The Federal Labor Party has demanded the Government bring Australia’s international taxation regulations into line to deal with multinationals such as Apple and Google, which are siphoning billions of dollars of revenue out of Australia while paying only small amounts of local tax. In a statement issued this morning, Shadow… – Continue reading
PORT LOUIS, Feb 18 (Reuters) – Mauritius’ top finance officials on Tuesday sought to end a monetary policy rift that could damage the Indian Ocean island’s economy as it tries to broaden its base to offshore banking from tourism alone. Finance Minister Xavier Duval and Central Bank Governor Rundheersing Bheenick disagree over whether to… – Continue reading
You may soon be able to invest in a wider range of foreign-domiciled unit trust funds that have been approved by the local regulator, but, in the short term, there may be fewer options if you want to gain exposure to offshore markets by investing in funds that are denominated… – Continue reading
INTRODUCTION On 31 January 2014 the Crown Dependencies of Guernsey and Jersey jointly issued draft Guidance Notes (in conjunction with the Isle of Man) on the implementation of obligations arising under the intergovernmental agreements (“IGAs“) signed by each island with the UK in October 2013 and with the US in… – Continue reading
International Business Minister, Donville Inniss recently announceed that the Barbados Government and the United States of America have agreed to start negotiations with respect to an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) that will give effect in Barbados to the provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA, enacted by the… – Continue reading
New Delhi: Cracking down on alleged wealth stashed by Indians abroad, the government has initiated enquiries in several cases while information has been received in 67 such cases and prosecution for wilful tax evasion has been launched in 17 other cases. Giving an update on alleged tax evasion through offshore… – Continue reading
Multinational tax avoidance in the digital economy has become a hot political topic with public reports of companies such as Google, Apple and Starbucks not paying a “fair share” of tax. The G20 group of rich economies has commissioned the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to tackle corporate profit… – Continue reading
SOUTH Africans who have in recent years bought holiday pads in Mauritius, typically with price tags exceeding R10m, have been handsomely rewarded on the capital growth front. While most of the world’s housing markets are still recovering from the credit crisis-induced property slump, average prices in integrated resort scheme developments… – Continue reading
It’s no big secret that for years the Madrid Government together with their so-called impartial EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia have been on Gibraltar’s back regarding the Rock’s income tax laws. Last week I covered for Panorama the Gibraltar Government visit to Brussels where Mr Picardo and his team had… – Continue reading
A mainland spokeswoman on Monday talked up cross-Strait plans for a pact on the avoidance of double taxation, after concern that it may lead to the exposure of people’s personal data. The pact, currently being discussed by negotiators across the Strait, will benefit both sides, said Fan Liqing of the… – Continue reading
The Government on Tuesday said efforts were being made to find mutually acceptable solution to address India’s concerns while revising the tax treaty with Mauritius. The Government has proposed to review the India-Mauritius Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) to incorporate amendments to the pact for prevention of treaty abuse and… – Continue reading
Costa Rica’s President Laura Chinchilla on Monday signed a declaration of intent to join the Pacific Alliance, a trade bloc composed of Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. The document promises Costa Rica will adhere to a framework agreement for its integration as a full member of the alliance. The procedure… – Continue reading
Thousands of Swiss bank account holders and others have already come forward to settle unpaid UK tax bills and avoid costly tax penalties – but the LDF window won’t be open for ever. The Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF) was launched in 2009 and continues to be available until 5 April 2016. It… – Continue reading
Luxembourg is lobbying Beijing for equal treatment with London, which was granted an investment quota last year allowing investors based there to invest their offshore yuan directly in the mainland’s securities markets. In an effort to capture a larger share of Europe’s offshore yuan business, top officials from the grand… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Michael Spindelegger had hinted that Austria might be happy to exchange data on bank account holders with EU countries even is similar agreements have not been finalised with Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Austria and Luxembourg had come under criticism in December after they previously said they will block EU… – Continue reading
Feb 11 (Reuters) – Austria signalled on Tuesday flexibility on exchanging cross-border bank account data with fellow European Union members even absent a final EU accord with Switzerland. “As far as banking secrecy for foreigners goes, it is important for us that there are similar accords with neighbours like Switzerland… – Continue reading
Sir Alex Ferguson and Sven-Goran Eriksson are among almost 300 wealthy individuals facing average losses of more than £1m each over a notorious investment in Disney films cited as a tax avoidance scheme, The Sunday Times has reported. The football bosses and 287 other investors joined a partnership that purchased… – Continue reading
ANSA reported that a preliminary hearings judge in Milan indicted the owner of the troubled ILVA steelworks in Taranto for an alleged massive tax fraud. Emilio Riva was indicted together with two former company managers and a former Deutche Bank manager for tax evasion to the tune of EUR 52… – Continue reading
SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s tax agency said Monday that it imposed more than 1 trillion won (US$944.3 million) in taxes last year through an investigation into offshore tax evasion. A total of 1.08 trillion won was imposed as a result of its offshore tax evasion probe last… – Continue reading
Swiss bank UBS is at the centre of embarrassing revelations that it helped to set up a secretive offshore firm for the wife and daughter of a former senior Chinese official who has since been convicted of corruption. Zhang Shuguang, a former deputy chief engineer of the disbanded railways ministry,… – Continue reading
NEWS RELEASE FROM EASTERN CARIBBEAN CENTRAL BANK (Basseterre, St Kitts, 11 February 2014) – On 12 August 2013, the ECCB assumed exclusive control of Caribbean Commercial Bank (Anguilla) Ltd (CCB) and National Bank of Anguilla Ltd (NBA) and placed both institutions into conservatorship. Since then the ECCB has been in… – Continue reading
Gibraltar plans to become an Insurance Linked Securities (ILS) jurisdiction within the European Union. The ILS market has grown significantly in recent years and the total volume of catastrophe bonds and ILS issued during 2013 was more than $7.5 billion and by the end 2013 there was an all-time high… – Continue reading
The European Commission is currently analysing how Gibraltar and Spain will implement recommendations made by its experts who visited the border last year. Both the Gibraltar Government and the Spanish Government have submitted detailed documents to the Commission – the former via the office of the UK permanent representative in… – Continue reading
The e-Gaming team for the Department of Economic Development and representatives from the Isle of Man’s e-Gaming sector have reported an extremely high number of enquiries from potential new business showing serious interest following a highly successful ICE Totally Gaming event in London last week. Howard Quayle MHK, the Department’s… – Continue reading
The law’s onerous provisions are scheduled to go into effect in the coming year. However, even as this regulatory reckoning approaches, a group of US citizens residing abroad is making progress pushing for repeal. The looming United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), intended to prevent tax cheating, is… – Continue reading
In a huge publicity coup as protests grow against America’s controversial Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), Canada has finally signed an intergovernmental agreement to swap tax information with the US. Canada signing up for FATCA is a huge political and publicity coup for the US government as the Republican… – Continue reading
GEORGE Osborne’s new oligarch tax is set to cause a headache for wealthy people in Worcestershire, according to tax expert Anita Stewart, partner at Bewdley firm DHJH Chartered Accountants, and she is urging them act now if they want to avoid a hefty bill in 12 months’ time. Ms Stewart… – Continue reading
India’s finance ministry is preparing to seek the cabinet’s approval to withdraw conciliation proceedings with the UK telecoms firm. Vodafone, the world’s second-largest mobile operator by subscribers, entered India in 2007 by acquiring Hutchison Whampoa’s mobile phone assets. It is contesting a tax bill of about 112bn rupees (£1.1bn) relating… – Continue reading
India and Croatia have signed a double taxation avoidance treaty as an important step in strengthening their economic cooperation. The treaty was signed in Zagreb on Wednesday by Croatian Finance Minister Slavko Linic and Indian Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur, during her working visit to Croatia. The… – Continue reading
The income tax (I-T) department has not been able to make any headway in detecting the offshore investments by Indians, including 20 big names from Andhra Pradesh, in the safe havens abroad. The reason? ‘Non-cooperation’ by the foreign counterparts despite agreements for sharing tax information. It was after the much-publicized… – Continue reading
The U.S. tax code is perhaps the most notorious welfare program available to large corporations. Each year, all-star teams of lawyers and accountants use loopholes and gimmicks to legally reduce tax liabilities for Corporate America. Discussions about tax havens typically focus on how they impact federal revenue, but states are… – Continue reading
On the menu for the lunch French President Francois Hollande is hosting today for the chiefs of the likes of Google Inc. and Facebook Inc.: carrots and sticks. In the first official trip by a French president to San Francisco in 30 years, Hollande will seek to woo Facebook’s Sheryl… – Continue reading
The following commentary, compiled by the Institute for Risk Management Bermuda Group, examines the implications for the Island of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) legislation enacted by the United States. Back in June 2012 the Institute of Risk Management (IRM), Bermuda Regional Group hosted a forward looking… – Continue reading
Is Ireland a tax haven? The Irish government bristles at the question, given rising interest in cracking down on offshore financial centers, but research from a Trinity College professor is pretty definitive: Yes, it is. When Ireland’s leaders defend their country from accusations that global companies like Apple use Irish… – Continue reading
Government today said efforts are being made to find mutually acceptable solution to address India’s concerns while revising the tax treaty with Mauritius. Government has proposed to review the India-Mauritius Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) to incorporate amendments to the pact for prevention of treaty abuse and to strengthen the… – Continue reading
A new India-Cyprus double tax avoidance agreement (DTAA) or tax treaty, inches closer to finalisation. The delegates of the two countries are slated to meet in early-mid March to tie up the loose ends. While the revised treaty will contain more stringent provisions relating to exchange of information, it is… – Continue reading
State Minister Ambassador Berhane met on Monday (January 27) with Mr. Deepak Obhrai, Parliamentary Secretary of the Foreign Ministry of Canada. Their discussions focused on strengthening the bilateral relations between Ethiopia and Canada. Mr. Obhrai said he appreciated the growing relationship between the two countries and was looking for additional… – Continue reading
Belgium’s finance ministry on January 27 announced changes to the effective dates of the agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with China. The finance ministry had previously announced that the agreement would come into effect on Jan. 4, 2014 and apply to taxes on income… – Continue reading
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) collected more tax from smaller businesses than large multinationals last year as a result of its investigations into firms’ transfer pricing arrangements, according to figures obtained by Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com. Corporate tax expert Heather Self of Pinsent Masons said that HMRC… – Continue reading
When Taoiseach Enda Kenny was grilled over Ireland’s low tax regime for multinationals on a visit to Paris last week, he fell back on a familiar defence. By now it’s a regular refrain – Ireland’s corporate taxes are crystal clear and transparent. Ours, he added, is a statute-based system which… – Continue reading
Local commercial banks and near banks regulated by the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ), as well as other entities regulated by the Financial Services Commission (FSC), which are counted as Foreign Financial Institutions (FFIs) under US law, should now be engaged in registering online with the United States Internal Revenue Service… – Continue reading
The U.S. and Britain have got themselves in another fine mess over populist measures against tax havens that don’t work and smack of hypocrisy Obama has set off once more on his crusade against foreign tax havens. His tactic is to extend the jurisdiction of the IRS to cover the… – Continue reading
Yahoo! Inc is shifting its main European tax base to Ireland from Switzerland, a Reuters examination of company statements and accounts shows, as pressure mounts on the Alpine nation to abolish some corporate tax incentives. The internet search group said the shift reflected a streamlining of its European operations and… – Continue reading
Greece’s chronic difficulties with tax evasion was a topic of discussion today when Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras met his Swiss counterpart Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf in Athens. “We reiterated that we want the British model” for Greece, Stournaras said after the meeting, referring to a 2011 withholding tax agreement between Switzerland and… – Continue reading
France will not tolerate tax avoidance, says Francois Hollande French president Francois Hollande says that “everyone must be in the same competitive situation” French president Francois Hollande speaks during a press conference to present his 2014 policy plans at the Elysee presidential palace. Francois Hollande is making a state visit… – Continue reading
U.S. prosecutors on Thursday announced they indicted Peter Amrein, a Swiss asset manager, on charges that he assisted U.S. taxpayers in evading millions in taxes by hiding money in offshore trusts at multiple Swiss banks. Prosecutors accuse Amrein, who worked at an unidentified asset management firm, of working with Edgar Paltzer,… – Continue reading
South Korea’s tax agency has launched an investigation into the Seoul branch of UBS on suspicion of tax evasion, industry sources said Wednesday. According to the sources, the National Tax Service (NTS) began the probe late last year on suspicions that the Swiss bank did not report 51 billion won… – Continue reading
India’s recent decision to blacklist Cyprus for not providing tax data will hit developers and realty funds. Investors who have routed their funds through Cyprus are likely to face a big decline in returns as developers will now be expected to withhold higher tax amounts. So far, these investments were… – Continue reading
Cayman is taking steps to implement the legal aspect of various Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEA). A working group, made up of public and private sector representatives, is helping to develop the legal framework for the automatic exchange of information for tax purposes, in order to respond to the international regulations… – Continue reading
Canada has signed a tax-information sharing agreement with the U.S. Treasury Department ahead of a new U.S. law that will crack down on offshore tax avoidance, senior Canadian finance officials said on Wednesday. The agreement, which is one of 22 so-called intergovernmental agreements (IGA) between Washington and individual countries, comes… – Continue reading
