In Budget 2013, the Government announced its intention to consult on possible measures to combat treaty shopping. Eleven months later, in Budget 2014, the Government invited comments on a proposed domestic anti-treaty abuse rule. This article briefly reviews developments arising between the two budgets and provides high level comments in… – Continue reading
Telecom major Vodafone‘s international arbitration notice in its Rs 24,000-crore tax dispute with the government came after the income tax department decided to withdraw its conciliation offer in the matter without waiting for a tribunal’s decision in the transfer pricing case. Officials said the tax department had prepared a Cabinet note to withdraw conciliation on… – Continue reading
Press reports indicate that Cyprus and India will finalise the amendments to their double tax avoidance agreement in the coming weeks. A team from the Indian Ministry of Finance is expected to visit Cyprus shortly to carry forward negotiations to finalise the revised agreement and the matter is being followed… – Continue reading
Bloomberg BNA is reporting that Israel has signed a FATCA IGA. The agreement is a Model 1 agreement, meaning that Israeli financial institutions will will report information about U.S. customers’ accounts to the Israeli tax authorities, who will then send that information to the IRS. The news comes only a… – Continue reading
Global telecom carrier Vodafone Group plc of the U.K. on 17 April filed an international arbitration against the Indian government to solve the more than $2 billion tax case. Nokia, the Finnish networks vendor, is also facing tax cases in India. Vodafone took the new step after initiating several rounds… – Continue reading
Last week, Israel and the US signed an information-sharing agreement for financial assets (primarily bank accounts) belonging to Israeli and US citizens, in an attempt to improve tax enforcement in both countries. “US residents who do not disclose information about accounts they hold in Israel could risk fines of up to 50%… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI With India stepping up pressure for data on alleged illicit funds parked in Swiss banks, Switzerland has asserted that it cannot positively respond to requests which are beyond the ambit of bilateral tax treaty. Reiterating that it is committed to fighting tax evasion, Switzerland also said both nations… – Continue reading
Monday, May 5 saw the Finance Ministry of Israel confirm that the US and the Jewish-majority state had concluded the text of an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) for the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Earlier, with Israel and the US reaching an agreement over sharing of tax… – Continue reading
The President of the Republic of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, approved a draft agreement between the Government of the Republic of Belarus and the Government of the United States of America on the improvement of compliance with international tax rules and the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) as a basis… – Continue reading
An IBC is the most popular type of offshore corporation as it is designed for any international business activity, does not pay any taxes in the jurisdiction where is established, provides confidentiality to its owners and is not subject to reporting requirements. “According to different lists of international organizations, there… – Continue reading
The tax office has announced an amnesty for taxpayers with unreported offshore financial activities, codenamed Project DO IT (disclose offshore income today). Among the transactions it’s interested in are interest income from offshore bank accounts, undeclared capital gains on overseas assets and ongoing income flows from businesses owned overseas. Though… – Continue reading
A host of countries, including Switzerland and Singapore, have committed to share all financial information with other governments New Delhi: India moved a step closer to gain access to bank account information of its citizens in offshore banks after a host of countries, including Switzerland and Singapore, committed to share all… – Continue reading
• Partnership creates end-to-end solution for enabling and ensuring FATCA compliance, including: data consolidation, indicia identification, additional KYC data/document capture, alerts/notifications and dashboards to monitor compliance, withholding calculations and remittance, and tax reporting. Banking analytics, risk and compliance pioneer, iCreate, today announced a strategic partnership with tax information reporting leader,… – Continue reading
ICO Services, the international company specialized in the formation of offshore companies and offshore banking, has recently expanded their services to the American business world by launching their service of setting up a company in Belize, the only fiscal paradise in Central and South America where English is the official… – Continue reading
Singapore has concluded its discussion with the United States on an inter-governmental agreement that aim at preventing tax evasion by US citizens, permanent residents and entities, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), the city-state’s Ministry of Finance and Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) jointly announced on Tuesday. The agreement… – Continue reading
Large subsidiaries of multinationals, such as Apple and Google, which are based in Ireland are able to escape paying corporation tax due to an “exceptional” interpretation of tax laws by the Revenue Commissioners, a new study claims. A research paper by James Stewart, associate professor in finance at Trinity College… – Continue reading
The number of Americans renouncing United States citizenship or terminating long-term residency is on a record pace. Every 3 months, the government publishes the names of individuals who renounced U.S. citizenship or gave up a green card. This public outing puts Americans on notice who relinquished their rights. For January… – Continue reading
Credit Suisse is expected to face criminal charges, according to an American official, as US Attorney General Eric Holder warned on Monday that no financial institution should consider itself “above the law”. “There is no such thing as ‘too big to jail’,” Holder said while investigations continue into alleged tax… – Continue reading
Because of a delay in the negotiation of an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) advised Pakistani financial institutions, as a precaution, to complete registration with the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) by May 5, 2014, at… – Continue reading
To avoid costs of compliance, financial institutions in India may decide to filter the US client that they want to be on board. However, the actual impact be realised once RBI, SEBI and other regulators come out with guidelines to ensure compliance with FATCA in their respective domains The Foreign… – Continue reading
Ministry Asks Cabinet To Issue Decree KUWAIT CITY, May 4, (KUNA): The Ministry of Finance has announced that the State of Kuwait joined the list of countries which agreed initially in substance on the FATCA (Intergovernmental Agreement). The Ministry disclosed that they have agreed on substance regarding the FATCA… – Continue reading
OTTAWA — The NDP is calling on the federal government to delay passing legislation aimed at cooperating with the United States in taxing its citizens living in Canada, saying the law could “violate the privacy and constitutional rights” of those residents and needs to be studied more closely. The U.S…. – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands and Belgium have officially signed a tax information exchange agreement. Cayman Financial Services Minister Wayne Panton and Belgian Ambassador Godelieve Van den Bergh signed the agreement last week at the Government Administration Building in Grand Cayman. The tax information exchange agreement is the 35th into which the… – Continue reading
Against global trends, gradual growth in both the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) merger and acquisition (“M&A”) activity continued through 2013, led by flagship deals in both established and emerging markets. The flexibility, certainty and efficiency of the statutory merger regimes make both of these leading offshore… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – Singapore has reached a tax information-sharing agreement with the United States under a new law meant to combat offshore tax dodging by Americans, a U.S. Treasury Department spokeswoman said on Monday. The deal, which was expected for more than a year, will make it much easier for… – Continue reading
Washington • As the United States attempts to punish Russia for its actions in Ukraine, the Treasury Department is deploying an economic weapon that could prove more costly than sanctions: the Internal Revenue Service. This summer, the U.S. plans to start using a new law that will make it more… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: After resisting for more than three years, the Centre on Tuesday revealed names of 18 people in the Supreme Court who allegedly stashed black money with LST bank in Liechtenstein and against whom prosecution have been launched by the income tax department. Centre also placed in a sealed… – Continue reading
Hong Kong has signed its first ever tax information exchange agreement (TIEA), paving the way for its implementation of the US foreign account tax compliance act. Signed last month, the TIEA was enacted following an order made by the head of the Government of Hong Kong, Leung Chun-ying. It comes… – Continue reading
United States Intergovernmental Agreement The British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) Government on 6 March 2014 initialled a “Model 1 intergovernmental agreement” (the “BVI-US IGA”) with the government of the United States of America with respect to the “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act” provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (“FATCA”), designed to… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Israel has become the latest country to reach a tax information-sharing agreement with the United States under a new law meant to combat offshore tax dodging by Americans, a U.S. Treasury Department spokesperson said on Thursday. Set to take effect on July 1, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of… – Continue reading
India has strongly objected to Switzerland’s denial of information about account details of certain Indians at HSBC’s Swiss bank branches, in whose cases “incriminating evidence of tax evasion” has been found. In a strongly worded letter to his Swiss counterpart, Finance Minister P Chidambaram has also warned that an effective… – Continue reading
MILAN: Fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were each given a reduced, suspended sentence of 18 months in jail on Wednesday for a conviction on charges of hiding hundreds of millions of euros from Italian tax authorities. Italy’s appeals court upheld a verdict issued last June against the pair,… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI, MAY 2: Irked by non-corporation, India has warned Switzerland that reluctance on not sharing tax-related information may impact the economic co-operation between the two countries. The Government is pressing hard to get information about the account details of certain Indians at HSBC’s Swiss bank branches, in whose cases… – Continue reading
Hong Kong has signed its first ever tax information exchange agreement (TIEA), paving the way for its implementation of the US foreign account tax compliance act. Signed last month, the TIEA was enacted following an order made by the head of the Government of Hong Kong, Leung Chun-ying. It comes… – Continue reading
SINGAPORE–Financial institutions based in Singapore will need to regularly report information on U.S.-owned financial accounts, after the Asian financial center agrees a deal that would help the U.S. curb offshore tax evasion. The move is part of Singapore’s push to toughen mechanisms for tackling cross-border tax offenses, as it emerges… – Continue reading
Australia has signed an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the US in order to “reduce the burden” on financial institutions when complying with FATCA. Australian treasurer Joe Hockey said the IGA will “minimise costs” by simplifying due diligence requirements, as well as broadening arrangements between the Australian Tax Office and the… – Continue reading
The U.S. Treasury announced that on April 11, 2014, India agreed “in substance” to sign a Model 1 FATCA IGA with the US. The IGA would therefore require Indian financial institutions to report information on U.S. account holders to India’s Central Board of Direct Taxes, which would then share the information… – Continue reading
MoUs cover defence, tourism, archives and double taxation — MUSCAT — Oman and the Kingdom of Spain signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the field of archive and documentation at Al Alam Palace within the framework of the Spanish monarch’s visit to the Sultanate, yesterday. The Government of Oman… – Continue reading
The Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) signed by Macau and Japan comes into force on May 22, the Ministry of Finance of Japan said in a press release published yesterday. Starting from May 22, both contracting parties can request information for criminal tax matters without regard to the taxable year… – Continue reading
New Delhi – The government Tuesday disclosed to the Supreme Court the names of 26 people who had accounts in banks in Liechtenstein, revealed to India by German authorities. A bench of Justice H.L.Dattu, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai and Justice Madan B. Lokur were given these names by Solicitor General… – Continue reading
Heavy compliance cost may render equity purchases in mother country not worth their while Indians residing in America might, from July, find it tough to invest in products offered by the Indian mutual fund (MF) sector. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca), that country’s new anti-tax evasion law, which takes effect… – Continue reading
The IRS announced on 2 April 2014, that the deadline for foreign financial institutions registering for a GIIN, in order to appear on the first issued IRS list of foreign financial institutions, has been pushed out from 25 April 2014 to 5 May 2014. They have also indicated that registrations… – Continue reading
It is reported in the Indian financial press that Cyprus and India will finalise the amendments to their double taxation avoidance agreement in the next few weeks. The Indian High Commissioner to Cyprus has said that a team from the Indian ministry of finance is expected to visit Cyprus in… – Continue reading
Macau is preparing to sign a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. According to the Official Gazette published yesterday, Chief Executive Fernado Chui Sai On granted authority to Secretary for Economy and Finance Francis Tam Pak Yuen to sign a TIEA… – Continue reading
The federal government has entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the United States to “reduce the burden on Australian financial institutions” in complying with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. Treasurer Joe Hockey announced yesterday that the agreement with the US government has been completed, heralding ramifications for “a… – Continue reading
Laila Arstall of Carey Olsen charts Guernsey’s path to automatic exchange of information. In 2013, UK Prime Minister David Cameron turned the political spotlight on international tax compliance, with his focus on trade, tax and transparency at the World Economic Forum in Davos. He was riding the current trend towards… – Continue reading
The double taxation agreement (DTA) between Singapore and Barbados came into force on April 25, 2014, after the completion of ratification procedures by both sides. The DTA is intended to boost cross-border trade and investment between Singapore and Barbados by providing greater clarity on both parties’ taxing rights to ensure… – Continue reading
On April 25, an order was gazetted in Hong Kong to implement the tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) with the United States that was signed on March 25 this year, as part of preparations for the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act in Hong Kong. “This is the first TIEA… – Continue reading
Australia signed a tax-information sharing agreement with the U.S. Treasury Department on Monday ahead of a new U.S. law that will crack down on offshore tax avoidance. The accord, one of a number of so-called intergovernmental agreements (IGA) between Washington and individual countries, comes ahead of the implementation in the United… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI, APRIL 27: Once known as the biggest gateway for flow of funds into India, Mauritius has slipped to the second place after the US in terms of quantum of money being brought in by overseas investors into Indian markets. According to the latest data available with the capital… – Continue reading
