Convention signed on Monday will facilitate investments, can reduce tax evasion Brazil and the United Arab Emirates signed an agreement to eliminate double taxation on income and prevent tax evasion and tax avoidance. The document was signed on Monday (12 November) by Brazilian Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes Ferreira and UAE...
In general, investment and tax provisions relating to non-resident Indians (NRIs) returning to live in India are fairly generous. However, NRIs must carefully plan their return to India to ensure there are no surprises with respect to managing their overseas income and investments. In this article, we examine some of...
The misconceptions about transfer pricing being a tax avoidance or violation in Vietnam are creating challenges for multinational enterprises, said Adam Sitkoff, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (Amcham). In his opening speech at a workshop held to gain clarity on the changing world of transfer pricing,...
Arriving at the meeting Tuesday in Brussels, the Danish minister of Finance, Kristian Jensen, said of his side: “Everything is possible in politics but I think that it is very hard to reach an agreement on the taxation of the digital economy”. Under the proposal, a 3pc levy would be...
The Swiss bank is on trial in France for its role in a tax evasion scandal Swiss bank UBS Group could be forced to pay up to €5.3bn in fines over allegations that it helped wealthy French clients conceal money from tax authorities. The double-pronged lawsuit has been brought against...
Companies avoid paying income tax by creating suppliers that don’t exist The Federal Tax Administration (SAT) has uncovered a new and “aggressive” tax fraud scheme involving more than 13,000 partners and shareholders of 600,000 companies, many of which are bogus. Unidentified media organizations and professional soccer teams are among the...
Bahamas-based developers have blasted the OECD’s “cynical” attempt to “”de-legitimise” this nation’s key investment product by suggesting it threatens the global fight against tax evasion. The newly-formed Bahamas Developers Association (BDA), in a recent statement, argued that the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) was wrong to list this...
Japan’s National Tax Agency has obtained information on more than half a million accounts held by Japanese citizens and companies at overseas financial institutions. The move comes amid heightened public interest in how the wealthy use offshore havens to evade paying taxes at home. The Japanese agency will analyze the...
Since January 1, 2009, federal tax law limits the amount of gain eligible for exclusion from taxation (known as the “Primary Residence Exclusion”) when you sell a house used as a primary residence, if you also used the house for another purpose, such as a rental. Under Section 121 of...
Under pressure from international organisations, the Australian government has flagged that it is getting ready to reform the concessionally-taxed offshore banking unit (OBU) regime, a move that will hit big banks and hedge funds. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) forum on harmful tax practices has raised concerns...
Many taxpayers in China have had questions about how the government would change the individual income tax (IIT) law since the amendment was passed earlier this year. Recently, however, the tax authorities released a draft of the amendment’s implementation rules and measures for comment. While the draft implementation rules and...
Introduction A person’s status as a tax resident determines the extent to which Canada may tax that person’s income. The test for whether an individual—i.e., a natural person—is a Canadian tax resident turns on the individual’s particular circumstances. Every detail counts. But Canadian courts and the Canada Revenue Agency both...
A range of measures designed to crackdown on tax avoidance and evasion with a view to raise £2bn over the next five years have been announced by the government. HMRC will be made a preferred creditor in insolvencies, Chancellor Philip Hammond announced today. The government will end the practice of...
LONDON — Britain’s Treasury chief unveiled Monday a new tax on big internet companies’ revenues, insisting it is time that the global tech giants with profitable business in the United Kingdom pay their fair share for public services. Philip Hammond made the announcement as he outlined his budget, explaining that...
The probe follows an investigation by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on 14,720 entities in a case related to alleged trading irregularities in that segment. THE INCOME-TAX (I-T) Department is probing at least 21,900 entities that have traded through 193 brokers and allegedly evaded taxes of about...
China’s double tax avoidance agreements (DTAs) can be used to avail lower tax rates while making outbound payments. However, DTA benefits are not automatically applicable to everyone. Foreign invested enterprises and their overseas headquarters must satisfy certain qualifications and go through relevant procedures to obtain the benefits. Beneficial owner assessment...
ZAMBIA last year lost US$145.5 million through tax evasion by unregistered and registered low-cost spirits producers and smuggling of ethanol and beverages, a report has revealed. And Vice-President Inonge Wina has backed Zambian Breweries’ Youth Mentorship Programme aimed at curbing alcohol abuse among youth and promoting positive and responsible decision-making...
Jersey has tabled new laws to address the EU’s concerns over ‘economic substance’, the degree of real business activity carried out by companies registered in the Island. The new proposed requirements for an economic substance test for Jersey tax-resident entities have been published and are set to come into force...
THE European Union has decided to remove Namibia from the list of 17 countries regarded as tax havens due to lax practices and regulations on tax governance. Namibia was blacklisted in December last year, and is currently one of the six territories countries which are still blacklisted, while the other...
Caerphilly-based credit referencing company Creditsafe has paid Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs almost £1 million after it was served with a ‘Diverted Profits Tax’ charge. Registered as Creditsafe Business Solutions, the company, based at Caerphilly Business Park, sells business data for credit check purposes and other uses. According to full...
THE BUREAU of Internal Revenue (BIR) may now notify taxpayers that their information was sent to a requesting foreign tax authority as investigation reaches the final stages. Revenue Regulation No. 22-2018 states that the Commissioner of Internal Revenue can opt to notify the taxpayer in writing that a foreign tax...
Having established a groundbreaking regulatory framework for companies using distributed ledger technology, Gibraltar is now poised to publish draft legislation for initial token offerings and is setting its sights too on the market for crypto funds. These were among the key messages signalled at a breakfast briefing for fund managers...
KARACHI: A global investment migration association on Wednesday termed Pakistanis among high-risk nationalities who could exploit loopholes in the OECD’s common reporting standard (CRS) developed to curb offshore tax evasion and avoidance. “Of those nearly one million citizenships granted by the EU each year that are not related to CBI...
As part of the British Virgin Islands’ (“BVI”) ongoing commitment to international tax transparency pursuant to the Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”), the BVI Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) Act, 2003 has been amended by the BVI Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) (Amendment) Act, 2018 (the “Amendment Act”). The Amendment Act...
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that it has fined Capital One $100 million due to shortcomings in the company’s Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering programs. “The deficiencies, cited in the OCC’s 2015 order against the bank, included weaknesses in its compliance program and related...
The government is targeting Rp 1.51 quadrillion (US$99.29 billion) in tax revenues for 2019, or 16.67 percent higher than this year’s target. Meanwhile, it has set a 12.11 percent tax-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio. “We have implemented tax amnesty. It was an initial step. We also have access to banking...
The head of one of Denmark’s biggest pension funds has spoken out to condemn a wide-scale tax fraud uncovered by a media investigation. Danish national broadcaster DR, newspaper Politiken and other European media outlets in the last three months have published articles detailing a withholding tax scam – dubbed ‘Cum-Ex’...
Officials in the international business sector here are in somewhat of a wait and see mode as Barbados continues to make necessary legislative and regime changes governing the sector. This means companies seeking to attract new international business to Barbados have not been as robust in their efforts as they...
Internal Revenue Commission is now in partnership with an international auditing organisation to help tackle multinationals that are avoiding paying taxes, Deputy Prime Minister and Treasurer Charles Abel, pictured, says. He said that Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), under its ‘tax inspectors without borders’ programme, would help IRC...
FRANKFURT AM MAIN: German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz in an interview said he backed a global minimum fiscal regime for multinationals as Europe looks to levy tax notably on US tech giants. “We need a minumum tax rate valid globally which no state can get out of (applying),” Scholz, a...
Macau (MNA) – The Macau Legislative Assembly (AL) has approved a bill revoking the current offshore law, with several legislators warning the government over the future of the local workers in the sector. The bill approved on Thursday had been proposed by authorities in order to comply with standards of...
The Antigua and Barbuda government is willing to amend the necessary laws to ensure that local financial institutions are able to share banking information of dual citizenship holders with the relevant authorities in their original country of birth, if this becomes necessary. Prime Minister Gaston Browne made the disclosure following...
Ireland’s 2018 Finance Bill legislates for a new exit tax regime compliant with the EU’s Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive. The exit tax charge was introduced via financial resolution on Budget night, October 9, 2018, and applies to certain events occurring on or after October 10. Finance Bill 2018 formally legislates for...
On the list of countries operating CBI/RBI schemes, that the OECD feels have the potential to be used for tax dodging, are 2 tax havens that are popular with wealthy Canadians and large Canadian companies. These are Barbados and Panama. Ottawa (19 Oct. 2018) — New information from the Organization...
The Organisation for Economic and Social Development named and shamed 22 countries out of over 100 it studied that have either residency or citizenship programmes, for having lax rules that potentially pose high-risk to the integrity of Common Reporting Standard’. Malta, which has long cited the OECD’s endorsement of its...
In Greece, an individual who has moved abroad must file an application to the local authorities in order to demonstrate a new address should they wish to change their status from resident to non-tax resident. Such an application is typically filed by March 10th of the year following the year...
Tax avoidance is one of the most common tax “mistakes” made by medical professionals, according to IRAS. High-earning doctors, insurance agents, and lawyers who avoided paying their due taxes have been dealt a heavy blow by the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). According to the Straits Times (ST), IRAS...
The Chinese government has decided to tight policies that target investors in the country and that hold their wealth overseas with the intention to avoid paying taxes. However, these investors that are now threatened by the government might move to cryptocurrencies and avoid being investigated by Chinese authorities. Most of...
The National Tax Agency of Japan has gathered details on 400,000 overseas bank accounts held by Japanese nationals in about 50 countries in a bid to fight fiscal evasion as only 9,000 citizens declared having an offshore account in 2016. The tax agency will compare the two sets of information...
After Switzerland, Liechtenstein has also signed an agreement with India for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information, official sources here said. The agreement was signed in Vaduz on October 11. India sees Liechtenstein as an important partner in fighting overseas black money and is hoping the agreement will help it...
The Federal Government is seeking assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on modalities for improving tax collection, especially from the International Oil Companies (IOCs), Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed, has said. She told reporters on the sidelines of the ongoing 2018 International Monetary Fund (IMF)/World Bank Group Meetings, in Bali,...
KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) re-opened audit cases related to non-filing of tax returns after legal changes were introduced under the latest mini-budget, officials said on Friday. The officials said the cases were automatically selected before the budget for the current fiscal year of 2018/19 as the taxpayers...
The Lion City will not hesitate to impose action against firms with cross-border tax evasion. Singapore’s Ministry of Finance refuted a news article by CNBC Indonesia which claims that its Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) with Indonesia ‘indulges Singapore’. “Provisions under the DTA are reciprocal, like any other DTA,” the ministry...
The Bahamas has drafted new legislation to ensure the jurisdiction achieves the right balance of business, economic sustainability, and compliance with international standards. Uppermost among the Bahamas’ priorities include compliance with the OECD and EU criteria on tax governance which has led to the Bahamas implementing sweeping changes to the...
The tax law gave a last-minute windfall to commercial property owners such as President Donald Trump. But regulations proposed by the Internal Revenue Service could diminish the benefit. Under the proposals, the agency’s rules would penalize real estate investors when they make like-kind exchanges — a common practice used to...
On September 18, China’s State Administration of Taxation (SAT) issued the Circular about Further Optimizing Tax Deregistration Procedures for Enterprises (Shui Zong Fa [2018] No. 149) to further improve its business environment. The notice introduces tax clearance certificate exemption, optimizes the tax deregistration service, and simplifies the documentation required and...
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday in Abuja signed executive order eight, tagged Voluntary Offshore Assets Regularization Scheme (VOARS) to make money laundering and tax evasion difficult. Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in a statement last night, said Executive Order 008, which was...
The New Delhi bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) in Global Academy of Emergency Medicine versus CIT(E), held that under the Income Tax Act appointing of NRIs as trustees of valid Indian trusts are permissible. The sole issue in the instant case was CIT (E) held that the owner...
The UK and the Cayman Islands have reached an agreement that will allow the continued cooperation in the fight against money laundering and other crime after complaints from London that information was not being shared. The minister of state for the Overseas Territories Tariq Ahmad and premier Alden McLaughlin released...
While preparations for a Brexit deal slowly gain pace in the UK, the German government hasn’t been wasting any time. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel is not a fan of Brexit and having predicted that the future UK-EU relationship is likely to be based on a “very, very intensive free...
