Category: Court cases

Credit Suisse $2.6 Billion Deal Gives Judge Few Options

Credit Suisse AG (CSGN)’s $2.6 billion plea bargain resolving allegations it helped wealthy Americans avoid paying taxes faces a final hurdle from a federal judge who will decide whether to accept it or throw it out. The first global banking unit in more than a decade to plead guilty to… – Continue reading

Credit Suisse Sentenced for Conspiracy to Help U.S. Taxpayers Hide Offshore Accounts from Internal Revenue Service

Washington, DC – Credit Suisse AG was sentenced today for conspiracy to aid and assist U.S. taxpayers in filing false income tax returns and other documents with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).  Credit Suisse pleaded guilty to conspiracy on May 19.  The sentencing of the Swiss corporation is the result… – Continue reading

Mitsubishi wins big for Japanese trading companies in Indian Berry ratio transfer pricing case

Meredith McBride in Hong Kong Mitsubishi Corporation India’s victory over the Indian tax authorities in the New Delhi Tax Tribunal on the use of the Berry ratio (gross margin divided by operating expenses) sets important precedents for transfer pricing litigation in India, advisers believe, because it legitimises the use of… – Continue reading

Should you stash cash in the Caymans?

The Cayman Islands is touted as one of the world’s top 10 finance hubs. The chief reason that the Caribbean hotspot holds such cachet is an epic perk it provides – freedom from income tax. twitter To get more Money more often, why not follow us on Twitter? We’re @FairfaxMoney… – Continue reading

Swiss Banker Faces Charges of Conspiring to Hide Hundreds of Millions

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and Shantelle P. Kitchen, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation (“IRS-CI”), announced today the indictment of MARTIN DUNKI, a former client advisor and Senior Vice… – Continue reading

Construction Company Wins Egyptian Tax Evasion Appeal

Orascom Construction Industries, an international engineering and construction firm, has won a ruling in its favor from the Egyptian Tax Authority’s Independent Appeals Committee, against an earlier USD1bn tax evasion ruling relating to its Egyptian subsidiary. Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) SAE said that it had been served with an assessment… – Continue reading

Judge’s surprising recusal prompts bid for new trial Featured

In another bizarre twist to what litigation lawyers have called an “unprecedented” case, counsel for McKesson Canada Corp. are now relying on Tax Court of Canada Justice Patrick Boyle’s recusal from a transfer-pricing case in September as grounds for seeking a new trial. Gavin MacKenzie believes the Court of Appeal… – Continue reading

Womack: Feds limit access to key documents

Kansas City businesswoman Cheryl Womack, who was indicted last December on tax-related charges, has filed a request to delay her change-of-plea hearing originally scheduled for Wednesday. At issue is the Tax Information Exchange Agreement application, which acts almost like a search warrant and enables the government to obtain foreign-based documents… – Continue reading

India: Sham Transactions: Recent Developments In Indian Tax Law

Delhi Tribunal holds that the mere fact that one of the steps in a transaction resulted in capital loss for the taxpayer would not make the series of transactions a sham. Karnataka High Court holds that shares bought at a premium, and sold at a lower value to individuals (ex-employees… – Continue reading

Spanish king’s sister faces trial after court approves tax fraud charges

Cristina de Borbón could stand in the dock over claims involving husband’s charity unless special law is used to end case A Spanish court has approved charges of tax fraud against Princess Cristina de Borbón, the sister of King Felipe VI – paving the way for an unprecedented criminal trial…. – Continue reading

Bank Leumi May Face Over $300M to Settle Tax Evasion Case

A source revealed that in order to settle the investigation into whether Bank Leumi Le-Israel (LUMI) BM helped Americans evade taxes, New York’s banking regulator will ask for over $300 million. The head of the state’s Department of Financial Services, Benjamin Lawsky, is looking for an amount that surpasses what… – Continue reading

Big 4 Audit Firms Play Big Role in Offshore Murk

For more than a decade, tax gurus at PricewaterhouseCoopers helped Caterpillar Inc., the U.S. heavy equipment maker, move profits produced by its lucrative spare-parts business from the U.S. to a tiny subsidiary in Switzerland. Little changed except the bookkeeping. Parts were still shipped from suppliers to a warehouse in Morton,… – Continue reading

UPDATE 2-Israel arrested UBS adviser, 13 others, in tax evasion investigation

Nov 5 (Reuters) – Israel arrested 14 people, including a senior UBS investment adviser, as part of an investigation into Israelis allegedly holding undisclosed bank accounts with UBS worth hundreds of millions of euros, the Tax Authority said on Wednesday. All 14 had been released on bail soon after their… – Continue reading

Indian Government Loses Major Tax Case to Vodafone

Vodafone sign in India. Photo: Ishan Khosla. Used under Creative Commons license. Vodafone recently won a rare – but potentially very significant – victory over Indian tax authorities. The Bombay High Court dismissed the government demand for the company to pay 30 billion rupees (about $490 million) for a share… – Continue reading

International taxes update – November 2014

High Court refuses special leave application in capital gains tax dispute The High Court has refused the special leave application by the taxpayer in a case involving the liability to capital gains tax (CGT) of a ‘limited partnership’ formed in the Cayman Islands. The application for special leave followed the… – Continue reading

Ingenious court case: what lies ahead

Ingenious v HMRC, the case which begins at the Competition Tribunal in Bloomsbury Place London today, marks the culmination of almost a decade of wrangling between the blue chip British media investment company and the Revenue. Newspapers have been intrigued by the case because of the celebrity investors involved. David… – Continue reading

Top UBS Banker Not Guilty Of Tax Evasion, Big Blow To Offshore Crackdown

In a big setback to the IRS’s juggernaut against tax evasion and offshore accounts, a former top UBS banker has been acquitted of tax evasion. The U.S. charged Raoul Weil with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government. The former exec was facing five years in prison and a $250,000 fine,… – Continue reading

How Far Up Switzerland’s Biggest Bank Did U.S. Tax Evasion Scam Reach?

The secret binder lay wedged in a hidden drawer inside a filing cabinet in his office on the Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich, the heart of the world of Swiss private banking. Martin Liechti, a former top private banker at Swiss bank giant UBS, privately called the binder his “CYA file,” a… – Continue reading

Italian court overturns Dolce and Gabbana tax convictions

Supreme court reverses decision against fashion duo, who had been sentenced to imprisonment The Italian supreme court on Friday overturned fraud convictions and 18-month jail terms against celebrated fashion duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, their company announced. “We have always been honest and we are extremely proud of this… – Continue reading

Italy court clears designers Dolce and Gabbana in tax evasion case

(Reuters) – Italy’s top court cleared fashion designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana on Friday over charges of hiding hundreds of millions of euros from Italian tax authorities. Two lower courts had previously convicted the pair, who are as famous as the stars they dress, on allegations that they used… – Continue reading

The European Union Court of Justice Issues Historical Ruling in Favor of Italian Poker Players

The European Union Court of Justice (CJEU), Europe’s highest court in matters of EU law, ruled against the Italian government in a dispute related to the Italian taxation on gambling. According to the CJEU, Italy’s tax legislation operates in conflict with Article 52 and Article 56 of the Treaty on… – Continue reading

Key witness, Liechti, testifies in UBS tax evasion trial in Florida

(Reuters) – A key witness in the federal tax evasion trial of a top Swiss bank executive took the stand on Thursday to testify against his former boss, Raoul Weil, who is accused of conspiring to conceal up to $20 billion in U.S. taxpayers’ assets in secret offshore accounts. The… – Continue reading

Penal consequences force taxpayers to report deals that are not taxable: Vijay Iyer

Business Standard  October 23, 2014 Last Updated at 23:20 IST The Bombay High Court recently in the case of Vodafone India Services Private Limited (Vodafone) held that the foreign direct investment (FDI) received by the Indian company in the form of share capital cannot be taxed in India under the… – Continue reading

UK: Charities And VAT ‘Abuse’

There is a common misunderstanding in the charity world that tax avoidance, and its ugly sister – tax abuse, cannot be regarded as applying to charities except where charities are ‘hijacked’ to line the pockets of wealthy ostensible donors. But that is simply not the case. A charity which seeks… – Continue reading

India: Vodafone Victorious In Multi Million Transfer Pricing Battle, Yet Again!

Bombay High Court holds that shares issued at a premium by a resident entity to a non-resident entity is a capital account transaction and does not give rise to any income; Income arising from an International Transaction between AEs must satisfy the test of ‘income; as provided under the ITA… – Continue reading

Texas Billionaire Files for Bankruptcy

DALLAS (CN) – Former Texas billionaire Sam Wyly filed for bankruptcy protection after a federal jury ordered him to pay as much as $400 million for using offshore trusts to hide stock trades.      A noted philanthropist and contributor to Republican causes, Wyly, 77, of Dallas, made his fortune… – Continue reading

Bombay High Court ruling on taxability of share premium in the Vodafone India case

The much-awaited decision of the Bombay High Court was pronounced on October 10. Transfer pricing adjustment carried out in Shell/Vodafone case has been at the centrestage of every public discussion on Indian transfer pricing legislation. The incredulous stand taken by the tax authorities has evoked a strong response from investors… – Continue reading

Tokyo District Court Allows Tax Saving from Share Repurchase

On May 9, 2014, the Tokyo District Court reversed a large tax that had been imposed on a large U.S. multinational’s Japanese holding company (“Japan HoldCo”). Under the Japanese Corporate Tax Law, if a shareholder returns shares to an issuing company (i.e., the issuing company acquires treasury shares), a portion… – Continue reading

Courts could dismiss Swiss bank data

Say judge may find evidence inadmissible because it was supplied by a whistleblower As the AFIP tax bureau starts reviewing information it recently obtained from the French government on undeclared bank accounts held by Argentines in Switzerland, tax experts have warned that using the data might be harder than it… – Continue reading

Vodafone Wins Another Indian Tax Case; This Time Over Transfer Pricing

Vodafone has emerged victorious against the Indian taxman in the latest bout of litigation between the two. The important point for the rest of us being what it tells us about those endless claims of tax avoidance and tax evasion by large companies. It’s not just that large amounts of… – Continue reading

Two women fighting FATCA expand lawsuit to include revenue minister as defendant

Two Canadian women mounting a legal challenge to FATCA have expanded their action to include the Minister of National Revenue as a defendant. Gwen Deegan, a graphic designer from Toronto, and Ginny Hillis, a retired lawyer from Windsor, claim the Canadian federal government doesn’t have the constitutional authority to comply… – Continue reading

Looks like Cheryl Womack may be pleading guilty in her criminal case

Mission Hills businesswoman Cheryl Womack is scheduled to appear in federal court in Kansas City on November 12 for a change of plea hearing in her criminal case. Womack had earlier entered a not guilty plea to charges of avoiding income taxes and lying to investigators. (Update, 9:03 p.m) It’s… – Continue reading

What Yahoo and Nokia’s Offshore Cutbacks Tell Us About India

Yahoo! just made about $9 billion in cash from Alibaba Group’s initial public offering, and investors are licking their lips at the thought of how Marissa Mayer might spend it. Snapchat? AOL? Well, here’s one area you shouldn’t expect her to invest in: offshoring more jobs to India. The company… – Continue reading

Canada: Tax Court Of Canada Allows Foreign Tax Credit Generator Arrangement

Major changes have occurred with respect to foreign tax credit (FTC). The Department of Finance announced in the federal budget of March 4, 2010, a proposed legislation regarding FTC generators (FTCG) and released modified draft legislation on August 27, 2010. These new FTCG rules target the FTC per subsections 126(4.11)-(4.13)… – Continue reading

The Marzen decision: a typical example of BEPS

On June 10, 2014, the Tax Court of Canada (“TCC”) delivered its most recent decision on transfer pricing, one which involved a Barbados structure. In Marzen Artistic Aluminum Ltd. v. The Queen[1] (“Marzen”), Justice Sheridan upheld the Canada Revenue Agency’s (“CRA”) transfer pricing adjustment as well as the penalty under… – Continue reading

UBS Plans To Pay $1.4 Bln Bail In France Tax Evasion Probe : Report

Swiss banking giant UBS AG (UBS: Quote) is poised to pay a 1.1 billion euros or $1.4 billion security deposit in a French tax-evasion case as it challenges the allegations and bond demand, according to Bloomberg report citing a person familiar with the matter. The company is reportedly proceeding with… – Continue reading

Isle of Man court can hear fraud case filed against Mumbai-builder Hiranandani

MUMBAI: The Isle of Man appellate court last week rejected builder Niranjan Hiranandani’s appeal, challenging its jurisdiction over a case of fraud and misconduct filed against him by Hirco Plc. Hirco, a property investment fund, had raised Rs 3,000 crore from global investors in 2006, to be invested in Hiranandani’s… – Continue reading

Belize brokers arrested after 2-year FBI stock manipulation probe

After an almost two year investigation into offshore stock entities in Belize, things moved quickly on Sept. 9. The indictment in Brooklyn was unsealed and at 11:45 a.m. Robert Bandfield was arrested in Miami on stock fraud charges. By 1 p.m., FBI agents and Belize police were on the fourth… – Continue reading

Caribbean-Based Investment Advisor Sentenced for Using Offshore Accounts to Launder and Conceal Funds

Washington, DC—(ENEWSPF)—September 5, 2014. Joshua Vandyk, an investment advisor, was sentenced today to serve 30 months in prison for conspiring to launder monetary instruments, the Justice Department and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced. Vandyk, a U.S. citizen, and Eric St-Cyr and Patrick Poulin, Canadian citizens, were indicted by a grand… – Continue reading

Vadnais Heights Investment Advisor Pleads Guilty To Tax Evasion

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A 43-year-old Vadnais Heights investment advisor pleaded guilty to accusations that he spent clients’ money on personal items instead of investing their funds, the United States Attorney’s Office announced Wednesday. Joel William Carlson, who was charged on Aug. 4, pleaded guilty Wednesday to two counts of tax evasion… – Continue reading

Federal Court hands down software tax decision

The Federal Court has handed down its decision in the case of Task Technology v Commissioner of Taxation in relation to the tax treatment of specific software payments. The case related to payments made by Task to CaseWare International Inc (CWI) for the right to market and distribute CWI software to end users… – Continue reading

Six Corporate Executives and Six Corporate Entities Indicted for Orchestrating a $500 Million Offshore Asset Protection, Securities Fraud, and Money Laundering Scheme Defendants Created Three Brokerage Firms in Belize to Assist U.S. Citizens in Fraudulent Manipulation Schemes of Publicly Traded Companies, Including Cannabis-Rx Inc. (CANA)]

A multi-count indictment was unsealed this morning in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, against six individual defendants: Robert Bandfield, a U.S. citizen; Andrew Godfrey, a citizen of Belize; Kelvin Leach, a citizen of the Bahamas; Rohn Knowles, a citizen of the Bahamas; Brian De Wit, a citizen of Canada;… – Continue reading