Almost all estate planning clients own real estate in one form or another – a residence, a vacation home, or rental property. Real estate presents unique challenges in estate planning because debt is often associated with the property and because it may be difficult (or not desirable) to sell the… – Continue reading
DeVere poll finds large percentage of expats want a president who’d repeal the tax law; ACAGF, University of Nevada studying FATCA’s impact The five-year-old Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act is coming under fire, with a number of Americans living abroad calling for its repeal. Signed into U.S. law on July… – Continue reading
Another round of International Tax Compliance Required under the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard The Cayman Islands Department of International Tax Compliance (DITC) has notified Cayman financial institutions of its intention to move forward with implementing the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), with the introduction of local regulations by October 2015…. – Continue reading
The biggest hurdle to stopping multinational tax evasion isn’t the companies themselves. It’s the governments behind them. As the OECD works swiftly on its plan to stop multinational tax evasion, the United States has already signalled it’s not happy with what’s being proposed. The US has always been clear on… – Continue reading
The Cyprus Tax Authorities have announced that the FATCA reporting deadline has been extended to 31 July 2015 (from 30 June 2015). The FATCA Agreement between Cyprus and the United States was signed on 2 December 2014. FATCA seeks to obtain information on accounts held by U.S. taxpayers in other… – Continue reading
Tax Authority chief Moshe Asher: Banking secrecy is over. Another wave of arrests of Israelis with unreported overseas bank accounts and money is expected. In the coming day, Israelis who have not filled out forms sent to them by the Israel Tax Authority for declaring their assets will be summoned… – Continue reading
Tax Authority chief Moshe Asher: Banking secrecy is over. Another wave of arrests of Israelis with unreported overseas bank accounts and money is expected. In the coming day, Israelis who have not filled out forms sent to them by the Israel Tax Authority for declaring their assets will be summoned… – Continue reading
The Irish Government announced that the FATCA reporting deadline has been extended to 31 July 2015 (from 30 June 2015) for reporting Irish financial institutions to file a FATCA return with respect to 2014. FATCA seeks to obtain information on accounts held by U.S. taxpayers in other countries. It requires… – Continue reading
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has extended its Third Party Business Requirement Specification (BRS) for data submissions via Direct Data Flow (DDF) to include withholding tax on interest and tax-free savings and investments. The extension will be available for year-end data submissions due on May 31, 2016 (for the… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said India will sign an agreement with the US under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) that would facilitate automatic transmission of information and would help counter the scourge of black money. Wrapping up his nine-day US visit, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said India will… – Continue reading
U.S. lawmakers are exploring a new corporate tax break that would benefit companies already adept at avoiding taxes. The idea — known as a patent box or innovation box — would impose a lower tax rate on income generated from patents and other intellectual property housed in the U.S. This… – Continue reading
Rand Paul is poised to become the first major presidential candidate in memory to sue the government he seeks to lead as president. The Kentucky senator will take legal action against the U.S. Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service for what he says is the denial of his constitutional right… – Continue reading
A man accused of helping orchestrate a stock-fraud scheme involving Belize-based Cynk Technology Corp., which surged briefly to a market value of $6 billion last year, was charged by U.S. officials with conspiracy. Gregg Mulholland, also known as “Stamps,” and “Charlie Wolf,” was arrested Tuesday as part of a probe… – Continue reading
Last year at this time, more than a dozen U.S.-based corporations were threatening to move their legal residence to foreign tax havens in a paper transaction known as an inversion. Facing a wave of public opposition, some corporations abandoned these inversion attempts—notably, drugstore chain Walgreens put its plans on ice,… – Continue reading
A penny-stock firm’s mysterious surge last year to a $6 billion market cap that stunned Wall Street was allegedly the work of a California stock promoter who conspired with a network of corrupt offshore brokers. Gregg R. Mulholland, also known as “Stamps” and “Charlie Wolf” according to the government, was… – Continue reading
It’s taken some time, but it’s harder for U.S. citizens to hold foreign accounts away from the eyes of the IRS. FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, was signed into law in 2010 with the goal of ferreting out accounts hidden by U.S. taxpayers in foreign lands. While FATCA… – Continue reading
Newcomers to the United States on temporary visas may be unpleasantly surprised at the income tax consequences. A little advance planning with tax and immigration professionals can go a long way towards mitigating income taxes due. Many countries imposes taxes on income earned in that country (i.e., a territorial tax… – Continue reading
A recent report by Americans For Tax Fairness looks at how Walmart, the world’s largest corporation, uses a vast network of subsidiaries and branches in overseas tax havens with two purposes: 1.) to minimize taxes owed on its foreign operations. 2.) most importantly, to avoid United States taxes on those… – Continue reading
While the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) became law in 2010, it has been slowly transitioning to implementation, with 2015 being the first year of required reportings. For anyone not familiar with the Act, FATCA aims to prevent tax non-compliance among U.S. taxpayers with foreign accounts by requiring U.S…. – Continue reading
Offshore reporting carries many special rules, all of them with a raft of potential penalties. By now, most U.S. persons are familiar with the requirement to report their offshore accounts and assets. For those who are not, you must report all income and disclose the existence of accounts on tax… – Continue reading
It’s the $2 trillion question. That’s roughly how much U.S. multinational corporations have stashed offshore — money that both Republicans and Democrats would like to tap for revenue and cash that even some companies wouldn’t mind paying a reduced tax rate on. Democrats and some Republicans are interested in using… – Continue reading
Tax havens are used for more than just saving money. When companies take advantage of their lack of transparency for more sinister activities, shareholders can lose out. When Enron collapsed in 2002 investigators were faced with a convoluted network of subsidiaries and offshore partnerships stretching from the Cayman Islands to… – Continue reading
Conor Hynes and Ronan Connaughton of Deloitte Ireland explore the impending changes arising from BEPS Action 7 and the Skandia case and provide insight on the potential tax impact for the insurance industry. The Greek philosopher Heraclitus is attributed with the saying, “the only thing that is constant is change”…. – Continue reading
Two more Swiss banks, Bank Linth LLB AG and Bank Sparhafen Zurich AG, have entered deferred prosecution agreements with the U.S. government. The subject is tax evasion involving American account holders. Today, banks everywhere want to know if you are compliant with the IRS. Under FATCA, the entire world is… – Continue reading
A “captive” insurance company is an insurer formed for the limited purpose of insuring the risks of its non-insurer owner or owners. A captive can be an effective risk-management tool, especially for costly or unconventional risks, and it can also give businesses direct access to reinsurance markets. The number of… – Continue reading
A “captive” insurance company is an insurer formed for the limited purpose of insuring the risks of its non-insurer owner or owners. A captive can be an effective risk-management tool, especially for costly or unconventional risks, and it can also give businesses direct access to reinsurance markets. The number of… – Continue reading
A former Secret Service agent Shaun Bridges has agreed to plead guilty to charges of stealing hundreds of thousands of bitcoins from Silk Road. Shaun Bridges, the second of the two former US agents accused of stealing cryptocurrency during the investigation of the Silk Road marketplace, will plead guilty to… – Continue reading
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A dual U.S. and Canadian citizen has been criminally charged with running a stock manipulation fraud that generated $300 million of illegal profit, and included a pump-and-dump scheme that caused the market value of little-known Cynk Technology to rocket past $6 billion. Gregg Mulholland, 45, is… – Continue reading
Despite the inevitable move towards automatic exchange of tax information and Common Reporting Standards internationally, there continues to be a steady flow of litigation in the Courts of International Financial Centres such as Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, and Singapore relating to challenges to inter-governmental Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) requests…. – Continue reading
The United States has been criticized on more than one occasion for failing to be a meaningful participant in the OECD’s multi-pronged initiative to address base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). Some commentators have even gone so far as to accuse the United States of actively working against the BEPS… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who is currently on a nine-day visit to the United States, will on Monday meet representatives of pension funds and other long- term investors to allay their concerns over tax issues and ease of investing in India. He is scheduled to meet investors, including… – Continue reading
The G20’s efforts to crack down on multinational tax avoidance are likely to be defeated by national self-interest, particularly from the United States, one of Australasia’s top tax advisers says, reports the Sydney Morning Herald. Rod Houng-Lee, formerly Asia Pacific Tax Leader head of tax in Asia Pacific for big-four… – Continue reading
Switzerland remained the leading offshore asset booking centre in 2014, but with the rising new wealth generation in the Asia-Pacific region and its proximity to booking centres such as Hong Kong and Singapore, the country is expected to face increasing competition, reports Gulf News. Switzerland booked US$2.4 trillion (Dh8.8 trillion)… – Continue reading
Washington, June 21 (IANS): Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is wooing American investors with twin assurances — more economic reforms and a stable policy regime with no intention to legislate or apply laws retrospectively. Jaitley has held talks with US Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew, Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker and US… – Continue reading
ROME (AP) — Italian prosecutors are seeking to indict 297 people and the Bank of China in connection with a massive money-laundering investigation reported by The Associated Press earlier this month. The suspects, mostly Chinese migrants living in Italy, include four senior managers of the Chinese state bank’s branch in… – Continue reading
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) – State Rep. Joe Armstrong of Knoxville has pleaded not guilty to federal fraud and tax evasion charges connected to an increase in the state’s cigarette tax. The Knoxville Democrat was restrained by handcuffs and leg shackles when he appeared before U.S. Magistrate C. Clifford Shirley Jr…. – Continue reading
Here’s yet another example of a major U.S. corporation making a huge effort to avoid paying any taxes anywhere (allegedly!). According a stunning June 17th report from Americans for Tax Fairness, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) has established a giant network of 78 subsidiaries in 15 overseas tax havens in order… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) recently issued clarifications on the rollback provisions available under the advance pricing agreement (APA) mechanism in the arena of transfer pricing. While some clarifications – such as availability of a rollback even when a revised income tax return is filed, or the… – Continue reading
A new Texas law will give tax breaks to a small group of businesses but slightly increase taxes across the rest of the state. Gov. Greg Abbott on Saturday signed House Bill 3150, which will trigger a tiny increase in unemployment taxes to cover an $84 million hit to the… – Continue reading
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
St. Kitts and Nevis is one of 30 countries placed on the European Union’s black list for not doing enough to fight tax evasion. The EU’s executive Commission published the list Wednesday (June 17). The blacklisted countries figure on at least ten of the EU’s 28 member nations’ lists of… – Continue reading
Abu Dhabi, 20 June 2015: The UAE, represented by the Ministry of Finance (MoF), has announced today the signing of the agreement to facilitate implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). HE Younis Haji Al Khoori, Undersecretary of MoF, and Barbara A. Leaf, U.S. Ambassador to the UAE,… – Continue reading
Business and politicains all want it but welfare reform demand from London has thrown up an unexpected hurdle If corporation tax were cool, Eamonn Donaghy of KPMG in Belfast would be the Bono of his world – half quiet tax accountant, half buccaneering campaigner with a nifty sideline in high-level… – Continue reading
IRS News Release IR-2015-70 (April 10, 2015) contains helpful but not exhaustive information about the filing obligations of US citizens and resident aliens abroad. Taxpayers outside the United States can also find helpful information about US tax-filing obligations and related matters by visiting (1) the IRS page on YouTube; (2)… – Continue reading
International tax rules will soon change, but companies’ behaviour may change sooner. There will soon be fewer places for multinational companies and ultra-rich individuals to squirrel away money. In November leaders of the G20 are expected to adopt a full range of measures to curb the practices of base erosion… – Continue reading
Guernsey’s Chief Minister and Commerce and Employment Minister have expressed their astonishment that Guernsey has been included on a list of 30 so-called ‘non-cooperative’ non-EU jurisdictions, which was published today, reports Guernsey Finance. The list consolidates national tax ‘blacklists’ as they stood six months ago, and includes any jurisdiction on… – Continue reading
Following the expiration of the 29 May 2015 notification deadline with the Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority (the “TIA”), the next step for all Cayman Islands Reporting Financial Institutions (each an “RFI”) is to submit a return (the “FATCA Return”) setting out certain details of any US Reportable Accounts that… – Continue reading
White House advisor Valerie Jarrett was tasked by President Obama with trying to kill a controversial income tax perk used by the “wealthy and well-connected.” Yet she made a killing on a Chicago real estate deal by enlisting the same benefit. That’s what the Better Government Association found in a… – Continue reading
Paris, Jun 18 (Prensa Latina) The Union Bank of Switzerland (UBS) had a network with intermediaries for Latin American countries who help launder money and evade taxes, it was learned here on Thursday. The revelation was made in this capital by former UBS Director Stephanie Gibaud, who met here with… – Continue reading
Yesterday, on June 17, 2015, three state tax bills were favorably reported to the United States House of Representatives (House) by the House Judiciary Committee (House Judiciary) after considering each during a half-day markup. The bills that were advanced included: (1) the Mobile Workforce State Income Tax Simplification Act (Mobile… – Continue reading
