A spate of so-called “tax inversion” deals involving companies based in Ireland appears to be distorting the country’s foreign direct investment (FDI) numbers, The Irish Times reports. An OECD report suggests investment by Irish firms abroad more than doubled to US$75 billion in the first half of 2015. The study… – Continue reading
Millions have pounds have gone to countries such as Belize and Anguilla UK paid out £45m to 13 countries on tax haven ‘blacklist’ in just one year Campaigners estimate use of offshore havens costs Treasury £18b a year Revelation will anger Tory backbenchers who have criticised Cameron British aid money… – Continue reading
How analytics will nab cheaters. Tomorrow is the Australian Taxation Office’s official cutoff for 2014-15 personal tax returns. Will you be tempted to tell fibs about your income? How will the tax man ever know? Take note: it may already know – or at least can find out – a… – Continue reading
Meeting in Barbados, members of the Global Forum will vote Friday night on Luxembourg on the report examining the country in line with international standards of fiscal transparency. This vote will be a mere formality since experts have already been doing an inventory of business reforms by the government for… – Continue reading
Pfizer Inc. may be getting closer to breaking up and moving out. The largest U.S. drugmaker and Allergan Plc are considering combining operations, according to the Wall Street Journal. A deal would give Pfizer a way to move to a low-tax legal address abroad and gain valuable specialty drugs like… – Continue reading
The Department of Justice announced today that Luzerner Kantonalbank AG (Luzerner), Habib Bank AG Zurich (HBZ), Banque Heritage S.A. and Hyposwiss Private Bank Genève S.A. (Hyposwiss Geneva) have reached resolutions under the department’s Swiss Bank Program. These banks will collectively pay penalties totaling more than $25 million and continue to… – Continue reading
Gold Fields and Sasol have clinched the top awards in PwC’s Building Public Trust Awards: Excellence in the field of tax reporting in 2015. Gold Fields was the overall winner in the category for tax reporting for multinational companies, while Sasol was announced the overall winner in the category tax… – Continue reading
The European Commission (Commission) has adopted a decision on 21 October 2015 on the tax rulings – also referred to as “comfort letters” – granted by Luxembourg to Fiat Finance and Trade (FFT) and by The Netherlands to Starbucks. Rejecting the decisions of domestic authorities in Luxembourg and The Netherlands,… – Continue reading
(MENAFN – Arab Times) The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) model has spurred the rise of a global automatic exchange of information, informed Hannah Shipley, Director at Ernst & Young, while speaking about FATCA and its implications during a business panel discussion held at the Kuwait Chamber of… – Continue reading
Budgets are made up of spending and revenue. But budget negotiators in Washington are talking only about what spending to cut, not what revenue to raise — even though there are gaping tax loopholes to close. Closing them would eliminate the need to cut critical services that benefit tens of… – Continue reading
Australia’s corporate tax rate is higher than the global average, according to KPMG’s 2015 global tax rate survey, SmartCompany reports. While Australia’s corporate tax rate currently sits at 30 per cent, the global average sits at 23.68 per cent. The United States has the highest corporate tax rate at 40… – Continue reading
With effect from November 1, mutual fund investors will have to make additional declaration pertaining to foreign account tax compliance act (FATCA) and common reporting standards (CRS) for all new accounts opened, failing which their applications will get rejected. Under FATCA and CRS, Indian financial institutions will be required to… – Continue reading
Multinationals have generated big-time revenues with its subsidiaries spread all over the world, which means huge profits and that’s taxable income. In recent years, a number of conglomerates – Amazon, Apple, Google and Starbucks – have engaged in so-called profit-shifting (profit allocation) via transfer pricing methods to pay minuscule taxes…. – Continue reading
For many years, policymakers have criticized the strategies that American corporations use to reduce their taxes by shifting income and capital offshore. The impetus behind these strategies is the U.S. corporate income-tax rate — at 35 percent, the highest of any industrialized nation, easily surpassing countries such as the U.K…. – Continue reading
Nearly three quarters of companies surveyed by legal practice Allen & Overy said that their approach to tax planning either sometimes or often conflicts with the domestic tax authority’s expectations. 350 senior-level executives operating in a range of jurisdictions were questioned by FT Remark on behalf of Allen & Overy… – Continue reading
The finance ministry on Tuesday set up a 10-member committee to review the Income-Tax Act to avoid litigation and improve ease of doing business, after solving past minimum alternate tax (MAT) cases and easing transfer pricing norms. The announcement came on a day when a World Bank report showed only… – Continue reading
Herve Falciani, the Frenchman wanted on charges of industrial espionage in Switzerland, has opted to skip his trial at the country’s top court and instead plead his case before a jury of journalists at a French hotel, less than a mile from the Swiss border. The Frenchman was the star… – Continue reading
The government on Tuesday set up a 10-member committee, chaired by former Delhi High Court judge R V Easwar, to identify provisions in the Income Tax Act that “lead to litigation and impact the ease of doing business” for resolution early next year in the Finance Bill, 2016. The government… – Continue reading
Come November 1, mutual fund investors will have to provide details and declaration pertaining to Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and common reporting standards (CRS) for all new accounts opened, failing which fund houses are likely to reject their applications. While some fund houses have already started this process… – Continue reading
A decision by the Federal Court of Australia has key implications for transfer pricing of intercompany financing transactions, as well as implication for other broader intercompany arrangements. The case concerns the transfer pricing implications of an intercompany loan agreement between an Australian taxpayer and its U.S. subsidiary (CFC) and whether… – Continue reading
The Bank of Butterfield has agreed to buy the multibillion dollar private banking trust and investment arm of rivals HSBC Bermuda. The move means Butterfield will acquire the Bermuda Trust Company Ltd as well as the trust and investment business of HSBC. At the end of last year, HSBC’s trust… – Continue reading
Ireland has announced a new 6.25 per cent corporate tax rate for intellectual property research Ireland’s 12.5 per cent corporate tax rate is already one of the lowest in Europe, Economia reports. Now, companies investing in research and development (R&D) will be able to avail of the even lower rate… – Continue reading
For many years, policymakers have criticized the strategies that American corporations use to reduce their taxes by shifting income and capital offshore. The impetus behind these strategies is the U.S. corporate income-tax rate — at 35 percent, the highest of any industrialized nation, easily surpassing countries such as the U.K…. – Continue reading
HSBC, Google, Facebook are among firms that will now appear after threat from MEPs on access to Parliament. Several multinational companies have now dropped their opposition to appearing before a special European Parliament panel investigating allegations of tax avoidance in Europe. HSBC said Tuesday it would participate in a hearing… – Continue reading
Profit-shifting has not paid off for petroleum multinational Chevron, slugged with a tax bill for $322 million thanks to a Supreme Court decision on Friday. Chevron has been under close scrutiny this year, particularly since a senate inquiry into tax-avoidance in April which also put mining giants BHP, Rio Tinto,… – Continue reading
Credit Suisse Group AG, the Swiss Bank that unveiled a major shift in strategy last week to focus on wealth management over investment banking, plans to make acquisitions and invest about $400 million in Switzerland in the next few years, Chief Executive Officer Tidjane Thiam and Chairman Urs Rohner said… – Continue reading
The offshore yuan market faced a rocky patch following Beijing’s shock devaluation in August, but the push to internationalise the currency has lost little momentum, according to The Strait Times. Similarly, Singapore’s role in the growth of the yuan is likely to continue unabated. The general manager of ICBC Singapore,… – Continue reading
Lawmakers at the European Parliament are set to vote on a controversial series of proposals to harmonize the corporate tax system in Europe in a move that will put them on a collision course with some member states which favor sovereignty over taxation. The EU lawmakers on the TAXE committee… – Continue reading
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has issued a revised guide to inform foreigners working in South Africa and their employers about their income tax commitments. The guide points out that, under the South African income tax system, amounts received by or accrued to persons other than residents (non-residents or… – Continue reading
A company controlled by Mayor of Belgrade Sinisa Mali and his family obtained more than 10 hectares of agricultural land worth anywhere from €123,000 to € 250,000 (US$140,000 to US$290,000) for free from a privatized state company. Problem is, the land wasn’t the company’s to give, but was still owned… – Continue reading
The Bank of Japan need not boost its massive monetary stimulus this week as the labor market remains tight, a key economic adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Monday. Koichi Hamada, an emeritus professor of economics at Yale University, also told Reuters that the central bank does not… – Continue reading
Coca-Cola might owe an additional $3.3 billion in federal income taxes following an audit, says the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Following a five year audit of the company, the IRS concluded that the company’s strategy of lowering its taxable income through transfer pricing, underestimates the amount the company should’ve been… – Continue reading
The EU tax rulings against Starbucks and Fiat Chrysler are but trifles compared to the ones extant against Apple and Amazon. Everyone lies about tax. Holland said it followed international tax standards when everyone knows it’s a corporate tax haven. That’s why ST has its HQ there. Ireland and Luxembourg… – Continue reading
India has told the International Court of Justice that it will soon appoint an arbitrator to resolve the Rs 10,247-crore tax dispute with British oil explorer Cairn Energy Plc. Cairn on March 10 sought arbitration under the India-UK Bilateral Investment Protection Agreement against the tax demand raised on a 2006… – Continue reading
The European Commission looks highly likely to make a finding against Ireland in relation to its tax arrangements with Apple, following two similar findings during the week involving Starbucks and Fiat. It is perplexing that the EC doesn’t just come out and make the announcement. The delay is leading to… – Continue reading
Rwanda has commissioned an audit into recent merger and acquisition deals involving foreign firms in its latest effort to clamp down on tax avoidance among multinational corporations. This comes amid growing concern that multinational companies move profits from the countries where they are generated and, in so doing, reduce national… – Continue reading
DOZENS of Winchester properties worth more than £100 million are owned by firms based in offshore tax havens. High street shops, restaurants, care homes, a health clinic and even a single parking space are owned by companies benefitting from low tax regimes overseas. Burma Road student village, sold by the… – Continue reading
The key corporate tax measures in the Finance Bill show clear signs of the international scrutiny now surrounding multinational tax. The main new measure, the knowledge development box offering a lower tax rate on profits earned as a result of research and development, has been strictly drawn up to comply… – Continue reading
Leading family offices in Latin America and the Caribbean are going through a transitional period, says Steven Cantor, managing partner of Cantor & Webb, a Miami-based law firm, reports the Financial Times. “As the world moves to tax transparency, with a crackdown on undisclosed tax savings in Swiss bank accounts,… – Continue reading
While stocks such as Hindustan Unilever (HUL) and Maruti Suzuki have outperformed the markets by a wide margin in the last couple of years, the stocks have sustained the performance even over longer periods. Despite the hue and cry over royalty payments by Indian subsidiaries of multinational companies, these companies… – Continue reading
The New York billionaire is aiming his financial might at members of Congress who aren’t willing to cut deals on corporate tax policy. Sure, Carl Icahn might make money—lots of money—on his $6 billion stake in Apple Inc. if a political campaign he announced Wednesday to cut taxes on companies’… – Continue reading
Multinational oil giant Chevron has been hit with a tax bill of about $300 million after losing a landmark profit-shifting case that could have global implications for the way tax is assessed. The Australian Tax Office’s case in the Federal Court case has been closely watched by the tax and… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: Technologies that are developed in India but their patents registered in tax havens may come under the domestic tax net from the next financial year, when the country is expected to adopt a new world standard aimed at preventing abuse of double taxation avoidance agreements. Many multinational and local… – Continue reading
Oil and gas giant Chevron faces a massive tax bill after losing a long-running battle with the tax office over allegations the company used internal lending to reduce its Australian taxes. The Federal Court this morning ruled against Chevron in a landmark legal case that had argued the US multinational… – Continue reading
On 21 October, the European Commission (“EC”) adopted its first decisions in its investigation into Member States’ tax rulings. The investigation, which began in June 2013, has also targeted tax rulings given to Apple and Amazon as well as Belgium’s so-called “excess profits regime”. Although the investigation is conducted under… – Continue reading
Chevron lost an appeal in Australian federal court that will see the US supermajor pay more than US$232 million (A$322 million) in back taxes, in addition to fines, after losing a case with the Australian Tax Office (ATO). The Aussie federal court ruled against Chevron, stating the company wrongly shifted… – Continue reading
Ayar Law Group speaks about Amnesty Programs expiring as foreign banks comply with FATCA. Oct. 22, 2015 / PRZen / DELHI, India — The unofficial period of grace to reveal foreign bank accounts to the IRS is ending for U.S. taxpayers. Those who don’t comply with the law may soon… – Continue reading
Center-left MEPs turn up the heat on multinationals refusing to exchange views on tax policy. Google, Facebook, HSBC and AB Inbev are among a group of multinationals that have been “banned” from meeting MEPs from the European Parliament’s center-left grouping unless the companies agree to appear before a special committee… – Continue reading
Multinational companies (MNCs) in India which have been evading tax on profits created due to a function carried out in the country by shifting contractual risk to some other location may soon find it difficult to escape the domestic tax net. Experts closely working with the government on how to… – Continue reading
Mauritius beats Singapore as the world’s top route for foreign investment to India and is a hub for thousands of firms managing half a trillion dollars in assets. But there are only a sprinkling of office blocks in Ebene Cybercity, the heart of the tiny Indian Ocean island’s financial services… – Continue reading
