Like a neutrino bomb on the landscape of banking, regulation and journalism, the HSBC tax evasion story via its Swiss subsidiary keeps spreading with devastating effect – at least for those whose careers concern it. According to investigative journalist Nafeez Ahmed, who managed to get hold of rather golden whistleblower… – Continue reading
Sinn Fein’s Mary Lou McDonald insists she was right to name a number of politicians in a dossier of alleged tax evasion in the Dáil last December. She used Dáil privilege to name several former Ministers and TDs. Deputy McDonald says she hasn’t received any letters from either the Ceann… – Continue reading
New figures have revealed more than 3,000 properties in Camden and Barnet are registered in secret offshore havens – among the highest numbers in the capital. A leading anti-corruption charity released the data yesterday as it called on the government to implement tough new regulations to increase transparency over property… – Continue reading
On December 2, 2014, the State Administration of Taxation (SAT), China’s highest tax authority, issued the Administrative Measures for the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (Trial) (GAAR), which went into effect on February 1, 2015. Prior to this legislation, China had no specific GAAR, only a few general anti-avoidance principles in various… – Continue reading
NEW PACTS WITH AMSTERDAM AND TOKYO BOOST TRANSFER PRICING IN HONG KONG When combined with aggressive tax planning, Hong Kong’s onshore-offshore tax regime often results in a reduced tax burden for taxpayers that operate through Hong Kong companies by pricing intra-group transactions. The Advance Pricing Arrangement agreement with the Netherlands… – Continue reading
Double Tax Avoidance Agreement to be Applied to China Funds Investors no longer have to be worried about double taxation on China-based funds. On Mar. 4, the Korea Financial Investment Association told asset management firms to hand in documents for double tax avoidance agreement applications. Four months ago, when the… – Continue reading
Cyril Ramaphosa said government would be improving tax collection and combating illicit financial flows. JOHANNESBURG – Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday announced that government would be improving tax collection and combating illicit financial flows. Ramaphosa was answering questions in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon. The Economic Freedom Fighters’ Floyd Shivambu… – Continue reading
If you have been running your business as a sole proprietor or are planning to be self-employed, you should probably give the idea of incorporating your business a serious thought. Since we are talking about incorporation from the point of view of taxation, you should know that it has its… – Continue reading
Politicians love to promise “tax breaks” for married couples, savers and small businesses, but what if they instead said “we want to promote tax avoidance, starting with married couples, savers and small businesses?” It’s the same thing, but it doesn’t sound as good. Tax avoidance can be good or bad…. – Continue reading
Boris Johnson today called for a massive tax rise to stop foreign crooks using the London housing market to launder dirty money. The mayor claimed ‘international despots and criminal rings’ were using phoney companies to buy homes in the capital. More than 35,000 London properties are owned by secretive offshore… – Continue reading
The files at the foundation of the Swiss Leaks articles are based on data secreted away by Hervé Falciani, a former HSBC employee-turned-whistleblower. He turned the data over to the French government in 2008 and its tax authority launched an investigation. The French newspaper Le Monde obtained a version of… – Continue reading
India has made a major breakthrough with Swiss tax authorities, who have agreed to provide information in respect of cases independently investigated by IT department whereas first round of talks have reportedly taken place between Pakistan and Swiss government on revision of Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation agreement…. – Continue reading
Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s largest business advocate The issue of “tax havens” garnered early interest from the House and Senate Revenue Committees as the Oregon Department of Revenue issued a new report outlining which additional countries should be considered “tax havens” for purposes of Oregon tax law. AOI testified in… – Continue reading
Former JP Morgan Vice President Hernán Arbizu claimed that HSBC Argentina hired JP Morgan’s employees for “advise on evasion know-how.” He incriminated himself by saying that the company he worked for helped Argentinean economic groups to evade AFIP tax bureau controls. “The banks in Argentina are to blame for the… – Continue reading
UK official data show that almost 41,000 London properties owned by foreign companies 90% are based in tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands (BVI), which do not have to disclose ownership information. Transparency International, the anti-corruption organisation, used Land Registry and Metropolitan Police data to identify 40,725 properties… – Continue reading
Billions of pounds of corruptly gained money has been laundered by criminals and foreign officials buying upmarket London properties through anonymous offshore front companies – making the city arguably the world capital of money laundering. Some 36,342 properties in London have been bought through hidden companies in offshore havens and… – Continue reading
On 9 February 2015, Insurance Europe published its comments on the discussion draft on action point 4 of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Plan published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in December 2014. The draft aimed to address weakness in the international tax… – Continue reading
James Emejo in Abuja
 The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Tuesday inaugurated the Anti-corruption and Transparency Monitoring Unit (ACTU) in the former to boost integrity as well as enhance transparency in its operations. Speaking at the launch in… – Continue reading
LAHORE: Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has raided Shah Alam area of Lahore and booked a person involved in money laundering. According to Federal Investigation Agency spokesman a raid was conducted by FIA team headed by Sub Inspector Sarwar Asghar at shop no 28 UK Centre Azam cloth market Lahore. FIA… – Continue reading
The Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) has warned against international tax proposals, including changes to thin capitalization rules, that have been put forward by the Opposition in Australia. The Council said that any changes to the thin capitalization rules – which it said are already among the world’s most robust… – Continue reading
Anti-corruption groups and Met detectives say £180m worth of real estate is under investigation as being used in money laundering and stolen capital Hundreds of millions of pounds’ worth of UK properties held in secretive offshore companies have been used to launder the proceeds of international corruption, Scotland Yard investigators… – Continue reading
Third country nationals may take up residence in Malta in terms of the Global Residence Programme Rules (GRP) Rules. Such individuals will be granted a special tax status by the Maltese tax authorities and will be subject to tax in Malta at a flat rate of 15% as described hereunder…. – Continue reading
The former UBS Group banker whose cooperation with the United States has helped expose tax evasion by thousands of Americans says the Swiss bank used similar practices elsewhere and he’s eager to help European governments. “It’s not a US issue, it’s not a French issue, it’s a global issue. UBS… – Continue reading
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MARCH 4: The taxman has taken a headlong plunge into an alphabetic soup to comply/align with emerging tax and jurisdictional requirements, domestic and foreign, of which is GST is only one. Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs); General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR); BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Sharing); and POEM (Place… – Continue reading
Ministry of Finance Enlists EY and Convey to Develop and Deploy FATCA Model Nassau, Bahamas – The Government of the Bahamas through the Ministry of Finance announced today that it has moved to a new stage in the development and rollout of its Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Model… – Continue reading
Bermuda and other international financial centres are “routinely attacked and demonised” in Europe, according to Bermuda’s top financial regulator, reports the Royal Gazette. Jeremy Cox, chief executive officer of the Bermuda Monetary Authority, said in opening remarks in the BMA’s Business Plan 2015, published today, that it was “time for… – Continue reading
The year 2015 promises to be an active one in U.S. international tax policy, as new players take the stage in the tax reform debate, the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) effort continues to develop and even begins to go into effect around the world, and corporate inversions remain… – Continue reading
NUMBER OF THE WEEK: $42,268. The projected average taxable income of all tax returns in 2015, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation’s Feb. 27 report on “Fairness and Tax Policy.” The report also projects that the top ten percent (in terms of income) of all taxpayers in 2015 will… – Continue reading
If you thought the Republican-controlled Congress went crazy when President Barack Obama used his authority as commander in chief to make changes to immigration enforcement, consider what might happen if such action involved taxes. The mere hint of executive tax actions already has riled up conservatives. Sen. Bernie Sanders would… – Continue reading
Fiscal competition between EU member states could lead to the disintegration of the European Union, the chairman of the European Parliamentary tax rulings committee has warned In a recent interview, French MEP Alain Lamassoure said that such an outcome would be “unacceptable”. “Fiscal competition can be healthy when it contributes… – Continue reading
Criminals, tax evaders, human traffickers and drug dealers have laundered billions of pounds worth of dirty money purchasing British properties through anonymous offshore companies, Scotland Yard investigators suspect. The Metropolitan Police say more than £180 million (US$276 million) worth of British property has been subject to criminal investigation since 2004… – Continue reading
Chancellor defends HSBC as a ‘very important bank’ but repeatedly fails to answer questions about his conversations with bank’s former boss George Osborne has defended the role of HSBC as a “very important bank” for Britain as he once again dodged questions about the extent of his discussions about tax… – Continue reading
Claims that the UK Treasury has started “gaming” to protect its own revenues from devolved Scottish tax competition should be given further consideration, a committee of MSPs has recommended. Holyrood’s Finance Committee is seeking further evidence on the Smith Commission’s call for devolution to cause “no detriment” to any part… – Continue reading
In many ways, the tide of public opinion has turned against bankers. Globally, they face more regulation and scrutiny, and many practices long considered just another day in the office are coming under fire. The latest series of scandals to hit global banks has to do with their role in… – Continue reading
That Labor’s corporate tax policy has been so vociferously attacked by the business lobby proves it is on the right track The usual suspects, the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Minerals Council of Australia, all emerged on Monday like sprinters out of… – Continue reading
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) met last month to ask HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) about its efforts to curb tax avoidance, including how HMRC has developed its transfer pricing approach to counteract tax arrangements such as those by Google, Amazon and Starbucks. Present at the hearing on February 11,… – Continue reading
Controlled foreign company rules Federal Law No. 376-FZ of November 24, 2014 This law, which entered into force on January 1, 2015, introduces a fundamentally new institution into Russian tax legislation: rules on controlled foreign corporations (CFCs) (primarily the new chapter 3.4 and new article 309.1 of the Russian Federation… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: India will seek to apply its proposed law on black money held abroad fairly, making sure that its stringent provisions aren’t used to harass students, research scholars and professionals going overseas for short stints. “There will be suitable safeguards,” Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das told ET in an interview…. – Continue reading
Helping tax cheats or money launderers has never been an integral strategy of the Swiss financial centre, Swiss Bankers Association (SBA) chief executive Claude-Alain Margelisch tells swissinfo.ch as the HSBC ‘Swiss Leaks’ scandal continues. The unsavoury activities of HSBC, UBS AG (NYSE:UBS) and others, brought into the public domain by… – Continue reading
KUALA LUMPUR: Georgia is motivated to enhance economic cooperation with Malaysia, which has one of the most open economies in the world, its Charge d’Affaires ad interim (a.i.) to Malaysia Levan Machavariani said. “Malaysia is one of the world’s most open economies and fully integrated in the world’s trade and… – Continue reading
The outgoing High Commissioner of Pakistan, Major General Ulfat Hussain Shah, paid a courtesy call yesterday on the Prime Minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, at the Treasury Building in Port Louis, to bid him farewell after having served for two years in Mauritius. Both parties agreed that there is a need… – Continue reading
Australia and Switzerland have signed a deal to swap banking information in a bid to crack down on tax evasion. James Bond hasn’t been kind to Switzerland. Swiss ambassador to Australia Marcel Stutz is keen to counter the image of his country being the preferred banker for baddies. Mr Stutz… – Continue reading
The great trick played on the electorate by successive governments over the last 30 years has been to convince people that benefit fraud is the primary source of both the economy’s and society’s ills. The government sets the agenda and the media rushes to lap it up. In fact, efforts… – Continue reading
Hong Kong Financial Secretary, John Tsang delivered his eighth budget speech on 25 February 2015. Key Points: >Expansion of tax exemption for certain offshore investment funds >Tax concession for treasury centre activities on the way >Full steam ahead with implementation of OECD automatic exchange of tax information standard >Addressing Hong… – Continue reading
Notorious tax dodger GE recently released its annual financial report and the only thing eye-raising about the company’s paltry 0.9 percent federal income tax rate is that it’s marginally higher than the 0.4 percent average rate it paid over the past decade. Released without fanfare late in the afternoon last… – Continue reading
Though the issue of corporate tax avoidance has long been a topic which would find its home in the business pages, it has recently become a regular fixture on the global news agenda thanks to high profile scandals, such as the recent HSBC news. What’s more, global brands such as… – Continue reading
Tax investigators and police have raided commercial offices in Germany as they looked into allegations of large-scale tax evasion with regard to profits made in Luxembourg. Commerzbank was at the center of the searches. Media reports said police had raided scores of office premises across Germany on Tuesday as investigators… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service’s Large Business & International division has opened a gateway that financial institutions and the tax authorities abroad can use to send information on financial accounts held by U.S. taxpayers in accordance with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. FATCA, which was included as part of the… – Continue reading
The Global Transfer Pricing Guide is created to assist tax and finance professionals responsible for cross-border tax planning and compliance with their inquiries. Sterling Heights, Michigan (PRWEB) March 02, 2015 Global accountancy network UHY releases its 2015 “Global Transfer Pricing Guide” to assist tax and finance professionals responsible for cross-border… – Continue reading
Italy has made a pact with Monaco aimed at clamping down on tax evaders, the finance ministry said in a statement on Monday. The agreement, which will see the two states exchanging information for tax purposes, follows similar ones made recently with Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is expected to give… – Continue reading
