AFIP bureau will have access to data of companies such as Techint and Globant The AFIP tax bureau yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Luxembourg to share fiscal information between both countries, an arrangement that will begin from 2015. The MOU will give AFIP access to information of… – Continue reading
The amendments see the addition of new provisions that were determined based on the Ministry of Finance’s suggestions Abu Dhabi: Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs and Pierre Gramegna, Luxembourg’s Minister of Finance, today signed a protocol to amend the agreement on the avoidance of double… – 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
In June, the European Commission (“EC”) announced the opening of three investigations into tax rulings in Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands and, in particular, into tax rulings applied by Ireland to Apple, by Luxembourg to Fiat Finance and, last, by the Netherlands to Starbucks. In October 2014, the EC announced… – Continue reading
LUXEMBOURG — On the first floor of a rust-colored building near the main railway station, Marius Kohl spent years engineering this country’s most valuable export: tax relief. As head of a federal agency called Societes 6, Mr. Kohl approved thousands of tax arrangements for multinational corporations, sometimes helping them save… – Continue reading
On October 15th, 2014 the Minister for Finance announced the Luxembourg Budget 2015. The announcement followed the presentation made the day before by the Prime Minister Xavier Bettel who presented a policy statement entitled “Package for the Future” which provides some overall public finances policy statements for the period 2015… – Continue reading
European Union finance ministers have reached a breakthrough agreement that will make it more difficult for tax cheats to hide their money. The new legislation, which had been blocked for years by countries with a reputation as tax havens, was approved last week after Luxembourg and Austria agreed to lift… – Continue reading
On July 15th 2014, the OECD published its 2014 update of the Model Tax Convention (“2014 OECD Update”). This update is the outcome of the work accomplished between 2010 and the end of 2013. It does not however take into account the OECD conclusions of the “Action Plan on Base… – Continue reading
There has been a lot of press coverage recently around the pricing and tax arrangements of multinationals, in particular Apple, Starbucks and Amazon. In this respect, the EU is undertaking in-depth investigates into these companies to establish whether the companies’ tax arrangements have breached EU State Aid rules. These cases… – 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
A number of American corporations are making news, and not in a good way. They have announced mergers with foreign companies so they can avoid paying U.S. taxes. They are seeking what is called a “tax inversion” and it allows an American corporation to merge with a foreign corporation, move… – Continue reading
Ireland puts an end to a tax loophole that saved Google, Apple, Microsoft, and Facebook billions in taxes “Double Irish” might sound like a drink that corporate tax lawyers reach for at the prospect of paying higher tax bills, but it’s actually the name of a controversial — albeit legal… – Continue reading
The private equity owners of video games retailer Game used tax havens in the two years they owned it, accounts have revealed. US buyout group Elliott Advisors snapped up Game Group after it collapsed into administration in 2012. It set up Game Digital in April 2012 in a deal masterminded… – Continue reading
Europe’s antitrust regulator is encroaching on what has been the preserve of national governments. There’s a new tax sheriff in town. Europe’s top antitrust regulator, the Brussels-based European Commission, has launched an unexpected assault on what it suspects are sweetheart tax deals for multinational companies, plowing into an area traditionally… – Continue reading
The Isle of Man is showing great enthusiasm for crypto-currencies – from the landlord at a popular Douglas drinking hole to the Lieutenant Governor, everyone is talking about digital currency and the potentially huge benefits to the Island. The Isle of Man Financial Supervision Commission (FSC) has announced plans to… – Continue reading
LUXEMBOURG, Oct. 14 (Xinhua) — EU finance minister meeting concluded on Tuesday with breakthrough in taxation exchange information to fight against tax avoidance. Italian finance minister Pietro Carlo Padoan, whose country holds the presidency of the EU, told press after the meeting that the EU has planned to build a… – Continue reading
The screw is being turned on American companies that use complex structures to whittle down their tax bills. But is the latest EU probe a paper tiger or a game changer? It was supposed to be good news. Amazon’s announcement yesterday that it would hire 1,000 staff was dressed up… – 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
LUXEMBOURG’S financial elite gathered recently for the grand opening of its free port, which will soon house troves of fine art, vintage wine, precious metals and other valuables, beyond the reach of any taxman. The facility is one of the three finest of its kind, along with those in Singapore… – Continue reading
Vodafone has emerged victorious against the Indian taxman in the latest bout of litigation between the two. The important point for the rest of us being what it tells us about those endless claims of tax avoidance and tax evasion by large companies. It’s not just that large amounts of… – Continue reading
The European Commission’s recent action to crack down on special deals some European Union governments offer to corporations could be a blow to multinational corporations’ tax-dodging strategies. As we noted in a report earlier this year, three European countries (Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) are among the top twelve tax… – Continue reading
European body adds another high-profile name to its crackdown on multinationals’ tax avoidance in bloc. The European Union is broadening its crackdown on multinationals’ tax avoidance schemes, opening an investigation yesterday into Amazon’s practices on suspicion the online retailer is not paying its dues on profits made across the 28-nation… – Continue reading
There are reportedly about to be major moves in the fight against tax evasion within the European Union. The region’s finance ministers are said to be close to an agreement on automatic sharing of bank data so that the authorities could spot tax dodging or illicit money flows more easily…. – Continue reading
LONDON – The Espírito Santo Financial Group, which at one point held about 25 percent of the bailed-out Portuguese lender Banco Espírito Santo, said on Thursday that it would file for bankruptcy after it was denied creditor protection by a Luxembourg court last week. Espírito Santo Financial is part of… – Continue reading
(CS) As part of a European tour organised by Republicans Overseas, US Senator Mike Lee on Tuesday visited Luxembourg to rally support for the repeal of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, more commonly known as FATCA. Luxembourg and the US signed FATCA as an inter-governmental agreement in March this… – Continue reading
Amazon’s tax arrangements with Luxembourg are being investigated by E.U. regulators, as the online retailer becomes the latest global company to be accused of striking tax-minimising deals with member states that may break bloc rules. Corporate tax avoidance has come under the spotlight on both sides of the Atlantic in… – Continue reading
Amazon, the online retailer, is to face a formal investigation into its European corporate tax practices, the European Commission has announced. The Commission – the executive division of the 28-member European Union – says it will look at the tax agreement made between Amazon and Luxembourg. It suspects the deal… – Continue reading
Amazon is believed to have exploited a slightly different tax loophole in Luxemborg to wash away most local taxes The European Union (EU) made waves late last month when its antitrust regulators — a part of the trade-regulating body known as the European Commission (EC) — issued a preliminary finding… – Continue reading
The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation to examine whether the decision by Luxembourg’s tax authorities with regard to the corporate income tax to be paid by Amazon in Luxembourg comply with the EU rules on state aid. The opening of an in-depth investigation gives interested third parties and… – Continue reading
(CS) As part of a European tour organised by Republicans Overseas, US Senator Mike Lee on Tuesday visited Luxembourg to rally support for the repeal of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, more commonly known as FATCA. Luxembourg and the US signed FATCA as an inter-governmental agreement in March this… – 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 Californian corporation is Cork’s largest private employer, but has not won over all local hearts and minds. Now the city is at the heart of a fight over taxation that involves not just Ireland but also the European commission and the US senate Anger is mounting in Cork. The… – Continue reading
On Tuesday, September 30, 2014, the European Commission (the Commission) published its decision to open an investigation intoIreland’s transfer pricing practices. The Commission is also reviewing the transfer pricing practices of other EU Member States, including the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Any advanced pricing agreement (APA) or other tax ruling within the EU… – Continue reading
Fiat-Chrysler (FIA.MI) reiterated on Thursday that a tax agreement granted by Luxembourg to one of its subsidiaries was legitimate and said the potential financial impact of a European Commission probe into the matter would not be significant. A tax concession that Luxembourg authorities granted to Fiat Finance and Trade in… – 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
American technology companies are suddenly living in fear. European governments are finally standing up to the power of these giants that are happy to talk about the benefits their digital products and services bring to society while being accused of not paying their fair share of corporation tax, not doing… – Continue reading
BRUSSELS : The European Union’s tax investigation of Luxembourg focuses on a single unit of the Italian auto company Fiat. But the implications of the inquiry could in some ways be more far-reaching for multinational companies and their tax accounting than the bloc’s separate Apple-Ireland inquiry, experts said Tuesday. “I… – Continue reading
eBay accused of tax avoidance, but insists it complies with letter of the law By Emma Woollacott, Sep 29, 2014Updated: September 30, 2014 7:24 AM Online auction site eBay got away with paying just £620,000 in tax on sales of over £1.3 billion last year, its latest accounts reveal. The… – Continue reading
The European Commission’s crackdown on the deal between Irish tax authorities and Apple Inc. marks an expansion in the growing global war on tax avoidance by multinational companies. Governments that enable it are now a target. Tuesday, the European Commission said the Irish tax authorities failed to conform to international… – 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. Brussels has challenged Luxembourg over a tax ruling offering potentially illicit support to a Fiat subsidiary, opening a… – Continue reading
The European Union has accused Ireland of swerving international tax rules by letting Apple shelter profits worth tens of billions of dollars from revenue collectors in return for maintaining jobs. European Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia told the Dublin government in a letter published on Tuesday that tax deals agreed in… – Continue reading
The European Commission is expected to announce today that Apple, now one of the world’s biggest listed companies, got special treatment from the Irish authorities, when the American company sought assurances on tax issues in 1991 and 2007 – – from the latter year, Apple’s foreign tax rate tumbled compared… – 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
(AFP) The European Union is to accuse US tech giant Apple of taking illegal aid from the Irish state through sweetheart tax deals over two decades, the Financial Times reported Monday. A European Commission investigation into Apple’s tax affairs in Ireland, where it has enjoyed a rate of less than… – Continue reading
European regulators are set to examine whether Apple violated EU law by striking special tax deals with the Irish government. The European Commission opened an initial investigation into Apple’s tax affairs in June, looking at whether the company’s two percent tax rate in Ireland — far less than the standard 12.5… – 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/f0564d62-4803-11e4-b5ad-00144feab7de.html#ixzz3EsBYd5vW Technology companies “that go to extraordinary lengths” to cut their tax… – Continue reading
