Category: Regulatory

What fund managers need to know about FATCA

Fund managers dealing with funds in Model 1 IGA countries must start focusing now on the application of FATCA to these funds. The U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) is becoming a reality. Fund managers around the world over are facing requests from U.S. withholding agents for FATCA documentation… – Continue reading

Put Another Notch in the DOJ Gun

In the history of the old west when gun fighters survived a gun fight they might put a “notch” in their pistol as a badge of honor. Well the U.S. Department of Justice can put another notch in its weapon of choice, threat of prosecution” because Deutsche Banks’ Swiss unit… – Continue reading

Changes made to IRS streamlined offshore compliance procedures

The IRS updated its streamlined offshore compliance program to provide procedures taxpayers residing both inside and outside the United States should use to participate in the program. The streamlined offshore compliance program is for taxpayers whose failure to comply with requirements to report offshore assets is nonwillful. It is designed… – Continue reading

Italy and Swiss ministers clash over failure to reach tax accord

(Reuters) – Italian and Swiss ministers clashed on Monday over the failure to reach an agreement aimed at fighting tax evasion that foresees Switzerland opening up its bank databases to Italian tax authorities. Both Italian Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan and Swiss Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf said they spoke on… – Continue reading

Failed property scheme linked to tax haven firm

A failed property development is linked to a tax haven company that triggered an alleged money laundering probe into a wealthy businessman. Albany Heights, more than 400 homes proposed to be built on Auckland’s North Shore, was marketed as an “investors’ dream” but companies connected to the project collapsed with… – Continue reading

No ‘red flag’ for coming forward under Project DO IT

Undeclared offshore income and assets must be disclosed by 19 December 2014 The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) is reassuring taxpayers that disclosing under Project DO IT will not give them a “red flag”. Project DO IT, the ATO’s offshore voluntary disclosure initiative, offers considerable benefits to taxpayers who bring their… – Continue reading

Bono: ‘We are a tiny country and tax laws have brought Ireland the only prosperity we’ve ever known

U2 frontman Bono has claimed that the controversial tax laws which have helped multinationals avoid billions in tax have “brought our country the only prosperity we’ve known”. In an interview with the Observer, the singer said the Irish economy needs companies like Apple, Facebook and Google, which have been the… – Continue reading

Shareholders in BES firms seek information on €1.6m transfer

Cash in companies run by businessman Declan Conway was moved to two offshore companies Shareholders in two Business Expansion Scheme (BES) companies run by businessman Declan Conway have written to him demanding to know why almost €1.6 million was transferred from both firms to a number of offshore entities. Between… – Continue reading

Revenue & Customs set to miss target for prosecution of tax evaders

Tax authority set a target of 1,165 people a year by 2014/15, but analysis of the last tax year shows it prosecuted just 795 £119.4bn of UK tax went unpaid, avoided or evaded in the financial year 2013/14, with evasion totalling £82.1bn, according to campaigner Richard Murphy. Photograph: Daniel Lynch… – Continue reading

For HSBC list info, India to send team to Switzerland

The NDA government is sending a high-level delegation to Switzerland in a bid to persuade them to assist with details of the 700-odd Indians who have bank accounts with the HSBC Bank in Geneva. This is being seen as the last-ditch attempt by the Indian government since the Swiss authorities… – Continue reading

India’s challenge on corporate taxation

Foreign investors, not to mention the country itself, need a more stable and predictable regime Foreign companies are depressingly used to run-ins with the Indian taxman. A string of groups, including Vodafone, IBM and Cairn Energy, have been hauled into the dock for not paying their dues in recent years…. – Continue reading

Marikana: Don’t touch Lonmin on its Bermuda

The Alternative Information Development Centre (Disclosure: AIDC’s economist Dick Forslund contributes to Daily Maverick, most recently about Lonmin) has been served with an interdict application in the Johannesburg High Court to try to prevent the organisation from holding a press conference about Lonmin’s finances, especially relating to the use of… – Continue reading

India may have to wait for automatic exchange of Swiss info

India may have to wait longer for joining “selected” countries with whom Switzerland plans to do automatic exchange of information on tax matters, even as Indian and Swiss officials will meet soon to iron out their bilateral arrangements on suspected tax evasion cases. Switzerland has started a process for putting… – Continue reading

Compliance in China for Foreign Businesses

Compliance is China’s latest Hot Topic. Until recently, many Western managers accepted that some flexibility on legal issues was needed to thrive in the complex Chinese legal environment. Practices to strengthen relationships such as luxurious dinners and karaoke evenings, sponsored travel, red-pocket money and the like, have often been regarded… – Continue reading

Tax chief to meet Swiss bank heads

Moshe Asher is seeking information about accounts in Switzerland belonging to Israelis. The Israel Tax Authority is stepping up it efforts to combat overseas tax shelters for Israelis. Sources inform “Globes” that Israel Tax Authority director Moshe Asher is expected to travel to Switzerland next week in order to meet… – Continue reading

We need clarity, we need fairness. The taxman has a case to answer

It is time for an inquiry into HMRC’s competence, policy, decision-making processes and duty to provide transparency Thomas Paine’s observation that what first was plunder later assumed the name of revenue is well-understood by those who have chosen to make their living abroad. Individuals move for various reasons: career development,… – Continue reading

Kenya: NGO Moves to Court Over Double-Taxation Agreement

Tax Justice Network Africa, which campaigns against harmful tax policies that favour the wealthy and perpetuate inequality, has moved to the High Court to stop a double-taxation treaty between Kenya and Mauritius. Mauritius is a popular tax haven for companies with multinational operations, tilting scales against countries that sign bilateral… – Continue reading

IRS Revises a Limited-Amnesty Program for Offshore Accounts

The Internal Revenue Service announced changes to one of its limited-amnesty programs for U.S. taxpayers with undeclared offshore accounts. The revisions are to the “streamlined procedure,” which was announced in June and is for taxpayers who weren’t intentionally hiding money abroad. Participants in the streamlined program who live in the… – 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

100 Swiss Banks Are Collaborating With The US To Cut Down On Tax Evasion

ZURICH (Reuters) – The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is seeking “total cooperation” from Swiss banks in a draft agreement aimed at allowing the banks to make amends for aiding tax evasion by wealthy Americans, a Swiss newspaper reported on Saturday. About 100 Swiss banks signed up to work with… – Continue reading

Ireland Said to Weigh Phasing Out Double Irish Tax Break

Ireland’s finance ministry officials are weighing phasing out a tax device used by multinational companies including Google Inc., according to a person with knowledge of the matter, as the European Union looks into the practice. Ireland is considering whether to eliminate a technique known as the “Double Irish,” which allows… – 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

Lobby sues Treasury CS over ‘illegal’ tax deal with Mauritius

A tax civil society has sued National Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich over an ‘illegal’ agreement signed with Mauritius, in a major litigation that could affect thousands of companies operating in Kenya. The suit filed at the High Court by Tax Justice Network-Africa (TJN-A) demands that Rotich withdraws a taxation treaty… – Continue reading

OECD releases finalised proposals on key tax base erosion concerns

Introduction Action 1: the digital economy Action 2: hybrid mismatch arrangements Action 5: harmful tax competition Action 6: preventing tax treaty abuse Action 8: guidance on transfer pricing and intangible assets Action 13: transfer pricing documentation and country-by-country reporting Action 15: developing a multilateral legal instrument Next steps Introduction On… – Continue reading

FATCA Notebook: Former IRS Chief, Taxpayer Advocate Criticize FATCA; Switzerland Moves Toward Greater Transparency

This week brings a wealth of news in the FATCA arena, which we summarize in today’s post. First, former acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller speaks out against FATCA and suggests that the benefits of the new information reporting regime imposed by FATCA may not outweigh its costs. An article published… – Continue reading

Arab ambassadors, Brazilian FM convene

The meeting took place at the official residency of the Egyptian ambassador, in Brasília, and focused on ways to further trade ties between Brazil and the Arab countries. Marcos Carrieri* marcos.carrieri@anba.com.br São Paulo – Ambassadors and chargés d’affaires from 18 Arab countries and the Arab League met last Thursday (9th)… – 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

Global Residence and Citizenship Council Announced

TORONTO, Oct. 10, 2014 /CNW/ – The Global Citizen Forum 2014, hosted in Toronto, proved to be a launch platform for significant initiatives. On October 3, 2014, its second day, in front of more than 260 delegates, Mykolas Rambus, CEO, Wealth-X, announced the establishment of the Global Residence and Citizenship… – 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

Top House lawmakers question proposed waiver for Credit Suisse

Three House Democrats are urging the Labor Department to reconsider its proposed waiver of sanctions on Credit Suisse following its guilty plea over tax evasion charges. Reps. Maxine Waters (Calif.), ranking member of the Financial Services Committee, George Miller (Calif.), ranking member of the Education and the Workforce Committee and… – Continue reading

European Commission Crackdown on Special Tax Deals

The European Commission’s recent action to crack down on special deals some European Union governments offer to corporations could be a blow to multinational corporations’ tax-dodging strategies. As we noted in a report earlier this year, three European countries (Ireland, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) are among the top twelve tax… – Continue reading

Asia tipped as next target of US tax crackdown

Asian financial institutions could come under closer scrutiny by US authorities that are seeking to expand a probe into offshore tax avoidance activities across more jurisdictions, according to consultancy firm AlixPartners. The US government has stepped up efforts to counter tax evasion activities by its citizens in recent years. Last… – Continue reading