The OECD’s Global Forum recently adopted a plan of action to help developing countries participate in and benefit from the automatic exchange of financial account information for tax purposes. Under the plan, developing countries have been invited to undergo a preliminary assessment of their capacity to implement the Common Reporting… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI The Indian Income Tax Department will accept applications for Mutual Agreement Procedure (MAP) in transfer pricing disputes, as well as for bilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs), even for entities resident in countries with which India has double taxation avoidance agreements (DTAA), minus the provision to claim corresponding tax… – Continue reading
The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) has extended until February 15, 2018, the deadline for “significant global entities” to file their country-by-country (CbC) reports. The extension applies to entities that are December and January balancers filing for the first time. The extension also applies to the filing of local and master… – Continue reading
On November 22, the UK Government published for stakeholders’ comments a position paper setting out its views on the challenges posed by the digital economy for the corporate tax system and its preferred solutions. The paper, which was published alongside the 2017 Autumn Budget, states that “the Government believes in… – Continue reading
Serbia has for now avoided being included in EU’s blacklist of tax havens, Bloomberg reported on Monday. The agency said last week that the November 21 draft mentioned Turkey and Serbia as some of the countries that could be added to the list. But Serbia is now seen as “compliant… – Continue reading
In this Update On June 7, 2017, Canada signed the OECD’s Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the MLI) The MLI will modify up to 75 of Canada’s bilateral tax treaties, including adding a broad anti-avoidance rule to these treaties (the… – Continue reading
CYBERJAYA: The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) is in the midst of auditing 15 banks with offshore transactions in an effort to collect hundreds of millions of ringgit worth of taxes. IRB deputy chief executive officer (compliance) Abdul Manaf Dim said the auditing processes of the banks nationwide were among the… – Continue reading
Africa is estimated to have lost over $1 trillion in illicit financial flows (IFFs) within the past 50 years, with drainage of over $50 billion annually. These outflows, according to the African Union and Economic Commission for Africa (AU/ECA) High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), refer to “money… – Continue reading
A new study shows that France taxes its population the second-most among developed countries. Which country claimed the first place spot? Denmark. As research from the OECD economic think tank attests, the combination of France’s income and property taxes, social security payments, and goods and services makes up 45.3% of… – Continue reading
Kolkata, Nov 25 (PTI) The revised tax treaty between Indian and Cyprus will promote bilateral investments, a diplomat said here today. The two countries signed the revised India-Cyprus Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement in November, 2016. “I believe with new taxation agreement, investment from both sides will increase,” High Commissioner of… – Continue reading
Tax defaulters and prospective taxpayers have been advised to seize the opportunity provided by the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS) or risk being exposed through data and a series of information-sharing agreements to which Nigeria is a signatory. The advice was given in Lagos yesterday at a one-day… – Continue reading
Summary: The Chancellor unexpectedly announced a U-turn to tax gains made by non-residents on UK commercial property with effect from April 2019. This will have a significant impact on overseas investors into UK real estate and creates additional uncertainty during an already volatile time as Brexit negotiations continue. Overseas investors… – Continue reading
Greece ranked first out of 35 OECD countries in tax hikes last year, according to a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the budget for 2018 will lead to an even greater tax burden that will stifle growth, the Parliament’s Budget Office (PBO) warned on Thsurday…. – Continue reading
The UK government is planning to extend the time limit to 12 years for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to investigate all offshore tax non-compliance, according to documents released as part of the Budget. A Treasury document entitled ‘Tackling tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance’ states that the government will consult… – Continue reading
If you are going to work in Luxembourg, you will probably have some queries on the tax system of the country. Do you have to pay tax in the Grand-Duchy? Which income will be taxed? What are the different types of taxes and rates that apply? To find answers to… – Continue reading
A major new global transparency measure aimed at curbing cross-border tax evasion by requiring countries to share information on the wealth of each other’s nationals could be undermined by the abuse of residency- and citizenship-for-sale schemes. Tax justice campaigners say that some of these schemes are already being marketed as… – Continue reading
KUWAIT CITY, Nov 20: Bankers around the world disclosed there is an international trend to globalize the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) on foreign accounts of the Americans under the name Global Account Tax Compliance Act (GATCA), so most countries in the world, including Kuwait, can apply it on… – Continue reading
The National Assembly endorsed the double taxation avoidance agreement between Bhutan and Bangladesh yesterday. Signed during the visit of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to Bhutan in April 2017, the agreement plans to do away with double taxation of incomes between the two countries. In the presence of 38 MPs,… – Continue reading
The I-T department and SEBI are working on a two-pronged approach that involves action against tax evaders and tightening of norms for scrips prone to price manipulation Tightening the noose around companies invloved in tax evasion, the Income Tax department and market regulator SEBI have launched a crackdown on penny… – Continue reading
Europe’s fierce enforcer of competition rules is threatening tech giants with tough new rules on tax if politicians fail to come to an agreement on changes to the current system. Efforts to amend rules that would apply tax more fairly to firms which largely operate online such as Google, Amazon,… – Continue reading
The Davis Tax Committee (the Committee) released a further report on “Tax Administration” on 13 November 2017 as part of the final six reports that were deliverable by the Committee. The report has five chapters covering: Governance of the South African Revenue Service Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Treatment… – Continue reading
Hungary’s Investment Agency says highly competitive tax rates continue to attract automotive manufacturing to the country as the centrally-located countries of Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) jockey for access to labour. The Visegrad 4 countries; Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Poland, have been highly successful at drawing in hundreds of… – Continue reading
The Italian government has introduced a “temporary web tax” which will be in force until the long-awaited OECD/EU strategy for the reshaping of traditional taxation systems based on the residence of companies (or on the location of permanent establishments) has been defined. Said reshaping is aimed at introducing taxation principles… – Continue reading
The Irish Revenue has announced that a new inquiry is underway to identify and pursue taxpayers engaged in offshore tax evasion and avoidance. Revenue said that the inquiry is being conducted in the context of increased and ongoing sharing of information between tax administrations, and of the changes to voluntary… – Continue reading
Switzerland has approved an automatic information exchange pact with India and a number of other countries on black money, a development that would enable authorities in India get instant access to details on Indians with Swiss accounts The Commission for Economic Affairs and Taxes of the Council of States –… – Continue reading
UK Offshore tax evaders face much higher penalties for non-compliance under new HM Revenue and Customs rules. The legislation requires those with undeclared offshore tax liabilities to disclose them to HMRC before the 30th of September next year. When the Right to Correct rules come into force, offenders can expect… – Continue reading
Multinationals have been getting away with not paying their fair share to the U.S. for too long, says this business founder With Washington pushing full-tilt on tax reform, it’s time to tackle the unfair tax advantage enjoyed by multinational enterprises. Addressing this longstanding problem could provide a unique opportunity to… – Continue reading
The Isle of Man’s critics ignore the great progress it has made in keeping its business above board. Last week the island received a ringing endorsement from the OECD. We have retained the top ’compliant’ rating by the global body reviewing tax transparency – one of only six countries worldwide…. – Continue reading
The country could also increase the minimum salary for foreigners to sponsor family members Kuwait’s minister of social affairs and labour has said the country could increase the cost of residence visas and work permits for foreigners as it continues to focus on reducing the expat population. Responding to parliamentary… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD/LONDON: The thirty-eight-page trust deed of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaaf (PTI) leader Jahangir Khan Tareen’s offshore trust was signed and formalised in Geneva, Switzerland, and facilitated by HSBC Guyerzeller Trust Company Geneva – raising questions about Swiss bank accounts. During the hearing before Pakistan’s Supreme Court, Tareen was asked no questions about… – Continue reading
NAIROBI, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) — The East African Community (EAC) member states are set to ratify the avoidance of double taxation treaty in order to boost regional integration, a Kenyan official said on Thursday. Barrack Ndegwa, Regional Integration Secretary in the Ministry of EAC, Labor and Social Protection, told Xinhua… – Continue reading
The Swiss Federal Council has adopted a dispatch on the implementation of a new double tax agreement (DTA) with Kosovo. The agreement was signed in May. A previous DTA was in force until 2011. The DTA caps the maximum withholding tax rate for dividends being taxed at source at 15… – Continue reading
Canada and Antigua and Barbuda have signed a new tax information exchange agreement. The agreement was signed on October 31, the Canadian Government announced on November 14. Negotiations were launched in November 2010. The agreement provides for the mutual exchange of tax information that is possessed by, or is accessible… – Continue reading
114 taxpayers in Canada’s voluntary disclosure program say that the Israeli bank helped them evade taxes. As if the headache of the investigation by US authorities were not enough, Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI), managed by CEO Arik Pinto, discovered two days ago that Canada was also taking aim at it…. – Continue reading
Prosecutors and investigators from tax authorities have raided the offices of several senior officials from German carmaker Volkswagen. The move was part of an effort to scrutinize the firm in a tax evasion probe. Investigators on Tuesday night searched the offices of VW finance chief Frank Witter and human resources… – Continue reading
Around 60 cases against suspected tax evaders have been dropped by the district attorney’s office due to a break in case proceedings while waiting for a decision from the European Court of Human Rights. Kjarninn reported first. Many of the dropped cases are against individuals who appeared in the Panama… – Continue reading
New Zealand’s new Revenue Minister, Stuart Nash, has said that the country will reduce or eliminate the goods and services tax exemption for low-value imports. Presently goods worth no more than either NZD226 (USD155.6) or NZD400 (depending on if they are subject to duty) are not subject to goods and… – Continue reading
As of January 1, 2018, holders of an ‘F’ permit will no longer be subjected to a 10% special ‘compensatory’ tax on income designed to recuperate costs of their asylum procedures. However, the waiver of the 10% compensatory tax is valid only if the income earned is less than CHF15,000… – Continue reading
In the aftermath of Satoshi Nakamoto’s groundbreaking paper in 2009, money began travelling via a new financial route – virtual currencies. The first Bitcoin exchange was established on February 6, 2010 where Bitcoin traded for the first time for 0.3 cents. Last June, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants… – Continue reading
The Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) recently decided to shrink the tax burden for local microfinance institutions (MFIs) by lowering withholding tax on interest from loans acquired from abroad from 14 to 10 percent, a move that the government claims will keep the massive sector sustainable. This is the… – Continue reading
Plan proposes 12.5% tax rate on intellectual-property income Bills ‘upend decades of U.S. tax policy’ on tight deadline U.S. companies that make billions of dollars from patents and other intellectual property held offshore would be eligible for a special 12.5 percent tax rate on those earnings under the Senate tax… – Continue reading
Considering a work stint in Japan? You’d better make it short, and you’d better stay alive. That’s because the government subjects long-term foreign residents to inheritance tax of up to 55 percent on their worldwide assets – meaning heirs could be forced to give up their family homes or businesses,… – Continue reading
Qatar has become the 115th jurisdiction to sign the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. The Convention is touted by the OECD as “the most powerful instrument for international tax cooperation.” It provides for all forms of administrative assistance in tax matters: exchange of information on request,… – Continue reading
THE Government has been urged to “get across the line before year-end” on global tax information exchange standards, amid hope the relevant legislation will reach Parliament tomorrow. Michael Paton, a former Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) chairman, told Tribune Business that the Bahamas needed to upgrade its existing legislation to… – Continue reading
Bulgaria has said that multinationals covered by the country’s new transfer pricing country-by-country reporting regime should submit their first report by December 31, 2017. Through Order 3LIY-1410, Bulgaria’s National Revenue Agency has newly set out the rules concerning country-by-country documentation, including who the reporting obligations apply to and how to… – Continue reading
Under President Trump’s political and economic climate, stocks and the economy have been soaring. Trump constantly aims for three percent GDP growth as a result of cutting corporate income and individual income taxes, which aims to encourage spending across different family incomes. However, these corporations the tax cuts favor have… – Continue reading
The Senate Finance Committee released its tax reform plan on November 9, presenting a draft bill with marked differences to that agreed by the House Ways and Means Committee on the same day. The proposal was drafted by Finance Committee Republicans under the leadership of Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin… – Continue reading
Even Israelis residing overseas for three years are being required to pay tax in Israel on their income during that period. Quite a few Israelis who emigrated from Israel, lived abroad for certain periods, and did not report their income there, claiming that they are not residents of Israel, have… – Continue reading
ACCRA, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) — Ghana’s Vice-President Mahamudu Bawumia said on Friday Ghana was leveraging technology to broaden the tax base and enhance tax collection. He believes that Ghana has reached a stage in its development where it must adopt appropriate, current and improved technology to make tax administration convenient… – Continue reading
“Reportage about hacked data from global law firm Appleby has highlighted the substantial lack of media understanding of offshore investment structures and Bermuda’s long-time reputation for tax transparency and cooperation with international authorities,” the Bermuda Business Development Agency said. “Bermuda is committed to the exchange of relevant information to legitimate… – Continue reading
