A tax crackdown on multinationals including tech giants Google and Apple could make Australia less competitive, the Business Council of Australia warns. Moves by Australia to prevent profit shifting could lead to companies being double-taxed, BCA chief executive Jennifer Westcott told a conference in Canberra yesterday, which was attended by… – Continue reading
On 28 April 2014, the Australian Government signed an agreement (the intergovernmental agreement) with their U.S. counterparts that will greatly assist Australian financial institutions that must comply with the requirements of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) legislation, enacted by the U.S. Government. The FATCA regime is, at its core,… – Continue reading
A decision to drop tax and money laundering charges against three high-profile Sydney businessmen is ”another humiliating defeat for the Project Wickenby Keystone Cops”, according to a lawyer close to the trio. Charges attracting jail of up to 25 years, laid against former CVC Limited chairman Vanda Gould, former Sunland… – Continue reading
A few points about Macquarie’s bizarre tax predicament. The tax bill is up over $500 million in two years, but it is the rate that is worthy of note rather than the quantum. Last year was a very good one for the bank, net income was $1 billion higher so… – Continue reading
The tax office has announced an amnesty for taxpayers with unreported offshore financial activities, codenamed Project DO IT (disclose offshore income today). Among the transactions it’s interested in are interest income from offshore bank accounts, undeclared capital gains on overseas assets and ongoing income flows from businesses owned overseas. Though… – Continue reading
Australia has signed an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the US in order to “reduce the burden” on financial institutions when complying with FATCA. Australian treasurer Joe Hockey said the IGA will “minimise costs” by simplifying due diligence requirements, as well as broadening arrangements between the Australian Tax Office and the… – Continue reading
The federal government has entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the United States to “reduce the burden on Australian financial institutions” in complying with the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. Treasurer Joe Hockey announced yesterday that the agreement with the US government has been completed, heralding ramifications for “a… – Continue reading
Australia signed a tax-information sharing agreement with the U.S. Treasury Department on Monday ahead of a new U.S. law that will crack down on offshore tax avoidance. The accord, one of a number of so-called intergovernmental agreements (IGA) between Washington and individual countries, comes ahead of the implementation in the United… – Continue reading
Attempts by the country’s banks to comply with new American tax legislation are raising fears about customers’ privacy. The United States is one of two countries – the other being Eritrea – that tax their citizens who live overseas, even if their income is generated in a foreign country and… – Continue reading
More than three people a day have disclosed offshore income or assets in the fortnight since the Australian Taxation Office announced an amnesty, The Australian Financial Review reports. According to the newspaper, tax commissioner Chris Jordan said early results were promising, with 16 disclosures and 33 expressions of interest about possible disclosures… – Continue reading
Potato king Paul Rennie has told a court he is unable to explain why he sent millions of dollars to tax havens in transactions revealed by a Project Wickenby investigation. The Federal Court heard Mr Rennie had been raided by federal police, who seized documents related to his Griffith-area potato… – Continue reading
Australian tax laws are inhibiting the export of financial services and the nation’s development as an “international financial centre”, according to Macquarie Group. In its submission to the Financial System Inquiry, Macquarie said Australia’s tax provisions are becoming “increasingly detailed, complex and hard to interpret, making it difficult for businesses… – Continue reading
All bar the dotting of the i’s and crossing of the t’s appears done in New Zealand’s intergovernmental agreement with the United States over its controversial Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA. An Inland Revenue Department (IRD) spokesman confirmed to interest.co.nz negotiations between the two countries have progressed sufficiently… – Continue reading
The Justice Department is cracking down on wealthy Americans sheltering their money in the Cayman Islands. On Wednesday night’s Daily Show, John Hodgman strapped on his “deranged millionaire” persona to find an alternative tax haven. David Marchant, an offshore banking expert at OffshoreAlert.com, recommends that Hodgman park his panda-hunting assets in… – Continue reading
Aggressive tax strategies pioneered by Macquarie Group are under scrutiny both internationally and in Australia, putting at risk techniques the company has used to claim more than $1.3 billion in deductions. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development is targeting ”foreign tax credit generators” as part of its battle against… – Continue reading
On 27 March 2014, the Commissioner of Taxation announced an initiative to allow eligible taxpayers to come forward and voluntarily disclose unreported foreign income and assets. He urged taxpayers with offshore assets to declare their interests ahead of a global crackdown on people using international tax havens. The initiative covers… – Continue reading
Offshore finance companies are offering a way around strict new low-deposit mortgage rules, and documents obtained by 3 News reveal the Reserve Bank is keeping a close eye on it. The International Monetary Fund today warned the Auckland housing market is one of the biggest risks to our economy. Low-deposit… – Continue reading
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
Macquarie Group successfully lobbied the Abbott government to water down and delay moves to tighten laws over which the bank is fighting a tax battle worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Fairfax Media has learnt that Macquarie was among industry players who attended a November 6 meeting with then-assistant treasurer… – Continue reading
Expats should put their financial affairs in order while they have the chance as governments around the world prepare a global tax net aimed at wiping out avoidance. The operation is headed by the Organisation of Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and closely follows the lines of the controversial US… – Continue reading
A call to tax technology companies such as Apple and Google in the countries where they have substantial activities has re-ignited concerns companies may be taxed twice and stop business altogether. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which is working on a global plan to prevent companies from avoiding paying… – Continue reading
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
In the early hours of Thursday Morning, Australia announced a tax amnesty on any tax resident with offshore assets not declared to the Australian Taxation Office Geraint Davies, Managing Director of Montfort International sees this move as significant from many perspectives. “We have seen the breaking news of a complete… – Continue reading
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
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
EU AGREES ON SYSTEM TO TACKLE TAX EVASION. The Associated Press has the story, “European Union nations on Thursday agreed on a sweeping policy to fight tax evasion after tiny Luxembourg dropped its reservations to new rules which render its secretive banking culture more transparent. Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel… – Continue reading
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
DESPITE George Osborne’s platitudes to last month’s G20 meeting in Australia – “It is not fair if big companies avoid their taxes by shifting their profits around artificially” – the Eye has discovered that the government has signed its most significant PFI deal to date (a new £190m children’s hospital… – Continue reading
Companies have every right to minimise their own tax burdens, but shrinking your footprint only lasts so long before someone gets annoyed. For Apple Australia and Google Australia, that time might be nigh as the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) reportedly gears up to investigate the pair for tax minimisation. The ABC… – Continue reading
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
The benefits of the New Zealand Government’s desire to push export led growth, as part of its overall economic strategy, could be stymied by a lack of clarity over proposed cross-border tax changes. New research from the Grant Thornton International Business Report survey (IBR) reveals that New Zealand business leaders… – Continue reading
Inland Revenue today released its interpretation of what it means to be tax resident. “This is a particularly important document for New Zealanders living and working overseas. For these people, remaining tax resident in New Zealand can have significant financial implications.” says Rebecca Armour, Tax Director and Head of International… – Continue reading
12 March 2014: In its 2013 Annual Report, the Luxembourg Direct Tax Authorities reported that they have negotiated new tax treaties with Hungary, New Zealand, the UK and Uruguay. It is also reported that 659 exchanges of information upon request, spontaneous information exchanges and automatic exchanges of information have been… – Continue reading
OECD tax director Pascal Saint-Amans has played down concerns that the United States might resist plans to make multinational companies such as Apple and Starbucks pay more tax, arguing that governments must move quickly to close multibillion-dollar loopholes or risk ordinary citizens losing faith in their taxation systems. Mr Saint-Amans… – Continue reading
The Taxation (Annual Rates, Employee Allowances, and Remedial Matters) Bill contains proposed legislative amendments to give effect to the intergovernmental agreement (IGA) New Zealand is currently negotiating with the United States in respect of the United States’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The Commentary to the Bill states that… – Continue reading
Apple, famous for its innovative products, is equally creative in its tax structure. From 2009 to 2012, it successfully sheltered US$44 billion from being taxed anywhere in the world, including sales generated in Australia. While there are probably some sound reasons for Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, to claim in a US congressional… – Continue reading
In an attempt to stop multinationals shifting profits overseas Australia’s Tax Office is launching a task force to investigate 86 large corporations’ tax activities. The tax office is looking into companies that use complex structures to move profits through tax havens as well as those that are using thin capitalisation,… – Continue reading
New Zealanders living and working overseas can breathe a little easier now tax authorities have agreed that renting out a house they own in New Zealand doesn’t automatically make them a New Zealand taxpayer. The Inland Revenue Department has issued an interpretation of New Zealand residency after a Taxation Review… – Continue reading
The Australian press is incandescent with rage after it discovered that the fruit themed cargo cult Apple has worked out a way of avoiding giving billions to its taxman. Apple is already in hot water for overcharging Australians for its shiny toys and now it seems that it is refusing to pay tax…. – Continue reading
APIA, Samoa — Dividends, land sale income, insurance payments, management fees and airline ticket payments over $1 million tala (US$425,800) are all to come under new exchange controls from next month. On Friday, the Central Bank of Samoa released a statement signed by Governor Maiava Atalina Ainu’u-Enari, covering the different areas…. – Continue reading
Finance ministers and central bankers from the world’s most powerful economies have vowed to crack down on offshore tax evasion by big multinationals. Bill English was among the who’s who of the finance world meeting in Sydney yesterday. New Zealand is not one of the G20 but was conferred unofficial… – Continue reading
The days of multinational companies being able to use the Double Irish Dutch Sandwich to avoid taxation may soon be coming to an end, with the G20 group of nations looking to create a reporting standard to allow for automatic exchange of tax information. In the official communique coming at the end… – Continue reading
Kiwis could be forced to surrender their private details to United States authorities as part of a deal to combat tax-dodging. Those affected could include high-profile New Zealanders in entertainment, sports and business who have previously lived in the US. The Government has stressed the law changes to override New… – Continue reading
In a world of widening inequality, it is perhaps the most pernicious injustice of them all. Multinational corporations and wealthy individuals avoiding tax on an unprecedented scale, shuffling assets, income and debt to the most favourable tax jurisdictions and confounding hapless authorities. It is impossible to identify exactly how much… – Continue reading
Former treasurer Wayne Swan has warned that Australia risks losing global influence unless this year’s G20 summit achieves concrete results on issues such as multinational tax avoidance. Ahead of this weekend’s meeting of G20 finance ministers and central bankers in Sydney, Mr Swan also urged the Abbott government not to… – Continue reading
February 17 — New Zealand Revenue Minister Todd McClay on February 10 announced that the agreement for the avoidance of double taxation between New Zealand and Papua New Guinea entered into force on January 21, 2014. The two countries signed the tax treaty on October 29, 2012 (216 International Tax… – Continue reading
The Federal Labor Party has demanded the Government bring Australia’s international taxation regulations into line to deal with multinationals such as Apple and Google, which are siphoning billions of dollars of revenue out of Australia while paying only small amounts of local tax. In a statement issued this morning, Shadow… – Continue reading
International Business Minister, Donville Inniss recently announceed that the Barbados Government and the United States of America have agreed to start negotiations with respect to an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) that will give effect in Barbados to the provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA, enacted by the… – Continue reading
Chinese companies registered under Samoa’s tax haven status are among those pouring billions back into China. Roughly 1 billion US dollars in foreign direct investment from Samoa to China is shown on a graph published last week. According to the Samoa Observer, this represents about two billion tala of funds… – Continue reading
