OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurria has called for a collective effort on the design of temporary, short-term measures to tackle the international tax challenges of the digital economy. Speaking at the Group of Twenty (G-20) Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting held in Washington on October 13, Gurria said: “There...
Republic has implemented all four agreed standards under OECD’s tax/profit project An international body overseeing global tax practices has said that Singapore’s tax incentives meet the international standards on countering corporate tax avoidance. The Forum on Harmful Tax Practices (FHTP) said in a report yesterday that it had reviewed 164...
Private-bank assets held by StanChart in Channel island tax haven were moved to S’pore in 2015: report Singapore THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Monday declared its firm commitment to keeping the country’s financial centre clean and safeguarded from illicit activities. Singapore’s central bank and financial regulatory authority said...
The recently proposed US tax reform package would benefit the rich but see some middle-class households face higher tax rises, says a new state-by-state analysis from the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP). Released on October 4, the report found that the new framework would benefit the wealthiest taxpayers...
If you live in Nigeria and you have a foreign bank account; you should read this.If things go as planned, the FIRS will soon have access to information on the money and other financial investments that you have in your foreign bank account. This will happen when the Common Reporting...
On 19 September 2017, the Dutch government released the State’s Budget for the year 2018. The Budget includes a draft bill to expand the dividend withholding tax exemption to tax treaty countries, to introduce a withholding tax obligation for holding cooperatives and to limit the taxation of non-resident investors. If...
The Government of Hong Kong has said that it will introduce legislation into the Legislative Council by the end of this year to implement the minimum standards proposed by the OECD as part of its base erosion and profit shifting project. The BEPS framework, proposed by the OECD at the...
The notification follows hectic parleys between India and Switzerland for introduction of AEOI (Automatic Exchange of Information) under guidance of G20, OECD (Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development) and other global organisations. Switzerland found India’s data security and confidentiality laws “adequate” for entering into an automatic exchange of information pact,...
Cambodia signed a double taxation agreement (DTA) with Brunei aimed at preventing dual taxation and fiscal evasion, the Ministry of Economy and Finance said yesterday in a press release. This is the third DTA agreement that Cambodia has signed after Singapore and China, while the government is currently developing framework...
New law to fulfill requirements under OCED’s AEOI framework Move could unlock billions of dollars of assets kept abroad Indonesia moved a step closer to hunting down tens of billions of dollars it believes its citizens have hidden abroad after political parties agreed to seek a parliamentary approval for a...
Business group Ibec has said that the Irish Government must “Brexit proof” its 2018 Budget, improve its foreign direct investment model, and implement a range of tax reforms to compete with the UK. Publishing the group’s pre-Budget submission, Ibec Director of Policy and Public Affairs, Fergal O’Brien said: “The Irish...
The Irish Parliament’s arts committee has recommended the introduction of a “foreign artists’ withholding tax (WHT) scheme.” The committee has released a report on the Government’s Culture 2025 initiative, which is intended to provide a framework for the development of Irish arts, culture, and heritage over the next eight years....
Representatives from the tax authorities of Cambodia and Thailand have agreed in principle to speed up a proposed double taxation agreement that would protect their nationals from dual taxation and encourage bilateral investment. The agreement was made last week during a two-day consultation workshop in Bangkok for tax officials from...
The UAE Ministry of Finance (MoF) signed a final agreement for the avoidance of double taxation with the Republic of Cameroon at the Ministry’s premises in Dubai today. The agreement comes in line with the ministry’s strategy to strengthen bilateral trade and economic relations between the two countries, in order...
A number of territories that had failed to demonstrate they have complied with international tax transparency standards have had their ratings upgraded by the OECD, following “fast-track” peer reviews. It said that the territories’ frameworks were reevaluated to assess whether recent progress would result in an upgrade to their ratings...
The Juncker Commission has made the fight against tax avoidance, money laundering and terrorism financing one of its priorities. Today, the Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive enters into force. It strengthens the existing rules and will make the fight against money laundering and terrorism financing more effective. It also improves transparency...
A. Introduction In February 2017 Cyprus Tax Department has announced that the current practice regarding profit margins between related Company loans will be abolished by the 30th June 2017. The announcement indicates that the minimum acceptable margins will apply up to 30th June 2017, and as from 1st July 2017...
SINGAPORE – Singapore has signed two international agreements which will make it easier for the country to automatically exchange tax information with other jurisdictions. The agreements are part of ongoing global efforts to combat tax evasion and money laundering as well as improve tax transparency. Called multilateral competent authority agreements...
The Bermuda Government launched a new Tax Information Reporting Portal, saying it is an “important and necessary initiative arising out of new international requirements.” “The Ministry of Finance is taking steps to ensure Bermuda is in compliance with the latest global tax cooperation standards,” a spokesperson said. “Deputy Premier and...
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) announced on Tuesday that Botswana has joined the Inclusive Framework on base erosion profit shifting (BEPS) becoming the framework’s 99th member.The Inclusive Framework on BEPS is a group of countries that have pledged to implement measures designed by OECD and G20 countries...
HA NOI — Viet Nam’s long-standing efforts to tackle the practice of transfer pricing as a tax avoidance ploy have gained sharper legal teeth with a new decree. Transfer pricing is the pricing of goods, services and intangibles between related parties, like a parent company and its affiliates. Apart from...
The OECD is seeking taxpayers’ input on the mutual agreement procedure (MAP) frameworks in place in the third batch of countries that will now be peer reviewed under Action 14 of the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting Action Plan: the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Korea, Norway, Poland, Singapore, and...
Senior officials and ministers from 67 countries and jurisdictions have signed an agreement that is designed to make it harder for multi-national companies to avoid tax through the strategic use of cross-border shifting of profits. The US was not among either the 67 countries to have signed the so-called Multilateral...
The Competent Authorities Agreement is part of Panama’s continued commitment to upholding international transparency standards PANAMA CITY, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Panama and Mexico signed today a Competent Authorities Exchange of Tax Information Agreement, in accordance with Panama’s commitment to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) of the Organization for...
Kosovo and Switzerland signed on Friday an agreement regulating taxation of income and capital, which is beneficial for both countries, the Swiss federal government said. Under the agreement on double taxation dividends will be taxed at source at a maximum rate of 15%, while qualified participations – at no more...
New reporting regulations meant to help authorities track down evasion at home and corrupt officials overseas Beijing has ordered an overhaul of financial accounts to crack down on tax cheats at home and abroad. From July 1, all deposit-taking institutions, policy banks, investment agencies and insurers must ensure each new...
Cyprus and San Marino have signed a double taxation avoidance agreement. The agreement, which further enhances the relations between the two states, was signed between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus and San Marino, Ioannis Kasoulides and Nicola Renzi, who held a tete – a – tete meeting before...
The Common Reporting Standard (the CRS) is, like FACTA (the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), an information exchange regime aimed at realising international tax transparency. Exchange of information under CRS is achieved by requiring certain bodies including banks and other “Financial Institutions”, to collect data and report some of it...
Panama needs to require greater due diligence from financial and banking institution to tackle tax fraud in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal, a United Nations official has said. “The main component of illicit cash flows at the global level is tax fraud,” UN rights expert Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky...
THE Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority has uncovered a scam where companies hire graphic artists to manipulate the value of overseas invoices. Speaking on the global move towards greater financial disclosure, FRCA director corporate services Fazrul Rahman said a Fiji company was under the microscope for incorrect invoicing. “This Fiji...
In a world of data breaches and political unrest, the concept of confidentiality faces a certain death, warned British Virgin Islands lawyer Tim Prudhoe on Tuesday. Rather than fear the future, the Kobre & Kim partner advised offshore tax jurisdictions to embrace transparency and find benefit in a turbulent world....
Starting on April 27, and finishing on May 2, the European Parliament (EP)’s Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (PANA) is holding two meetings to present several related studies which address the impact of, and the fight against, tax evasion and money laundering, particularly in...
It often occurs that a multinational company employs a foreign manager based on an employment contract or secondment. In the first case, the Hungarian company is considered as the legal and economic employer, therefore the salary is payed directly by it. In the second case, the employee maintains the employment...
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are putting a new breath to the fight against tax fraud and evasion in Nigeria, as the two agencies will soon launch an anti-tax fraud and evasion team. This collaboration, according to the FIRS Executive Chairman,...
New measures targeting trust companies and banks in their role of helping to create offshore companies, such as the more than 200,000 exposed in the year-old Panama Papers, should be the priority for EU legislators in their efforts to crack down on the use of tax haven intermediaries, according to...
KUALA LUMPUR: The Inland Revenue Board (IRB) plans to increase its penalty to 100% for individuals and companies who evade paying their taxes or misreported tax. IRB chief executive officer Datuk Sabin Samitah said the new penalty scheme, an increase from the current 45% penalty imposed on unpaid tax, will...
The OECD effort to rebuild the global tax system should focus on practical work that benefits the international tax community rather than trying to get as many countries as possible around the table, a former Treasury official said. The OECD’s so-called inclusive framework for implementing the four minimum standards of...
Panama must continue to improve tax transparency and how it exchanges information relevant in tax matters to sustain growth in its economy, the International Monetary Fund has said. In the concluding statement for its Article IV visit, warned that the countries shift toward “increasing trade restrictions could lead to a...
NEW DELHI: Stockmarkets cannot be allowed to be misused by manipulators for evasion of taxes and the BSE has put in place a strong surveillance mechanism to check any such misdeeds, the exchange’s CEO Ashish Chauhan has said. He also urged the government to have a fresh relook at the...
New Delhi, March 9 (IANS) India and Belgium have signed a Protocol to amend the double taxation avoidance agreement to curb tax evasion, an official statement said on Thursday. “India and Belgium have signed a protocol amending the existing agreement and protocol between the two countries for avoidance of double...
Romania approved legislation to join the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting Inclusive Framework on March 2. As an Associate member under the Inclusive Framework, Romania will work on an equal footing with other associates and G-20 and OECD countries in the development of further BEPS standards and the peer...
New legislative proposals aim to establish the BVI International Tax Authority (ITA) as a fully fledged independent government institution in the British Virgin Islands with its own legal personality, giving it autonomy over the performance of its functions. The ITA was initially established within the Ministry of Finance to administer...
YEREVAN, February 9. /ARKA/. The Armenian parliament ratified today an agreement between the governments of Armenia and Argentina on exchange of taxation-related information, signed in 2015 July. According to the deputy head of Armenian State Revenue Committee Vakhtang Mirumyan, this agreement, initiated by the Argentine side, is aimed at providing...
A key outcome of the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation’s (OECD’s) final Report on Action Plan 13 (Transfer Pricing Documentation and Country-by-Country reporting) is the commitment of OECD and G20 countries to introduce Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting along with the associated master file and local file documentation for large Multinational...
MUMBAI: The Multilateral Instrument (MLI), a new global tax avoidance agreement, that is in the process of being signed by 100 countries, is now causing a lot of anxiety among foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). MLI is an agreement put out by OECD, the intergovernmental economic organisation, to stop Base Erosion...
Cyprus signed the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for the Automatic Exchange of Country-by Country Reports between its member states on 1 November 2016 after approval by the Council of Ministers at its meeting held on 28 September 2016. Following publication in the government gazette...
A further three countries have committed to participate in international base erosion and profit shifting discussions and implement minimum standards, under the OECD’s new “inclusive framework” for countries. The OECD confirmed on January 6 that the three territories are: Bermuda, Côte d’Ivoire, and Kazakhstan. This brings the total number of...
NASSAU, The Bahamas — December 2016 marks a significant month for the Financial Services Industry in The Bahamas. The much-anticipated Bill to provide for the implementation of the Common Standard on Reporting and due diligence for financial Account Information in Tax matters and for connected purposes was passed unanimously in...
The Mauritius IFC: Driving Growth in Africa As a jurisdiction of substance, the Mauritius International Financial Centre (Mauritius IFC) has been instrumental in driving quality investments in Africa, leading to sustained growth and prosperity across the continent. It is therefore with deep regret that we take note of the misperceptions...
Ecuador signed an agreement with Italy to define the tax obligations of the citizens of the two countries, in order to avoid double taxation on income taxes and equity and prevent tax evasion, the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry said. “This protocol modifies the agreement signed in Ecuador and Italy in 1984...
