ELKTON — A bill to decrease the amount county property tax assessments could rise in any one year was introduced last week during a county council meeting. The policy, known as the Maryland Homestead Tax Credit, was designed to help homeowners deal with large assessment increases on their principal residence… – Continue reading
Sean Hannity, the Fox News prime-time host, threatened last month to leave New York for a tax haven down south. Tiger Woods transplanted himself from California to Florida for the same reason. The actor Gerard Depardieu decamped from France and sought citizenship in Russia after complaining that 85 percent of… – Continue reading
Federal prosecutors continue to add to the multitude of charges filed against Green Power CEO and founder Michael Spitzauer. Spitzauer of Kennewick was indicted this week in connection with tax evasion. In all, he has been indicted on 30 charges, including 16 counts of wire fraud, six counts of money… – Continue reading
Federal authorities said Friday they have obtained a grand jury indictment accusing three men of conspiring to avoid more than $1 million in federal taxes. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania announced the charges against Vanny Son, 33, Son Thach, 55, and Hung Danh, 54, all… – Continue reading
CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — Charleston County has hired an outside company to help it track down tax dodgers. The Post and Courier of Charleston reports (http://bit.ly/1nNzgzG ) that officials think hundreds of millions of dollars of property in the county may be undertaxed. That’s because some people may be claiming… – Continue reading
Tax authorities in South Korea and the United States will conduct a joint investigation into the allegation that the fugitive Yoo Byung-eun’s family engaged in offshore tax evasion.After the April 16 Sewol ferry disaster, the National Tax Service asked its U.S. counterpart to share intelligence on Yoo, the de facto… – Continue reading
Fallout from the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act Almost 80 percent of Americans living abroad are considering relinquishing their U.S. citizenship to escape the consequences of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, according to deVere Group. That represents an increase of 11 points since last year. The Foreign Account Tax… – Continue reading
Technically, merging and reincorporating abroad to avoid taxes is called an inversion. Bluntly, it’s called a disgrace. U.S. companies should push for tax reform rather than departing on paper and handing their tax burden to American taxpayers. The latest to seek refuge from Uncle Sam is Salix Pharmaceuticals of Raleigh,… – Continue reading
For those living in America who have pensions saved from their time in the UK, the complexity surrounding the tax viability of transferring into a potentially highly beneficial QROPS can be slightly off-putting. Many will search the HMRC QROPS list and see 14 schemes listed in the USA. Schemes such as Kraft… – Continue reading
Notwithstanding (read: Because of) certain free-airfare offers on the part of the Department of Justice! A former Swiss banker and top UBS AG executive slated to go on trial for allegedly aiding U.S. tax evasion has asked that witnesses too spooked to step foot in America be able to testify… – Continue reading
For those living in America who have pensions saved from their time in the UK, the complexity surrounding the tax viability of transferring into a potentially highly beneficial QROPS can be slightly off-putting. Many will search the HMRC QROPS list and see 14 schemes listed in the USA. Schemes such as Kraft… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON — From abortion to electronic privacy to background checks for gun purchases, a strange thing has been happening on the floor of the House as it debates its spending bills for the coming fiscal year: the stirrings of liberalism. The House on Thursday voted 221 to 200 to approve… – Continue reading
U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew is urging Congress to act to prevent U.S. companies shifting their headquarters abroad to benefit from a lower tax rate. “Congress should enact legislation immediately — and make it retroactive to May 2014 — to shut down this abuse of our tax system,” Lew wrote… – Continue reading
The Obama administration called for immediate congressional action to stop U.S. companies from using cross-border mergers to escape the country’s tax system, the latest trend in corporate deal-making. In a letter calling for a “new sense of economic patriotism,” Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew said Congress should pass tax changes… – Continue reading
FIRMS STILL HAVE to report transactions with US citizens to the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) despite registering with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), a government official said. BIR Commissioner Kim S. Jacinto-Henares said that while many local firms had committed to supply data to the IRS to comply with… – Continue reading
The start of tax information reporting between the US and foreign governments and financial institutions under Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) from July 1, 2014 triggered a rush of nations joining the network at the eleventh hour. The major surprise for FATCA watchers was China agreeing ‘in substance’ to… – Continue reading
Foreign entities use this to document their status On June 25, 2014, the Internal Revenue Service released long-awaited instructions to Form W-8BEN-E, used by foreign entities to document their status under both chapter 3 and chapter 4 (the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)) of the Internal Revenue Code. The… – Continue reading
Gary Barlow, his manager and fellow Take That stars Mark Owen and Howard Donald ploughed £66million into the programme called Icebreaker Gary Barlow is thinking of suing experts who advised him to invest millions in a tax avoidance scheme after telling a pal: “I’m not evil.” The Sunday People reports,… – Continue reading
The latest proposed tax inversion deal just got even bigger. U.S. bidder AbbVie hiked its offer for Dublin-based Shire PLC Sunday after four days of talks in a deal that could now reach $31.35 billion, underscoring what it sees as the benefits of a tie-up that will also give it… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: The US authorities have made direct contacts with Pakistani commercial banks to seek data of account holders of their nationals in a bid to comply with their law known as the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca), The News has learnt. However, the Nawaz Sharif government has taken a… – Continue reading
Houston: Preparer Diane Caldwell Larry has pleaded guilty to falsifying client returns. During her plea hearing, she admitted that while operating Paradise South Tax Services she prepared 33 materially false client returns for tax years 2007 through 2010. Those returns generated excessive refunds and cost the IRS some $168,792. Larry… – Continue reading
Ingersoll-Rand (IR) is a great American success story. Founded 143 years ago by a Connecticut farmer who invented a steam-powered rock drill, the company made tools that carved out the Panama Canal and shaped Mt. Rushmore. More recently it’s become a leader in energy-efficient air conditioners: Ingersoll-Rand’s Trane unit has… – Continue reading
Another day. Another inversion. This one, though, with a twist. On Tuesday evening, U.S.-based Salix Pharmaceuticals Ltd.SLXP -1.52% announced plans to merge with a unit of Cosmo Technologies Ltd.’s and take up residence in Ireland for tax purposes. What makes this different from a typical inversion deal is the fact… – Continue reading
Lawyers for convicted tax evader Ty Warner said his sentence of two years’ probation was reasonable, pointing out that the punishment of the Beanie Babies billionaire was consistent with more than half of the offshore banking cases that the government has prosecuted, according to a court filing Thursday. Last October,… – Continue reading
On Friday, 27 June 2014, the Irish Revenue Commissioners (in conjunction with the Department of Finance) finalised the relevant Regulations with respect to FATCA. These Regulations will come into operation on 1 July 2014. As readers will be aware, the Irish and US Governments signed an intergovernmental agreement (“Irish IGA”)… – Continue reading
The international boundary that divides the United States and Canada is the longest international border on Earth, and many communities and businesses have interests lying on both sides. The shared border facilitates the largest trade relationship between any pair of countries in the world. It is therefore unsurprising that Americans… – Continue reading
Tax Since the 1970s, U.S. taxpayers with foreign banks accounts have been required to annually report their foreign bank account information to the Department of Treasury on a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (“FBAR”) by June 30th of each year. In addition to requiring the filing of an… – Continue reading
The recently enacted FATCA makes it mandatory for Indian tax authorities to share information about earnings of NRIs in US. However both India and US have a treaty signed to avoid double taxation. NRIs living in US can certainly benefit from this treaty The US government has recently enacted Foreign… – Continue reading
DETROIT — Delphi Automotive plc is in the crosshairs of a battle between the IRS and many large American companies over the use of offshore tax shelters. Delphi is the latest corporation in dispute with the federal government over its tax practices. The IRS notified the supplier last month it… – Continue reading
The long awaited instructions for Form W-8BEN-E, Certification of Foreign Status of Beneficial Owner for United States Tax Withholding (Entities), were finally posted on the IRS website on June 24, 2014. Form W-8BEN-E will now be the most common form to be used by foreign entities to certify their status under both (i) Chapter 3 of… – Continue reading
‘A court challenge is being prepared’Tim Harper Other news Rants & Raves Feral cat group’s efforts far from misguided Walker found digital camera near Sydney River Morrison, MacIntyre among country’s best at nationals UPDATED: Chow finishes tied for third, McKinnon tied for fifth at men’s amateur (Rowdy) Ronda Rousey’s UFC… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON — The IRS is about to get an unprecedented look at bank accounts and investments U.S. citizens hold abroad, through a law that is making it harder to hide assets from the tax collector. The government started imposing 30 percent taxes on many overseas payments to financial institutions that… – Continue reading
South Carolina property owners who rent their homes to vacationers will face more tax-related scrutiny under one new state law, but some could see big tax savings under another new law. The impacts will mostly play out in beach communities where such rental properties are plentiful. The added scrutiny, which… – 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
Rich Chinese, watch out. The growing arm of U.S. tax authorities appears poised to also help China obtain information about Chinese taxpayers in the U.S., a move that could make it harder for Chinese to move large sums of money out of the country. As the WSJ’s Wei Gu reports:… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands Banking Association (CIBA) says almost 15,000 of Cayman’s financial institution have registered with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States. This, ahead of the Unites States Foreign Accounts Compliance Tax Act (FACTA), that will take effect on Tuesday. CIBA says many of the 14,800 financial… – Continue reading
Here’s a question for investors in any big U.S. corporation with foreign operations: Do you know what the company’s tax bill would be if it had to bring its overseas earnings home? The answer, alas, is that they probably don’t. That’s because most companies with large foreign earnings don’t disclose… – Continue reading
Lawyers from the United States have been advising the Island’s financial services sector how to prepare for in-depth tax investigations. They spoke at a global tax enforcement conference organised by Douglas legal firm Dougherty Quinn at the Villa Marina (3 July). Its aim is to prepare service providers, banks and… – Continue reading
Deal Allows U.S. to Enforce its Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FACTA JERUSALEM—Israel has joined 80 other countries in signing an agreement with the U.S. government on fighting offshore tax evasion, the Israeli finance ministry said Wednesday. According to the agreement, Israel’s tax authority will submit information on local… – 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
AUSTIN, Texas–(Business Wire)–TEL OFFSHORE TRUST announced that there will be no trust distribution for the second quarter of 2014 for unitholders of record on June 30, 2014. The Trust has not been able to make a distribution to unitholders for twenty-two consecutive quarters, or since January 9, 2009. Except as… – Continue reading
Sweeping rules aimed at stopping tax evasion took effect on Tuesday, ushering in a new system that Obama administration officials say will leave tax cheats with fewer havens overseas. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, one of President Obama’s initiatives for fighting offshore tax evasion, is arriving after multiple delays,… – Continue reading
The 2010 Foreign account tax compliance act represents a significant initiative by the United States to tackle offshore tax evasion. But it has not been popular with Chinese authorities, especially the banking sector, in part because it was considered an extra burden. Why should it obligate itself to do such… – Continue reading
A White Plains federal grand jury has indicted state Sen. Thomas Libous, R-Binghamton, on a charge of lying to federal agents, and his son, Westchester County attorney Matthew Libous, on charges of tax evasion, it was announced Tuesday. Thomas Libous, who represents a district that includes Broome, Chenango, Delaware and… – Continue reading
Having resolved his tax fraud with an $11.5 million payment, local businessman John Gizzi almost landed himself in prison last month by attending a Republican Party barbecue. “You’re seen as the millionaire who walked away with a probation sentence and bought himself out of federal prison,” U.S. District Judge Frank… – Continue reading
The federal first-time homebuyer tax credit programs expired near the end of 2011, but there is still tax help out there depending on the state or county where you live. For example, states such as Delaware, Texas, Kentucky and many more states have local homebuyer tax credit programs that you can take advantage of. Other… – Continue reading
A federal appeals court has upheld the tax-evasion conviction of a once-influential Chicago Democrat. Monday’s 26-page ruling from a three-judge panel is at least partly academic. Last month, former Cook County Commissioner William Beavers completed his six-month prison term for failing to declare campaign cash he used to gamble. His… – Continue reading
The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited Chairman & CEO Brendan McDonagh commented on the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act [FATCA] in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. FACTA imposes due diligence, information reporting and control obligations on non-US financial institutions for certain US persons who maintain… – Continue reading
When Canada’s banks reopen for business on July 2, they will begin formally operating as informants for the United States Internal Revenue Service — the IRS. Financial institutions in Canada will be required to ask all new and existing clients opening a new account questions such as where they were… – Continue reading
Just days before the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act’s entry into force, China and the United States initialed a model one intergovernmental agreement (IGA) on June 26, 2014, to simplify the process for financial institutions in both territories to provide relevant information to support tax enforcement activities under the Act…. – Continue reading
