Category: General Motors

Varner: Taxes and international trade

A while back in Germany, I was driving on the straight as an arrow B-1. That is Bundesstrasse, the equivalent of a U.S. highway, a notch below the Autobahn. Roads tend to curve around farmers’ fields, having been there first. The B-1 from Cologne on the Rhine toward Berlin was… – Continue reading

From Choppergate to Lara Bingle, spending is the taxing issue

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

Australia lays bare corporate tax details

The Australian Government’s efforts to improve tax collections are more urgent amid falling revenue from weak commodity prices, the Wall Street Journal reports Malcolm Turnbull’s government took the rare step of making public the tax affairs of scores of multinationals, highlighting that many big names—including Apple Inc. and Volkswagen AG… – Continue reading

Is a Canada Revenue Agency landlord avoiding taxes via offshore havens?

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) rents office space from a Vancouver-based property developer – a company that exploits offshore tax havens in Liechtenstein, the British Virgin Islands and Channel Islands. Larco Investments Ltd. owns three buildings in Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton where they rent office space to the CRA. Larco… – Continue reading

China tax cut on small cars seen lifting sales, VW to benefit

BEIJING/SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China has halved sales tax on small cars to revive growth in the world’s biggest automobile market, a move likely to provide a limited boost to carmakers including Volkswagen AG (VOWG_p.DE), the company embroiled in a global diesel emissions scandal. The cut in sales tax on cars… – Continue reading

Meg Whitman: HP will offshore 60% of the jobs in its ‘essential’ business unit

Hewlett-Packard will offshore 60% of its workers at its consulting unit, HP Enterprise Services, CEO Meg Whitman told investors Tuesday during the company’s annual analyst meeting. In 2013, 36% of ES workers were in low-cost offshore locations like Manila, Philippines; Costa Rica; and Bangalore, India. By 2018, 60% of them… – Continue reading

Singapore’s easiest days as a finance hub are over

SINGAPORE’S easiest days as a financial hub are over. The city remains a gateway to Asia, a great base for basing multinationals, settling lawsuits and parking money. But elsewhere, the city is being sidelined; the worry is that is a sign of things to come. In just 50 years, the… – Continue reading

Wall Street Fees, Swiss Banks, Clydesdale Fined: Compliance

(Bloomberg) — Wall Street banks and other financial firms should pay new fees to bankroll their own government oversight, according to a member of the top U.S. derivatives regulator. Sharon Y. Bowen, a Democrat on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said Congress should let the agency set fees on banks… – Continue reading

Ackman Says Tax Inversion Rules Could Lead to U.S. Drugmakers Selling to Overseas Buyers

(Bloomberg) — The backlash against acquisitions meant to skirt U.S. tax laws could spur more midsize U.S. drugmakers to sell to overseas buyers, Bill Ackman, the billionaire activist hedge fund manager, said Thursday. Takeover activity in 2014 was highlighted by U.S. companies — including Medtronic Inc. and Pfizer Inc. —… – Continue reading

US Corporate Giants Pay More to CEOs than in Federal Taxes

Seven of the biggest U.S. corporations received billions of dollars in tax refunds from the Internal Revenue Service, while dolling out an average of US$17.3 million to CEOs. While Congress is set to renew a slew of corporate tax breaks, new research published Tuesday found some of United States’ biggest… – Continue reading