Switzerland and Belize signed a tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) on August 10, 2015. The agreement is Switzerland’s ninth TIEA. It provides for the exchange of information upon request. It covers Swiss federal, cantonal, and communal taxes on income and capital, and the cantonal and communal inheritance and gift taxes…. – Continue reading
Only 23 percent of business leaders feel that recommendations from the OECD on base erosion and profit shifting will be successfully implemented, according to the findings of a new survey by Grant Thornton. Three quarters of business leaders would pay more taxes in exchange for greater clarity from authorities on… – Continue reading
Controlled foreign companies (CFCs) that are engaged in offshore short-term insurance will be allowed to deduct reserves related to their “short-term insurance business” conducted outside South Africa, once an amendment to the Insurance Act, 2016 is promulgated. For a CFC to be eligible for this deduction (which is similar 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
Hundreds of millions of tax dollars are flooding into exchequers across the world, as governments offer evaders a last chance to own up to undeclared accounts, reports the Financial Times. Taxpayers with funds stashed offshore are coming forward voluntarily in their tens of thousands ahead of new transparency rules that… – Continue reading
Fears of a VDP application giving rise to a ‘witch hunt’ are ill-founded. The rapid development in international tax transparency over the past two years in the form of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Common Reporting Standard (CRS) has caused many South African taxpayers to consider regularising… – Continue reading
Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to offer much more than just his best intentions to clean up India’s whimsical tax regime to help convince insurers. Companies from Allianz SE to American International Group Inc. are avoiding offering tax-liability coverage in India’s cross-border mergers and acquisitions market because of a relatively… – Continue reading
South Africans with unauthorised funds abroad better get their affairs in order because tighter regulation in tax havens will soon become a harsh reality, a tax expert has warned. Tony Davey, director at boutique consulting firm Tony Davey and Associates, says South Africans with offshore funds (foreign inheritances, foreign earnings… – Continue reading
In a new update on the financial status of the UAE, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has advised additional taxation among several options for the UAE government to further strengthen its revenue base in order to minimise dependence on the fluctuating global oil price, reports the Emirates 24/7. The UAE… – Continue reading
The UK will help Ghana clamp down on tax avoidance and evasion by sharing expertise to improve their tax system. The UK will work with the Government of Ghana to tackle tax evasion so the country can raise revenues and build stronger public services, International Development Secretary Justine Greening and… – Continue reading
SINGAPORE’S easiest days as a financial hub are over. The city remains a gateway to Asia, a great base for basing multinationals, settling lawsuits and parking money. But elsewhere, the city is being sidelined; the worry is that is a sign of things to come. In just 50 years, the… – Continue reading
LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Three quarters of business leaders would pay more taxes in exchange for greater clarity from authorities on what is acceptable, according to the Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR), a global survey of 2,580 businesses in 35 economies. And while few expect a global agreement any time soon, the… – Continue reading
The recommendations of Justice AP Shah-led three-member committee on minimum alternative tax (MAT) has come in for big relief to foreign investors. The 64-page report, exclusively accessed by dna, says a foreign investor is not liable to pay MAT prior to April 1, 2015. The report, however, is silent on… – Continue reading
THE South African Revenue Service (SARS) wants to be able to share disclosed financial information with countries with which it has multilateral exchange of information agreements. The ability to automatically exchange information with revenue authorities and with SA’s treaty partners would allow SARS to expand its tax base and help… – Continue reading
As global efforts to close loopholes intensify. JOHANNESBURG – South Africans with unauthorised funds abroad better get their affairs in order because tighter regulation in tax havens will soon become a reality, a tax expert has warned. Speaking at a recent seminar hosted by The Wealth Corporation, Tony Davey, director… – Continue reading
The Davis Tax Committee’s First Interim Report on Estate Duty (“DTC Report”) was released for public comment on 13 July 2015. In essence, the DTC Report proposes that “a highly progressive tax that patches loopholes, helps provide equality of opportunity and reduces the concentration of wealth, must be implemented”. The… – Continue reading
The Seychelles Revenue Commission (SRC) has announced that the system enabling financial institutions to report information about their American clients under the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) went live on July 31, 2015, although it is not yet possible for FIS s to upload the necessary data…. – Continue reading
The Government of Jersey has signed a Double Tax Agreement (DTA) with the Republic of Seychelles. The agreement was signed in London on 28 July 2015. The deal is part of a programme by Jersey that aims to develop closer economic and taxation co-operation with other countries. The DTA is… – Continue reading
CAPITAL flight to offshore tax havens, estimated at between US$21 trillion to US$32 trillion, poses a major challenge especially in tackling income inequality, poverty and debt issues. In total, 10 million individuals around the world hold assets offshore, with almost half of the minimum estimate of US$21 trillion to US$9.8… – Continue reading
An agreement signed between Kenya and the American government could introduce new drastic measures in curbing corruption and help seal loopholes in the dwindling war against the vice in the government. But the initiative could dampen hopes of Cabinet secretaries mentioned in various corruption scandals of ever getting back to… – Continue reading
Value added tax (VAT) is being actively considered in many GCC countries and Egypt, reports Gulf News. A number of governments in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region have undertaken various forms of subsidy reforms to boost government finances in the context of sharp decline in oil prices… – Continue reading
On August 3, 2015 the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes published 12 new peer review reports. Phase 1 reports were published on: Albania, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Dominican Republic, Lesotho, Pakistan and Uganda. The reports assessed these countries’ legal and regulatory frameworks for transparency and… – Continue reading
CIVIL society organisations and the business community say the impact of Tax Inspectors without Borders (TIWB) initiative meant to curb tax evasion and illicit financial flows depended on the willingness of actors in Zimbabwe to reform and agree to be scrutinised. The TIWB project is aimed at helping developing countries… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: The Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Mauritius, which is the regulatory body for the Mauritian non-banking financial services sector, has introduced a new application form for obtaining a tax residency certificate (TRC). FSC verifies these applications and recommends issue of the Mauritius tax residency certificate by the Mauritius revenue… – Continue reading
Developing nations left behind as OECD countries continue to dominate the global tax agenda called for a UN body on intergovernmental tax to no avail. Tax, more than ever before, is viewed as one of the most significant drivers of development finance. But Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)… – Continue reading
Just as every new government fiddles around with high school history text books, it also dabbles in Mauritius and P-notes. Both actions have a sharp, short-lived impact, leaving behind a trail of conspiracy theories. Mauritius and P-notes are ghosts that New Delhi and regulators could never quite exercise. They unfailingly… – Continue reading
The Britain has commended the Zambian government for implementing the UK-Zambia double taxation agreement. British High Commissioner to Zambia James Thornton said the agreement will help promote and foster business linkages between British and Zambia companies. In a press statement issued to ZANIS in Lusaka today, Mr. Thornton said the… – Continue reading
The Britain has commended the Zambian government for implementing the UK-Zambia double taxation agreement. British High Commissioner to Zambia James Thornton said the agreement will help promote and foster business linkages between British and Zambia companies. In a press statement issued to ZANIS in Lusaka today, Mr. Thornton said the… – Continue reading
The Mauritius Revenue Authority has extended the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) reporting deadline to 31 August 2015. The FATCA Agreement between Mauritius and the United States was signed on 27 December 2013. FATCA seeks to obtain information on accounts held by U.S. taxpayers in other countries. It requires… – Continue reading
There is a rising trend that many start-ups incorporate their ultimate holding companies abroad, especially in Singapore for various reasons with tax being one of the top 3 factors for such decisions. Some of them have restructured the holding structures after few months of direct Indian holding to accommodate requests… – Continue reading
OUAGADOUGOU, July 29 (Xinhua) — Burkina Faso’s Transition Parliament has questioned the country’s economy and finance minister as it opened an inquiry into tax evasion, a parliamentary source told Xinhua on Tuesday. Official sources revealed that the government had in the last five years lost approximately 40 million U.S. dollars… – Continue reading
Kenya collected 1.001 trillion shillings ($10 billion) in the fiscal year to end-June, a 3.86 percent increase from the previous year, the Treasury said on Wednesday. Officials in East Africa’s biggest economy are aiming at increasing tax collections to fund several infrastructure projects, including a new railway, and pay for… – Continue reading
GOMA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO—The Democratic Republic of Congo’s biggest-ever corruption probe was called off without an official explanation, according to both a Congolese lawmaker and a government spokesman. Investigators were looking into fraud that may have cost the government more than $3 billion. It was an investigation of alleged… – Continue reading
FEW tax hikes have been timed so badly – and retracted so fast – as that imposed on mineral royalties by Zambia’s President Edward Lungu in January. After threats of divestment from major mining houses and an outcry from the country’s Chamber of Mines, the massive hike in royalty taxes… – Continue reading
Where a foreign company renders professional services to a South African company in South Africa, it is important that the foreign entity considers whether, as a result of rendering such services, the foreign company will create a permanent establishment in South Africa. The reason why this becomes important is that… – Continue reading
A senior GOP lawmaker will roll out a plan Wednesday to cut taxes for income spurred by intellectual property, as House Republicans lay the groundwork for a potential major highway and tax reform deal. Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.) said his so-called “innovation box” would be a central part of the… – Continue reading
On 8 June 2015, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) released a Country-by-Country Reporting Implementation Package developed under the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (“BEPS”) Action Plan 13: Re-examine Transfer Pricing Documentation. BEPS was identified as a risk to tax revenues, tax sovereignty and the tax fairness… – Continue reading
The Supreme Court-appointed special investigative team’s (SIT’s) recommendation of stricter norms for participatory notes (P-notes), to check the flow of unaccounted money, is likely to be viewed negatively by the market. The SIT had last week suggested the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) put in place regulations to… – Continue reading
The evolving tax landscape in the MENA region was discussed at the EY MENA Tax Conference held recently in London. The conference was attended by EY Tax specialists and senior finance and tax executives from major European companies with investments in the MENA region. Sherif El-Kilany, MENA Tax Leader, EY,… – Continue reading
A recommendation by the Davis Tax Committee to stop taxpayers from using trusts to reduce tax could result in people who have established trusts for tax purposes only reconsidering their viability. The trustees of a discretionary trust can cause the income and/or capital gains of the trust to be distributed… – Continue reading
Kenya signed several pacts with the US during talks between US President Barack Obama and Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, signalling a deepening of bilateral relations in trade and investment. Addressing a joint press conference, President Obama said discussions on the prospects of introducing direct flights between the two countries were… – Continue reading
South Africans who provide services from within this country to entities or individuals in another country should not be able to claim a special tax credit for foreign withholding taxes. This is according to a proposal by National Treasury in the Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, which was released for… – Continue reading
In order to provide the necessary legislative amendments required to implement the tax proposals that were announced in the 2015 National Budget on 25 February 2015, the National Treasury (Treasury) published the 2015 Draft Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill (TALAB) on 22 July 2015 for public comment. One of the… – Continue reading
ABU DHABI: President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has issued a number of federal decrees with respect to ratifying agreements between the UAE and a number of friendly countries and transferring, appointing and promoting a group of diplomatic corps members. The decrees have been published in the… – Continue reading
The link between global tax transparency and domestic resource mobilization was a key issue discussed at the sidelines of the Financing for Development conference. The side event, jointly organised by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and UN-DESA,was attended by President of the African Development Bank, Donald Kaberuka,… – Continue reading
As globalist forces and the international institutions they control openly prepare to plunder humanity’s wealth, Third World dictators and tax-funded “civil society” groups have stepped up their demands for a United Nations tax authority — supposedly to ensure that they all get their “fair share” of the loot from Western… – Continue reading
The government has sought the opinion of legal experts on allowing foreigners to directly invest in Indian venture capital (VC) and private equity (PE) funds. A direct access under the “automatic route” would quicken fund inflows, cut cost and do away with investment pooling vehicles in tax havens such as… – Continue reading
In its annual survey of the South African economy, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has recommended measures to increase tax revenue and meet the country’s requirement for higher public spending on infrastructure and welfare. At the presentation of the survey, OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria said that “more… – Continue reading
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has urged SA to increase taxes on the wealthy, tighten up on corporate and personal tax allowances and broaden the valued-added tax (VAT) base in order to raise the resources it will need to fund development, reports Business Day Live. The OECD’s… – Continue reading
The governments of Guinea-Bissau and Cabo Verde (Cape Verde) signed agreements to avoid double taxation and prevent tax evasion at the end of a four-day working visit to Guinea-Bissau by the Prime Minister of Cabo Verde, José Maria Neves. Alongside the tax agreement, Cabo Verde will train Guinean technicians so… – Continue reading
