Mary-Lou McDonald is one of the more eloquent Dáil performers and she rarely pulls her punches. But consistency has not always been the most remarkable attribute of her contributions. She can be devastating while excoriating the misdeeds of others – but strangely reticent when it comes to matters close to… – Continue reading
His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, on Monday received Robert Fico, Prime Minister of Slovakia, and members of the accompanying delegation at Zabeel Palace. During the meeting, Sheikh Mohammed accepted an invitation from the Slovak prime minister… – Continue reading
The Irish Revenue Commissioners have confirmed that the necessary statutory instrument to bring the final common reporting standard (CRS) regulations into Irish domestic law was signed 17 December 2015 and is effective 31 December 2015. Other recent developments concerning the automatic exchange of information (AEOI) regimes, include the publication of… – Continue reading
When someone dies owning an unreported financial account, the heirs and executors of the estate are faced with a serious problem. First, assuming there is undeclared income earned with respect to the account, such income will generate a tax liability for the decedent with respect to any tax years that… – Continue reading
All insurers to undertake a value search for new accounts opened after Sept 1 and up to Oct 31 by Dec 31 Insurance regulator Irdai has directed all insurers to register and submit information to CBDT for compliance with the obligations under Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) – Common… – Continue reading
The start date for the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) in early adopting countries is approaching fast, with financial institutions required to begin new account on-boarding procedures from 1 January 2016. CRS requires financial institutions in participating jurisdictions to identify account holders who are tax resident in other participating jurisdictions and… – Continue reading
On Tuesday 15 December, Deloitte Luxembourg gathered around 150 business professionals from various sectors at Utopolis to this year’s last episode of the conference cycle covering the full spectrum of the Common Reporting Standards (CRS). While cinema technicians were preparing the premiere of the new Star Wars movie next door,… – Continue reading
The president of Ireland on 22 December 2015 signed into law Finance Act 2015 that includes rules following the OECD’s recommended country-by-country (CbyC) reporting requirements. The Finance Act provision closely mirrors the OECD’s suggested model legislation. For fiscal years beginning on or after 1 January 2016, multinational groups whose ultimate… – Continue reading
On 17 December 2015, China signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement, confirming its commitment to implement automatic exchange of financial account information in time to exchange in 2018. Many jurisdictions are now updating domestic legislation to ensure that financial institutions report information on financial assets held by non-residents. Financial information… – Continue reading
President Obama signed the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015 (the “Act”) into law on December 18, 2015. The Act extends retroactively certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) that had expired at the end of 2014 and makes a number of other changes to the… – Continue reading
ZURICH: Negotiators from Switzerland and neighbour Italy reached agreement on Tuesday on how to tax cross-border commuters, wrapping up months of talks that aimed to help Italy crack down on undeclared foreign wealth. The accord, which must be approved by both national governments and parliaments, would see workers paying up… – Continue reading
Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, received a delegation from Ethiopia at the Ministry of Finance headquarters in Abu Dhabi. The meeting was held to discuss investment opportunities and economic cooperation between UAE and Ethiopia. The agreement on the avoidance of double taxation on income signed… – Continue reading
A United States UBS bank client has failed in his bid to sue the Swiss authorities for handing his data to the US during a tax evasion row between the two countries. The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) said the economic interests of Switzerland outweighed his individual privacy. The… – Continue reading
The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government came to power with the promise of putting an end to what many called the tax ‘extortion’ regime of the previous government. The year 2015 was the first full year for the government to walk some of its talk on tax reform. Though the… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority (TIA), on December 8, 2015 provided the following implementation updates for the Common Reporting Standard (CRS): 1. Updated Self-Certification Forms ( Individual and Entity) for compliance with CRS, U.S. and U.K. FATCA, which should be used by Cayman Islands funds. From January 1 onwards,… – Continue reading
CF Industries (CF – Analyst Report) and Netherlands-based fertilizers and industrial chemicals producer – OCI N.V. – said that they have amended their merger agreement originally announced in Aug 2015. Under the modified agreement, the jurisdiction of incorporation and tax residency of the new combined company has been changed to… – Continue reading
It’s probably not the best time in the province to announce a payroll rebate to a major offshore bank promising to create 50 jobs in Halifax. Nova Scotia Business Inc. on Tuesday announced a rebate worth a potential $840,000 over six years to the Bank of N.T. Butterfield and Son… – Continue reading
LONDON (Reuters) – Seven of the biggest investment banks operating in London paid little or no tax in Britain last year, despite reporting billions of dollars in profits, a Reuters analysis of corporate filings shows. In recent months, the seven investment and corporate banks operating in London reported figures showing… – Continue reading
On December 17, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) issued an explanatory memorandum on the 2015 Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill (TALAB). In particular, the memorandum looks at the TALAB provisions giving effect to the collection of information from South African financial institutions (FIs), and the associated obligation on the… – Continue reading
Dec. 21 — The IRS proposed rules requiring large companies to report information including the amount of revenue, profit or loss, capital and accumulated earnings for each country of operation, consistent with OECD recommendations designed to combat base erosion and profit shifting. The proposed rules (REG-109822-15, RIN 1545-BM70) would apply… – Continue reading
Norway’s organisation which investigates economic crimes, Økokrin, has accused Stein Harald Schie, 63, of hiding NOK485m from the taxman, according to Norwegian daily E24. The brokern disputes that he has withheld tax and said via his defender Nicolai V. Skjerdal that he lives abroad. In a four-page document the Norwegian… – Continue reading
American expats could have their passports revoked next month if they fail to comply with their tax and financial obligations. American expats could have their passports revoked next month if they fail to comply with their tax and financial obligations under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or Fatca, a… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: It seems, following a directive from PM Narendra Modi and Arun Jaitley, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is leaving no stones unturned to change the image of India from being too aggressive on taxation to being strict but friendly on corporate taxation. The CBDT, which has been… – Continue reading
South Africa has a “well-balanced, modern tax system” but additional revenues will be needed in the coming years to expand social spending and infrastructure, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has said in a new report. The report, entitled How can South Africa’s tax system meet revenue raising… – Continue reading
Dividend income from shares paid into a foreign bank account are among the transactions covered by the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility which is about to close, accountants warn. Other normal circumstances where offshore tax liabilities may have arisen but can be dealt with via the “generous” LDF include CGT or rent… – Continue reading
The announcements coming out from both the CI government and the UK government on beneficial ownership can provide a lesson in semantics. The arguments are seemingly centered on the meanings of the words “public” versus “centralised.” The “simple definition” of semantics from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary is “the study of the… – Continue reading
The Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has welcomed a change to the Government’s approach1 to improve tax compliance by large companies but remains sceptical about the effectiveness of a ‘special measures’ regime to target tax abuse. John Cullinane, Tax Policy Director, said: “We are pleased that the framework for improving… – Continue reading
Most people with undisclosed Swiss bank accounts have, by definition, something to hide. Secrets, however, sometimes don’t remain secret, especially when they involve someone else’s money. While disclosing the names and financial details of Swiss bank account holders has recently come into vogue, a whistleblower may have just as murky… – Continue reading
Luxembourg’s long-hidden role as a secret tax haven in the very heart of the European Union has been shattered by one man who happened to be in the right place at the right time to do what he thought was the right thing. Antoine Deltour brought to light how the… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: When Grant Thornton recently appointed India leader Vishesh Chandiok on its global governance board, it reflected the country’s growing importance as a market for the London-headquartered professional services firm. At 41, Chandiok may be the youngest member of the board ever but points out that he doesn’t lack for… – Continue reading
A BALANCING ACT in London, folly and redemption in America’s District of Columbia and sheer hypocrisy in Brussels. And in every case, Barbados and many of its Caribbean neighbours were placed in the negative international spotlight at a time when some of the world’s major financial centres are casting about… – Continue reading
China Commits to Automatic Exchange of Tax Information Approved by the State Council, China has committed to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) global standard for automatic exchange of tax information and will start to automatically exchange information with other countries’ tax authorities by September, 2018. On December… – Continue reading
The Treasury Department released a proposal on Monday that would require certain companies to annually report information relating to income and taxes on a country-by-country basis. The proposal would apply to businesses that are the parents of multinational enterprise groups with annual revenue of at least $850 million. The categories… – Continue reading
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s commitment to fighting money laundering does not hurt banking secrecy but, to the contrary, is in the interests of the banking sector, said Joseph Torbey, president of the Association of Banks in Lebanon. “Lebanon’s serious commitment to fighting money laundering will prevent the escape of investments from Lebanon… – Continue reading
IRS Criminal Investigation » Agency initiated 3,853 investigations nationally and is nabbing criminals from tax cheats to terrorists despite budget cuts, chief says. Utahn Gerrit Timmerman III claimed his corporation — “The Office of the First Presiding Patriarch (Overseer) and his/her successors, a corporation sole over/for an unincorporated scriptural society,… – Continue reading
The embassy of the State of Qatar in Banjul were on Saturday, December 19th joined by Gambians in celebrating the oil-rich Gulf country’s National Day. Senior government officials including cabinet ministers, as well as foreign diplomats and representatives of various agencies in The Gambia graced the event. Speaking at the… – Continue reading
IT is ironic that what was almost at the centre of the BEPS project has ended up in not having a concrete agreement and with a vague promise of some review by the year 2020. One may recall that it was the big digital companies and their tax affairs that… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: India is close to signing collaborative jurisdictional agreements with three countries – Singapore, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong – for dealing with challenges related to the siphoning of black money, said the Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT). A spokesperson of the CBDT told ANI in… – Continue reading
A study from Confindustria, the Italian business association, has estimated that tax and social security contributions evaded in Italy amounted to EUR122.2bn, or 7.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), in 2014. Confindustria described tax evasion as “a serious obstacle to Italy’s economic and social development because it penalizes equity,… – Continue reading
The Cayman Government has proposed that services providers should be allowed to keep their own databases of beneficial ownership information, which would be accessible to the Government for international law enforcement purposes. According to local news service Cayman Compass, quoting Financial Services Minister Wayne Panton, the proposal means the Government… – Continue reading
It is possible that the United States expats could have their passports revoked next month if they fail to comply with their tax and financial obligations under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). This was revealed by Mr. Jim O’Niell, Vice President of US Financial Advisory & Audit Firm… – Continue reading
The Italian revenue agency issued guidance that includes its initial comments and positions on issues under the patent box regime. The guidance is known as Circular no. 36/E (1 December 2015). Patent box Under Italy’s patent box regime, a certain percentage of income attributable to the use of qualifying intangible… – Continue reading
Chinese banks from Hong Kong to London are selling a record amount of yuan-denominated certificates of deposit as China takes steps to curb outflows of the currency. Sales jumped to an unprecedented 66.1 billion yuan ($10.2 billion) this month, data compiled by Bloomberg show. That comes after Hong Kong’s pool… – Continue reading
American citizens risk losing passports if they do not report foreign income, bank accounts Dubai Americans must comply with tax law changes coming into effect in the new year and report income earned abroad and foreign-held bank accounts over $10,000 (Dh36,700) or else they risk losing their passports, a US… – Continue reading
It was Kerry Packer who famously told the nation’s politicians “if anybody in this country doesn’t minimise their tax they want their head read” because “as a government I can tell you you’re not spending it that well that we should be paying extra”. The words have gone down in… – Continue reading
“It is an age-old and universally recognized principle that one sovereign does not assist another in the collection of their taxes . . . but the political sentiment in many countries has changed radically over the years in the light of increasing tax evasion, ” so declared the Singapore High… – Continue reading
The Protocol amending the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters will lead to substantially more transnational identity theft, crime, industrial espionage, financial fraud, and the suppression of political opponents and religious or ethnic minorities by authoritarian and corrupt governments. It puts Americans’ private financial information at risk…. – Continue reading
The Markets Supervision Directorate of the Central Bank published its programme of themed-inspections for 2016. These inspections reflect a number of supervisory priorities for 2016 and anticipate areas of emerging risk. This programme builds on the successful supervisory work undertaken in 2015 in the areas of Cyber Security, Operational Risk… – Continue reading
Kampala — At least $470m (about Shs1.5 trillion) is lost in tax exemptions every year, a study commissioned by Oxfam and Southern and Eastern African Trade, Information and Negotiations Institute (SEATINI) Uganda, indicates. According to the study, titled “Fairness Tax Monitor: Country Study for Uganda” whose intention was to assess… – Continue reading
While the latest Bond movie, Spectre, brings glowing praise for Daniel Craig, life is running rather less smoothly for the prototype 007. In truth, Sir Sean Connery’s personal story has never remotely resembled that of the unruffled agent he so consummately portrayed. Down the years, he has faced a plethora… – Continue reading
