An extensive tax treaty that would shield Chinese businesses operating in the Kingdom from double taxation, and vice versa, has been drafted and is expected to be approved imminently, according to a senior Cambodian tax official. Experts said yesterday the double taxation agreement (DTA) would create a clear legal framework… – Continue reading
FATCA disclosure agreement takes effect, worrying some Israeli-Americans Dual American-Israeli citizens finally need to pay up. After years of the US Internal Revenue Service gradually baring down on American citizens living in Israel who evaded reporting income or paying taxes and numerous rounds of amnesty for those belatedly coming forward,… – Continue reading
China is requiring multinational groups to provide more information, including the location-specific advantages of their Chinese entities, when they apply for advance pricing agreements. The State Administration of Taxation’s Public Notice 64, dated Oct. 11 and released Oct. 18, requires companies to provide the additional information to Chinese tax authorities… – Continue reading
Talks on a data exchange agreement have progressed following Panama President Varela’s state visit to Berlin. Panama is looking to clean up its reputation in the aftermath of the “Panama Papers” leak earlier this year. Germany and Panama moved a step closer towards signing an information-sharing agreement, German Chancellor Angela… – Continue reading
Turkmenistan in a bid to expand its bilateral ties with Germany in the trade sphere ratified an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation with respect to income and property taxes, the Turkmen government reported. The document signed with Germany was approved at the regular meeting of Parliament this week…. – Continue reading
India has stressed the need for a mutually acceptable mechanism among BRICS nations to prevent multinationals from dodging taxes, along with norms to curb black money and bring those accused of corruption and tax evasion to book. “Another key issue that we are pushing is the issue of tax evasion,… – Continue reading
The decision was made during a meeting between Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ali Tayyenbia and the visiting Luxembourg Economy Minister Etienne Schneider in Tehran on Monday, IRNA reported. As reported, the Luxembourger minister also visited Central Bank of Iran Governor Valiollah Seif on Tuesday. Expressing satisfaction over the… – Continue reading
Union Secretary for Economic Relations Amar Sinha on Sunday said a mutually acceptable mechanism among BRICS nations was needed to be worked out to ensure that the MNCs did not evade taxes. Addressing a press conference on the sidelines of the BRICS summit which ended here on Sunday, Mr. Sinha… – Continue reading
One of the most common ways multinationals take advantage of current laws to reduce their tax bill is through what’s known as transfer pricing. Former Treasurer Wayne Swan last week accused mining giant BHP of “aggressive transfer pricing,” denying the Australian government A$5.7 billion in tax revenue. For most companies,… – Continue reading
The finance department over the weekend said it has received the backing of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on its planned comprehensive tax reform package, as well as proposals to relax the country’s bank secrecy law. The Department of Finance (DOF) said the IMF has given its nod to the… – Continue reading
Applicable to transfer pricing for MNCs whose consolidated annual revenue is over Rs 5,000 crore The finance ministry will issue rules and guidance to address some concerns and ambiguity over mandatory reporting norms with respect to transfer pricing for multinational companies whose consolidated annual revenue is over Rs 5,000 crore…. – Continue reading
South Korea said Friday it has signed an agreement with Singapore to share some financial information on their nationals residing in each other’s territory. It’s meant to help tackle offshore tax evasion and other illegal activities, the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said. Under the deal, the two sides will… – Continue reading
Singapore and Japan have agreed to automatically exchange financial account information under the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard. The CRS, the new global standard for the automatic exchange of information for tax purposes, requires all participating countries and jurisdictions to obtain information from their financial institutions and to exchange that information… – Continue reading
Georgia and Kyrgyzstan are increasing economic cooperation by signing an agreement on avoidance of double taxation. The deal was signed today in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi and will prevent people or businesses working between the two countries from evading income and capital taxes. Double taxation is the levying of tax by… – Continue reading
Former Labor treasurer Wayne Swan has accused one of Australia’s biggest companies of evading taxes for more than a decade, and for lying to the former Labor government during the height of the mining tax debate. Swan used parliamentary privilege on Wednesday to claim BHP Billiton had been “gaming the… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati has said the ongoing tax amnesty program was in line with global efforts to prevent and combat tax base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) and would not accommodate any money laundering efforts. Tax amnesty programs have brought benefits to the many countries that have implemented… – Continue reading
The Saudi Council of Ministers has authorized minister of finance or his deputy to discuss two draft uniform agreements on value added tax (VAT) and selective tax for Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states. The agreements shall be discussed within the framework of the GCC financial and economic committee, and sign… – Continue reading
In July 2016 the then Indonesian finance minister Bambang Brodjonegoro, in conjunction with the launch of the widely publicized tax amnesty program (TAP) for undeclared offshore assets, also laid out less publicized plans for a new tax haven on the islands of Bintan and Rempang (Proposed Tax Haven). A key… – Continue reading
Foreigners will come under a coordinated databank just after arrival so they could be traced until checkout and tax evasion by any of them prevented, officials said. They said a databank having networking with relevant nodal points would be developed under the National Board of Revenue (NBR). The NBR recently… – Continue reading
Singapore is seeking more time to revise the two-decade old tax treaty with India, saying its investors need more time to shift to source-based taxation. India has, however, rejected any deferment in the revision of the treaty that will help prevent Singapore, which is the top source of FDI into… – Continue reading
During a recent speech, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, K C Chan, reiterated Hong Kong’s commitment to meeting the international standards on tax transparency, and to implementing the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) base erosion and profits shifting (BEPS) package. In his speech on October… – Continue reading
Various agencies are expected to work together to draft a decree and keep the practice in check. In a move that signals Vietnam’s apparent stronger stance against tax evasion, the Ministry of Finance has sought to work with other ministries and agencies to draft a new decree on transfer pricing… – Continue reading
In 2015, more than 73 percent of Fortune 500 companies maintained subsidiaries in offshore tax havens, according to “Offshore Shell Games,” released today by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Collectively, multinationals reported booking $2.5 trillion offshore, with just… – Continue reading
The Indonesian government recently launched tax hunt on Google Indonesia. If Google were indeed guilty of tax avoidance, it would have to pay a huge price for its actions. But Google is not alone in avoiding paying tax to Indonesian government. Indonesians and Indonesian companies are squirrelling their wealths in… – Continue reading
Chances of tax evaders coming under the scanner is rising due to the implementation of the GST, greater use of technology and exchange of information between countries New Delhi: The noose is tightening around tax evaders. Be it the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) or the greater… – Continue reading
Jakarta. Tax dodgers and taxpayers who have underreported their wealth in the past and who now seek to rectify the situation should join the tax amnesty program as they will not be able to hide once a system for the automatic exchange of financial information between states comes into effect… – Continue reading
India has made as many as 250 references to other countries asking for details about tax evaders and bank accounts related to the Panama cases, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said. This is significant as at least 500 Indians are reportedly said to have held offshore accounts in tax havens,… – Continue reading
A tax evasion amnesty in India has prompted tens of thousands of people to declare more than $9.5bn (£7.3bn) in undeclared income and assets. Finance minister Arun Jaitley said the four-month window that ended on Friday brought in 64,275 declarations. All were offered immunity from prosecution in return for paying… – Continue reading
Ireland, accused of being a tax haven for multinationals such as Apple to pay nearly zero tax on the bulk of its profits earned outside the United States, finds itself with a new adversary in the global fight against unfair tax practices — Brazil. As of October 1, Brazil will… – Continue reading
Around 35 per cent of businesses in India have changed their tax approach following the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) tax plan, higher than the global average, says a report. The Grant Thorntons recently conducted global survey of 2,600 businesses in 36 countries, found little impact of the… – Continue reading
The Indian government has sent out about 700,000 notices to suspected tax evaders to coax them to declare hidden income and assets, promising they won’t be pursued by the authorities if they pay a penalty now to clear their name. But, as the four-month campaign draws to a close this… – Continue reading
A report by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) has criticised the Department for International Development’s (DfiD) approach to tackling tax avoidance and its alleged failure to achieve value for money on HMRC collaboration DfiD has failed in its efforts to fully include developing countries so that they benefit… – Continue reading
The combined amount of overseas financial accounts held by South Korean nationals and companies hit the highest level this year, data from the country’s tax agency showed on Sept. 27. They had a total of 56.84 trillion won (US$50.81 billion) in their overseas accounts, surging from 11.48 trillion won in… – Continue reading
CANADA, ISRAEL SIGN AGREEMENT ON DOUBLE TAXATION As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined other world leaders in addressing the United Nations General Assembly, behind the glare of the camera lights, Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion met with Israel’s Finance Minster Moshe Kahlon on the sidelines to sign an agreement to… – Continue reading
The Zimbabwean government enacted a law last week to remove double taxation for individuals and firms doing business between Zimbabwe and China to boost economic cooperation between the two nations. Under the Statutory Instrument, investors in any of the two states would only be taxed in their country of operation… – Continue reading
Paving the way for the automatic exchange of tax information with India and other nations, Switzerland has ratified the multilateral convention on administrative assistance in taxation matters. The move marks a significant step in the continuing global efforts to crackdown on illicit fund flows in the system and do away… – Continue reading
The threshold could be R5,400 crore of annual consolidated group revenue for the purpose of country-by-country reporting Not more than 120 India-headquartered firms — along with their global associates — are likely to be impacted by the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) protocol once it is implemented, as the… – Continue reading
India’s advance pricing agreements (APAs) programme crossed a milestone with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) signing five more unilateral APAs. With the latest move, the total number of APAs entered into by the CBDT has reached 103. The five APAs signed on Friday pertained to diverse sector, that… – Continue reading
Nearly a year after release of the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) anti tax avoidance action plan, which introduces changes to the treatment of interest deductibility and profit shifting, the majority of businesses have not changed their approach to tax compliance. The major economies in the G7 (83%),… – Continue reading
Five months after the Panama Papers exposed the offshore dealings of government leaders and influential people, a new leak of 1.3 million files has revealed the names of individuals associated with companies registered in the Bahamas, a notorious tax haven. The files – received by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung… – Continue reading
The Cabinet today gave approval for signing and ratification of an agreement between India and Samoa for exchange of information to curb tax evasion. The agreement enables India and Samoa to provide assistance through exchange of information that is foreseeably relevant to the administration and enforcement of the domestic laws… – Continue reading
Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati was at a court hearing in Jakarta on Tuesday (20/09) to defend the legality of the nation’s tax amnesty program. In July 2016 legal activists, gathered within the One Justice Foundation (Yayasan Satu Keadilan) and Indonesian People’s Struggle Union (Serikat Perjuangan Rakyat Indonesia), filed… – Continue reading
The government has stepped up efforts to collect what it says are millions of dollars of outstanding tax liabilities from Singapore-based Google Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., which has allegedly booked hefty revenue from Indonesian advertisers without paying proper taxes. The message to the tech giant is clear: we want a… – Continue reading
With India re-working taxation treaty with Singapore, an influential grouping of overseas investors has said capital gains tax exemption should be retained in the pact for FPIs in listed securities as that would “greatly ease” concerns of foreign investors. Seeking elimination of capital gains tax on portfolio investments in listed… – Continue reading
The European Commission has put nine Middle Eastern and North African countries on notice that they are at risk of measures being taken against them to deter tax avoidance. The nine countries (see table below) are Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates… – Continue reading
China’s State Administration of Taxation (SAT) issued the Announcement on the Administration of Related-party Transactions and Contemporaneous Documentation (SAT Announcement [2016] No. 42), which introduces a three-tiered documentation framework that will replace its current transfer pricing documentation rules. The June 29 announcement followed the publication of the opinion-seeking draft by… – Continue reading
Israeli owners of US accounts and US citizens in Israel have until September 30 to object to information about them being disclosed to the IRS. Within 10 days, all the financial information about Israelis with a green card or a financial association with the US and US citizens with bank… – Continue reading
The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will now be able to obtain the data of offshore bank accounts of Pakistani nationals for the last 15 years under the international tax treaty that it signed with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), officials said on Saturday. “The signatories of… – Continue reading
Singapore’s tax authority has signed another agreement to fight tax evasion. The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) and the British tax authority, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have agreed to share financial account information. In a statement from IRAS today (September 16), it said that the agreement is… – Continue reading
New Zealand will extend its anti-money laundering laws to cover real estate agents and other professions amid fears the country has become a soft target for illegal fund flows that have also helped inflate the property market. Soaring property prices have become a hot issue among the New Zealand public… – Continue reading
