(Reuters) – International banking activity expanded for a second straight quarter between April and June with banks lending more to emerging markets, particularly China, and to investment funds in offshore centers such as the Cayman Islands, data showed on Monday. Foreign lending to offshore centers rose to $2.269 trillion in… – Continue reading
Nearly 105,000 financial institutions are listed on the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) database of Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) organisations complying with the tax reporting rules for US citizens. The latest list was published on October 1, 2014 by the IRS and shows 104,344 financial organisations have signed… – Continue reading
Minnesota Democrat invested in opponent’s tax-inverting company as son’s private equity firm opens shop in Caymans Sen. Al Franken (D., Minn.) is hoping to saddle his Republican challenger with Mitt Romney-esque charges of “vulture corporatism,” but his own investment activities, and those of his son, could blunt those attacks with… – Continue reading
Mission Hills businesswoman Cheryl Womack is scheduled to appear in federal court in Kansas City on November 12 for a change of plea hearing in her criminal case. Womack had earlier entered a not guilty plea to charges of avoiding income taxes and lying to investigators. (Update, 9:03 p.m) It’s… – Continue reading
The Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (“MiFID”) is a European Union law that aims to harmonise the regulation of investment services across the member states of the European Economic Area and came into effect from 1 November 2007. Following the 2008 financial crisis, amendments to MiFID became the focus of… – Continue reading
A tax-based industrial policy will not produce an innovative economy, writes James Stewart High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bde702e4-4d5e-11e4-bf60-00144feab7de.html#ixzz3HKJXRQha Irish… – Continue reading
The Court of Appeal in Versailles has ordered the elusive international art dealer Guy Wildenstein, to pay a €20 million as a security deposit against tax avoidance allegations which have been levied against him. The funds must reach the court before by 15 October, according to the Le Monde newspaper…. – Continue reading
Korean companies and individuals have invested more than 25 trillion won (about $23 billion) in 50 tax haven countries over the past seven years, according to a report submitted Sunday by the National Tax Service (NTS) to the National Assembly. “Investments by small-and medium-sized companies and individuals are in decline… – Continue reading
Inversions are technically a financial transaction where a corporation from one country, say the United States, merges with a company in a foreign country, say Ireland. Nothing changes in the United States from a business point of view, except that the value and financial sustainability of the corporation goes up significantly. Why… – Continue reading
The beautiful part is the administration did it without Congress. Jared Bernstein, a former chief economist to Vice President Biden, is a senior fellow at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and author of “Crunch: Why Do I Feel So Squeezed?” among other books. Well, would you look at… – Continue reading
Archaic rules mean the world sees us as a tax haven Think of tax havens and you’ll probably think of Switzerland, Isle of Man and Luxembourg but for the rest of the world, they think of us. You see the UK’s quirky and ancient laws mean we have rules that… – Continue reading
CAIRNS/AUSTRALIA: India may have scored a big win in its efforts to receive information on black money stashed away overseas as the G20 grouping of nations is set to endorse on Sunday a framework for automatic exchange of information on bank accounts, putting an end to global bank secrecy. A… – Continue reading
A member of FIFA’s financial watchdog panel has been temporarily suspended while implicated in the Cayman Islands corruption investigation. Canover Watson was questioned last month by police anti-corruption and financial crime units in his native Cayman Islands on suspicion of corruption and money-laundering. He denies wrongdoing. FIFA said audit committee chairman… – Continue reading
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3fbed922-3d51-11e4-871d-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz3Eo63WbfR The British Virgin Islands has long attracted Chinese companies looking to… – Continue reading
Although the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) went “live” July 1, 2014, guidance continues to fall into place. On July 16, the IRS issued instructions for the requester of various Forms W-8 and continues to update its FAQ website. The Cayman Islands Tax Information Authorityissued regulations effective July 4, 2014 addressing the… – Continue reading
Outsourcing the responsible officer (RO) function under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) offers limited value to Cayman-Islands’ domiciled fund managers.The Model one Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the Cayman Islands and the US does not stipulate that a responsible officer is required. The responsible officer title is a feature… – Continue reading
Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—September 5, 2014. Joshua Vandyk, an investment advisor, was sentenced today to serve 30 months in prison for conspiring to launder monetary instruments, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Vandyk, a U.S. citizen, and Eric St-Cyr and Patrick Poulin, Canadian citizens, were indicted by a grand… – Continue reading
FIFA’s financial monitoring panel has asked one of its members to explain his arrest in a corruption case. Canover Watson was detained in his native Cayman Islands on Aug. 28 by police anti-corruption and financial crime units. Local media reported that Watson was quizzed about alleged money laundering and abuse… – Continue reading
Stopgap efforts to prevent corporate tax inversions won’t fix the underlying problems With Congress about to return for a final push before the midterm elections in November, one topic on everyone’s lips is so-called corporate inversions. The practice, where a large U.S. company buys a smaller foreign company in order… – Continue reading
Seven Dutch financial institutions may be involved in evading taxes and are ‘extremely vague’ about what they do to ensure this does not happen, the Dutch Fair Bank Guide said on Wednesday. ABN Amro, Aegon, Delta Lloyd, ING, NIBC, Rabobank and Van Lanschot emerge as potential tax avoiders in research… – Continue reading
HMRC looking at new laws that mean failing to declare offshore becomes a crime By Michelle McGagh, Sep 3, 2014 Tales of benefit cheats regularly hit the headlines with salacious details of how they’ve spent their ill-gotten gains – typically foreign holidays and flash cars – but we never seem… – Continue reading
On August 26, Burger King announced that it entered into an agreement to acquire Tim Hortons, Inc., the Canadian coffee-and-doughnut chain, in a transaction that will be structured as an “inversion” (i.e., Burger King will become a subsidiary of a Canadian parent corporation). The deal is expected to close in 2014… – Continue reading
The Obama administration is employing an ObamaCare contractor that was once based in the tax haven of Bermuda, even as it assails corporations for lacking the “economic patriotism” to pay taxes. Accenture was awarded a contract in January that’s now grown to well over $100 million to make improvements to… – Continue reading
Ottawa (27 Aug. 2014)—Premiers and territorial leaders in Charlottetown for the Council of the Federation need to demand the federal government and the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) stem the flow of Canadian money offshore because it is depleting revenues by at least $7.8 billion each year. Retrieving that money could… – Continue reading
With all the talk about inversions and America’s Burger King Going Canadian, it’s easy to ignore even more prevalent tax savings by numerous American companies. Take Microsoft, which admits in its 2014 SEC filing that it avoids $30 billion in U.S. taxes. The trick? Keep about triple that amount, $93… – Continue reading
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) has been in force for a month and still more countries are joining the tax network. So far, 101 countries and financial jurisdictions have either signed or agreed to join FATCA. FATCA is aimed at identifying US taxpayers with offshore bank accounts and investments. Overseas… – Continue reading
NEW YORK — There’s more than one way for a U.S. company to avoid taxes by claiming a foreign address. Consider the business founded in 1916 as General Plate Co., a maker of sensors and controls for everything from Fords and Frigidaires to the spaceship that first carried Americans to… – Continue reading
Various reporters, editorialists and politicians are clamoring for Bruce Rauner, the Republican candidate for governor of Illinois, to release more of his tax returns — specifically, the detailed schedules that accompany the “top sheets” that he already has released. They probably will be disappointed, even if Mr. Rauner complies with… – Continue reading
Education and Economic Development Minister Grant Gibbons said yesterday the Registrar of Companies’ data on new company incorporations for the second quarter of 2014 continues to show a strong positive trend in the number of new company registrations. Results following the close of the quarter in June showed that the… – Continue reading
Despite the political and media pressure on offshore financial centers, new incorporations of offshore companies worldwide continue to grow. A new report on offshore company incorporations by law and fiduciary firm Appleby shows that new company registrations increased in most offshore jurisdictions in the second half of 2013. “As the… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands, an important international business competitor for Bermuda, is expressing “consternation” that they have been included on a new list of high risk jurisdictions for financial crime. There are a total of 95 countries listed including Brazil, Afghanistan, Cuba, Russia, China, Iraq, the Republic of Congo and Jamaica…. – Continue reading
(Reuters) – The U.S. government has grappled for more than 30 years with corporate deals known as inversions in which U.S. companies shift their tax domiciles abroad to avoid U.S. taxes. Fifty-two substantial deals like this have occurred since 1983, about half of them since the 2008-2009 credit crisis, according… – Continue reading
SRINGFIELD — Republican Bruce Rauner not only has personal investments in the Cayman Islands, but he presided over his former private equity firm as it set up other investment vehicles in the Caribbean tax haven known for its secrecy. The Chicago Sun-Times verified through the Cayman Islands’ government-run online business… – Continue reading
With new laws in place, recovery from Swiss banks can be little easier provided the government shows sincerity in taking action against tax dodgers Finance Minister Senator Ishaq Dar in recent days has expressed the government’s firm conviction to bring back untaxed money of “US$ 200 billion” stashed in… – Continue reading
As one of the nation’s most competitive governor’s races picks up, voters in Illinois are hearing a whole lot about a British territory thousands of miles away in the Caribbean. Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn hammered his wealthy Republican rival for days after reports that Bruce Rauner put some investments in… – Continue reading
Illinois gubernatorial candidate Bruce Rauner (R) made part of his fortune from investments in a Caribbean tax haven, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. But because Rauner won’t release details on his tax filings it is impossible to tell just how much of his wealth comes from those offshore accounts. The newspaper… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands dominates the offshore world, but can it maintain its leading position? The Cayman Islands is the quintessential offshore jurisdiction. Tax-neutral, with a government and financial regulator keen to keep up with the latest developments in the financial services sector, Cayman has ridden out the financial crisis and… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands Banking Association (CIBA) says almost 15,000 of Cayman’s financial institution have registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States. This, ahead of the Unites States Foreign Accounts Compliance Tax Act (FACTA), that will take effect on Tuesday. CIBA says many of the 14,800 financial… – Continue reading
Malcolm Turnbull, Australia’s second-richest parliamentarian, has invested in a ”vulture fund” based in the tax haven Cayman Islands. Disclosure of what appears to be a $1 million stake in a New York-run fund targeting distressed and bankrupt companies sparked criticism from financial transparency campaigners on Thursday. They argue the Communications… – Continue reading
The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited Chairman & CEO Brendan McDonagh commented on the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act [FATCA] in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. FACTA imposes due diligence, information reporting and control obligations on non-US financial institutions for certain US persons who maintain… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands and Colombia are to sign an automatic exchange of tax information agreement under the Multilateral Convention on 1 July 2014. The Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) will be in accordance with global regulatory standards. This will be Cayman’s 36th such agreement, the third in 2014, with the Seychelles… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands and Colombia will sign a tax information exchange agreement on July 1, the government announced. The TIEA will “be in accordance with global regulatory standards.” The agreement will be the 36th signed by the Cayman Islands, and the British Overseas Territory’s third in 2014, following similar pacts… – Continue reading
GEORGE TOWN, Grand Cayman–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Cayman Islands and Colombia are to sign a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (“TIEA”) on 1 July 2014. The TIEA will be in accordance with global regulatory standards. This will be Cayman’s 36th such agreement, the third in 2014, with the Seychelles agreement being signed in… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands needs to be more assertive in addressing its reputation as a so-called tax haven, that according to chairman of the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange Anthony Travers. A recent report by US-based watchdog groups Citizens For Tax Justice and the US PIRG named the Cayman Islands as one… – Continue reading
More South Korean conglomerates have been registering subsidiaries in offshore tax havens, according to corporate researcher Chaebul.com. The number of South Korean companies established in the top 10 offshore tax havens last year jumped nearly 60 percent on-year from 54 to 86, indicating more conglomerates taking advantage of lower tax… – Continue reading
HumaneWatch.org, a project of the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), is running a full-page ad today in USA Today calling out the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for parking $20 million of donor funds in offshore investment shelters in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. The practice is only the latest in… – Continue reading
With the recent passing of the 5 May 2014 registration deadline to be included in the first IRS GIIN list on 2 June 2014, and the 3 June 2014 registration deadline for the 1 July 2014 GIIN list imminent, this update outlines the practical implications for CLO issuers incorporated in… – Continue reading
A decision to drop tax and money laundering charges against three high-profile Sydney businessmen is ”another humiliating defeat for the Project Wickenby Keystone Cops”, according to a lawyer close to the trio. Charges attracting jail of up to 25 years, laid against former CVC Limited chairman Vanda Gould, former Sunland… – Continue reading
Tax avoidance and money laundering charges against former CVC Limited chairman Vanda Gould, former Sunland chairman John Leaver and Swiss resident Peter Borgas have been dropped. The trio were arrested by Federal Police in October on allegations they used a complex network of companies in tax havens to avoid millions… – Continue reading
Calls for crackdown as investigation finds huge Indonesian corporations evading tax through network of secret shell companies in British Virgin Islands and other tax havens Giant Asian logging companies that make billions from destroying rainforests use a labyrinth of secret shell companies based in a UK overseas territory, the British Virgin… – Continue reading
