Category: Politically Exposed Persons

Ireland Publishes Updated International Tax Strategy

The Irish Government has published an update on its International Tax Strategy, in which Finance Minister Michael Noonan stresses that the country is “well positioned for the post-base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) world.” According to Noonan, “This is not something that has happened by accident. Difficult but necessary changes… – Continue reading

‘Tax-havens’ routing 60pc of global trade

JAKARTA, Oct 19: As ‘tax-havens’ are now routing some 60 per cent of international trade, multinational corporations (MNCs) have become more aggressive in evading taxes. As the volume of global trade was estimated at $23.5 trillion in 2013, of which $18.5 trillion was trade in goods and the rest was… – Continue reading

Caribbean likely to suffer collateral damage from tax havens crackdown

A little over a week ago the British parliamentarian, Sir Eric Pickles – a cabinet member until May of this year and a former Chairman of the Conservative Party – told the London Guardian that the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, was determined to have the BVI and the Cayman… – Continue reading

Putin Allies Said to Be Behind Scrutinized Deutsche Bank Trades

Several close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin may have benefited from Deutsche Bank AG trades that are now coming under the glare of U.S. prosecutors, according to people familiar with the matter. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether Germany’s biggest bank properly vetted as much as $6… – Continue reading

Matthew Freud: ‘I paid 684 times more tax than Facebook’

PR chief, who pocketed more than £11m from his agency last year, attacks tax system for foreign-owned companies Matthew Freud has attacked the pittance Facebook pays in UK tax after footing a bill for almost £3m last year, as he pocketed more than £11m from his PR and marketing agency… – Continue reading

Starbucks, Fiat Decisions Seen in First Wave of EU Tax Cases

Starbucks Corp. and a Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV unit are set to be first in the firing line as European Union regulators issue a series of rulings over tax breaks for global companies, including Apple Inc. The EU may issue decisions against Starbucks and Fiat as soon as next week… – Continue reading

Joe Tynan: International tax changes on the horizon

As Noonan moves to stimulate domestic growth we need to think about the global debate The Irish economy is now in better shape than at any time since the beginning of the financial crisis. After many years of tough austerity measures, last year’s budget marked a turning point where Minister… – Continue reading

Conference Focuses on Intersection of Tax Law and Citizenship

Tax experts from the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Brazil and Israel spoke at a two-day conference at Michigan Law about the challenges of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and a multitude of other issues at the intersection of the law of taxation and citizenship. Panel discussions at… – Continue reading

DFID urges developing countries to improve tax collection

Developing countries must continue raising more in domestic taxes while taking advantage of wider efforts to combat tax evasion by multinationals, the IMF/World Bank annual meetings were told. Liz Ditchburn, director of policy at the UK’s Department for International Development, said initiatives such as BEPS (base erosion and profit shifting),… – Continue reading

Facebook paid £4,327 corporation tax despite £35m staff bonuses

Staff at Facebook’s UK arm took home an average of more than £210,000 last year in pay and bonuses, while their employer paid just £4,327 in corporation tax. Facebook made an accounting loss of £28.5m in Britain in 2014, after paying out more than £35m to its 362 staff in… – Continue reading

Osborne Signals Tax-Dodging Crackdown in U.K. Autumn Statement

Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne suggested he’ll announce measures next month to enshrine in U.K. law an international plan to crack down on tax dodging. Osborne said Friday the so-called base-erosion and profit-shifting plan will be implemented by Britain at the “next fiscal event,” indicating it will form part… – Continue reading

Tax experts criticise ‘thin’ non-dom consultation paper

The UK Government’s consultation paper on non-domicile status is “thin on the ground” when it comes to detail and, if introduced as proposed, will fail to treat some ‘non-doms’ fairly, according to tax experts. “It feels like this new legislation is being rushed through,” said Dean Mullaly, managing director of… – Continue reading

A Tax Revolution in the Making in EU

Europe’s stiff-neckedness is difficult to cure. To come to an agreement for supranational treatment of a certain issue there needs to be a large cataclysm or at least a large scandal. In the case of taxation policy the problem begins to gain urgent and most importantly European status after the… – Continue reading

OECD Beps: Biggest corporate tax reform plan since 1920s

On Monday (5 Oct) the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) will present its final Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (Beps) project corporate tax reform proposals and on Tuesday the Ecofin council of EU finance ministers, is expected to agree on the exchange of tax rulings between member… – Continue reading

Osborne to net billions as huge global crackdown on multinational tax avoidance begins

The world’s richest nations will launch a huge crackdown on multinational tax avoidance on Monday as part of the biggest shake-up of international tax rules for decades. The move could lead to a multi- billion pound gain for Chancellor George Osborne and higher tax bills for a raft of blue-chip… – Continue reading

UK aid money going to known tax havens

Millions of pounds of British aid money could have been given to known tax havens to fund public services The UK paid out £45m to 13 countries on the European Commission’s tax haven “blacklist” in 2013, according to a report in The Independent. The blacklisted countries that received British aid… – Continue reading

UK could legislate to force tax havens to reveal offshore ownership, says Pickles

Government’s anti-corruption champion says legislation is one option if British overseas territories fail to adopt public registers of companies The government could legislate to force the UK’s tax havens to reveal for the first time the true owners of offshore companies, anti-corruption champion Sir Eric Pickles has indicated. Pickles described… – Continue reading

George Osborne’s non-doms tax plan excludes offshore trusts

George Osborne’s plans to tighten tax rules for wealthy foreigners living in Britain will leave many offshore trusts outside the UK tax net, according to proposals published on Wednesday, reports the Financial Times. The Treasury’s consultation on “carefully targeted” changes to the rules for “non-doms” — people who live in… – Continue reading

David Cameron says not enough is being done to tackle tax evasion in Overseas Territories

Prime minister says he is still not happy with way some British overseas territories are resisting financial transparency, reports The Guardian. David Cameron has accused some British overseas territories and crown dependencies of not doing enough to tackle tax evasion and money laundering. The prime minister took the offshore financial… – Continue reading

Italy’s Renzi faces uphill struggle over Google Tax plan

Under pressure to find resources for his promises of sweeping tax cuts, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi is hoping to raise billions of euros by forcing multinational Internet firms to pay taxes on profits generated in Italy. Treasury Undersecretary Enrico Zanetti said a so-called “Google Tax” could yield up to… – Continue reading

EU’s Juncker releases secret ‘Luxleaks’ tax advice

Secret Luxembourg document discussed risks of special tax deals, but Jean-Claude Juncker says he cannot remember discussing it with its author The president of the European Commission faces fresh questions about his role in designing Luxembourg’s controversial system of “sweetheart” tax deals after he released an 18-year old document that… – Continue reading

Jean-Claude Juncker denies link to Luxembourg tax deals

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has denied involvement in sweetheart deals that allowed hundreds of multinationals to slash their tax bills by locating to Luxembourg, despite being prime minister of the country for almost 20 years, reports the Financial Times. Facing questions from a committee of EU lawmakers set up… – Continue reading

Facebook lobbyists face ban ban from European Parliament

EU committee set up to investigate aggressive tax planning concludes its report in weeks Lobbyists representing internet company Facebook could be banned from entering the European Parliament following a request by the parliament’s special committee on tax to revoke access to multinationals who refused to cooperate with the committee’s inquiries…. – Continue reading

Transparency International: Juncker must endorse public scrutiny of multinationals

Transparency International called today on European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to publicly support legislation that would allow citizens to scrutinise the corporate taxes paid by multinational companies to governments. Juncker will appear tomorrow in front of a special tax committee at the European Parliament to defend the Commission’s track record… – Continue reading

KMT to push cross-strait taxation pact in new legislative session

Taipei, Sept. 14 (CNA) The Kuomintang (KMT) government will be prioritizing passage of a cross-strait agreement on double taxation avoidance as well as bills on the budget, government restructuring and an all-volunteer military in the fall legislative session that opens Tuesday, Premier Mao Chi-kuo (毛治國) said Monday. Mao said the… – Continue reading

Troy Kelley Hit With New Money Laundering, Tax Evasion Charges

Washington State Auditor Troy Kelley faces additional charges of money laundering and tax evasion. The U.S. Attorney’s office announced the new charges Thursday afternoon. The charges are contained in a superseding indictment against Kelley. The first-term Democrat now faces a total of 17 federal charges, including five new counts of… – Continue reading

Tax scandal probe hit by setback as EU refuses to hand over documents to MEPs

The European Commission is refusing to hand over documents to MEPs investigating whether EU member states are using special tax regimes that favour large multinational corporations such as Facebook and Amazon. EU economics commissioner Pierre Moscovici wrote to the European Parliament’s special committee on tax rulings (TAXE) this week claiming… – Continue reading

Member states stonewall EP tax probe

HMRC reintroduces Australian fund to Rops listEU member states are lobbying the European Commission to prevent it from disclosing information on tax rulings to a European Parliament probe, reports the EU Observer. EU economics commissioner Pierre Moscovici, in a letter sent Monday (31 August) to the head of the parliament’s… – Continue reading

Tax law seen as driving Americans to renounce citizenship

Stanley Amland threw it off. So did Ingrid Bracke. Rhoda May Derksen ditched hers, too. The names, picked at random for this article from the Federal Register, are among the 3,415 Americans who renounced their U.S. citizenship or relinquished their residency permits last year. As a national debate rages about… – Continue reading

Taiwan, Japan deal on double taxation avoidance close: official

Taipei, Aug. 27 (CNA) Taiwan and Japan have nearly completed negotiations on a bilateral agreement to avoid double taxation, a Taiwanese official said Thursday. The date of its signing is still being discussed, the official said. The negotiations on the agreement have almost been concluded, Chou Shyue-yow (周學佑), deputy director-general… – Continue reading

UK: In The Spotlight – Summer 2015

WINDS OF CHANGE – GEORGE OSBORNE’S FIRST BUDGET AS THE CHANCELLOR OF A CONSERVATIVE GOVERNMENT BROUGHT SEVERAL SIGNIFICANT ANNOUNCEMENTS. By Mark Wingate Taking a leaf from the Labour Party’s election manifesto, there will be a further tightening of the rules for non-doms. In an attempt to provide a more level… – Continue reading

Summer Budget 2015: new rules for non-domiciled individuals

Introduction Individuals whose domicile of origin is outside United Kingdom Non-UK individuals with UK domicile of origin Consultation and legislation New inheritance tax rules for UK residential property held within offshore corporate envelopes Comment Introduction Individuals domiciled outside the United Kingdom might have been justified in thinking that they would… – Continue reading

Britain’s non dom crackdown could affect UAE expatriates

In his summer budget the first exclusively Conservative one in 19 years British Chancellor George Osborne outlined several key changes for non-domiciled individuals or non-doms, reports MENAFN. These major modifications coming into effect in April 2017 arguably represent the biggest shake-up to the non-dom status since it was first introduced… – Continue reading

Worldwide: Governments Continue To Welcome Wealthy Foreigners

With the UK announcing new tax rules for foreigners living in the country, the government has been careful not to damage the country’s appeal to wealthy foreigners. The “non-dom” tax status “plays an important role in allowing those from abroad to contribute to our economy”, says George Osborne, the UK’s… – Continue reading

Britain’s non dom crackdown could affect UAE expatriates

In his summer budget the first exclusively Conservative one in 19 years British Chancellor George Osborne outlined several key changes for non-domiciled individuals or non-doms, reports MENAFN. These major modifications coming into effect in April 2017 arguably represent the biggest shake-up to the non-dom status since it was first introduced… – Continue reading

Luxembourg’s Euro Note Love Affair Raises Eyebrows Over Taxes

While the European single currency’s existential crisis drags on in Athens, it turns out Luxembourg likes its euros — a lot — as foreigners with accounts in the Grand Duchy try to stay one step ahead of the taxman. Luxembourg’s central bank issued 15 percent more euro notes in 2013,… – Continue reading

ZETI HATCHET JOB SPLASHED ONLINE: Jho Low accused of ‘PROXY WAR’ to defend ROSMAH & himself

KUALA LUMPUR – As speculation intensifies that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is on the verge of sacking central bank governor Zeti Aziz, an expose on her family’s ‘dealings’ has been splashed online. Critics of the Prime Minister claim the article was sponsored by 1MDB figure Jho Low and his… – Continue reading