Category: Beneficial Ownership
Cyprus: European Mandatory Disclosure Regime (EU MDR) – A New Reality For Cypriot Intermediaries, Another Burden On Cypriot Taxpayers?
Mandatory disclosure rules are not something new for European Member States ("EU MS"). In fact, with the United Kingdom leading the race (from 2004), Ireland (in 2008) and then Portugal (in 2011) were the first -and only- EU MS to introduce mandatory disclosure rules in their local legislation. ... - Continue reading
Italy’s Supreme Court resolves withholding tax dispute over interest paid to holding company
The Italian Supreme Court, in a decision released 10 July, has addressed whether a sub-holding company was beneficial owner of interest payments for withholding tax purposes, applying the European Court of Justice’s holdings in the well-known Danish cases. ... - Continue reading
China simplifies procedure for claiming tax treaty benefits
China’s State Taxation Administration on 14 October published “Administrative Measures for Non-resident Taxpayers Claiming Tax Treaty Benefits” [Announcement (2019) No. 35]. ... - Continue reading
Applying for China’s DTA Benefits in Profit Repatriation
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. ... - Continue reading
United States: Senators Introduce Bill To Require Reporting Of Beneficial Ownership Information
A bipartisan group of senators introduced a bill which would impose federal beneficial ownership reporting requirements for legal entities established under state law, intended to assist law enforcement in fighting money laundering and terrorist financing ("AML/CFT"). ... - Continue reading
Switzerland moves to end bearer shares
The Swiss government will begin to phase out bearer shares on 1 November in a bid to curb tax avoidance by bearer shareholders. Under the new rules companies no longer issue bearer shares—equity in a company that is owned by whoever holds a physical stock certificate—unless they are a listed… – Continue reading
Ukraine: NBU Will Develop The Tool For Verifying Information About Ultimate Beneficiaries
The NBU's accession to the Memorandum on cooperation in developing a mechanism for verifying information about the beneficial owners (the "Memorandum") is quite logical and even is expected according to the obligation of banks to identify bank account holders. ... - Continue reading
Worldwide: New Double Taxation Treaty Between US And Spain
On July 16, 2019, the US Senate ratified a new protocol that amends the 2013 Double Taxation Treaty signed between the US and Spain. ... - Continue reading
Journalists publish details of 200+ companies using offshore law firm, conclude Mauritius promotes tax avoidance
Data on more than 200 companies that engaged the Mauritius office of Conyers Dill & Pearman were published on the internet today by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) as a result of leak of confidential information. ... - Continue reading
Bermuda: Update To Bermuda’s Economic Substance Legislation
The month of June 2019 saw a number of important updates to Bermuda's economic substance regime ahead of the 1 July deadline for compliance for entities in existence when the legislation came into force. This bulletin contains a summary of those developments. ... - Continue reading
Tensions between the drive for transparency and the right to protection of privacy
Update on the UK government’s proposal to improve transparency with a new register of persons with significant control of companies which hold UK property. In our last article (https://hubbis.com/article/transparency-enhanced-in-the-uk) we looked at the UK government’s proposal to improve transparency with a new register of persons with significant control of companies… – Continue reading
Automatic Exchange of Information is Working, Says OECD
New data from the OECD indicates that Hong Kong and Singapore are adhering to tighter global standards on tax transparency. The OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) says IFCs (international financial centres) such as Hong Kong and Singapore are adhering to tighter global standards on tax transparency and are… – Continue reading
Australia: OECD releases beneficial ownership implementation toolkit to facilitate transparency
In brief – Beneficial ownership toolkit aims to help governments implement legal and supervisory frameworks to identify and collect beneficial ownership information Beneficial ownership is a critical issue in many areas of law, in particular tax and anti-money laundering. National authorities often struggle to keep up with private ingenuity in… – Continue reading
Cyprus: The True Impact Of BEPS On International Business Structures
In the last decade, OECD officials have recommended measures to combat tax avoidance, culminating first in the BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) initiative in 2015 and then the MLI (Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent BEPS) effective from July 2018 – yet have all their… – Continue reading
Water controversy prompts tax haven focus
Tax avoidance has crept into the tussle of the federal election campaign, as the government faces pressure to further investigate an expensive water purchase from a company based in a well-known tax haven. Labor has left the door open to supporting a Greens push for a royal commission into the… – Continue reading
Isle of Man removed from EU grey list
The Isle of Man has been removed from the EU’s grey list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions, along with the other Crown Dependencies, Jersey and Guernsey, after the three worked together with the EU to develop proposals to address the concerns raised. Chief Minister Howard Quayle tweeted he was “delighted” with… – Continue reading
Democrats introduce bill to curb tax havens
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., a member of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced a pair of bills aimed at stopping corporations from using offshore tax havens and outsourcing jobs to other countries. The first bill, the No… – Continue reading
Crown Dependencies oppose UK ‘public register’ proposals
The chief ministers of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are united against the recent proposals from Westminster to force public registers of company beneficial ownerships in the Crown Dependencies. More than 40 MPs have signed an amendment attempting to force the Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories to… – Continue reading
Malta: How Beneficial Owners Registers Aim To Curb Money Laundering And Tax Evasion
With more complicated company structures being used, it has become increasingly more difficult to establish who the ultimate beneficial owners of entities are. In light of the new regulation, do you believe that the Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) Register can help in any way to prevent financial crime? The UBO… – Continue reading
Tax Netflix and other e-commerce companies, say Canadians and CRA professionals
OTTAWA, Feb. 21, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The federal government needn’t worry about a consumer backlash to a sales tax on Canadians’ Netflix accounts, if newly released results from an Environics Research poll and a separate survey of Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) tax professionals are any indication, says the Professional… – Continue reading
Argentina, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay to share tax information with each other
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
Argentina, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay to share tax information with each other
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
Report: £250 billion fraud in UK tax havens greater sum than 20 years of foreign aid budget
Russia most common place of origin for fraudsters using British overseas territories A NEW report has identified over £250 billion in fraudulent funds directed through UK tax havens, more than over 20 years of the UK Government’s foreign aid budget. The report, by Transparency International, examined the UK’s overseas territories,… – Continue reading
Tax transparency watchdog urges Israel to step up moves against money laundering
After global index puts Israel in top third of most financially secretive countries, NGO calls for more public scrutiny and regulations to stop rich from hiding their assets Israel must immediately move to pass regulations against tax evasion and money laundering if it is to protect its credit rating and… – Continue reading
Pakistan to finalise new anti-money laundering law
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is fine-tuning a new law to join forces with the international community to combat money laundering and terrorist financing in line with a recommendation of a global financial watchdog, a top official said on Thursday. Khalida Habib, head of the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) said… – Continue reading
Switzerland: The Brazil And Switzerland Double Tax Treaty: Why Is It So Significant?
Background The Brazilian and Swiss Governments signed a Double Tax Treaty (DTT) on 3 May 2018. Switzerland is one of the biggest investors in the Brazilian market and Brazil and Switzerland have already signed an Automatic Exchange of Information Agreement, which came into force on 1 January 2018. This new… – Continue reading
Post Panama Papers: are English trusts still trusted?
Trusts still remain under public scrutiny, but can their reputation be safeguarded, asks Stuart Price A recent government consultation on the law of trusts brought out some interesting issues concerning how the status quo aligns with the principles of transparency, fairness and simplicity (the principles that, at least in the… – Continue reading
HMRC targets wealthy families with trusts
Changes to Britain’s centuries-old trust regime are looming as HMRC is concerned that trusts are letting some families pay less inheritance tax than those who do not pay accountants to set up the complex arrangements. To look at if the law should be changed, HMRC has published wide-ranging research of… – Continue reading
Applying for China’s DTA Benefits in Profit Repatriation
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… – Continue reading
Jersey puts forth economic substance legislation
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… – Continue reading
Government prepared to amend laws to prevent tax evasion
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… – Continue reading
Among wider reforms, Bahamas pledges to enact beneficial ownership bill by year-end
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… – Continue reading
UK and Cayman resume crime-fighting cooperation after row
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… – 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
UPDATED: FCO CHALLENGES PREMIER’S OFFICE CLAIMS OF UK CRIME AGENCY CO-OPERATION
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is challenging Cayman’s claims of co-operation with the UK National Crime Agency. This, in response to a Premier’s Office statement issued Saturday (15 September) refuting claims from UK National Crime Agency Director Donald Toon that Cayman authorities are uncooperative and his agency “struggles” to get… – Continue reading
Chasing tax evaders worldwide
Indonesia is set to join the global treaty on the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) on tax matters this month, and will then have virtually all the “high-caliber weapons” it needs to hunt down tax evaders — not just within the country but anywhere in the world, including tax-haven countries…. – Continue reading
Crypto Islands as Double Offshore
There is a small island in the Caribbean … You immediately imagine relaxation, a beach, palm trees. However today in these small areas a really big crypto history is being created. The crypto business is increasingly mastering the jurisdiction of “dwarf” states, such as Cyprus, Malta, Gibraltar, The Republic of… – Continue reading
Rivers seeks support from US senators
(CNS): Financial Services Minister Tara Rivers was in Washington, DC, last week, trying to persuade US Senators and others that Cayman’s financial services industry is well regulated and adhering to tax transparency standards. Picking up from an earlier visit, the minister spoke with American lawmakers about the industry here and… – Continue reading
US imposes reporting rules on Delaware Companies
Revamped rules for Delaware Companies create new reporting obligations for owners and eliminate any vestiges of confidentiality that once made these offshore structures attractive for many property buyers. Effective since the beginning of 2017, Delaware Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) that are wholly owned by a non-resident, now become subject to… – Continue reading
MCA introduces new Rules on beneficial ownership
Companies (Amendment) Act 2017 has replaced the provision relating to Significant Beneficial Owners by amending section 90 of the Companies Act. Recently, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) notified Rules on significant beneficial ownership which aim to fix the gap in existing provisions. Under the Companies Act 1956 and under the… – Continue reading
India’s sweeping anti money laundering agenda comes under scrutiny
Money laundering and abuse of sophisticated financial instruments have come under increasing scrutiny from regulators. However observers warn high-profile initiatives often act as a distraction from a lack of genuine political will to tackle global financial crime. For example, India’s leading stock exchange, the BSE, de-listed 222 dormant shell companies… – Continue reading
