Police bosses have been accused of seeking to double tax residents through plans for communities to help fund community support officers. Norfolk Police and Crime Commissioner Stephen Bett yesterday defended his proposal that town and parish councils could contribute 50 per cent of the cost of a PCSO in their… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — Bradley Birkenfeld, the former UBS Group AG banker who won a $104 million whistle-blower award after serving time in prison for tax conspiracy, won a U.S. judge’s permission to testify in France in a separate probe of the Swiss bank. U.S. District Judge William Zloch ruled Tuesday that… – Continue reading
George Osborne advised the public on how to avoid inheritance tax in 2003, a BBC2 video reveals. Amid criticism over the government’s failure to prosecute tax evaders embroiled in the HSBC scandal, the footage will prove embarrassing for the Tories. Downing Street has also come under fire for its appointment… – Continue reading
A Tory MP has reversed her pledge to hand back £5,000 from a wealthy donor who tried to avoid paying income tax on his multi-million pound bonus payments – because the scale of what he’d done wasn’t bad enough. Charlotte Leslie initially said that she would return the donation from… – Continue reading
Italian will have to step down as director of Leeds United and cut ties with club until April Massimo Cellino’s appeal against his disqualification has been dismissed, the Football League has announced. The league said on its website that: “A professional conduct committee chaired by Tim Kerr QC has rejected… – Continue reading
This week revelations on BBC’s Panorama have sparked an explosive scandal: HSBC, the UK’s largest – and the world’s second largest – bank, has been caught facilitating industrial-scale tax evasion, committed by some of its wealthiest clients. Thousands of leaked bank account files obtained by the International Consortium of Investigative… – Continue reading
TAX in the 21st Century is exciting and new ideas and theorems are emerging to increasingly reduce the global village into one block where information is shared and taxes are realised even from abroad. Mid last year in June, a new notion was coined in the tax world. This new… – Continue reading
The Government may have retreated on its promises to crack down on multinational IT companies avoiding tax, but the Australian Tax Office says it’s on the case. Less than a year ago the ATO appointed Andrew Mills, a tax lawyer from outside the government bureaucracy, to the important role of… – Continue reading
Every acquisition requires careful tax planning early on in the process, especially when dealing with cross border acquisitions. One important consideration when a foreign company plans to acquire a Canadian company is the impact of any tax treaties that currently exist between the two jurisdictions. Tax treaties effectively reduce tax… – Continue reading
KUALA LUMPUR: A student movement today demanded that the government make it mandatory for top officials to publicly declare their assets in the wake of news about Malaysian public figures keeping millions of ringgit in offshore accounts. Anak Muda Harapan Malaysia (AMHM) said in a press statement that wealth declaration… – Continue reading
An FCA spokesman said the regulator faced difficulty in pursuing action against HSBC because the behaviour publicised so far involved its Swiss unit, HSBC Private Banking (Suisse) SA, which the spokesman said was beyond the FCA’s jurisdiction. Britain’s financial watchdog said it was investigating HSBC following reports it helped clients… – Continue reading
Singapore and France signed a revised Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation (DTA) on 15 January 2015, which is not yet in force. The new DTA provides for lower withholding tax rates for dividends and new anti-abuse provisions. The most notable changes are the following: 1. Withholding Tax Withholding… – Continue reading
The Manx government will not officially respond to Labour leader Ed Miliband’s ultimatum on beneficial ownership. Mr Miliband has threatened to place on an international blacklist any Crown Dependency or British Overseas Territory that fails to produce a public register of company beneficial ownership within six months of Labour coming… – Continue reading
Firms need clear rules, certainty to remain in compliance with tax law, says expert Heightened scrutiny of foreign companies’ tax practices is a sign of China’s effort to modernize its taxation system to keep up with the fast-changing international business environment, but there is another dimension that concerns the foreign… – Continue reading
Madrid’s public prosecution has accused two high-level tax officials under former prime minister José Luis Zapatero’s administration of helping hundreds of suspected tax dodgers implicated in the HSBC scandal to avoid possible jail sentences, according to Spanish daily newspaper El Pais. María Dolores Bustamante, the former director of tax management… – Continue reading
Last month, President Obama traveled to India where he famously befriended Narendra Modi and others. There, he heralded a new era of joint cooperation on many fronts, including the exchange of offshore account information. Last week, US Treasury Secretary, Jacob Lew was in India to follow up and meet with… – Continue reading
Labour will carry out a comprehensive review of tax planning schemes, including the use of deeds of variation on wills, should the party get to power following the general elections, shadow chancellor Ed Balls has said. Balls (pictured) told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show on 15 February he would review… – Continue reading
Britain’s tax office has seen a surge in foreign governments making information requests about tax evasion over recent years. The number of requests to HM Revenue & Customs rose by 45% in 2013 to total 2,466, research from international law firm Pinsent Masons revealed. Ukraine had the biggest boost in… – Continue reading
Key staff at bank given £21m in salaries and bonuses in 2011 and 2012 But figure jumped almost 40% to £29.2m in 2013, financial reports say Bank is accused of helping customers to cheat taxman out of millions Admits failings in compliance & controls in Swiss private banking wing Staff… – Continue reading
PREMIER Rufus Ewing has called out United Kingdom Opposition Leader, Edward Miliband for published statements he recently made regarding the TCI being a tax haven. Miliband is reported in the UK press as stating that the UK overseas territories (OT) are not complying with UK directives on beneficial ownership of… – Continue reading
London Mayor Boris Johnson was born in New York City in 1964, and he has held dual British and American citizenship throughout his life. Recently, after months of grousing about having to pay a capital gains tax to the U.S. on the sale of his house in Greater London, Johnson… – Continue reading
LONDON: HSBC’s Indian banking unit is at the heart of fresh revelations around tax evasion, days after a global expose showed tax dodging through accounts in the British major’s Swiss banking unit, a media report said today. It is alleged that representatives of HSBC India, which has employees based in… – Continue reading
UNTIL NOW, many British expatriates have been able to sell UK property without having to pay any capital gains tax in the UK. This changes from April when new rules come into effect. The concept of charging UK capital gains tax on the disposal of UK residential property owned by… – Continue reading
Some of the biggest listed Irish firms have subsidiaries in so-called ‘tax havens’, like the British Virgin Islands, Jersey or Luxembourg. They say it’s not to reduce their tax bills – so why are they there? The subsidiaries are registered in well-known offshore tax havens, such as the British Virgin… – Continue reading
The shadow chancellor has promised that a Labour government would crack down on what he called “systemic tax evasion”. Speaking on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, Ed Balls drew a distinction between families who legitimately plan their tax affairs and those who, in his words, “set up false structures”. He… – Continue reading
Identities of Ghanaians said to have stashed $89million in a Swiss bank to evade tax could become public, Kweku Baako, Managing editor of New Crusading Guide newspaper has said. According to the veteran journalist, there has been some contact made with the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists who are in… – Continue reading
Public fury over tax dodging by some clients of HSBC’s Swiss arm is set to escalate after sources close to the Revenue’s investigation said there would be no more prosecutions for tax evasion. Despite Revenue and Customs being handed details of 6,000 Swiss bank accounts held by UK residents and… – Continue reading
The automobile industry is very important for the Indian economy, given its significant contribution to the national GDP, and the employment it generates directly and indirectly. After two years of sluggish growth, the fortunes of the industry seem to be changing. The latest forecast shows growth in almost all the… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The government plans to defer implementation of the General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) until the time the tax administration is able to rebuild trust with companies on the controversial issue. “Given the low level of confidence in tax authorities, investors fear that the provisions may result in harassment…. – Continue reading
Budget should issue a) rules for announcements that were made in the budget in July 2014, (b) clarifications and guidance on matters that were at the centre of controversy during the past few years like equity infusion, valuations, etc. and (c) tax administrations, infrastructure and approach. The new government in… – Continue reading
COMPANIES registered in Caribbean islands by Cypriot law firms or consultancies form the bulk of the list of Cyprus-affiliated entries with deposits in HSBC Switzerland, daily Politis reported yesterday. The paper claimed to have obtained access to the full list of 106,000 depositors in the Swiss bank during 2006 and… – Continue reading
Feb 13 (Reuters) – France’s finance minister said on Friday Paris had not restricted the use of HSBC client data it passed on to UK authorities to help pursue tax evaders, contradicting comments by a senior British official. Britain’s Financial Secretary to the Treasury David Gauke said in parliament this… – Continue reading
The UK Treasury Committee has said that the draft legislation on the diverted profits tax (DPT) is unwieldy and stressed that the Government’s unilateral policy response should not destabilize international tax reform efforts. The Committee’s response to the plans are included in its new report on the Autumn Statement 2014,… – Continue reading
In the last several years, a “record” number of Americans abroad have been giving up their passports: That’s supposedly due to the demands of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, known as FATCA, a US law enacted in 2010 to fight tax evasion by forcing foreign banks to share information… – Continue reading
HMRC has failed to prosecute a wealthy tycoon who did not pay tax for 24 years as Richard Bilton reports Tax inspectors failed to prosecute a wealthy tax cheat who did not submit returns or pay any tax for 24 years, documents seen by BBC Panorama show. HM Revenue and… – Continue reading
February 13 2015 Following the entry into force of the double tax agreement between Spain and Cyprus (for further details please see “New double taxation agreement between Cyprus and Spain enters into force”), the Spanish Ministry of Finance has announced that Cyprus has been formally removed from the Spanish tax… – Continue reading
If the Davis tax committee’s recommendations are followed, tax avoidance could be effectively reined in. Zeroing in on the super-wealthy and tax reluctant remains at the top of the global agenda as budgets across the world grow increasingly hungry for extra revenues. Now a draft report from the Davis tax… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Committing to boost trade ties, India and the US today resolved to enhance cooperation, remove obstacles to investment flows and work towards early adoption of FATCA to facilitate automatic flow of tax information. “We are committed to share our experiences in tackling offshore tax evasion and avoidance. We… – Continue reading
Feb 12 (Reuters) – Brazilian Trade Minister Armando Monteiro said on Thursday he does not see much chance of agreeing on a tax treaty with the United States in the short term. In an interview during a visit to Washington, his first overseas trip as minister, Monteiro said double taxation,… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: India and the US on Thursday committed to take the renewed India-US partnership forward through “shared effort and progress for all” when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Jacob J. Lew, US Secretary of the Treasury, met in the Capital for the Fifth Annual India-US Economic and Financial Partnership…. – Continue reading
Mr Falciani says his email warned tax collectors that thousands of British clients of an HSBC subsidiary in Geneva were using the bank to hide money. The email, from 2008, has been uncovered by Le Monde and seen by the BBC. Revenue and Customs and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)… – Continue reading
UN special rapporteur says loopholes and schemes damage Ireland’s reputation The United Nations special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights has criticised Irish tax policies which have had a negative impact on poorer and developing countries. Professor Philip Alston has said loopholes and schemes introduced by successive governments have… – Continue reading
Tax paperwork seen as main culprit HONG KONG (CNNMoney) —Goodbye, sayonara, ciao, Uncle Sam! The number of Americans choosing to give up their passports hit a record 3,415 last year, up 14% from 2013, and 15 times more than in 2008, when only 231 people renounced their citizenship. Experts say… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The much-feared general anti avoidance rules (GAAR) could be deferred by about two years so that business sentiment is allowed to improve in India but will need to be rolled out in some form or the other by 2017, in sync with the international framework on preventing treaty… – Continue reading
Lord Fink, the former Conservative treasurer who threatened to sue Ed Miliband over his comments on tax avoidance, has conceded that the practice is normal in British society. The peer – a multimillionaire former hedge fund manager turned Conservative donor and philanthropist – also said he did take “vanilla” tax… – Continue reading
A reclassification of how Value Added Tax (VAT) is to be applied in the EU will force merchants to log users’ location, and make the user pay VAT twice. In particular, this could mean that from January 1 merchants could be forced to log identifying details about bitcoin users’ identity… – Continue reading
The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has released the 2015 update of its policy statement on “Transfer Pricing and Customs Valuation” first issued in 2012. The statement supports companies that face the challenge of determining the appropriate related party valuation of goods in the context of disparity between governments’ customs… – Continue reading
SINGAPORE: Singapore has signed agreements with France and Uruguay for avoidance of double taxation (DTA). In the agreement with France, the revised DTA offers improved terms for businesses, such as lower withholding tax rates for dividends and includes anti-abuse provisions. The signing took place in Singapore between Singapore Deputy Prime… – Continue reading
In a recent letter to the Committee on Foreign Relations, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) requested that the US Senate urgently approve all pending bilateral double taxation agreements (DTAs) and protocols. The AICPA pointed out that the full Senate has not approved any DTA or protocol since… – Continue reading
Local businesses still have a lot to consider for the next stages of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) implementation, delegates heard at a recent breakfast seminar hosted by EY. The event, led by Wendy Martin, EY’s Tax Executive Director, highlighted the recent updates made to the FATCA guidance… – Continue reading
