QROPS specialists are offering free transfers to Gibraltar QROPS for August only for teachers who want to retire abroad and avoid all UK taxes and future UK taxes on their existing teacher’s pension scheme. This is the final chance for teachers living abroad to transfer their UK pensions outside the… – Continue reading
FATCA refers to provisions contained in the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (the ‘HIRE’ Act) signed into law on 18 March 2010 in the United States. The main purpose of FATCA is to identify and gather information on US persons who may be evading tax through the use of… – Continue reading
Many tax practitioners will meet holders of foreign accounts who have either deliberately or unintentionally failed to accurately report their foreign accounts and will need to advise them on the best way to make the disclosure to the Internal Revenue Service. Due to the fact that many U.S. taxpayers have… – Continue reading
Controlled foreign companies (CFCs) that are engaged in offshore short-term insurance will be allowed to deduct reserves related to their “short-term insurance business” conducted outside South Africa, once an amendment to the Insurance Act, 2016 is promulgated. For a CFC to be eligible for this deduction (which is similar to… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WDAM) –This is a news release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Two tax return preparers with offices located in California, Maryland and New York were sentenced today in Los Angeles for facilitating an offshore tax fraud scheme, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Caroline D. Ciraolo of the… – Continue reading
Hundreds of millions of tax dollars are flooding into exchequers across the world, as governments offer evaders a last chance to own up to undeclared accounts, reports the Financial Times. Taxpayers with funds stashed offshore are coming forward voluntarily in their tens of thousands ahead of new transparency rules that… – Continue reading
LOS ANGELES (CN) – Two tax preparers convicted of running an offshore tax-fraud scheme were given federal prison sentences on Monday, the Justice Department said. David Kalai and his son Nadav, both principals of United Revenue Service, were convicted of one count of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service… – Continue reading
India follows common approach for implementation of FATCA and CRS New Delhi, Aug 8: The Finance Ministry has come up with the rules for information reporting under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), spelling out the timelines and the entities have to comply with the new requirements. The new… – Continue reading
Fears of a VDP application giving rise to a ‘witch hunt’ are ill-founded. The rapid development in international tax transparency over the past two years in the form of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Common Reporting Standard (CRS) has caused many South African taxpayers to consider regularising… – Continue reading
Britons in the US who have retained bank accounts at home are having to submit a raft of forms to satisfy the US Internal Revenue Service British expats living in America are being threatened with having their UK bank accounts shut down if they fail to comply with rigorous new… – Continue reading
South Africans with unauthorised funds abroad better get their affairs in order because tighter regulation in tax havens will soon become a harsh reality, a tax expert has warned. Tony Davey, director at boutique consulting firm Tony Davey and Associates, says South Africans with offshore funds (foreign inheritances, foreign earnings… – Continue reading
Senate Republicans insist they’re deeply skeptical of Rep. Paul Ryan’s push for an agreement on international tax reform, but acknowledge a plan with bipartisan support would be hard to turn aside. With the Senate’s own highway bill is only funded for half of its six-year span, Republicans said this week… – Continue reading
The Labuan International Business and Financial Centre is attempting to encourage more Indonesian companies to register in the jurisdiction to take advantage of its low-tax regime and trading and investment links with key economies in the Asia-Pacific region. The Labuan IBFC held the Jakarta chapter of its ASEAN (Association of… – Continue reading
A judge’s ruling that the Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority acted unlawfully when it handed over a trove of documents on two Cayman-registered companies to Australian tax authorities has been upheld by the Court of Appeal. The court ruled that the decision to provide documents, requested as part of an… – Continue reading
KUALA LUMPUR – As speculation intensifies that Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak is on the verge of sacking central bank governor Zeti Aziz, an expose on her family’s ‘dealings’ has been splashed online. Critics of the Prime Minister claim the article was sponsored by 1MDB figure Jho Low and his… – Continue reading
Introduction Following the implementation of the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Directive (2011/61/EC) and associated legislation, Cyprus now lays claim to being a growth jurisdiction within the European Union for the establishment and servicing of boutique and low cost alternative investment funds based locally or offshore. The choice of… – Continue reading
As global efforts to close loopholes intensify. JOHANNESBURG – South Africans with unauthorised funds abroad better get their affairs in order because tighter regulation in tax havens will soon become a reality, a tax expert has warned. Speaking at a recent seminar hosted by The Wealth Corporation, Tony Davey, director… – Continue reading
The Davis Tax Committee’s First Interim Report on Estate Duty (“DTC Report”) was released for public comment on 13 July 2015. In essence, the DTC Report proposes that “a highly progressive tax that patches loopholes, helps provide equality of opportunity and reduces the concentration of wealth, must be implemented”. The… – Continue reading
Law firm Edwin Coe maps out the upcoming changes to the taxation of high net worth individuals in the UK, as announced in the last two Budgets. While many commentators have focused their sympathies on those reliant on benefits following last month’s Summer Budget, law firm Edwin Coe argues that… – Continue reading
After resubmitting a bill for a third time, which seeks to put a clear divide between offshore companies and public money, leaders of the Green Party LMP spoke at length about the necessity of this bill, during a press conference yesterday, Hungarian news agency MTI reported. LMP co-leader, András Schiffer,… – Continue reading
When it comes to opening its $5.7 trillion bond market to global central banks, China is rolling out the red carpet. The world’s top underwriters are struggling to get in the back door. Morgan Stanley set up a joint venture that’s helped manage 30.2 billion yuan ($4.9 billion) of note… – Continue reading
On July 30, 2015, the Justice Department’s Tax Division announced that three more Swiss banks — PKB Privatbank AG, Falcon Private Bank AG and Credito Privato Commerciale in liquidazione SA (CPC) – have cut deals with the U.S. to resolve allegations that those institutions assisted their U.S. customers in hiding… – Continue reading
Australian QROPShave been closed down and kicked off HMRCs ROPS list bar one the LG Super Australian Superannuation scheme which is the Aussie government scheme. QROPS Specialists are offering free QROPS transfers from any Aussie QROPS to a Malta QROPS. The transfer fee and set up fee will be waived…. – Continue reading
A Laguna Beach doctor was sentenced today to probation and ordered to pay about $235,000 in fines and restitution for hiding an offshore bank account. Baruch Fogel, an obstetrician and gynecologist, diverted at least $8 million to an undeclared bank account in Luxembourg through the Israel-based Bank Leumi, according to… – Continue reading
THOUSANDS of pieces of land across Scotland have been snapped up by huge offshore companies – many of which are based in the world’s biggest tax havens. The revelation has prompted fears that firms owning Scottish land are dodging taxes, or even acting as fronts for laundering money. In total… – Continue reading
What is the difference between 30 per cent of zero and 20 per cent of zero? Correct: precisely $5227.27 less than a Bronwyn-Bishop-taxpayer-funded helicopter trip from Melbourne to Geelong. A reduction in the corporate tax rate, as unrelentingly espoused by the business lobby in its pro-GST campaign, may be a… – Continue reading
The world’s wealthiest people are hiding trillions of dollars in offshore tax havens to avoid paying their fair share of taxes, reported the Guardian. New research found that the amount of money hidden around the world is larger than what’s in the American economy. James Henry, economist and researcher with… – Continue reading
Since July 1, eleven more Swiss banks have entered deferred prosecution agreements with the U.S. government. The subject is tax evasion involving American account holders. Today, banks everywhere want to know if you are compliant with the IRS. Under FATCA, the entire world is lending the IRS a hand. Meanwhile,… – Continue reading
John Goodchild explains the tax position of non-dom clients, and their families, after the Chancellor’s Summer Budget crackdown The Budget on 8 July announced a raft of provisions designed to increase the tax paid to the Exchequer by non-domiciled individuals (non-doms) and their families. Significant changes will be made to… – Continue reading
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday issued licenses to 14 insurance companies to run offshore units, while commission Chairman William Tseng (曾銘宗) said the licenses would help the nation move closer to transforming into an asset management hub. Tseng said the licenses are a follow-up to efforts to benefit from… – Continue reading
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)[LR1] is generally associated with reporting requirements for foreign banks and foreign entities to disclose the names of U.S. individuals using such foreign vehicles to hide U.S. financial accounts. (See all three blog posts in this series on FATCA compliance.) However, there is an… – Continue reading
There is an intimate relationship between art and finance. In the public sphere, the state plays a predominant role in funding and maintaining national art collections. The private sphere is dominated by private patronage. For example, artists in medieval Italy were funded by wealthy families such as the Medici, and… – Continue reading
Requiring the Land Registry to publish information about foreign companies that own property in England and Wales could ultimately speed up the recovery of money from fraudsters who have “hidden” victims’ money in a variety of corporate structures, an expert has said. UK prime minister David Cameron announced new measures… – Continue reading
The Prime Minister took small bites as he tucked into the Indonesian street food alongside a local celebrity, singer and actress Maudy Ayunda. “London is not a place to stash your dodgy cash”. Transparency worldwide says shell companies are a common way for moving corrupt money around the world. Some… – Continue reading
Taipei, July 29 (CNA) Taiwan issued licenses Wednesday to 14 insurance companies operating here to run offshore insurance units (OIUs), and Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) Chairman Tseng Ming-chung (曾銘宗) said that the license issuance will help Taiwan move closer to transforming itself into an asset management hub in the Asia-Pacific… – Continue reading
Blaming foreigners for homegrown economic woes is a tradition of sorts in Washington. In recent years, the favored scapegoat has been China and its folkloric trade indiscretions. But, lately, some have taken to demonizing foreign companies for the sins of a broken U.S. corporate tax system. Given the importance of… – Continue reading
Foreigners must not be able to buy UK homes with “plundered or laundered cash” as part a global effort to defeat corruption, David Cameron has said. Speaking in Singapore, the prime minister vowed to expose the use of “anonymous shell companies” to buy luxury UK properties – often in London…. – Continue reading
In the first 100% Conservative Budget in nearly two decades, chancellor George Osborne has introduced a raft of changes, including significant revisions to UK non-dom status. On 8 July, chancellor George Osborne delivered the first Conservative Government Budget for 19 years. Many headlines had already been flagged up in advance,… – Continue reading
Where a foreign company renders professional services to a South African company in South Africa, it is important that the foreign entity considers whether, as a result of rendering such services, the foreign company will create a permanent establishment in South Africa. The reason why this becomes important is that… – Continue reading
White-collar criminals who launder billions by buying luxury UK properties must be tackled, Prime Minister David Cameron said on Tuesday. Experts warn these fraudsters are distorting the UK property market and pushing up house prices in the process. Cameron’s criticism of money laundering formed part of a broader speech on… – Continue reading
Introduction The regulatory framework in Cyprus is all-encompassing but still attractive to investment funds for varied investor requirements. An investment fund may be set up in Cyprus either as an Alternative Investment Fund (“AIF”), or as an Undertaking for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (“UCITS”). Cyprus administers all internationally recognized… – Continue reading
It is widely recognized that offshore banking secrecy is fast becoming a thing of the past. The signing of bi-lateral and multi-lateral agreements between jurisdictions and the fast approaching Common Reporting Standard (CRS) under which jurisdictions will automatically exchange financial information has seen to that. The UK’s voluntary disclosure program… – Continue reading
A new report says house prices in the United Kingdom have been on the rise over foreign criminals’ purchasing of British property. According to the Times report, foreign crime lords are pushing up house prices in Britain by laundering billions of pounds through the purchase of expensive properties. The report… – Continue reading
A recommendation by the Davis Tax Committee to stop taxpayers from using trusts to reduce tax could result in people who have established trusts for tax purposes only reconsidering their viability. The trustees of a discretionary trust can cause the income and/or capital gains of the trust to be distributed… – Continue reading
Corporations, usually based in offshore tax havens, are sometimes used by buyers keen to hide ownership of assets, says National Crime Agency spokesman Foreign criminals are using the London housing market to launder billions of pounds, pushing up house prices for domestic buyers, a senior police officer has warned. Donald… – Continue reading
Senator Rand Paul, R-Ky., along with six current and former U.S. citizens living abroad, filed a lawsuit, July 14, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio challenging the constitutionality of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and foreign bank account reporting (FBAR) regime. “FATCA eschews… – Continue reading
Blatant corporate and personal tax evasion contributed to Greece’s debt crisis, but it’s dwarfed by the tax avoidance of U.S. multinationals operating in countries like Australia. There’s a popular misconception that Greece’s debt crisis was self-inflicted. ‘The Greeks are a bunch of tax evaders! They should never have been allowed… – Continue reading
SINGAPORE – Singapore’s asset management industry grew strongly last year, with more sovereign wealth funds setting up shop here. Assets under management (AUM) rose 30 per cent to S$2.36 trillion in 2014 from S$1.82 trillion in 2013, said the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) annual report 2014/15 released on Tuesday…. – Continue reading
In recent years, the popularity of the Canada Revenue Agency’s voluntary disclosures program – which enables taxpayers to correct any mistakes or omissions in their previous tax filings – has ballooned. When taxpayers come forward, their tax problems get solved, the CRA reduces the accrued interest and, most important, waives… – Continue reading
You might think your bank records–especially foreign banks–are personal and confidential. Yet the government can make you hand over your bank records, even if they incriminate you. It turns out not even the Fifth Amendment can protect you. With FATCA, the pace of foreign account disclosures is frantic, and the… – Continue reading
