EU nations led by France and Italy reinforced the need for an “equalization tax” or turnover tax on large internet companies such as Facebook Inc. and Amazon.com Inc., and suggested they would use special legislative procedures to impose one in the event all 28 EU-member countries don’t back the levy…. – Continue reading
The 30 September 2017 is an important date for HMRC and its “relentless” clampdown on global tax evasion. First, it marks the coming into force of the landmark corporate offence of failure to prevent tax evasion under Part 3 of the Criminal Finances Act 2017. Secondly, it is the commencement… – Continue reading
The abolition of a scheme allowing Dutch taxpayers to fess up to their tax sins and avoid criminal charges is likely to discourage high-net worth individuals from ever disclosing money hidden abroad to local authorities, practitioners say. Deputy Minister of Finance Eric Wiebes announced that it was time to draw… – Continue reading
The European Commission is preparing a new directive on the cross-border transfer of company headquarters, a move that could have far-reaching implications for other areas of corporate governance, including tax planning and cross-border mergers, EURACTIV has learned. With Brexit on the horizon, UK companies are busy weighing their options for… – Continue reading
President Trump on Wednesday this week announced a sketchy Republican tax reform plan that covered just 9 pages and he proposed that the headline federal corporate rate should be cut from 35% to 20%. However, there is a risk to Ireland’s low 12.5% corporate tax advantage. The average rate of… – Continue reading
C&AG report reveals significant variations in average tax rate paid by top 100 companies Some 13 of Ireland’s top 100 companies pay an effective rate of tax of just 1 per cent, the latest Comptroller and Auditor General (C&AG) report has found. The low rate, which is significantly below the… – Continue reading
Recently, ANAF announced the introduction of new Split VAT rules, At the same time, though, the tax authority made changes[i] to the procedural tax law which have largely been overlooked in the intense debate over Split VAT. But unnoticed or not, these changes are important for businesses in Romania. Four… – Continue reading
Quick Guide Part Three of The Criminal Finances Act 2017 (CFA 2017) introduces two new corporate criminal offences: The failure to prevent facilitation of UK tax evasion offences The failure to prevent facilitation of foreign tax evasion offences Both “failure to prevent” offences can be committed by a body corporate… – Continue reading
Markus J Beyrer, Director General of Business Europe, has expressed concerns about the proposed introduction of a European Union turnover tax on digital businesses. On September 21, the European Commission launched a new agenda to ensure that the digital economy is taxed “in a fair and growth-friendly way.” This could… – Continue reading
MINSK, 26 September (BelTA) – Belarus and the UK have signed an intergovernmental convention on removing double taxation in respect to income and capital taxes and preventing tax evasion, BelTA informs. The signing ceremony took place at the Belarusian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The document was inked by Belarus’ Taxes… – Continue reading
The automatic exchange of tax information (AIE) between countries is generally seen as an effective way of cracking down on tax cheats. But what if a country uses the data to politically oppress its citizens? It’s a burning issue facing Swiss lawmakers. This week, Swiss parliament will begin a debate… – Continue reading
YEREVAN, September 25. /ARKA/. Until 2022 Armenia will conclude agreements on the exclusion of double taxation with 8 more countries and will pursue an agreement also with the United States to abolish double taxation, Armenian finance minister Vardan Aramyan said at a press conference on Monday. So far Armenia has… – Continue reading
The French Government has warned taxpayers that they have until the end of this year to disclose undeclared assets under its tax amnesty scheme, which as been running for more than four years. The Processing of Corrective Declarations (STDR) scheme was introduced by a circular dated June 21, 2013, and… – Continue reading
Fresh tax evasion laws come into force this Saturday. New tax evasion laws coming into force this week could catch UK companies unaware and put them at risk of unlimited fines, a British law firm has warned. Blake Morgan said it fears that “many” commercial and non-profit firms alike may… – Continue reading
The Swiss Federal Department of Finance is consulting on proposals to amend the Withholding Tax (WHT) Ordinance, to more clearly define the rules for non-resident taxpayers. Under the proposed reforms, “quasi-residents” will be permitted to request a subsequent ordinary tax assessment. “Quasi-residents” are employees who are not domiciled in Switzerland… – Continue reading
On 19 September 2017, the Dutch government released the State’s Budget for the year 2018. The Budget includes a draft bill to expand the dividend withholding tax exemption to tax treaty countries, to introduce a withholding tax obligation for holding cooperatives and to limit the taxation of non-resident investors. If… – Continue reading
NASSAU, The Bahamas, Friday September 22, 2017 – An International Monetary Fund (IMF) proposal for The Bahamas to implement a low rate income tax has drawn a mixture of skepticism, approval and downright rejection. Following its Article IV consultation with the Hubert Minnis administration, the Washington-based financial body urged the… – Continue reading
Bermuda has become the first overseas territory to be awarded whitelist status by France. David Burt, the Premier, told MPs the development underlined the Ministry of Finance’s efforts to support international co-operation on tax matters and financial transparency. He added that he will attend key meetings in Paris and Brussels… – Continue reading
In recent years, Portugal has become a popular low-tax haven for Swedish retirees. Since 2009, almost 2300 Swedes, most of them senior citizens, have swapped dark winters for the Mediterranean sun, and moved to Portugal either part- or full-time. Doing so, they have been able to avoid paying taxes to… – Continue reading
Appropriate Use of Country-by-Country Reports The OECD has now published Guidance (available here) on the appropriate use of Country-by-Country Reports (‘CbCRs’) by national tax authorities. This is in response to some valid MNE concerns that tax authorities may misuse CbCRs. “Appropriate use” is clarified as being for (i) high-level transfer… – Continue reading
Popular investment schemes offering generous tax breaks for wealthier investors are likely to face new restrictions. The Treasury is mulling a crackdown on Enterprise Investment Schemes, likely to be announced in the next Budget on November 22. The scheme allows people to invest in start-ups, either directly or through funds,… – Continue reading
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Commission said the EU should proceed with an overhaul of taxes on digital firms even if the rest of the rich world did not follow suit, a draft report said. The document is part of an EU push to tap more revenues from online multinationals… – Continue reading
The OECD has taken issue with the Estonian Government’s plans to reduce the rate of tax on distributed dividends for established companies, warning that the measure could complicate the tax system and discriminate against small firms. Under recently enacted legislation, tax on distributed dividends will be reduced from 20 percent… – Continue reading
ANALYSIS: Companies are likely to receive a preliminary notice under the new diverted profits tax (DPT) regime between now and the end of 2017. They should treat the issue of a notice as potential litigation and should immediately involve their legal advisers. For many companies the time limit for the… – Continue reading
Ireland’s Minister for Finance (the “Minister”) welcomed the results of the independent review of Ireland’s corporation tax regime (the “Review”) issued on 12 September 2017: “I welcome the emphasis given in the Review to the importance of certainty, which is core to our corporate tax offering. Our 12.5% corporation tax… – Continue reading
Some double tax treaties are being amended by a multilateral instrument Establishing how a particular treaty is affected can be a complicated process The UK intends to publish amended DTTs and this will help, but the MLI has added an additional layer of complexity 18 Sep 2017 Speed Read LEGAL… – Continue reading
The Finnish Supreme Administrative Court published on 13 September 2017 precedent 2017:145 that further clarifies the scope of application of the Finnish transfer pricing adjustment provision (Act on Assessment Procedure (“AAP”) Section 31). In its previous landmark precedent KHO 2014:119 the Supreme Administrative Court stated that the so-called re-characterization of… – Continue reading
Romanian prosecutors of the Anti-Organized Crime Directorate (DIICOT), the Bacau office, carried out searches in Bucharest and six counties last Friday, in a tax evasion case with a damage of over RON 9 million (EUR 1.9 million), which involves the legal representative of Lukoil Romania. The defendants allegedly built four… – Continue reading
The CEO of the Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) has stressed that confidentiality, data security, and data protection requirements must be complied with when the automatic exchange of tax information gets underway. Claude-Alain Margelisch argued that there should also be a “number of security mechanisms in place that protect customers and… – Continue reading
The proposals plan to tax giant digital companies on turnover rather than profits EU finance ministers have agreed to step up technical work on harmonising the taxation of the giant digital companies with a view to debating “possible solutions” at their December meeting. The ministerial consensus was a significant setback… – Continue reading
Finance ministers discuss new tax plans in Tallinn, Estonia France’s Le Maire says EU citizens ‘outraged’ by situation European Union finance ministers are developing a new way to tax digital companies such as Amazon.com Inc. and Facebook Inc. to raise money from an industry that they say provides less than… – Continue reading
Greece is defying the prevalent trend among the world’s industrialized nations for reducing tax rates in order to boost investment and competitiveness, a report published on Wednesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has shown. According to the report, in contrast to the majority of… – Continue reading
two executives had contributed to denounce practices of bank which are worth to parent company UBS AG to be continued, ” selling bank illegal” and ” money laundering aggravated tax fraud “. The bank UBS France has been referred to criminal court for moral harassment of two whistleblowers, to origin… – Continue reading
In its latest policy paper to target the cross-border financial services sector, the UK government today unveiled proposed legislation that seeks to prevent the use of offshore trusts to avoid tax. The measure ensures that payments from an offshore trust intended for a UK-resident individual “don’t escape tax when they… – Continue reading
Changes to partnership taxation are to go ahead with draft legislation now published, effectively clarifying the tax treatment for partnerships to ensure that the principle of taxing the beneficiary of partnership profit applies and to prevent a double reporting burden on investment partnership This measure makes changes to the income… – Continue reading
PanARMENIAN.Net – The United States is not going to abolish double taxation with Armenia, U.S. ambassador to Armenia Richard M. Mills told reporters on Wednesday, September 13, Sputnik Armenia reports. According to Mills, the double taxation issue was raised by the Armenian government, and the United States has repeatedly noted… – Continue reading
Romanians who leave the country for more than six months need to fill in a form at the Tax Agency (ANAF) starting January 1 next year. Otherwise they will receive fines ranging between RON 50-100 (EUR 11-22), according to the Finance Ministry. The obligation to notify the authorities on leaving… – Continue reading
Anguilla’s ex-attorney general says UK government may fear exposing its role in Caribbean territories’ tax arrangements Aid offered by the British government to its hurricane-battered territories in the Caribbean has been dismissed as “derisory” by a former attorney general of one of the worst-hit islands. Rupert Jones, who completed a… – Continue reading
The four biggest economies in the Eurozone – Germany, France, Italy, and Spain — demand an end to the erosion of their tax base by means of incorporation in states that facilitate tax avoidance. According to the Financial Times, Bruno Le Maire, Wolfgang Schaeuble, Pier-Carlo Padoan, and Luis de Guindos,… – Continue reading
Operations in the European Union haven’t been easy going for tech companies for quite a long time. While many European countries earlier called for strict privacy regulations and large fines on tech companies for violating them, they have now called for increased taxation for these companies for their operations in… – Continue reading
While at the beginning of the year (The Indian Express, March 16, 2017) the number of requests sent by India stood at 283 cases, it has now crossed 300. And while the number of replies received from among these 13 jurisdictions stood at 165, that figure has now crossed 240…. – Continue reading
GERMANY has accused Italy, France and Spain accusing of allowing huge companies to avoid paying billions in tax and draining EU funds in the process. Berlin officials have claimed the three EU member states have been deliberately unhelpful in the battle to clampdown on tax-dodging by large companies. In an… – Continue reading
The EU 28 financial ministers are set to discuss taxation of multinational digital platforms in Tallin on September 15-16, Reuters reports. Companies such as Amazon and Google have designed tax plans that reduce their tax liability in countries they operate. The proposal put forward by the Estonian Presidency proposes to… – Continue reading
On August 17, 2017, the Protocol amending the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fraud and Fiscal Evasion (“Tax Treaty”) between Belgium and Mexico was published in Mexico’s Official Journal of the Federation (Belgium publication pending). The Tax Treaty became effective in Belgium on August… – Continue reading
The government is looking to implement EU Directives on tax avoidance, and is set to receive more financial information from multinational groups active in Romania. Tax experts suggest that large corporations might reassess their business models in order to meet the demands of the fiscal authorities in Romania and across… – Continue reading
Japan and Estonia signed a convention to eliminate double taxation on cross-border trade and investment on August 30. The treaty sets out the taxing rights of both countries on cross-border income deriving from investment or trade between the two. It also provides for assistance in the collection of tax and… – Continue reading
Instead of raising state revenues, as was intended, the increased demands on self-employed professionals in terms of taxes and social security contributions have resulted in increased tax evasion, confirming the Finance Ministry’s worst fears. Data show that incomes declared earlier this year by self-employed professionals in their 2016 tax statements… – Continue reading
Non-domiciled taxpayers contributed £9.3 billion to the UK economy in 2014/15 through a combination of income tax, capital gains tax and National Insurance contributions (NICs), according to newly-published figures. The number of non-doms paying tax in the UK marginally increased in 2014/15, to 121,300, up from 119,800 the previous year…. – Continue reading
Switzerland and Zambia signed a new double taxation agreement (DTA) in the area of taxes on income. It replaces the agreement between Switzerland and the United Kingdom of 1954 which up to now applied to Switzerland and Zambia and will create legal certainty conducive to the further development of economic… – Continue reading
LONDON (CNNMoney) — Denmark thinks it has found a way to prevent a worker shortage from damaging its economy. The proposed solution? Tax cuts. The world’s most taxed country said Tuesday that it is planning sweeping cuts to levies on cars and pensions that are designed to encourage people to… – Continue reading
