Yearly Archive: 2016

How Microsoft moves profits offshore to cut tax bill

SEATTLE — When someone in Seattle buys a copy of Office at a Microsoft Store, that cash doesn’t take the short route to the company’s area headquarters. Instead, after accounting for state taxes, the profit goes to a Microsoft sales subsidiary in Nevada. From there, much of that money begins… – Continue reading

INVESTMENT IN DUBAI’S REAL ESTATE BUSINESS

This is apropos a Business Recorder news item ‘Investment in Dubai real estate: NAB asks FBR to verify claims of Transparency International-Pakistan ‘. According to the report, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has asked the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) to verify claims of Transparency International-Pakistan on a huge investment… – Continue reading

Why the mad rush to implement a transfer pricing regime?

Dr Peter Phillips, the finance minister, is about to undo all the good he has done with the economy by implementing the proposed transfer pricing regime. The Government assures the country that this unconstitutional transfer pricing mechanism isn’t a tax, but an attempt to get affected businesses to pay their… – Continue reading

RBI tightens norms for banks lending to overseas subsidiary of Indian companies

MUMBAI: The Reserve Bank of India has tightened norms for banks lending to overseas subsidiary of Indian companies by raising the provisions substantially against these loans. On Thursday, RBI said that banks can extend loan to overseas subsidiaries of Indian corporates but they have to make 2% of the loan… – Continue reading

Raising revenue off Caribbean backs

THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA (DC) recently enacted, as part of its budget, provisions that force entities doing business in any of 39 arbitrarily designated “tax havens” to report their income on worldwide combined reporting. Eighteen are Caribbean jurisdictions. A tax haven is defined by the DC code… – Continue reading

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and Common Reporting Standard (CRS) updated

An Inter-Governmental Agreement between India and USA was signed for implementation of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The Government of India has also joined the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) for Automatic Exchange of Information as per Common Reporting Standard (CRS). For implementation of FATCA and CRS, necessary legislative… – Continue reading

HMRC hails success of tax avoidance clampdown on UK banks

HMRC said the amount of money in tax avoidance schemes has fallen from £3.2bn in 2013 to £1bn All but two UK-registered banks have signed up to a Government scheme encouraging lenders to avoid using tax avoidance schemes. Some 303 lenders, including banks and building societies, have now signed up… – Continue reading