Category: Music

Tax benefits of using Malta as an IP regime

For myriad reasons, Malta has over the years established itself as an ideal jurisdiction to hold intellectual property rights. The country offers many tax benefits on income derived from Intellectual Property. Apart from the tax exemption on income derived from patents, copyrights and trademarks as will be further explained below,… – Continue reading

Google tax kicks in starting June 1

The finance ministry has notified that the equalisation levy (popularly known as Google tax) introduced in this budget, will come into force from June 1. As of now, it will apply to payments for online advertisements made by Indian business entities to non-residents (such as Google,Yahoo, Twitter, Facebook) where the… – Continue reading

Withholding tax on digital transactions

THE digital economy has increased opportunities for digital commerce companies to reap substantial sales from a country without establishing a taxable presence in that country. Existing permanent-establishment (PE) rules in both domestic laws and tax treaties require some type of physical presence before a PE is established in another country…. – Continue reading

States vie with feds to punish company moves abroad. But does it work?

State lawmakers are getting into the act of demonizing corporate inversions even though there is not much they can do to stop them. Corporate inversions, in which U.S. companies merge with or are acquired by an overseas business, are a hot topic on the campaign trail and in the halls… – Continue reading

Latin Stars’ Concert Fees Investigated for Possible Fraud: Report

Panamanian officials question declared payments for Enrique Iglesias, Julio Iglesias, Alejandro Sanz and other artists Enrique Iglesias, Alejandro Sanz and Julio Iglesias are among the artists named in an investigation by Panamanian tax authorities into possible tax evasion, concerning money they received for concerts in that country. According to an… – Continue reading

Does tax avoidance among global corporates put UK SMEs at a disadvantage?

The spotlight is firmly on tax reduction among large global firms operating in the UK – but is the practice putting smaller domestic companies on the back foot? The HSBC tax scandal, wilfully fuelled by politicians looking to appear tough on what they call immoral tax practices, has put the… – Continue reading

Tax breaks for rich foreigners under fire in Switzerland

Lump sum taxation, the tailor-made measure tax regime designed to attract wealthy foreigners to Switzerland, is facing a crucial test as voters head to the polls on November 30 to decide whether or not to abolish the system for good. Proponents of the initiative say lump sum taxation is unfair… – Continue reading

Bono: ‘We are a tiny country and tax laws have brought Ireland the only prosperity we’ve ever known

U2 frontman Bono has claimed that the controversial tax laws which have helped multinationals avoid billions in tax have “brought our country the only prosperity we’ve known”. In an interview with the Observer, the singer said the Irish economy needs companies like Apple, Facebook and Google, which have been the… – Continue reading

Hallyu star Jang Keun-suk probed for offshore tax evasion

South Korea’s tax agency is looking into allegations that actor-singer Jang Keun-suk, who is popular throughout Asia, evaded paying taxes on income he earned in China, sources said Tuesday. The National Tax Service (NTS) launched an investigation after obtaining documents from the prosecution regarding suspected tax dodging by an agency… – Continue reading

Now tax what I call music – the fantasy festival line-up

Three members of Take That are reported to have invested in a tax avoidance scheme – so will they join our festival line-up of stars who, through schemes or leaving the country, have avoided tax? Whether by moving country or through schemes and accountants, celebrities finding ways to avoid tax… – Continue reading

Take That’s Gary Barlow blasted on Twitter over tax avoidance allegations! Here’s why we SHOULDN’T go for his jugular!

Yesterday, headlines in the majority of the press focussed on allegations that Gary Barlow and his Take That band mates had used a “shady investment scheme” in order to avoid paying taxes on their whopping incomes… The Sun reported that following a tribunal, Gary and band mates Mark Owen and… – Continue reading

Argue later but pay NOW says taxman: Shock order means big bills for thousands in avoidance schemes

Celebrities and major companies locked in legal battles over tax-avoidance schemes will be forced to pay up before their cases are resolved, under new rules to be introduced in this week’s Budget. The rules will hit 65,000 companies and individuals in dispute with the taxman over their use of complex… – Continue reading

£1billion ‘film tax bill for stars’: String of household names face paying huge sums over scheme that linked box office hits to tax breaks

Bob Geldof, Anne Robinson and Victoria Beckham said to be also among the 1,000 household names affected They each paid a minimum £100,000 to invest in a movie venture that promised to combine box office hits with tempting tax breaks A string of celebrities from David Beckham to Andrew Lloyd… – Continue reading