Switzerland has recently joined a number of nations in the fight against tax evasion by pledging to minimize bank secrecy. This pledge took the form of an accord, signed by 47 nations, under the supervision of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Switzerland, along with countries such as… – Continue reading
More than three quarters of American expats and green card holders who have taken out a supplementary overseas pension contract are able to mitigate the effects of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, it is claimed. The FATCA created controversy when it was announced, as it appeared that people would… – Continue reading
Credit Suisse is pleading guilty to criminal charges and paying a $2.6 billion fine for helping American clients cheat on their taxes over the past decade. The firm helped tens of thousands of Americans hide their wealth, kept lists of companies and accountants who could facilitate tax evasion for clients, and actively recruited U.S…. – Continue reading
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts, May 21st 2014 (CUOPM) – The St. Kitts and Nevis Federal Cabinet has paved the way for the signing of Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) with Ireland and South Africa. Cabinet has approved the draft agreements between officials of the respective countries. “Those negotiation exercises have since… – Continue reading
Efforts to sign new DTAs and update existing DTAs in the first five months of the year will promote tax transparency and facilitate investments, sustaining Singapore’s position as a preferred destination for doing business, says SingaporeCompanyIncorporation.sgSingapore, in a bid to further strengthen its Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreements (DTA) network, has seen new… – Continue reading
When Business Council of Australia chief Jennifer Westacott weighed in on plans for an Australian tax crackdown on multinationals last week, she warned the move could risk competitiveness and lead to companies being double taxed. Last year the Australian government passed new laws to prevent multinational companies shifting their profits to avoid the payment… – Continue reading
The U.S. has extended the time limit for compliance withFATCA, the reporting of its citizens’ financial accounts outside of the country,to the years 2014 and 2015. The Treasury Department of the United States, through the inland revenue service (IRS) has announced that it will take into account the “good faith”… – Continue reading
On 13 May 2014 the Ukrainian Parliament adopted draft Law of Ukraine No. 4527 On Amending the Tax Code of Ukraine Regarding Improvement of Transfer Pricing (“Bill”). The Bill eases liability of Ukrainian taxpayers for violating transfer pricing rules. In particular, the Bill provides for the following: 1. It extends… – Continue reading
The head of the Lower House financial markets committee said that until Russia passes a law, any report to US tax authorities about a client accounts in Russian banks would be considered a violation of bank secrecy. MP Natalya Burykina (United Russia) added that bank employees who permit it could… – Continue reading
The Inland Revenue Department of the Republic of Cyprus is expected to sign the Model 1 InterGovernmental Agreement (“IGA”) with the US Treasury in accordance with the provisions of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). FATCA is a US tax legislation that was enacted in March 2010 in order… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: Swiss bank account holders who have been quietly celebrating the exit of P Chidambaram now have another reason to rejoice. Almost three-fourths of the 600 or so named in the list of clients of HSBC Geneva are beneficiaries of ” discretionary trusts”. These individuals are confident that a Supreme… – Continue reading
On October 13, 2009, the government of Georgia and the government of the State of Kuwait have signed an Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital. The treaty entered into force on April 14, 2013,… – Continue reading
A new report from the advocacy group Citizens for Tax Justice finds that 301 Fortune 500 companies hold a combined $2 trillion offshore, collectively avoiding $550 billion in U.S. corporate income taxes, while a contrasting report from the Tax Foundation found that U.S. multinational corporations reported paying more than $128… – Continue reading
HumaneWatch.org, a project of the nonprofit Center for Consumer Freedom (CCF), is running a full-page ad today in USA Today calling out the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) for parking $20 million of donor funds in offshore investment shelters in Bermuda and the Cayman Islands. The practice is only the latest in… – Continue reading
Robert Stack, deputy assistant secretary for international tax affairs with the U.S. Treasury, gave an update on several items in the OECD’s project to combat base erosion and profit shifting at the American Bar Association Section of Taxation’s May meeting. As reported more fully by Transfer Pricing Report’s Kevin Bell, Stack,… – Continue reading
In an effort to tighten rules on corporate tax avoidance through “inversions,” U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined a group of 13 Senators today to introduce The Stop Corporate Inversions Act of 2014, legislation to address the practice of reincorporating offshore to avoid paying U.S. taxes. The bill is designed to prevent… – Continue reading
If you have clients who own Greek bonds (government or corporate), they may have immediate tax-filing concerns. A PwC notice explains that investors not resident in Greece who realized gains between February 29, 2012 and December 31, 2013 owe the Greek government 20% in taxes. It’s due June 25, and… – Continue reading
Macquarie Group has acknowledged that a revised tax bill following a full-scale audit by Tax Office investigators may be market sensitive and could move its share price. The information, which relates to three years of additional tax, has never been disclosed by the homegrown investment bank to the sharemarket. Macquarie’s… – Continue reading
With the recent passing of the 5 May 2014 registration deadline to be included in the first IRS GIIN list on 2 June 2014, and the 3 June 2014 registration deadline for the 1 July 2014 GIIN list imminent, this update outlines the practical implications for CLO issuers incorporated in… – Continue reading
With any opportunity that seems too good to be true, there is often a fatal flaw. That is the case with The Partnership to Build America Act, introduced by U.S. Rep. John Delaney, D-Md., and U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo. The bill offers a way for multinational corporations to bring… – Continue reading
MILAN — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ new London headquarters will have a staff of about 50 people, most of whom will have a finance background, said two people familiar with the details of the automaker’s plan to shift its tax residency to the UK. Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne and Fiat… – Continue reading
Chancellor says “we will continue to pursue offshore tax evaders”. The government is set to consult on plans to make it a “strict liability criminal offence” for individuals to hide their money offshore, meaning it will make a much easier for HM Revenue & Customs to prosecute offshore tax evaders…. – Continue reading
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 May 6, 2014, the Ministry of Finance of Singapore announced that Singapore had agreed in substance on a Model 1 FATCA IGA. Under the IGA, Singapore-based financial institutions will report information on financial accounts held by U.S. persons to the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS), which will in… – Continue reading
Many share my concern that, if information is held by a tax agency in virtually any country, there is no confidence it could not be transferred to a different agency of that country, says Martyn Gowar A PROBLEM SHARED The pragmatic bullying of the United States has reached a new… – Continue reading
Uncle Sam is poised to poke his pointy nose into the financial affairs of millions of Canadians who have no connection to his country, and — no matter how distasteful you find this — pushing back will only make it worse. This is the gloomy — but credible — conclusion… – Continue reading
The Council of Insurance Agents& Brokers issued the following news release:. The Washington- based Council of Insurance Agents& Brokers is developing www.w8bene.com, an online portal to house each foreign insurer’s W-8BEN-E forms so that brokers can access the ones they need when they need them. “Our industry is facing a tight… – Continue reading
Alliance Boots has challenged claims of tax avoidance regarding its diminutive £2m corporation tax bill, as boss Stefano Pessina stated the group was fully tax compliant and should not have to justify its tax affairs. The pharmacy giant had reported a 31% surge in net profits to £971m. However, it… – Continue reading
GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK)’s China unit was accused by a government-run legal newspaper of failing to pay more than 100 million yuan ($16 million) in import duties and taxes for its HIV treatment. The company evaded the taxes from 2005 to 2008, China’s Legal Daily newspaper reported May 16 on its… – Continue reading
On May 9, 2014, the U.S. Treasury announced that Hong Kong had agreed in substance on a Model 2 FATCA IGA. Under the IGA, Hong Kong financial institutions will report information on financial accounts held by U.S. persons directly to the Internal Revenue Service. Hong Kong is only the seventh country… – Continue reading
TAIPEI: Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou on Wednesday categorically denied a report that he holds a US green card and owes the US government Tw$500,000 ($16,556) in taxes, saying he would resign if the claim turned out to be true.The report, appearing in the latest issue of Taiwan’s Next Magazine, alleged… – Continue reading
A criminal case has been opened in Portugal against Brazil’s football coach Luiz Felipe Scolari weeks before Brazil hosts the World Cup. He has been named as a formal suspect in a tax fraud investigation but he has not been arrested or charged. Mr Scolari, 65, was Portugal’s head coach… – Continue reading
Exchange controls have been relaxed to allow for the practice, though the rules remain fairly strict. South African technology firms and other companies can now transfer intellectual property (IP) offshore thanks to a relaxation of exchange control regulations in this regard. One of challenges that private companies in South Africa… – Continue reading
Liechtenstein said Friday that it has signed a anti-tax fraud pact with Washington that requires banks in the principality to provide information about accounts held abroad by US taxpayers to US authorities. Under the agreement, Liechtenstein would implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which came into effect on… – Continue reading
On April 1, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations held another hearing on multinational corporations that actively reduce their worldwide tax burdens by shifting profits out of the U.S. Senators and witnesses disagreed as to whether the specific transactions that U.S. corporate taxpayers use to move income to entities outside… – Continue reading
The Financial Services Authority (OJK) has proposed that the government demand reciprocal cooperation with the US regarding the latter’s request to apply its Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) in the country. FATCA is a law that the US has unilaterally imposed on the rest of the world to prevent… – Continue reading
First Minister Alex Salmond has refused to back calls for a boycott of Amazon after reports the company is engaging in large-scale tax avoidance. During First Minister’s Questions on Thursday afternoon, Scottish Green MSP Patrick Harvie cited concern over “further revelations about the scale of the scandal of tax avoidance… – Continue reading
CARACAS, May 17, 2014 – (WAFA) – President Mamhoud Abbas signed Saturday energy and double taxation avoidance agreements with his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro at Miraflores presidential palace in Caracas. Abbas started Friday a three-day official visit to the Caracas, where he was received by Maduro. They exchanged views on the peace process as well… – Continue reading
Residential property owners need to be aware of some proposed changes, which will have a significant impact on their CGT liabilities. Final period exemption reduced If a property has, at any point, qualified as an individual’s main residence then the final 36 months would have been covered by relief from… – Continue reading
The new Mexican Income Tax Law (“MITL”) that entered into force on January 1 modified the so-called procedural provisions concerning the application by multinational companies of benefits set forth under tax treaties negotiated and executed by Mexico. Accordingly, foreign residents claiming tax treaty benefits (either for a tax exemption or… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI, MAY 14: With tax authorities pressing with over Rs 21,000 crore in unpaid dues, Finnish telecom major Nokia has invoked the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPA) India has with Finland to resolve the dispute. Nokia late last month wrote to Prime Minister invoking dispute settlement clause… – Continue reading
Corporate Tax Avoidance: Last week the news that Apple is considering buying Beats Electronics, a maker of expensive headphones that was founded by record mogul Jimmy Iovine and rap artist Dr Dre, for $3.2bn, got a lot of media attention. Dr Dre must have pissed-off Apple when he bragged on… – Continue reading
Caterpillar, industrial and construction equipment manufacturing Goliath, has been avoiding or deferring paying U.S. taxes for at least 13 years to the tune of approximately $2.4 billion, according to a report from the Homeland Security & Government Affairs Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. “Tax evasion schemes rob the system of billions of… – Continue reading
If Washington closes offshore tax loopholes, we can fix many of our infrastructure problems and create new jobs. America has an infrastructure crisis. We see signs of it every day: We hit bone-jarring potholes as we drive. We face long detours as bridges are closed for emergency repairs. When water… – Continue reading
More than three-quarters of US expatriates with supplementary overseas pensions contracts say they won’t renounce their citizenship to escape the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca). The result, from a survey by financial adviser deVere Group of 361 of its own clients, suggests the supplementary overseas pension contract may stem… – Continue reading
KARACHI: Pakistan’s large banks have completed the registration process with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) – the US government agency responsible for tax collection and law enforcement – to report the data (dollar-denominated transactions) of US persons to it, banking sources said on Wednesday. They have got the registration as… – Continue reading
The head of US bank Goldman Sachs has warned that guilty pleas from rivals BNP Paribas and Credit Suisse, under legal proceedings in the United States, could hurt the financial system. The two European banks, under probes for violating US sanctions and abetting tax evasion, are potentially facing very heavy… – Continue reading
Next Magazine yesterday released a report claiming that the president has to pay taxes to the U.S. under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), saying that Ma is poised to turn himself into an “international laughingstock” by becoming the first R.O.C. president subject to U.S. taxes. That the president… – Continue reading
Credit Suisse Group AG (CS – Snapshot Report) may shell out around $2.5 billion as settlement charges and is expected to plead guilty related to an ongoing tax probe by the United States Department of Justice (:DOJ). The Swiss banking giant is alleged to have deliberately helped its clients in… – Continue reading
