Category: Europe

Ireland’s effective corporation tax at approximately 10.8pc over a decade – report

IRELAND’s effective rate of corporation tax averaged between 10.7pc and 10.9pc over the last decade, a report by the Department of Finance states. It claims that the tax paid by companies is close to the 12.5pc headline rate, amid controversy over the amount paid by multinationals here. The Department commissioned… – Continue reading

Irish Economy 2014: Ibec forecasts robust growth in tax-related services exports

Irish Economy 2014: Ibec, Ireland’s leading business lobby group, in its latest economic forecast today forecasts “continued robust growth in services exports and a recovery in goods exports.” The strong growth in services mainly reflects tax-avoidance related revenue diversions to Ireland that do not reflect local economic activity. If the… – Continue reading

Credit Suisse Faces Threat Of New US Probe For Offshore Tax Evasion

ZURICH (Reuters) – Credit Suisse faces the threat of a new investigation into its role in helping wealthy Americans avoid paying taxes after New York state’s top financial regulator requested documents from the Swiss bank. Switzerland’s second-largest lender had raised expectations it was putting the long-running American tax controversy behind it when it… – Continue reading

Report: Netflix Sets French Headquarters In Luxembourg to Bypass Regulations

PARIS — Netflix is set to follow iTunes and Google’s footsteps: The service is expected to launch in Gaul in the fall but will be headquartered Luxembourg in order to avoid the heavy French regulations. French newspaper Les Echos reported the move will bring Netflix’s French outpost together with its other European headquarters —… – Continue reading

Luxembourg, US Sign FATCA Deal

Luxembourg and the US have signed an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Luxembourg and the US negotiated a Model 1 IGA, requiring the Luxembourg Tax Administration and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to exchange information automatically on accounts held by US citizens… – Continue reading

Banking secrecy in the Cayman Islands

The offshore jurisdictions are commonly thought to be highly secretive, with banking secrecy being an important part of what those jurisdictions offer to businesses and individuals who use them. For example, in 2000, the U.S. Treasury Department issued an advisory notice stating that extra vigilance was required in doing business… – Continue reading

Bahamas Targets Tuesday For Fatca Deal Completion

The Bahamas is aiming to complete its FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) this coming Tuesday when a high-level team visits Washington, a Cabinet Minister yesterday disclosing this nation was pushing for another key product to be exempt from reporting requirements. #While declining to name the product in question, Ryan Pinder, minister… – Continue reading

FATCA Overreach

A correspondent told me that last week’s column on Caribbean response to the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was puzzling. Why didn’t the column expose those wimps – Caribbean ministers of finance and governments? How could they accept this bullying US imposition? My response was that I expressed… – Continue reading

Daily Show ‘deranged millionaire’ John Hodgman has fun with offshore banking

The Justice Department is cracking down on wealthy Americans sheltering their money in the Cayman Islands. On Wednesday night’s Daily Show, John Hodgman strapped on his “deranged millionaire” persona to find an alternative tax haven. David Marchant, an offshore banking expert at OffshoreAlert.com, recommends that Hodgman park his panda-hunting assets in… – Continue reading

U.S. waits for Azerbaijan’s response on tax information exchange agreement

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. The U.S. is waiting for Azerbaijan’s response on the agreement on the exchange of tax information on the FATCA rules. The U.S. Embassy reports that the US has engaged the Azerbaijani government on this issue. “Now we’re waiting for their response. The US government is negotiating similar arrangements… – Continue reading

United States: Levin And McCain Urge DOJ To Seek Extradition Of Fugitive Swiss Bankers

Bloomberg news reports that on March 18, 2014, U.S. Senators Carl Levin and John McCain wrote a letter urging the Justice Department to seek extradition of about 30 Swiss bankers and others who are charged with enabling offshore tax evasion and failed to appear in federal courts. McCain and Levin,… – Continue reading

Nokia India, Finnish parent discuss tax evasion in emails

The department had slapped a tax demand of Rs 2,080 crore on the company last year while re-opening the assessment for AY 2006-07 and 2007-08. As Finnish phone-maker Nokia strives to meet the April 30 deadline for sealing the $7.2 billion deal with Microsoft, its tussle with the Indian tax… – Continue reading

More Countries Agree to Help U.S. Crack Down on Tax Dodgers

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

KKR’s Entry Into Canadian Oil Patch Crimped by Tax Clampdown

Canada is clamping down on off-shore tax shelters used by private-equity funds, in a move that may curb investment in the oil and gas industry by KKR & Co. and Blackstone Group LP. (BX) The government has given private-equity firms and other interested parties until April 11 to respond to proposals tucked… – Continue reading

Corporate Tax: OECD’s Saint-Amans says “Double Irish Dutch” sandwich tax scheme will be axed

Corporate Tax Reform: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) held a briefing and webcast at its Paris headquarters Wednesday on its Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project and Pascal Saint-Amans, the director of the OECD’s tax centre confirmed that “Double Irish Dutch” sandwich tax schemes, which involve… – Continue reading

Republican senators express support for Caterpillar tax strategy

WASHINGTON — Caterpillar Inc. executives defended a tax strategy Tuesday that has saved the manufacturing giant billions in U.S. taxes. They got support from Republican senators, including one who said the company deserves an award. Caterpillar has avoided paying $2.4 billion in U.S. taxes since 2000 by shifting profits to… – Continue reading

Bahamas Aims To Complete Fatca By Next Week

The Bahamas is aiming to finalise its Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) inter-governmental agreement (IGA) with the US next week, a Cabinet minister said yesterday. #Speaking with Tribune Business at the third Caribbean Conference on international financial services, Ryan Pinder said the Ministry of Financial Services should be in… – Continue reading

Swiss tax allies falling by the wayside

The decision by Luxembourg and Austria to automatically exchange tax data with other European Union countries has isolated Switzerland in the global crusade against banking secrecy, a Tax Justice Network (TJN) expert tells swissinfo.ch. The two European Union states caved in to demands last month by signing up to the revised… – Continue reading

Tax Amnesties Clear The Way For Global FATCA

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

HMRC Increases Amount of Tax Suspected to be Underpaid Through Transfer pricing

Adds £118m to ‘tax under consideration’ from intra-group transfers • HMRC proposes further crackdown on intra-group transfers in Budget HM Revenue & Customs has increased the amount of tax it estimates has been underpaid by the UK’s largest businesses through transfer pricing arrangements by £118 million to more than £1.1 billion, an… – Continue reading

Senate Probe: Caterpillar Avoided $2.4B in U.S. Taxes

Caterpillar avoided $2.4 billion in federal taxes between 2000 and 2012 by shifting $8 billion in profits from international parts sales to a tax haven in Switzerland, said Chairman Carl Levin, (D-MI), of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on Monday. Joining Microsoft (MSFT), Hewlett Packard (HPQ) and Apple (AAPL),… – Continue reading

Luxembourg Supports New Savings Tax Directive

Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said the conclusions adopted at the recent European Council meeting on the revised Savings Tax Directive have enabled “a green light from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.” He expressed his satisfaction that all 28 European Union (EU) member states reached an agreement at the latest… – Continue reading

Cayman Islands: Cayman Islands To Introduce New Directors Registration And Licensing Regime

The Cayman Islands government has announced, by way of a Gazette dated 21 March 2014, its intention to introduce a registration and licensing regime for directors of certain regulated entities in the Cayman Islands.  This has been anticipated since the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (“CIMA“) conducted its industry wide corporate… – Continue reading

Isle of Man: Safe Haven for Digital Currencies

The Isle of Man, a self-governing British Crown Dependency, is looking mighty interested in digital currencies. On Wednesday, the island’s Financial Supervision Commission(FSC) affirmed that “a Bitcoin exchange that holds client funds with a licensed overseas payment service provider is not required to obtain a license in the country for its… – Continue reading

Double taxation risk in chasing multinational companies

A call to tax technology companies such as Apple and Google in the countries where they have substantial activities has re-ignited concerns companies may be taxed twice and stop business altogether. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which is working on a global plan to prevent companies from avoiding paying… – Continue reading

Black money menace

It would be surprising if Union finance minister P. Chidambaram’s threat to his Swiss counterpart — to declare Switzerland an uncooperative nation for not sharing information on the 562 Indians who allegedly stashed their black money in Swiss banks — is actually carried out. The threat has trade implications. These… – Continue reading

A changing world

Recent discussions about the movement of capital and offshore accounts have to be a major cause for concern. During a Central Bank seminar recently, Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss, sounded the warning that compliance with the recently passed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act… – Continue reading

France Tightens Disclosure Requirements for Large Companies, Particularly in Relation to Transfer Pricing

The Anti-Tax Evasion Act and the Finance Act 2014 have introduced an annual transfer pricing documentation filing obligation and new disclosure requirements for large companies. Since 2010, French companies that have an annual turnover or gross asset value exceeding €400 million, are related to a French or foreign entity exceeding one of… – Continue reading

Australian Tax Amnesty Announced

In the early hours of Thursday Morning, Australia announced a tax amnesty on any tax resident with offshore assets not declared to the Australian Taxation Office Geraint Davies, Managing Director of Montfort International sees this move as significant from many perspectives.  “We have seen the breaking news of a complete… – Continue reading

India, Switzerland spar over access to bank accounts information

NEW DELHI: The Indian Tax authorities and the Swiss government could be headed for a showdown over what the Indian side regards as lack of co-operation from the Alpine country over access to information on bank accounts. Last week Finance Minister P Chidambaram wrote to his Swiss counterpart – officials… – Continue reading

‘Last chance’: ATO amnesty for offshore cash

The Tax Office is allowing Australians with money parked in offshore accounts to avoid harsh penalties by coming forward, in an amnesty program worth up to half a billion dollars. ATO Commissioner Chris Jordan will announce the program today, which will reduce the penalties for taxpayers who hand over information… – Continue reading