Category: Offshore

Satori launches Hong Kong offshore pension plan aimed at employees

Global fund distribution company, Satori Consultancy, has launched a Hong Kong registered offshore pension plan structured by Legacy Trust Company (LTC) as an occupational scheme. The International Pension Plan, which has five risk graded investment portfolios run by Marathon Capital & Apollo Multi Asset Management, is a Hong Kong-based exempt… – Continue reading

Shell companies’ patents to come under domestic tax net on adoption of BEPS

MUMBAI: Technologies that are developed in India but their patents registered in tax havens may come under the domestic tax net from the next financial year, when the country is expected to adopt a new world standard aimed at preventing abuse of double taxation avoidance agreements. Many multinational and local… – Continue reading

Chevron ordered to pay millions in Auz taxes

Chevron lost an appeal in Australian federal court that will see the US supermajor pay more than US$232 million (A$322 million) in back taxes, in addition to fines, after losing a case with the Australian Tax Office (ATO). The Aussie federal court ruled against Chevron, stating the company wrongly shifted… – Continue reading

Ayar Law Group Releases Critical Guidelines for Taxpayers with Foreign Bank Accounts

Ayar Law Group speaks about Amnesty Programs expiring as foreign banks comply with FATCA. Oct. 22, 2015 / PRZen / DELHI, India — The unofficial period of grace to reveal foreign bank accounts to the IRS is ending for U.S. taxpayers. Those who don’t comply with the law may soon… – Continue reading

Gibraltar looks to establish private foundations

Gibraltar’s Government has released a public consultation on the establishment of private foundations, in a bid to level the playing field with other jurisdictions. As an incorporated body, foundations are able to transact, sue, and be sued in their own name. They are primarily used for private wealth management, succession… – Continue reading

The benefits trap: the UK Government’s plans for the tax treatment of foreign domiciliaries and offshore trusts

Announcements were made in the 2015 Summer Budget regarding proposed changes to the UK tax rules regarding individuals who are domiciled outside the UK. These included the introduction of new provisions which would deem certain foreign domiciliaries, who are or have previously been UK resident, to be domiciled in the… – Continue reading

Mauritius eyes Africa as pressure mounts on offshore business

Mauritius beats Singapore as the world’s top route for foreign investment to India and is a hub for thousands of firms managing half a trillion dollars in assets. But there are only a sprinkling of office blocks in Ebene Cybercity, the heart of the tiny Indian Ocean island’s financial services… – Continue reading

Unpacking the Budget

“If we do not achieve growth, revenue will not increase. If revenue does not increase, expenditure cannot be expanded.” It is with this statement that the Minister of Finance set the tone of the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) which he presented on Wednesday against a fiscal backdrop of… – Continue reading

Tax Justice for Social Justice

By Martina Neuwirth and Thomas Kattnig [This blog article published on July 9, 2015 is translated from the German on the Internet, http://blog.arbeit-wirtschaft.at.] June 23 was the international day of public services. Did you know that? Provision of these services – water, hospitals, schools, culture, energy, streets, public transportation and… – Continue reading

Travelers CEO says U.S. tax policy sends insurers offshore

Congress needs to lower the corporate tax rate from its current 35% to discourage U.S. insurers from moving offshore, according to the head of Travelers Cos. Inc. “Reducing this rate would end a self-defeating policy that distorts corporate behavior, weakens domestic companies and ultimately harms the U.S. economy,” wrote Travelers… – Continue reading

Apple Inc. (AAPL), Alphabet Inc (GOOG) Agree on This Strategy

Data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development shows that at 39%, the U.S. has the highest corporate tax rate among the 20 most developed economies. Yet, the average rate of taxation imposed on the 100 biggest S&P corporations was 28.4% in 2014. Apple and Alphabet paid even lower… – Continue reading

After Blow to Europe Tax Havens, Some Promise More Staying Power

Luxembourg and the Netherlands lost a bit of luster as tax havens for some of the world’s biggest companies this week, as the European Union fired its latest salvo aimed at multinational tax dodging. Yet the Netherlands is on pace to maintain its attractiveness as a tax-friendly address for multinationals,… – Continue reading

Revealed: How foreign buyers have bought £100bn of London property in six years

Wealthy investors have snapped up at least £100 billion of property across London using overseas companies in the past six years, new figures reveal today. Official data seen by the Standard shows that since 2008 there have been 27,989 purchases of homes, buildings and land in the capital by shadowy… – Continue reading

Breaking News: The Gambia Is On The Verge Of Finalizing A Deal With Hong Kong Based Companies To Open An Offshore Bank In Banjul!

The rogue regime in Banjul is on the verge of finalizing an Offshore Banking deal with some Hong Kong multi-million dollar companies, the Freedom Newspaper can reveal. Under the new deal, the Jammeh government is going to open an Offshore Bank in The Gambia, with the primary objective of helping… – Continue reading

Financial product peddler ordered to desist and refrain

On June 16 of this year, the California Department of Business Oversight issued a desist and refrain order to Encinitas’s Lawrence (Larry) Freeman and two of his many now-defunct companies, Yeshilkoy Insurance Services and Structured Marketing. In peddling financial products, Freeman made “an untrue statement of material fact to investors,”… – Continue reading

CLINTON LIBRARY FUNDED BY OFFSHORE TAX HAVEN

Hillary Clinton is repeating the Democrat trope about “offshore tax havens” that immorally divert profits from workers and the taxman. Closing these is a central plank of her promised agenda as President, she explains in an op-ed laying out her economic agenda. Setting aside the economic merits of her plan,… – Continue reading

Record View: Amazon morally obliged to pay up their share of tax

WHEN public spending is being slashed in a way that punishes the poor, every firm have a moral obligation to pay their fair share. AMAZON are taking an ever bigger share of the shopping market. Technological advances mean you can order something from their website late at night from your… – Continue reading

The Self-Defeating Corporate Income Tax

For many years, policy makers have criticized the strategies that American corporations use to reduce their taxes by shifting income and capital offshore. The impetus behind these strategies is the U.S. corporate income-tax rate — at 35 percent, the highest of any industrialized nation, easily surpassing countries such as the… – Continue reading

Chinese bond investors move offshore

Beijing’s monetary easing has sent onshore yields to multiyear lows, reports the Wall Street Journal. China’s booming domestic debt market is pushing investors to seek higher yields offshore, just as its banks start to expand yuan lending world-wide. The shift comes as China’s central bank is selling its first yuan… – Continue reading

HOUSING A TAX DODGE IN RICHMOND AND VANCOUVER

Some might be surprised to learn that certain areas of Richmond and Vancouver, despite being thoroughly decorated with mcmansions, monster homes, and incessantly rising land prices, are actually inhabited by low income residents that make up a surprising per cent of the population. Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper, during a… – Continue reading

Benefits of UAE-Based Offshore Companies

Offshore companies are established for a variety of reasons including a company’s necessity to restructure, create an international business entity as well as protect the assets of the company. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is home to three authorities that register International or offshore companies. The three UAE authorities that… – Continue reading

Execs Weigh Impact of OECD BEPS Impact on U.S. Tax Reform

The impact of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting action plan is still unclear, but tax executives are planning ahead for changes on the international tax front. Earlier this month, the OECD unveiled its plan for combating tax evasion strategies by multinational corporations (see… – Continue reading

Don’t punish accidental tax evaders

The government’s determination to tackle tax evasion via offshore accounts is evident in its commitment to increasing international tax transparency, but it is in danger of veering seriously off course. Taking evasion action The government has been a key player in developing a common approach to automatically exchanging financial account… – Continue reading

Sevan’s agent implicated in Petrobras bribery scandal

An agent who brokered offshore contracts between Sevan Marine and Petrobras in Brazil has come under scrutiny after receiving up to $40m of Sevan’s money into its offshore bank account, Norwegian reports say. The agent’s company is now part of the investigation into whether ex-Sevan Marine employees made bribes to… – Continue reading

Turnbull Government welcomes Labor’s support on laws targeted at MNCs tax evasion

The Turnbull government has welcomed the support of the Labor party for the new laws that will add more teeth to the government’s crackdown on multinational tax dodgers. The government also offered to consider the suggestions of the opposition in improving the scope of the legislation. Labor formally announced its… – Continue reading

HQs wooed with tax incentives

THE CABINET has approved the Finance Ministry’s proposal for more tax incentives to facilitate the creation of International Headquarters and International Trading Centres in Thailand. IHQs and ITCs in the Kingdom currently enjoy both tax and non-tax benefits, including complete income-tax exemption for out-out transactions, while in-out transactions will be… – Continue reading

Tony Wickenden: Net is closing in on offshore tax avoidance

Evading and avoiding tax through the use of offshore structures and arrangements is the source of much tax loss, according to HM Revenue & Customs. No surprise then that the current Government (and the coalition before it) has been relentless in its crackdown on it, with a special focus on… – Continue reading

China central bank hires banks for its debut dim sum bond in London-term sheet

[HONG KONG] China’s central bank has hired banks to arrange its debut offshore yuan bond issuance in London, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters on Monday. The so-called dim sum bond sale comes as Chinese President Xi Jinping prepares for a state visit to Britain this week. Sources… – Continue reading

Tax executives set to convene

Business Reporter Tax administrators from all over Africa are set to meet from October 20 to 22 2015 in Lomé, Togo under the auspices of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF),the premier tax organisation on the continent,which holds its 2nd International Conference on Tax in Africa (2ICTA). The gathering of… – Continue reading

Australia Launches Serious Financial Crime Taskforce

Australia’s new Serious Financial Crime Taskforce (SFCT) is to launch investigations into serious international tax evasion and “phoenix activity” over the next two years. The SFCT has been operational since July 1 and, as of October 14, there are eight matters under investigation. More than 580 tax audits have been… – Continue reading

IRS Offshore Account Penalties Go Up, More Banks Sign U.S. Disclosure Deal

The number of banks with deferred prosecution agreements with the U.S. government keeps growing. The subject is tax evasion involving American account holders. Today, under FATCA, banks everywhere want to know if you are compliant with the IRS. And the IRS keeps updating its list of foreign banks where offshore… – Continue reading

Internal Revenue Service Issues Stern Warning To Non-Compliant Taxpayers With Offshore Holdings

Just one day after the October 15 deadline for filing personal income tax returns on extension, the Internal Revenue Service issued a strongly-worded warning to non-compliant taxpayers: take action now to fix your problem, or face serious consequences. At the same time, the IRS revealed, for the first time, that… – Continue reading

Caribbean likely to suffer collateral damage from tax havens crackdown

A little over a week ago the British parliamentarian, Sir Eric Pickles – a cabinet member until May of this year and a former Chairman of the Conservative Party – told the London Guardian that the British Prime Minister, David Cameron, was determined to have the BVI and the Cayman… – Continue reading

New tool for the taxman from January 1

Cyprus will as of January 1, 2016 have a new tool in its arsenal to identify monies hidden abroad as the island will begin implementing the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), the Institute of Certified Public Accountants said. The CRS is formally referred to as the Standard for Automatic Exchange of… – Continue reading

Ireland is now a ‘pariah state’ over tax, says Corbyn insider

UK Labour party leader Jeremy Corbyn’s adviser wants Irish corporate taxes hiked Ireland is viewed as a “pariah state” by the international community due its corporate taxation policies, according to the man behind many of Jeremy Corbyn’s economic ideas. Economist Richard Murphy also said that Ireland should bring its corporate… – Continue reading

IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program Results in $8 Billion in Collections

With more than 54,000 taxpayers coming in to participate in offshore disclosure programs since 2009, the Internal Revenue Service is reminding U.S. taxpayers with undisclosed offshore accounts that they should strongly consider existing paths established to come into full compliance with their federal tax obligations. Both the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure… – Continue reading

Putin Allies Said to Be Behind Scrutinized Deutsche Bank Trades

Several close associates of Russian President Vladimir Putin may have benefited from Deutsche Bank AG trades that are now coming under the glare of U.S. prosecutors, according to people familiar with the matter. The U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether Germany’s biggest bank properly vetted as much as $6… – Continue reading