Net-A-Porter have apparently been a little naughty with their tax returns. Uh oh, have Net-A-Porter taking a naughty book-keeping tip or two from Dolce & Gabbana? After the famous designer duo got done for tax evasion, the online designer handbag retailer has been accused of the same thing. According to… – Continue reading
The owner of an office supply business in Tralee, Co Kerry, and a “generous” charity worker, was found to have almost €800,000 in Swiss and other foreign bank accounts uncovered on foot of a revenue investigation and a European tip-off. John Cashell, aged 59, of Stacks Mountain, Kilflynn, Co Kerry,… – Continue reading
Following last week’s announcement about HMRC’s plans to impose £1m fines on promoters of tax avoidance schemes and revelations about the Liberty tax strategy, the PCG has issued a warning to all independent professionals in the UK’s contracting community to steer clear of such tax planning schemes. A secret database… – Continue reading
British expats living in Spain will have to be on their toes to keep up with the new Spanish tax rules There are a number of changes afoot which could trip you up faster than a flamenco dance. These include: · A new double tax treaty · New disclosure rules… – Continue reading
28 suspects of evading taxes on fruit and vegetable products are under questioning by prosecutors of the DIICOT. These include two officials from the National Agency for Fiscal Administration (NAFA). Prosecutors of the DIICOT Bucharest, along with officers from the Bucharest Organised Crime Squad, conducted 46 searches on Wednesday in… – Continue reading
The UK and India are determined to lead international efforts to tackle tax evasion, according to a joint press statement issued by UK Chancellor George Osborne and India’s new Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. On July 8, 2014, the two governments met in New Delhi at the seventh round of the… – Continue reading
The latest proposed tax inversion deal just got even bigger. U.S. bidder AbbVie hiked its offer for Dublin-based Shire PLC Sunday after four days of talks in a deal that could now reach $31.35 billion, underscoring what it sees as the benefits of a tie-up that will also give it… – Continue reading
Andrea Leadsom, a high-flying Treasury minister, received more than £70,000 from a family business, the parent company of which is controlled out of the Virgin Islands tax haven. The payments, which appear to be within the letter of the rules for political donations, have been criticised because of the contrast… – Continue reading
The Guardian explains why opposition to Juncker as EU President is somewhat misguided. The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg’s Ruritanian title carries a whiff of archaic glamour. But it is nothing more than a piratical state. The only difference between pirates old and new is that instead of using muskets and… – Continue reading
Millionaire investors in a £5billion alleged tax avoidance scheme run by financier Patrick McKenna’s investment firm Ingenious are preparing to settle with the taxman rather than face a court battle with the authorities. The Ingenious scheme, revealed by The Mail on Sunday four years ago, is one of the biggest… – 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
Taipei, July 11 (CNA) An agreement signed by Taiwan and Luxembourg on avoiding double taxation and preventing tax evasion was approved by Luxembourg’s parliament Wednesday and will take effect on Jan. 1, 2015, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Friday.The agreement was signed by the Taxation Agency… – Continue reading
Another day. Another inversion. This one, though, with a twist. On Tuesday evening, U.S.-based Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd.SLXP -1.52% announced plans to merge with a unit of Cosmo Technologies Ltd.’s and take up residence in Ireland for tax purposes. What makes this different from a typical inversion deal is the fact… – Continue reading
Popular restaurant chain’s Channel Islands tax haven trust at top of elaborate web of companies is worth £750m A secretive £750m trust located in a Channel Islands tax haven sits at the top of an elaborate offshore web of companies belonging to the family behind the Nando’s chicken chain. The… – Continue reading
On Friday, 27 June 2014, the Irish Revenue Commissioners (in conjunction with the Department of Finance) finalised the relevant Regulations with respect to FATCA. These Regulations will come into operation on 1 July 2014. As readers will be aware, the Irish and US Governments signed an intergovernmental agreement (“Irish IGA”)… – Continue reading
QCs doctors, pop stars and others have been caught up in a major tax avoidance plan in the UK, which have included former UK-based and now Wellington City CEO Kevin Lavery. Mr Lavery formerly worked as chief executiv e of the Cornwall Council and invested £1.2m according to the documents… – Continue reading
An international law firm has accused HM Revenue & Customs of a “sudden and unprecedented escalation” after it revealed full details about the powers which will allow it to impose £1m fines on tax advisers. Ray McCann, partner at Pinsent Masons, said the powers, which are aimed at cracking down… – Continue reading
On 1 July 2014, the Ministry of Revenues and Levies of Ukraine issued Order #368 ‘On amendment of generalised tax consultation on transfer pricing related issues, adopted by Order #699’, which significantly changed the respective tax consultation #699. In particular, the order included additional questions and clarifications and drastically changed… – Continue reading
Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Azerbaijan de facto joined the American tax reporting system FATCA (Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act): on July 8 President Ilham Aliyev sanctioned the Azerbaijani banks to report to other states about their customers directly or through mediators. The President of Azerbaijan approved the relevant amendments to the law… – Continue reading
Birmingham’s Quaker heritage means scores of trust funds are set to be put under the spotlight in a US-inspired tax evasion swoop, the sector has been warned. Trusts are at the heart of a new compliance regime aimed at rooting out hidden assets and pressurising tax havens to come clean…. – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: India and the UK today expressed the determination to work together to tackle the menace of tax evasion even as Britain agreed to support infrastructure projects in the country. UK Export Finance will provide a line of credit of one billion pounds (about Rs 10,000 crore) for the… – Continue reading
Lawmakers adopted at first reading amendments to the law regulating the activity of offshore companies in Bulgaria. Under a proposal from ruling socialists member Georgi Kadiev (who recently stepped down as member of Parliament) and fellow MPs, entities having opaque ownership will be barred from signing contracts with the state,… – Continue reading
India and the United Kingdom today reiterated their determination to lead on tackling tax evasion, noting that the two countries would begin exchanging tax information on an automatic basis from 2017 with each other and with a large number of jurisdictions as part of their commitment to early adoption of… – Continue reading
A secret list of account holders reveals how rich Britons are legally exploiting tax havens, despite a UK government crackdown. The identities of thousands of wealthy offshore clients of a major Channel Isles private bank have been leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The individuals include donors to… – Continue reading
Britain is likely to receive little more than half of the £3 billion-plus expected from an agreement reached with Switzerland to tackle offshore tax evasion, HM Revenue and Customs has told MPs. Chancellor George Osborne’s 2012 Autumn Statement forecast the taxman would collect an additional £3.12 billion as a result… – Continue reading
Macau and Guernsey are set to ink a new tax information exchange agreement (TIEA). While no date has been set yet, the announcement was published yesterday in the Official Gazette. According to the Official Gazette, the Secretary for Economy and Finance Francis Tam Pak Yuen is to sign the agreement… – Continue reading
Transparency rules aimed at clamping down on tax evasion are now in force, meaning more information will be shared with the UK tax authorities Expat savers who remain resident in the UK for tax purposes now have to provide more information when they open offshore bank accounts – to be… – Continue reading
The Bucharest police conduct on Tuesday morning (July 8) 26 searches in the Romanian capital and Ilfov county, to dismantle a group specializing in tax evasion and money laundering. The damage in this case is estimated at EUR 1.5 million, according to a statement of the General Directorate of Bucharest… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – European officials have asked Luxembourg to hand over documents relating to U.S. online retailer Amazon’s tax affairs in the country, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing official sources. The EU’s competition commission has requested information from the Grand Duchy, where the online retailer’s main European operating company… – Continue reading
500 property raids launched in the last year – managing to hit a new record high Property searches by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to target tax evasion jumped by 12% in the last year* to 500, up from 445 property raids in 2012/13, according to data obtained by Pinsent… – Continue reading
Property-buyers and expats in Spain should note that a new Double Taxation Convention between the UK and Spain, which was signed in London on 14th March 2013, came into force in June 2014. Richard Way, Editor of www.OverseasGuidesCompany.com, publishers of www.SpainBuyingGuide.com said: “From June 12th, rules for withholding tax on… – Continue reading
Walgreen Co. is at a crossroads, but it may not be “at the corner of happy and healthy” as its advertising slogan suggests. The nation’s largest drugstore chain is considering a move that would allow it to significantly cut its tax bill and increase profits. But it’s being painted by… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands Banking Association (CIBA) says almost 15,000 of Cayman’s financial institution have registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States. This, ahead of the Unites States Foreign Accounts Compliance Tax Act (FACTA), that will take effect on Tuesday. CIBA says many of the 14,800 financial… – Continue reading
Malcolm Turnbull, Australia’s second-richest parliamentarian, has invested in a ”vulture fund” based in the tax haven Cayman Islands. Disclosure of what appears to be a $1 million stake in a New York-run fund targeting distressed and bankrupt companies sparked criticism from financial transparency campaigners on Thursday. They argue the Communications… – Continue reading
Amid a global crackdown on tax avoidance, EU competition regulators last month opened a probe into suspected tax breaks for Apple Inc. in Ireland, Starbucks Corp. in the Netherlands and Fiat Finance & Trade SA in Luxembourg. Microsoft Corp, the world’s biggest software maker, is among companies embroiled in a… – Continue reading
The Romanian police conducted on Friday morning (July 4) 76 searches in Bucharest and six counties, at dozens of clinics suspected of tax evasion and money laundering through illegal VAT refunds via ghost companies, reports local Mediafax. The damage in this case is estimated at EUR 68 million. The police… – Continue reading
Finland’s Tax Administration has lost a landmark court case on transfer pricing. The Supreme Administrative Court’s ruling means the taxman could now lose out on hundreds of millions of euros in tax. The Finnish Tax Administration could lose out on millions of euros in tax from multinationals after a decision… – Continue reading
LUXEMBOURG/BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission is widening its probe into how multinationals use countries such as Luxembourg to cut their tax bill, an official with knowledge of the matter said on Friday. Last month, the Commission warned Ireland, another EU country that offers companies offshore tax status, that it… – Continue reading
The authorities are looking to entice Russian-owned offshore firms to repatriate capital. A new law will impose penalties on such companies for tax evasion, but offers 2-year amnesty for those firms which decide to relocate to Russia. The Finance Ministry has decided to grant a 2-year amnesty for offshore companies… – Continue reading
Lawyers from the United States have been advising the Island’s financial services sector how to prepare for in-depth tax investigations. They spoke at a global tax enforcement conference organised by Douglas legal firm Dougherty Quinn at the Villa Marina (3 July). Its aim is to prepare service providers, banks and… – Continue reading
Greece’s Energy minister, Yiannis Maniatis spent the first days of July in London launching the country’s most ambitious programme so far to develop its untapped hydrocarbon potential. Greece has made several fruitless attempts over the years to find big reserves of oil or natural gas as it bids to reduce… – Continue reading
The BVI Government has signed a Model 1B (non-reciprocal) Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) in relation to the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), it was announced on 30 June 2014. It was announced in March this year that negotiations had been concluded with the US and later in April the… – Continue reading
Spain signed an agreement with the Dominican Republic to avoid double taxation of individuals and companies that are subject to levies in both nations. The accord, published today in the Spanish government’s Official Bulletin, allows income tax paid in one nation to be deductible in the other nation from income… – Continue reading
Isle of Man chief minister Allan Bell has labelled tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs) ‘redundant’ and defended the lack of any new double taxation agreements (DTAs) signed by the island since the one with Luxembourg in April last year. The last TIEA it signed bilaterally was with the Czech Republic… – Continue reading
BERNE: Switzerland and the European Union stepped closer on Tuesday to resolving a near-decade long dispute over corporate tax rates, a sign of cooperation between the two amid friction over immigration policy. The pair signed an agreement, announced late last month, which outlined Switzerland’s intention to propose scrapping long-cherished rules… – Continue reading
AN information technology (IT) technician is now before the court while several others, including business operators, are said to be under investigation for allegedly defrauding Tax Administration Jamaica (TAJ) of more than $1 billion in revenue. TAJ said yesterday that it will ensure all involved in the massive billion-dollar revenue… – Continue reading
Guernsey’s Income Tax Department is cracking down on tax evasion. Islanders who haven’t declared interest they’ve received from the bank in past tax forms they’ve handed in, are being given more time to come forward with the details. If they don’t come forward and correct any discrepancies before the 31st… – Continue reading
LONDON (Reuters) – Greece is planning to cut tax rates for oil and gas companies as it wants to attract them to help exploit its untapped offshore hydrocarbon resources, its energy minister said on Tuesday. Under the plan, oil and gas explorers will pay 25 percent tax, down from 40… – Continue reading
The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited Chairman & CEO Brendan McDonagh commented on the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act [FATCA] in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. FACTA imposes due diligence, information reporting and control obligations on non-US financial institutions for certain US persons who maintain… – Continue reading
So much of what Switzerland has traditionally stood for is now anathema to its neighbours in Europe and other members of the club of developed nations: confidentiality underpinned by strong banking secrecy laws; and a liberal tax regime offering a tax sanctuary to the wealthy and multinational companies. To a… – Continue reading
