Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Azerbaijan is preparing for the elimination of taxation with another 10 countries. Alakbar Mammadov, Advisor to the Taxes Minister of Azerbaijan, says that one of the important conditions of the investment environment in the country is to meet the agreement on the elimination of taxation on income tax… – Continue reading
Canada and the UK on July 21, 2014, signed a protocol to their Double Tax Agreement that amends its withholding tax and information exchange provisions. The Protocol includes an exemption from withholding tax for payments of interest made in respect of loans between persons at arm’s length. The headline withholding… – Continue reading
As reported in Clyde & Co’s 2011 article titled ‘Chinese charterers deducting taxes from hire payments’ (click here to view), foreign vessel owners engaged in business with Chinese charterers have long faced China’s Enterprise Income Tax regime (“EIT”). That regime looks set to extend further into the international transportation sector… – Continue reading
The county Department of Finance is taking a dim view of a proposal by Kohala Councilwoman Margaret Wille to give some homeowners a bigger tax break on their primary residence. Wille, at a meeting Monday of the Real Property Tax Stakeholder’s Task Force, said she wanted to increase the base… – Continue reading
New Delhi: The government on Tuesday said it is effectively using the information received from various countries to combat the menace of tax evasion and avoidance. “Effectively utilising the information received from treaty partners to combat tax evasion and avoidance,” Minister of State for Finance Nirmala Sitharaman said in a… – Continue reading
On June 30, the United States and Israel signed an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) regarding FAT CA. FAT CA became effective in the US and other countries on July 1 and will officially take effect in Israel once the Knesset passes enabling legislation. But the Bank of Israel has already instructed… – Continue reading
In the latest moves towards implementation of the FATCA Intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) signed by the BVI with the US and the UK, the BVI Government has released draft Guidance Notes for public consultation. A copy can be accessed from the Ministry of Finance website. The draft Guidance Notes have been… – Continue reading
More than half a billion pounds is set to be wasted this year in inheritance tax as individuals fail to place their life protection policies “under trust”. The figure, which is up £58m on last year, was revealed in research by unbiased.co.uk, which also found that only a quarter of consumers… – Continue reading
The International Chamber of Commerce, in a policy statement on July 15, 2014, has advised countries not to adopt exit taxes, to ensure that double taxation is avoided and to promote the free movement of capital. In its statement, entitled “Exit taxes: Serious obstacles for international business restructurings and movements… – Continue reading
FATCA was implemented worldwide at the beginning of this month, but the impact (and costs) are only now just beginning to filter through to the financial services community. Part of the US Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (HIRE), FATCA aims to ensure Americans, wherever they are and whatever investments… – Continue reading
ELKTON — A bill to decrease the amount county property tax assessments could rise in any one year was introduced last week during a county council meeting. The policy, known as the Maryland Homestead Tax Credit, was designed to help homeowners deal with large assessment increases on their principal residence… – Continue reading
InterAksyon.com means BUSINESS Majority of the local stock brokerages have remained outside the US-mandated reportorial compliance among foreign financial institutions, a worldwide campaign designed to flush out hidden overseas wealth and minimize tax abuse among Americans and green card holders through offshore accounts. A total of 178 Philippine-based financial firms,… – Continue reading
Sean Hannity, the Fox News prime-time host, threatened last month to leave New York for a tax haven down south. Tiger Woods transplanted himself from California to Florida for the same reason. The actor Gerard Depardieu decamped from France and sought citizenship in Russia after complaining that 85 percent of… – Continue reading
An overseas assignment is definitely exciting, but it pays to understand the double taxation issues that might arise Even with a lucrative compensation package, an assignment overseas could be taxing if there are unplanned outflows, particularly on account of double taxation. Here’s a couple of commonplace situations you might find… – Continue reading
Government plans to establish a tax haven that will encourage wealthy corporations to move their operations to Macedonia have won a mixed response.Financial experts have broadly welcomed plans by Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski to set up tax havens on the ground that they will boost employment in the financial and… – Continue reading
Two important dates have now passed in relation to Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA“) – 30 June 2014 when Financial Institutions were required to capture details of their existing customers for remediation purposes and 1 July 2014 when Financial Institutions were required to have procedures in place which would… – Continue reading
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Charleston County has hired an outside company to help it track down tax dodgers. The Post and Courier of Charleston reports (http://bit.ly/1nNzgzG ) that officials think hundreds of millions of dollars of property in the county may be undertaxed. That’s because some people may be claiming… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: The FBR is seeking extraordinary powers to access private bank accounts of citizens, apparently to catch tax dodgers, locate assets beyond means, sources of funds, detect foreign travels and raise revenue for the government. For the purpose, the FBR has recommended that its intelligence wing be allowed to perform… – Continue reading
For those living in America who have pensions saved from their time in the UK, the complexity surrounding the tax viability of transferring into a potentially highly beneficial QROPS can be slightly off-putting. Many will search the HMRC QROPS list and see 14 schemes listed in the USA. Schemes such as Kraft… – Continue reading
Switzerland and Iceland have signed a new double taxation agreement (DTA) which lowers withholding tax rates and provides for the exchange of information in line with international standards. It will replace the existing DTA, signed in 1998. The treaty sets a withholding tax exemption for dividend payments from significant holdings… – Continue reading
For those living in America who have pensions saved from their time in the UK, the complexity surrounding the tax viability of transferring into a potentially highly beneficial QROPS can be slightly off-putting. Many will search the HMRC QROPS list and see 14 schemes listed in the USA. Schemes such as Kraft… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON — From abortion to electronic privacy to background checks for gun purchases, a strange thing has been happening on the floor of the House as it debates its spending bills for the coming fiscal year: the stirrings of liberalism. The House on Thursday voted 221 to 200 to approve… – Continue reading
According to recent Home Office statistics, 10,000 British pensioners a year wave goodbye to the UK and set off to take retirement abroad. Yet the vast majority of retired expats find that they are still paying tax as they draw their UK pension. The exception comes when the pensioner resides… – Continue reading
The BVI Government has signed a Model 1B (non-reciprocal) Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) in relation to the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), it was announced on 30 June 2014. The IGA can be accessed here. As expected the final IGA is in substantially the same form as the model agreement. There… – Continue reading
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is urging Congress to act to prevent U.S. companies shifting their headquarters abroad to benefit from a lower tax rate. “Congress should enact legislation immediately — and make it retroactive to May 2014 — to shut down this abuse of our tax system,” Lew wrote… – Continue reading
Investors in India are nervous as it looks like the government aims to go ahead with plans to close more tax loopholes through a new set of General Anti-Avoidance Rules, or GAAR. While the new rules were slated to come into effect in April, many investors and executives had expected the… – Continue reading
New Delhi: India on Tuesday said negotiations are going on for signing new Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) with Hong Kong, Iran, Nigeria and three other nations. The three other countries are Azerbaijan, Chile and Venezuela, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley informed Rajya Sabha in in a written reply . Besides,… – Continue reading
The Obama administration called for immediate congressional action to stop U.S. companies from using cross-border mergers to escape the country’s tax system, the latest trend in corporate deal-making. In a letter calling for a “new sense of economic patriotism,” Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said Congress should pass tax changes… – Continue reading
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government has yet to adopt a view on proposed rules to tighten policy on tax avoidance by foreign investors, a senior finance ministry official said on Monday. The general anti-avoidance rules (GAAR) announced by the previous government had sparked alarm among foreign investors because of provisions… – Continue reading
Back in 2012, the Puerto Rican government signed a law that created a nice tax haven of U.S. citizens. Tax attorney Rob Wood comments on the Puerto Rican option, which was also the subject of his Forbes article “Hate Taxes? Move To Tax-Free Puerto Rico, Stay American, Avoid IRS.” Wood… – Continue reading
British expats living in Spain will have to be on their toes to keep up with the new Spanish tax rules There are a number of changes afoot which could trip you up faster than a flamenco dance. These include: · A new double tax treaty · New disclosure rules… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: The US authorities have made direct contacts with Pakistani commercial banks to seek data of account holders of their nationals in a bid to comply with their law known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca), The News has learnt. However, the Nawaz Sharif government has taken a… – Continue reading
Taipei, July 11 (CNA) An agreement signed by Taiwan and Luxembourg on avoiding double taxation and preventing tax evasion was approved by Luxembourg’s parliament Wednesday and will take effect on Jan. 1, 2015, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Friday.The agreement was signed by the Taxation Agency… – Continue reading
Another day. Another inversion. This one, though, with a twist. On Tuesday evening, U.S.-based Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd.SLXP -1.52% announced plans to merge with a unit of Cosmo Technologies Ltd.’s and take up residence in Ireland for tax purposes. What makes this different from a typical inversion deal is the fact… – Continue reading
On Friday, 27 June 2014, the Irish Revenue Commissioners (in conjunction with the Department of Finance) finalised the relevant Regulations with respect to FATCA. These Regulations will come into operation on 1 July 2014. As readers will be aware, the Irish and US Governments signed an intergovernmental agreement (“Irish IGA”)… – Continue reading
The international boundary that divides the United States and Canada is the longest international border on Earth, and many communities and businesses have interests lying on both sides. The shared border facilitates the largest trade relationship between any pair of countries in the world. It is therefore unsurprising that Americans… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Vodafone Thursday said it will continue the process of international arbitration initiated under the India-Netherlands Bilateral Investment Treaty to resolve the ongoing Rs 20,000-crore tax dispute against India, while a local tax official said the department will continue with its tax demand on the telecom major. Earlier today, Finance Minister Arun Jailtey… – Continue reading
Umuahia — Governor Thoedore Orji of Abia State has disclosed that the new tax regime being put in place by the State government is targeted at removing all forms of fraudulent practices that had bedeviled tax payment and collection in the past.. The Governor who stated this at the maiden… – Continue reading
An international law firm has accused HM Revenue & Customs of a “sudden and unprecedented escalation” after it revealed full details about the powers which will allow it to impose £1m fines on tax advisers. Ray McCann, partner at Pinsent Masons, said the powers, which are aimed at cracking down… – Continue reading
On 1 July 2014, the Ministry of Revenues and Levies of Ukraine issued Order #368 ‘On amendment of generalised tax consultation on transfer pricing related issues, adopted by Order #699’, which significantly changed the respective tax consultation #699. In particular, the order included additional questions and clarifications and drastically changed… – Continue reading
A lot of Americans are moving out of the homeland, getting rid of their American citizenship and with it a whole lot of tax. The American system of Worldwide tax and FATCA levied on the citizens is one of the driving forces for this shift. The IRS collects taxes from… – Continue reading
Tax Since the 1970s, U.S. taxpayers with foreign banks accounts have been required to annually report their foreign bank account information to the Department of Treasury on a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBAR”) by June 30th of each year. In addition to requiring the filing of an… – Continue reading
The recently enacted FATCA makes it mandatory for Indian tax authorities to share information about earnings of NRIs in US. However both India and US have a treaty signed to avoid double taxation. NRIs living in US can certainly benefit from this treaty The US government has recently enacted Foreign… – Continue reading
Britain is likely to receive little more than half of the £3 billion-plus expected from an agreement reached with Switzerland to tackle offshore tax evasion, HM Revenue and Customs has told MPs. Chancellor George Osborne’s 2012 Autumn Statement forecast the taxman would collect an additional £3.12 billion as a result… – Continue reading
To act as an investment manager the company is required to be appropriately regulated Offshore companies owned by NRIs or persons of Indian origin can act as investment manager for newly created class of overseas investors, FPIs, provided they are well regulated in their jurisdiction, Sebi has said. As per… – Continue reading
Macau and Guernsey are set to ink a new tax information exchange agreement (TIEA). While no date has been set yet, the announcement was published yesterday in the Official Gazette. According to the Official Gazette, the Secretary for Economy and Finance Francis Tam Pak Yuen is to sign the agreement… – Continue reading
Hong Kong (HKSAR) – The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor K C Chan, today (July 8) signed in Hong Kong an agreement with Korea for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income on behalf of the Hong… – Continue reading
Transparency rules aimed at clamping down on tax evasion are now in force, meaning more information will be shared with the UK tax authorities Expat savers who remain resident in the UK for tax purposes now have to provide more information when they open offshore bank accounts – to be… – Continue reading
Minister of Finance Hany Kadry Dimian has announced plans for Egypt to take on a policy of tax sharing internationally in an effort to protect the Egyptian taxpayer from double taxation. This is within the framework of government procedures to increase revenue and reform an exhausted economy. In a statement… – Continue reading
Singapore raises maximum jail term for money laundering SINGAPORE, July 7 (Xinhua) — Singapore’s parliament passed an amendment to the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes Act on Monday to raise the maximum jail term for money laundering. The maximum jail term for money laundering was raised from seven… – Continue reading
