Category: Estonia

EU Details Action Plan On Money Laundering

European Union finance ministers worked out a plan for combating money laundering and also made a deal on major bank reform on Tuesday (Dec. 4), according to reports from Reuters. The money laundering plan is a response to highly visible cases of alleged criminal activity at EU banks in countries… – Continue reading

Digital residency pays off big for Estonia

Estonia is expected to get a 100-to-one-euro return on investment for its e-Residency program, which lets anybody start a business from afar. It is even planning to launch ‘estcoins,’ its own cryptocurrency. Becoming a ‘digital resident’ of Estonia, Michael M. Richardson says, was “as easy as getting a fishing license… – Continue reading

Danish bank accused of Russia money laundering

Denmark’s top lender, Danske Bank, played an “organised” role in a Russian money-laundering scam, French prosecutors have said. The Tribunal de Grande Instance de Paris said the bank’s branch in Estonia helped to move €15 million of “money from organised fraud and tax evasion” in Russia into France and other… – Continue reading

EU Countries Seek Legislative End-Around on Digital Tech Tax

EU nations led by France and Italy reinforced the need for an “equalization tax” or turnover tax on large internet companies such as Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., and suggested they would use special legislative procedures to impose one in the event all 28 EU-member countries don’t back the levy…. – Continue reading

EU eyes corporate rules shake-up with law on seat transfer

The European Commission is preparing a new directive on the cross-border transfer of company headquarters, a move that could have far-reaching implications for other areas of corporate governance, including tax planning and cross-border mergers, EURACTIV has learned. With Brexit on the horizon, UK companies are busy weighing their options for… – Continue reading

OECD Criticizes Estonia’s Dividend Tax Measure

The OECD has taken issue with the Estonian Government’s plans to reduce the rate of tax on distributed dividends for established companies, warning that the measure could complicate the tax system and discriminate against small firms. Under recently enacted legislation, tax on distributed dividends will be reduced from 20 percent… – Continue reading

Donohoe says Ireland opposes ‘equalisation tax’ at EU meeting

The proposals plan to tax giant digital companies on turnover rather than profits EU finance ministers have agreed to step up technical work on harmonising the taxation of the giant digital companies with a view to debating “possible solutions” at their December meeting. The ministerial consensus was a significant setback… – Continue reading

EU Seeks a Digital Tax to Stem the ‘Bags of Money’ Lost to Loopholes

Finance ministers discuss new tax plans in Tallinn, Estonia France’s Le Maire says EU citizens ‘outraged’ by situation European Union finance ministers are developing a new way to tax digital companies such as Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook Inc. to raise money from an industry that they say provides less than… – Continue reading

Estonian Presidency to present the boldest plan to date against tax avoidance

The EU 28 financial ministers are set to discuss taxation of multinational digital platforms in Tallin on September 15-16, Reuters reports. Companies such as Amazon and Google have designed tax plans that reduce their tax liability in countries they operate. The proposal put forward by the Estonian Presidency proposes to… – Continue reading

Japan, Estonia Sign Double Tax Treaty

Japan and Estonia signed a convention to eliminate double taxation on cross-border trade and investment on August 30. The treaty sets out the taxing rights of both countries on cross-border income deriving from investment or trade between the two. It also provides for assistance in the collection of tax and… – Continue reading

Malta Outlines Last Offer on Public Country-by-Country Reports

European Union-based multinational companies that exceed consolidated revenue of 750 million euros ($840 million) for two consecutive years would have to report publicly on taxes paid, profits earned, and persons employed on a country-by-country basis, under a proposal from Malta. Malta holds the EU presidency, a position it will turn… – Continue reading

Gov’t keen to tax operations with offshore companies

Azerbaijan’s Taxes Minister Fazil Mammadov announced that operations with offshore companies are planned to be a subject of taxation in the country. Mammadov spoke about the changes to the Tax Code in a meeting of Azerbaijan’s parliamentary committee on economic affairs, industry and entrepreneurship. In tote, some 201 amendments and… – Continue reading

EU Mulls ‘Substance Test’ to Determine Zero-Rate Tax Havens

European Union member countries are considering a “substance test” to determine whether a country or jurisdiction with a zero corporate tax rate qualifies as a tax haven that doesn’t reflect “real economic activity.” After a host of EU member countries rejected in early November the use of a zero corporate… – Continue reading

Ireland braced for new EU corporate tax plan

A new EU corporate tax proposal could fundamentally change how multinationals pay their tax bills in Ireland. It comes at a sensitive time for the State, following so closely after the commission ruled phone giant Apple tapped illegal tax breaks worth around €13bn. In proposals to be unveiled tomorrow, the… – Continue reading

Finnish Royalties To Estonia No Longer Taxed

The Finnish Tax Administration has confirmed that the payment of Finnish-sourced royalties to taxpayers in Estonia are not subject to withholding tax under the Finland’s double tax avoidance treaty with the Baltic state. In a tax administration bulletin issued on October 3, the Finnish tax authority said that as of… – Continue reading

Irish Revenue Explains Estonia DTC Royalty Tax Changes

The Irish Revenue has issued a brief explaining how the implementation of a most favored nation clause in Ireland’s tax treaty with Estonia will affect the tax treatment of royalties. Ireland’s Double Tax Convention (DTC) with Estonia became effective in 1999. It contains a provision whereby the tax treatment of… – Continue reading

Bulgaria definitively removes Gibraltar from ‘tax haven’ list

Bulgaria has definitively removed Gibraltar from its ‘tax haven’ list following intensive lobbying by Albert Isola, Minister for Financial Services, and the Gibraltar Finance Bulgaria team. This change has been reflected in the updated lists published on the European Commission website under ‘Tax good governance in the world as seen… – Continue reading

All You Need to Know About Estonia’s E-Residency Program

Estonia has become the first country in the world to offer a transnational digital identity. It’s attracted the attention of entrepreneurs and digital nomads worldwide, but there’s still a huge amount of confusion about the benefits of the E-Residency Program and what e-residency actually means. Let’s take a look. What… – Continue reading

31 nations sign agreement on exchange of country-by-country transfer pricing reports

In an effort to provide their tax administrations with more tools to combat corporate tax avoidance through transfer pricing, officials from 31 countries today signed an agreement setting out the parameters for automatic exchange of country-by-country reports on large multinational corporations. The agreement — the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on… – Continue reading

Estonia cuts impact of tax evasion through incorporation by EUR 210,000 in 3 months

Largely as a result of interaction between the Estonian Tax and Customs Board and entrepreneurs on the subject of incorporation, 157 more people have started to pay payroll taxes and have paid altogether 210,000 euros in such taxes in three months, the tax authority said, cites LETA/BNS. “In connection with… – Continue reading

IP BOX: Italian and European Legal Framework

On 22 December 2014, the Italian Parliament approved the Budget for 2015.40 Among other measures, the Law introduces the possibility of an exemption from corporate income tax (IRES, generally levied at 27,5%) and local tax (IRAP, generally levied at 3,9%) on income derived from qualifying intangible assets (such as patents,… – Continue reading

Blacklisted HK: The Italian Case

More good news for Hong Kong before the end of 2015: Italy decided to remove Hong Kong from its national blacklist on November 30, 2015. Italy ratified a comprehensive agreement for the avoidance of double taxation (CDTA) signed with Hong Kong on June 18, 2015. Facilitating an early removal of… – Continue reading

Corporate taxation proposals: Malta ‘breaks silence on reservations’

Finance Minister Edward Scicluna pushes for ‘flexibility’ during today’s meeting of EU finance ministers in Brussels Malta has come out strongly against applying “rigid rules”, urging the European Commission to adopt a more flexible approach as it drafts legislation on taxation. Corporate tax was high on the agenda of EU… – Continue reading

Corporate tax revenues falling- OECD

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

Four further double taxation agreements with Iceland, Cyprus, Estonia and Uzbekistan in force

Bern, 11.24.2015 – Four additional double taxation agreements (DTAs) have entered into force between Switzerland and Cyprus, Iceland, Estonia and Uzbekistan. They contain provisions on mutual assistance in accordance with the internationally applicable standard. At the same time they promote the development of bilateral economic relations. With Cyprus, Switzerland has… – Continue reading

Blacklisted HK: The Spanish Case

The blacklisting saga did not start with Spain, but it did end with a timely correction related to it. Harbour Times explains how Hong Kong was taken off the Spanish tax haven list. Friends of Harbour Times would be familiar with the remedy of Hong Kong being named a non-cooperative… – Continue reading

France wants financial transactions tax accord in Brussels

France wants an agreement on a financial transactions tax (FTT) struck on Monday after a meeting of euro zone finance ministers, Finance Minister Michel Sapin said, reports Reuters. “We have done most of the technical work. I think the time has come to make a decision,” Sapin told reporters. “We… – Continue reading

Commentary: In face of ‘tax haven’ attack, CARICOM must unite

No member state of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) ranks among the top 20 jurisdictions worldwide for financial secrecy. The United States of America (at number 3), Germany (8), Japan (12) and Britain (15), all rate as bigger tax havens than any CARICOM jurisdiction, according to the Tax Justice Network (TJN),… – Continue reading

In face of ‘tax haven’ attack, CARICOM must unite | Sir Ronald Sanders

ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, Friday November 6, 2015 – No member state of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) ranks among the top 20 jurisdictions worldwide for financial secrecy. The United States of America (at number 3), Germany (8), Japan (12) and Britain (15), all rate as bigger tax havens than any CARICOM… – Continue reading

Blacklisted HK: The Latvian Case

The blacklisting of Hong Kong by the European Union is over for the moment with Spain explaining to the EU it didn’t have HK on its list. In the course of investigation, Harbour Times receives a quick response from the Latvian embassy in Beijing to clarify their stance on Hong… – Continue reading

Secret tax archives: UK joins move to block MEPs’ access

Treasury says making available documents detailing tax policies tailored for multinational firms would jeopardise ‘open and frank discussions’ The UK has joined Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Belgium in blocking attempts by a committee of MEPs to gain access to secret European archives that detail some of most controversial tax policies… – Continue reading

Comes to Switzerland on tax havens list?

Switzerland stands on a provisional Russian tax havens list: The document lists 119 countries and territories which do not ensure the exchange of tax information with Russia Russian authorities consider. If the document actually come into force as planned in the form of a regulation, threaten Russian investors in Switzerland… – Continue reading

Russia Wants to Put Austria on Tax Haven List

Austria is on the preliminary list of 119 countries and territories which from the point of view of Russian authorities don’t guarantee the exchange of tax information with Russia. If the document is implemented, as planned, in form of a resolution, Russian investors in Austria will face massive tax disadvantages… – Continue reading

Japan will start using electronic ID card following the Estonia

Prime Minister of Estonia Taavi Rõivas met on Friday with Japanese Economy Minister Akira Amari who came to visit Estonia to study Estonia’s e-services and they discussed the two countries closer trade relations and the development of the digital society, the government’s communication unit reports BC. Japan is the first… – Continue reading

Hong Kong’s tax co-operation status clarified by EC

Hong Kong (HKSAR) – The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government noted that the European Commission (EC) updated its webpage on October 12 on the listing of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions amongst the European Union (EU) Member States. After the Government’s liaison and clarification with relevant authorities, the technical error of… – Continue reading

ANCA Welcomes Congressman Ted Lieu’s Advocacy for a U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty

LOS ANGELES—The Armenian National Committee of America – Western Region (ANCA-WR) is expressing its appreciation to Congressman Ted Lieu for authoring a letter to U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew in support of a U.S.-Armenia Double Tax Treaty. The accord, if concluded, would, by limiting the prospect of double taxation, remove… – Continue reading

Commission Updates Info On EU Tax Blacklists

The European Commission has compiled an updated list of third countries that feature on the tax blacklists of European Union member states. The new list reflects changes in member states’ assessments of third countries’ standards, corrections to national lists, and Estonia’s decision to withdraw all countries from its blacklist. The… – Continue reading

Internal Revenue Service Begins Reciprocal Automatic Exchange of Tax Information Under FATCA IGAs

On October 2, 2015, the Internal Revenue Service announced that it had achieved a key milestone in implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), a critical anti-tax evasion law passed by Congress in 2010 but not fully implemented until July 2014. The milestone announced by the IRS was… – Continue reading

It’s Here; The Automatic Exchange of Information Under FATCA Began September 30th

The IRS has announced that as of September 30, 2015 it will implement the automatic exchange of tax information as set forth in the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, (FATCA). The IRS Commissioner in announcing the implementation of the automatic exchange of information stated: “This information exchange is part of… – Continue reading

High tax rate may deter global talent, warns Irish Tax Institute

Marginal rate ninth highest in 34 OECD countries, pre-budget submission claims Ireland risks deterring high- calibre foreign executives from moving here because of its relatively high tax rates, the Irish Tax Institute has warned. In a pre-budget submission, the institute said Ireland’s marginal tax rate of 52 per cent was… – Continue reading

EU blacklists Hong Kong as ‘non-cooperative tax jurisdiction’

Kenneth Leung (PC,F-Accountancy) explains what he – and the government – are doing to get Hong Kong off the EU’s undeserved blacklisting as a “non-cooperative tax jurisdiction”. Why has Hong Kong been placed on this list? There are ten European countries that have named Hong Kong as a tax haven…. – Continue reading

Italy sees progress on euro zone financial transactions tax

The finance ministers of 11 euro zone countries willing to introduce a financial transactions tax (FTT) are expected to make progress on the thorny issue in a meeting on Saturday in Luxembourg, Italy’s economy minister said. Germany and France proposed the tax in 2012, in the midst of the euro… – Continue reading

EU States Told To Address Widening VAT Gap

Tax Commissioner Pierre Moscovici has urged European Union (EU) member states to “take the steps needed to fight tax evasion and tax fraud,” after new figures showed that the value-added tax (VAT) gap did not narrow in 2013. According to a new Commission report, the total amount of VAT lost… – Continue reading