J. Safra Sarasin Holding Ltd., the Swiss private bank owned by billionaire Joseph Safra, indicated it may make further acquisitions after the purchase of Morgan Stanley’s Geneva unit. The company “is ideally positioned to pursue our growth strategy and act as a leading player in the ongoing industry consolidation” in… – Continue reading
Tax Regulation Number PER-01/PJ/2015, which is supposed to be effective starting this year, has triggered controversy within the banking industry. This is mainly due to the new obligation for banks to disclose details on every customer’s tax payments on deposits or savings interest. The Finance Minister needed to postpone indefinitely… – Continue reading
Switzerland has made further progress on meeting international tax compliance standards after being upgraded to phase 2 of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) tax transparency review process. However, Switzerland faces a potentially tougher examination in the coming months, particularly regarding the use of stolen bank data by… – Continue reading
Switzerland is moving towards “greater transparency” in providing administrative assistance on tax matters, a global body today said amid India making efforts to bring back illicit funds stashed by its citizens in Swiss banks. Long perceived as a safe haven for unaccounted wealth, Switzerland has been facing international pressure to… – Continue reading
LONDON, GENEVA — The Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) is narrowing the field of bidders for its Coutts International private-banking arm to focus on Switzerland’s Union Bancaire Privée (UBP), people with knowledge of the matter said. UBP is the preferred bidder and an agreement might be reached as early… – Continue reading
The findings revealed that 76 per cent of those surveyed believe people open bank accounts in Switzerland for “underhand reasons”, and just one in 10 consider it is done for “legitimate reasons.” The UK’s The Times newspaper recently asked individuals for their thoughts as to why Britons might hold Swiss… – Continue reading
Things just got worse for HSBC. Its private banking arm faces new criminal charges after a French magistrate officially requested that the Swiss bank be brought to trial over a suspected tax-dodging scheme for wealthy customers, the Guardian reports. The request for trial comes after a series of allegations against… – Continue reading
HSBC Holdings plc’s (LON:HSBA) shares were down 0.23 percent to 559.00p as of 13:13 GMT yesterday, after earlier on Friday the French financial prosecutor’s office announced it had formally requested that the lender’s Swiss private banking unit be put on trial for helping French citizens to aggressively avoid taxes. HSBC… – Continue reading
The public accounts chair has been accused of being a bully, but she has rocked the tax world by asking difficult questions about how taxpayers’ money is spent Her verdict on HMRC’s efforts to prosecute tax evaders: pathetic. The gagging of civil service whistleblowers: outrageous. And as for tax-avoiding Google,… – Continue reading
Pharmacy chain Boots Alliance has been under scrutiny from the British public since it first relocated to Switzerland in 2008. The contentious move involved the chain’s headquarters moving to a country that generated little income for the company, but provided low taxes. Yesterday at a retail industry conference, the issue… – Continue reading
After recently completing tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs) with Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Monaco, the Italian Government is now looking to agree a similar treaty with the Holy See in Rome’s Vatican City. The TIEAs between Italy and Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Monaco, and the prospective treaty with the Vatican, all provide… – Continue reading
The Australian Taxation Office should be given the power to ignore multinational transactions that fail to pass the “common sense test” and ensure that technology company profits are taxed where they are earned, the Australia Institute submission to the inquiry into corporate tax avoidance says. The submission takes a swipe… – Continue reading
Just before Christmas last year, Justice Bennett handed down the decision in Seven Network Limited v Commissioner of Taxation [2014] FCA 1411 which held that no copyright existed in Channel Seven’s live television broadcasting of the 2006 (Winter) Olympics in Turin, and the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, to Australian… – Continue reading
Bank Hapoalim reports it has been ordered to provide the documents by the New York State regulator. The investigation of Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI) on its alleged assistance in helping US customers evade taxes is moving forward. Bank Hapoalim revealed in its financial report yesterday that at the start of… – Continue reading
Switzerland expects in the future to sign a deal with Germany to automatically exchange tax information, Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said, after the signing of a tax agreement with Italy, reports Customs Today. In the medium term we will sign a deal on automatic tax information sharing with Germany,”… – Continue reading
Bosses at HSBC were yesterday accused by MPs of turning a blind eye to alleged tax evasion in its Swiss private banking arm. In an ill-tempered hearing with the Public Accounts Committee, members said they did not believe that executives in London were oblivious to what was happening. Chief executive… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: Next time, you will think twice before opening a bank account in Jersey or buying a property in London — even if the transaction is legitimate. Everyone having accounts with offshore banks, or owning properties or stocks abroad will be soon asked a string of questions by the tax… – Continue reading
Planning to enjoy your retirement in a different country? Check these tax, banking and investment issues More than 400,000 Britons have retired abroad, attracted by better weather, a laid-back lifestyle and a lower cost of living. But if you want to join them, you will need to make serious adjustments… – Continue reading
Like a neutrino bomb on the landscape of banking, regulation and journalism, the HSBC tax evasion story via its Swiss subsidiary keeps spreading with devastating effect – at least for those whose careers concern it. According to investigative journalist Nafeez Ahmed, who managed to get hold of rather golden whistleblower… – Continue reading
India has made a major breakthrough with Swiss tax authorities, who have agreed to provide information in respect of cases independently investigated by IT department whereas first round of talks have reportedly taken place between Pakistan and Swiss government on revision of Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation agreement…. – Continue reading
Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s largest business advocate The issue of “tax havens” garnered early interest from the House and Senate Revenue Committees as the Oregon Department of Revenue issued a new report outlining which additional countries should be considered “tax havens” for purposes of Oregon tax law. AOI testified in… – Continue reading
The former UBS Group banker whose cooperation with the United States has helped expose tax evasion by thousands of Americans says the Swiss bank used similar practices elsewhere and he’s eager to help European governments. “It’s not a US issue, it’s not a French issue, it’s a global issue. UBS… – Continue reading
Chancellor defends HSBC as a ‘very important bank’ but repeatedly fails to answer questions about his conversations with bank’s former boss George Osborne has defended the role of HSBC as a “very important bank” for Britain as he once again dodged questions about the extent of his discussions about tax… – Continue reading
In many ways, the tide of public opinion has turned against bankers. Globally, they face more regulation and scrutiny, and many practices long considered just another day in the office are coming under fire. The latest series of scandals to hit global banks has to do with their role in… – Continue reading
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) met last month to ask HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) about its efforts to curb tax avoidance, including how HMRC has developed its transfer pricing approach to counteract tax arrangements such as those by Google, Amazon and Starbucks. Present at the hearing on February 11,… – Continue reading
Helping tax cheats or money launderers has never been an integral strategy of the Swiss financial centre, Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) chief executive Claude-Alain Margelisch tells swissinfo.ch as the HSBC ‘Swiss Leaks’ scandal continues. The unsavoury activities of HSBC, UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) and others, brought into the public domain by… – Continue reading
Australia and Switzerland have signed a deal to swap banking information in a bid to crack down on tax evasion. James Bond hasn’t been kind to Switzerland. Swiss ambassador to Australia Marcel Stutz is keen to counter the image of his country being the preferred banker for baddies. Mr Stutz… – Continue reading
(Corrects to show the bank plans to close a representative office in Russia.) (Bloomberg) — UBS Group AG plans to scale back its wealth-management activities in Moscow that serve clients who deposit their funds offshore as Switzerland’s largest bank streamlines operations in some emerging markets, according to two people with… – Continue reading
An investment registration scheme launched by the government last year attracted a total of 1,469 valid registrations covering an aggregate of €455.8 million worth of eligible assets, The Finance Ministry told The Malta Independent. Of the total amount registered, €69.8 million or 15% of the total was repatriated following registration…. – Continue reading
ROME, Feb. 27 (Xinhua) — Italian Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan signed a treaty on Thursday with Liechtenstein Prime Minister and finance minister Adrian Hasler in Rome, a measure which abolishes bank secrecy. The agreement, which helps identify potential tax evaders, was fundamentally the same as the one signed between… – Continue reading
Bank’s subsidiary in Switzerland is already being investigated by US authorities about whether it helped Americans evade tax The venerable Coutts bank, home of the Queen’s personal accounts, has been drawn into the mounting controversy about private banking with an admission that its Swiss arm is under investigation for aiding… – Continue reading
Dmitry Rybolovlev reportedly lost tens of millions in an art scam allegedly carried out by a Swiss businessman The billionaire Russian owner of Monaco football club is believed to be one of several “high net-worth individuals” who are victims of alleged fraud by a Swiss businessman arrested in Monaco on… – Continue reading
The signing of a double taxation agreement (DTA) protocol between Switzerland and Italy, which includes a provision for the exchange of information upon request, has fueled an expectation that the Italian Treasury will be able to collect substantial additional tax revenue this year. While it could take up to two… – Continue reading
A country known for its clocks, chocolate and most importantly banks, the agreement by Switzerland’s government to share details of those super-secret bank accounts is one that will change the world at large. Gone are the days of the elusive Swiss bank account. The arrival of Common Reporting is upon… – Continue reading
Pact on information exchange in tax treatment Paris, February 25 – An important tax treaty signed between Italy and Switzerland is evidence of the “change of a crucial paradigm,” in banking secrecy with global implications, Pascal Saint-Amans, director of the center for tax policy and administration at the OECD told… – Continue reading
Not long after the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division (“DOJ”) made international headlines in 2009 for its bombshell announcement that it had entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the United Bank of Switzerland (UBS), lawmakers in Washington, D.C. began reviewing the testimony of hundreds of UBS’s U.S. clients… – Continue reading
PARIS: The heir to the Nina Ricci perfume fortune went on trial for hiding €18.7 million (£13.9 million) from French authorities in what is seen as a test case concerning the HSBC tax avoidance scandal. Arlette Ricci, 74, is among the first of around 50 wealthy French nationals to face… – Continue reading
BELIZE CITY, Mon. Feb. 23, 2015–It’s far easier to move money from Belize via an offshore company than to deposit those funds in a local commercial bank, especially with more stringent banking requirements which have been implemented as part of the new anti-money laundering regime here in Belize. If a… – Continue reading
IRA plans can be excellent ways to save for retirement, but there are some investments to avoid if you want to take full advantage of IRA tax savings. Two that come immediately to mind are tax-exempt municipal bonds and high-yielding stocks from foreign countries with dividend withholding taxes. Tax-exempt municipal… – Continue reading
Attempt to plug every gap makes the system unworkable – Norton Rose Fulbright. JOHANNESBURG – A tax expert has warned against over-complicating tax legislation in an attempt to block every loophole or perceived underpayments of tax, as it makes the tax system “unworkable”. Andrew Wellsted, director at Norton Rose Fulbright,… – Continue reading
Switzerland and neighbouring Italy have revised a double taxation agreement which includes provisions for the exchange of information in line with the standards of the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation (OECD). The accord and a roadmap for the amendment of tax rules on cross-border workers as well as improved… – Continue reading
Tax collections, so maintains the Federal Minister for Finance Ishaq Dar, have improved significantly and he cited a healthy growth rate of around 13 percent in one of his recent press conferences. Sources within the Ministry of Finance, however, revealed to Business Recorder, but on condition of anonymity that the… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — Swiss prosecutors are scrambling to explain why they took seven years to probe suspicions of money laundering aroused by data stolen from HSBC Holdings Plc’s private bank in Geneva. Inspired by Feb. 8 disclosures by the Washington-based International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that HSBC did business with arms… – Continue reading
Islamabad: Pakistan’s Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has rejected allegations by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader that he transferred $4 million to his son in Dubai to avoid taxes. In an open letter to the PTI chairman Imran Khan, the finance minister also refuted the claim that he has been dragging his… – Continue reading
Chancellor says the allegations are very serious but that such decisions are a matter for the prosecuting authorities George Osborne has washed his hands of responsibility for prosecutions against people who evaded tax through HSBC Switzerland, as the government came under pressure to justify immunity deals given to those who… – Continue reading
Hervè Falciani, the former HSBC employee who became a whistle-blower by handing over details of client bank accounts to French authorities, triggering investigations into money laundering and tax evasion, believes many other banks are involved in similar practises. In an interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa, Falciani said that… – Continue reading
Caterpillar, Inc. (CAT), the heavy equipment maker is now under scrutiny as the IRS now demands $1 billion in taxes and penalties. This should come as no shock after the company faced Senate scrutiny in 2014 over its tax plans. Tax Woes The company deals in the designing, manufacturing and… – Continue reading
BERLIN – Geneva prosecutors searched the premises of HSBC’s Swiss subsidiary on Wednesday after launching a money-laundering investigation over a report that the bank helped hide millions of dollars for drug traffickers, arms dealers and celebrities. Prosecutors said they were investigating HSBC Private Bank (Suisse) SA and persons unknown for… – Continue reading
Probes since 2001 into offshore accounts include €4.6m from Irish HSBC customers The Revenue Commissioners has collected just more than €1 billion since 2001 from various special investigations of offshore bank accounts held by Irish residents. This includes the €4.6 million received to date from the holders of offshore accounts… – Continue reading
NEW YORK â?? A founder of famed New York City restaurant Le Périgord faces a potential three-year prison sentence that could take him away from the paragon of traditional French cuisine after he pleaded guilty to hiding income in offshore bank accounts. Georges Briguet, 77, admitted during a Brooklyn federal… – Continue reading
