Category: Corporates

$1 Billion: That’s How Much Walmart Avoids Paying in Taxes Each Year Through Loopholes

This Black Friday, legions of shoppers will throng to their local Walmart in frenzied pursuit of holiday deals. But it turns out that Walmart has saved the sweetest deals for itself. In a recent analysis of Walmart’s tax spending, Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) found that the company “avoids $1… – Continue reading

George Osborne’s Patent Box tax break policy is watered down after complaints by Germany

One of George Osborne’s flagship policies is set to be reformed in next week’s Autumn Statement following the resolution of a protracted spat with Germany over the controversial tax break. The so-called Patent Box took effect last year and allowed companies to pay lower tax bills on profits derived from… – Continue reading

There’s $2.1 Trillion Sitting Overseas, How Do We Get It Back on American Soil?

Companies based in the United States now have over $2.1 trillion stashed overseas shielded from U.S. taxes. That’s a sixfold increase in 12 years, NBC News reported citing research provided by Capital Economics. Generally, the U.S. tax policy allows companies based in the country to defer any tax obligation on… – Continue reading

INTERNET COMPANIES PAY MORE TAX THAN THE EUROPEAN AVERAGE

Sit down before you read this: Internet companies pay more corporation tax than the European average, in some cases many times more. According to the European Commission the average ‘effective’ corporate tax rate in the European Union and EFTA is 12.9%; in 2012 Amazon had a whopping 78% in corporation… – Continue reading

Credit Suisse $2.6 Billion Deal Gives Judge Few Options

Credit Suisse AG (CSGN)’s $2.6 billion plea bargain resolving allegations it helped wealthy Americans avoid paying taxes faces a final hurdle from a federal judge who will decide whether to accept it or throw it out. The first global banking unit in more than a decade to plead guilty to… – Continue reading

HSBC Swiss private banking arm faces tax investigation

French magistrates examining whether the bank helped wealthy clients avoid a new tax, the European Union Savings Directive French judges have put the Swiss branch of HSBC under official investigation over allegations that Britain’s biggest bank helped wealthy clients avoid taxes. It was revealed on Friday that the unit had… – Continue reading

Credit Suisse Sentenced for Conspiracy to Help U.S. Taxpayers Hide Offshore Accounts from Internal Revenue Service

Washington, DC – Credit Suisse AG was sentenced today for conspiracy to aid and assist U.S. taxpayers in filing false income tax returns and other documents with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  Credit Suisse pleaded guilty to conspiracy on May 19.  The sentencing of the Swiss corporation is the result… – Continue reading

Vestager says will use ‘Luxleaks’ documents in EU tax probe

The European Commission will use the ‘Luxleaks’ documents uncovered by investigative journalists three weeks ago in its ongoing investigation of tax avoidance at the European level, Margrethe Vestager, the EU competition chief, said on Thursday (20 November). The documents, known as the ‘Luxleaks’, showed that more than 300 companies, including… – Continue reading

Opening a UK bank account has however been a longwinded and complicated process

An increasing number of South Africans are sending substantial amounts of money offshore each year due to frequent travel, a greater appetite for offshore investing, business interests abroad and a growing trend to educating their children there. The UK has proven to be the popular choice due largely to the… – Continue reading

‘M’sian firms can invest in offshore accounts’

KUALA LUMPUR: IT is not against Malaysian law for companies to keep funds in offshore accounts. Malaysian Companies (SSM) acting chief executive officer Zahrah Abd Wahab Fenner said it was not unusual for companies to keep their funds in offshore accounts. She said this when commenting on 1 Malaysia Development… – Continue reading

‘Anti-offshore’ law to bring billions back to Russian economy

Russia’s upper house of parliament has approved an “anti-offshore” law requiring individual and corporate taxpayers to report foreign profits. The Russian government aims to prevent capital outflow via “offshores,” estimated at $200 billion in 2014. The law requires Russian tax authorities to be notified of all foreign dealings. The government… – Continue reading

Inflation, Offshore Tax Law, Rostelecom: Business in Brief

Russia’s Putin Urges Action to Restrain Rising Interest Rates, Inflation President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday urged Russia’s government and the Central Bank to work together to curb interest rates and restrain surging inflation as the economy slides toward recession. “Only combined efforts by the government and Central bank and a… – Continue reading

Westpac closes door on money transfer operators as terror laws bite

Westpac will shut down the accounts of money transfer operators on November 24, due to growing fears about breaching strict terrorism financing and anti-money laundering laws, leaving hundreds of legitimate remitters to developing countries in the lurch. Westpac is the last of the four major banks to withdraw from servicing… – Continue reading

When Mega Corporations Get Mega Tax Breaks, We All Pay

Is corporate CEO pay really out of control? Well, consider Fleecing Uncle Sam, a new report from the Institute for Policy Studies and the Center for Effective Government. Of the 100 highest-paid CEOs in the US, the study finds, twenty-nine of them received more compensation than their companies paid in… – Continue reading

EC Releases Early Finding On Starbucks APA Probe

The European Commission, in an “Opening Decision” published on November 14, 2014, said that an advance tax ruling provided by the Netherlands to coffee group Starbucks appears to constitute state aid, in violation of European Union (EU) rules. In a 40-page letter to the Dutch authorities, the Commission detailed the… – 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

29% Of Largest Corporations Pay More To CEO Than Uncle Sam

CEG says the U.S. corporate tax system is in desperate need of reform A recent report from the Center for Effective Government (Fleecing Uncle Sam) highlights that many large U.S. companies pay little to no corporate taxes, and a few even get tax rebates from the federal government. Moreover, in… – Continue reading

France, a Tax Haven? Yes, for Companies From Microsoft to Huawei

Move over, Ireland. Companies from Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) to China’s Huawei Technologies Co. scouring Europe for fiscally attractive shores are turning to an unlikely country: France. As a base for research and development teams, that is. Tax breaks for R&D, 5.6 billion euros ($7 billion) this year alone, combined with… – Continue reading

Metlife Completes Merger of Three Life Insurance Companies and One Former Offshore Reinsurance Subsidiary

MetLife, Inc. (NYSE:MET) today announced that it had completed the mergers of its subsidiaries MetLife Insurance Company of Connecticut, MetLife Investors USA Insurance Company, MetLife Investors Insurance Company and Exeter Reassurance Company Limited. The merged company has been renamed MetLife Insurance Company USA and is domiciled in Delaware. All necessary… – Continue reading

Reliance Jio Ties Up With Lenders for $1.5 Billion Loan Facility

New Delhi: Telecom operator Reliance Jio Infocomm has arranged credit facilities worth $1.5 billion with lenders, including Bank of America and Barclays, to refinance existing loans. Mukesh Ambani-led RJio would utilise the latest credit arrangements to re-finance debt tied up by it in 2010. The new loan facilities are guaranteed… – Continue reading

Bill Gates commit money to Unitus’ offshore fund; Rupee fund bags $4M more

The venture seed fund has already announced 14 investments in India. Impact investor Unitus Seed Fund (USF) has announced that its India-focused offshore fund vehicle has received commitments from Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates, besides Concur Technologies’ CEO Steve Singh and Diego Piacentini, SVP (international consumer business) at Amazon.com Inc. It… – Continue reading

Chevron’s multi-billion tax dodging: We don’t agree

You know those annoying “We Agree” television ads by the fossil fuel corporate giant Chevron? The ones where an actor playing a student or a concerned member of a community “agrees” with supposedly noble objectives of this multinational? Those ads make me feel like puking. The objective of this campaign… – Continue reading

E.U. Accuses Starbucks and Netherlands of Making Unfair Tax Deal

BRUSSELS — European Union authorities have accused the Netherlands of making a special deal with Starbucks that helped the company lower its taxes, creating unfair advantages over other countries in the bloc. The report by the bloc’s competition authority, made public on Friday, is a preliminary finding in a review… – Continue reading

Ansbacher showed that in Ireland taxes were just for the ‘little people’

This offshore illegal scam showed that, in Ireland as elsewhere, taxes really were for the “little people”. The facts emerged as a by-product of the tribunal directed by Mr Justice Brian McCracken in 1997. It was set up to trace payments by supermarket magnate Ben Dunne to Fianna Fail’s Charlie… – Continue reading

PwC in secret tax deals while advising ATO

NEIL CHENOWETH Global accounting firm PwC was advising the Australian Taxation Office how to run its transfer pricing unit at the same time that its Luxembourg office was cutting favourable tax agreements for Australian companies. Luxembourg documents show PwC obtained secret tax agreements for more than 30 Australian companies in… – Continue reading

The ‘Sonic’ boom: How Alberta became an ‘Offshore Business’ in the pathology market

Why does Stephen Mandel, the newly minted Minister of Health, think it’s a good idea for Alberta taxpayers to support the lifestyles of wealthy Australian businessmen who earn more than $13 million a year; their executive teams who get ridiculous bonuses and stock options; and the Australian economy as a… – Continue reading

Regulators fine global banks $4.3 billion in currency investigation

(Reuters) – Regulators fined six major banks a total of $4.3 billion for failing to stop traders from trying to manipulate the foreign exchange market, following a yearlong global investigation. HSBC Holdings Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc, UBS AG and Bank of… – Continue reading

Toyota, Mitsui, Marubeni to sign first set of pacts

Mitsui, Toyota and Marubeni are likely to be among Japanese companies that would sign the first set of bilateral advance-pricing agreements (APA) with India shortly. These agreements will provide certainty to Japanese multinational firms operating in India and avoid conflicts over sharing of taxes between India and that country. Two… – Continue reading

Sears, Pinnacle Entertainment Look At US REITs

Sears Holdings and Pinnacle Entertainment have become the latest US companies to announce that they are considering establishing real estate investment trusts (REITs), to unlock tax advantages that have been considered by some companies as an alternative to a corporate inversion. REITS do not pay corporate tax as long as… – Continue reading

Construction Company Wins Egyptian Tax Evasion Appeal

Orascom Construction Industries, an international engineering and construction firm, has won a ruling in its favor from the Egyptian Tax Authority’s Independent Appeals Committee, against an earlier USD1bn tax evasion ruling relating to its Egyptian subsidiary. Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) SAE said that it had been served with an assessment… – Continue reading

Zimbabwe: U.S.$6 Million Tax Evasion Bid Lands Pair in Dock

Two Zimbabwe Revenue Authority officers yesterday appeared in court charged with soliciting for a bribe from Megalinks Pvt (Ltd) to help the firm evade paying over $6 million in taxes. zimra chief investigation officer Tafara Gumede (41) of 4 Gainsbrugh Court in Harare and an investigation officer Obrie Tinashe Tozivepi… – Continue reading

Ansbacher probe: Gardai get 5,500-page tax evasion file

Official ‘offered €20,000’ to wrap up tax evasion probe GARDAI have now received 5,500 pages of files relating to allegations of tax-evasion by holders of Ansbacher accounts. Jobs Minister Richard Bruton forwarded the allegations of a whistleblower in his department to the gardai last night. The documents have been sent… – Continue reading

M&T mans the front line to fight money laundering

Regardless of how M&T Bank Corp.’s planned acquisition of Hudson City Bancorp plays out, one thing is clear: M&T will end up with a much stronger system for fighting money laundering. Buffalo-based M&T and New Jersey-based Hudson City Bancorp still want to complete their $3.7 billion merger – a marriage… – Continue reading

Judge’s surprising recusal prompts bid for new trial Featured

In another bizarre twist to what litigation lawyers have called an “unprecedented” case, counsel for McKesson Canada Corp. are now relying on Tax Court of Canada Justice Patrick Boyle’s recusal from a transfer-pricing case in September as grounds for seeking a new trial. Gavin MacKenzie believes the Court of Appeal… – Continue reading

CRH subsidiary has €2.5bn in assets and no staff

Subsidiary funds companies within Irish multinational, says spokesman RH did not feature in the leaked files, but accounts for one of its Luxembourg subsidiaries show it had multibillion-euro intra-group loans going in and out of the state. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons Ireland’s largest indigenous multinational, building materials group CRH, has a… – Continue reading

India: Sham Transactions: Recent Developments In Indian Tax Law

Delhi Tribunal holds that the mere fact that one of the steps in a transaction resulted in capital loss for the taxpayer would not make the series of transactions a sham. Karnataka High Court holds that shares bought at a premium, and sold at a lower value to individuals (ex-employees… – Continue reading

Medical supplies group used Irish firm in tax deal

Covidien transferred right to $6.9bn loan to new entity Multinational medical supplies group, Covidien, transferred the right to loans totalling $6.9 billion from Luxembourg to a new Irish company as part of an elaborate inter-group tax planning arrangement agreed with the Luxembourg tax authorities in 2009. Under the deal, the… – Continue reading

AIG was avoiding taxes when it was owned by the US government

After the US bailed out the insurance conglomerate AIG in 2008, the company’s employees kept to business as usual—which included setting up complex tax structures to avoid taxes in Europe and Japan. In 2008, the company was on the brink of a bankruptcy that would have created huge losses throughout… – Continue reading

Daim advises 1MDB to come clean on Cayman Islands

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Finance Minister Daim Zainuddin told a luncheon talk organised by Malaysian Industrial Development Finance Bhd (MIDF) here on Thurs that 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) should keep in mind that the people have a right to expect transparency and accountability from it as taxpayer funds are involved. The… – Continue reading

CAPITAL FLIGHT IN LATIN AMERICA

From 1970 to 2011, US$2 trillion from Latin America and the Caribbean have been funneled to offshore tax havens. It’s money that moves behind the scenes, in illicit financial flows (IFF). These transnational transfers come from three sources of illegal funds: corruption (bribery), money laundering (contraband, trafficking of drugs, weapons,… – Continue reading

Top British companies using Luxembourg tax avoidance scheme ‘like a magical fairyland’ to save billions

Papers show firms used internal loans and interest payments to cut tax bills Leaked tax documents show arrangements were signed off by EU state They are legal, but are predicted to trigger calls to stop firms avoiding taxes British companies using scheme include Dyson and drugs group Shire Some of… – Continue reading