UNTIL NOW, many British expatriates have been able to sell UK property without having to pay any capital gains tax in the UK. This changes from April when new rules come into effect. The concept of charging UK capital gains tax on the disposal of UK residential property owned by… – Continue reading
COMPANIES registered in Caribbean islands by Cypriot law firms or consultancies form the bulk of the list of Cyprus-affiliated entries with deposits in HSBC Switzerland, daily Politis reported yesterday. The paper claimed to have obtained access to the full list of 106,000 depositors in the Swiss bank during 2006 and… – Continue reading
February 13 2015 Following the entry into force of the double tax agreement between Spain and Cyprus (for further details please see “New double taxation agreement between Cyprus and Spain enters into force”), the Spanish Ministry of Finance has announced that Cyprus has been formally removed from the Spanish tax… – Continue reading
As countries share more information, opportunities to squirrel away cash abroad will continue to narrow AMONG the sins that have most angered the austerity-weary everywhere is the use of undeclared offshore accounts to stash the wealth of the rich. Greeks were particularly enraged when data stolen from Swiss banks showed… – Continue reading
The DTA between Cyprus and Iceland took effect on 1 January 2015 The new double taxation agreement between Cyprus and Iceland, which was signed on 13 November 2014, entered into force on 22 December 2014. The agreement is based on the OECD Model Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Getting tough with investment proposals from tax heavens, FIPB has deferred 23 applications in its last three meetings apprehending “treaty abuse”. According to sources, the Department of Revenue has expressed doubt that a few foreign companies were evading tax by routing their investments through tax heaven countries with… – Continue reading
A double tax treaty (“DTT”) was signed between Cyprus and Lithuania in June 2013. The treaty which follows the OECD Model Convention for the avoidance of Double Taxation on Income and on Capital has been ratified by the two Contracting States and has entered into force as of 1 January… – Continue reading
A double tax treaty (“DTT”) was signed between Cyprus and Lithuania in June 2013. The treaty which follows the OECD Model Convention for the avoidance of Double Taxation on Income and on Capital has been ratified by the two Contracting States and has entered into force as of 1 January… – Continue reading
President Vladimir Putin is pushing harder on Russia’s richest citizens to repatriate offshore assets amid a slump in the ruble and the imposition of sanctions by the US and the European Union, The Business Times said. Under new tax rules signed into law by a presidential decree in November, Russian… – Continue reading
Yesterday, the US Taxation Office (IRS) announced the International Data Exchange Service. If you’ve not heard of it, it’s is an outgrowth of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which requires every single bank in the world to get in bed with IRS to share information about customers. We’ve… – Continue reading
Banks are taking steps to comply with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) agreement signed between Cyprus and the USA, the Bank Association said on Wednesday. Cyprus and the US signed the agreement in December and the deal was ratified by Parliament. FATCA aims to combat tax evasion… – Continue reading
Luxembourg’s fund management industry has responded to proposals put forward by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on preventing treaty abuse, with a particular focus on the treatment of collective investment vehicles (CIVs). The response, from the Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI), concerns proposals put forward… – Continue reading
Cyprus’ double tax treaty network has been expanded with three new agreements with Spain, Lithuania and Norway becoming effective as of January 1, 2015, boosting the island’s services sector that has been hammered by Russia’s intentions to clamp down on offshore interest and provide an amnesty for the repatriation of… – Continue reading
India is considering removing Cyprus from the blacklist of countries that do not share details about tax evaders after examining information given the island nation, reports from New Delhi have suggested. India had blacklisted Cyprus in 2013 for not sharing information about tax evaders. “They (Cyprus) have given some information…. – Continue reading
NEW DELHI, DEC 25: India will look at removing Cyprus from the blacklist of countries that do not share details about tax evaders after examining information given the island nation. India had blacklisted Cyprus last year for not sharing information about tax evaders. “They (Cyprus) have given some information. We are… – Continue reading
The decision by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the possible future adoption by parliament of the bill dissolving a convention between the governments of Ukraine and Cyprus on the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of tax evasion regarding income tax and the related protocol does not… – Continue reading
The Luxembourg Government is to provide the European Commission with a list of the tax rulings issued by its tax authorities, along with a list of the beneficiaries of its concessionary tax regime for intellectual property (IP) income. Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel announced that the decision had been made… – Continue reading
The total number of reports on controlled transfer pricing operations, received by the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine, as of October 1, 2014 exceeded 2,500. The head of the department for transfer pricing inspections at the Fiscal Service, Mykola Mishin, said at the round table “Transfer pricing in Ukraine: problems… – Continue reading
The European Commission has announced that its ongoing inquiry into advance tax rulings will be expanded to cover all European Union member states. The Commission said on December 17 that it will ask member states to confirm whether they offer tax rulings. If they do, they will be requested to… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: India is proposing to set up a dedicated dispute-resolution unit for expeditious disposal of transfer pricing cases that have in the past few years evoked strong reaction from domestic and international investors, with some dubbing this ‘tax terrorism’. Through this measure, the new government hopes to send out… – Continue reading
Ukraine’s cabinet is to approve a bill to dissolve a convention made with Cyprus on the avoidance of double taxation, Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk reportedly said on Wednesday. But sources in Nicosia said “it is not a final decision” and that the reported decision was “unexpected”. The new double… – Continue reading
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. Brussels has widened a probe into corporate tax rulings to include all 28 member states amid heightened scrutiny of sweetheart tax deals granted to businesses by national… – Continue reading
An investigation into tax rulings provided by certain EU member states is to be widened to cover all member states, according to a press release from the European Commission.17 Dec 2014 Tax Disputes and Investigations EU & Competition Tax Public procurement and state aid Corporate tax International tax UK Europe… – Continue reading
* EU to examine tax arrangements across bloc * Several deals with multinationals already under scrutiny * Questions asked of new Commission President Juncker (Adds Luxembourg reaction, background) By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS, Dec 17 (Reuters) – European Union competition regulators have asked all 28 member countries for details of… – Continue reading
On 2 December 2014 the Cyprus finance minister and the American ambassador to Cyprus formally signed the intergovernmental agreement (“IGA”) between Cyprus and the USA under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”), an American tax measure enacted in 2010 with the purpose of implementing mechanisms designed to prevent and… – Continue reading
Armenia’s Central Bank (CB) claims thatsome data regarding money flows to and from offshore financial centers is protected from public disclosure under the law. We say ‘some’, because the CB is being selective when it comes to which information can be disclosed and what cannot. When Hetq contacted the CB,… – Continue reading
A secret deal with the Swiss government negotiated by media group Publishing and Broadcasting Ltd when James Packer was chief executive set a tax rate of less than 2.15 per cent on PBL’s intra-company loans. “We do have good news for you!” Ernst & Young Swiss partner Markus Huber wrote… – Continue reading
Exports of Ukrainian goods through offshore companies fell by 90 percent in the first nine months of this year, according to the State Fiscal Service, dropping to $334 million. British Virgin Islands, a jurisdiction known for the lack of transparency, remains the most popular offshore destination with Ukrainian companies, attracting… – Continue reading
China and Turkey have fallen in international rankings of perceived corruption, according to a new report released by the Berlin-based anti-corruption watchdog Transparency International (TI).09 Dec 2014 Regulatory Europe Asia Pacific Gulf Africa According to the latest edition of TI’s Corruption Perceptions Index for 2014, which scores countries on a… – Continue reading
The exchange of information between tax authorities worldwide is about to enter into a new phase of an active gathering and reporting of data. The eradication of tax evasion has now been elevated to a matter of priority amongst OECD states. There has been an unprecedented push to expand the… – Continue reading
DELHI – Mauritius has overtaken Singapore as the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in India, it was announced earlier this week. During the April-September period, Mauritius emerged as the strongest contributor of investment with an inflow of $4.19 billion. During the same period, Singapore provided $2.41 billion in… – Continue reading
On November 18, 2014, the Lower House of Russia’s Parliament, the State Duma, approved at second and third readings Bill No. 630365-6, which would introduce a new controlled foreign corporation (CFC) regime in the country. The new CFC regime contained in the Bill has an anti-offshore orientation and would give… – Continue reading
THE Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Cyprus (ICPAC) said that action is needed to mitigate the impact on the local financial services sector from a recent Russian law cracking down on Russian offshore business. Speaking at a press conference in Nicosia, ICPAC chairman Yiannis Charilaou said however that the… – Continue reading
Cyprus and Iceland have released the text of a new double tax agreement signed between the two nations on November 14, 2014. The signing took place at the Embassy of Cyprus in Stockholm. The agreement caps the withholding tax on dividends income at source to five percent, if the recipient… – Continue reading
MOSCOW — There is nothing new about offshore tax shelters. In ancient Athens, after the government decided to levy a 2% tax on all trade operations, merchants started avoiding the city, conducting business on the surrounding islands instead. Those Greek islands became the first offshore tax havens. The current offshore… – Continue reading
A publication in the Economic Times has caused much debate in India since after blacklisting Cyprus for not sharing information on tax evaders, India is now looking to take away the favourable tax treatment available to investors from the European tax heaven under the bilateral tax treaty between the two… – Continue reading
Cyprus and Iceland have signed a double taxation agreement based on the OECD Model Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation on Income and on Capital, the Finance Ministry said in a statement on Friday. By signing this agreement both countries aim to strengthen their trade and economic relations. “Updating,… – Continue reading
The Swiss Federal Council has adopted dispatches on five double taxation agreements, which will now be submitted to Parliament for approval. The treaties with Estonia, Ghana, Iceland, and Uzbekistan either replace or revise the current deals, while the agreement with Cyprus is Switzerland’s first with the territory. All of the… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: After reaching a significant breakthrough in information exchange on bank accounts with Switzerland, the Narendra Modi government has now turned the heat on European tax haven Cyprus as part of its fight against black money. The government wants to drop a provision in the tax treaty between the… – Continue reading
In the fight against tax evasion, member banks of the Association of Cyprus Banks (ACB) are currently in the process of implementing the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), in anticipation of the upcoming intergovernmental agreement between the United States of America and Cyprus, ACB Director General Michael Kammas said…. – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Russia’s government has approved a new tax law to clamp down on Russian companies and individuals using offshore tax shelters. The law is part of a range of measures initiated by President Vladimir Putin, and collectively known as “deoffshorisation”, which are aimed at bringing Russian businesses and money… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Luxembourg agreed on Tuesday to end its bank secrecy rules from 2017, yielding to a decade of pressure from Germany and the United States and marking a breakthrough in global efforts to reduce tax evasion. Luxembourg, whose banks hold deposits worth 10 times the nation’s annual economic output,… – Continue reading
Cyprus has accepted a key condition put forward by India on effective exchange of information on tax avoiders Cyprus has accepted a key condition put forward by India on effective exchange of information on tax avoiders, hoping its move, which comes amid continuing talks on amending their mutual tax treaty,… – Continue reading
Cyprus transposed the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive1 into domestic legislation when it updated its tax laws in preparation for EU membership in 2004. The Income Tax Law and the Special Contribution for the Defence of the Republic Law provide a liberal system of double taxation avoidance, which also extends to non-EU countries,… – Continue reading
India has seemingly reached an impasse with both Cyprus and Mauritius over the re-negotiation of their respective double taxation avoidance agreements (DTAA). For the former, the disagreement relates to Cyprus’s status as a notified jurisdictional area (NJA) in India, whilst for the latter, it pertains to the update of their… – Continue reading
Introduction On July 25, 2014, Switzerland and Cyprus signed a new agreement for the avoidance of double taxation (DTA) with respect to taxes on income and capital. It is the first DTA between the two countries, and will contribute to the development of bilateral economic relations. The agreement will come… – Continue reading
New Delhi: Talks between India and Cyprus on amending their bilateral tax treaty appear to be deadlocked over India’s demand to include a limitation of benefit (LOB) clause, which restricts benefits under the agreement to genuine resident investors of the Mediterranean island-nation. As a result, it may take longer than… – Continue reading
The DTA between Cyprus and United Arab Emirates took effect on 1 January 2014 The double taxation agreement between Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates took effect on 1 January 2014. For a detailed analysis of the new agreement, the first between the two countries, please follow this link. The… – Continue reading
The double tax agreement between Cyprus and Lithuania, which was signed in June 2013, is now in force and will take effect from 1 January 2015. Under the agreement there is no withholding tax on dividends paid by a company resident in Lithuania to a company (but not a partnership)… – Continue reading
The organisation hails the capture of five more of its most wanted as “excellent news for all honest taxpayers”. Five of the UK’s top tax fugitives have been brought back to the UK to face justice following a global HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) initiative, the organisation has said. HMRC… – Continue reading
