Multinationals have come under fire yet again over their tax arrangements in some European countries, as the continent moves closer to a pan-European regime to combat tax avoidance. On Friday, European economy and finance ministers and central bankers (known as an ECOFIN meeting) gathered in Luxembourg to discuss what the… – Continue reading
It was an American statesman, Benjamin Franklin, a gentleman of reputedly many talents, who is credited with the widely spoken remark, ‘in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.’ Technically, none of us lives forever and paying taxes is a part of life. Dodging… – Continue reading
The private equity industry has long been known for its ability to take advantage of tax rules. But international changes are set to have an impact on their businesses. After a string of multinationals such as Apple, Google and Starbucks came under fire for paying minimal tax on their British… – Continue reading
Introduction In 1934 distinguished US jurist Judge Learned Hand famously opined that “one may so arrange his affairs so that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to… – Continue reading
NAIROBI: The civil society in Kenya wants Parliament to join them in the push to end tax evasion through enactment of laws that enhance compliance from international trade. This, they argue, will boost revenue collection by the State. They say tougher laws will criminalise tax avoidance and spell harsher penalties… – Continue reading
Would businesses really be willing to pay more tax if they had more certainty on what is acceptable for cross-border tax planning? According to a recent Grant Thornton International Business Report, three quarters of business leaders would in fact be ready to pony up more taxes in exchange for greater… – Continue reading
Governments that offer multi-national firms sweetheart tax deals should not be allowed to benefit if the European Union orders them to claw back the aid, according to a new report by the European Parliament’s special committee on tax rulings. Instead, the proceeds should be “returned to the member states which… – Continue reading
Governments that dole out tax subsidies to big companies shouldn’t be allowed to reap multibillion-euro windfalls if the European Union orders them to claw back the aid, lawmakers probing tax loopholes said. Instead, the EU should consider changing the law so that money is shared among neighboring nations that played… – Continue reading
EDF is now an global player in providing electricity, relying on France’s 58 nuclear reactors, as well as developing new plants, notably the controversial Hinkley Point project in Britain. The European Commission’s investigation found the energy company, which is the main electricity provider in France, benefited from tax breaks that… – Continue reading
Special Business News article by Rob Rotherham, KPMG tax division senior manager, on the effects of the UK Budget. With effect from April 1, 2015, the UK Government introduced a new tax: the Diverted Profits Tax. (DPT). The DPT is aimed at countering the use of aggressive tax planning techniques… – Continue reading
European Commission to issue decisions on four test cases, including Apple in Ireland, Until a few months ago, the medieval town of Athenry in County Galway owed its fame mainly to a song. Irish rugby and football fans often burst into stirring renditions of “The Fields of Athenry”, a ballad… – Continue reading
MEPs have backed rules that would require multinationals to report their tax payments on a country-by-country basis. Deputies in Strasbourg voted by a 556 votes to 67 margin on Wednesday (8 July) to approve plans to re-write the EU’s eight-year old Shareholders’ Rights Directive that would require listed companies to… – Continue reading
By common consent, the UK tax system is no longer fit for purpose. There is unfortunately less unanimity on how the system should be reformed. In 2010 the chancellor established the office for Tax Simplification (OTS) in recognition that the UK tax code had become far too complex. But by… – Continue reading
By common consent, the UK tax system is no longer fit for purpose. There is unfortunately less unanimity on how the system should be reformed. In 2010 the chancellor established the office for Tax Simplification (OTS) in recognition that the UK tax code had become far too complex. But by… – Continue reading
Booming demand for offshore tax services will trigger a £240m takeover deal involving a unit of Appleby Global, Sky News learns. The booming demand for offshore trust and fund administration services will be underlined in the coming days by a $370m (£238m) takeover deal involving Bridgepoint, the London-based buyout firm…. – Continue reading
Ireland’s attractively low rate of corporate taxation is once again under pressure with the recent release of the European Commission’s new action plan to tackle tax avoidance. The commission has been prompted into this politically ambitious move by public outcry over big, usually American, companies avoiding tax in the EU…. – Continue reading
Leaders of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) have ended a meeting in Grenada criticising the European Union over its decision to blacklist several Caribbean countries as tax havens. In addition, the leaders of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Montserrat, St Kitts… – Continue reading
U.S. lawmakers are exploring a new corporate tax break that would benefit companies already adept at avoiding taxes. The idea — known as a patent box or innovation box — would impose a lower tax rate on income generated from patents and other intellectual property housed in the U.S. This… – Continue reading
Britain will not adopt new EU measures to tackle large-scale tax avoidance by multinational companies, the financial secretary to the Treasury has said. Brussels hopes to implement a longstanding tax harmonization plan to set common rules across member states, thereby closing legal loopholes multinationals currently exploit. A German member of… – Continue reading
International tax rules will soon change, but companies’ behaviour may change sooner. There will soon be fewer places for multinational companies and ultra-rich individuals to squirrel away money. In November leaders of the G20 are expected to adopt a full range of measures to curb the practices of base erosion… – Continue reading
In the last few years, particularly following the credit crunch, there has been a tangible focus on tax avoidance and clamping down on tax planning. Overnight, the rules of the game were changed and what was previously considered to be legitimate tax planning was condemned as being aggressive and morally… – Continue reading
The European Union has published its first list of international tax havens as part of a crackdown on multinational companies trying to avoid paying tax in the 28-nation bloc. The list of 30 territories includes Hong Kong and Brunei in Asia, Monaco, Andorra and Guernsey in Europe, and a series… – Continue reading
The European Commission is set to adopt an Action Plan to tackle corporate tax avoidance and promote growth-friendly taxation in the Single Market despite an uphill battle against global giants such as Apple and Starbucks, as well as some hypocritical member states. The European Commission’s plans unveiled Wednesday include a… – Continue reading
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. owns more than $76 billion of assets through a web of units in offshore tax havens around the world, though you wouldn’t know it from reading the giant retailer’s annual report. A new study has found Wal-Mart has at least 78 offshore subsidiaries and branches, more than… – Continue reading
Politically incendiary proposals will set sights on multinationals’ tax planning with EU states and 30 worst offending havens could be officially blacklisted Officials in Brussels will on Wednesday announce a series of measures designed to stamp out the toxic culture of secret, sweetheart tax deals for multinationals which prevails in… – Continue reading
EU regulators’ investigations into the low tax arrangements of Apple (AAPL.O), Starbucks (SBUX.O) and Amazon (AMZN.O) in some member states are at an advanced stage and decisions could be announced in the coming months, a senior European Commission official said on Thursday. The investigations centre on Luxembourg’s tax rulings for… – Continue reading
BRUSSELS–The European Union said it was seeking fresh information from 15 EU countries on tax deals granted to individual companies, and ordered two governments to comply with its requests, deepening a high-profile tax investigation that has so far embroiled four multinationals including Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. The twin moves… – Continue reading
A European probe into the Irish taxes paid by technology giant Apple, as well as multi-nationals in Luxembourg and the Netherlands, is close to finishing. The news came as Taoiseach Enda Kenny issues a robust defence of Ireland’s corporate tax regime, which has been under international pressure in recent years… – Continue reading
THE South African Revenue Service (SARS ) is to significantly beef up its capacity to deal with base erosion and profit shifting, which has received intense focus by MPs over the last few months. SARS commissioner Tom Moyane said on Wednesday 24 more tax specialists would be employed in the… – Continue reading
The company that runs a swathe of Britain’s internet service is being bought by an American predator that plans to fold it into a giant international tax haven. Telecity operates data centres all over Europe – which house the wires that make the internet work – including sites in London… – Continue reading
The company decided to declare its revenues since European regulators started to investigate its accounting practices. Internet retailer Amazon paid about US$16 million to Germany in 2014, while the giant multinational recorded a total earning of US$16 billion in that country, according to the country’s regulators. In the past, the… – Continue reading
Head of forum’s tax policy will push for reform to cut down on avoidance. The OECD has attacked the “extremely aggressive” tax planning of companies such as Google, Amazon and Apple as it pushes for reform of global tax rules to cut down on avoidance. Pascal Saint-Amans, who heads up… – Continue reading
Cracking down on sweetheart tax deals with multinational corporations is proving more difficult than the European Commission had anticipated. Delays, uncooperative member states, and missed deadlines are among the frustrations highlighted Tuesday (5 May) by the EU’s competition chief, Margrethe Vestager. Speaking at a special committee on tax rulings at… – Continue reading
BRUSSELS–The European Union won’t meet a self-imposed June deadline for deciding whether four multinational companies including Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. benefited from illegal tax sweeteners, the bloc’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said Tuesday. “We won’t meet the deadline we set ourselves [of] the end of the second quarter,” Ms…. – Continue reading
UK’s biggest coffee shop brands Costa, Caffè Nero and Starbucks perform poorly in new ethical scorecard ranking companies on treatment of staff and suppliers, environmental policies and tax avoidance Consumers have been urged to switch to independent coffee shops after major brands including Costa, Caffè Nero and Starbucks scored poorly… – Continue reading
Britain’s Conservative Party returned a donation of £50,000 from a wealthy businesswoman on Monday after it emerged she was once wanted on charges of tax fraud in the United States. Beatrice Tollman, founder of luxury hotel chain Red Carnation, made an election campaign donation to the Tories earlier this month…. – Continue reading
A British company run by the Conservative’s election guru Lynton Crosby lost more than £1 million in two years, public records show. Accounts filed by Crosby Textor Ltd reveal that the firm, owned by Mr Crosby and his business partner Mark Textor made losses of £511,000 in 2014 and £510,000… – Continue reading
Claims of using Malta to reduce tax liability ‘malicious and libellous’ – Lynton Crosby British Prime Minister David Cameron’s electoral guru, Australian Lynton Crosby, has rejected a Labour attack on his personal tax affairs as a “made up negative story”. On Thursday the British Labour Party called on Mr Crosby… – Continue reading
David Maclean, Baron Blencathra, wrote to Cayman Islands in 2014 that transparency push was to head off G8 pressure and EU’s financial transaction tax A Conservative peer has described David Cameron’s flagship G8 anti-tax avoidance initiative as a “purely political gesture” designed to head off European attempts to curb the… – Continue reading
The key is to arrive at a Goldilocks mean — rolling out tax-friendly policies while being firm with incorrigible offenders A phrase first used by Prime Minister Narendra Modi while addressing a group of businessmen in the run-up to the elections last year has now come back to haunt his… – Continue reading
Changes are in the pipeline which will have a dramatic impact on the way that auditing firms handle public-interest entities (PIEs) as from December 2016 – but Deloitte CEO Malcolm Booker is very wary about how this could work in practice. According to the legislation, auditors would have to enter… – Continue reading
• Starbucks ran its European business – including UK – through Holland • But Dutch division paid just £1.9million tax on profits of £300million • Now details of UK company at heart of new probe have started to emerge • A Starbucks spokesman said it complies ‘with all relevant tax… – Continue reading
Warning from Corn Flakes maker comes amid international pressure to close tax loopholes Kellogg’s has warned that its profits could be hurt by the international drive against tax avoidance, which is targeting structures that benefit multinationals. The US-based maker of Corn Flakes, Rice Krispies and Coco Pops is worried that… – Continue reading
New EU plans to force governments to send quarterly reports on tax rulings are a “revolutionary” step towards overcoming corporate secrecy, the bloc’s tax commissioner has said. The blueprint published two weeks ago by the Commission would establish a system of automatic exchange of information on tax rulings and require… – Continue reading
It’s been dubbed the ‘Google tax’! Starting April 1st, the UK will levy a new ‘diverted profits tax’. This is the British government’s offensive against multinationals like Google, Amazon, Starbucks and others accused of shifting profits and avoiding tax. In doing so UK will become the first country to implement… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — Luxembourg’s status as a fortress of wealth in the heart of Europe is in peril. The country transformed itself from a rural economy into the European Union’s richest in less than a century by swapping fields and steel mills for hedge funds and multinationals. That model may now… – Continue reading
1.GENERAL QUESTIONS 1.1 Why is the Commission presenting a Tax Transparency Package? The Commission has made the fight against tax evasion and corporate tax avoidance a political priority, with a view to creating a socially and economically more efficient Single Market. While much has been done to advance this agenda… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — The European Union launched a new salvo in its battle against tax evasion with a slate of proposals that would make it harder for companies to avoid taxes. Countries would need to share information on cross-border tax rulings every three months under one piece of the tax package,… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – European Union countries will have to share information on tax deals agreed with major corporations under European Commission plans to limit the ability of big business to avoid tax across the 28-nation bloc. EU members would from next year have three months to tell neighbors about new cross-border… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – The European Commission will lay out plans on Wednesday designed to limit tax avoidance in the wake of recent revelations that major corporations were paying minimal state contributions across the European Union. EU members will be required to share information on cross-border tax rulings, according to a draft… – Continue reading
