Global Financial IntegrityGlobal Financial Integrity (GFI) on 8 December 2015 released the Global Illicit Financial Flows Report 2015 entitled Illicit Financial Flows from the Developing Countries: 2004-2013. This study is GFI’s 2015 annual global update on illicit financial flows from developing economies. It is the sixth annual update of GFI’s… – Continue reading
Ukraine’s state budget next year may amount to only $38 billion. For perspective, that is less than half of the municipal budget of New York City, with eight million residents, compared to Ukraine’s 43 million people. But viewed another way, the spending represents 40 percent of the official gross domestic… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: With India stepping up efforts to bring back illicit funds stashed abroad, Switzerland has said both sides have improved their cooperation on tax matters following several high-level meetings. Over the past few months, both countries have been working closely on mutual administrative assistance, according to the Swiss government…. – Continue reading
Thirteen jurisdictions signed the OECD Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) at a meeting on October 29-30, 2015, in Barbados. In joining the MCAA, the territories commit to automatically exchange tax information with other nations’ tax authorities under the OECD’s new tax information exchange standard, the Common Reporting Standard. A total… – Continue reading
Jakarta. Indonesia’s tax office is considering a tax amnesty for financial crimes, in a move that could bring back at least 100 trillion rupiah ($7.5 billion) to the state coffers, the director-general of taxes said on Wednesday. Southeast Asia’s biggest economy is grappling with the weakest economic growth in six… – Continue reading
Taipei, Dec. 9 (CNA) Taiwan and Macau are scheduled to sign an agreement Thursday to avoid double taxation on aviation business, according to Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC). The negotiations were concluded recently and the two sides will sign the agreement in Macau, the MAC said in a statement Wednesday…. – Continue reading
Hong Kong’s Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) has released a number of research reports, including one that addresses tax issues relating to open-ended fund companies (OFCs) and private equity (PE) investments, reports Tax News. One report entitled “A Paper on the Tax Issues on OFCs and Profits Tax Exemption for… – Continue reading
In 2013, the 39th G8 summit in Lough Erne committed to reform the international tax system. The G8 Lough Erne Declaration stated that such reforms would benefit developing countries. The G20 declaration in St Petersburg 2013 also stated specifically that “Developing countries should be able to reap the benefits of… – Continue reading
Germany and Australia signed a new income tax treaty that follows, in some instances, the OECD Model Tax Convention, but not in other instances. For example, the treaty includes definitions for installation permanent establishments (PEs) and agency PEs, with the latter defined with a view to the OECD’s base erosion… – Continue reading
Akhilesh Ranjan, joint secretary (foreign tax), who led India’s initiative in the BEPS project, candidly shared his views on India’s plans for its implementation and what lies in the future. The fundamental principle of the BEPS project, is that income of MNCs should be taxed in that country where economic… – Continue reading
Policy will disrupt investment: Samuda THE Government fell back on its huge majority in the House of Representatives yesterday to approve the back tax provisions included in new transfer pricing regulations despite objections from the Opposition that the measure would strangle businesses and obstruct investments. The 21 Government members (excluding… – Continue reading
SOUTH Africa ranks seventh among developing countries in terms of illicit financial outflows, a Washington-based research organisation has found. Illicit outflows from the country are of great concern to the Treasury, which has introduced a number of measures to curb it, particularly the outflows achieved through profit shifting by large… – Continue reading
By Anakhanum Khidayatova – Trend: A lot should be left to the private sector to achieve constructive relations between Azerbaijan and Israel, according to Dan Stav, Israeli ambassador in Baku. “In order to encourage business in each country, you need to create conducive environment,” he said speaking to Trend Dec…. – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: India and Korea have inked a new memorandum of understanding on suspension of collection of taxes during pendency of mutual agreement procedure. This MoU will relieve the burden of double taxation for taxpayers in both the countries during the pendency of MAP proceedings. MAP or Mutual Agreement Procedure… – Continue reading
The Cabinet has submitted a bill to the Parliament Speaker’s Office for presentation and approval by the legislature of an agreement with the US that concerns the sharing of information between the countries to prevent tax fraud. A letter accompanying the legislation sent to the speaker’s office on Nov. 19… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON: India ranks fourth in black money outflows with a whopping USD 51 billion siphoned out of the country per annum between 2004-2013, a US-based think-tank’s report said today. Notably India’s defence budget is less than USD 50 billion. China tops the list with USD 139 billion average outflow of… – Continue reading
In Paris on the occasion of the COP21, the Honourable Billy Graham Talagi, Minister for Ministry of Natural Resources of Niue signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters in the presence of Deputy Secretary General Rintaro Tamaki. Previously, Israel signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: India has been an active participant in the Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS) action plan, the final package of which was rolled out by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in October. The action points, set down by the OECD, aim at closing loopholes that enable… – Continue reading
The Indian Government has accepted the recommendation of the Shah Committee that the Income Tax Act 1961 be amended to clarify that minimum alternate tax (MAT) does not generally apply to foreign institutions investors (FIIs) and foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). The Committee proposed that Section 115JB of the Income Tax… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON Illicit financial flows or black money from developing and emerging economies surged to US$1.1 trillion or a staggering 4 percent of the developing world’s GDP in 2013, according to a study released Wednesday by Global Financial Integrity (GFI), a Washington, DC-based research and advisory organization. The cumulative illicit outflows… – Continue reading
Tax inversions — the process of U.S. firms, merging with or buying foreign companies to shift their taxpaying headquarters abroad — have deprived the U.S. Treasury of ever-increasing billions of dollars. Although President Barack Obama promised to take punitive action against companies deliberately engaging in mergers and/or acquisitions for tax… – Continue reading
The Circular of the State Administration of Taxation on Strengthening the Administration of Corporate Income Tax on Incomes of Equity Transfers of Non-Resident Enterprises (“Circular 698”) was issued in 2009 to regulate tax treatment of indirect transfers of equity interest in a domestic Chinese company by non-residents. Circular 698 empowered… – Continue reading
The Circular of the State Administration of Taxation on Strengthening the Administration of Corporate Income Tax on Incomes of Equity Transfers of Non-Resident Enterprises (“Circular 698”) was issued in 2009 to regulate tax treatment of indirect transfers of equity interest in a domestic Chinese company by non-residents. Circular 698 empowered… – Continue reading
The government will look into compelling taxpayers to report to authorities if they receive consulting to reduce their tax obligations. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said Sunday that it will review the measure as a follow-up to the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting program approved at last month’s Group… – Continue reading
INTRODUCTION In the context of changes in the international system of taxation of the company in the choice of jurisdiction for the implementation of operational activities closely fit to the question of economic feasibility, to protect their interests. The strategic location of Cyprus, the presence of the country’s full membership… – Continue reading
Singapore has displaced Mauritius as the top source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in India during the first half of this fiscal. Figures compiled by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion show that during April-September, India attracted $6.69 billion (Rs 43,096 crore) FDI from Singapore and $3.66 billion (Rs… – Continue reading
Tata Steel’s Singapore arm T S Global Holdings Pte raised $1.5 billion debt to settle outstanding loans, the company said in a statement. Tata Steel group executive director-finance and corporate Kaushik Chatterjee said, “Tata Steel actively reviews all its financing options and seeks to continuously optimise its debt based on… – Continue reading
Australian Taxation Office New or updated materials on ATO website, including: Class ruling to be released on Wednesday BAS reporting – offshore to offshore supply of goods: Some taxpayers are incorrectly including offshore to offshore supplies of goods in their business activity statements (BAS). This document sets out to clarify… – Continue reading
The Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project is an initiative being pursued by the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to curtail perceived exploitation of international tax rules and loopholes by multinational enterprises (MNEs). The OECD’s BEPS project was initiated in 2013 at the request of the Group… – Continue reading
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj today called on Mauritius President Ameenah Gurib-Fakim and discussed a range of issues of mutual interest including impediments to investment inflows. Gurib-Fakim, the first woman President of Mauritius, who is a distinguished scientist, arrived here yesterday on a three-day visit. In the meeting, Gurib-Fakim and… – Continue reading
Hong Kong (HKSAR) – The following is issued on behalf of the Financial Services Development Council: The Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) today (December 7) released three research reports to promote Hong Kong’s asset management business, focusing on fund distribution, tax issues relating to private equity investments and an alternative… – Continue reading
The government of Finland is planning to be the first European country to provide to each adult citizen a basic income, replacing its existing welfare, social security, and unemployment payments. A pilot program is planned for November 2016, to be implemented by the Finnish Social Insurance Institution. The replacement of… – Continue reading
More than 50 banks which helped American clients dodge tax in Swiss bank accounts have received immunity from criminal prosecution in the US. The firms, which include UK giant Standard Chartered, Germany’s biggest lender Deutsche Bank, and France’s BNP Paribas, have reached plea bargains with the US Department of Justice…. – Continue reading
THE Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica (PSOJ) is not happy with amendments to the Income Tax Act that will see the implementation of a transfer pricing regime retroactive to April 1 this year. The PSOJ, in a letter to Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) Commissioner General Ainsley Powell in September, had… – Continue reading
Ellah Mukwati Herald Correspondent The recent historic visit by the Chinese President Xi Jinping which saw 12 mega deals worth $4 billion being signed cemented the good bilateral relationship between Zimbabwe and China, the Minister of Finance and Economic Development has said. In a statement released yesterday Minister Patrick Chinamasa… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: India has been an active participant in the Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS) action plan, the final package of which was rolled out by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in October. The action points, set down by the OECD, aim at closing loopholes that enable… – Continue reading
From the start of 2016, multinational companies found to be avoiding tax will have pay back the tax owed, plus a 100 per cent penalty, reports ZD Net. The Australian Greens have voted with the Coalition to pass legislation that will see multinational companies with annual revenue above AU$1 billion… – Continue reading
Italy has removed Hong Kong from two of three “black lists.” A ministerial decree in November 2015 removed Hong Kong from the black lists that apply with respect to: The Italian controlled foreign corporation (CFC) rules and the full taxation of inbound dividends Costs that arise in transactions between Italian… – Continue reading
Switzerland’s EFG Bank is to pay a penalty of $29m to the US Department of Justice to avoid prosecution for helping its American account holders evade taxes. The bank came forward as part of a voluntary programme launched in 2013, which allows Swiss banks to admit their potential role in… – Continue reading
Multinationals in India will soon have to forgo to a great extent the flexibility in managing their tax outgo in the country and have to report their global operations in elaborate detail to the tax authorities here. This is because New Delhi is set to adopt a new regime to… – Continue reading
Corporate tax revenues have been falling across OECD countries since the global economic crisis, putting greater pressure on individual taxpayers to ensure that governments meet financing requirements, according to new data from the OECD’s annual Revenue Statistics publication. Average revenues from corporate incomes and gains fell from 3.6% to 2.8%… – Continue reading
x MUMBAI: India has been an active participant in the Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS) action plan, the final package of which was rolled out by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in October. The action points, set down by the OECD, aim at closing loopholes that… – Continue reading
Some of the DTAAs entered into by India with other countries allow taxation of capital gains on shares only in the country of which the taxpayer is a resident. The government on Friday told the Lok Sabha that it has started negotiations with some countries to amend provisions on capital… – Continue reading
Tax authorities around the world could take a “cowboy” attitude towards captive tax rights when following guidance from the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) papers, according to Dr Pierre Olivier Gehriger, partner and certified tax expert at Pestalozzi Attorneys at Law. Speaking on a Captive Review webinar hosted by… – Continue reading
The Government of India is aware of the potential loss of revenue from tax avoidance, and has been taking all necessary measures for preventing it. As a part of these measures, India has actively participated n the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project undertaken by the OECD and G-20… – Continue reading
The highly significant changes to transfer pricing guidance planned for under the SAT’s public discussion draft on ‘Special Tax Adjustments’ (yet to be finalised at the time of writing), and the impact of these changes in the light of evolving Chinese transfer pricing enforcement practice is the focus of this… – Continue reading
Bidness Etc takes a look at how Shell-BG merger is right on track, after receiving approval from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board Royal Dutch Shell plc (ADR) (NYSE:RDS.A) is just one step away from closing a merger deal with BG Group plc. On Thursday, December 3, the Anglo-Dutch company received… – Continue reading
On December 3, 2015 the OECD issued a press release in which it announced that on that same day Andorra signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA), bringing the total number of signatories to 75. Andorra signed the MCAA during a meeting of experts on automatic exchange of information convened… – Continue reading
Indian entities will do a reciprocal information sharing about Americans The Finance Ministry today said it has received information from the US under the financial information exchange pact FATCA in the last two months and it is being analysed. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) came into effect from… – Continue reading
He said steps are being taken to put in place a robust information security mechanism in the Income Tax department Non-disclosure of overseas assets will become a “very risky affair” from 2017 as government will by then start getting information on them from foreign countries, Minister of State for Finance… – Continue reading
