The automatic exchange of information on financial accounts around the world is coming. More than fifty countries have committed to this at an international tax conference hosted by Federal Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble. The exchange of information now agreed will make it easier for fiscal authorities to obtain information about… – Continue reading
(BERLIN) – The finance ministers of around 50 countries meet in Berlin on Wednesday to sign a deal they hope will put an end to banking secrecy and aid the worldwide fight against tax fraud and evasion. “Banking secrecy, in its old form, is obsolete,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble… – Continue reading
The European Court of Justice has ruled against Italian gambling tax legislation, which taxes winnings from games of chance that are obtained in other EU member states but exempts such winnings obtained in Italy. The Court said that by exempting from income tax only winnings from games of chance obtained… – Continue reading
Supreme court reverses decision against fashion duo, who had been sentenced to imprisonment The Italian supreme court on Friday overturned fraud convictions and 18-month jail terms against celebrated fashion duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, their company announced. “We have always been honest and we are extremely proud of this… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Italy’s top court cleared fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana on Friday over charges of hiding hundreds of millions of euros from Italian tax authorities. Two lower courts had previously convicted the pair, who are as famous as the stars they dress, on allegations that they used… – Continue reading
With the announced end of banking secrecy for non-residents, the time has come to make use of favourable repatriation schemes, such as the voluntary disclosure regime in Italy. Despite increasing pressure for fiscal transparency and exchange of information, beneficial owners still have a choice: move the capital out (of Luxembourg),… – Continue reading
By the wide margin of a 250-76 vote on October 16, the Chamber of Deputies of the Italian Parliament passed a decree law to introduce a voluntary disclosure program for undeclared assets and funds held abroad or in Italy. Under the new program, such taxpayers would be allowed to declare… – Continue reading
The European Union Court of Justice (CJEU), Europe’s highest court in matters of EU law, ruled against the Italian government in a dispute related to the Italian taxation on gambling. According to the CJEU, Italy’s tax legislation operates in conflict with Article 52 and Article 56 of the Treaty on… – Continue reading
Switzerland and Italy may agree amendments to their existing double tax agreement by spring 2015, Vieri Ceriani, Italy’s chief negotiator, has said. With the appointment of a new Government in Italy, Ceriani said that the provisions being sought by Italy, in particular on the division of taxes collected from Italian… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Italian luxury fashion house Prada SpA said on Monday its chairwoman Miuccia Prada and her husband, chief executive officer and fellow shareholder Patrizio Bertelli, are being investigated by Italian authorities over past taxes. The Hong Kong-listed company said in a statement it had been informed by the Italian… – 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
(Reuters) – Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Monday promised sweeping tax and spending cuts to help boost growth and jobs next year, as the European Commission considers whether to reject his budget plan for reducing debt too slowly. Speaking to a conference of business leaders, Renzi said he would… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Italian and Swiss ministers clashed on Monday over the failure to reach an agreement aimed at fighting tax evasion that foresees Switzerland opening up its bank databases to Italian tax authorities. Both Italian Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan and Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said they spoke on… – Continue reading
Illegal Gambling Crackdown in Italy…A “Report on Tax Evasion“ Illegal Gambling Crackdown in Italy…A “Report on Tax Evasion“ Italy’s Report on Tax Evasion Runs Gamut on GamblingItaly is cracking down on illegal gambling operations. Pier Carlo Padoan, Italian Finance Minister, has disclosed the chain of new procedures that is being… – Continue reading
SOUTH African property punters are still making more money offshore than in their own backyards — in both rand and dollar terms. Latest figures from Cape-based Catalyst Fund Managers and UBS show that global property stocks, or real estate investment trusts (Reits) as they are commonly known, delivered a total… – Continue reading
The Italian tax authorities have been intensifying their focus on transfer prices involving financial intercompany transactions such as loans. Multinational corporations frequently resort to such transactions to optimise and rationalise the financial management of the entire group. In certain cases, the said optimisation tools pertaining to intercompany financial resources may… – Continue reading
The reputation of Italian family businesses will escape unscathed despite news of yet another high-profile family being hit by allegations of tax avoidance, according to a family business academic. This week, family-owned Prada announced that its two chief executives, Miuccia Prada and Patrizio Bertelli, are under investigation for inconsistent tax… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Tax evasion in Italy costs the country around 91 billion euros (70.91 billion pounds) every year, equal to about six percent of national output, the economy ministry said on Wednesday. Rampant tax evasion is considered one of the biggest problems of the euro zone’s third largest economy, which… – Continue reading
Troubled Italian fashion giant Prada stonewalled questions over its tax affairs on Monday after it emerged that its top two executives are being investigated for allegedly not disclosing many millions in overseas earnings to Italian authorities. Chinese fashion titans look to Italy for value (29 Sep 14) Global fashion circus… – Continue reading
Troubled Italian fashion giant Prada stonewalled questions over its tax affairs on Monday after it emerged that its top two executives are being investigated for allegedly not disclosing many millions in overseas earnings to Italian authorities. Chinese fashion titans look to Italy for value (29 Sep 14) Global fashion circus… – Continue reading
Prada shares have also lost 30% of their value this year because of weak investor sentiment Continue reading the main story Related Stories Prada profit hit by fall in sales Prada shares fall on luxury warning The fashion business Prada’s two chief executives are being investigated by Italian authorities for… – Continue reading
Italian judge rules Cellino guilty of ‘Machiavellian’ tax evasion • Football League rules bar club owners convicted of dishonesty • Cellino’s lawyer says judge’s ruling is ‘full to the brim of errors’ • How an elegant yacht became vital to Leeds United’s future • Cellino: I don’t know why I… – Continue reading
Luxury brand came under investigation after routing €680m through its Irish unit Apple and Google are names regularly cited when it comes to using Ireland for aggressive tax planning, but the practice is open to a much wider range of businesses. Bulgari, the Italian jewellery giant whose products were made… – Continue reading
Remember the study last year that ranked our tax code right below Zimbabwe? Now, a new study by the Tax Foundation still ranks us near last. Zimbabwe wasn’t a part of this contest, since the new study looked only at the 34 countries making up the OECD. Still, we have… – Continue reading
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
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
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
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
Recently announced proposals by the Italian government to abolish withholding tax on loan interest payments and lift restrictions on direct lending to Italian companies are expected to give a major boost to the country’s loan market. The moves should make it much easier and cheaper for foreign banks and other… – Continue reading
Seven-year program targets deep water reserves. MILAN, Italy, June 27 (UPI) –Italian energy company Eni said it signed an agreement with PetroVietnam to explore the deep waters off the coast of Vietnam for the next seven years. “This new agreement confirms Eni’s interest to continue and consolidate its presence in… – Continue reading
The judges who found Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana guilty of tax evasion in April have spoken up, saying that they believe the designers were aware of the dealings. “It is not at all believable that the designers, once made aware of the project [to avoid Italian taxes], could feel… – Continue reading
Tax breaks for Apple Inc. (AAPL:US), Starbucks Corp. (SBUX:US) and Fiat Finance & Trade SA in three European Union countries are under investigation by EU competition regulators in a clampdown on special treatment for companies. The EU is checking whether the tax deals in Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are illegal state aid, according to… – Continue reading
The Italian Supreme Court ruled, on April 16, that all transactions carried out between companies belonging to the same Group, and all of which have offices in Italy, are subject to the arm’s length principle. Ruling No. 8869 confirmed once more the Supreme Court’s position already expressed through Ruling No…. – Continue reading
The Decree Law No. 145 of December 23, 2013 (ratified by Law No. 9 of February 21, 2014) broadens the scope of the international ruling procedure. The main area of application is transfer pricing, in particular advance pricing agreements, but it may also apply to (i) the attribution of income… – Continue reading
MILAN: Fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were each given a reduced, suspended sentence of 18 months in jail on Wednesday for a conviction on charges of hiding hundreds of millions of euros from Italian tax authorities. Italy’s appeals court upheld a verdict issued last June against the pair,… – 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
Expats should put their financial affairs in order while they have the chance as governments around the world prepare a global tax net aimed at wiping out avoidance. The operation is headed by the Organisation of Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and closely follows the lines of the controversial US… – 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
Tax Avoidance/ Evasion: On Wednesday George Osborne, UK chancellor, proposed new rules in his Budget 2014 statement to reduce the opportunities for rich individuals and companies to avoid or evade personal and corporate taxes. Also this week, two prominent US senators wrote to the Justice Department to seek extradition of about 30… – 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
OECD tax director Pascal Saint-Amans has played down concerns that the United States might resist plans to make multinational companies such as Apple and Starbucks pay more tax, arguing that governments must move quickly to close multibillion-dollar loopholes or risk ordinary citizens losing faith in their taxation systems. Mr Saint-Amans… – Continue reading
The largest US-based companies added $206 billion to their stockpiles of offshore profits last year, parking earnings in low-tax countries until Congress gives them a reason not to. The multinational companies have accumulated $1.95 trillion outside the US, up 11.8 per cent from a year earlier, according to securities filings… – Continue reading
BEIJING – Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprises (WFOEs) are able to repatriate funds out of China in a variety of forms, for which tax implications vary according to the form of repatriation used and the Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) in place between China and the recipient country. The four most commonly… – 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
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
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
