Google’s top global tax executive told U.K. lawmakers that a new U.K. tax provision dubbed “the Google Tax” will not actually apply to the U.S. technology giant. The law, officially the Diverted Profits Tax, was introduced last year amid concerns that Google parent Alphabet Inc. and other global tech companies… – Continue reading
Earlier this week the State Department released its latest statistics for people who have renounced their US citizenship. 2015 was another record year, with 4,279 people divorcing themselves from the US government and heading to greener pastures elsewhere. This was the third year in a row that broke the previous… – Continue reading
Non-competition agreements can be a valuable tool for purchasers who want to protect their investments in new businesses. However, non-competition agreements can have unintended and unexpected tax consequences, particularly to sellers who grant non-competition agreements to purchasers. The Income Tax Act (Canada) (the Act) contains specific provisions regarding the taxation… – Continue reading
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) still does not know the full extent of tax evasion, despite its work probing foreign bank accounts held by South African residents. It has been a year since SARS confirmed some account holders had been using their offshore accounts to evade their tax obligations,… – Continue reading
Kenya enacted a new law targeting units of foreign companies that escape remitting most of their domestic taxes by allocating income to tax havens while attributing expenses to the East African nation, a practice known as transfer pricing. The Tax Procedures Act gives the Kenya Revenue Authority powers to investigate… – Continue reading
Journalist Steve Topple investigates Bermuda-based big business tax avoidance and its links with UK political parties – and even some charities LAST WEEK saw the news emerge that everyone’s favourite search engine, Google, only had to pay £97m in back-tax (not the “major success” of £130m as was first reported)… – Continue reading
To search for a tax haven to free yourself from tax burden, you need not have to go to Bermuda, Isle of Man, Cayman Islands, Dubai, Switzerland, Mauritius or any other country. It is just right here in India where we are living, hidden in various sections of our Income… – Continue reading
THE UK Government is being urged to end a colonial-era tax treaty with Malawi which campaigners say is depriving the one of the world’s poorest countries of vital resources. Under an agreement dating back to 1955, it is possible for UK companies operating in the south-east African country to pay… – Continue reading
Senegal on February 4 signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, becoming the 93rd jurisdiction to sign the document, and the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for the automatic exchange of Country-by-Country reports, becoming the 32nd signatory to that agreement, the OECD has announced. The Multilateral Convention… – Continue reading
The Authority for Advance Rulings, a quasi-judicial tax body under the finance ministry, has reaffirmed that capital gains earned by a Mauritius-registered company from transfer of shares of an Indian firm shall not be taxable in the country if the foreign corporation doesn’t have a local permanent establishment. In doing… – Continue reading
Treasury is still fighting to keep a tax agreement out of parliament after a lobby group sued them over a pact it signed with Mauritius back in 2012. The double taxation avoidance agreement allows firms registered in the two countries to pay taxes in only one country. It also allows… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON — Zimbabwe’s central bank governor, John Mangudya, on Thursday blamed the sustained decline of the country’s economy on illicit cash flows, saying more than a billion dollars was externalized last year. Presenting his 2016 Monetary Policy, Mangudya said some $684 million was exported to foreign accounts by individuals while… – Continue reading
A major sector of the banking industry in the Caymans could be wiped out by tough regulations designed to fight money-laundering. The number of Class B banks registered with the islands’ regulator has fallen by 14 to 184 over the last year alone. Class B banks generally offer depository services… – Continue reading
The announcement of another tax and exchange control amnesty in this year’s budget is keenly awaited by some South African taxpayers. The looming implementation of the Common Reporting Standard for the automatic exchange of financial information between more than a hundred countries seems to be fueling the desire for another… – Continue reading
JOHANNESBURG – A data sharing agreement signed by 31 countries – including South Africa – in a bid to enhance transparency by multinational enterprises, is unlikely to have an immediate impact on mining companies. Through the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on the Exchange of Country-by-Country Reporting, signed by members of… – Continue reading
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) Court tightens up on creditors raising spurious disputes and relying on arbitration clauses to avoid insolvency. There has been a recent trend in the BVI whereby debtor companies have sought to identify what appear to be spurious disputes and then rely upon arbitration clauses in… – Continue reading
Mauritius will start automatic exchange of tax information with other nations only from September 2018, as it has postponed by a year implementation of global common reporting standard on tax matters. The delay could impact Indian authorities’ efforts to gather more tax-related information from Mauritius, which is allegedly being used… – Continue reading
Can tax treaty provisions override domestic law?In our last article we defined double taxation as an exposure to tax more than once on the same profit or income. We also highlighted the two types of double taxation i.e. economic double taxation and juridical double taxation and also noted that a… – Continue reading
Could you be one of the lucky expats who qualifies for tax free living in the Seychelles? Or would you have to pay the Seychelles flat tax on personal income? At first glance it looks as though the Seychelles levies a flat rate of personal income tax, and at only… – Continue reading
The South African Revenue Service (Sars) has published additional record-keeping requirements for large multi-national companies which they will have to comply with in future. Many companies have already included some of the required information in their transfer pricing documentation and on their annual tax returns, but there seems to be… – Continue reading
In an effort to provide their tax administrations with more tools to combat corporate tax avoidance through transfer pricing, officials from 31 countries today signed an agreement setting out the parameters for automatic exchange of country-by-country reports on large multinational corporations. The agreement — the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on… – Continue reading
Despite EU intentions to crack down on tax avoidance, the European Commission’s Anti-Tax Avoidance Package does not do what it says on the tin, warns Oxfam, and developing countries will feel the EU’s failure most. The package comes a week after the international NGO revealed that just 62 people own… – Continue reading
Anguilla levies a 3% flat rate of personal income tax and is otherwise a tax haven with a stunning climate and amazing Carribean lifestyle Whilst there are various categories of flat tax, including marginal flat tax and Hall-Rabushka flat tax, in its simplest form flat tax is simply a rate… – Continue reading
Macau’s Financial Services Bureau (DSF) has confirmed to Business Daily that the local authority is to sign a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with South Korea, which would add to the existing 15 jurisdictions that have already signed this agreement with the territory. According to the Bureau, its South Korean… – Continue reading
Whilst there are various categories of flat tax, including marginal flat tax and Hall-Rabushka flat tax, in its simplest form flat tax is simply a rate of tax that remains consistent with a constant marginal rate. What this means is, as an income tax payer in a country with such… – Continue reading
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) which is now saddled with the onerous task of getting alternative sources of revenue for the federal government has since adopted a stick and carrot approach to bringing tax payers into the tax net. Assistant Editor, Nduka Chiejina looks at the issues contained in… – Continue reading
The Gulf countries’ proposed 5% value added tax (VAT) may translate as more than a 10% hit on net income, unless tax efficiencies are improved, according to Ernst and Young (EY). “A 5% rate may not sound like a lot, but if it ends up as an additional cost on… – Continue reading
Coinciding with the World Economic Forum in Davos this week Oxfam has issued a report – entitled An Economy for the 1% – outlining how wealth inequality has grown to the stage where 62 of the world’s richest people own as much as the poorest half of the world’s people… – Continue reading
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has welcomed the Ghanaian Government’s fiscal consolidation efforts, including its various revenue-raising initiatives. The Government is seeking to implement an adjustment of two percent of gross domestic product (GDP). This would bring the country’s deficit to about 5.3 percent of GDP in 2016. Over the… – Continue reading
Mozambique may introduce an LNG-specific tax regime for its giant Rovuma Basin projects if new petroleum tax regulations prove too tough for investors in today’s $30 per barrel oil environment. “Amendments to the tax law framework that were made [when oil prices were high] may serve Mozambique less well right… – Continue reading
Generally, if a South African taxpayer sells shares in a foreign company, he will be hit with South African capital gains tax (CGT) on any gain realised on that sale. However, South Africa provides exemptions from this CGT in certain circumstances, one of which relates to the sale of foreign… – Continue reading
The Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) has confirmed the first exchanges of information under the Common Reporting Standard will now take place from September 2018, rather than September 2017. The OECD’s CRS, the new global standard for automatic exchange of information for tax purposes, obliges all participating countries and jurisdictions to… – Continue reading
India’s biggest source of FDI is India itself, money departing on a short holiday to a tax haven and then routed back as FDI. Will the government muster up the political will to clamp down on the tax-allergic business elite? This could be a bumper year for the ever-lucrative tax… – Continue reading
The term double taxation refers to an exposure to tax more than once on the same profit or income. There are two types of double taxation i.e. economic double taxation and juridical double taxation. Economic double taxation is broad and occurs in a situation where an amount of income is… – Continue reading
The implementation of place of effective management (POEM) rules in the current scenario in India could not only hurt the nation’s outbound investments, but also discourage overseas multinational companies from setting up their regional hubs here, feel industry watchers. The draft guidelines for implementing POEM, which was released on December… – Continue reading
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
What is the fate of taxpayers on double taxation provisions? The National Tax Policy (NTP) acknowledges this challenge when it states, “elimination of multiple taxation must be of major concern to government at all levels. This is because increased demand to grow internally generated revenue has led to the exercise… – Continue reading
As part of the ongoing visit by President Muhammadu Buhari to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), both countries today signed six agreements on Trade, Finance and Judicial Matters; Avoidance of Double Taxation; Trade Promotion and Protection; Judicial Agreements on Extradition, Transfer of Sentenced Persons; Mutual Legal Assistance on Criminal Matters;… – Continue reading
There will be no end to the inequality crisis until world leaders end the era of tax havens, once and for all, according to a report from charity Oxfam. In its report, “An Economy for the 1%”, published ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Oxfam has challenged world… – Continue reading
PM Narendra Modi also announces a Rs.10,000 crore fund to provide support to innovation driven enterprises New Delhi:In an effort to give a fillip to the start-up ecosystem in the country, the government on Saturday announced its intention to exempt capital gains tax on investments in start-ups and a Rs.10,000… – Continue reading
Offshore Financial Centres (OFCs) are jurisdictions, usually self-governing, which because of their low tax regimes, have specialized in providing commercial services to corporations and individuals, whether or not they are normally resident in that jurisdiction. The better-known offshore financial centres are small and sparsely populated countries or islands, and are… – Continue reading
The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) yesterday said there was a need to boost the nation’s internally generated revenue through higher consumption tax. The Director-General of LCCI, Mr Muda Yusuf, told newsmen in Lagos that emphasis on tax revenue generation should shift to consumption tax. He suggested that… – Continue reading
Last year Jersey cemented its position as a leading centre for companies looking to list – as reflected in the rise in volume and value of Jersey companies listed on exchanges around the world. Here are some challenges that lie ahead in this jurisdiction over the next 12 months. In… – Continue reading
According to Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA), officials here, despite the introduction of the East African single custom territory that is harmonized through one stop border post some domestic traders have not actively taken the advantage. They have continued with their old tax evasion tricks at the main Sirari border post… – Continue reading
NAIROBI, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) — Kenya and Canada are set to sign an agreement on the promotion of investments and trade between the two countries, officials said on Monday. Canadian High Commissioner to Kenya David Angell told Xinhua in Nairobi that the two governments are talking to each other and… – Continue reading
The Nigerian Transfer Pricing (TP) Regulations officially known as Income Tax (Transfer Pricing) Regulations No 1, 2012 regulates transactions between connected taxable persons (controlled transactions). The regulation seeks to ensure that transactions among connected taxable persons are carried on at arm’s length. Applying the arm’s length principle to controlled transactions… – Continue reading
The year 2015 will be marked as the year of slow economic growth and haphazard fiscal and monetary policies due in part to the uncertainties brought about by the change in government. There were also leadership changes at the FIRS and a number of state tax authorities. This article outlines… – Continue reading
Johannesburg – We can expect 2016 to be an interesting year for tax, with a new Finance Minister promising a focus on fiscal consolidation and several key pieces of tax legislation due to be enacted in the coming months. The volatility of the currency due to events that began in… – Continue reading
The woman who claims her banker husband has hidden millions of pounds of her divorce settlement in a tiger charity is set to launch a new legal battle – and says he cared so little for animals he wouldn’t even allow her to have house cats. Li Quan, a former… – Continue reading
The Irish Revenue has published a statement announcing that on December 23, 2015 the Convention between Ireland and the Republic of Zambia for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital Gains (Hereafter: the new DTA) as concluded on… – Continue reading
