THE Nigerian Indigenous Ship owners Association of Nigeria, NISA, has concluded plans to move against the proposed re-registration of vessels by the management of the National Inland Waterways, NIWA , a development they say will lead to double taxation. Speaking at the end of its quarterly meeting, President of NISA,… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips has hit back at suggestions from Opposition Leader Andrew Holness that an increase in tax compliance would mean harassment of businesses. Holness made the suggestion as he contributed to the Budget Debate last Thursday, but speaking at a meeting at The Gleaner’s North Street offices… – Continue reading
The Investment Association has hit out at Labour plans to widen the tax net for hedge funds, arguing this could harm the economy and increase the costs of UK funds. The Financial Times reports that Labours wants to remove “intermediaries relief” tax which allows investment funds to avoid paying stamp… – Continue reading
Last week, we discussed the revised set of standards for Transfer Pricing (TP) documentation and a template for country-by-country reporting (CBCR) of income, earnings, taxes paid and certain measures of economic activity as contained in Action Plan 13 of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project. The CBCR provides… – Continue reading
Steve Forbes made the flat tax the centerpiece of his two presidential campaigns. Now, he’s promoting the idea once again as he relaunches an organization called Americans for Hope, Growth and Opportunity to advance a pro-growth agenda. “The flat tax is absolutely crucial to turbocharging our molasses-like economy,” Forbes, editor… – Continue reading
THE daughter of a multi-millionaire Sussex entrepreneur has been jailed over a £500,000 tax fraud. Theresa Bunn, 56, third child of the late Douglas Bunn, was sentenced to two years and eight months after lying about the value of her aunt’s estate. She told HMRC that Diana Vivien Pares-Wilson had… – Continue reading
New Delhi: The Income Tax department will carry out closer scrutiny of those tax statements wherein an assessee has disclosed that he or she holds bank accounts or any other assets abroad before the current financial year ends on March 31. Sources said the drive has been undertaken by the… – Continue reading
Tour de France champion Vincenzo Nibali is reported to have avoided a potential six-month prison sentence after reaching an agreement with Italy’s tax authorities over undeclared income. The Astana rider failed to declare income totalling €772,000 for 2010 and 2011, which would have incurred a tax liability of €290,000, reports… – Continue reading
Asuncion, Mar 22 (Prensa Latina) The volume of tax evasion of transnational companies based in Paraguay is even higher than drug trafficking, said economist Verónica Serafini, who calculated that the profits achieved by foreign investors in 2012 reached billions of dollars, however the country did not receive tax contributions of… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The Income Tax department will carry out closer scrutiny of those tax statements wherein an assessee has disclosed that he or she holds bank accounts or any other assets abroad before the current financial year ends on March 31. Sources said the drive has been undertaken by the… – Continue reading
FORMER HM Revenue & Customs chief Dave Hartnett is to be grilled tomorrow by MPs over why he failed to prosecute more HSBC customers for alleged tax evasion. Hartnett is set to appear before the Public Accounts Committee and chairwoman Margaret Hodge is expected to take him to task for… – Continue reading
Gurgaon: Advocating easing of entry barriers for global corporations, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said that India needs to become globally competitive from infrastructure to taxation. In his convocation address at the Management Development Institute (MDI) here he underlined the need for relaxing norms for entry of multinational corporations… – Continue reading
Virgin Care, which has been handed contracts worth hundreds of millions of pounds to run more than 230 NHS and social care services, is one of at least 10 private health firms seeking state-funded contracts whose company structures include tax havens, it can be revealed. An analysis by Richard Murphy,… – Continue reading
Indian Revenue Secretary Shakti Kantadas says there will be no delay in rolling out the provisions of the act or operationalizing or putting into effect the provisions of the Black Money Act. Indian Revenue Secretary Shakti Kantadas says people should come clean on undeclared bank accounts and assets during the… – Continue reading
Mainland authorities are targeting tax evasion by multinationals, implementing new regulations aimed at “unreasonable” payments such as for service and royalties to overseas related parties. “The tax administration’s nationwide audit has discovered instances of multinationals in China making unreasonable payments to related parties overseas, causing the erosion of our tax… – Continue reading
It’s been dubbed the ‘Google tax’! Starting April 1st, the UK will levy a new ‘diverted profits tax’. This is the British government’s offensive against multinationals like Google, Amazon, Starbucks and others accused of shifting profits and avoiding tax. In doing so UK will become the first country to implement… – Continue reading
LONDON (CNN) – Greece is a tourist hot spot. But if you’re going to the islands this summer, would you mind being wired to catch tax cheats? A few tourists were asked if they would. “I’m here on holiday. I want to have a good time and I want to… – Continue reading
Blackmoney stashed abroad will entail a 10 year rigorous imprisonment and a whopping 90% tax under the proposed stringent law that provides for a limited window of opportunity to offenders to disclose illicit wealth and escape prosecution. Blackmoney stashed abroad will entail a 10 year rigorous imprisonment and a whopping… – Continue reading
The China State Administration of Taxation recently issued a notice extending the taxation of capital gains by non-Chinese tax residents arising from indirect transfers of Chinese assets. Where indirect transfers of equity in Chinese entities were already subject to capital gains tax based on Circular 698, Notice 7 now extends… – Continue reading
TAXES will be cut to protect vulnerable North-East airports if Scotland carries its pledge to cut charges, David Cameron pledges today (Friday, March 20). Speaking to The Northern Echo, the Prime Minister vowed that – if re-elected – he will not allow “unfair tax competition” that would hurt Newcastle and… – Continue reading
Living in Central Massachusetts, had I the vision of Sarah Palin, who can see Russia from her home in Alaska, I could look north and see New Hampshire on the right and Vermont on the left. It is perhaps an apt metaphor. New Hampshire with its “Live Free Or Die”… – Continue reading
Ranking Irish officials expressed concern the “double-Irish” corporate tax mechanism was undermining the State’s “international tax credibility” before the Government moved to scrap the loophole in this year’s budget. Newly released records of the influential Tax Strategy Group show officials also took note US president Barack Obama had criticised other… – Continue reading
Tax havens have historically offered respite for individuals and companies looking to avoid high levels of taxation in their home countries. Some countries have effectively set out to create an environment in which international financial transactions come under little scrutiny so that foreign individuals and companies can safely park their… – Continue reading
Hong Kong’s Government has published in its Official Gazette the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2015, which would extend the profits tax exemption for offshore funds to private equity funds. The Bill will be tabled in the Legislative Council on March 25. To reinforce Hong Kong’s aim of becoming a venture… – Continue reading
Croatia and the United States have signed an agreement on the application of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) concerning accounts in foreign financial institutions, in order to improve transparency between the two countries in the area of taxes, the Croatian Finance Ministry announced in a statement on Friday…. – Continue reading
The Government has introduced the Advance Pricing Agreement (APA) Scheme through Finance Act, 2012 and Income Tax (Tenth Amendment) Rules, 2012 notified vide S.O. 2005(E) with effect from 30th August, 2012. The APA Scheme endeavours to provide certainty to taxpayers in the field of transfer pricing through an agreement in… – Continue reading
Argentina will move forward with its investigation of the HSBC offshore accounts in Switzerland, and will make public the names of those Argentine citizens and organizations that held money overseas in the financial entity, allegedly with the purpose of eluding local taxes. Swiss and French officials are also looking into… – Continue reading
The Treasury has rejected MPs’ arguments that the tax industry “cannot be trusted to regulate itself” and has called on professional institutes to “take on a greater lead and responsibility” in relation to tax avoidance, reports the Financial Times. The call for the institutes representing accountants and other professions to… – Continue reading
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has received a budget proposal of the Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce & Industry (OICCI) regarding reduction in activation tax on mobile phones from Rs 250 to Rs 150 and withdraw sales tax on SIM card issuance and IMEI tax to avoid double taxation… – Continue reading
Where applicable, foreign landlords with property in Turkey are required to file tax returns to Turkish financial authorities by March 25 The tax treatment of income elements earned by foreigners from any source of income usually tops the international tax agenda and is extensively debated worldwide by experts, academics and… – Continue reading
Owning real property on both sides of the border can create a confusing tax situation. Consider this example. Stefan and Jane are married and live in Vancouver. Jane is a Canadian citizen while Stefan holds both U.S. and Canadian citizenship. In 1994, shortly after getting married, they bought a house… – Continue reading
Compliance departments are feeling increasingly challenged by higher regulatory expectations, coupled with staff shortages and technology concerns, according to a joint Dow Jones Risk & Compliance and Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) global survey. “This year’s survey once again highlights the issues and emerging trends that are shaping… – Continue reading
Rafal Mikulski of Dentons explains why Cayman Islands’ investment funds may be entitled to a tax exemption in Poland and to claim for overpaid tax from the Polish tax authorities The Agreement for the Exchange of Information Relating to Tax Matters signed on November 29, 2013, by and between the… – Continue reading
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) will issue detailed guidelines to ensure that non-resident companies holding a board meeting or two in India do not get any tax demands on their global income on account of New Delhi’s new wider definition of a resident company. Sources said the new… – Continue reading
State prepared to engage constructively with European Commission, says Taoiseach, reports the Irish Times. Ireland remains opposed to the idea of a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB), Taoiseach Enda Kenny said yesterday, though it is prepared to engage constructively with the European Commission on any new proposal unveiled. The… – Continue reading
Tough tax disclosure laws introduced by the former Labor Government represent “an invasion of privacy and intrusion for Australian private companies,” Prime Minister Tony Abbott has said. Abbott made the comment during a joint press conference with the Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg. The press conference followed a meeting of the… – Continue reading
In Ruling No. 27296, Italy’s Supreme Court rejected the tax authorities’ appeal against an Italian company’s transfer of goods and services to its German parent. The Supreme Court ruled that if there is no clear economic advantage for a company, simply proving a transaction is not at arm’s-length is insufficient… – Continue reading
U.S. Court of Appeals Rejects IRS Attempt to Apply Closing Agreement Retroactively to Support an Unrelated Proposed Adjustment to Tax SUMMARY From 2003 to 2006, U.S. corporations were entitled, in certain circumstances, to elect a one-time dividends-received deduction for dividends from controlled foreign corporations. BMC Software, Inc. made this election… – Continue reading
The government has moved to legislate in haste to close tax loopholes. But history suggests this is unwise. One legal figure to crop up in the chancellor’s budget statement published yesterday was the ubiquitous Sir Brian Leveson. The president of the Queen’s Bench Division receives a namecheck in the budget’s… – Continue reading
While the problems with our international tax system are complex, the solution is relatively simple: U.S. corporations should pay the same tax rate, at the same time, on their domestic and foreign profits. The ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, Sen. Ron Wyden, made the case for this reform… – Continue reading
The Haryana Lokayukta, Justice Pritam Pal (retd), on Wednesday recommended, to the state government, that a criminal case should be lodged against the government officials, property developers, builders and others who are allegedly responsible for the Rs 10,000 crore tax evasion scam in the state. A Special Investigation Team (SIT),… – Continue reading
UK bank HSBC is the first non-Chinese bank to take advantage of new Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ) rules designed to ease foreign currency borrowing and bring down funding costs. Shanghai FTZ allows corporates to use its free trade account to conduct foreign currency borrowing from offshore markets. People’s Bank… – Continue reading
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has welcomed Switzerland’s recent moves towards greater tax transparency, admitting the country to phase 2 of the peer review process. Jacques de Watteville, head of Switzerland’s State Secretariat for International Financial Matters, said: “We are delighted about this decision. It is the… – Continue reading
GENEVA: Facing a global crackdown including from India on their ‘safe haven’ tag, Swiss banks today asserted that “bank-client confidentiality” will not disappear and ‘automatic information exchange’ is not the only solution to the black money menace. The assertion comes at a time when Switzerland is in the process of… – Continue reading
Bern and Brussels have clinched a deal to exchange bank account data in an effort to tackle tax fraud. The agreement comes after a recent report exposed the global economic damage caused by offshore accounts. Switzerland and the European Union are teaming up to crack down on tax cheats, officials… – Continue reading
BENGALURU, MARCH 19: IT major Wipro has won a legal victory with the Karnataka High Court allowing it to save a significant amount in taxes from its overseas operations. The judgment is likely to have an impact on Indian companies that have overseas operations. US taxes In a ruling on… – Continue reading
Vivienne Westwood has been axed as the guest speaker at a Kingston Young Green’s event because the group do not want to be associated with her. The veteran fashion designer had been due to speak alongside Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack at the We Are the Revolution talk tonight… – Continue reading
Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan says information sharing with foreign nations has allowed it to raise $730 million worth of tax liabilities over the past two financial years. In a speech to be delivered at the Tax Institute’s annual conference in Gold Coast on Thursday morning, Mr Jordan says he is… – Continue reading
Papua New Guinea’s central bank has moved to stop offshore foreign banks, which don’t operate in PNG, trading in the Kina.From this month, people and companies wanting to trade in Kina and foreign currencies will only be able to use one of six authorised dealers. Since July last year, after… – Continue reading
The Israel Tax Authority and Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs are using powerful technologies to close in on tax dodgers. In Britain, the mix of politics, the upcoming elections, the budget deficit and public pressure has provoked a whirlwind of controversy around the issue of tax avoidance and tax… – Continue reading
