Category: Spain

Assad’s uncle ‘Butcher of Hama’ to stand trial on graft charges in France

Assad’s uncle ‘Butcher of Hama’ to stand trial on graft charges in France The uncle of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad is to stand trial in France on charges of building up a big property empire in the country using funds from Syrian state coffers, legal sources said on Wednesday. An investigating… – Continue reading

VISA-FREE DESTINATIONS ON LUXEMBOURG PASSPORT, 2019

Luxembourg and Spain passports placed 5th in a global study of visa-free travel. The annual “Henley Passport Index”, published on 8 January 2019, is a “ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.” The index is published by… – Continue reading

Spanish Crypto Holders Under Scrutiny as Authorities Seek to Prevent Tax Fraud

The Spanish Ministry of Finance is to inspect some 15,000 individuals who have engaged in cryptocurrency transactions over the last year, Spanish-language news outlet El Pais reported. The announcement follows on from the introduction of compulsory reporting of cryptocurrency transactions for Spanish taxpayers, and will investigate whether there is any… – Continue reading

Gibraltar enters Brexit negotiations

Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is scheduled to meet with the European Union’s chief negotiator Michel Barnier to push for an annex addressing smuggling in the British territory, as well as cross-border workers and tax evasion. Gibraltar is also on the agenda. As for Gibraltar, however, Spain will reportedly not… – Continue reading

Spanish Officials Lop 2 Million Euros Off Ronaldo’s Tax Evasion Settlement

In July, the 33-year-old football superstar accepted an 18.8 million euro fine and a suspended two-year prison sentence as he pleaded guilty to tax fraud in a Spanish court. According to the documents seen by El Mundo daily, football ace Cristiano Ronaldo, 33, who had to pay 18.7 million euros… – Continue reading

Spain’s PM Proposes Minimum Corporate Tax Burden

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has pledged to reform Spain’s corporate tax rules so that companies pay an effective rate no lower than 15 percent. Laying out the new Socialist Government’s two-year economic plan before parliament on July 17, Sanchez proposed that, by restricting the use of deductions, he would… – Continue reading

Gibraltar—Marbella. Russian oligarchs hide their Spanish assets offshore

It emerged that Russian oligarchs, members of ‘Russian mafia’, and many other owners of real estate in Spain have neither Spanish citizenship nor residential permit and successfully evade national taxes. Mansions in Marbella purchased by Russians officially belong to offshore companies incorporated in Gibraltar, a tiny British Overseas Territory. The… – Continue reading

Spanish Tax Authority Set for Showdown Over Crypto Tax Evasion

The Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT), more commonly known as the Agencia Tributaria, the tax agency of the Spanish government is set to take a hard-line stance on what it suspects to be tax evasion activities aided and abetted by cryptocurrencies. The move comes as yet another chapter in… – Continue reading

Spain Publishes 2018 Tax Compliance Plan

The Spanish tax authority has published its annual tax and customs control plan for 2018, which details the tax compliance and enforcement measures that it intends to undertake in the coming year. The plan, published by the tax authority on January 23, features four key pillars: preventative measures, including a… – 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

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

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

Eurozone’s big four demand measures against tax avoidance

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

Footballers’ advisers under scrutiny over tax evasion

Madrid (AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo under suspicion, Radamel Falcao investigated, Lionel Messi sentenced… Spain’s courts have been busy tackling the alleged and real multi-million-euro tax evasion of football’s greatest stars. But while they may be aware of what they are doing, footballers rely on expert go-betweens like big banks to… – Continue reading

International tax-avoidance rules may override GAAR, other tax treaties

There is a possibility that the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR, on taxes) and the tax treaties signed by the government with those of Mauritius, Singapore and Cyprus, and even other nations such as Netherlands, could be overtaken by another event. These could, say experts, be partially or fully overridden by… – Continue reading

India may leave tax treaty with Netherlands unchanged

India is unlikely to amend its tax treaty with the Netherlands as it did with Mauritius, Singapore and Cyprus and this could shape the investment strategy of foreign portfolio investors (FPI) and private equity (PE) funds investing in India, said three people in the know. “There were talks to amend… – Continue reading

UK opposes planned US dividend tax for offshore investors

The US government is facing calls to delay the introduction of a new tax on foreign investors in US equity-linked derivative transactions, after the G5 group of countries signalled their opposition and the US Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) indicated its members would not be ready for the… – Continue reading

‘Revenue will look for you – and it will find you’

Taxpayers with offshore assets urged to get affairs in order before May clampdown Taxpayers with offshore assets ranging from foreign properties to deposit accounts or structured investments are being urged to get their affairs in order ahead of a May clampdown by the Revenue Commissioners – even if they believe… – Continue reading

Andorra to renounce banking secrecy as it sheds tax haven status

Pyrenees principality approves automatic sharing of information on accounts held by non-residents from EU countries Andorran lawmakers have agreed to end banking secrecy in the Pyrenees mountains principality, approving automatic sharing of information on accounts held by non-residents. The General Council, Andorra’s unicameral parliament, approved a measure that will come… – Continue reading

Taxman targets Real and Barca over fraud, says report

Giants Real Madrid and Barcelona are among five La Liga clubs from whom the Spanish taxman is looking to recover €52 million (RM244 million), online newspaper El Confidencial claimed yesterday. Alongside Atletico Madrid, Sevilla and Valencia, the big two are accused of having avoided tax by paying player’s agents directly…. – Continue reading

Private sector groups urge passage of FATCA legislation

Seven private sector organisations Tuesday called on the Trinidad and Tobago government and opposition to put aside their differences and ensure the country meets the September 30 deadline for the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). They also warned that failure to do so could result in ”serious negative consequences”… – Continue reading

Apple May Face Double Tax on Profits If France Adds to Tab

Apple Inc. may face double taxation on some of its profits if the European Commission’s Aug. 30 ruling inspires France to slap its own tax adjustment on the company, practitioners said. Apple could even face “triple taxation” if it repatriates profits from the European Union to the U.S., Laurent Leclercq,… – Continue reading

EU countries eye potential share of Apple windfall

Potential slice of the Apple pie stems from Commission’s invitation to EU tax authorities. BRATISLAVA — The €13 billion clawback of unpaid taxes from U.S. tech giant Apple has piqued the interests of EU finance ministers, who have today asked the European Commission for more details on the potential share… – Continue reading

Government, Opposition to meet on FACTA legislation

PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, Sept 10, CMC – Government and opposition legislators are to meet here on Monday as the deadline for meeting the September 30 deadline for passing the Foreign Account Tax Compliance ACT (FATCA). Caribbean financial executives have in the past bemoaned what they deem as an uneven… – Continue reading

How Amazon Values Its Tech Assets for Tax Purposes

Regulators in Europe and the US say that the value Amazon places on the technology behind user experience varies radically depending on which appraisal will lower its tax bill. Jeff Bezos’s relentless focus on user experience has helped him make Amazon the most valuable e-commerce company in the world. But… – Continue reading

CRA convicts a fraction of offshore tax evaders: Exclusive

As worldwide pressure grows to fight offshore tax evasion, new statistics obtained by the Star show the Canadian government has convicted only 49 people and levied just $13.4 million in fines for what it calls offshore activity since 2010. These numbers are far lower than in comparable countries and show… – Continue reading

Monaco signs up to EU’s tax transparency scheme

The EU has signed a fiscal transparency agreement with Monaco in an attempt to stop Europeans hiding undeclared income in the Mediterranean principality. EurActiv Spain reports. Famous for its glamorous casinos and annual Formula One race, Monaco is also known for not levying income tax and for being somewhat of… – Continue reading

Google’s offices in Spain raided by tax authorities

Tax authorities in Spain have raided Google’s offices in Madrid as part of an investigation into tax evasion and fraud, TechCrunch understands. Local press and the Reuters news agency are also reporting the raids. The raid on Google’s Madrid headquarters and its Google Campus workspace are related to VAT payments… – Continue reading

Canada willingly makes tax deals with tax havens

The seeds of Canadian corporations hiding billions of dollars in offshore tax havens were sown more than 40 years ago, after the Canadian government pursued a series of tax treaties with tiny Caribbean and European nations. The 92 tax treaties now signed with countries such as Barbados, Jamaica and Malta… – Continue reading