Category: Europe

Malta makes 518 mln euros from its citizenship by investment scheme

VALLETTA, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) — Malta has generated 518 million euros since it started its citizenship by investment scheme, according to Prime Minister Joseph Muscat. Replying to a parliamentary question on Wednesday, Muscat said that of the total revenue generated, 363 million euros had entered in the country’s National Development… – Continue reading

Valadao and Sherman call on Treasury to stop double taxation of U.S.-Armenia profits

U.S. Representatives David Valadao (R-CA) and Brad Sherman (D-CA) are collecting signatures on a bipartisan letter urging their Congressional colleagues to request that Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin renegotiate the existing, outdated Double Tax Treaty with Armenia, an obsolete Cold War-era accord, recognized today by the U.S. but not… – Continue reading

Greece Raises BEPS Concerns With Bulgaria

The heads of the Greek and Bulgarian tax authorities have met to discuss ways in which bilateral cooperation can be boosted with a view to reducing levels of tax avoidance and evasion, particularly with respect to Greek companies shifting profits to Bulgaria. “The major issue of tax avoidance by Greek… – Continue reading

Sweden Clarifies CbC Reporting Threshold Rules

The Swedish tax authority (Skatteverket), has published guidance on companies’ country-by-country reporting obligations with respect to short and extended tax years, and company divestments and restructurings. Under Sweden’s Tax Procedures Act, a group is not obligated to submit a CbC report if, according to its consolidated accounts, it has a… – Continue reading

Bulgaria and Greece step up exchange of information to combat tax evasion

The head of the revenue agencies of Bulgaria and Greece have held talks on continuing and deepening co-operation on exchanging information and countering tax evasion, the National Revenue Agency in Sofia said on January 22. Bulgaria’s National Revenue Agency head, Galya Dimitrova, and her Greek counterpart Georgios Pitsilis discussed issues… – Continue reading

Norway Advocates Global Digital Tax Solution

The Norwegian Government is considering possibilities for the taxation of multinational companies’ “value creation” in Norway, including in the area of value-added tax, although it said that it would prefer a multilateral agreement on any new measure. In a letter to the parliamentary finance committee dated January 18, Finance Minister… – Continue reading

Russian senator facing tax evasion charges in France ‘hopes to return home shortly’

MOSCOW, January 22./TASS/. Russian senator and businessman Suleiman Kerimov, who is facing money laundering charges in France, is sure that he will prove he is not guilty, Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said after meeting with Kerimov, who had spent three days in Russia with the permission of the French… – Continue reading

Jamaica, Italy sign elimination of double taxation agreement

KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — The Government of Jamaica has signed an agreement with the Republic of Italy for the elimination of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and for the prevention of tax evasion and avoidance. The signing took place at the Ministry of Finance and Public Service’s… – Continue reading

Italy’s non-domiciled tax regime to profit from UK’s changing stance

In 2017, the UK scrapped its non-dom tax regime. Consequently, an increasing number of individuals are instead relocating their tax domicile to Italy At the start of 2017, in a bid to attract more wealthy citizens and capital to Italy, Rome introduced a non-domiciled tax regime. Now, citizens can move… – Continue reading

France introduces strict cryptocurrency regulations to fight tax evasion

French finance minister, Bruno Le Maire wants a new legal framework for cryptocurrency regulations to overcome tax evasion and terrorist funding The finance minister has ordered France’s central bank chief to design the new regulations framework cautioning against ‘risk of speculation and possible financial manipulation‘ associated with cryptocurrencies. Cryptocurrency sceptics… – Continue reading

Tax evasion: Spanish taxmen comb Messi’s accounts again

Lionel Messi’s problems with the Spanish tax authorities are far from being over as the accounts of his foundation come under scrutiny. The tax authorities are investigating whether payments from FC Barcelona to Lionel Messi’s foundation were used to help the player evade taxes, Spanish daily El Mundo reported on… – Continue reading

OECD report shows Malta is tax compliant jurisdiction: official

VALLETTA, Jan.11 (Xinhua) — The 2017 International Tax Co-Operation Report published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)showed Malta to be a tax compliant jurisdiction ,the Maltese Finance Ministry said on Thursday. “This is exactly what we have been stating all along in the face of unfair criticism… – Continue reading

The tide continues to turn for offshore companies.

The case of Development Securities (No. 9) Ltd and other v HMRC [2017] UKFTT 0565 is the latest in a line of cases concerning the UK corporate tax residence of offshore companies. The case once again highlights the difficulties in preserving an offshore company’s non-UK tax resident status, whilst giving… – Continue reading

Ireland, Hungary Unite Against EU Tax Harmonization

The leaders of Hungary and Ireland have both expressed their opposition to the prospect of additional tax harmonization within the EU. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar was in Hungary to visit his counterpart, Viktor Orban. Reuters reported that, during a joint news conference following their meeting, Orban said that his… – Continue reading

There Is a Raging Battle of Tax Codes with China and the US Starting the Race

The GOP tax bill that was signed into law by the white house late last year, significantly reduced corporate taxes which has piled pressure on other significant economies around the world to adjust so as not to lose investors to the United States. Just hours after President Trump signed the… – Continue reading

Bulgarian Presidency Outlines EU Tax Plans

The “fair and efficient” taxation of corporate profits and the fight against tax avoidance and evasion through enhanced administrative cooperation are among the priorities of the new Bulgarian presidency of the European Union, which commenced on January 1, 2018. The recently released program of the Bulgarian presidency states that it… – Continue reading

Irish Revenue’s Tax Enforcement Work Yields Results

Non-compliance “interventions” by the Irish Revenue yielded EUR492m (USD594m) last year, according to the latest figures published by the tax authority. Revenue has published its preliminary results for 2017. They show that Revenue completed 646,633 compliance interventions during the year. There were 24 criminal convictions for serious tax and duty… – Continue reading

Swiss Come Clean Amid Data Swaps

Switzerland’s abandonment of banking secrecy for international tax dodgers is having an unexpected side effect at home: more domestic tax cheats with accounts around Europe are coming forward. If 2017 was the glide path for Switzerland’s international data-swapping agreements, this year means business: Swiss banks must automatically share client data… – Continue reading

Report: French tax authority targets Jews; France denies allegation

‘Globes Israel’ claims that a secret department was set up in France’s tax authority specifically to investigate French Jews for tax evasion. The French have set up a secret department within their tax authority that employs 20 Hebrew speakers in order to find out if Jews are trying to evade… – Continue reading

Digital residency pays off big for Estonia

Estonia is expected to get a 100-to-one-euro return on investment for its e-Residency program, which lets anybody start a business from afar. It is even planning to launch ‘estcoins,’ its own cryptocurrency. Becoming a ‘digital resident’ of Estonia, Michael M. Richardson says, was “as easy as getting a fishing license… – Continue reading

Dutch Tax Administration to tax pensions of Belgian workers working in the Netherlands

Part of the supplementary pension of Belgian workers, previously working in the Netherlands, will be taxed by the Dutch Tax Administration (the “DTA”). The DTA confirmed this on Thursday. The Belgian and Dutch government treasuries are engaged in a tug of war around the second pillar of the pension. This… – Continue reading

Cayman Islands Country-By-Country Reporting Regulations Issued

As part of the Cayman Islands’ ongoing commitment to international tax transparency, the Tax Information Authority (International Tax Compliance) (Country-By-Country Reporting) Regulations, 2017 (the “CBCR Regulations“) were issued on 15 December 2017. The CBCR Regulations essentially implement in the Cayman Islands the model legislation published pursuant to the OECD’s Base… – Continue reading

State aid: Commission approves the Maltese tonnage tax scheme subject to commitments

Commissioner Margrethe Vestager, in charge of competition policy, said “Tonnage tax systems are meant to promote the competitiveness of the EU shipping industry in a global market without unduly distorting competition. I am pleased that Malta committed to adapt its tonnage tax system to achieve this. Moreover, by encouraging the… – Continue reading

US tax reform breaks global rules, EU says

European finance ministers are worried. They say the United States’ big tax reform bill contains measures that would unfairly disadvantage European business and contravene global fair-taxation rules. Are they right? Last week, the finance ministers of Europe’s five biggest economies — Germany, France, the UK, Spain and Italy — wrote… – Continue reading

Amazon Agrees To A $118 Million Tax Settlement With Italy

Amazon reached a major tax settlement with Italy by agreeing to pay €100 million ($118 million) to the European country in order to put an end to an investigation of potential back taxes it owes that spanned the majority of this year. According to initial reports on the matter, Italian… – Continue reading

Tax advice under scrutiny: Halsall v Champion Consulting

Introduction As the government continues to grapple with a budget deficit and strained public finances, there remains considerable pressure on HMRC to crack-down not only on tax evasion, which is illegal, but tax avoidance, which HMRC refers to as “bending the rules of the tax system to gain a tax… – Continue reading

EUROPE INVESTIGATES IKEA TAX EVASION VIA NETHERLANDS

The European Commission is launching an investigation into Ikea’s tax construction in the Netherlands. European Commissioner on competition Margrethe Vestager is expected to officially announce the investigation on Tuesday, British newspaper the Financial Times reports. The Swedish furniture company is suspected of evading nearly a billion euros in taxes between… – Continue reading

Thousand billions in lost tax from foreign enterprises

Vietnam has lost thousands of billions of dong in taxes as foreign enterprises, especially large-scale ones, refuse to pay based on the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement. Massive revenue without having to pay taxes The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Taxation has recently issued an ultimatum for Uber B.V Netherlands… – Continue reading

Luxembourg challenges EU order to recover tax from Amazon

Luxembourg is challenging a European Union order to recover about €250m in back taxes from Amazon, saying it disagreed with EU state aid regulators’ decision that the US online retailer had received special treatment. The appeal to the Luxembourg-based General Court, Europe’s second-highest, comes two months after the European Commission… – Continue reading

Taiwan-Czech Republic ink double taxation avoidance pact

An agreement between Taiwan and the Czech Republic on double taxation avoidance and fiscal evasion prevention with respect to taxes on income was concluded Dec. 12 in Prague, setting the stage for increased investment and trade as well as industrial and technological cooperation between the two countries, according to the… – Continue reading

Cyprus Extends Deadline For CbC Reporting Entity Notification

The Cypriot tax authority has extended until January 15, 2018, the deadline for multinational corporations to submit their notifications concerning country-by-country reporting for 2017. The deadline had been December 31. In December 2016, Cyprus issued a decree introducing CbC reporting obligations for multinational enterprises with consolidated group revenue of EUR750m… – Continue reading

Bahamas Faces Major Tax, Exchange Control Shake-Up

The Bahamas may have to completely overhaul its corporate and taxation structure to escape European Union/OECD ‘blacklisting’ threats, the Attorney General revealed yesterday. Carl Bethel QC told Tribune Business that the Government was “looking very carefully” at whether compliance with European (EU) demands will require this nation to eliminate the… – Continue reading

Bermuda Premier signs tax agreement with US, visits Jamaica

HAMILTON, Bermuda (CMC) — Bermuda has signed a new tax agreement with the United States that premier David Burt says demonstrates the island’s continued commitment to transparency. Burt, who left here over the weekend for Jamaica, said the Country by Country Competent Authority Agreement signified that the PLP government had… – Continue reading

Transfer Pricing and BEPS to Increase Tax Revenues in Georgia

The FINANCIAL — Transfer Pricing Rules were implemented by the Government of Georgia in 2011, based on OECD guidelines. Since the number of international companies in Georgia is increasing steadily, Transfer Pricing Rules have become a point of obvious interest. However, multinational companies operating in Georgia are not sufficiently well-informed… – Continue reading

Cristiano Ronaldo May Be Fined at Least $35.3Mln for Tax Evasion – Reports

A Real Madrid star footballer will have to face a court hearing on December 22, accused of evading taxes from 2011 to 2014. MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Real Madrid football club striker and Portuguese national football team forward Cristiano Ronaldo may be fined 30 million euros ($35.3 million) for tax evasion,… – Continue reading

Poland’s PM designate says will continue fighting tax evasion

WARSAW (Reuters) – Poland will continue fighting tax evasion, allowing the government to keep public debt in check and finance its public spending agenda, Prime Minister-designate Mateusz Morawiecki said on Friday. He also told the Catholic Trwam television that value added tax revenue would most likely increase by 30 billion… – Continue reading

‘EU Decision Demonstrates Bermuda’s Position’

[Updated] The Government of Bermuda said they note that the Economic and Financial Affairs Council [ECOFIN] has “reaffirmed Bermuda’s status as a cooperative tax jurisdiction.” Premier David Burt said, “Once again the EU has recognized Bermuda’s status as a cooperative jurisdiction, despite the interest surrounding a hack on a global… – Continue reading

UK Releases Guidance On Royalties WHT Proposal

The UK Government has released a consultation on the royalty withholding tax targeting digital firms announced in the UK’s most recent Budget. Under the proposal, the Government intends to introduce legislation in Finance Bill 2018-19 to broaden the circumstances in which certain payments made to non-UK residents have a liability… – Continue reading

Belarus-Hong Kong double taxation agreement comes into force

MINSK, 4 December (BelTA) – The double taxation agreement between Belarus and Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, has come into effect, BelTA learned from the Belarusian Embassy in Beijing. “After Belarus and China went through the necessary domestic procedures, the Belarus-Hong Kong agreement on the avoidance of… – Continue reading

Apple Begrudgingly Agrees to Pay Ireland Nearly $15 Billion in Back Taxes

Apple, whose CEO Tim Cook likes to talk a big game about how the tech industry should be more socially responsible while overseeing an international tax-avoidance regime that puts Scrooge McDuck’s gold-filled vault/swimming pool to shame, has agreed to repay Ireland $14.6 billion (around €13 billion) in unpaid taxes, the… – Continue reading

Bahamas ‘Done Everything Possible’ To Avoid Blacklist

THE Deputy Prime Minister believes the Bahamas has “done everything we could possibly do” to escape the European Union (EU) ‘tax haven’ blacklist that will be issued tomorrow. K P Turnquest told Tribune Business that the Minnis administration “has no reason to think” this nation will be deemed a ‘non-cooperative… – Continue reading

South Africa, Belgium, Jersey Extend CbC Reporting Deadlines

South Africa, Jersey, and Belgium are among a handful of territories that have recently announced an extension to the due date for country-by-country reports under the new frameworks being introduced under Action 13 of the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting Action Plan. The CbC report is one element of… – Continue reading