Coinbase has announced that it is the first crypto exchange to obtain a U.K. bank account. According to CNBC, the account is with Barclays. Coinbase, which has nearly 12 million users, also announced it was granted an eMoney license by the U.K. regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). “The license… – Continue reading
Decentralized cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have strong advantages over centralized financial systems, primarily because of their ability to function and operate without a single point of failure, which hackers and bad actors can target. Transaction processing On Feb. 19, Jameson Lopp, the lead engineer at multi-signature Blockchain security firm… – Continue reading
On March 1st, President Joko Widodo signed the Presidential Decree No. 13/2018 on beneficial ownership, which enables authorities to identify the beneficial owners of firms and cooperatives, among other institutions. The decree will help to curb money laundering and terrorism funding practices. Experts have said it will also provide a… – Continue reading
Mauritius last month released the Income Tax (Country-by-Country Reporting) Regulations 2018, setting out the jurisdiction’s rules concerning the filing by multinational groups of transfer pricing documentation. The CbC report is one element of a new three-tiered standardized approach to transfer pricing documentation proposed under BEPS Action 13. Under the framework,… – Continue reading
The European Commission has criticised Luxembourg and six other EU member states for overly favourable tax treatment of multinational corporations. “The @EU_Commission is today stressing the issue of aggressive tax planning in seven EU countries: #Belgium, #Cyprus, #Hungary, #Ireland, #Luxembourg, #Malta and The #Netherlands. #FairTaxation,” Pierre Moscovici, the European finance… – Continue reading
Hong Kong’s Inland Revenue Department on March 5 launched its new Country-by-Country Reporting Portal. Groups can now register to file CbC reports for accounting periods beginning between January 1, 2016, and December 31, 2017, using the online portal. The CbC report is one element of a new three-tiered standardized approach… – Continue reading
Financial institutions in Singapore are required to file information required under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act starting April 16 by May 31, 2018. All reporting Singapore financial institutions (SGFIs) must submit a FATCA Return to IRAS by May 31 setting out the required information in relation to every… – Continue reading
India might take the vanguard position all over the world in outlining a possible framework for taxing digital bodies that have a huge business or user base in a nation but do not have a noteworthy physical attendance there. The 2018 Union Budget has, for the initial time, cited the… – Continue reading
SUMMARY: The European Union has come under increasing pressure from the public to force global technology companies to pay their fair share of tax. Whilst Amazon is facing renewed criticism in the US for its tax structures, with reports that will effectively play zero federal tax this year, the European… – Continue reading
‘The companies think that they have not evaded any tax and went for legal help. But they will pay the claimed dues if they lose the legal battle’ Eight insurance companies have allegedly avoided around Tk345 crore in Value Added Tax (VAT) in four years, according to officials at the… – Continue reading
The Finance Ministry’s directorate general of taxation has called on all financial institutions to register with the tax office to begin the process of reporting customers’ data in accordance with the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) program. Taxation directorate general spokesman Hestu Yoga Saksama said on Wednesday in Jakarta that… – Continue reading
Australia’s Board of Taxation has published the results of its review into the taxation of bare trusts. The Board considered whether, and how, to legislate in respect of what it said was the widespread practice of disregarding or looking through these trusts for income tax purposes. This practice is maintained… – Continue reading
The Australian Tax Office on February 7 released draft Practical Compliance Guideline 2018/D2 on the operation of Australia’s Diverted Profits Tax for consultation. In the 2016-17 Budget, the Government announced that it would introduce a diverted profits tax (DPT), intended to ensure that the tax paid by significant global entities… – Continue reading
From a decades-long strategy of exploiting state sales tax loopholes to its ongoing “HQ2” sweepstakes, Amazon’s leaders have rarely turned down a chance to use the tax system as the source of their competitive advantage. The online retail giant has built its business model on tax avoidance, and its latest… – Continue reading
Singapore is considering introducing a levy on e-commerce to give traditional vendors a fighting chance in the face of increased online competition The Singaporean government is expected to introduce a new e-commerce tax in its budget next Monday, in an attempt to level the playing field between online and offline… – Continue reading
The Bermuda Government on January 31, 2018, updated the lists of the countries with which it will exchange country-by-country reports filed in Bermuda in 2018 and in 2019. The Government has disclosed that it expects to exchange CbC reports with a total of 41 territories in 2018 relating to financial… – Continue reading
The United States District Court for the District of Columbia on January 31 ruled in favor of Starr International Company in a case concerning an erroneous refund paid to the taxpayer, which the IRS sought to reclaim. In 2011, the IRS erroneously issued a USD21m refund to Starr International Company,… – Continue reading
Finance Ministry’s move under BEPS treaty will impact Google, Facebook, Amazon MUMBAI, FEBRUARY 5 Digital players such as Google, Facebook and mobile application services providers must pay taxes in India on income generated from Indian consumers even if the companies’ infrastructure is physically located abroad. According to a new proposal… – Continue reading
Also, multinational companies with a physical presence in Israel will soon get their first tax bill Israel will need to amend its corporate tax policies to counter the effects of US President Donald Trump’s tax reform, the head of Israel’s Tax Authority head acknowledged — but only slightly. “There will… – Continue reading
Washington–Ahead of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley’s last full Union Budget, the US-India Business Council (USIBC) has urged him to further reduce tax uncertainty for multinational companies and foreign investors, even as Indian industry has voiced its own areas of concern. In a memorandum submitted to Jaitley, the USIBC has said… – Continue reading
Expects to avoid the mandatory dividend distribution tax BENGALURU, JANUARY 24: Consultancy multinational Accenture Solutions expects to avoid a substantial amount of tax for its Indian operations as it seeks nod from its creditors on Thursday for reduction of its capital from ₹5,361 crore to ₹2,263 crore. It has now… – Continue reading
Toronto lacks a tax advantage that the 19 other contenders on the short list to host Amazon’s second headquarters now enjoy. The recently adopted U.S. Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) provides companies based in the United States with an effective tax rate of 13.125 per cent on a portion… – Continue reading
The Bank of Ghana (BoG) has stressed that it will enforce the implementation of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS 9) among banks in the country, this year. The IFRS is a tool which requires all financial institutions to comply with a common financial reporting standard which will among others… – Continue reading
Microsoft, Cisco might also benefit from GOP bill ‘loophole’ Law gives some firms edge in paring offshore cash tax tab Companies that stockpiled trillions of dollars offshore free of U.S. income tax may get one last break before paying up — provided their fiscal years don’t follow the calendar year…. – Continue reading
Apple Europe Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Apple Inc., said it expects to pay more tax in the UK and paid an extra GBP136m for prior years up to September 26, 2015, after an extensive audit by HM Revenue and Customs. In its end-of-year accounts made up to April… – Continue reading
The U.S. Treasury Secretary is disputing a decision by the European Union to place Guam, and American Samoa, on its blacklist of noncooperating tax jurisdictions. In a letter to EU Secretary General Jeppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin wrote that “there is no basis for concluding that American Samoa… – Continue reading
Ernst and Young Solutions LLP, Singapore, has released its wish list for the Singapore Budget 2018, calling for reforms to sharpen the territory’s competitiveness. The firm said that Singapore should maintain its 17 percent corporate income tax (CIT) rate, which is one of the lowest in the world, but recommended… – Continue reading
Viet Nam News HCM City – The Netherlands-based ride-hailing firm Uber International Services Holding B.V has filed a lawsuit against the HCM City tax department after it decided to forcibly collect tax, Người Lao Động (Labourer) newspaper reported. Earlier the department had sent a notice to Uber that it had… – Continue reading
As part of the Cayman Islands’ ongoing commitment to international tax transparency, the Tax Information Authority (International Tax Compliance) (Country-By-Country Reporting) Regulations, 2017 (the “CBCR Regulations“) were issued on 15 December 2017. The CBCR Regulations essentially implement in the Cayman Islands the model legislation published pursuant to the OECD’s Base… – Continue reading
Amazon reached a major tax settlement with Italy by agreeing to pay €100 million ($118 million) to the European country in order to put an end to an investigation of potential back taxes it owes that spanned the majority of this year. According to initial reports on the matter, Italian… – Continue reading
Introduction As the government continues to grapple with a budget deficit and strained public finances, there remains considerable pressure on HMRC to crack-down not only on tax evasion, which is illegal, but tax avoidance, which HMRC refers to as “bending the rules of the tax system to gain a tax… – Continue reading
The European Commission is launching an investigation into Ikea’s tax construction in the Netherlands. European Commissioner on competition Margrethe Vestager is expected to officially announce the investigation on Tuesday, British newspaper the Financial Times reports. The Swedish furniture company is suspected of evading nearly a billion euros in taxes between… – Continue reading
Vietnam has lost thousands of billions of dong in taxes as foreign enterprises, especially large-scale ones, refuse to pay based on the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement. Massive revenue without having to pay taxes The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Taxation has recently issued an ultimatum for Uber B.V Netherlands… – Continue reading
On December 13, 2017, the Indian income-tax department reportedly conducted surveys at bitcoin exchanges across the country to assess the risk of individuals who may have evaded taxes. Surveying Indian Exchanges Typically such surveys are conducted by the department without prior warning and include relatively extensive scrutiny of the assessee’s… – Continue reading
Luxembourg is challenging a European Union order to recover about €250m in back taxes from Amazon, saying it disagreed with EU state aid regulators’ decision that the US online retailer had received special treatment. The appeal to the Luxembourg-based General Court, Europe’s second-highest, comes two months after the European Commission… – Continue reading
Facebook has decided to start paying tax to Korea on advertising revenue earned here, bowing to mounting complaints over multinational online giants’ tax avoidance. The U.S. social media company’s decision will place other global information players such as Apple, Google and Cisco under more pressure to follow suit. They have… – Continue reading
The Cypriot tax authority has extended until January 15, 2018, the deadline for multinational corporations to submit their notifications concerning country-by-country reporting for 2017. The deadline had been December 31. In December 2016, Cyprus issued a decree introducing CbC reporting obligations for multinational enterprises with consolidated group revenue of EUR750m… – Continue reading
The FINANCIAL — Transfer Pricing Rules were implemented by the Government of Georgia in 2011, based on OECD guidelines. Since the number of international companies in Georgia is increasing steadily, Transfer Pricing Rules have become a point of obvious interest. However, multinational companies operating in Georgia are not sufficiently well-informed… – Continue reading
Belgian police raided the offices of state bank Belfius as part of a probe into possible tax avoidance by companies exposed in the Panama Papers. Belgian police raided the offices of state bank Belfius on Tuesday as part of a probe into possible tax avoidance by companies exposed in the… – Continue reading
Apple, whose CEO Tim Cook likes to talk a big game about how the tech industry should be more socially responsible while overseeing an international tax-avoidance regime that puts Scrooge McDuck’s gold-filled vault/swimming pool to shame, has agreed to repay Ireland $14.6 billion (around €13 billion) in unpaid taxes, the… – Continue reading
“The ceiling on taxation of capital gains reflects the national belief that speculation is a more worthwhile way to make a living than work.” – Calvin Trillin, Uncivil Liberties, 1982. Time was when both death and taxes were considered unavoidable. But in the light of the latest revelations contained in… – Continue reading
The OECD has published additional guidance on the implementation of the country-by-country (CbC) reporting requirement proposed under Action 13 of its base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project. The guidance, issued on November 30, addresses the following issues: how to report amounts taken from financial statements prepared using fair value… – Continue reading
Bermuda and the UK recently signed an agreement providing for the automatic exchange of country-by-country reports. Bermuda is the first UK Overseas Territory to sign a CbC Competent Authority Agreement with the UK, which enables the automatic reporting of corporate income on a country-by-country basis for UK-related transfer pricing enforcement… – Continue reading
In a world where the creation of schemes to exploit loopholes in global tax laws causes social uproar about ‘hiding money’ (the leaking of the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers being good examples), the recent decision of JSC Mezhdunarodniy Promyshlenniy Bank and another v Pugachev and others [2017] EWHC 2426… – Continue reading
On November 22, the UK Government published for stakeholders’ comments a position paper setting out its views on the challenges posed by the digital economy for the corporate tax system and its preferred solutions. The paper, which was published alongside the 2017 Autumn Budget, states that “the Government believes in… – Continue reading
The UK government is planning to extend the time limit to 12 years for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to investigate all offshore tax non-compliance, according to documents released as part of the Budget. A Treasury document entitled ‘Tackling tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance’ states that the government will consult… – Continue reading
The I-T department and SEBI are working on a two-pronged approach that involves action against tax evaders and tightening of norms for scrips prone to price manipulation Tightening the noose around companies invloved in tax evasion, the Income Tax department and market regulator SEBI have launched a crackdown on penny… – Continue reading
Europe’s fierce enforcer of competition rules is threatening tech giants with tough new rules on tax if politicians fail to come to an agreement on changes to the current system. Efforts to amend rules that would apply tax more fairly to firms which largely operate online such as Google, Amazon,… – Continue reading
The Davis Tax Committee (the Committee) released a further report on “Tax Administration” on 13 November 2017 as part of the final six reports that were deliverable by the Committee. The report has five chapters covering: Governance of the South African Revenue Service Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Treatment… – Continue reading
The Italian government has introduced a “temporary web tax” which will be in force until the long-awaited OECD/EU strategy for the reshaping of traditional taxation systems based on the residence of companies (or on the location of permanent establishments) has been defined. Said reshaping is aimed at introducing taxation principles… – Continue reading
