Category: Jurisdiction

Swiss-US tax data transfer method ‘violates law’

The Swiss Data Protection Commissioner has issued a legal complaint against the Finance Ministry for sending the names of bank employees, lawyers, accountants and other third parties to the United States to assist with tax evasion investigations. The Swiss Supreme Court has already issued a ruling that bans the indiscriminate… – Continue reading

Tax havens refuse cooperation with Pakistan

Pakistan has been unable to get much cooperation from 11 countries known as tax havens around the world to share information on offshore wealth amid a global clampdown on tax evasion. Under the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) new automatic exchange of information programme, effective since September 1,… – Continue reading

Defying US, India inks $5 bn deal with Russia

NEW DELHI: India and Russia are exploring the option of trading in their local currencies and looking at signing agreements on investment protection and avoidance of double taxation, Russia’s minister for economic development Maxim Oreshkin said on Friday. The commerce ministry is considering the feasibility of a renminbi-rupee trade with… – Continue reading

FBR launches probe into Rs7 billion tax evasion

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has launched investigation against 42 textile units for rendering an estimated seven billion rupees in tax revenue losses through misuse of zero-rating facility of sales tax, officials said on Friday. The officials said the FBR identified 42 textile companies which made sales of… – Continue reading

FIA confirms getting list of 3,550 Pakistanis having properties in Dubai

KARACHI: Dubai’s famous construction company and developers, Emaar Properties, has issued lists, containing the names of 34,000 individuals, and 3,550 of them are Pakistanis. Most of them are living in Dubai or Pakistan currently, according to the addresses given in the list. FIA Director-General Bashir Memon told The News that… – Continue reading

Australia Mulls Fresh Regulations on Crypto Exchanges

The Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) said it would create a team to monitor initial coin offerings (ICOs) and cryptocurrencies. Australia’s market regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is considering a new tactic in regulating digital currency exchanges and raising the monitoring of initial coin offerings (ICOs)… – Continue reading

FDI policy shift aims to support domestic firms

Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI —Vietnam will institute new policies designed to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) by boosting the development of local companies and setting up value chains driven by advanced technologies. FDI has been a major factor in Vietnam’s rapid socio-economic development; however, some key metrics remain below… – Continue reading

Council of EU Cuts Liechtenstein, Peru From ‘Gray’ List of Tax Havens

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Liechtenstein and Peru are compliant with EU laws on tax after implementing necessary reforms and were therefore removed from EU “gray” list of tax havens, the Council of the European Union said Tuesday in a statement. In late 2017, Brussel released two lists, a blacklist of non-cooperative… – Continue reading

Bahamas ‘Must Address’ Beneficial Owner Access

The deputy prime minister has reiterated that The Bahamas “must address” access to beneficial ownership information for all corporate entities domiciled in this jurisdiction. KP Turnquest said the Government was looking to the Register of Beneficial Owners Bill 2018 as the solution, although beneficial ownership will not be publicly available…. – Continue reading

Bahamas Meets Tax Exchange Deadlines

The ministry of finance last night said The Bahamas had met the September 30 deadline to begin automatic tax information exchange (AEOI) with some 35 partner jurisdictions. Revealing that the first such exchange with another country had already occurred, the ministry said this further demonstrated The Bahamas’ commitment to meet… – Continue reading

Has the New Inland Revenue Act paralysed the Double Tax Treaty Network of Sri Lanka? Part 1

1.Introduction Due to the influence of International Monetary Fund, the income tax law of Sri Lanka witnessed a near paradigm shift with the introduction of Inland Revenue Act No.24 of 2017 (new IRA) by repealing Inland Revenue Act No.10 of 2006 with effect from 1 April 2018. Unlike the Inland… – Continue reading

NBR to set up tax unit for foreign cos

National Board of Revenue has decided to set up a separate unit to handle income tax files of foreign companies operating in Bangladesh. The decision was taken responding to a proposal of the European Union for establishing a separate NBR unit for providing hassle-free services to foreign taxpayers. EU came… – Continue reading

Tax Residency in China under New IIT Law: Impact on Foreigners

How tax residency in China gets determined is among key changes introduced in the recently passed individual income tax (IIT) law. The new law is set to reform IIT in the country, including the tax treatment of foreigners. Beginning January 1, 2019, an individual who resides in China for 183-days… – Continue reading

AICPA makes recommendations on IRS and Treasury’s proposed rules for QBI deduction

The American Institute of CPAs made recommendations to the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service on Monday about the proposed rules regarding the deduction for qualified business income under section 199A of the Internal Revenue Code. The proposed guidance, issued Aug. 16, 2018, provides rules addressing how… – Continue reading

Tax amnesty ends for undeclared EU assets

The automatic exchange of information between Switzerland and the European Union came into effect on Monday. Owning property abroad without declaring it will no longer be possible. The deadline of September 30 ended the possibility of coming forward voluntarily, reported Swiss public television, RTS, on Sunday. For latecomers who have… – Continue reading

UK court refuses to extradite former Trust Bank owner to Russia

Magistrates’ Court ruled that Ilya Yurov persecution was politically motivated because of his connections with Khodorkovsky. Westminster Magistrates’ Court refused to extradite Ilya Yurov, the former part owner of Trust Bank, who is on the international wanted list, RBC reported. The court believes that the extradition would violate human rights…. – Continue reading

TAX MATTERS | THE TAXATION OF COMPANIES IN MACAU – WORLDWIDE OR TERRITORIAL BASIS? (CONT.)

Our previous article about the taxable basis for the taxation of companies in the Macau territory made reference to the fact that the courts in Macau, notably the Court of Second Instance (TSI) and the Tax Administration, do not seem to share the same view regarding income considered as the… – Continue reading

Indian high commission seeks solution to tax-related problems

Indian high commission in Dhaka has requested different Bangladesh government agencies including National Board of Revenue to solve a number of tax-related ‘problems’ Indian chief executive officers-managed multinational companies are facing in the country. In a letter to NBR sent on September 10, the high commission said that Indian CEOs… – Continue reading

Govt to serve notices to 300 Pakistanis owning properties in UAE: sources

ISLAMABAD: The federal government has decided to issue notices to 300 Pakistani nationals who own properties in the United Arab Emirates, sources informed Geo News Saturday. The sources said that notices will be sent to individuals who own six or more properties in UAE. They will be inquired about their… – Continue reading

FBR to take action against tax dodgers from next week

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) is all set to launch a major crackdown against individuals with concealed and untaxed offshore assets from next week as the revenue body bets on financial information shared under an international treaty, officials said on Friday. The officials said the FBR finalised the… – Continue reading

New Zealand Law Foundation Report suggests accepting cryptocurrency

A recent report published by the New Zealand Law Foundation on regulating cryptocurrencies in New Zealand suggests the regulators of the country to start taking tax in crypto and trial a CBDC. The report, that is commissioned by the New Zealand Law Foundation and written by the University of Auckland… – Continue reading

Dubai enables investors to start businesses from remote locations

Investors globally will now be able to start their business in Dubai without having to be in the UAE, following an agreement between Dubai Investment Development Agency (Dubai FDI), an agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai, and the US-based Alliance Business Centres Network (ABCN). The partnership… – Continue reading

Government mulls e-tax

The government is considering imposing taxes on companies’ digital revenue as a way of increasing public coffers by capitalising on the rapidly expanding digital commerce sector. Plans to establish a so-called ‘e-tax’ are in line with the government’s strategy to prepare for the fourth industrial revolution, said Aun Pornmonirath, Deputy… – Continue reading

German companies unconvinced by Brexit tax reduction promises: study

BERLIN, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) — German companies are highly sceptical that the British government can deliver on a promise to attract more business to Britain by lowering taxes after Brexit, a study published on Thursday by the Foundation for Family Business in Germany and Europe found. According to the study,… – Continue reading

IRS bank secrecy program has little impact on tax compliance

The Internal Revenue Service’s Bank Secrecy Act program, in which it is supposed to safeguard against money laundering, is having only a minimal impact on tax compliance, according to a new report. The report, from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, noted that the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting… – Continue reading

China to introduce more measures to facilitate foreign investment

BEIJING, Sept. 26 (Xinhua) — The Chinese government will roll out more measures to facilitate the delivery of major foreign-invested projects, lower tariffs on some imported goods and streamline customs clearance procedures at a faster pace, as was decided at the State Council executive meeting presided over by Premier Li… – Continue reading

IN UKRAINE A NUMBER OF TAXES IS TOO HIGH – EXPERT

In Ukraine in some areas taxes are too high, and entrepreneurs simply can’t pay, so toughen system of tracking defaulters only after tax cuts. Comments about this correspondent of ГолосUA said political analyst Nikolai Spiridonov. “In Ukraine, a number of taxes too high. Businesses simply can’t pay. And is double… – Continue reading

IRS weighs easing tax-free spinoff rules

The Internal Revenue Service is considering relaxing the rules for companies to qualify for tax-free spinoffs — a shift that could benefit drugmakers and tech firms with promising early-stage products. The agency said Tuesday it’s looking into whether units should still be required to generate revenue before a spinoff from… – Continue reading

Advocacy Group Says EU’s Tax Haven Blacklist Is Failing

Tax havens are typically assumed to be islands in warm climates offering low tax rates for organizations looking for a lucrative loophole. But these “havens” are also sought after for opaque financial laws that can allow organizations to get away with illegal activity, like money laundering. Now, a new report… – Continue reading

The Hukou System in Shanghai: Benefits, Eligibility, and Application Process

Hukou (户口) is a system of household registration in China. Each citizen is issued a household register under supervision of the Ministry of Public Security, China’s police. Hukou serves as an identity proof for citizens, recording their basic information and permanent residence. The hukou registration also determines access to housing,… – Continue reading

NBI probe in Turku targets real estate firm, nabs third suspect

A large-scale police operation into money laundering appears to have targeted the Airiston Helmi real estate firm, led by a Russian man with Maltese citizenship. An exceptionally large police operation took place in southwest Finland this weekend, in what the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) said was an extensive search… – Continue reading

Crypto Tax Rules Need Clarity, US Congress Tells Revenue Agency

The federal tax-collecting authority should update its virtual assets guidance because the lack of clarity creates uncertainty for citizens, Capitol Hill lawmakers said in an open letter. The US House of Representatives has urged the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to release a new, comprehensive version of its cryptocurrency guidance because… – Continue reading

Withholding Taxes – What, why, when?

The tax regime in Sri Lanka historically imposes WHT on both domestic as well as cross border payments. WHT on domestic payments eases revenue collection (e.g.: PAYE) while WHT on cross border payments are adopted by most countries to ensure that the fair share of tax is retained in the… – Continue reading

ICICI Bank to raise funds overseas this fiscal

MUMBAI, SEPTEMBER 20 ICICI Bank plans to raise funds through overseas instruments this fiscal, for which its board will meet on September 24. “It will consider offshore fund raising in single or multiple tranches in any currency through public or private placement by way of issuances of debt instruments, certificate… – Continue reading

GST: E-commerce firms to collect 1% tax at source from October 1

Issue of multiple registration for foreign operators to be reviewed by panel NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 20 The Finance Ministry on Thursday notified that e-commerce operators shall collect an amount at the rate of one per cent as tax collected at source (TCS) under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on… – Continue reading

McDonald’s Luxembourg tax deal not illegal

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – McDonald’s tax deal with Luxembourg did not breach EU state aid rules, EU antitrust regulators ruled on Wednesday, saying the reason the US fast food chain did not pay some taxes was due to the mismatch between US and Luxembourg laws. The decision by the European Commission… – Continue reading

Kazakhstan ratifies protocol amending double taxation avoidance deal with Uzbekistan

President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev has signed the law on ratification of the protocol between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on avoidance of double taxation of incomes, the press service of the head of state reported Sept. 18. “The head of state has signed the law of the Republic of Kazakhstan “On… – Continue reading

Investing in Guangdong Easier for Foreign Firms after New Incentives Announced

On September 13, South China’s Guangdong province announced a series of investment incentives and cost-cutting measures to offset the impact of the worsening trade war with the US. The measures, outlined in the Policy Measures for Expanding Opening-up and Using Foreign Investment, consist of a 10-point plan to attract foreign… – Continue reading

Don’t make extra income a tax time headache

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is increasing its efforts to identify taxpayers who fail to report all their income this tax time, as it strives to recover an annual tax shortfall of nearly $1.4 billion caused by individuals who leave income out of their return. “Tax lost from under-reported income… – Continue reading

Income Tax Exemption to Interest Income on Specified Offshore Rupee Denominated Bonds

The Finance Ministry, last day informed that the Government is planning to introduce income tax exemption to the interest income on the specified Offshore Rupee Denominated Bonds. “Legislative amendments in this regard shall be proposed in due course”, the Ministry said. Interest payable by an Indian company or a business… – Continue reading

Pharmaceutical giants named and shamed in tax avoidance investigation

Four pharmaceutical giants have been named and shamed for depriving Australia of $215 million a year in tax avoidance. Johnson & Johnson, Pfizer, Merck Sharp & Dohme (MSD Australia), and Abbott – which make household name brands like Band Aid, Baby Oil, Centrum and ChapStick –were found to have unfairly… – Continue reading