Category: EU

EU Tax Committee Hears From Switzerland

A delegation from the European Parliament’s Special Tax Rulings Committee visited Switzerland on May 22. The delegation was received by Switzerland’s State Secretary for International Financial Matters, Jacques de Watteville. According to the Swiss Federal Council, talks focused on international corporate tax reform efforts and Switzerland’s work in this area…. – Continue reading

WHY COMPETITION MAY SOMETIMES BE HARMFUL

While marketplace competition is desirable, competition among governments is not always desirable Is more competition always better? Most conventional economists would say yes. And, in the marketplace, that nugget of economists’ wisdom usually holds true. Every student of first-year economics is taught that competition is good for consumers, as it… – Continue reading

Lux Leaks Scandal. Juncker Gets A Step Closer to Hot Seat

Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, just got a step closer to explaining his role in the Lux Leaks scandal. Speaking after an official visit to Luxembourg, German Member of the European Parliament, Fabio De Masi said: “It is becoming increasingly clear that powerful EU member states like Germany… – Continue reading

Parliament set to combat ‘obscure financial dealings’

As money laundering is estimated to cost over €1 trillion a year, MEPs are set to vote on measures to set up an EU register of beneficial company owners. One of the hot topics at this week’s plenary session is parliament’s proposed measures against money laundering and terrorist financing, which… – Continue reading

New Challenge to Tax Planning: Morality and Politics Are Now In Play

In 1934, a distinguished American jurist, Judge Learned Hand, famously opined that “one may so arrange his affairs so that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to… – Continue reading

Chairman Royce, Rep. Pallone welcome US-Amenia Trade & Investment Framework Agreement

The advantages of off-shore investments Two of the top reasons that South African investors are given to encourage offshore investments are that going offshore diversifies your portfolio and that it gives you access to sectors you could never find on the resource-heavy JSE. “While those are not reasons to be… – Continue reading

UK: Non-UK Domiciliaries: Inheritance Tax Issues And Opportunities

This note is intended as an introduction to inheritance tax (IHT) issues that need to be covered where a “non-dom” (an individual domiciled outside the UK) is planning on becoming resident in, or is already resident in, the UK. It should be emphasised that this is a complex subject, and… – Continue reading

You’d be stupid not to try to cut your tax bill, says Bono: U2 frontman branded ‘hypocritical’ in light of his ‘anti-austerity posturing’

Singer revealed he bases some business ventures in the Netherlands Tax rates in the European country far lower than in his native Ireland Bono said ‘smart people’ were ‘just be sensible’ about ‘the way we’re taxed’ Sunday Times Rich List ranked U2 as the country’s third richest musicians He has… – Continue reading

Armenian parliament decides to double-tax people

The parliament of Armenia has approved amendments to the law on income, setting a 13% tax rate for workers employed abroad. The Armenian government says they should be registered in Armenia and pay taxes in their homeland. Consequently, 65 MPs voted for the amendments, RusArmInfo reports. Armenian Deputy Minister of… – Continue reading

IMF urges Luxembourg to diversify tax base

The International Monetary Fund has urged authorities in Luxembourg to consider diversifying the nation’s revenue sources in light of international tax changes that could negatively impact the country’s economy, reports Tax News. The Fund said in a statement that it welcomed Luxembourg’s continued participation in EU and OECD/G20 tax transparency… – Continue reading

Tax evasion fight ‘risks making life hard for all taxpayers’

The latest changes to VAT and profit tax legislation, implications of recent measures taken to fight fiscal evasion, changes to international tax reporting rules and the need to improve holding legislation were some of the topics discussed by participants in BR’s 14th Tax & Law conference which took place in… – Continue reading

Hong Kong: The Impact Of BEPS On Your Relationship With Customs Authorities

If you are moving or trading goods across borders, this topic should be of primary importance from both a Transfer Pricing and Customs perspective. There is potential for you to have Transfer Pricing and Customs exposures in your supply and value chains as a result of the OECD/G20 initiative on… – Continue reading

MEPs voice support for whistleblowers

Investigative reporter suggest financial rewards for tax whistleblowers “Whistleblowers should receive protection when they reveal behavior that goes against the public interest and not only when they reveal illegal activities. There should also be more openness about tax rulings and similar arrangements and countries which defraud other countries should be… – Continue reading

MEPs’ Luxleaks probe risks falling apart

A special European Parliament committee to probe tax avoidance schemes is facing mounting obstacles to its work. The problems, which include access to documents, administrative delays, and internal disagreements risk undermining the MEP’s investigation into how government-backed tax rulings allow multinationals, in some cases, to pay less than 1 percent… – Continue reading

Global news briefs from the Economist

Global business The European Union outlined its strategy to create a digital single market. The thrust of the proposals include establishing standard rules for buying goods online, pruning cross-border regulations on telecoms and reducing the tax burden on businesses. But the plan also calls for a “comprehensive assessment” of whether… – Continue reading

Estimating the illicit funds in global tax havens

The total “development finance” loss – counting both revenues and reinvested earnings – is estimated in the range of $250 to $300 billion. This prevents developing countries from stopping the outflow of money, which thus bleeds them of essential resources The financial crisis of 2008 had an interesting collateral benefit… – Continue reading

Revenue guidance for Irish investors in exchange traded funds

Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have gained huge popularity in recent times with Irish investors; however, there has been much complexity and uncertainty in relation to their tax treatment. The concept of an ETF is not specifically provided for in Irish tax legislation. It depends on the legal form and characteristics… – Continue reading

Falciani: all banks help evade taxes

All the world’s major banks have connections between each other and work together in a secret network to help people evade taxes, whistleblower and former HSBC IT engineer Hervé Falciani said yesterday, warning that illegal offshore transactions can’t be carried out through one single bank but only with the help… – Continue reading

EC Renews Calls For Common Tax Base

European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager has called for a common consolidated corporate tax base (CCCTB) and the automatic exchange of information on tax rulings. Vestager appeared before a hearing of the European Parliament’s Special Tax Rulings Committee on May 5. In her opening remarks, she said: “There is a lot… – Continue reading

Tax probes frustrate EU competition chief

Cracking down on sweetheart tax deals with multinational corporations is proving more difficult than the European Commission had anticipated. Delays, uncooperative member states, and missed deadlines are among the frustrations highlighted Tuesday (5 May) by the EU’s competition chief, Margrethe Vestager. Speaking at a special committee on tax rulings at… – Continue reading

Cyprus: The Ideal Location For US To Structure A Royalty Company

Choosing the right location for the centralization and management of your IP is a very important strategic business decision. The ideal location to establish an IP structure is one that can serve the organization’s business strategies/model, safeguard and protect its IP and more important to contribute to its tax optimization…. – Continue reading

EU delays decisions on Apple, Amazon tax probes

BRUSSELS–The European Union won’t meet a self-imposed June deadline for deciding whether four multinational companies including Apple Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. benefited from illegal tax sweeteners, the bloc’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager said Tuesday. “We won’t meet the deadline we set ourselves [of] the end of the second quarter,” Ms…. – Continue reading

The President signed into law the dot. FATCA

Passing between tax administrations Polish and US information on accounts and income tax residents predicts signed by the president Bronislaw Komorowski law on ratification of the agreement with the USA on the use of so-called FATCA Act. As reported by the presidential office, in terms of the Act of 20… – Continue reading

Guernsey Chief Minister meets EU Commissioner Moscovici

Guernsey’s Chief Minister, Jonathan Le Tocq, met today with Pierre Moscovici, the European Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs. Deputy Le Tocq’s meeting, which was alongside Jersey’s Chief Minister, Ian Gorst, came at the beginning of a series of engagements over the next 48 hours in Brussels…. – Continue reading

Moscovici Talks EU Tax Reform

The European Union (EU) needs an “ambitious blueprint for taxation,” Tax Commissioner Pierre Moscovici has said. Speaking at a recent conference, Moscovici said: “The European Union needs an ambitious roadmap to put an end to the distortionary nature of its tax policy and regulatory framework. In my view, the way… – Continue reading

International tax update – UK

Autumn Statement 2014, Budget 2015 and Finance Act 2015 The UK Chancellor delivered his Autumn Statement on 3 December 2014 and his Budget speech on 18 March 2015. For an overview of some of the key announcements, please see our Autumn Statement 2014 briefing and Budget 2015 briefing. The UK’s… – Continue reading

Non-resident income tax regime brought in line with European Union law

Starting with 1 June 2015, non-resident taxpayers earning interest income from Romania are allowed to apply the same tax treatment as resident taxpayers. The change in the law results from a European Commission infringement procedure against Romania regarding the discriminatory treatment applied to non-resident legal entities compared to resident taxpayers…. – Continue reading

Varoufakis Preparing Bill for Voluntary Declaration of Swiss Bank Deposits

The Greek government will table a new draft bill to Parliament that will allow Greek citizens to voluntarily reveal deposits held in Switzerland in exchange for a smaller tax payment, Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters after a meeting with Swiss State Secretary for International Financial… – Continue reading

Factbox – HSBC must weigh up UK and Hong Kong regulatory regimes

LONDON (Reuters) – HSBC shares have rallied after the bank said it was reviewing whether to move its headquarters out of Britain and potentially back to its former home in Hong Kong. The following are some of the regulatory issues raised if Europe’s biggest bank were to relocate to Hong… – Continue reading

Ireland finds support for corporate tax policies at EU meeting

Ireland found itself surrounded by supporters, for the first time, on the issue of corporate tax rates, during an informal meeting of EU finance ministers, reports the Irish Examiner. Finance Minister Michael Noonan was not present, as he returned to Dublin early, but the head of the Central Bank, Patrick… – Continue reading

EU Member States should benefit from the Capital Markets Union

On Saturday 25 April, at the second session of the informal meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN), one of most important issues on the agenda was the further development of the Capital Markets Union concept, which was broadly supported by the ministers and Governors of central banks…. – Continue reading

EU finance ministers back efforts to fight tax avoidance by multinationals

European finance ministers have backed efforts to fight rampant tax avoidance by multinationals in the wake of the LuxLeaks scandal. But European Union members face tough negotiations to work out the details. Under a new plan the bloc’s 28 countries would share tax deals agreed with some of the world’s… – Continue reading

Goodman Luxembourg firm paid 0.4% tax on profit of €52.6m

Company accounts provide insight into Parlesse Investments A Larry Goodman company based in Luxembourg made a profit of €52.6 million in 2013 and paid just 0.4 per cent tax, according to accounts in the tiny EU member state. The company, Parlesse Investments Sarl, began operations in 2010 and had accumulated… – Continue reading