November 14: The European Commission (EC) today released a “non-confidential version” of its June 2014 EC decision to open an in-depth investigation concerning whether certain transfer pricing arrangements of a multinational entity with the Dutch tax authorities constitute state aid that is contrary to EU law. The investigation is identified… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: In the first ever ruling relating to taxation of black money stashed in overseas tax havens, the Mumbai bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has given the taxman a lot to cheer. Funds aggregating $2.4 million (Rs 11.73 crore approximately) as of December 31, 2001, held in… – Continue reading
This offshore illegal scam showed that, in Ireland as elsewhere, taxes really were for the “little people”. The facts emerged as a by-product of the tribunal directed by Mr Justice Brian McCracken in 1997. It was set up to trace payments by supermarket magnate Ben Dunne to Fianna Fail’s Charlie… – Continue reading
A WHISTLEBLOWER claimed former Tanaiste Mary Harney “shut down” his investigation into allegations of offshore tax evasion after he uncovered the names of senior politicians in the Progressive Democrats, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, the Dail has heard. It is the first time Ms Harney’s party, the now defunct PDs,… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands is touted as one of the world’s top 10 finance hubs. The chief reason that the Caribbean hotspot holds such cachet is an epic perk it provides – freedom from income tax. twitter To get more Money more often, why not follow us on Twitter? We’re @FairfaxMoney… – Continue reading
Committee cannot examine civil servant’s claims about offshore accounts The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has been told there is no legal basis for it to examine the tax evasion claims made by a civil servant in the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation. The committee has also been given legal… – Continue reading
NEIL CHENOWETH Global accounting firm PwC was advising the Australian Taxation Office how to run its transfer pricing unit at the same time that its Luxembourg office was cutting favourable tax agreements for Australian companies. Luxembourg documents show PwC obtained secret tax agreements for more than 30 Australian companies in… – Continue reading
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has nominated global tax avoidance as one of the key issues on the agenda for this weekend’s G20 summit in Brisbane. Major companies including Google and Apple have faced strong criticism over their efforts to lower their tax bills by shifting profits to jurisdictions with low… – Continue reading
Future Fund chairman Peter Costello has defended the amount of tax the sovereign wealth fund pays, saying it has ‘sovereign immunity’ when it invests overseas. The government-owned Fund was named along with other Australian companies for using Luxembourg as a base in which to lower global taxes in one of… – Continue reading
Members of the European Parliament called for action on tax avoidance in Europe on Wednesday. A report released earlier this month by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists documented secret deals arranged with multinational corporations, enabling them to avoid paying tax in Luxembourg. Hundreds of major corporations like Pepsi, IKEA… – Continue reading
The General Court of the European Union has ruled in Spain’s favor regarding the country’s use of tax breaks to support companies acquiring foreign shareholdings. According to the Spanish law on corporation tax, where a company which is taxable in Spain, acquires a shareholding in a “foreign company” of at… – Continue reading
New research from international law firm Pinsent Masons has shown that the compliance yield from HM Revenue and Customs’ (HMRC’s) “Specialist Investigations” team rose by 23 percent last year to hit a record GBP3.65bn (USD5.79bn). 2013-14 was the team’s most successful year to date, according to Pinsent Masons. The GBP3.65bn… – Continue reading
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Shantelle P. Kitchen, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), announced today the indictment of MARTIN DUNKI, a former client advisor and Senior Vice… – Continue reading
Prague, Nov 13 (ČTK) — The EU is a safe haven guaranteeing stability and prosperity to the Czech Republic, Czech Prime Minister Bohuslav Sobotka said at the opening of the National Convention on the EU today. In his speech, Sobotka also criticized the non-observance of the rules and the existence… – Continue reading
Proposals to extend capital gains and investment income tax exemptions under Portugal’s Non-Habitual Residents Tax Regime have not been passed, say government officials It seems that the Portuguese government has shelved plans, at least for 2015, to extend capital gains and investment income taxation exemptions. However, officials say they are… – Continue reading
The departure of a multi-national giant from Manx shores will have no effect on our VAT revenue share, Treasury chiefs insist. As an Isle of Man Examiner investigation revealed back in January 2011, Procter & Gamble’s unassuming office at Brewery Court in Castletown was the unlikely hub of a global… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Regulators fined six major banks a total of $4.3 billion for failing to stop traders from trying to manipulate the foreign exchange market, following a yearlong global investigation. HSBC Holdings Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, JPMorgan Chase & Co, Citigroup Inc, UBS AG and Bank of… – Continue reading
NGO report calls for central listing of beneficial owners of EU firms and trusts The European Union should introduce a centralised public register revealing the identities of beneficial owners of companies and trusts, according to a pan-European report to be published today. Hidden Taxes: the EU’s Role in Supporting an… – Continue reading
MINSK, 12 November (BelTA) – Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko has approved a draft intergovernmental agreement between Belarus and Georgia on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of evasion of income and capital taxes as a basis for further talks, BelTA learned from the presidential press service. The Ministry of Taxes… – Continue reading
The European Union’s 28 member states are seeking agreement on the proposed introduction of a common anti-abuse clause in the Parent-Subsidy Directive (2011/96/EU). The plans were discussed at a meeting of the EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) on November 7, 2014. The proposed anti-abuse clause would allow member… – Continue reading
A new report on tax transparency across 15 EU states highlights hidden profits People in Europe and in developing countries are being robbed. One trillion euro is lost to tax dodging every year in the EU, with billions being lost from developing countries each year for the same reason. It… – Continue reading
THERE IS NO single policy or solution that can prevent the occurrence of tax avoidance because there is no single cause for the phenomenon, according to Devereux Tax Chambers barrister Jolyon Maugham. Speaking at the ICAEW’s Hardman Lecture, Maugham told the institute’s members that “plugging holes” in the tax code… – Continue reading
November 12: Danish companies subject to Danish corporate income tax generally must withhold tax at a rate of 27% on dividend distributions, but the rate of the withholding tax may be reduced to 15% when dividends are distributed to Danish domiciled investments funds that are known as “IMBs” (i.e., investment… – Continue reading
The UK has agreed to put forward a proposal to close its patent box tax break, which allows income from the commercial exploitation of intellectual property (IP) to be taxed at 10%, in a concession to German concerns about artificial shifting of profits between European countries.12 Nov 2014 Intellectual Property… – Continue reading
In March 2014 the Russian Ministry of Finance published a draft anti-offshore law which is currently submitted for consideration by The State Duma (parliament) with the decision expected to be made by the end of 2014. Russia is aiming to clamp down on the use of foreign offshore tax shelters… – Continue reading
The European Union should harmonize tax practices better to counter the sweet deals that countries like Luxembourg have used to attract multinationals and the super-rich, the EU’s executive chief said Wednesday. European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker denied allegations that he was part of the problem since he had been prime… – Continue reading
Patent boxes allow firms to pay much lower taxes on profits from patented inventions, but critics say it gives UK too much of a fiscal advantage George Osborne’s move removes one of the potential flash points between the UK and Germany before this week’s G20 summit in Brisbane. Photograph: Pa… – Continue reading
Northern Ireland is a serious player in the international market to attract more foreign investment. The comprehensive requirement: can Northern Ireland offer a competitive combination of access to markets, favourable domestic costs including employment costs, an adequate infrastructure base, a stable society and taxation policies that help to ensure attractive… – Continue reading
The European Union should complete its four tax probes before it can “decide what to do next,” EU Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager said. “Maybe in the beginning of the second quarter of next year we will have results on at least some of those open cases,” Vestager told reporters after… – Continue reading
Official ‘offered €20,000’ to wrap up tax evasion probe GARDAI have now received 5,500 pages of files relating to allegations of tax-evasion by holders of Ansbacher accounts. Jobs Minister Richard Bruton forwarded the allegations of a whistleblower in his department to the gardai last night. The documents have been sent… – Continue reading
There must be a level playing field when it comes to taxation so that Gibraltar will suffer the burdens of compliance but not the benefits of having a compliant tax system, said the GSD Opposition this week. “That would simply place Gibraltar at a significant disadvantage and would be unacceptable,”… – Continue reading
MOSCOW, November 10. /TASS/. Russia is speeding towards the adoption of anti-offshore legislation. The State Duma (lower house of parliament) on Tuesday will hold the first reading of amendments to the Tax Code obliging both individuals and legal entities to notify the authorities of their foreign properties and profits. This… – Continue reading
The 2013 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) peer review report states that Cayman Islands has developed its standards rapidly, and has proven its long-standing commitment to adhering to the highest standards of regulations. KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 10, 2014: The often scrutinised Cayman Islands — having long been associated… – Continue reading
Those who live in glass houses do well not to throw stones, and Ireland’s predilection for such tax schemes as the “double Irish” probably makes it the last place to cast aspersions at Luxembourg’s creative approach to assisting what is now euphemistically called “tax planning”, once “tax avoidance”. Having sensibly… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: Five years after Germany gave New Delhi a list of Indians with secret bank accounts in the Alpine tax haven Liechtenstein, the first tribunal ruling has gone in favour of the government. The case pertains to three Kolkata-based individuals – Mohan Manoj Dhupelia, Ambrish Manoj Dhupelia and Ms Bhavya… – Continue reading
DUBLIN — In a sprawling conference center on the outskirts of the Irish capital, more than 20,000 people from the global tech industry gathered last week to sign deals and swap contacts. Despite the throngs of startups, American heavy hitters like Peter Thiel, and executives from Facebook and Twitter, talk… – Continue reading
The Low Incomes Tax Reform Group is concerned that government proposals designed to target tax evaders are likely to catch low-income migrants to the UK who have made a genuine mistake about the UK tax status of a source of income in their home country. In a consultation on offshore… – Continue reading
Kansas City businesswoman Cheryl Womack, who was indicted last December on tax-related charges, has filed a request to delay her change-of-plea hearing originally scheduled for Wednesday. At issue is the Tax Information Exchange Agreement application, which acts almost like a search warrant and enables the government to obtain foreign-based documents… – Continue reading
Compliance yield for most senior team hits £3.65billion – or 10% of the “tax gap” A record amount of unpaid tax has been recovered from big-ticket tax avoidance, evasion and fraud by HMRC’s top team of specialist investigators – up by almost a quarter (23%) in the last year, says… – Continue reading
With the imminent dawn on tighter tax and social security controls Spanish and other cross border workers are being urged to make sure they know their rights and obligations. The Chronicle commissioned a briefing report from Hassans (see page 4) which sets out key issues. It was reported earlier this… – Continue reading
Statement says judge could not recall account when asked by authorised officer The family of the late judge Declan Costello has said that while he had a deposit account at Guinness & Mahon bank for a brief period in the 1970s, he never held an offshore bank account. The family… – Continue reading
The tax man is threatening fines of up to £1 million for high-earners shielding their income in tax avoidance schemes. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has published a list of hundreds of schemes and laid out in uncompromising terms the likely penalties for taxpayers who fail to pay up. Around… – Continue reading
Another sophisticated loophole in the tax system means the removal of the “Double Irish” tax-avoidance strategy won’t actually have any real impact for US firms in Ireland seeking to lower their tax bills. An influential US tax journal has found that the Irish subsidiaries of US companies can easily opt… – Continue reading
The main message from the Web Summit is that companies are here for the tech talent – and not just for corporation tax In a continent of slackers, Dublin and its Web Summit are shining exceptions. Or so said the world’s most powerful venture capitalist, Peter Thiel. The man most… – Continue reading
Aparajita Basak, the manager, of research analytics, innovation and knowledge centre at Frost & Sullivan, talks about the use of tax havens across the world for Indian black money. What kind of role do tax havens play in black money in terms of Indian companies and individuals? Across the world,… – Continue reading
Investigators for the Australian Tax Office and their lawyers were told by a judge last year that if they travelled to the Cayman Islands they could be locked up. A year earlier the Tax Office had suffered a setback. It lost a case in the Grand Court of the Cayman… – Continue reading
A new taskforce has been created to target tax-dodging restaurants in Milton Keynes. HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has seen an increased risk of fraudulent activity in the restaurant industry, and the taskforce is expected to recover more than £3million in corporation tax, income tax and VAT. The team will… – Continue reading
New Delhi: The total amount of black money deposited in foreign banks by Indians is unknown. Some reports claim a total exceeding US$1.4 trillion are stashed in Switzerland.[1] Other reports, including those reported by Swiss Bankers Association and the Government of Switzerland, claim that these reports are false and fabricated,… – Continue reading
Sinn Féin Deputy Leader Mary Lou McDonald is calling on the Taoiseach to clarify the role of Government in the handling of whistleblower allegations regarding tax evasion. A dossier given to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) this week claims several politicians used offshore bank accounts to avoid paying tax. Last… – Continue reading
Subsidiary funds companies within Irish multinational, says spokesman RH did not feature in the leaked files, but accounts for one of its Luxembourg subsidiaries show it had multibillion-euro intra-group loans going in and out of the state. Photograph: Brenda Fitzsimons Ireland’s largest indigenous multinational, building materials group CRH, has a… – Continue reading
