TAX in the 21st Century is exciting and new ideas and theorems are emerging to increasingly reduce the global village into one block where information is shared and taxes are realised even from abroad. Mid last year in June, a new notion was coined in the tax world. This new… – Continue reading
The Government may have retreated on its promises to crack down on multinational IT companies avoiding tax, but the Australian Tax Office says it’s on the case. Less than a year ago the ATO appointed Andrew Mills, a tax lawyer from outside the government bureaucracy, to the important role of… – Continue reading
Every acquisition requires careful tax planning early on in the process, especially when dealing with cross border acquisitions. One important consideration when a foreign company plans to acquire a Canadian company is the impact of any tax treaties that currently exist between the two jurisdictions. Tax treaties effectively reduce tax… – Continue reading
KUALA LUMPUR: A student movement today demanded that the government make it mandatory for top officials to publicly declare their assets in the wake of news about Malaysian public figures keeping millions of ringgit in offshore accounts. Anak Muda Harapan Malaysia (AMHM) said in a press statement that wealth declaration… – Continue reading
IE Singapore said it helped 28,000 companies with their overseas ventures last year, up 5 per cent from 2013. SINGAPORE: More Singapore companies are expanding their footprints overseas. In its latest annual Year-in-Review released on Monday (Feb 16), IE Singapore said local firms that make an overseas foray are able… – Continue reading
Drug firm has come out fighting after allegations it engaged in tax avoidance on an industrial scale Ireland’s largest drug company has come out fighting following allegations that, with its tax adviser PricewaterhouseCoopers, it has engaged in tax avoidance on an industrial scale – as alleged by the public accounts… – Continue reading
An FCA spokesman said the regulator faced difficulty in pursuing action against HSBC because the behaviour publicised so far involved its Swiss unit, HSBC Private Banking (Suisse) SA, which the spokesman said was beyond the FCA’s jurisdiction. Britain’s financial watchdog said it was investigating HSBC following reports it helped clients… – Continue reading
Singapore and France signed a revised Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation (DTA) on 15 January 2015, which is not yet in force. The new DTA provides for lower withholding tax rates for dividends and new anti-abuse provisions. The most notable changes are the following: 1. Withholding Tax Withholding… – Continue reading
The Manx government will not officially respond to Labour leader Ed Miliband’s ultimatum on beneficial ownership. Mr Miliband has threatened to place on an international blacklist any Crown Dependency or British Overseas Territory that fails to produce a public register of company beneficial ownership within six months of Labour coming… – Continue reading
Firms need clear rules, certainty to remain in compliance with tax law, says expert Heightened scrutiny of foreign companies’ tax practices is a sign of China’s effort to modernize its taxation system to keep up with the fast-changing international business environment, but there is another dimension that concerns the foreign… – Continue reading
Madrid’s public prosecution has accused two high-level tax officials under former prime minister José Luis Zapatero’s administration of helping hundreds of suspected tax dodgers implicated in the HSBC scandal to avoid possible jail sentences, according to Spanish daily newspaper El Pais. María Dolores Bustamante, the former director of tax management… – Continue reading
Last month, President Obama traveled to India where he famously befriended Narendra Modi and others. There, he heralded a new era of joint cooperation on many fronts, including the exchange of offshore account information. Last week, US Treasury Secretary, Jacob Lew was in India to follow up and meet with… – Continue reading
The Bank of Botswana (BoB) on Friday took over management of troubled offshore bank, Kingdom Bank Africa Limited (KBAL). The bank is reeling from liquidity constraints, which have seen depositors fail to withdraw their monies while workers haven’t received regular salaries for the past three months. In a statement released… – Continue reading
Labour will carry out a comprehensive review of tax planning schemes, including the use of deeds of variation on wills, should the party get to power following the general elections, shadow chancellor Ed Balls has said. Balls (pictured) told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on 15 February he would review… – Continue reading
Attorneys with the St. Louis law firm Capes, Sokol, Goodman & Sarachan, P.C. are urging people to become aware of a deal between Israeli’s Bank Leumi Group and the U.S. Government, saying it could impact local account holders. The Bank Leumi Group, Israel’s second-largest bank, made a deal with the… – Continue reading
Britain’s tax office has seen a surge in foreign governments making information requests about tax evasion over recent years. The number of requests to HM Revenue & Customs rose by 45% in 2013 to total 2,466, research from international law firm Pinsent Masons revealed. Ukraine had the biggest boost in… – Continue reading
The following article is from the February 13-26 print edition of the Budapest Business Journal. While the 2008 financial crisis questioned the justification for structured products globally, the recent decision of the Swiss National Bank to scrap the euro peg has revealed risks – not previously perceived by domestic investors… – Continue reading
Key staff at bank given £21m in salaries and bonuses in 2011 and 2012 But figure jumped almost 40% to £29.2m in 2013, financial reports say Bank is accused of helping customers to cheat taxman out of millions Admits failings in compliance & controls in Swiss private banking wing Staff… – Continue reading
CANBERRA: Australian Tax Office has said that Australia’s corporate tax base is in crisis because of tax relief by multinational companies in the country. The alarming data in these internal documents is at odds with the public position of the Australian Tax Office (ATO), which maintains the tax regime in… – Continue reading
Ed Miliband will stand by his claim that Tory treasurer Lord Fink was involved in ‘tax avoidance activities’, Harriet Harman says Ed Miliband has challenged David Cameron to say whether he agrees with a former Conservative treasurer’s claim that “everyone” engages in tax avoidance. After Tory peer Lord Fink’s admission… – Continue reading
A list of leaked Swiss bank accounts is making news in Belize tonight. And that’s because the list shows that 97 Belizean bank accounts holding 54.8 million US dollars are hidden away in these accounts. Now, in a country like Belize with an active offshore banking sector, that’s not too… – Continue reading
PREMIER Rufus Ewing has called out United Kingdom Opposition Leader, Edward Miliband for published statements he recently made regarding the TCI being a tax haven. Miliband is reported in the UK press as stating that the UK overseas territories (OT) are not complying with UK directives on beneficial ownership of… – Continue reading
London Mayor Boris Johnson was born in New York City in 1964, and he has held dual British and American citizenship throughout his life. Recently, after months of grousing about having to pay a capital gains tax to the U.S. on the sale of his house in Greater London, Johnson… – Continue reading
Last September, I wrote that America’s business tax system is a nightmare that simultaneously undermines the competitiveness of American companies while also causing lots of irritation in other nations. Both of those bad things happen because politicians in Washington think the IRS should be able to tax income that is… – Continue reading
HSBC has issued an apology as a political row over its Swiss private banking arm grows, saying it has “no appetite” to deal with clients seeking to dodge tax. In a full-page letter published in some Sunday newspapers, the bank’s chief executive, Stuart Gulliver, said the media revelations in the… – Continue reading
Financial information to be passed to IRS in September Abu Dhabi: The UAE’s financial institutes are set to comply with the US’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca) before the deadline at the end of the second quarter of this year, officials confirmed on Sunday. The information will then be… – Continue reading
LONDON: HSBC’s Indian banking unit is at the heart of fresh revelations around tax evasion, days after a global expose showed tax dodging through accounts in the British major’s Swiss banking unit, a media report said today. It is alleged that representatives of HSBC India, which has employees based in… – Continue reading
UNTIL NOW, many British expatriates have been able to sell UK property without having to pay any capital gains tax in the UK. This changes from April when new rules come into effect. The concept of charging UK capital gains tax on the disposal of UK residential property owned by… – Continue reading
Some of the biggest listed Irish firms have subsidiaries in so-called ‘tax havens’, like the British Virgin Islands, Jersey or Luxembourg. They say it’s not to reduce their tax bills – so why are they there? The subsidiaries are registered in well-known offshore tax havens, such as the British Virgin… – Continue reading
The shadow chancellor has promised that a Labour government would crack down on what he called “systemic tax evasion”. Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Ed Balls drew a distinction between families who legitimately plan their tax affairs and those who, in his words, “set up false structures”. He… – Continue reading
Sir David Garrard transferred shares offshore before some were later sold The tycoon has given the Labour Party more than £1.2million Ed Miliband attacked ‘dodgy Tory donors’ for having off-shore accounts Sir David held accounts in Liechtenstein and Jersey according to reports By GLEN OWEN FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY… – Continue reading
Identities of Ghanaians said to have stashed $89million in a Swiss bank to evade tax could become public, Kweku Baako, Managing editor of New Crusading Guide newspaper has said. According to the veteran journalist, there has been some contact made with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists who are in… – Continue reading
Public fury over tax dodging by some clients of HSBC’s Swiss arm is set to escalate after sources close to the Revenue’s investigation said there would be no more prosecutions for tax evasion. Despite Revenue and Customs being handed details of 6,000 Swiss bank accounts held by UK residents and… – Continue reading
The automobile industry is very important for the Indian economy, given its significant contribution to the national GDP, and the employment it generates directly and indirectly. After two years of sluggish growth, the fortunes of the industry seem to be changing. The latest forecast shows growth in almost all the… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The government plans to defer implementation of the General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) until the time the tax administration is able to rebuild trust with companies on the controversial issue. “Given the low level of confidence in tax authorities, investors fear that the provisions may result in harassment…. – Continue reading
AMSTERDAM: Google shifted nearly €10bn in royalties to the tax haven of Bermuda via the Netherlands in 2013. That is almost €1bn up on 2012, the paper says. It bases its claims on an analysis of the annual reports of Dutch-registered Google Netherlands Holdings BV. Over €9bn came from Google… – Continue reading
Budget should issue a) rules for announcements that were made in the budget in July 2014, (b) clarifications and guidance on matters that were at the centre of controversy during the past few years like equity infusion, valuations, etc. and (c) tax administrations, infrastructure and approach. The new government in… – Continue reading
COMPANIES registered in Caribbean islands by Cypriot law firms or consultancies form the bulk of the list of Cyprus-affiliated entries with deposits in HSBC Switzerland, daily Politis reported yesterday. The paper claimed to have obtained access to the full list of 106,000 depositors in the Swiss bank during 2006 and… – Continue reading
Feb 13 (Reuters) – France’s finance minister said on Friday Paris had not restricted the use of HSBC client data it passed on to UK authorities to help pursue tax evaders, contradicting comments by a senior British official. Britain’s Financial Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke said in parliament this… – Continue reading
Australian retail billionaire Gerry Harvey slammed the country’s powerful business lobby groups for pushing the interests of profit-shifting multinational corporations ahead of Australian companies. Harvey said companies that pay their fair share in taxes have no voice in government. The billionaire retailer spoke after it was publicly revealed that Apple… – Continue reading
The UK Treasury Committee has said that the draft legislation on the diverted profits tax (DPT) is unwieldy and stressed that the Government’s unilateral policy response should not destabilize international tax reform efforts. The Committee’s response to the plans are included in its new report on the Autumn Statement 2014,… – Continue reading
Former Enemalta chairman Tancred Tabone had set up a Jersey offshore trust into which he deposited $1 million, according to the HSBC data revealed in Swiss leaks. Reporting on the matter today, The Guardian said Mr Tabone planned to transfer more funds, with the bank noting “the potential is evaluated… – Continue reading
In the last several years, a “record” number of Americans abroad have been giving up their passports: That’s supposedly due to the demands of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, known as FATCA, a US law enacted in 2010 to fight tax evasion by forcing foreign banks to share information… – Continue reading
Confidential documents obtained from the Tax Office under the Freedom of Information Act show Australia’s corporate tax base is in crisis because of the explosion in tax haven dealings by multinational companies. The alarming data in these internal documents is at odds with the public position of the Australian Tax… – Continue reading
A UNITED Nations official has launched a scathing attack on Ireland over its corporation tax regime. Philip Alston, the UN’s Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, accused the country of supplementing the 12.5pc rate with a raft of schemes that appear designed to allow tax avoidance by big… – Continue reading
HMRC has failed to prosecute a wealthy tycoon who did not pay tax for 24 years as Richard Bilton reports Tax inspectors failed to prosecute a wealthy tax cheat who did not submit returns or pay any tax for 24 years, documents seen by BBC Panorama show. HM Revenue and… – Continue reading
February 13 2015 Following the entry into force of the double tax agreement between Spain and Cyprus (for further details please see “New double taxation agreement between Cyprus and Spain enters into force”), the Spanish Ministry of Finance has announced that Cyprus has been formally removed from the Spanish tax… – Continue reading
If the Davis tax committee’s recommendations are followed, tax avoidance could be effectively reined in. Zeroing in on the super-wealthy and tax reluctant remains at the top of the global agenda as budgets across the world grow increasingly hungry for extra revenues. Now a draft report from the Davis tax… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Committing to boost trade ties, India and the US today resolved to enhance cooperation, remove obstacles to investment flows and work towards early adoption of FATCA to facilitate automatic flow of tax information. “We are committed to share our experiences in tackling offshore tax evasion and avoidance. We… – Continue reading
Feb 12 (Reuters) – Brazilian Trade Minister Armando Monteiro said on Thursday he does not see much chance of agreeing on a tax treaty with the United States in the short term. In an interview during a visit to Washington, his first overseas trip as minister, Monteiro said double taxation,… – Continue reading
