(Bloomberg) — Switzerland has frozen $400 million of assets in more than 30 banks as the country’s attorney general probes money laundering related to Petroleo Brasileiro SA’s widening corruption scandal. Nine investigations have been opened since last April based on allegations of corruption involving eight Brazilian citizens, the Bern-based Federal… – Continue reading
Things just got worse for HSBC. Its private banking arm faces new criminal charges after a French magistrate officially requested that the Swiss bank be brought to trial over a suspected tax-dodging scheme for wealthy customers, the Guardian reports. The request for trial comes after a series of allegations against… – Continue reading
HSBC Holdings plc’s (LON:HSBA) shares were down 0.23 percent to 559.00p as of 13:13 GMT yesterday, after earlier on Friday the French financial prosecutor’s office announced it had formally requested that the lender’s Swiss private banking unit be put on trial for helping French citizens to aggressively avoid taxes. HSBC… – Continue reading
TP Week As a result of Brazil’s unique policy to prevent erosion of the tax base, companies often face double taxation. The pending case before the US Tax Court (Docket 5816-13), 3M Co. et al. v. Commissioner, brings this issue into the spotlight. In this case the US Internal Revenue… – Continue reading
Costa Rica News – If you are making money in Costa Rica expect it to be reported to your country of origin and pay taxes. Costa Rica has long has a reputation as a tax haven but the government is working to change that. If bill number 18,966 is approved,… – Continue reading
Argentina has sent requests for information to tax authorities in the Virgin Islands, Uruguay and Bermuda, according to a Reuters report. This comes as Argentina wants HSBC Holdings Plc to repatriate some $3.5 billion that it says the bank’s Argentine branch moved offshore to help clients evade taxes and move… – Continue reading
HSBC Holdings Plc (LON:HSBA) shares were steady at 560.42p this morning, as the scandal revolving around HSBC’s Swiss unit tax avoidance scheme took a political turn. Tory and Labour have traded accusations, while on the international level Argentina has demanded cash payments from the lender as compensation. Sir Alan Duncan,… – Continue reading
The head of Argentina’s tax authority has demanded that HSBC repatriate $3.5bn (£2.3bn) in funds that it says HSBC helped its clients move offshore. Ricardo Echegaray said that HSBC’s actions threatened the stability of the Argentine government. “HSBC built a platform to help clients evade tax,” said Mr Echegary in… – Continue reading
Bosses at HSBC were yesterday accused by MPs of turning a blind eye to alleged tax evasion in its Swiss private banking arm. In an ill-tempered hearing with the Public Accounts Committee, members said they did not believe that executives in London were oblivious to what was happening. Chief executive… – Continue reading
Chile is the fifth largest economy in South America and increasingly one of the most significant U.S. trading partners in the region. U.S. foreign direct investment into Chile was $39.9 billion for 2012 (the latest year for which official figures are available). And in 2013, the U.S. exported $17.6 billion… – Continue reading
SANTIAGO, CHILE – Prosecutors are asking a judge to charge the owners of a prominent Chilean financial company with bribery, tax evasion and illegally financing the campaign of right-wing politicians. Attorney General Sabas Chahuan is seeking formal charges against Carlos Delano and Carlos Lavin, who own the Penta Group, which… – Continue reading
Former JP Morgan Vice President Hernán Arbizu claimed that HSBC Argentina hired JP Morgan’s employees for “advise on evasion know-how.” He incriminated himself by saying that the company he worked for helped Argentinean economic groups to evade AFIP tax bureau controls. “The banks in Argentina are to blame for the… – Continue reading
When an economist presents his opinion to the public on any subject he should be asked to swear, similar to what witnesses do in a court trial, that he will follow Henry Hazlitt’s Lesson (Economics in One Lesson – Henry Hazlitt – 1946 – Harper & Brothers): “The art of… – Continue reading
São Paulo, Brazil. International transfer pricing is able to take place in Brazil, outside of the OECD While Brazil is not a member of the OECD, many multinational groups there are able to successfully navigate international transfer pricing standards, yielding effective results The economic view of Brazil has always been… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — Argentine tax authorities said Sunday they are seeking the arrest of money manager Miguel Abadi for alleged involvement in an offshore investment network designed to avoid paying taxes. The agency, in a statement, said it’s seeking information from tax agencies in the Virgin Islands, Uruguay and Bermuda about… – Continue reading
UK, US, Australia, Brazil, India- governments of developed and developing countries are battling profit shifting by MNCs such as Amazon, Google, Apple and Starbucks. The allegation- MNCs are shifting profits to jurisdictions where there is little or no tax to be paid. The solution- OECD’s BEPS action plan which, among… – Continue reading
Warwick Bartlett, CEO of Global Betting and Gaming Consultants, discusses how government’s approach taxation means that rates are more likely to go up than down. The most pleasing sight at ICE 2015 was to see some of the younger companies which two years ago took the smallest booths are now… – Continue reading
A team of journalists from 45 nations who investigated documents leaked by a former systems engineer working for banking giant HSBC’s Geneva, Switzerland branch, found HSBC managed secret bank accounts for criminals, drug traffickers, tax dodgers, politicians and celebrities. The documents, covering the period from 2005 to 2007 revealed, according… – Continue reading
A list of leaked Swiss bank accounts is making news in Belize tonight. And that’s because the list shows that 97 Belizean bank accounts holding 54.8 million US dollars are hidden away in these accounts. Now, in a country like Belize with an active offshore banking sector, that’s not too… – Continue reading
Feb 12 (Reuters) – Brazilian Trade Minister Armando Monteiro said on Thursday he does not see much chance of agreeing on a tax treaty with the United States in the short term. In an interview during a visit to Washington, his first overseas trip as minister, Monteiro said double taxation,… – Continue reading
SINGAPORE: Singapore has signed agreements with France and Uruguay for avoidance of double taxation (DTA). In the agreement with France, the revised DTA offers improved terms for businesses, such as lower withholding tax rates for dividends and includes anti-abuse provisions. The signing took place in Singapore between Singapore Deputy Prime… – Continue reading
In a recent letter to the Committee on Foreign Relations, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) requested that the US Senate urgently approve all pending bilateral double taxation agreements (DTAs) and protocols. The AICPA pointed out that the full Senate has not approved any DTA or protocol since… – Continue reading
HSBC is under fire, after a large cache of leaked bank files revealed that it helped clients evade taxes and conceal millions of dollars. The files, which cover the period 2005-07, amount to the biggest banking leak in history, shedding light on some 30,000 accounts holding almost $120bn. HSBC was… – Continue reading
Latin-American politicians Horacio Cartes (president of Paraguay), Álvaro Noboa (former president of Ecuador), and Alejandro Andrade (Venezuela’s ex-national treasurer) have one thing in common: they all possessed, until at least 2007, secret accounts with HSBC’s private Swiss bank. This according to the Swissleaks report published on Sunday, February 8, which… – Continue reading
Bermuda’s well-documented financial services regulation, international partnership treaties, and lack of bank secrecy legislation ought to be recognised by the UK Labour Party, the Bermuda Business Development Agency (BDA) said today. The BDA echoed the Bermuda Government’s weekend response to UK Opposition Leader Ed Miliband following a warning letter issued… – Continue reading
The latest FATCA Foreign Financial Institutions (FFI) list reveals that of the top five countries with the most registrations to date, the Tax Authorities of two – the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands – are implementing the Vizor for FATCA & AEOI Vizor Software, the leading regulatory supervision… – Continue reading
The nation’s largest organization of accounting and tax professionals is urging the Senate to approve income tax treaties between the U.S. and various countries. In a February 3 letter to Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the committee’s ranking… – Continue reading
As countries share more information, opportunities to squirrel away cash abroad will continue to narrow AMONG the sins that have most angered the austerity-weary everywhere is the use of undeclared offshore accounts to stash the wealth of the rich. Greeks were particularly enraged when data stolen from Swiss banks showed… – Continue reading
In 2014, China continued to develop its taxation system affecting domestic and crossborder transactions. This “Legal Flash – Special Edition 2014” highlights the most significant tax updates of the year. Please see our monthly legal flashes for more information and analysis here. Taking a step-forward on anti-avoidance provisions, the State… – Continue reading
Ireland has been ranked among the least complex business destinations for multinationals, and its appeal has improved as a result of recent international tax policy changes, according to a new study. The study from the TMF Group ranked 81 jurisdictions across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia-Pacific, and the Americas… – Continue reading
London is a global haven for criminal financial activity – with billions of pounds laundered through British banks each day, according to the head of the UK’s National Crime Agency. “Many hundreds of billions of pounds of criminal money is almost certainly laundered through UK banks and their subsidiaries each… – Continue reading
Money from charity games featuring Barça star was sent to Curaçao, Civil Guard says Messi charity games investigated for link to drug traffickers Charity soccer matches organized under the name of Argentinean star Lionel Messi in four countries in 2012 and 2013 raked in hundreds of thousands of euros that… – Continue reading
This edition of the Tax-News monthly feature takes in noteworthy events in the international tax arena, including attempts to inject new life into the campaign for comprehensive tax reform in the United States, and developments in the areas of free trade, indirect taxation, BEPS and tax transparency and compliance. US… – Continue reading
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is a new chapter in the US Internal Revenue Code. Chapter 4 was added by the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment (HIRE) Act. It seeks to identify US taxpayers having accounts at foreign financial institutions (FFIs) and attempts to enforce reporting of those… – Continue reading
With the city-state revising its earlier avoidance of double taxation agreement with France and signing a new one with Uruguay recently, a boost in cross-border trade is inevitable. Singapore (PRWEB) January 22, 2015 In what can be termed as two important milestones in Singapore’s trade relations with Europe and Latin… – Continue reading
To comply with unconstitutional pseudo-treaties negotiated by the Obama administration without the consent of Congress or any semblance of constitutional authority, the IRS announced that it will be sharing private financial information on U.S. bank account holders with foreign powers. No warrant is needed for foreign governments or tyrants to… – Continue reading
Costa Rica’s going under the magnifying glass for the next two weeks as international money laundering experts comb through the country’s books. President Luis Guillermo Solís declared the audit from the Financial Action Task Force of Latin America (GAFILAT) a subject of national interest in Monday’s edition of the official… – Continue reading
He was known to authorities as Brazil’s black-market central banker, a career criminal who smuggled cash for the rich and powerful by private jet and armored car. Now Alberto Youssef — a rum-runner turned money-launderer turned reputed billionaire — has emerged as a principal player in the biggest corruption scandal… – Continue reading
BUENOS AIRES] Argentina said on Monday it was suspending HSBC Bank Argentina’s right to transfer money abroad for 30 days due to “irregularities”, two months after charging it with helping clients evade taxes by siphoning their funds off to Switzerland. HSBC Bank Argentina has failed to fulfill a pledge to… – Continue reading
Buenos Aires (AFP) – Authorities raided the Buenos Aires offices of British bank HSBC on Wednesday investigating alleged tax evasion involving more than 4,000 influential locals’ Swiss accounts, a court source said. About 100 agents took part in the raid, the source said, adding the bank gave “court authorities the… – Continue reading
Argentinean Authorities Allege Bank Aided in Providing Secret Swiss Accounts A group of federal tax bureau agents and 100 police officers raided the downtown Buenos Aires offices of British bank HSBC on Wednesday, January 7. The Argentinean government is investigating the bank over alleged tax evasion and money laundering. In… – Continue reading
Countries are competing to lower their tax rates to please the corporate giants, but the result is a massive collective loss of revenue. Only international coordination can wipe out the practice and defeat the negative influence of the Big Four accounting firms. Tax havens have long existed in the popular… – Continue reading
Data as of a week before deadline The total number of Indian financial institutions who have signed up with the American tax authorities under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was less than 500 as per data from less than a fortnight ago. There were a total of 442… – Continue reading
Many registered firms are subsidiaries of the same organisation, so actual number could be much lower than latest available figure of 442 Sachin P Mampatta | Mumbai January 6, 2015 Last Updated at 22:47 IST The picture regarding the number and proportion of Indian financial institutions which had registered with… – Continue reading
AMSTERDAM: The Dutch Ministry of Finance announced that a new regulation for the avoidance of double taxation between the Netherlands and Curacao is expected to be effective beginning 1 January 2016. In anticipation of the new tax regulation, the Netherlands is extending measures provided to Curacao in previous years, concerning… – Continue reading
Thomas Piketty’s “Capital in the 21st Century” was a 2014 must-read for anyone interested in economics. But while his claim that income and wealth inequality has risen over recent decades to highs last seen before the start of the First World War was widely accepted, his policy prescriptions were not…. – Continue reading
December 17: The Dutch Ministry of Finance announced that a new regulation for the avoidance of double taxation between the Netherlands and Curaçao is expected to be effective beginning 1 January 2016. The Dutch government bill concerning this regulation is pending consideration by the Lower House. Once approved, the bill… – Continue reading
Gains derived from the sale of Mexican public debt instruments listed abroad between two foreign tax residents will soon be exempt from Mexican tax. Currently, for Mexican income tax purposes, any gains derived from the transfer of publicly-traded bonds, securities and other credit instruments are treated as interest. If the… – Continue reading
China and Turkey have fallen in international rankings of perceived corruption, according to a new report released by the Berlin-based anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI).09 Dec 2014 Regulatory Europe Asia Pacific Gulf Africa According to the latest edition of TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2014, which scores countries on a… – Continue reading
The Brazilian Ministry of Finance has issued Portaria MF no. 488/2014, on December 1, which reduced the maximum income tax rate from 20% to 17% for the purposes of applying the concepts of tax havens and privileged tax regimes. The reduction is an important move because it demonstrates a… – Continue reading
