Category: Jurisdiction

FATCA List – January 1, 2016

Christmas Island has timely picked the festive holiday to join the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) list of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) jurisdictions. The small Indian Ocean outpost has a single financial institution reporting to the IRS. Interestingly, the FATCA list of financial centres now exceeds the United Nations… – Continue reading

Nigerian transfer pricing regulations: Any safe harbour?

The Nigerian Transfer Pricing (TP) Regulations officially known as Income Tax (Transfer Pricing) Regulations No 1, 2012 regulates transactions between connected taxable persons (controlled transactions). The regulation seeks to ensure that transactions among connected taxable persons are carried on at arm’s length. Applying the arm’s length principle to controlled transactions… – Continue reading

Nigeria: A Review of the Major Tax and Fiscal Policy Events in the Past Year

The year 2015 will be marked as the year of slow economic growth and haphazard fiscal and monetary policies due in part to the uncertainties brought about by the change in government. There were also leadership changes at the FIRS and a number of state tax authorities. This article outlines… – Continue reading

Country-by-country reporting for parent entities of large U.S.-based multinational groups proposed by the IRS

On December 21, 2015, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Treasury Department (Treasury) released proposed regulations (REG-109822-15) on country-by-country (CbC) reporting (the Proposed Regulations). In general, the Proposed Regulations are modeled after, and are consistent with, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recommendations for CbC reporting,… – Continue reading

Wayne Swan: Tax avoidance impoverishes us all. Fighting it requires challenging the powerful

few days before Christmas, in the full light of an Australian summer, the Australian tax commissioner published the tax details of 1,500 large corporate taxpayers which showed a staggering one-third of these companies paid no tax in 2014. This transparency measure was part of a wider package of ground-breaking legislation… – Continue reading

Belgium’s $762 Million Tax Loophole Shut in EU Payback Order

The European Union ordered Belgium to recover about 700 million euros ($762 million) in illegal tax breaks given to at least 35 companies, including Anheuser-Busch InBev NVand BP Plc, as regulators continued a crackdown on overly generous tax schemes throughout the 28-nation bloc. The European Commission told Belgium to recoup… – Continue reading

A hidden network of hidden wealth

If taxed on the nearly $100 billion dollars they keep offshore, the largest U.S. financial institutions could cover the U.S.’s entire poverty-focused foreign assistance budget for 2014. Tax havens are a scourge. They allow individuals and institutions to cloak their financial activity in secrecy to escape and undermine other jurisdictions’… – Continue reading

Malta: Malta And Andorra Sign Double Taxation Agreement

Malta and Andorra have signed a Double Taxation Agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion. The agreement was signed on Andorra’s behalf by Claudia Cornella, Andorra’s Secretary of State for International Financial Affairs, and on Malta’s part by Aldo Farrugia, Director General for Legal… – Continue reading

UK – Bulgarian DTA entered into force

On January 8, 2016 the UK HM Revenue & Customs issued a media release announcing that on December 15, 2015 the Convention between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Bulgaria for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with… – Continue reading

Thailand cracking down on foreign-controlled firms using locals as nominees

THE COMMERCE Ministry’s Business Development Department will this year expand its investigation into the use of Thai nationals as nominees for foreign-controlled companies in nine provinces where it suspects the illegal practice is widespread. This year, three additional provinces will be monitored – Krabi, Trat (Koh Chang), and Chiang Rai…. – Continue reading

UK – Croatian DTA entered into force

On January 8, 2016 the UK HM Revenue & Customs issued a media release announcing that on November 19, 2015 the Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Croatia for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with… – Continue reading

UK – Kosovarian DTA entered into force on December 16, 2015

On January 8, 2016 the UK HM Revenue & Customs issued a media release announcing that on December 16, 2015 the Convention between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Kosovo for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and… – Continue reading

£50m big catfight: Claws out as divorcing tiger sanctuary wife launches new battle for her husband’s millions

The woman who claims her banker husband has hidden millions of pounds of her divorce settlement in a tiger charity is set to launch a new legal battle – and says he cared so little for animals he wouldn’t even allow her to have house cats. Li Quan, a former… – Continue reading

Taxmen mishandled Swiss treaty talks in 2014

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s hopes to seek information from Switzerland about the presumed $200 billion stashed in Swiss banks have apparently been ruined by tax authorities who mishandled delicate negotiations for amending a convention on avoidance of double taxation. A Pakistani delegation that visited Switzerland in August 2014 to renegotiate the 2005 treaty… – Continue reading

Bahamas Reflects On 2015 Tax Initiatives

The Government of the Bahamas has recalled that 2015 brought significant challenges for the territory in the area of tax, with the implementation of a VAT regime, adoption of FATCA legislation, and the expansion of duty free concessions to cover the whole of Grand Bahama. The Bahamas Government recently released… – Continue reading

China: Attention to Five Changes for Application of Bilateral Tax Agreement

Range Extension Public Notice [2015] No. 60 provides non-resident taxpayers enjoying bilateral tax agreement and the international transport agreement with applicable unified, standardized management processes. Specific changes include: signed agreements for the avoidance of double taxation signed tax provisions of airlines, shipping and car services, tax agreement for the mutual… – Continue reading

Irish – Zambian DTA entered into force on December 23, 2015

The Irish Revenue has published a statement announcing that on December 23, 2015 the Convention between Ireland and the Republic of Zambia for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital Gains (Hereafter: the new DTA) as concluded on… – Continue reading

India gears up for changes in tax laws and treaties

The international community led by the G20 initiated the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project a few years ago with the aim of ensuring that profits are taxed where economic activities are performed and where value is created, the Business Standard reports. Governments, tax authorities and social groups have… – Continue reading

Irish banks collect data in new OECD worldwide tax clampdown

The first stage of an un-precedented worldwide crackdown on tax evasion and banking secrecy has got under way, with Irish banks this week starting to collect details of non-resident bank account holders. The collection of information follows on from the agreements brokered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development… – Continue reading

Luxembourg Tax Alert 2016-02

January 2016 You will find below a summary of some of the most important tax developments that have happened since the release of our last newsletter, at OECD, EU or country level, in the area of tax transparency and the fight against tax avoidance. EU – Tax transparency and anti-BEPS… – Continue reading

Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2016 gazetted

Hong Kong (HKSAR) – The Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2016 was gazetted today (January 8). “The Bill seeks to put in place a legal framework for Hong Kong to implement the new international standard for automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters (AEOI) as promulgated by the Organisation… – Continue reading

Retrospectiva2015: Angolan diplomacy in the context of diversification of the economy

Luanda – Throughout the year just ended, as in the previous, the country’s economy “found himself grappling” with a major setback if they can be considered, due to the continued drop in oil prices, which is in the house $ 37 a barrel, far from the historic $ 122 value,… – Continue reading

Banking on bringing in wealthy investors

The financial regulator has launched a public consultation on plans to create alternative models for banking. Proposals being considered by the Financial Services Authority aim to address the decline in traditional offshore banking. Two additional banking licences are mooted – one for banks serving high net-worth individuals and corporate clients… – Continue reading

New Australia/Germany Double Tax Treaty shows Australia’s policy response to BEPS

On 13 November 2015 the Treasurer and Minister of Finance jointly announced that a new double tax treaty had been negotiated with Germany, replacing the 1972 agreement. The new treaty has not yet been formally adopted as part of Australian law, as a change to the International Tax Agreements Act… – Continue reading

Simplifying transfer pricing record keeping

We conduct transfer pricing reviews as part of broader risk reviews of businesses under our compliance program. Documenting your transfer pricing: > is important for demonstrating your compliance with Australia’s transfer pricing rules > can be costly, particularly for smaller businesses. We have developed some simplified transfer pricing record keeping… – Continue reading

Banks because FATCA agreement made changes in information systems

Several Slovak banks are already preparing for the new obligations arising from the agreement FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act). Because it had to make changes in particular in its information systems. “Following the agreement FATCA UniCredit Group has developed separate software for the purpose of fulfilling the obligations under… – Continue reading

Brazil: Dutch holding companies again identified as “privileged tax regimes”

Dutch holding companies have been again included on the Brazilian government’s list of “privileged tax regimes.” Accordingly, this action has implications for purposes of the transfer pricing, thin capitalization, and tax deductibility rules. Background Under Brazilian tax law, the concept of “privileged tax regimes” is relevant for determining: Whether Brazil’s… – Continue reading

Jamaica Explains New Transfer Pricing Rules

Jamaica has released information explaining its new transfer pricing regime, with transfer pricing documentation due on March 15, 2016. According to the Government, 2015 amendments to the Income Tax Act were intended to remove any subjectivity in the administration of transfer pricing rules. The Government said: “Taxpayers have always had… – Continue reading

Gordhan halts SARS revamp

SOUTH African Revenue Service (SARS) commissioner Tom Moyane has been instructed by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan to halt the implementation of his ambitious restructuring plans. The far-reaching restructuring project for the tax authority was one of the first initiatives undertaken by Mr Moyane following his appointment as commissioner in October… – Continue reading

The changing face of European taxation

World Finance spoke to Thierry Afschrift, founder of Afschrift Law Firm and university professor, about how tax lawyers can respond to a changing European environment In keeping with much of Europe, Belgium’s tax system has been subject recently to a shift of important proportions, as policymakers there look to boost… – Continue reading