% compared to 2013, representing over a third of USD 901.4 billion total European M&A.1 For non-European buyers the basic framework of transactions may be similar, but there are a number… – Continue reading
Pakistan and China are re-negotiating agreement for the avoidance of double taxation convention and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. Sources told Business Recorder Saturday that the revised convention may not be inked during the upcoming visit of Chinese President as the re-renegotiations have yet… – Continue reading
Bangladesh authorities are working with counterparts abroad to recover proceeds of corruption (‘stolen assets’), in terms of the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), Bangladesh Bank (BB) Governor Dr. Atiur Rahman has said. The central bank chief disclosed this while speaking at an event title Addressing the Linkage Illicit Flows and… – Continue reading
Tensions between Swiss banks and the United States justice authorities should ease up in 2015, Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf has said on the sidelines of the joint International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington. The minister said she had received positive signals that this year would bring… – Continue reading
India is considering allowing companies to raise rupee debt offshore, the country’s central bank said on Tuesday, noting strong demand for such debt following issues by Asian Development Bank and International Finance Corp. “These issues have been received with interest. The appetite for rupee debt amongst international investors is a… – Continue reading
India is considering allowing companies to raise rupee debt offshore, the country’s central bank said on Tuesday, noting strong demand for such debt following issues by Asian Development Bank and International Finance Corp. “These issues have been received with interest. The appetite for rupee debt amongst international investors is a… – Continue reading
For Ghana to close the gap between cash resources and funding needs for services and infrastructure, there is the need for a total rehash of the taxation system, Participants at a sensitisation tax justice workshop say. They said the rehash would recover taxes seeping through bad structural deals with multinationals… – Continue reading
Mumbai: The United States of America (USA) has toppled Mauritius to become the top jurisdiction from where India is receiving the highest amount of foreign portfolio investment (FPI) into the equity markets.Mauritius lost out due to the uncertainty over the double tax avoidance treaty (DTAA) between India and Mauritius and… – Continue reading
Case against former head of IMF and finance minister, arrested on tax evasion charges, is damaging to People’s party, Spanish PM acknowledges Spain’s ruling party is scrambling to limit the damage after one of Europe’s most high-profile politicians was arrested on charges of tax evasion and money-laundering. The prime minister,… – Continue reading
China may be the global electronics factory, but it is neighbouring Taiwan that India is increasingly looking at to drive its ‘Make in India’ initiative. A team led by secretary electronics and information technology RS Sharma went to Taiwan in March, and met a few major companies. The delegation will… – Continue reading
ABU DHABI: The UAE Cabinet has on Sunday endorsed hosting the headquarters of the joint Police Force of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) in Abu Dhabi. By hosting the GCC Police Force, the UAE aims to foster its relations with the other Gulf countries to safeguard the region from any… – Continue reading
Given the low annual and lifetime limits for contributions to tax free investment products, one may be forgiven for wondering what the point really is, according to David Warneke, national head of corporate tax at BDO South Africa. Tax free investment options were introduced in SA with effect from March… – Continue reading
The number of NHS nurses in England is set to fall by almost 2,000 over the next four years according to government projections, Labour has said. Accusing the Conservatives of having a “secret plan”, Labour’s Andy Burnham said fewer nurses would push hospitals “over the edge”. The health document Labour… – Continue reading
In end to crisis, Palestinians agree to sums withheld from tax revenues to offset debts to Israel Electric Company; the two sides will continue discussing future payment obligations. Israel and the Palestinian Authority reached a compromise agreement on Friday that will effectively end the crisis regarding the tax revenues that… – Continue reading
Bankrupt ex-billionaire Samuel Wyly was accused by regulators of hiding the ownership of a luxury Colorado ranch in a possible bid to avoid paying creditors as much as $50 million in future sale proceeds. Wyly’s proposed plan to sell the 244-acre property — the site of several mansions used by… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has sought urgent implementation of common reporting standards on automatic exchange of information globally, asserting that it is the only way to tackle the challenges posed by black money and stop tax evasion. The problem of offshore tax evasion and flow of illicit money can be… – Continue reading
Now, the Aadhar Card holders need not to file income-tax returns physically. New ITR forms will link to Aadhar card and do away with the physical ITR-5 for those who are Aadhar-verified by the Electronic Verification Certification (EVC) system. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has introduced Aadhar card… – Continue reading
The United Kingdom (UK) has followed Germany in lodging a formal protest with the Finance Ministry over the alleged breach of confidentiality of data and secret banking details received via diplomatic channels. While German authorities objected to the manner in which 18 names of Indian account holders in the LGT… – Continue reading
