In the five years since the eurozone crisis exploded, the European Union has adopted a great number of measures to improve its fiscal governance. Yet amazingly, it still does not have a robust, harmonized way of measuring and monitoring the financial activities of its member states, reports the Wall Street… – Continue reading
Listed companies in developed market could be avoiding as much as $82b annually London: Listed companies in developed markets are avoiding at least $82 billion (Dh301 billion) of tax a year by using tax havens and other minimisation strategies, according to detailed analysis of more than 1,000 businesses. The revelation… – Continue reading
SINGAPORE, April 12 (Reuters) – The Singapore trading hubs of the world’s largest commodity companies are coming under scrutiny from the governments of some resource-producing countries who say they suspect they are using units in the Southeast Asian financial centre to avoid tax. Some of the world’s largest oil, mining… – Continue reading
An Australian Senate parliamentary committee hearing on Wednesday was dominated by the fire and brimstone of Labor and Greens politicians directed against tax avoidance by major corporations. Labor Senator Sam Dastyari called on Australian Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan to “name some of Australia’s worst corporate offenders,” declaring that they “should… – Continue reading
The Ukrainian government will review the system of taxation of gas production companies irrespective of their form of ownership. This is stipulated in the draft guidelines of Ukraine’s budget policy, or the budget resolution, for 2016, which was tabled by the Cabinet of Ministers in parliament. Among the other priorities… – Continue reading
1. Introduction On 14 January 2015, the Swiss Federal Council opened consultations on two draft laws on the international exchange of information in tax matters. One of them deals with the OECD/Council of Europe administrative assistance convention signed by Switzerland on 15 October 2013. The other consultation deals with Switzerland’s… – Continue reading
The Wall Street Journal reports that Swiss bank whistleblowers Bradley Birkenfeld and Hervé Falciani are schedule to take part in a panel discussion at the OffshoreAlert Conference in Miami Beach May 3-5. The panel entitled “Inside the UBS & HSBC Leaks,” will take participants “inside the UBS and HSBC leaks… – Continue reading
Companies appearing before a senate inquiry into tax avoidance are on notice that any false evidence they give will be corrected by the Tax Office. Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan urged the committee to ask individual companies to disclose their own tax positions. He would correct the record if they provided… – Continue reading
The U.S. Congress must find a way to tax offshore profits stored by some of the world’s largest corporations. Currently letting their earnings safely mount up abroad, lawmakers are considering a special “deluxe” tax rate to get money from the companies. A recent study from the Center for Effective Government… – Continue reading
Vanoli, account holders will be called to testify Central Bank Governor Alejandro Vanoli and the first 10 businesses to appear on the list of undeclared HSBC bank accounts in Switzerland are set to be the next to appear before the Bicameral Commission examining systematic tax evasion and capital flight, its… – Continue reading
Since entering the Illinois Senate race last week, Democratic Rep. Tammy Duckworth has been running a protectionist campaign, railing against her Republican opponent’s alleged support for outsourcing jobs and overseas tax havens. But financial records obtained by The Daily Caller show that Duckworth has investments in companies that use offshore… – Continue reading
The Obama administration is gaining ground in its war against tax cheats, racking up victories in a global crackdown that has made it harder to escape the Internal Revenue Service. President Obama’s battle against offshore tax evaders hasn’t gotten the publicity of some of his other priorities but under his… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – More Swiss banks that helped wealthy Americans evade taxes will soon strike agreements with the U.S. Department of Justice to avoid prosecution, an official overseeing the U.S. government program told Reuters. “I would stay tuned,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline Ciraolo of the Justice Department’s Tax Division said… – Continue reading
An arrest over allegations of price fixing has increased calls for tighter regulation of the booming sector On a late February morning, Yves Bouvier arrived at the Monaco home of one of his best clients. He expected Dmitry Rybolovlev, the Russian billionaire owner of AS Monaco football club, to pay… – Continue reading
• Starbucks ran its European business – including UK – through Holland • But Dutch division paid just £1.9million tax on profits of £300million • Now details of UK company at heart of new probe have started to emerge • A Starbucks spokesman said it complies ‘with all relevant tax… – Continue reading
On April 1, Italy’s Minister of the Economy and Finance, Pier Carlo Padoan, signed two decrees that modify Italy’s “black lists,” and announced on the same day that Italy and the Vatican had signed their previously agreed tax information exchange agreement (TIEA). The two decrees follow the guidelines laid down… – Continue reading
New rules mean that almost 100 governments around the world will exchange information about bank accounts Expat tax dodgers are running out of places to hide, as information about their bank accounts and assets will soon be exchanged between 93 governments globally. At present, if tax authorities suspect people of… – Continue reading
More and more Americans are opening offshore bank accounts. This article provides statistical details about why this is so, that offshore banking can be safe and legal and which banking jurisdictions are safest. Apr. 3, 2015 / PRZen / VALENCIA, Calif. — Offshore banking is growing in leaps and bounds… – Continue reading
A senator wants to change the law so the Canada Revenue Agency is required to annually report how much money is lost to tax evasion, after a two-year battle with “stonewalling” bureaucrats to get that information. Senate Liberal Percy Downe is tabling a private bill aimed at getting a handle… – Continue reading
A BRITISH philanthropist at the centre of a national tax avoidance storm has donated £2,000 towards a Worcestershire MP’s bid for re-election, it has emerged. Lord Fink, a multi-millionaire former hedge fund manager embroiled in a row Ed Miliband, has handed the cash to West Worcestershire Conservative Harriett Baldwin. The… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — A former Swiss asset manager pleaded guilty to helping U.S. clients hide millions of dollars in offshore accounts and avoid paying federal income taxes. Peter Amrein, 53, a Swiss citizen, told U.S. District Judge Sidney Stein in Manhattan Tuesday that from 1998 to 2012 he helped Americans evade… – Continue reading
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
Government threatens to disclose identities in official gazette after Switzerland pledges to help tax officials in India HSBC customers in India suspected of tax evasion have been given 30 days to nominate a legal representative in Switzerland or face seeing their names published in the country’s official gazette. The bank… – Continue reading
London: Customers of HSBC in India, suspected of tax evasion, have been given a 30-day timeframe to get a lawyer in Switzerland to manage or challenge the disclosure of their names in the official gazette. The UK-based banking group at the heart of a series of tax-related revelations over the… – Continue reading
A major Swiss bank will pay $211 million in a deal to avoid prosecution on charges it secretly helped American clients evade U.S. taxes, the Department of Justice said Monday. The agreement with BSI SA makes the private bank the first to come clean under a federal program that encourages… – Continue reading
After 2008, BSI has more than 3,000 US accounts on its books The Lugano-based BSI bank has been fined $211 million (CHF203 million) by the United States for aiding and abetting tax cheats. It is the first Swiss-based bank to complete the non-prosecution programme set up in 2013 to clear… – Continue reading
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
Luxembourg’s Direct Tax Administration has published a circular on February 12 clarifying issues relating to residency certificates for Luxembourg funds. These are applicable to both UCITS and non-UCITS funds regulated by Luxembourg’s investment fund legislation of December 17, 2010, which transposed the UCITS IV Directive, as well as Specialised Investment… – Continue reading
In a deal with U.S. prosecutors, Swiss private bank BSI SA agreed today to pay a $211 million penalty and hand over leads on more than 3,000 accounts with U.S. ties, as well as the actual names of an undisclosed, but presumably much smaller group of U.S. account owners. The… – Continue reading
Luxembourg has been warned that it has to diversify its economy and reduce the reliance of its financial sector on providing financial functions for multinational companies if it is to survive any campaign on international tax avoidance. International economic co-operation body the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) said… – Continue reading
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
(Bloomberg) — Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc agreed to sell its Coutts International private banking business to Switzerland’s Union Bancaire Privee, as the bailed-out British lender retreats from the Swiss wealth market. RBS is expected to sell Coutts for 350 million francs ($360 million) to 400 million francs, depending… – Continue reading
The fight against international tax evasion dominated a meeting at Maximos Mansion between Greek State Minister Nikos Pappas and State Minister for Combating Corruption Panagiotis Nikoloudis with Swiss State Secretary for International Financial Markets Jacques de Watteville. The meeting, which was concluded earlier on Thursday, was also attended by Justice… – Continue reading
Greece and Switzerland were to hold a new round of talks Thursday on a deal designed to help the cash-strapped Mediterranean country recover billions of euros in unpaid taxes, reports Europe Online. The visit to Athens by Jacques de Watteville, who heads the international financial and tax affairs unit in… – Continue reading
Attorney General Eric Holder will leave office with a perfect record of not having busted a single senior banker The bank, HSBC, has been involved in criminal enterprises from dealing with terrorists and drug dealers to advising clients how to escape paying taxes. Yet no HSBC banker has gone to… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: A three member high level delegation of Inland Revenue-Policy Wing of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will attend a three day conference on regional taxation problems in the first week of April in Japanese capital Tokyo. The conference is funded by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well… – Continue reading
CARACAS, VENEZUELA – Venezuela is launching a probe into large offshore bank deposits amid a spate of reports that at least $2 billion was siphoned off by corrupt, top-level officials at state-run oil company PDVSA. Chief prosecutor Luisa Ortega Diaz’s announcement Tuesday was the socialist government’s first response to the… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Net profits at LGT, Liechtenstein’s biggest bank, rose more than 18 percent last year, the bank reported on Monday, after it attracted fresh funds and acquired a large portfolio of accounts from HSBC’s private bank. The Vaduz-based lender, owned by the principality’s royal family, said last year it… – Continue reading
Switzerland and the European Union (EU) have initialled an agreement on the automatic exchange of tax information (AEOI). Account data will be collected from 2017, with the first exchange scheduled for 2018, reports Tax News. The agreement was initialled on March 19, 2015, by Jacques de Watteville, the Swiss State… – Continue reading
ZURICH, March 23 (Reuters) – Liechtenstein’s biggest bank LGT does not expect to suffer any fallout from assets it bought from HSBC’s private bank months before that business was embroiled in a scandal over allegedly helping clients to dodge taxes. Vaduz-based LGT, owned by the principality’s royal family, snapped up… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: India has offered a “cash reward” to a former HSBC bank employee-turned-whistleblower in exchange for any fresh information about its citizens holding illegal accounts in various tax haven countries, including in Swiss banks, as it looks to combat black money and unearth funds stashed away abroad. Sources said… – Continue reading
Blackmoney stashed abroad will entail a 10 year rigorous imprisonment and a whopping 90% tax under the proposed stringent law that provides for a limited window of opportunity to offenders to disclose illicit wealth and escape prosecution. Blackmoney stashed abroad will entail a 10 year rigorous imprisonment and a whopping… – Continue reading
Tax havens have historically offered respite for individuals and companies looking to avoid high levels of taxation in their home countries. Some countries have effectively set out to create an environment in which international financial transactions come under little scrutiny so that foreign individuals and companies can safely park their… – Continue reading
Argentina will move forward with its investigation of the HSBC offshore accounts in Switzerland, and will make public the names of those Argentine citizens and organizations that held money overseas in the financial entity, allegedly with the purpose of eluding local taxes. Swiss and French officials are also looking into… – Continue reading
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has welcomed Switzerland’s recent moves towards greater tax transparency, admitting the country to phase 2 of the peer review process. Jacques de Watteville, head of Switzerland’s State Secretariat for International Financial Matters, said: “We are delighted about this decision. It is the… – Continue reading
GENEVA: Facing a global crackdown including from India on their ‘safe haven’ tag, Swiss banks today asserted that “bank-client confidentiality” will not disappear and ‘automatic information exchange’ is not the only solution to the black money menace. The assertion comes at a time when Switzerland is in the process of… – Continue reading
Tax Commissioner Chris Jordan says information sharing with foreign nations has allowed it to raise $730 million worth of tax liabilities over the past two financial years. In a speech to be delivered at the Tax Institute’s annual conference in Gold Coast on Thursday morning, Mr Jordan says he is… – Continue reading
1.GENERAL QUESTIONS 1.1 Why is the Commission presenting a Tax Transparency Package? The Commission has made the fight against tax evasion and corporate tax avoidance a political priority, with a view to creating a socially and economically more efficient Single Market. While much has been done to advance this agenda… – Continue reading
UK financial institutions (FIs) that have no US-reportable accounts will not be required to submit annual ‘nil returns’ in order to ensure compliance with new rules designed to prevent tax evasion by US citizens, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has confirmed. The change comes after the US Internal Revenue Service… – Continue reading
In 2013, STHL and its subsidiaries generated $38.6 billion in sales of crude oil, after purchasing $38.5 billion in crude and fuel products from third party and other companies from the SOCAR group. Malta has been hosting Azerbaijan’s state oil company (SOCAR) since 2007 thanks to its favourable tax regime… – Continue reading
