AMMONNEWS – The weekly meeting Finance Minister Ezzedine Kanakrieh holds with heads of financial departments focused on steps adopted to crackdown on tax and customs duty evasion among other procedures, according to a statement. It said today’s meeting focused on the preparation of the final account for 2018, due to… – Continue reading
Barbados is no longer under threat of a negative listing by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Minister of International Business and Industry, Ronald Toppin, made this disclosure during an international tax conference with stakeholders in New York on Thursday. Minister Toppin said his Ministry had received confirmation… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: Federal Minister for Finance Asad Umar Thursday made it abundantly clear that those having offshore properties had no option but to give the trail of their money. Addressing a post-mini budget press conference at the P-block here, he said the government had obtained assistance from friendly countries, including Saudi… – Continue reading
Ukraine and Switzerland have signed a protocol on the introduction of amendments to the convention on the avoidance of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and capital, and its protocol, concluded in Kyiv on October 30, 2000. Ukrainian Finance Minister Oksana Markarova and newly appointed Swiss President Ueli… – Continue reading
The Angolan parliament unanimously approved proposals for the resolution of agreements for the elimination of double taxation and prevention of tax evasion on income tax with Portugal, China and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to official information. The Secretary of State for Cooperation, Domingos Vieira Lopes, said that the… – Continue reading
DAVOS, Switzerland: French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Thursday that France would plead for global minimum corporate tax as a priority of its presidencyof the G7 nations group this year. “We need an effective minium corporate tax in all developed countries,” the minister said at a press conference… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: In order to move against owners of offshore assets abroad, the FBR has sought powers of provisional assessments for creation of tax demands against those who never bothered to declare anything in Pakistan. These tax demands could be shared with the jurisdictions of OECD countries that might pave the… – Continue reading
Prior to the commencement of the World Economic Forum at Davos on Wednesday, Prime Minister Gaston Browne held a bilateral meeting with the Finance Minister of Malta, Edward Scicluna. According to a release from Antigua and Barbuda’s Director General of Communications, Maurice Merchant, the main items on the agenda for… – Continue reading
CRA now transferring 600,000 banking records per year under controversial information sharing agreement The Canadian government has shared more than 1.6 million Canadian banking records with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service since the start of a controversial information-sharing agreement in 2014, CBC News has learned. In 2016 and again in… – Continue reading
During 2017 the Italian Government introduced a new tax regime: The Resident Non-Domiciled Tax Regime(also known as the “Flat Tax Regime”), with the aim of attracting high net worth individuals who want to relocate to Italy. The new legislation introduced a key change to the general principle of worldwide taxation… – Continue reading
Background Portugal is being re-discovered as a destination to relocate to, with iconic cities such as Lisbon and Porto, and stunning coastal areas, for example, the Algarve. It also offers very easy access to the rest of Europe. Portugal is increasingly recognised as an international hub with 71 Double Taxation… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department issued final regulations spelling out how U.S.-based companies will have to pay repatriation taxes on offshore profits under Section 965 of the tax code. The IRS released proposed regulations on Section 965 in August, and the proposed rules went through a public… – Continue reading
The Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) has sentenced a gold trader of up to 10 years in jail for filing false income tax returns (ITR) for the years 2005 to 2009. The Court’s Third Division also ordered Rex Chua Co Ho to pay the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) deficiency… – Continue reading
The Director-General Intelligence and Investigation-Inland Revenue department has unearthed tax evasion worth Rs170 billion throughout Pakistan last year ISLAMABAD: Around 20% of the overall tax evasion and fraud cases involving billions of rupees have been resolved by the tax department during 2018. The Director-General Intelligence and Investigation-Inland Revenue department has… – Continue reading
The Portuguese Parliament voted in favour of a proposed government resolution approving the agreement to eliminate double taxation with Angola, the Portuguese press reported on Friday. The parliament unanimously approved an agreement between Portugal and Angola on mutual administrative assistance and co-operation in fiscal matters signed in Luanda on 18… – Continue reading
KARACHI: The withholding tax collection from non-cash banking transactions has posted 14 percent growth; following introduction of an amendment through the Finance Supplementary Act, 2018. The collection of withholding tax from non-cash transactions, which is applicable only on non-filers of income tax returns, increased to Rs1.128 billion in December 2018,… – Continue reading
The Ministry of Finance will scrutinize amendments to tax law policy in 2019, centred on some measures aimed at preventing base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) and restructure tax revenue sources. The information was released at a conference reviewing the finance sector’s performance throughout 2018 and setting forth targets for… – Continue reading
The announcement by National Treasury and SARS in 2017 that the tax exemption on South African expatriates is set to change, has resulted in the lifestyle of many South Africans, who are employed by companies abroad, to rapidly change from a South African tax liability point of view. By Claudia… – Continue reading
KUWAIT CITY, Jan 13: The Fatwa and Legislation Department has submitted to the Council of Ministers a draft law that allows banks to declassify the data of their customers, as provided by the CRS Convention on Join Reporting, reports Al-Rai daily quoting sources. The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is an… – Continue reading
The Cook Islands has joined a coalition of countries aimed at fighting tax avoidance and easing cross-border tax dispute resolution. The country has joined 124 other countries in the Inclusive Framework on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) announced earlier this month…. – Continue reading
Luxembourg and Spain passports placed 5th in a global study of visa-free travel. The annual “Henley Passport Index”, published on 8 January 2019, is a “ranking of all the world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without a prior visa.” The index is published by… – Continue reading
Chile is considering a 19 percent tax on multinational eCommerce companies like Amazon, Netflix and Uber. Finance Minister Felipe Larrain made the announcement on Thursday (Jan. 10), and if it comes to fruition, the rate would be almost double what was originally proposed, Reuters reported. The Chilean Chamber of Commerce,… – Continue reading
VIENNA (Sputnik) – The Austrian government will introduce a 3-percent tax on international tech giants with an annual turnover exceeding 750 million euros ($864 million), Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said on Thursday. “Europe currently does not have taxation of digital Internet giants and Austria intends to become a pioneer in… – Continue reading
KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has detected tax evasion of around Rs2 billion by sugar mills through suppressing sales, sources said on Wednesday. In its ongoing drive against tax concealment by sugar mills, the revenue authority recovered around Rs500 million from one sugar mill and issued another five… – Continue reading
KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has sought explanations from the resident Pakistanis regarding their undeclared foreign assets, sources said on Tuesday. These assets were identified under the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEoI), they added. Large Taxpayers Unit (LTU) Karachi summoned around 100 people from Sindh Region to appear… – Continue reading
Mumbai: For many rich Indians, 2019 has begun on an awkward note. Jersey, one of their favourite tax havens, is questioning the lack of ‘substance’ in the nameplate firms set up to either hold undisclosed money, or invest in other countries. In the last few days, service providers in Jersey… – Continue reading
The Irish taxman has managed to uncover and collect €572.6m in unpaid tax last year, an average of €1,000 per case according to the latest official figures. The data for 2018 shows Revenue officials “intervened” a total of 572,785 times during the year, with around 99% of taxpayers willingly handing… – Continue reading
FIRST proposed by the European Commission (EU) in 2016, a set of new tax rules aimed at eliminating most common corporate tax avoidance practices came into force on 1 January 2019. The commission posted on its website on 30 December 2018 that the new tax rules known as Atad (anti-tax… – Continue reading
In recent weeks, major anti-money-laundering enforcement actions have highlighted the critical role of whistleblowers in government efforts to curb illegal movement of funds. The German raids of Deutsche Bank, U.S. indictments of three employees and a client of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, and an earlier Danske Bank money-laundering investigation… – Continue reading
Treaty for the avoidance of double taxation between Iran and Slovakia has become operational from January 1, 2019, Trend reports citing Iranian Foreign Ministry’s website. The agreement was signed between the two sides in January 2016. After the completion of all legal processes in both countries, the treaty will become… – Continue reading
THE DUTCH government has added the Turks and Caicos Islands and 15 other countries to a tax haven blacklist. The jurisdictions listed have no corporation tax or a corporation tax rate of less than nine percent, a press release from the Government of the Netherlands stated. The 16 countries added… – Continue reading
A Barbados delegation is to hold talks next week with officials from the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). A government statement said that the team from the Ministry of International Business will be attending the Forum on Harmful Tax Practice (FHTP) from January 9 to 11. It… – Continue reading
The Government yesterday broke down the divide between Bahamian domestic and international financial institutions to meet European Union (EU) demands. KP Turnquest, the Deputy Prime Minister, in unveiling a radical regulatory shift said the Government will “make the playing field level for all financial institutions in The Bahamas” by enabling… – Continue reading
Cayman’s leaders return fire on the Dutch government describing its blacklist as “unjustified” and “wholly lacking in fairness and credibility.” In a statement Friday (4 January) the Office of the Premier said the Dutch blacklist does not take into account Cayman’s adherence to international standards for tax transparency nor its… – Continue reading
Double taxation agreements with China, Brunei and Vietnam came into effect Tuesday with the New Year, with experts saying they will bolster trade and attract investment. The agreement with China on the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income was signed… – Continue reading
The wealthy are showing a keen interest to invest offshore, as the HNWIs seek to achieve benefits from global diversification and gain tax efficiencies. The proportion of HNWIs who invest offshore has risen from 11.2% in 2014 to 16.9% by December 2018, , according to GlobalData’s HNW Offshore Investment survey…. – Continue reading
India will start receiving from Switzerland this year information relating to financial accounts held by Indians in Swiss banks, government said Wednesday. Minister of State for External Affairs V K Singh, replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, said such information may include details about persons allegedly involved in… – Continue reading
The Dutch finance ministry is expanding its official list of places it considers to be involved in tax evasion by a further 16 low tax jurisdictions, including the islands of Guernsey and Jersey, the Isle of Man, and Belize. The list contains five jurisdictions currently blacklisted by the EU: American… – Continue reading
Continuing its ongoing commitment to the development and maintenance of the very highest standards of economic and financial propriety, the Bermuda Government has tabled legislation that embraces a global initiative to combat base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). The legislation, which was tabled in the House of Assembly on 7… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: Switzerland does not acknowledge the special efforts that the PTI government claims to have made to get the Double Taxation Agreement between Pakistan and Switzerland ratified from the latter. The PTI government, however, insists that in its first cabinet meeting, the authorities concerned were directed to pursue the matter… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service is giving foreign-based banks with U.S. operations some leeway when calculating a major new international tax aimed at preventing global companies from shifting profits abroad. Multinationals often transfer payments, such as interest or royalties, to their affiliates in low-tax jurisdictions to maximize deductions and minimize tax… – Continue reading
The Delhi High Court, in its recent decision, quashed an order of the Income Tax department questioning the overseas earnings and assets prior to March 31, 2005. The earnings included money in tax-haven banks, overseas properties and interests in offshore trusts and applies to non-resident Indians as well. The assessee,… – Continue reading
The United States Department of Justice has charged four people with crimes allegedly brought to light by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism’s Panama Papers expose, according to a DOJ announcement published earlier this month. They are the first US criminal charges stemming from the ICIJ’s 2016 investigation, which reported… – Continue reading
The Virgin Islands ranked as the second-most-important financial jurisdiction in the world in a recent study published by Vistra, a corporate services provider. The research — titled the “Vistra 2020 Report” — evaluated insight from more than 800 financial services industry professionals around the globe, according to the company. Published… – Continue reading
CANBERRA, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) — The amount of tax paid by Australia’s biggest companies has risen 20 percent in a single year, data has revealed. According to the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) ‘s corporate tax data for financial year 2016-17, which was released on Thursday, the nation’s 1,470 biggest companies… – Continue reading
A top Central Bank official has accused the OECD of trying to “hobble” the competitiveness of The Bahamas’ economic permanent residency regime by including it in an arbitrary “quasi-blacklist”. Charles Littrell, the regulator’s inspector of banks and trust companies, in a speech to a Turks & Caicos financial services conference,… – Continue reading
The Isle of Man’s parliament has approved tax legislation that will allow the jurisdiction to avoid being put on the European Union’s blacklist. Tynwald gave the green light this week to the Income Tax (Substance Requirements) Order 2018. This means that from January 2019, companies engaging in “relevant activities” will… – Continue reading
Consultants, private bankers and lawyers are seeing more business from PRC clients as they seek to shelter assets and income in overseas trusts ahead of new tax laws, which will be introduced in January. China’s tax law reforms that target high net worth individuals, set to come into force on… – Continue reading
The governments of Argentina, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay have joined forces to create a Latin American initiative to tackle tax evasion and corruption by making sharing and making better use of the information exchanged under international tax transparency standards. The countries have agreed to “consider the possibility” of making a… – Continue reading
The governments of Argentina, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay have joined forces to create a Latin American initiative to tackle tax evasion and corruption by making sharing and making better use of the information exchanged under international tax transparency standards. The countries have agreed to “consider the possibility” of making a… – Continue reading
