The Seychelles is the latest country to commit to the automatic exchange of tax information as part of a scheme piloted by the Group of Five (G5) nations. The G5 pilot is aimed at deterring and cracking down on tax evasion. The five countries – the UK, France, Germany, Spain,… – Continue reading
Another example of the “Too Big to Jail” doctrine: International tax evasion and fraud organised by UBS, Switzerland’s biggest bank. UBS, which had to be saved from failure in October 2008 by massive injections of Swiss public money, was involved in the LIBOR manipulation scandal, the currency markets manipulation scandal… – Continue reading
Agreement comes into force at beginning of 2015, also states that Holocaust survivors are exempt from taxes on compensation. By Efrat Neuman | Aug. 29, 2014 | 12:47 PM While war was raging between Israel and Hamas, Finance Minister Yair Lapid made a low-profile trip to Germany this month, officially… – Continue reading
This article was first published in the 2nd quarter 2014 edition of Personal Finance magazine. Most people accept that they have to pay taxes in their country of residence. But citizens of the United States and green card holders who live outside that country – even if they have never… – Continue reading
Israeli Finance Minister Yair Lapid and his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schäuble, signed a revised German-Israeli double taxation agreement in Berlin on August 21, 2014, according to a recent announcement from the German finance ministry. The convention, which was last amended in 1977, has been adapted to make it correspond to… – 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
Potential inversion deal highlights dropping corporate taxes in Canada, now the lowest among 10 countries, with the U.S. in 5th place. Fast-food giant Burger King faced anger from both Washington and average Americans Monday, a day after it announced that it was in talks to buy Tim Hortons and relocate… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: G-20, a group of developed and developing nations, is likely to press for adoption of “rapid timelines” by different countries for automatic sharing of information with a view to curb tax evasion. The issue of automatic sharing of tax information would figure prominently during the meeting of G-20… – Continue reading
Ireland can adopt ‘wait-and-see’ approach on tax breaks, says Department of Finance Ireland supports the EU review of all patent box regimes – under which certain member states offer tax breaks for intellectual property – and has decided to take a “wait-and-see approach” on the issue until guidance is provided… – Continue reading
Northern Ireland looks set to be handed the power to slash corporation tax in a move with the potential to significantly boost our stuttering economy. In a development which could transform international investment, senior sources in London and Belfast predict that an announcement will be made no later than October… – Continue reading
Germany’s Ministry of Finance announced that a law enabling the implementation of the United States’ Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) has come into force. The ministry said that the FATCA-USA Implementation Regulation, known in German as FATCA-USA-Umsetzungsverordnung or FATCA-USA-UmsV, entered into force on July 23, 2014. Germany signed the… – Continue reading
Swiss banking giant UBS has agreed to pay Germany a hefty fine for its involvement in helping German clients hide money from tax authorities. It’s the biggest fine ever paid to the country by a Swiss lender. Zurich-based UBS confirmed Tuesday it had settled investigation charges of aiding German clients… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – German customs authorities in the Port of Hamburg have confiscated documents that may contain information about the accounts of suspected tax evaders, German media reported on Saturday. Two containers with around 14,000 documents inside were confiscated at the end of May, with some coming from a branch of… – Continue reading
In brief On 28 March 2014, China and Germany entered into a new double taxation agreement (DTA) and protocol (together referred to as ‘the new DTA’). The new DTA results in an extensive revision of the currently applicable treaty signed in 1985 (1985 DTA). The key changes include extending the… – Continue reading
Former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness began a 3-1/2-year jail sentence on Monday after being convicted in March of evading $40 million in taxes, German media reported on Monday. The state prosecutor in Munich declined to comment on the report and said there would be no official confirmation. Daily Bild… – Continue reading
The tax evasion trial and conviction of former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness triggered a wave of self-disclosures resulting in 16,926 tax dodgers turning themselves in during the first four months of the year, a newspaper reported on Sunday. The Welt am Sonntag newspaper said it had surveyed finance authorities in Germany’s… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: After resisting for more than three years, the Centre on Tuesday revealed names of 18 people in the Supreme Court who allegedly stashed black money with LST bank in Liechtenstein and against whom prosecution have been launched by the income tax department. Centre also placed in a sealed… – Continue reading
New Delhi – The government Tuesday disclosed to the Supreme Court the names of 26 people who had accounts in banks in Liechtenstein, revealed to India by German authorities. A bench of Justice H.L.Dattu, Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai and Justice Madan B. Lokur were given these names by Solicitor General… – Continue reading
BERLIN — The high-profile tax evasion trial against former Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness has prompted a surge in the number of Germans turning themselves in to authorities for failing to properly declare their taxes. Munich daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung reported Wednesday that some 13,000 sought to escape prosecution by submitting… – Continue reading
After several rounds of negotiations, on 28 March 2014, a new Double Taxation Treaty (“new DTT”) was signed between the governments of the PRC and Germany to replace the old DTT which was signed by both governments on 10 June 1985. The new DTT incorporates new elements of a typical… – Continue reading
The Treasury Department added 19 nations to its list of countries that have reached agreements with the U.S. on carrying out a far-reaching law aimed at preventing offshore tax dodging by American citizens. The Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service said the 19 nations – including Australia, Brazil, South Africa… – Continue reading
A looming global crackdown on aggressive tax avoidance is set to stop internet companies slashing bills by routing profits to havens. Plans to “restore taxation” in the countries where digital companies make their sales and base their headquarters were set out on Monday in the first international response to the… – Continue reading
Ghana and Denmark have signed a Double Taxation Agreement, moving the bilateral cooperation between the two countries to another level. A Double Taxation Agreement regulates the tax treatment of income or capital gains in situations where the same taxpayer is subject to tax in two states with respect to the… – Continue reading
European Union competition watchdogs ordered Luxembourg to hand over details of tax breaks for businesses after they said the Grand Duchy was hindering a state-aid probe spanning several EU nations. Luxembourg refused to deliver details concerning the 100 largest companies benefiting from a special program for companies whose profits stem… – Continue reading
As 2008 began, the future looked brilliant for green energy giant Suntech Power and its high-flying founder, Shi Zhengrong. Suntech was one of the world’s largest makers of solar panels, the first non-state-owned Chinese company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. And Shi, born to a farm family so… – Continue reading
An inability to open a bank account is not news for everyone in Hong Kong. Just ask the long-suffering American residents. “Nobody wants to deal with the US citizen account signatory, whether it is a company account or an account for my own financial needs,” said Ross Feingold, a director… – Continue reading
The Canada-BVI Tax Information Exchange Agreement (“TIEA”) came into force on 11 March 2014. The TIEA was signed in May 2013, and the effective date provisions are set out in Article 13 of the Agreement. The BVI is now party to 25 TIEAs. What are the benefits? The BVI/Canada TIEA is significant due… – Continue reading
Corporate Tax Avoidance: Inditex, the Spanish owner of Zara, this week announced its first fall in annual profits in five years as the world’s biggest fashion retailer invested in stores while foreign exchange rates moved against it. However, Amancio Ortega Gaona, founding chairman of Inditex, with a stake of 60%… – Continue reading
MUNICH, Germany — German prosecutors said Monday they won’t appeal against Uli Hoeness’ 3 1/2-year sentence for tax evasion, clearing the way for the former Bayern Munich president to start his prison term. Hoeness, one of German football’s most prominent figures, was convicted last Thursday of evading about 28.5 million… – Continue reading
BERLIN — When all of his cards were played and Uli Hoeness, the Bayern Munich president and German soccer legend, faced the prospect of a protracted and high-profile appeal of his conviction on charges of tax evasion, he chose to take his punishment. In a surprise move that came hours… – Continue reading
Georgian Finance Minister Nodar Khaduri and Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Germany to Georgia Ortwin Hennig will sign a protocol to amend the Agreement on liquidation of double taxation between Germany and Georgia on March 10. Khaduri and Hennig will also sign an agreement on financial cooperation and specific… – Continue reading
The inevitable march towards automatic exchange of information (AEI) as the Organization for Economic and Cooperation’s (OECD) global standard was just one of the issues discussed at a recent international tax conference held in Liechtenstein. During his address, Head of the OECD International Cooperation and Tax Administration Division, Achim Pross,… – Continue reading
LONDON — If you don’t want something, giving it back is often an option. That’s precisely what some Americans, frustrated at what they see as onerous U.S. tax filing obligations for Americans living overseas, are doing with their citizenship. “I felt like I had gotten a divorce,” says Donna-Lane Nelson,… – Continue reading
BERLIN: German football legend Uli Hoeness (pix), boss of champion club Bayern Munich, will face a high-profile tax evasion trial from Monday, accused of having stashed away millions in Switzerland. The folksy 62-year-old Bavarian club president, who also runs a flourishing sausage company, was arrested and bailed almost a year ago… – Continue reading
Think your taxes are confusing? Ha! Try living and working abroad as a U.S. citizen. As the following guest column details, even something as seemingly ordinary as participating in a pension plan can create huge tax complications. (For less esoteric advice on preparing your 1040 for 2013 and minimizing your… – Continue reading
Senior German lawmakers on Sunday called for tougher rules to make it harder for tax cheats to claim amnesty by turning themselves in, days after soccer manager Uli Hoeness was sentenced for 3-1/2 years in prison for tax evasion. Recent news that Hoeness and other prominent Germans such as feminist… – Continue reading
Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness, once one of Germany’s most admired managers, goes on trial on Monday charged with tax evasion in a case that has shocked the nation and changed attitudes towards paying taxes. Hoeness, 62, who helped turn Bayern Munich into one of the world’s most respected clubs and won… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: As part of its strategy to curb offshore tax evasion and promote foreign investment, India has recently operationalised seven new Income Tax Overseas Units (ITOUs) in countries like Germany, USA and France. A similar Income Tax office in Cyprus has, however, not been activated as India, last year in November, classified the island nation… – Continue reading
Gibraltar lawmakers unanimously approved new legislation that will dramatically expand Gibraltar’s network of agreements for the exchange of tax information. The legislation implements OECD’s Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters in Gibraltar ahead of the March 1 deadline. The move is part of the Government of Gibraltar’s policy… – Continue reading
Luxembourg has been widely hailed as an international investment center for years. The Association of the Luxembourg Fund Industry (ALFI) provides a number of reasons underlying the country’s designation as a top fund-industry choice. Its legal and regulatory framework for investment funds is recognized for its excellence by the global… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Plans to make companies reveal how much tax they pay country by country were abandoned on Wednesday, knocking back the efforts of lawmakers who had pushed to curb tax avoidance by multinational businesses. Schemes used by Starbucks (SBUX.O), Apple (AAPL.O), Amazon (AMZN.O) and other corporations operating within the… – Continue reading
Switzerland must adopt a position on sharing bank client data with foreign tax authorities more quickly than originally thought and cannot hold back until all other countries have introduced the practice, its finance minister told a Swiss newspaper. So far, 42 countries have declared an interest in automatically sharing information… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Swiss bank UBS is prepared to pay a fine of up to 200 million euros ($274.5 million) in an investigation of alleged tax avoidance by the lender’s German clients, a German newspaper reported on Tuesday. The German authorities originally demanded 300 million euros from UBS, but a compromise… – Continue reading
Zara’s celebrity chic helps make its Spanish parent company, Inditex SA, the world’s biggest fashion retailer. Singer Taylor Swift, reality-television personality Kim Kardashian and Kate Middleton, Prince William’s wife, have all been spotted wearing the stylish, low-cost brand. Another reason for Inditex’s industry-best profit margins of almost 15 percent: the… – Continue reading
Back in April 2013, the G5 Governments agreed to work together on a pilot scheme on multilateral and standardized exchange of tax information, with a new initiative on information exchange, based on the so-called FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) exchange model. Luxembourg, Liechtenstein, Malta, Greece, Iceland and Colombia have… – Continue reading
Parliament unanimously approved new legislation on Friday that will dramatically expand Gibraltar’s network of agreements for the exchange of tax information. The legislation implements the OECD’s Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters in Gibraltar ahead of the March 1 deadline. The move is part of the Government of… – Continue reading
Group-of-20 nations agreed to implement a global standard for automatically exchanging information between tax authorities by the end of 2015, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said. The endorsement is a step toward putting an end to “banking secrecy as we know it,” Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the OECD’s… – Continue reading
The days of multinational companies being able to use the Double Irish Dutch Sandwich to avoid taxation may soon be coming to an end, with the G20 group of nations looking to create a reporting standard to allow for automatic exchange of tax information. In the official communique coming at the end… – Continue reading
Congress is on a roll, trying to track down hidden offshore accounts, and the latest news is a report that shows which states have the most taxpayers disclosing such accounts (California is No. 1), and where they are located (Switzerland is tops). All told, taxpayers in at least 45 states… – Continue reading
It’s a u-turn, but unavoidable: bankers and politicians are preparing for the automatic exchange of tax information. Switzerland has helped develop the new standard, which the OECD wants to fast-track worldwide. The days when Swiss finance ministers said banking secrecy was non-negotiable and carved in stone are over. Switzerland has… – Continue reading
