MUMBAI: In what could lead to an increase in domestic tax liabilities of many Indian conglomerates and multinationals, the government is set to introduce a framework for Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), a global agreement to check tax avoidance by multinationals, in the upcoming Budget. Industry sources expect the… – Continue reading
People using trusts to shelter income and thereby avoid tax could be hit with higher bills under a review by the Australian Taxation Office. The agency has told Fairfax Media it is conducting a pilot program to determine whether trusts are complying with tough anti-avoidance rules when they distribute income… – Continue reading
China’s central bank said on Monday it will start implementing a reserve requirement ratio (RRR) on offshore banks’ domestic deposits, in what appears to be its latest attempt to stem speculation in the yuan and manage money flowing in and out of the country. Confusion over China’s foreign exchange policy… – Continue reading
The proceeds from illegal tax breaks brokered between an EU state and a multinational company, known as clawbacks, should be returned either to the EU budget or to the coffer of other states unfairly deprived of the money, according to MEPs. The idea was endorsed by the European parliament in… – Continue reading
The US’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has announced it will be investigating the individuals behind secretive all-cash purchases of high-end luxury real estate in a six-month trial programme intended to enhance the treasury’s anti-money laundering efforts. The initiative will focus on all-cash property purchases of over $3 million in New… – Continue reading
The U.S. Treasury Department has launched a new initiative aimed at identifying anonymous cash buyers of luxury properties. Currently, purchasers can hide their identities by acquiring real estate through limited liability companies or other shell vehicles that prevent their names from being linked to any specific address. The new rule… – Continue reading
The change in definition of an Indian resident company under the Income-Tax Act—from one whose affairs are wholly controlled and managed in India to one whose Place of Effective Management (PoEM) is in India—and the subsequent draft guidelines are giving anxious moments to votaries of simplifying the investment climate in… – Continue reading
China’s central bank said on Monday it will start implementing a reserve requirement ratio (RRR) on offshore banks’ domestic deposits, in what appears to be its latest attempt to stem speculation in the yuan and manage money flowing in and out of the country. Confusion over China’s foreign exchange policy… – Continue reading
Nearly a third of the 26 large foreign banks operating in Australia, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Lloyds and BNP Paribas, had no taxable income in 2014, data released by the Australian Taxation Office shows. Eight banks with total revenue of $9 billion had no taxable income, while Credit Suisse, which… – Continue reading
The beneficiaries included Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, BP Plc, BASF SE, Proximus SA, Atlas Copco AB, Wabco Holdings, and Celio France SAS. proximus SE This estimate does not include any benefits associated with a successful appeal of the decision, nor does it reflect guidance we expect to receive from the Belgian… – Continue reading
European Commission is due to rule on Apple’s tax affairs in March But recent rulings suggest that report is likely to go against tech giant Probe investigating if firm negotiated low tax rate with Irish authorities If taxes are recalculated at higher rate, Apple could end up owing $8bn Apple… – Continue reading
The offshore yuan posted the biggest weekly gain since October as China’s central bank limited the currency’s supply and forced a narrowing of its discount to the mainland rate. The monetary authority repeatedly bought the currency in Hong Kong this week, sending interbank borrowing costs to an all-time high. Yuan… – Continue reading
The Netherlands will be at the forefront of efforts to combat multinationals’ tax avoidance, its finance minister has said. The comments come amid a dispute with the European Commission over his country’s tax treatment of Starbucks. The Commission, the EU’s executive arm, will propose a new set of binding rules… – Continue reading
The European Commission has ordered Belgium to recover €700 million from 35 large companies in back taxes in the EU executive’s biggest move yet to crack down on tax avoidance by multinationals. The Commission said Belgium’s “excess profit” tax system, whereby multinationals’ economies of scale can enable them to reduce… – Continue reading
Things just keep getting worse for Gene the Taxi King. A federal judge ruled Tuesday that New York taxi mogul Evgeny “Gene” Freidman illegally transferred more than $60 million in real estate assets into offshore trusts as a means of evading ex-lender Citibank. The ruling, which cited “numerous and glaring”… – Continue reading
Documentary Evidence European Union lawmakers sitting on the TAXE committee investigating corporate tax evasion in Europe say they have become frustrated at changes to their mandate and the unwillingness of the European Commission to hand over documents for their investigation. The matter is all the more personal as Commission President… – Continue reading
ARLINGTON, Va., Jan. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Bloomberg BNA today announced the publication of the Daily Tax Report’s 2016 Outlook on tax and accounting policy. Dozens of policy experts, along with current and former members of Congress, congressional staffers and federal agency officials provided insights on the year ahead regarding… – Continue reading
Professional landlords are using Airbnb and other home-sharing websites to avoid taxes and evade planning laws, according to Ufi Ibrahim, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association (BHA) Ibrahim provided evidence to the Business Innovation and Skills committee this week, where he argued that home-sharing websites like Airbnb are made… – Continue reading
Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton wants to end what she calls “the Bermuda reinsurance loophole” as part of her tax program outlined Tuesday. In a factsheet entitled “Investing in America by Restoring Basic Fairness to Our Tax Code” posted on her campaign website, Ms. Clinton says that “high-income money managers… – Continue reading
‘We’re not a tax haven, we have never been involved in any kind of tax malpractice’ – Michael Noonan, Irish Minister for Finance 5th October 2015 ‘Nobody is using Ireland as a tax haven’ – Minister for Agriculture, Simon Conveney, The UN’s Philip Aston says, ‘When lists of tax havens… – Continue reading
Irish drug giant’s long-standing plan to acquire US rival – and lower its tax bill – is finally sealed thanks to beefed-up cash offer The drugs maker Shire yesterday clinched a $32bn (£22bn) takeover of US rival Baxalta after sweetening the deal with a bumper cash component despite fears such… – Continue reading
The battle between the People’s Bank of China and currency speculators has led borrowing costs for offshore yuan in Hong Kong to shoot up to 200 per cent Tuesday, with analysts saying the central bank is keen to defend the currency and fend off speculative attacks. The PBOC through several… – Continue reading
‘We’re not a tax haven, we have never been involved in any kind of tax malpractice’ – Michael Noonan, Irish Minister for Finance 5th October 2015 If your top political figures need to constantly state that your country is not a tax haven, then the chances are it probably is… – Continue reading
U.S.-based multinational corporations are allowed to play by a different set of rules than small and domestic businesses or individuals when it comes to the tax code. Rather than paying their fair share, many multinational corporations use accounting tricks to pretend for tax purposes that a substantial portion of their… – Continue reading
AB InBev says it’s `disappointed’ and is assessing its options Vestager lashes out at `double non-taxation’ schemes BRUSSELS – The European Union ordered Belgium to recover about 700 million euros ($763 million) in illegal tax breaks given to at least 35 companies, including Anheuser-Busch InBev and BP, as regulators continued… – Continue reading
few days before Christmas, in the full light of an Australian summer, the Australian tax commissioner published the tax details of 1,500 large corporate taxpayers which showed a staggering one-third of these companies paid no tax in 2014. This transparency measure was part of a wider package of ground-breaking legislation… – Continue reading
The European Union ordered Belgium to recover about 700 million euros ($762 million) in illegal tax breaks given to at least 35 companies, including Anheuser-Busch InBev NVand BP Plc, as regulators continued a crackdown on overly generous tax schemes throughout the 28-nation bloc. The European Commission told Belgium to recoup… – Continue reading
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
The mayhem over the yuan seems to have entangled DBS Group, Standard Chartered Bank and Deutsche Bank, which have all been suspended from conducting some of their businesses related to the Chinese currency, reports said yesterday. The temporary bans are likely a move by the Chinese central bank to clamp… – Continue reading
Several Slovak banks are already preparing for the new obligations arising from the agreement FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act). Because it had to make changes in particular in its information systems. “Following the agreement FATCA UniCredit Group has developed separate software for the purpose of fulfilling the obligations under… – Continue reading
SOUTH African Revenue Service (SARS) commissioner Tom Moyane has been instructed by Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan to halt the implementation of his ambitious restructuring plans. The far-reaching restructuring project for the tax authority was one of the first initiatives undertaken by Mr Moyane following his appointment as commissioner in October… – Continue reading
Viacom Inc. was accused by one of its former executives of plotting to hide revenue from “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” in a Netherlands entity to avoid taxes. The ex-vice president for financial planning at Viacom claims she was fired after opposing what she believed was an illegal tax dodge. Nataki… – Continue reading
The Department of Justice announced today that Union Bancaire Privée, UBP SA (UBP), reached a resolution under the department’s Swiss Bank Program. UBP will pay a penalty of more than $187 million. “Today’s agreement marks the final resolution with UBP, which acknowledges its role in conspiring with U.S. taxpayers to… – Continue reading
UBP is the latest bank to reach a resolution under the Swiss Bank Program, launched in 2013, that allows Swiss banks to resolve potential criminal liabilities in the United States. UBP between 2008 and 2013 helped U.S. clients to open and maintain undeclared accounts in Switzerland and conceal assets and… – 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
A Viacom whistleblower claims she was sacked by the media company for opposing its alleged plan to illegally avoid paying U.S. taxes on the international licensing rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, former vice president Nataki Williams said she was… – Continue reading
The Chinese yuan plunged to a five-year low in offshore trading and the gap between it and its mainland counterpart widened sharply on Wednesday, reflecting growing expectations of further weakness in the currency amid an economic slowdown and a slump in stock markets. The offshore yuan fell to 6.6915 against… – 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
Walmart stock has put up one of its worst performances in recent history. Walmart continues to be plagued by a number of issues including swelling costs and poor e-commerce growth. Against this backdrop, can Walmart stock make a comeback in 2016? Can Walmart Stock Make A Comeback in 2016 Walmart… – Continue reading
Official Irish statistics are being fattened up by massive tax inversions and the re-registering of companies, warns Dan White The ESRI estimates that the Irish economy grew by 6.7pc in 2015 and is forecasting GDP growth of 4.8pc for this year. GNP, which is generally regarded as a better measurement… – 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
Italy has already brought several cases against global technology companies that have headquarters in low-tax nations like Ireland to avoid paying higher taxes in other countries, like Italy. Tax officials won’t say what Apple has agreed to pay, but citing local reports, the Times reports it may be around $350… – 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
The year 2015 was arguably a momentous one for transfer pricing (TP). A combination of local and international developments will mark it as a period which defined the future direction of this subject. Key Developments The Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) released final reports as part of its… – 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
