Category: Poland

NBR to sign deal with Bhutan to avoid double taxation

Bangladesh is set to sign an agreement with Bhutan to avoid double taxation to boost investments, trade and facilitate information exchange between the two Saarc nations, the National Board of Revenue said in a statement. A team led by NBR Chairman Md Nojibur Rahman is now in Thimpu to take… – Continue reading

Quarter of businesses to miss BEPS deadline

A quarter of companies say they won’t meet the first deadline proposed by the Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in its base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) action plan, reports Economia. Globally, 74 per cent said they will complete their country-by-country analysis by the first due date, December… – Continue reading

OECD: countries commit to minimum standards on international tax dispute resolution

Countries should commit to minimum standards on the resolution of international tax disputes, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said in a report published as part of its base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project.06 Oct 2015 The standards would include a commitment to “seek to resolve” cases… – Continue reading

Internal Revenue Service Begins Reciprocal Automatic Exchange of Tax Information Under FATCA IGAs

On October 2, 2015, the Internal Revenue Service announced that it had achieved a key milestone in implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), a critical anti-tax evasion law passed by Congress in 2010 but not fully implemented until July 2014. The milestone announced by the IRS was… – Continue reading

It’s Here; The Automatic Exchange of Information Under FATCA Began September 30th

The IRS has announced that as of September 30, 2015 it will implement the automatic exchange of tax information as set forth in the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, (FATCA). The IRS Commissioner in announcing the implementation of the automatic exchange of information stated: “This information exchange is part of… – Continue reading

Transfer of shares for redemption without the risk of a tax assessment by tax authorities

Ruling description In thejudgment of August 19, 2015 (case file no. II FSK 1747/13) the Supreme Administrative Court ruled, consistently with its previous rulings, that in the case of a transfer of shares for redemption at a remuneration lower than their market value, the tax authorities do not have the… – Continue reading

High tax rate may deter global talent, warns Irish Tax Institute

Marginal rate ninth highest in 34 OECD countries, pre-budget submission claims Ireland risks deterring high- calibre foreign executives from moving here because of its relatively high tax rates, the Irish Tax Institute has warned. In a pre-budget submission, the institute said Ireland’s marginal tax rate of 52 per cent was… – Continue reading

EU blacklists Hong Kong as ‘non-cooperative tax jurisdiction’

Kenneth Leung (PC,F-Accountancy) explains what he – and the government – are doing to get Hong Kong off the EU’s undeserved blacklisting as a “non-cooperative tax jurisdiction”. Why has Hong Kong been placed on this list? There are ten European countries that have named Hong Kong as a tax haven…. – Continue reading

EU States Told To Address Widening VAT Gap

Tax Commissioner Pierre Moscovici has urged European Union (EU) member states to “take the steps needed to fight tax evasion and tax fraud,” after new figures showed that the value-added tax (VAT) gap did not narrow in 2013. According to a new Commission report, the total amount of VAT lost… – Continue reading

Ireland making ‘little or no’ effort to curb corruption – report

Ireland has made “little or no” effort over the past four years to create a corruption-free playing field for global trade, violating its “obligation to combat cross-border bribery”, reports the Irish Times. The Transparency International Exporting Corruption report, released on Thursday, found that Ireland, along with countries such as Russia,… – Continue reading

Use of Estonia in U.S. International Tax Planning

According to recent estimates, Estonia, which is situated halfway between Stockholm and St. Petersburg, currently has more than 350 start-up technology companies – one for every 3,700 citizens – and the government expects this number to reach 1,000 by the year 2020. This makes Estonia the number one start-up technology… – Continue reading

Spain removes Barbados from blacklist

FOLLOWING A PROTEST from the Ministry of International Business, Spain has removed Barbados from its tax blacklist. This latest development comes after a recent decision was taken by members of the European Union to blacklist this country for being a non-cooperative tax jurisdiction. International Business Minister, Donville Inniss, praised the… – Continue reading

GAAR provision to make way into India-Mauritius treaty

India and Mauritius are set to limit the benefits of their double tax avoidance agreement (DTAA) to only genuine businesses bringing foreign direct investment to India by inserting a new clause in the treaty straight from New Delhi’s yet to be implemented General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR). The revised treaty, however,… – Continue reading

Ireland’s sweetheart tax deals under threat as EU investigates

European Commission to issue decisions on four test cases, including Apple in Ireland, Until a few months ago, the medieval town of Athenry in County Galway owed its fame mainly to a song. Irish rugby and football fans often burst into stirring renditions of “The Fields of Athenry”, a ballad… – Continue reading

OECD establishes roadmap for membership with Lithuania

10/07/2015 – The OECD set out a clear path for Lithuania’s accession to the Organisation, reinforcing the OECD’s commitment to further extend its global membership. On 8 July 2015 the 34 OECD Members adopted the Roadmap for the Accession of Lithuania to the OECD Convention setting out the terms, conditions… – Continue reading

OECD backs Guernsey in fight against tax haven status

The OECD has backed Guernsey in its fight against tax haven status, describing the crown dependency’s inclusion on the European Commission’s list of top 30 non-compliant tax jurisdictions as “very surprising”. Monica Bhatia, head of the secretariat of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Global Forum on Transparency and… – Continue reading

Latvia follows Poland, de-blacklists Bermuda

Latvia has become the second European state to remove Bermuda from its blacklist of uncooperative tax jurisdictions In June, the European Commission (EC) published a list of 30 uncooperative tax jurisdictions, with a so-called master blacklist comprising of countries that were targeted by 10 or more EU member states. Bermuda… – Continue reading

Latvia follows Poland, de-blacklists Bermuda

Latvia has become the second European state to remove Bermuda from its blacklist of uncooperative tax jurisdictions In June, the European Commission (EC) published a list of 30 uncooperative tax jurisdictions, with a so-called master blacklist comprising of countries that were targeted by 10 or more EU member states. Bermuda… – Continue reading

Richards: Take us off blacklist now

The Baltic republic of Latvia has pulled Bermuda off its blacklist of uncooperative tax jurisdictions supplied to the European Commission. And the move means the Island has dropped below the ten-nation threshold for inclusion on the EU hitlist — leading Finance Minister Bob Richards to demand Bermuda be taken off… – Continue reading

Antigua – Antigua wants EU to apologize for naming it a tax haven

ST. JOHN’S –– Antigua and Barbuda has written to the European Union’s representative in the Caribbean, strongly objecting to the twin-island nation being named a tax haven and calling on the EU to apologize and withdraw the list. In a strongly worded letter to Head of the Delegation of the… – Continue reading

Poland removes Bermuda from ‘blacklist’

A controversial Euro list of dodgy tax jurisdictions that included Bermuda has been dealt a blow after Poland said the Island should not have been included on its submission. The move came after the European Commission unveiled the 30-jurisdiction ‘blacklist’ of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions singled out by member states. Poland… – Continue reading

FATCA – Which Countries Are In And Out

FATCA – Which Countries Are In And Out The controversial US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) law is set to start from July 1, 2014, so with less than 21 days to go, here’s a look at which countries are in and who is outside of the tax network…. – Continue reading

Caribbean states urged to object to EU tax-haven blacklisting

Critics of an EU tax-haven blacklist say the organisation is playing dice with small states’ reputations, while ignoring European tax avoidance hubs BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, June 19, 2015 (AMG) — Doubts have been cast over the methodology and motives behind the naming of fourteen Caribbean countries among a list of thirty… – Continue reading

FactCheck: Christie’s tax dodge

He has distorted the facts about the nation’s current tax system. Chris Christie repeatedly has said that U.S. corporations are taxed twice on income earned abroad, claiming in one speech that IRS officials “don’t recognize the tax you paid to a foreign country.” That’s false. It’s true that the U.S…. – Continue reading

POLAND TAKES GIB OFF ITS TAX HAVEN BLACK LIST

Poland has removed Gibraltar from its schedule of countries and territories that it considers to be non-cooperative tax havens, the latest in a string of countries to do the same. The move means Gibraltar companies have been freed from previously held restrictions when doing business with Polish companies. It follows… – Continue reading

Georgia seeks broader economic ties with Poland

Georgia and Poland held negotiations in Warsaw this week over an agreement on avoiding double taxation on income and capital. At the bilateral meeting the sides initialed the renewal agreement, which is based on the OECD Model Convention 2014 and envisages the introduction of new standards of cooperation in taxation… – Continue reading

Chairman Royce, Rep. Pallone welcome US-Amenia Trade & Investment Framework Agreement

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) were among the first Congressional leaders to welcome the May 7th signing of the U.S.-Armenia Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA), a longstanding policy priority for the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). Chairman… – Continue reading

The President signed into law the dot. FATCA

Passing between tax administrations Polish and US information on accounts and income tax residents predicts signed by the president Bronislaw Komorowski law on ratification of the agreement with the USA on the use of so-called FATCA Act. As reported by the presidential office, in terms of the Act of 20… – Continue reading

UK: Weekly Tax Update – Monday 20 April

1 General news 1.1 HMRC organisation chart HMRC has published its latest organisation chart showing the names of senior management. One point to note is the number of senior people now in roles such as change management as opposed to being in pure technical roles. This clearly demonstrates the direction… – Continue reading

Bitcoin is now VAT-Exempt in Spain

Bitcoin transactions are exempt from value-added-tax (VAT) in Spain, says Spanish tax lawyer Alejandro Gómez, The General Directorate of Taxes, a subsidiary of the Spanish taxing authorities, made the statement in a response to a request from Gómez. According to Gómez, the consultation found that Bitcoin payments were a form… – Continue reading

Global Tax Transparency Goes Live in 2016

Cross border tax fraud and tax evasion by High Net Wealth Individuals (HNWI) are serious problems for many jurisdictions. For many years exchange of information between countries has been solely upon request. In practise this procedure is not efficiently working as it requires foreseeable relevance, thus ‘fishing’ for information is… – Continue reading

Dividend imputation clears an early tax review hurdle

Government questions dividend imputation and company tax rate Australian investors appear to have dodged a bullet, with the government’s first paper on tax reform discussing the dividend imputation system but falling short of attacking it outright as an idea that has outlived its usefulness. David Murray’s inquiry into the Australian… – Continue reading

Offshore property diversification spree continues

More JSE-listed counters announce offshore opportunities. It is becoming increasingly difficult for JSE-listed property companies to find value and attractive deals in the local market, which has seen the offshore diversification spree continue. Industry players believe that the sector has turned over the last few years, with more property counters… – Continue reading

New player in offshore banking warns against parking ill-gotten gains

The tiny island nation of Dominica in the Caribbean is positioning itself as another offshore banking facility. However, its prime minister warns that if one is thinking of parking ill-gotten gains in his country, to think again. “We are open for business but at the same time we have rules,”… – Continue reading

Polish-Cayman agreement on exchange of tax information opens way to applying judgment in Emerging case to income of Cayman investment funds

Rafal Mikulski of Dentons explains why Cayman Islands’ investment funds may be entitled to a tax exemption in Poland and to claim for overpaid tax from the Polish tax authorities The Agreement for the Exchange of Information Relating to Tax Matters signed on November 29, 2013, by and between the… – Continue reading

Ukraine suddenly 40% more interested in UK tax info – HMRC

Growing trend of chasing ‘high net worth foreign nationals’? Cooperation between HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and foreign tax authorities will only increase as more countries sign up to automatic tax information exchange agreements. This is according to Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, which obtained figures showing a… – Continue reading

Jump In Foreign Requests For UK Tax Information

The number of requests from foreign governments for tax information from the UK rose by 45 percent in 2013, according to international law firm Pinsent Masons. 2,466 requests were received by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the year to December 31, 2013, up from 1,701 recorded in 2012. James… – Continue reading

US Accountants Call For DTA Approvals

In a recent letter to the Committee on Foreign Relations, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) requested that the US Senate urgently approve all pending bilateral double taxation agreements (DTAs) and protocols. The AICPA pointed out that the full Senate has not approved any DTA or protocol since… – Continue reading

AICPA Urges Senate to Act on International Income Tax Treaties

The nation’s largest organization of accounting and tax professionals is urging the Senate to approve income tax treaties between the U.S. and various countries. In a February 3 letter to Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the committee’s ranking… – Continue reading

COMPANY COMMENT: Offshore property funds; Shaft Sinkers

OFFSHORE property funds should outpace most local property funds in terms of capital growth this year. Many developed countries’ property markets are offering developers low interest rates amid increasing economic growth, while SA is expected to struggle to grow and a number of property funds here will be beset with… – Continue reading