Category: Asia

EU anti-money laundering blacklist to be revisited

Next month, the European Union will revamp its methodology for compiling its anti-money laundering blacklist, after a previous list was blocked by EU governments that objected to the listing of Saudi Arabia and four US overseas territories, EU Commissioner for Justice Vera Jourova told the Financial Times recently.“We have admitted… – Continue reading

FBR issues 253,000 notices to non-filer industrialists

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has issued around 253,000 notices to industrialists and businessmen, asking them to file returns, as the revenue body is expanding its broadening of tax base drive, officials said on Tuesday. An official said the FBR has so far issued 253,700 notices to consumers… – Continue reading

FBR demands Rs992m from TV channel in alleged tax evasion case

ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has served a notice on ARY Communications Limited (ARY) and raised a tax demand of Rs992 million – alleging that the entity had evaded tens of millions in taxes through misrepresentation, concealment and misuse of exemptions, thereby causing a substantial loss to the… – Continue reading

Feature: Labuan IBFC – the gateway to Asia-Pacific

Labuan International Business and Financial Centre (Labuan IBFC) is seeing its comprehensive midshore solution reap results as new businesses soared 12.5% last year. Pedro Gonçalves explains the background to this success. With 1059 new companies mostly from Japan, China and South Korea, Labuan IBFC is also making the most of… – Continue reading

United States: D.C. Circuit Expands U.S. Prosecutors’ Reach Over Foreign Bank Documents

In a recent decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously affirmed a district court order compelling three Chinese banks (not currently identified) to produce financial records in response to subpoenas issued by U.S. federal prosecutors, including records that were unrelated to the banks' U.S. operations or U.S. correspondent accounts. ... - Continue reading

Transfer pricing: DGIT starts analysing potential cases of MNCs

The Directorate General of International Taxes of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has started analysing a few potential multinational companies’ cases of transfer pricing where companies are directly involved in shifting their profits outside the country without payment of any taxes. In this regard, Directorate General of International Taxes… – Continue reading

Govt launches crackdown on benami assets

ISLAMABAD: The government has kicked off a far-reaching crackdown against benami assets directing the departments concerned at the federal level and the provincial governments to track benami properties, harvesting the Benami Act, 2019 in the national and global contexts. Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a meeting on August 20 on… – Continue reading

Senate inquiry into foreign workers’ tax payments pushed

SEN. Sherwin Gatchalian has called on the Senate to hold an inquiry on the uncollected taxes from registered and unregistered foreign workers, especially those in the Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) industry. n calling for an investigation, Gatchalian stressed that taxes properly collected are essential since revenues enable the government… – Continue reading

Citizenship of the Republic of Vanuatu and its advantages

The Republic of Vanuatu is a group of islands in the Pacific. The country exists by growing fruits, fishing, and tourism. In 2016, the government introduced the program of achieving local citizenship through investment to increase the flow of external finance. Foreign businessmen want to get a second passport in… – Continue reading

What happened to the proposed amendments to Bank Secrecy Act?

The news is replete with discussions on the refiling of the proposed bills for the other TRAIN Packages with the 18th Congress. However, there seems to be no discussion yet on any proposed amendment to the Bank Secrecy Act, Republic Act (RA) 1405, as amended, particularly the proposed amendments to… – Continue reading

FBR collects Rs1bln in revenue from foreign fund transfers

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) collected one billion rupees in withholding tax revenue on funds transferred abroad through credit and debit cards in a year, official statistics showed. The government opened the avenue for revenue collection a year ago considering the growing trend of payment through plastic cards…. – Continue reading

China issues overall plan for new area of Shanghai FTZ

BEIJING, Aug. 6 (Xinhua) — China’s State Council, or the cabinet, has issued an overall plan for the new Lingang area of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone. The new area will be set up to the south of Dazhi River, east of Jinhui Port, and south of Xiaoyangshan… – Continue reading

First 18 months crucial for tax reforms — Dominguez

On the sidelines of the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s anniversary celebration, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez III emphasized that the first 18 months of the current Congress is crucial for the Duterte administration’s comprehensive tax reform program (CTRP). According to Dominguez, lawmakers traditionally have the tendency to focus “on something… – Continue reading

MLI amendments to Singapore-Luxembourg tax treaty enter into effect

The government of Singapore has announced that amendments made to the Singapore-Luxembourg tax treaty as a result of the two countries’ ratification of the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI) entered into effect on August 1. ... - Continue reading

Hong Kong: A Guide To Tax Regulations In Hong Kong 2019 – 2020

While considering moving a business into a new market, one of the key consideration is that country's tax regime. What are the incentives that would attract foreign investment? Are there any double tax treaties in place? What is the rate for corporate tax? ... - Continue reading

Vietnam’s Tax Administration Law Reform to Take Effect in July 2020

In June, Vietnam’s National Assembly approved a new Law on Tax Administration 38/2019/QH14. Under the new law, tax authorities have been granted additional enforcement powers. At the same time, the new law has made it a little bit easier for both individuals and entities to file taxes. ... - Continue reading

Synthesized text of Japan-UAE tax treaty published showing MLI modifications

The Japanese government on July 1 published the synthesized text of the Japan-United Arab Emirates 2013 tax treaty, taking into account changes made by the bilateral tax treaty on account of both countries’ later ratification of the the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI). ... - Continue reading

Setting Up a Hong Kong Holding Company for Your Chinese Business

Many companies looking at the Chinese market choose to establish a holding company or special purpose vehicle (SPV) to hold their Chinese investments. This typically provides flexibility and an added layer of protection to their corporate structure. Foreign investors have commonly chosen Hong Kong to set up a holding company… – Continue reading