Net-A-Porter have apparently been a little naughty with their tax returns. Uh oh, have Net-A-Porter taking a naughty book-keeping tip or two from Dolce & Gabbana? After the famous designer duo got done for tax evasion, the online designer handbag retailer has been accused of the same thing. According to… – Continue reading
The owner of an office supply business in Tralee, Co Kerry, and a “generous” charity worker, was found to have almost €800,000 in Swiss and other foreign bank accounts uncovered on foot of a revenue investigation and a European tip-off. John Cashell, aged 59, of Stacks Mountain, Kilflynn, Co Kerry,… – Continue reading
Following last week’s announcement about HMRC’s plans to impose £1m fines on promoters of tax avoidance schemes and revelations about the Liberty tax strategy, the PCG has issued a warning to all independent professionals in the UK’s contracting community to steer clear of such tax planning schemes. A secret database… – Continue reading
British expats living in Spain will have to be on their toes to keep up with the new Spanish tax rules There are a number of changes afoot which could trip you up faster than a flamenco dance. These include: · A new double tax treaty · New disclosure rules… – Continue reading
The UK and India are determined to lead international efforts to tackle tax evasion, according to a joint press statement issued by UK Chancellor George Osborne and India’s new Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. On July 8, 2014, the two governments met in New Delhi at the seventh round of the… – Continue reading
Andrea Leadsom, a high-flying Treasury minister, received more than £70,000 from a family business, the parent company of which is controlled out of the Virgin Islands tax haven. The payments, which appear to be within the letter of the rules for political donations, have been criticised because of the contrast… – Continue reading
Millionaire investors in a £5billion alleged tax avoidance scheme run by financier Patrick McKenna’s investment firm Ingenious are preparing to settle with the taxman rather than face a court battle with the authorities. The Ingenious scheme, revealed by The Mail on Sunday four years ago, is one of the biggest… – Continue reading
Popular restaurant chain’s Channel Islands tax haven trust at top of elaborate web of companies is worth £750m A secretive £750m trust located in a Channel Islands tax haven sits at the top of an elaborate offshore web of companies belonging to the family behind the Nando’s chicken chain. The… – Continue reading
QCs doctors, pop stars and others have been caught up in a major tax avoidance plan in the UK, which have included former UK-based and now Wellington City CEO Kevin Lavery. Mr Lavery formerly worked as chief executiv e of the Cornwall Council and invested £1.2m according to the documents… – Continue reading
An international law firm has accused HM Revenue & Customs of a “sudden and unprecedented escalation” after it revealed full details about the powers which will allow it to impose £1m fines on tax advisers. Ray McCann, partner at Pinsent Masons, said the powers, which are aimed at cracking down… – Continue reading
Birmingham’s Quaker heritage means scores of trust funds are set to be put under the spotlight in a US-inspired tax evasion swoop, the sector has been warned. Trusts are at the heart of a new compliance regime aimed at rooting out hidden assets and pressurising tax havens to come clean…. – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: India and the UK today expressed the determination to work together to tackle the menace of tax evasion even as Britain agreed to support infrastructure projects in the country. UK Export Finance will provide a line of credit of one billion pounds (about Rs 10,000 crore) for the… – Continue reading
India and the United Kingdom today reiterated their determination to lead on tackling tax evasion, noting that the two countries would begin exchanging tax information on an automatic basis from 2017 with each other and with a large number of jurisdictions as part of their commitment to early adoption of… – Continue reading
A secret list of account holders reveals how rich Britons are legally exploiting tax havens, despite a UK government crackdown. The identities of thousands of wealthy offshore clients of a major Channel Isles private bank have been leaked to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. The individuals include donors to… – Continue reading
Britain is likely to receive little more than half of the £3 billion-plus expected from an agreement reached with Switzerland to tackle offshore tax evasion, HM Revenue and Customs has told MPs. Chancellor George Osborne’s 2012 Autumn Statement forecast the taxman would collect an additional £3.12 billion as a result… – Continue reading
Macau and Guernsey are set to ink a new tax information exchange agreement (TIEA). While no date has been set yet, the announcement was published yesterday in the Official Gazette. According to the Official Gazette, the Secretary for Economy and Finance Francis Tam Pak Yuen is to sign the agreement… – Continue reading
Transparency rules aimed at clamping down on tax evasion are now in force, meaning more information will be shared with the UK tax authorities Expat savers who remain resident in the UK for tax purposes now have to provide more information when they open offshore bank accounts – to be… – Continue reading
500 property raids launched in the last year – managing to hit a new record high Property searches by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to target tax evasion jumped by 12% in the last year* to 500, up from 445 property raids in 2012/13, according to data obtained by Pinsent… – Continue reading
Property-buyers and expats in Spain should note that a new Double Taxation Convention between the UK and Spain, which was signed in London on 14th March 2013, came into force in June 2014. Richard Way, Editor of www.OverseasGuidesCompany.com, publishers of www.SpainBuyingGuide.com said: “From June 12th, rules for withholding tax on… – Continue reading
Walgreen Co. is at a crossroads, but it may not be “at the corner of happy and healthy” as its advertising slogan suggests. The nation’s largest drugstore chain is considering a move that would allow it to significantly cut its tax bill and increase profits. But it’s being painted by… – Continue reading
The Romanian police conducted on Friday morning (July 4) 76 searches in Bucharest and six counties, at dozens of clinics suspected of tax evasion and money laundering through illegal VAT refunds via ghost companies, reports local Mediafax. The damage in this case is estimated at EUR 68 million. The police… – Continue reading
The authorities are looking to entice Russian-owned offshore firms to repatriate capital. A new law will impose penalties on such companies for tax evasion, but offers 2-year amnesty for those firms which decide to relocate to Russia. The Finance Ministry has decided to grant a 2-year amnesty for offshore companies… – Continue reading
The BVI Government has signed a Model 1B (non-reciprocal) Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) in relation to the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), it was announced on 30 June 2014. It was announced in March this year that negotiations had been concluded with the US and later in April the… – Continue reading
Guernsey’s Income Tax Department is cracking down on tax evasion. Islanders who haven’t declared interest they’ve received from the bank in past tax forms they’ve handed in, are being given more time to come forward with the details. If they don’t come forward and correct any discrepancies before the 31st… – Continue reading
HMRC and Morgan both say the proposals, announced last year in the Autumn Statement, will not be included in the Finance Bill 2014 The government has abandoned plans to introduce legislation that would make it tougher to set up a charity for tax-avoidance purposes because it would have had a… – Continue reading
Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Schemes (QROPS) are becoming increasingly popular in America, due to the loophole represented by a double-tax treaty signed with Malta – a country in the top three jurisdictions of choice since QROPS were introduced. Previously it was largely viewed as near-impossible to arrange for a viable,… – Continue reading
Should investors pay much heed to domicile when investing in an investment trust IPO? The first half of 2014 has very much mirrored what we saw last year, certainly from a new issues perspective. The investment trust sector is going full throttle, with the sector raising £1.8bn so far this… – Continue reading
Channel 5 documentary The Hunt For Hitler’s Millions reveals tax evasion schemes dictator used to amass secret fortune. A new UK documentary has exposed the secrets of Adolf Hitler’s hidden fortune, which is estimated to be worth more than £3bn. Channel 5’s The Hunt For Hitler’s Millions reveals that the… – Continue reading
Measures to block abuse of ‘transfer of rights’ rules expected to bring in more than £160m, taxman says. Measures to block abuse of ‘transfer of rights’ rules expected to bring in more than £160m, taxman says. The High Court has rejected an attempt to bring a judicial review to challenge… – Continue reading
While the UK government continues its battle against tax evasion and tax avoidance, the authorities have received welcome support from the High Court with a ruling backing last year’s bid to stop investors avoiding stamp duty. In simple terms, savvy investors were transferring ownership of property to an offshore company… – Continue reading
The UK Chancellor, George Osborne, announced new sanctions against offshore tax evasion, last month. The UK government intends to introduce a new “strict liability” criminal offence for not declaring untaxed offshore assets. Under the plans announced by the Chancellor, HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) would no longer need to prove… – Continue reading
In an article published by The Mirror on May 20th, it was claimed that an untaxed shadow economy now accounts for a tenth of all the money spent here in the UK. Undisclosed corporate takings annually equate to £100bn, meaning that HMRC annually fail to collect around £47bn in tax revenue. Tax… – Continue reading
US firms are using the UK as a haven in which they can symbolically shift their companies to benefit from the country’s relatively low corporation tax regime. Several American companies have already sailed parts across the Atlantic and set up in the UK by moving a handful of executives over… – Continue reading
Nothing about the narrow cream-colored lobby at 160 Aldersgate Street in the City of London financial district gives a hint of its role at the center of the offshore oil industry. That’s because the building is occupied by a law firm. Yet, on paper at least, it is also home to… – Continue reading
At present, it is unclear how the rules surrounding Private Residence relief (PPR) will exempt individuals from these new CGT rules. In his 2013 Autumn Statement, Chancellor George Osborne announced an important change to the UK tax system – namely, the extension of capital gains tax (CGT) to non-residents selling their… – Continue reading
U.S. companies are increasingly viewing the U.K. as a place to relocate to pare their tax bills. Why? Relatively low tax rates and a business-friendly environment. Pfizer (PFE) was the latest high-profile example; it tried to take over the British pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca (AZN). American and French media giants Omnicom… – Continue reading
The internet retail giant Amazon is facing fresh claims of tax avoidance after its latest accounts showed it routed more than £11 billion through its Luxembourg-based subsidiary in 2013 – yet paid only £4 million in UK corporation tax last year. Amazon trades through the Luxembourg subsidiary, Amazon EU SARL,… – Continue reading
When it comes to being an expat, as far as the UK taxman is concerned, absence does not make the heart grow fonder. A tax specialist gives tips on avoiding problems. There is no avoiding the fact that moving overseas or returning to the UK creates some tax issues, and… – Continue reading
IT’S BECOMING increasingly apparent that the OECD’s plan to reduce tax base erosion and profit-shifting, as laudable as it is, is hugely reliant on the US making significant and drastic alterations to its corporate regime if it is to be successful. The cases of Starbucks and Google have shown us… – Continue reading
MILAN — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ new London headquarters will have a staff of about 50 people, most of whom will have a finance background, said two people familiar with the details of the automaker’s plan to shift its tax residency to the UK. Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne and Fiat… – Continue reading
Chancellor says “we will continue to pursue offshore tax evaders”. The government is set to consult on plans to make it a “strict liability criminal offence” for individuals to hide their money offshore, meaning it will make a much easier for HM Revenue & Customs to prosecute offshore tax evaders…. – Continue reading
Alliance Boots has challenged claims of tax avoidance regarding its diminutive £2m corporation tax bill, as boss Stefano Pessina stated the group was fully tax compliant and should not have to justify its tax affairs. The pharmacy giant had reported a 31% surge in net profits to £971m. However, it… – Continue reading
First Minister Alex Salmond has refused to back calls for a boycott of Amazon after reports the company is engaging in large-scale tax avoidance. During First Minister’s Questions on Thursday afternoon, Scottish Green MSP Patrick Harvie cited concern over “further revelations about the scale of the scandal of tax avoidance… – Continue reading
Residential property owners need to be aware of some proposed changes, which will have a significant impact on their CGT liabilities. Final period exemption reduced If a property has, at any point, qualified as an individual’s main residence then the final 36 months would have been covered by relief from… – Continue reading
A £100m charity tax avoidance scheme similar to the Cup Trust has been defeated at a tax tribunal by HM Revenue & Customs.According to the judgment handed down this week by the first tier of the tax tribunal, the Bluebox scheme used a method where government bonds were given to… – Continue reading
World Cup presenter Gabby Logan invested in the tax avoidance scheme used by Gary Barlow and two Take That bandmates. Gabby, who is on the BBC’s frontline team for Brazil, ploughed cash into part of a £12.3million partnership which aimed to shelter earnings from the taxman. The TV star, who… – Continue reading
The tax man is focussing more on raising money from landlords – but with the latest government figures showing up to half of buy to let landlords live overseas, what are their tax options? HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) likes property investors because houses, land and commercial buildings are stuck… – Continue reading
Three members of Take That are reported to have invested in a tax avoidance scheme – so will they join our festival line-up of stars who, through schemes or leaving the country, have avoided tax? Whether by moving country or through schemes and accountants, celebrities finding ways to avoid tax… – Continue reading
On December 17, 2013, the Protocol Amending the Convention between Japan and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital Gains (the “Protocol”) was executed in London. The… – Continue reading
Significant CGT changes affecting UK residents hidden in government plans to tax non residents. In responding to HM Revenue & Customs’ (HMRC’s) plans to extend capital gains tax (CGT) to non-residents in certain circumstances, the Chartered Institute of Taxation (CIOT) has voiced concern over the proposed withdrawal of the principal… – Continue reading
