Category: USA

U.S. waits for Azerbaijan’s response on tax information exchange agreement

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. The U.S. is waiting for Azerbaijan’s response on the agreement on the exchange of tax information on the FATCA rules. The U.S. Embassy reports that the US has engaged the Azerbaijani government on this issue. “Now we’re waiting for their response. The US government is negotiating similar arrangements… – Continue reading

United States: Levin And McCain Urge DOJ To Seek Extradition Of Fugitive Swiss Bankers

Bloomberg news reports that on March 18, 2014, U.S. Senators Carl Levin and John McCain wrote a letter urging the Justice Department to seek extradition of about 30 Swiss bankers and others who are charged with enabling offshore tax evasion and failed to appear in federal courts. McCain and Levin,… – Continue reading

More Countries Agree to Help U.S. Crack Down on Tax Dodgers

The Treasury Department added 19 nations to its list of countries that have reached agreements with the U.S. on carrying out a far-reaching law aimed at preventing offshore tax dodging by American citizens. The Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service said the 19 nations – including Australia, Brazil, South Africa… – Continue reading

U.S. gives foreign banks more time on anti-tax dodge law

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday gave foreign financial institutions 10 extra days to register with the U.S. government, under a new law to combat offshore tax dodging by Americans that goes into effect on July 1. Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), foreign banks,… – Continue reading

50% of H-1B visas in 2013 went to offshore companies, mostly in India

WASHINGTON, DC: As the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) opened its doors to this year’s round of H-1B visa applications, data show that about 50% of last year’s H-1B visas were granted to offshore companies, and the top two of those are based in India – Infosys and Tata… – Continue reading

Republican senators express support for Caterpillar tax strategy

WASHINGTON — Caterpillar Inc. executives defended a tax strategy Tuesday that has saved the manufacturing giant billions in U.S. taxes. They got support from Republican senators, including one who said the company deserves an award. Caterpillar has avoided paying $2.4 billion in U.S. taxes since 2000 by shifting profits to… – Continue reading

Swiss tax allies falling by the wayside

The decision by Luxembourg and Austria to automatically exchange tax data with other European Union countries has isolated Switzerland in the global crusade against banking secrecy, a Tax Justice Network (TJN) expert tells swissinfo.ch. The two European Union states caved in to demands last month by signing up to the revised… – Continue reading

FEDS BURY FATCA LAW IN BUDGET BILL

On Friday the Conservative government tabled legislation to implement key elements of this year’s Budget. But it contains more than tax credits. Buried within is a revised version of draft legislation implementing the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) with the U.S. on FATCA. A Department of Finance press release makes no mention of this… – Continue reading

Senate Probe: Caterpillar Avoided $2.4B in U.S. Taxes

Caterpillar avoided $2.4 billion in federal taxes between 2000 and 2012 by shifting $8 billion in profits from international parts sales to a tax haven in Switzerland, said Chairman Carl Levin, (D-MI), of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on Monday. Joining Microsoft (MSFT), Hewlett Packard (HPQ) and Apple (AAPL),… – Continue reading

Quebecor companies registered in Delaware prompt questions

Québec Solidaire on Saturday asked Pierre Karl Péladeau, the Parti Québécois candidate for Saint-Jérôme, to confirm or deny the registration of more than 60 Quebecor affiliates in Delaware, a state considered by many to be a popular tax haven. Amir Khadir, Québec Solidaire’s candidate in the Montreal riding of Mercier, described Delaware as a known tax haven for… – Continue reading

Black money menace

It would be surprising if Union finance minister P. Chidambaram’s threat to his Swiss counterpart — to declare Switzerland an uncooperative nation for not sharing information on the 562 Indians who allegedly stashed their black money in Swiss banks — is actually carried out. The threat has trade implications. These… – Continue reading

A changing world

Recent discussions about the movement of capital and offshore accounts have to be a major cause for concern. During a Central Bank seminar recently, Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss, sounded the warning that compliance with the recently passed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act… – Continue reading

Registration of Licensed Non-bank Financial Institutions in Compliance with FATCA

BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, March 26th 2014 (CUOPM) – The Member Governments of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) have commenced discussions with the United States of America (US) towards executing an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for the implementation of the provisions of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).   The… – Continue reading

‘Last chance’: ATO amnesty for offshore cash

The Tax Office is allowing Australians with money parked in offshore accounts to avoid harsh penalties by coming forward, in an amnesty program worth up to half a billion dollars. ATO Commissioner Chris Jordan will announce the program today, which will reduce the penalties for taxpayers who hand over information… – Continue reading

Caterpillar to face U.S. Senate panel on offshore taxes

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Caterpillar Inc’s offshore tax strategies will come under scrutiny on Tuesday at a U.S. Senate hearing expected to examine dealings by the world’s largest mining and construction equipment maker in Switzerland, Bermuda and Luxembourg. With many multinationals being criticized for tax avoidance, veteran tax sleuth Senator Carl Levin… – Continue reading

United States: Remain Vigilant On Indian Permanent Establishments, Even After The Favorable e-Funds Decision

The U.S. and Indian competent authorities are famously at loggerheads over the principles to be applied in transfer-pricing double-tax cases.  Some of the important issues involved are:  the appropriate markup on costs for services; when and how to reward location savings; and whether marketing intangibles exist.  Virtually all of these… – Continue reading

The plea deal of an ex-banker details tax-evasion schemes

As part of a plea agreement, an ex-Credit Suisse banker recently disclosed how U.S. customers avoided offshore account disclosure requirements. In an effort to crack down on offshore accounts, federal prosecutors have stepped up investigations of the largest Swiss banks, their bankers and account holders. The most recent bank to… – Continue reading

Caterpillar Previews Tax Defense for Senate Offshore Hearing (1)

Caterpillar (CAT:US) Inc. began defending its international tax maneuvers as a U.S. Senate investigative panel set an April 1 hearing to examine the company’s “offshore tax strategy.” Representatives from Caterpillar and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP will testify, according to the hearing notice posted today by the Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. The committee, led… – Continue reading

Ghana and Denmark sign Double Taxation Agreement

Ghana and Denmark have signed a Double Taxation Agreement, moving the bilateral cooperation between the two countries to another level. A Double Taxation Agreement regulates the tax treatment of income or capital gains in situations where the same taxpayer is subject to tax in two states with respect to the… – Continue reading

Who took advantage of the offshore account “safe harbor” program?

A report by the Government Accounting Office details who took part in the first voluntary disclosure program for offshore accounts. If you made an honest mistake and failed to keep up on international account reporting requirements, it is important to spe March 25, 2014 /24-7PressRelease/ — Congress has been on… – Continue reading

How Suntech, Chinese Solar Giant, Was Snared In An Italian Fraud Scandal

As 2008 began, the future looked brilliant for green energy giant Suntech Power and its high-flying founder, Shi Zhengrong. Suntech was one of the world’s largest makers of solar panels, the first non-state-owned Chinese  company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. And Shi, born to a farm family so… – Continue reading

Companies’ Offshore Profits Keep Piling Up

U.S. corporations added at least $206 billion to their stockpiles of offshore profits last year, parking earnings in low-tax countries until Congress gives them a reason not to. They have accumulated $1.95 trillion outside the U.S., up 11.8 percent from a year earlier, according to securities filings from 307 corporations…. – Continue reading

Tax Avoidance/ Evasion: UK Budget’s new rules; US senators want 30 Swiss bankers extradited

Tax Avoidance/ Evasion: On Wednesday George Osborne, UK chancellor, proposed new rules in his Budget 2014 statement to reduce the opportunities for rich individuals and companies to avoid or evade personal and corporate taxes. Also this week, two prominent US senators wrote to the Justice Department to seek extradition of about 30… – Continue reading

British Virgin Islands: BVI & Canada: Down To business – TIEA Now Effective

The Canada-BVI Tax Information Exchange Agreement (“TIEA”) came into force on 11 March 2014. The TIEA was signed in May 2013, and the effective date provisions are set out in Article 13 of the Agreement. The BVI is now party to 25 TIEAs. What are the benefits? The BVI/Canada TIEA is significant due… – Continue reading

Kenya Inks Deal With Seychelles To Eliminate Double Taxation

NAIROBI (Xinhua) — The Kenyan government on Monday signed an agreement with the Seychelles to phase out double taxation on companies from the two countries. Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Treasury Henry Rotich said the elimination of double taxation will promote flow of investments, trade and labor between the two countries. “ Kenya has… – Continue reading

Offshore taxes may slow audits for some U.S. multinationals: IRS

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Multinational businesses that often fight with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service over their worldwide taxes may be dropped from an IRS program meant to smooth corporate audits, a senior IRS official said on Tuesday. Speaking at a conference, Michael Danilack, a deputy U.S. IRS commissioner, raised concerns… – Continue reading

California Attorney Sentenced to Prison in Scheme to Hide Millions in Secret Swiss Accounts

Washington, DC – California attorney Christopher M. Rusch was sentenced to serve 10 months in prison for helping his clients Stephen M. Kerr and Michael Quiel, both businessmen from Phoenix, hide millions of dollars in secret offshore bank accounts at UBS AG and Pictet & Cie in Switzerland, the Justice… – Continue reading

Havens set deadline for reporting investors’ tax details

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. The British Virgin Islands, Liechtenstein and Jersey are among 44 countries that have set… – Continue reading

More multinationals head for tax haven

US companies appear to be thumbing their noses at a global crackdown on tax avoidance, with share registry group Computershare reporting an increase in multinationals re-incorporating in Ireland. In a briefing to investors on its regional outlook last week, Computershare said its Irish division had noticed ”further momentum in US… – Continue reading

Close corporate tax loopholes for large companies

Boeing won’t be paying any taxes this year [“Boeing has big tax refund coming from Uncle Sam — again,” seattletimes.com, March 1]. Instead, by deferring tax payments, it will be getting a $199 million refund. It’s not alone; many corporations are avoiding taxes altogether through loopholes. In the Senate there is… – Continue reading

British Virgin Islands: BVI Concludes Negotiations With US On FATCA

The British Virgin Islands Government has today announced the conclusion of negotiations with the United States on a Model 1 Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). In a statement the Ministry of Finance of the BVI Government said the final text of the agreement has been… – Continue reading

Worldwide: Canada-U.S. FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement

On February 5th, 2014, the Canada signed an intergovernmental agreement (“IGA”) with the U.S. regarding the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”). Under the terms of FATCA, Canadian financial institutions need to report directly to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) any information regarding bank accounts held by U.S…. – Continue reading

Romania awaits US answer on starting FATCA negotiations

Romania is waiting for an answer from the United States on the beginning of negotiations of an intergovernmental agreement on the implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) on the exchange of information for fighting tax avoidance.The Romanian Government has approved a memorandum to this effect on January 22,… – Continue reading

Bermuda: UK FATCA: Reporting Requirements For Bermuda Trusts

Financial institutions in Bermuda, such as banks and trust companies, will soon be obliged to provide information to foreign tax authorities relating to the financial affairs of United States (US) and United Kingdom (UK) resident clients. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act 2009 (US FATCA) is a US law designed… – Continue reading