If taxed on the nearly $100 billion dollars they keep offshore, the largest U.S. financial institutions could cover the U.S.’s entire poverty-focused foreign assistance budget for 2014. Tax havens are a scourge. They allow individuals and institutions to cloak their financial activity in secrecy to escape and undermine other jurisdictions’… – Continue reading
Ex-HSBC employee and whistle-blower Hervé Falciani has lashed out at the Swiss banking system for helping multinationals evade taxes through offshore schemes. He has also demanded that Switzerland recognise the role of whistle-blowers. “In order to survive the Swiss had developed mercenary activities on a grand scale. These are the… – Continue reading
Twelfth night has come and gone, the Chistmas lights are out but John Lewis has reported a set of sales figures that sparkled. The department store believes it has outperformed its rivals, once again, online in particular. And yet it’s managing director told me the fight with one rival –… – Continue reading
The investigation and prosecution of tax evasion has, in the last decade, grown from a specialized subcategory of law enforcement into a first-tier policy concern for the global community. Starting with the U.S. government’s crackdown on Swiss bank UBS in 2008, there has been a steady drumbeat of news about… – Continue reading
The FCA has reportedly ended its investigation into tax evasion at HSBC, with the bank dodging formal action from the regulator. HSBC spent much of 2015 under fire for the actions of its Swiss private bank, which aided more than 1,000 UK customers evade tax between 2005 and 2007. The… – Continue reading
Iceland passed legislation that will make secret off-shore accounts very difficult to maintain for tax dodgers. RÚV reports that as of the start of this year, the Directorate of Internal Revenue will have access to the details of all overseas bank accounts held by Icelandic companies and individuals. The legislation,… – Continue reading
Lately, the IRS is warning offshore account holders to disclose before it’s too late. Under FATCA, banks everywhere want to know if you are compliant with the IRS. And the cost of compliance for many people is growing. The IRS updated its list of foreign banks where accounts trigger a… – Continue reading
Shortly before New Year’s, on Wednesday, December 30, 2015, the media reported that Julius Baer Group AG (“JB”) expected to pay about $547 million to settle the U.S. investigation into how the bank (and its bankers) assisted U.S. taxpayers in evading tax. This investigation began more than 4 years ago,… – Continue reading
Two more top banks getting away with paying NO corporation tax in the UK: Credit Suisse and Citigroup are latest to admit using previous losses to slash their bills Seven foreign investment banks in London now pay no corporation tax Fines and lawsuits used to slash their tax bills by… – Continue reading
Two more investment banks have reported paying zero tax in Britain in 2014, prompting the opposition Labour party to urge the government to reverse a tax change it made for banks last year. Citigroup and Credit Suisse disclosed in the past fortnight that their main UK subsidiaries paid no corporate… – Continue reading
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
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
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
Bermuda has “long been a popular tax haven” according to a story by gobankingrates.com, which ranked the island as one of the “top 10 best tax havens in the world.” The story said “Bermuda has long been a popular tax haven, said Ravi Ramnarain, an independent certified public accountant. “Wealthy… – Continue reading
VietNamNet Bridge – The agreements on double taxation avoidance that Vietnam has signed with other countries is one of the reasons that have made it impossible for state agencies to clarify the suspected cases of multinational conglomerates conducting transfer pricing. A lot of multinational conglomerates such as Coca-Cola, Metro Cash… – Continue reading
Two Swiss banks will pay a total of more than $107 million to the U.S. Department of Justice to avoid possible prosecution for helping Americans evade taxes, the department said on Thursday. Bank Lombard Odier & Co. Ltd, a Geneva-based unit of Lombard Odier Group, will pay $99.8 million in… – Continue reading
One of the leading Swiss banks Julius Baer Group AG is set to reach a deal with US authorities over a tax probe by paying $547 million early next year. Julius Baer, Switzerland’s third-largest wealth manager after UBS and Credit Suisse has been under criminal investigation since 2011 by the… – Continue reading
China’s central bank has suspended at least three foreign banks from conducting some foreign exchange business until the end of March, three sources who had seen the suspension notices told Reuters on Wednesday. Included among the suspended services are liquidation of spot positions for clients and some other activities related… – Continue reading
Current system viewed as unfair and too easy to circumvent Abolition of corporation tax is to be considered by a new cross-party group of MPs and peers who will subject ministers and business leaders to public interrogations in a bid to secure fairer and more responsible tax policies. The all-party… – Continue reading
Measure tries to keep firms from exploiting tax law variations Foreign and local businesses with annual sales of 100 billion won ($85 million) or more, and over 50 billion won in transactions with overseas entities must report international transactions to the tax authority starting next year. Known as the “Google… – Continue reading
Tax avoidance is a big issue in the United Kingdom these days. The discussion usually revolves around a large multinational company that “goes offshore” by using creative accounting methods to reduce or avoid paying British taxes on its profits. But in a small town in central Wales, local business owners… – Continue reading
(MENAFN – AFP) US officials announced settlements with four more Swiss banks Wednesday to lift the total fines in the two-year disclosure program to more than 1 billion from 75 banks. “With today’s resolutions under the Swiss Bank Program, the department has reached agreements with 75 Swiss banks, imposed penalties… – Continue reading
The British government is facing a credibility crisis over its pledge to ensure multinational corporations pay their fair share of tax, after it was revealed that five of the world’s largest investment banks paid no corporation tax in Britain last year, despite making billions in profits. Analysis of the banks’… – Continue reading
The new plan shelves one in the works to spin off Yahoo’s vast holdings in ex-commerce giant Alibaba – which could have exposed it to a huge tax bill – but the tech firm still intends to separate out its activities under the new structure. Yahoo stated it has made… – Continue reading
Indian equity markets trimmed their losses and continue to trade weak in late morning session on account of selling in frontline blue chip counters. Sentiments remained down-beat with the repot that the Finance Ministry has cut its ambitious disinvestment revenue target by 57% to Rs 30,000 crore for the current… – Continue reading
LONDON (Reuters) – Seven of the biggest investment banks operating in London paid little or no tax in Britain last year, despite reporting billions of dollars in profits, a Reuters analysis of corporate filings shows. In recent months, the seven investment and corporate banks operating in London reported figures showing… – Continue reading
Most people with undisclosed Swiss bank accounts have, by definition, something to hide. Secrets, however, sometimes don’t remain secret, especially when they involve someone else’s money. While disclosing the names and financial details of Swiss bank account holders has recently come into vogue, a whistleblower may have just as murky… – Continue reading
A BALANCING ACT in London, folly and redemption in America’s District of Columbia and sheer hypocrisy in Brussels. And in every case, Barbados and many of its Caribbean neighbours were placed in the negative international spotlight at a time when some of the world’s major financial centres are casting about… – Continue reading
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
Swiss private banking group Julius Baer Group Ltd. (JBAXY.PK,JBARF.PK) may have to pay more than it anticipated to settle a case with the U.S. Justice Department over American offshore accounts, according to media report quoting people familiar with the matter. The report indicated that the U.S. prosecutors could ask Julius… – Continue reading
NEW YORK – The General Manager of Pakistan’s Habib Bank Ltd., New York branch, said Friday that steps have been taken to address the concerns of U.S. authorities after being hit by an enforcement order that barred the bank from conductingany dollar-clearing transactions or accepting any new accountsfor U.S. dollar… – Continue reading
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
On December 8, there was a brief note in the media about the fact that Malta had managed to include a reference to flexibility into a European Council communiqué on taxation. You would be forgiven for overlooking it, assuming it was just a pedantic attempt to score political points. Think… – Continue reading
SYDNEY, Dec 17 (Reuters) – Australia on Thursday identified 600 companies which it said paid no tax last financial year, including Halliburton Co and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc, as part of a campaign to challenge “overly aggressive” tax arrangements. The Australian Taxation Office published the income and tax rates of… – Continue reading
Tax is back in the news with the release of information of the taxes paid (or rather not paid) by some of the biggest companies operating in Australia. After much hand wringing (and a break for Christmas) politicians will return in the New Year to attempt to get back some… – Continue reading
The whistleblower has been wanted by the Swiss for seven years. Thierry Esch/Getty “There have been times,” Hervé Falciani tells me, “when I’ve wondered if I was losing touch with reality. Could I really have seen what I saw, and revealed the things that I did, while the financial world… – Continue reading
Australian tax authorities on Thursday took the unprecedented step of publishing the records of hundreds of companies, including Google Inc (GOOGL.O) and Apple Inc APPL.O, which show they paid little or no tax on their in-country earnings. Of more than 1,500 largely foreign-owned companies which reported total earnings over A$100… – Continue reading
The European Commission has extended its investigation into a tax ruling provided by the Irish Government to Apple. The Commission has asked the Irish authorities for additional information on the case. Irish media reports that the Government does not anticipate a decision until 2016. In late November, Finance Minister Michael… – Continue reading
Journal: The EU’s ongoing investigation into Luxembourg’s tax agreements with multinational corporations is threatening to leave a black mark on the Grand Duchy at the end of its six-month European presidency. Luxembourg’s finance ministry could face legal action from the European Commission, as the EU authority continues its probe into… – Continue reading
Lately, the IRS is warning offshore account holders to disclose before it’s too late. Under FATCA, banks everywhere want to know if you are compliant with the IRS. And the cost of compliance for many people is growing. The IRS updated its list of foreign banks where accounts trigger a… – Continue reading
Coffee chain Starbucks said it paid £8 million in corporation tax last year after posting record UK profits. The UK arm of the US-based chain said pre-tax profits jumped to £34.2 million in the year to September 27, compared with less than £2 million a year ago – as it… – Continue reading
Hundreds of millions of dollars of revenue could be up for grabs as the Tax Office announces reviews of multinationals using offshore hubs in Singapore to minimise their tax. The ATO has issued a warning to multinationals to come forward immediately to discuss their overseas hub arrangements, if they have… – Continue reading
Stricter Tax and documentation requirements for foreign transactions “Amazon, Facebook, Google and Starbucks pay little taxes …” or “Luxembourg attracts international corporations” – headlines like these have 62 states and the OECD called into action. The result was “base erosion and profit shifting” BEPS shortly. Even the German SME sector… – Continue reading
Meg Hillier has a tough act to follow. This parliament’s Public Accounts Committee chairwoman had a ringside seat watching her predecessor, Margaret Hodge, tear into tax avoiders and the tax man. “It is very exciting – you see all the guts of Whitehall spilled out in front of you,” she… – Continue reading
Tax evasion costs the EU €1 trillion a year in lost tax revenue, according to the European Commission. The Lux leaks scandal showed that EU countries sometimes court multinationals with advantageous tax schemes. These practices were investigated by the Parliament’s special committee on tax rulings. MEPs adopted its report last… – Continue reading
Jersey bank account holders have been invited by the UK tax authority to declare any undisclosed tax liabilities by the new year, or risk being investigated under suspicion of tax evasion, reports the Financial Times. Customers of HSBC Jersey received a letter from HM Revenue & Customs this week asking… – Continue reading
Temporary lapses of judgment can be corrected. Permanent mistakes are harder to fix. Congress is poised to offer very costly permanent tax giveaways to powerful corporations. It is also considering renewing more modest tax credits that encourage work and support millions of low-wage workers and their children. This is an… – Continue reading
After the LuxLeaks affair in November 2014, the European Parliament established a special committee “on tax rulings and other measures similar in nature or effect” (TAXE) in February 2015. The committee’s report was adopted in a plenary session of the European Parliament on 25 November 2015. The Conference of Presidents… – Continue reading
In 2015, after returning from a 40 years-long Swiss tax exile, IKEA’s founder and the 11th richest person in the world, Ingvar Kamprad, paid Swedish tax for the first time. In 2014, Kamprad declared income of €1.9 million in Sweden. As a result, he was subject to Swedish personal income… – Continue reading
Patent Boxes, Innovation Boxes, Intangible Property Boxes, Knowledge Development Boxes (IP Regimes) – countries may use different names, but all of these regimes are designed to allow a preferential rate of tax to be applied to income generated from intangible property (IP). There are a number of these regimes in… – Continue reading
