Introduction On 19 September the Dutch State Secretary for Finance Mr Wiebes responded to the release of the 2014 interim reports on the OECD BEPS project. The Netherlands underlines the importance of the initial results of the BEPS project and is one of the forerunners in the international cooperation against… – Continue reading
HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) will pay $12.5 million to settle claims that its Swiss private-banking unit solicited U.S. investors without being registered. HSBC Private Bank Suisse SA improperly amassed as many as 368 U.S. client accounts after starting to provide cross-border services more than 10 years ago, the SEC said… – Continue reading
A deal between Stryker Corp. (SYK) and Smith & Nephew Plc (SN/) makes as much sense now as it did six months ago. It just might be tougher to pull off. Stryker is considering structuring the takeover as a tax inversion, allowing the Kalamazoo, Michigan-based company to move its legal… – Continue reading
Progress reports released on tax avoidance Revenue Minister Todd McClay today released two reports from officials relating to tax avoidance by large multinational companies. The reports provide an update on policy work being undertaken in line with the OECD Action Plan and also outline the expected timeline for related policy… – Continue reading
MOSCOW, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) — Russian entrepreneurs must report to tax authorities about their ownership of shares in the off- shore jurisdictions, according to the law signed by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. The new law introduces an amendment to the Russian Tax Code that will force Russian owners of… – Continue reading
Mr. Eduardo Morgan of Morgan and Morgan Group spoke to United World to clear up misconceptions about Panama’s tax laws. Panama is not a tax haven. The country has none of the aspects that, according to Colombia, identify a tax haven. Our tax legislation does not have any law that… – Continue reading
Canadian taxpayers with an interest in a partnership that holds specified foreign property (as defined in subsection 233.3(1)) may face uncertainty when assessing their form T1135 (“Foreign Income Verification Statement”) filing obligations. Depending on the partnership’s structure, either (1) the taxpayer may be required to file form T1135 in respect… – Continue reading
Meredith McBride in Hong Kong Though base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) took the front seat during meetings between global leaders on November 15 and 16 at the G20 forum, country leaders also expressed concern over the taxation of intellectual property (IP). Patent box regimes in particular were mentioned as… – Continue reading
ZURICH (Reuters) – Many of Switzerland’s foreign millionaires will be watching nervously on Sunday as voters decide whether or not to scrap one of the country’s biggest tax perks for expatriates. Switzerland’s system of charging foreign residents with no gainful activity in the country a lump sum based on their… – Continue reading
Martin Lock was formerly the top withholding-tax specialist at the Tax Office, a role that encompassed oversight of profit shifting by multinationals. He is one of many former officers who have voiced their concerns to Fairfax Media about the challenge of arresting the slide in tax receipts from multinational companies… – Continue reading
The central bank resumed its foreign-exchange support through selling the US dollar to the commercial banks after nearly two years and a half to keep the market stable, officials said. As part of the move, the Bangladesh Bank (BB) sold US$45 million at market rate to five commercial banks directly… – Continue reading
The law introduces amendments to the country’s tax code that will oblige Russian owners of companies registered in offshore tax havens to pay taxes in Russia MOSCOW, November 25. /TASS/. Russian President Vladimir Putin signed on Tuesday a new tax law intended to return Russian capital and assets from foreign… – Continue reading
The Barbados International Business Association (BIBA) has welcomed Barbados’s appointment to Vice Chair of the Global Forum of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), saying that the decision validates the jurisdiction’s good standing among international business and financial centers. Barbados is to take over from Bermuda, for two… – Continue reading
For foreign investors doing business in China, securing benefits under a double taxation avoidance (DTA) agreement is an important measure for reducing their tax burden as stipulated by Chinese tax law and thereby maximizing profit. In addition to satisfying the specific requirements of a relevant DTA, certain administrative procedures must… – Continue reading
RBC Wealth Management has announced plans to discontinue its private wealth management business in the Caribbean. The strategy to “realign certain businesses within [its] international operations” was presented to staff in an internal memorandum last Thursday. It is not clear whether the business will be closed or sold. Paul French,… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: As the market touches a new high, Sebi is clamping down on dubious inflows from loosely regulated, offshore entities, particularly those located in the Gulf. According to a Sebi communique on Monday evening, foreign funds investing on behalf of unknown investors and through opaque structures will now find it… – Continue reading
The backlog of tax disputes waiting to be heard has reached a new record high with a particular surge in the number of high value cases lodged with the Upper Tribunal, according to Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.25 Nov 2014 Tax Disputes and Investigations Tax Private wealth tax… – Continue reading
The Government of Barbados and the United States have signed an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) to facilitate compliance with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA, which was enacted by the US Congress in 2010 and took effect on July 1, 2014, is intended to ensure that the US… – Continue reading
“Miserable.” That’s how Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner John Koskinen described the upcoming tax season to a group of tax practitioners at the AICPA National Tax Conference in Washington, D.C. earlier this month. Citing concerns about extenders, increased responsibilities due to the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Foreign Account… – Continue reading
Should London’s Mayor Boris Johnson pay U.S. taxes and file FBARs? Born in New York, the iconic London mayor never gave up his U.S. citizenship. But rather than quietly paying U.S. taxes, Mr. Johnson in an NPR interview called it ‘outrageous’ to tax U.S. citizens on their global income. Mayor… – Continue reading
Favourable tax systems for businesses operating in Northern Ireland must be transparent and open, according to a campaigner. Eamonn Donaghy, head of tax at KPMG Belfast and spokesman for Grow NI, a campaign to devolve corporation tax varying powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly, was speaking as a new report… – Continue reading
The Future of the Department of Justice’s High Visibility Offshore Tax Evasion Initiative. On August 29, 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”) Tax Division announced the Program for Non-Prosecution Agreements and Non-Target Letters for Swiss Banks (the “Program”). The announcement of this unprecedented program was the culmination of the… – Continue reading
(CNS Business): Following the G20 summit in Brisbane last week questions remain over how much the latest talks on global tax transparency will impact Cayman and other offshore jurisdictions. Despite the bluster from international politicians in the build-up to the summit over clamping down on multinational corporate tax dodging, illicit… – Continue reading
The Estonian government has become the first country in the world to offer e-residency to non-citizens. Successful applicants will be issued a digital ID card with a computer-readable chip which, in combination with authentication PIN codes, will allow them to access a number of the country’s e-services and conduct business… – Continue reading
MOSCOW, November 25 (Sputnik) — Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved a law to help the country recover money from foreign tax havens, after offshore tax sheltering over the past two decades has been shown to decrease Russian revenues by over $800 billion. In 2013, the Russian Accounts Chamber released… – Continue reading
Responsible corporations paying their taxes and revealing their ownership structure could be a possible solution in the fight of Europe against tax evasion and tax havens which cost billions of euro annually. EurActiv Czech Republic reports. “We should step up our efforts to combat tax evasion and tax fraud”, Jean-Claude… – Continue reading
PETALING JAYA: Public Bank Bhd and PT Bank Central Asia, Tbk, Indonesia have entered into a non-exclusive memorandum of understanding on business collaboration. The primary objective of the collaboration is to leverage upon the respective strengths expertise and networks of Public Bank and Bank Central Asia to enable the two… – Continue reading
Arlette Ricci accused of hiding money from France’s tax authorities in test case related to the HSBC tax-avoidance scandal Arlette Ricci’s name is on a list handed over by an HSBC Private Bank employee of French citizens alleged to have hidden cash in offshore accounts. Photograph: Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images The… – Continue reading
UK resident non-domiciliaries (RNDs), who have offshore bank accounts and interests in non-UK structures, are currently not required to provide any information about those accounts/structures to HMRC, provided that they claim the remittance basis of taxation in the UK, those accounts do not hold assets which produce UK source income… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – China has levied about $140 million in back taxes from Microsoft Corp in the first major case concerning cross-border tax evasion in the country, as regulators ramp up pressure on U.S. corporations doing business there. According to an article published by China’s Xinhua official news agency on Sunday,… – Continue reading
When is a Chinese company not Chinese? When it’s a complex web of offshore vehicles rooted in anonymous tax havens. That description includes some of the People’s Republic’s most successful and innovative companies. It will make the country’s apparent new push on tax evasion hard to enforce. Authorities have extracted… – Continue reading
The backlog of tax disputes waiting to be heard has reached a new record high with a particular surge in the number of high value cases lodged with the Upper Tribunal, according to Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com.25 Nov 2014 Tax Disputes and Investigations Tax Private wealth tax… – Continue reading
The Government of Barbados and the United States have signed an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) to facilitate compliance with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA, which was enacted by the US Congress in 2010 and took effect on July 1, 2014, is intended to ensure that the US… – Continue reading
On November 21, 2014, as part of its Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), the OECD released a discussion draft on “Follow-up work on BEPS Action 6: Preventing Treaty Abuse” (the Discussion Draft) for comments. The Discussion Draft deals with a number of issues relating to tax… – Continue reading
Each U.S. citizen and permanent resident must report worldwide income to the IRS even when paying taxes elsewhere. Moreover, you must file an annual FBAR (now called FinCEN Form 114) disclosing your foreign bank accounts if their aggregate value exceeds $10,000 at any point during the year. The penalties for… – Continue reading
The OECD has invited comments on a discussion draft on proposed changes to the OECD model tax convention to prevent tax treaty abuse. The OECD’s recent report on action 6 of the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) action plan recognised that further work would be needed on the precise… – Continue reading
George Osborne is not going to want to do anything too controversial given the forthcoming General Election in May 2015, but does need to address some clear issues relating to public finances. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the current budget deficit is estimated at just under £100bn and… – Continue reading
HMRC’s controversial tactic of publishing a list of tax dodgers’ details has outed 77 individuals and businesses this year. How exactly did they make the list? HMRC’s list of people who dodge thousands of pounds of tax – and subsequently try to cover it up – could soon be bombarded… – Continue reading
Upper-tribunal appeals of UK tax rulings have jumped by a third, with backlogged tax disputes reaching a record high, according to law firm Pinsent Masons In the tax year 2013/14, 267 new upper-tribunal cases were lodged, an overall increase of 32% on the previous year, and almost four times as… – Continue reading
Boris Johnson has a point about his U.S. tax bill, but he should still cough up. The London mayor objects to the fact that his dual UK and U.S. citizenship means he has been issued with an American tax bill, and he says he won’t pay. Though many U.S. expats… – Continue reading
DOUBLE taxation for companies and individual investors at the securities market could be scrapped in 2016, if a plan by the Capital Markets Authority is adopted. In a move to attract and grow investments, the Capital Markets Authority has initiated talks on a transparent tax regime, to eliminate multiple taxes… – Continue reading
This Black Friday, legions of shoppers will throng to their local Walmart in frenzied pursuit of holiday deals. But it turns out that Walmart has saved the sweetest deals for itself. In a recent analysis of Walmart’s tax spending, Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) found that the company “avoids $1… – Continue reading
New Delhi: Aiming to intensify government’s drive on black money, the PMO has asked the revenue department to look for ways other than bilater24al tax treaties to bring back funds stashed abroad. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has suggested the tax department to think of other ways to tackle the… – Continue reading
Transfer pricing can be identified as an area of tax law that continues to attract the attention of both tax authorities and businesses worldwide. The growing importance of transfer pricing can be observed in the Slovak Republic as well, as it has become one of the dominant tax issues addressed… – Continue reading
One of George Osborne’s flagship policies is set to be reformed in next week’s Autumn Statement following the resolution of a protracted spat with Germany over the controversial tax break. The so-called Patent Box took effect last year and allowed companies to pay lower tax bills on profits derived from… – Continue reading
Rüschlikon is just a 20-minute boat ride from the centre of Zurich, yet a world away from the intense rivalry of the city’s financial powerhouses. Every autumn, the sleepy lakeside settlement hosts the Private Banking Summit, where delegates seek safeguards for their threatened industry. “Swiss private banking is in turmoil,… – Continue reading
Banking regulators in Jersey have warned consumers and investors not to deal with a bank claiming to operate in the Channel Islands. Channel Offshore Bank advertises a St Helier address on its website and says it has been in business since 1989. The Jersey Financial Services Commission says the bank’s… – Continue reading
Strasbourg, France (dpa) – European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker urged lawmakers on Monday to trust his determination to tackle tax avoidance, ahead of a parliamentary confidence vote related to a tax scandal in his native Luxembourg. The controversy, known as LuxLeaks, grew out of allegations by a team of investigative… – Continue reading
Tax havens have created an unsustainable economic structure wherein the rich get richer, Dennis Howlett summarized. Daily Herald Other news Zary’s hat trick leads Trojans over Mintos Bauer earns Player of the Week honours Crusaders win provincial championship in all P.A. final PAPHR received significant staffing boost under the Sask…. – Continue reading
* Asian, Gulf banks in talks about obtaining Jersey licence * 18 percent of Jersey banking deposits from Asia, Mideast * Jersey Finance custodian of 1.2 trillion pounds DUBAI, Nov 23 (Reuters) – Jersey Finance, the island’s financial centre which acts as custodian of 1.2 trillion pounds ($1.88 trillion), is… – Continue reading
