The FATCA obliges banks to send information about US clients and their transactions to the Internal Revenue Service MOSCOW, Jun 5./ITAR-TASS/. The banks of Russia’s VTB Group will gradually cease servicing its 2,000 US clients to comply with the requirements of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), daily Izvestia… – Continue reading
The world is close to the point where hiding money offshore is foolhardy, no matter how little or large the amount is. As the loopholes continue to close, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) has announced a voluntarily scheme for people to declare unreported foreign income and assets. The ATO wants taxpayers with… – Continue reading
The United States government has actively been pursuing NRIs who have undisclosed offshore assets and income. The United States law requires citizens and residents (i.e., green card holders, H1-B visa holders, and other tax residents) to report their worldwide income and complete a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts… – Continue reading
Muscat: Oman and Bulgaria expect to sign a double taxation avoidance treaty in September this year, as both countries are in negotiations to finalise the treaty, said Antoaneta Petrova of Bulexpo AA & Co. She noted that once the agreement is in place, Bulgarian companies operating in Oman will need… – Continue reading
At present, it is unclear how the rules surrounding Private Residence relief (PPR) will exempt individuals from these new CGT rules. In his 2013 Autumn Statement, Chancellor George Osborne announced an important change to the UK tax system – namely, the extension of capital gains tax (CGT) to non-residents selling their… – Continue reading
A Woody Creek couple agreed to pay the IRS more than $800,000 in restitution after creating tax-avoidance schemes including naming their dog and cat as directors of a company called “Hyperpanel University.” Hyperpanel, a Nevada business, was listed as the owner of a $1.2 million Woody Creek home actually owned… – Continue reading
The drive to scrap the corporate income tax won’t stop at zero. Wouldn’t it be nice if the government paid you on Tax Day? I’m not referring to getting a tax refund because you overpaid the federal government or a safety-net benefit labeled as a tax refund under the “Earned… – Continue reading
In brief On 28 March 2014, China and Germany entered into a new double taxation agreement (DTA) and protocol (together referred to as ‘the new DTA’). The new DTA results in an extensive revision of the currently applicable treaty signed in 1985 (1985 DTA). The key changes include extending the… – Continue reading
Impala Platinum Holdings Limited has rejected claims that the platinum mining companies have been involved in tax evasion activities. Implats refutes these allegations in the strongest possible terms and views the inflammatory and unsubstantiated allegation of criminal behaviour in a very serious light,” spokesman Johan Theron said on Thursday. “We… – Continue reading
Having spent the past eighteen months claiming that Ireland does not facilitate international corporate tax avoidance despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the Irish Government has done a U-turn and has signalled that it is ready to prepare for the reality of reform. On Tuesday the Department of Finance published… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Mauritius has said that it will address India’s concerns over the abuse of the lucrative tax treaty between the two countries, promising measures to ensure that benefits are available only to genuine investors. The island nation has proposed a stringent limitation of benefit clause in the Double Taxation… – Continue reading
Navin Ramgoolam discussed issue of long-pending treaty re-negotiation with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in their bilateral meeting today Mauritus on Tuesday said it was determined to allay India’s fears on round tripping of funds, by incorporating adequate safeguards in the India-Mauritius tax treaty. The island nation said it had… – Continue reading
International tax policy changes being considered by the OECD could shave €1bn off Ireland’s annual multinational tax take, a Dáil Committee has heard. Addressing a joint sub-committee hearing on global taxation matters, yesterday, Brian Keegan — director of taxation at Chartered Accountants Ireland — said the OECD’s base erosion and… – Continue reading
NEW YORK — A Russian businessman who emigrated to the U.S. and then became a citizen of his adopted homeland Tuesday became the latest suspect to plead guilty to charges he failed to disclose a secret offshore bank account to the IRS. Viktor Kordash, 64, potentially faces a maximum five-year… – Continue reading
BUCHAREST, June 4 (Reuters) – Romania will introduce a new royalty tax system to reflect the difference in costs between onshore and offshore extraction of oil and gas, but the new levies will not affect current contracts, Prime Minister Victor Ponta said on Wednesday. Companies currently pay royalties ranging from… – Continue reading
Mauritius on 27 May 2014 decided to provide automatic tax information exchange to India. The decision was announced by the Prime Minister of Mauritius Navin Ramgoolam after his meeting with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. Navin Ramgoolam was in India to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as… – Continue reading
The Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act is a United States legislation that requires non-U.S foreign financial institutions (‘FFIs’) to identify and disclose their United States financial account holders to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or otherwise be subject to a punitive 30% US withholding tax with respect to any… – Continue reading
Chief Executive Officer Martin Scholl said in an interview in Zurich today that he is waiting to hear from U.S. authorities after the Justice Department last month extracted a guilty plea and an agreement to pay $2.6 billion from Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN), the first global bank in a… – Continue reading
U.S. corporations have reported to the Internal Revenue Service that 54 percent of their offshore profits are earned in 12 tax haven countries that, combined, only account for 4 percent of economic output among all countries where U.S. corporations do business. A new report by the advocacy group, Citizens for… – Continue reading
Republican tax law writers in the U.S. Congress and multinational businesses on Monday said international talks aimed at preventing companies from moving profits to low-tax countries could hurt the United States. Representative Dave Camp and Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah warned of the effect on U.S. taxpayers from the Organisation… – Continue reading
Georgian Finance Minister Nodar Khaduri held the bilateral meetings in the Hague as part of the annual meeting of member-states of the Holland-Belgium group of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. In particular, he met with Moldovan Minister of Finance Anatoly Arapu and manager of the Moldovan National Bank… – Continue reading
We see signs of it every day: We hit bone-jarring potholes as we drive. We face long detours as bridges are closed for emergency repairs. When water mains break, businesses must temporarily close and homeowners have to boil their water. Too many of our kids attend schools that have leaky… – Continue reading
It is a figure which Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ), the US group which authored the report, says highlights Ireland’s popular use as a tax haven among US companies. Matt Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Policy in Washington DC, tells IBTimes UK: “It’s a clear indicator… – Continue reading
Geneva’s private banks may have to wait years before they can prospect for business in the European Union from Switzerland and service clients across borders, according to a managing partner at the city’s oldest bank. The EU won’t allow the banks to market wealth-management services into the 28-member bloc, especially after the… – Continue reading
U.S. companies are increasingly viewing the U.K. as a place to relocate to pare their tax bills. Why? Relatively low tax rates and a business-friendly environment. Pfizer (PFE) was the latest high-profile example; it tried to take over the British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca (AZN). American and French media giants Omnicom… – Continue reading
Law360, New York (June 03, 2014, 7:10 PM ET) — Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen said Tuesday that an international plan to squash corporate profit shifting will create headaches for administrators and hurt U.S. taxpayers.Addressing the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Koskinen said the plan would create tens… – Continue reading
International moves to shut down profit-shifting from high to low tax countries is starting to have an impact on Australian companies doing business offshore. A new EY report says these local companies are feeling the heat of a global trend of “increasingly aggressive” tax authorities. EY’s 2014 Tax Risk and… – Continue reading
If any U.S. company seems ripe for moving to an island tax haven, it’s Chiquita. Based in Charlotte, the company’s sale of bananas, grown largely in Central America, accounts for two-thirds of its profits. But Chiquita isn’t bound for the tropics. It’s headed to Ireland, where the climate may be… – Continue reading
Nearly 6 million Americans living abroad are facing a June 16 deadline to file their taxes this year. Regardless of the confusion that U.S. citizens abroad have over what will ultimately be required of them under the Affordable Care Act and other laws, all taxpayers whose income exceeds $10,000 are… – Continue reading
The best way to deal with B.C.’s socially and economically harmful Property Transfer Tax would be to scrap it. However, the B.C. Chamber of Commerce is promoting a second-best solution that has a far better chance of winning support from provincial politicians hooked on spending our money. The Chamber’s approach,… – Continue reading
…as FATCA comes into force in JulyGovernment is to broaden the current tax net to include Ghanaians engaged in economic activities or hold investments in the United States, Dr. Larbi Siaw, Tax Policy Adviser at the Ministry of Finance (MOFEP) has saidDr. Larbi said that implementation of the Foreign Account… – Continue reading
OTTAWA — The federal revenue agency won’t say if Canadians were lured by Swiss bankers to hide money from the taxman, but it’s very likely they were, said Dennis Howlett of Canadians for Tax Fairness. He said Canadians have previously been caught stashing millions offshore, and it shouldn’t be a… – Continue reading
THE Department of Finance has launched a public consultation on how Ireland’s tax system might respond to proposed international changes. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is already conducting a public discussion around its Base Erosion and Profit shifting (BEPs) project, which could see tax avoidance loopholes shut… – Continue reading
The hunt for money hidden in Swiss bank accounts by U.S. citizens has become a global chase, with prosecutors tracing records to Singapore, the Cook Islands and elsewhere as U.S. authorities increase the pressure on Swiss lenders to turn over evidence, according to officials. Kathryn Keneally, head of the Justice… – Continue reading
Supreme Court reiterates the principle that income of a discretionary trust cannot be taxed in the hands of a beneficiary unless distributed to the beneficiary. Where trustees have clearly retained the income of the trust and brought it forward year to year without disbursing it to the beneficiaries, the trust… – Continue reading
Liechtenstein and the US have signed an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) for the implementation of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), the Liechtenstein Government has announced. The IGA requires the Liechtenstein Tax Administration and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to exchange information automatically on accounts held by US… – Continue reading
I am not a financial advisor or consultant and this column is presented only to help explain to many senior citizens what appears to be a warning currently making the rounds on the Internet. In my research of the notice the online truth digging site of “TruthorFiction.com” has provided their… – Continue reading
Bulgaria and the USA reached an agreement in substance regarding the implementation of the FATCA legislation in Bulgaria. You will find below a brief overview of this specific legislation, its application in Bulgaria and the main responsibilities arising for the Bulgarian business in this regard. What is FATCA? On 18… – Continue reading
Suisse Group AG (CSGN) set a new standard for punishment in the U.S. crackdown on offshore tax evasion. Julius Baer Group Ltd., Zuercher Kantonalbank and the Swiss unit of HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) are among those seeking to avoid pleading guilty to helping Americans cheat the Internal Revenue Service —… – Continue reading
Azerbaijan and the U.S. intend to sign a double taxation evasion agreement in the near future, Azerbaijan’s Deputy Minister of Taxes, Sahib Alakbarov told journalists on May 26. The minister said that among other things, this document will allow the Ministry of Taxes to actively fight against the Azerbaijani residents… – Continue reading
Revenue Minister Todd McClay must release the text of the Inter-Governmental Agreement which affects tens of thousands of Kiwis who were born or have worked in the United States, Labour’s Revenue spokesperson David Clark says. National is about to introduce legislation to ratify an agreement between the US and New… – Continue reading
While financial companies in city gear up for compliance with Fatca, those with mainland affiliates are unlikely to meet requirements Hong Kong financial institutions with mainland affiliates are hoping Beijing signs an agreement with Washington soon on a new US tax disclosure law, because of concerns mainland financial institutions will… – Continue reading
India amended its domestic tax law for transactions with taxpayers of certain tax jurisdictions, as an anti-avoidance measure. The amendments involving transactions made in Cyprus include a temporary 30% withholding tax for all transactions between India and Cyprus in place since March. Under the double tax treaty between India and… – Continue reading
CALGARY – A Calgary-based United States tax expert has recommended to the federal government that Canada follow the lead of other countries and include certain Canadian trusts within the definition of organizations subject to reporting under the recent Intergovernmental Agreement between the Canada and the U.S. “This would eliminate the… – Continue reading
TEHRAN (FNA)- A senior trade official termed the recent memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed by Turkey and Iran on avoiding double-taxation as an important development with major positive impacts on the two countries’ trade relations. “The MoU signed between Iran and Turkey has been a wide stride in the (two… – Continue reading
A Cyprus court has frozen the assets of three offshore entities through which Mechel’s main shareholder and chairman Igor Zyuzin owns a 67.4 percent stake in the indebted steelmaker and coalminer, Interfax news agency reported Monday. Zyuzin is a controlling shareholder in Mechel, which has been hit by weak prices for its products, forcing it to sell loss-making assets and to negotiate delayed… – Continue reading
The internet retail giant Amazon is facing fresh claims of tax avoidance after its latest accounts showed it routed more than £11 billion through its Luxembourg-based subsidiary in 2013 – yet paid only £4 million in UK corporation tax last year. Amazon trades through the Luxembourg subsidiary, Amazon EU SARL,… – Continue reading
The Inland Revenue Department of Cyprus (“IRD”) will proceed with the signing of Model 1 IGA (Inter Governmental Agreement) with the US Treasury, following the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The Model 1 IGA requires Foreign Financial Institutions (FFIs) to report all FATCA-related information to their own governmental agencies,… – Continue reading
NEW YORK – According to a report from Bloomberg, Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) is keeping an ever growing share of its cash reserves outside of the U.S. to use for acquisitions. In a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Google revealed that it currently has more than $ 30 billion… – Continue reading
New Delhi: Keen to further boost bilateral ties with India under the incoming government led by Narendra Modi, Cyprus is looking to bolster tourism activities as well as make the island nation a shooting destination for Indian film makers. Cyprus, the seventh largest source of FDI (foreign direct investment) into… – Continue reading
