Category: Jurisdiction

Russia’s VTB to stop service in US to comply with FATCA

The FATCA obliges banks to send information about US clients and their transactions to the Internal Revenue Service MOSCOW, Jun 5./ITAR-TASS/. The banks of Russia’s VTB Group will gradually cease servicing its 2,000 US clients to comply with the requirements of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), daily Izvestia… – Continue reading

The Clock Is Ticking On Australians Hiding Money Offshore

The world is close to the point where hiding money offshore is foolhardy, no matter how little or large the amount is. As the loopholes continue to close, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) has announced a voluntarily scheme for people to declare unreported foreign income and assets. The ATO wants taxpayers with… – Continue reading

Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program to aid NRIs with undisclosed assets

The United States government has actively been pursuing NRIs who have undisclosed offshore assets and income. The United States law requires citizens and residents (i.e., green card holders, H1-B visa holders, and other tax residents) to report their worldwide income and complete a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts… – Continue reading

When corporations get too big to tax

The drive to scrap the corporate income tax won’t stop at zero. Wouldn’t it be nice if the government paid you on Tax Day? I’m not referring to getting a tax refund because you overpaid the federal government or a safety-net benefit labeled as a tax refund under the “Earned… – Continue reading

Ireland in U-turn on corporate tax avoidance; Accepts reality of reform

Having spent the past eighteen months claiming that Ireland does not facilitate international corporate tax avoidance despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the Irish Government has done a U-turn and has signalled that it is ready to prepare for the reality of reform. On Tuesday the Department of Finance published… – Continue reading

Mauritius to address India’s concerns over abuse of tax treaty

NEW DELHI: Mauritius has said that it will address India’s concerns over the abuse of the lucrative tax treaty between the two countries, promising measures to ensure that benefits are available only to genuine investors. The island nation has proposed a stringent limitation of benefit clause in the Double Taxation… – Continue reading

Mauritius PM says will allay India’s concerns on roundtripping of funds

Navin Ramgoolam discussed issue of long-pending treaty re-negotiation with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in their bilateral meeting today Mauritus on Tuesday said it was determined to allay India’s fears on round tripping of funds, by incorporating adequate safeguards in the India-Mauritius tax treaty. The island nation said it had… – Continue reading

Mauritius decided to provide automatic tax information exchange to India

Mauritius on 27 May 2014 decided to provide automatic tax information exchange to India. The decision was announced by the Prime Minister of Mauritius Navin Ramgoolam after his meeting with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. Navin Ramgoolam was in India to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as… – Continue reading

Compliance by Nigerian financial institutions with United States FATCA: caught between a rock and a hard place?

The Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act is a United States legislation that requires non-U.S foreign financial institutions (‘FFIs’) to identify and disclose their United States financial account holders to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) or otherwise be subject to a punitive 30% US withholding tax with respect to any… – Continue reading

Majority of U.S. Offshore Profits Claimed in 12 Tax Havens

U.S. corporations have reported to the Internal Revenue Service that 54 percent of their offshore profits are earned in 12 tax haven countries that, combined, only account for 4 percent of economic output among all countries where U.S. corporations do business. A new report by the advocacy group, Citizens for… – Continue reading

U.S. Republican tax writers criticize global corporate tax project

Republican tax law writers in the U.S. Congress and multinational businesses on Monday said international talks aimed at preventing companies from moving profits to low-tax countries could hurt the United States. Representative Dave Camp and Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah warned of the effect on U.S. taxpayers from the Organisation… – Continue reading

US Tax Cheats in Ireland Pocket Profits Worth Almost Half of GDP

It is a figure which Citizens for Tax Justice (CTJ), the US group which authored the report, says highlights Ireland’s popular use as a tax haven among US companies. Matt Gardner, executive director of the Institute on Taxation and Policy in Washington DC, tells IBTimes UK: “It’s a clear indicator… – Continue reading

Lombard Odier Partner Says EU to Bar Swiss Offshore Banks

Geneva’s private banks may have to wait years before they can prospect for business in the European Union from Switzerland and service clients across borders, according to a managing partner at the city’s oldest bank. The EU won’t allow the banks to market wealth-management services into the 28-member bloc, especially after the… – Continue reading

IRS Boss Warns OECD About Corporate Profit Shifting Plan

Law360, New York (June 03, 2014, 7:10 PM ET) — Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen said Tuesday that an international plan to squash corporate profit shifting will create headaches for administrators and hurt U.S. taxpayers.Addressing the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Koskinen said the plan would create tens… – Continue reading

WARNING: The ATO Is Aggressively Targeting Australian Companies Doing Business Offshore

International moves to shut down profit-shifting from high to low tax countries is starting to have an impact on Australian companies doing business offshore. A new EY report says these local companies are feeling the heat of a global trend of “increasingly aggressive” tax authorities. EY’s 2014 Tax Risk and… – Continue reading

Consultation puts tax law plans in spotlight

THE Department of Finance has launched a public consultation on how Ireland’s tax system might respond to proposed international changes. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is already conducting a public discussion around its Base Erosion and Profit shifting (BEPs) project, which could see tax avoidance loopholes shut… – Continue reading

Liechtenstein, US Sign FATCA Deal

Liechtenstein and the US have signed an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) for the implementation of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), the Liechtenstein Government has announced. The IGA requires the Liechtenstein Tax Administration and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to exchange information automatically on accounts held by US… – Continue reading

Credit Suisse Offers Map to 13 Swiss Banks in U.S. Tax Probe

Suisse Group AG (CSGN) set a new standard for punishment in the U.S. crackdown on offshore tax evasion. Julius Baer Group Ltd., Zuercher Kantonalbank and the Swiss unit of HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) are among those seeking to avoid pleading guilty to helping Americans cheat the Internal Revenue Service —… – Continue reading

Canada-U.S. tax agreement raises some concerns

CALGARY – A Calgary-based United States tax expert has recommended to the federal government that Canada follow the lead of other countries and include certain Canadian trusts within the definition of organizations subject to reporting under the recent Intergovernmental Agreement between the Canada and the U.S. “This would eliminate the… – Continue reading

Cyprus Court Freezes Mechel Owner’s Stake

A Cyprus court has frozen the assets of three offshore entities through which Mechel’s main shareholder and chairman Igor Zyuzin owns a 67.4 percent stake in the indebted steelmaker and coalminer, Interfax news agency reported Monday. Zyuzin is a controlling shareholder in Mechel, which has been hit by weak prices for its products, forcing it to sell loss-making assets and to negotiate delayed… – Continue reading

Amazon Facing Fresh UK Tax Avoidance Row

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

Cyprus: Cyprus Signs Model 1 IGA With US Treasury

The Inland Revenue Department of Cyprus (“IRD”) will proceed with the signing of Model 1 IGA (Inter Governmental Agreement) with the US Treasury, following the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The Model 1 IGA requires Foreign Financial Institutions (FFIs) to report all FATCA-related information to their own governmental agencies,… – Continue reading