The US tax authorities are set to make the amnesty programme aimed at encouraging US citizens to declare any offshore bank accounts less tough. Recently appointed head of the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), John Koskinen, said at a tax conference in Washington D.C. that re-striking the balance between enforcement… – Continue reading
While Perrigo Co. plc has already cut its tax burden by moving offshore in the $8.6 billion blockbuster deal with Irish pharmaceutical maker Elan Corp. that it says will allow it to expand globally, other U.S. corporations could have a hard time pulling off similar deals. New federal legislation aims to change… – Continue reading
Vietnamese tycoon and former banker Nguyen Duc Kien, a co-founder of Asia Commercial Bank (ACB), was sentenced to 30 years in prison for fraud and tax evasion and two other charges at a high-profile trial that wrapped up Monday in Hanoi. Kien, 50, who was once listed as one of the… – Continue reading
In an article published by The Mirror on May 20th, it was claimed that an untaxed shadow economy now accounts for a tenth of all the money spent here in the UK. Undisclosed corporate takings annually equate to £100bn, meaning that HMRC annually fail to collect around £47bn in tax revenue. Tax… – Continue reading
The U.S. has given Swiss banks more time to show some Americans’ accounts were not used to evade taxes in a program that has banks deliver account data to avoid criminal prosecution. The Department of Justice has given as many as 106 banks until July 31 to demonstrate that an… – Continue reading
Treasury is taking submissions on a revised tax treaty with Switzerland, which will lead to Swiss banks handing over secretive bank account information to Australian authorities on request. The new treaty means Australian tax evaders with undisclosed Swiss bank accounts will now rely on limited bank secrecy protection from the… – Continue reading
Bank Leumi, Israel’s second largest bank, said on Sunday it was close to a deal to pay nearly 1 billion shekels ($289 million) to the U.S. Justice Department in relation to its investigation into possible tax evasion by the bank’s American clients. The settlement, likely to take weeks or months… – Continue reading
The U.S. has given Swiss banks more time to show some Americans’ accounts were not used to evade taxes in a program that has banks deliver account data to avoid criminal prosecution. The Department of Justice has given as many as 106 banks until July 31 to demonstrate that an… – Continue reading
Malta is the only member state stopping a tax loophole costing billions of euros being closed, after Sweden dropped its opposition to a EU finance ministers’ agreement to stop multinational companies exploiting hybrid loan arrangements to pay little or no tax. The European Commission reassured Swedish diplomats last week that… – Continue reading
Thousands of investors worldwide are finding out that controversial new US tax avoidance laws have a much wider reach than just American taxpayers with offshore accounts. This is because an unforeseen consequence of the new Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is international customers of US financial institutions must reveal… – Continue reading
All financial institutions in the UAE must comply with the agreement signed with the US Financial institutions in the UAE will start sharing extensive data of account holders with a US nationality from July 1st with the Internal Revenue Services (IRS), or the American tax collecting authority. On May 23rd… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: UK-based telecom major Vodafone is facing tax claims and interest totalling more than Rs 27,000 crore in India, which includes Rs 14,200 crore for acquiring Hutchison’s stake in 2007, the company said in its annual report. Vodafone said that its Indian subsidiary had received a letter in January… – Continue reading
Bank Leumi, one of Israel’s largest financial institutions, will pay a billion-shekel fine to US authorities for suspected tax evasion, Channel 2 reported on Sunday. Related: Israel agrees to turn American’s bank accounts over to IRS According to a US-led investigation, the bank’s American branches made illegal transactions to clients’… – Continue reading
New Delhi: Tasked with the job of recovering illicit wealth stashed away by Indians, the SIT on black money has decided to look into the contentious issue of secrecy clauses in India’s tax treaties with Switzerland and other countries. India has signed tax information exchange treaties with many countries, but… – Continue reading
In the latest attempt elevating the long-standing issue, a United Nations report has called for a fight against cross-border tax evasion — as in the kind of “smart” accounting that has let high-profile multinationals such as Apple, Google and Starbucks save billions in taxes for years. A US Senate… – Continue reading
A millionaire could owe penalties of $2.2 million on a secret $1.5 million Swiss bank account. By LAURA SAUNDERS CONNECT June 6, 2014 5:46 p.m. ET Offshore account holders take note: In what experts call a big win for the Internal Revenue Service, a Miami jury has found that a… – Continue reading
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, Five Eyes intelligence sharing and the American Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act have put New Zealand’s sovereignty and independence at risk and must be immediately reviewed, says the Internet Party. In its draft Independence policy released today, the Internet Party said New Zealand’s sovereignty was being… – Continue reading
NICOSIA and New Delhi are inching closer to putting their double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) back on track, financial sources said yesterday. The sources, familiar with the subject but speaking on condition of anonymity, played down reports from India that Cyprus was unlikely to get off the ‘blacklist’ any time… – Continue reading
The European Union may open a formal probe as soon as next week into tax breaks that Ireland and the Netherlands use to attract international companies, according to people familiar with the case. The European Commission is scheduled to discuss the issue at a meeting June 11, said two people,… – Continue reading
As many as 13 Swiss banks are facing an increasing stake related to criminal tax avoidance probes after another Swiss bank, Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE: CS), put new standards for punishment in US crackdown on evasion of offshore taxes. Punishment to fit crime Zuercher Kantonalbank, Julius Baer Group Ltd. and… – Continue reading
The regulatory landscape for the Australian funds management industry continues to change. This article provides an overview of five key matters that should be on the radar of fund managers. FATCA The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) allows the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to identify and collect… – Continue reading
The world is close to the point where hiding money offshore is foolhardy, no matter how little or large the amount is. As the loopholes continue to close, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) has announced a voluntarily scheme for people to declare unreported foreign income and assets. The ATO wants taxpayers with… – Continue reading
The United States government has actively been pursuing NRIs who have undisclosed offshore assets and income. The United States law requires citizens and residents (i.e., green card holders, H1-B visa holders, and other tax residents) to report their worldwide income and complete a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts… – Continue reading
Muscat: Oman and Bulgaria expect to sign a double taxation avoidance treaty in September this year, as both countries are in negotiations to finalise the treaty, said Antoaneta Petrova of Bulexpo AA & Co. She noted that once the agreement is in place, Bulgarian companies operating in Oman will need… – Continue reading
At present, it is unclear how the rules surrounding Private Residence relief (PPR) will exempt individuals from these new CGT rules. In his 2013 Autumn Statement, Chancellor George Osborne announced an important change to the UK tax system – namely, the extension of capital gains tax (CGT) to non-residents selling their… – Continue reading
The European Union must throw its full weight behind international efforts to clamp down on tax avoidance, a European commissioner has said. Speaking as a high-level expert group published its five-month review on taxation challenges for the EU in the digital economy, commissioner for tax and customs Algirdas Šemeta said… – Continue reading
A Woody Creek couple agreed to pay the IRS more than $800,000 in restitution after creating tax-avoidance schemes including naming their dog and cat as directors of a company called “Hyperpanel University.” Hyperpanel, a Nevada business, was listed as the owner of a $1.2 million Woody Creek home actually owned… – Continue reading
FATCA Update As the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is implemented, more countries have entered into intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) with the U.S. which should ease burdens on offshore funds and investment managers that qualify as foreign financial institutions. FATCA is aimed at ensuring that U.S. taxpayers do not avoid paying… – Continue reading
In brief On 28 March 2014, China and Germany entered into a new double taxation agreement (DTA) and protocol (together referred to as ‘the new DTA’). The new DTA results in an extensive revision of the currently applicable treaty signed in 1985 (1985 DTA). The key changes include extending the… – Continue reading
There has been remarkable progress in the fight against tax evasion and corporate avoidance in the past eighteen months. This month it was announced that 47 countries had agreed to an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) framework that commits them to “swiftly” pass new domestic laws that will… – Continue reading
Impala Platinum Holdings Limited has rejected claims that the platinum mining companies have been involved in tax evasion activities. Implats refutes these allegations in the strongest possible terms and views the inflammatory and unsubstantiated allegation of criminal behaviour in a very serious light,” spokesman Johan Theron said on Thursday. “We… – Continue reading
Having spent the past eighteen months claiming that Ireland does not facilitate international corporate tax avoidance despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the Irish Government has done a U-turn and has signalled that it is ready to prepare for the reality of reform. On Tuesday the Department of Finance published… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Mauritius has said that it will address India’s concerns over the abuse of the lucrative tax treaty between the two countries, promising measures to ensure that benefits are available only to genuine investors. The island nation has proposed a stringent limitation of benefit clause in the Double Taxation… – Continue reading
Navin Ramgoolam discussed issue of long-pending treaty re-negotiation with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in their bilateral meeting today Mauritus on Tuesday said it was determined to allay India’s fears on round tripping of funds, by incorporating adequate safeguards in the India-Mauritius tax treaty. The island nation said it had… – Continue reading
International tax policy changes being considered by the OECD could shave €1bn off Ireland’s annual multinational tax take, a Dáil Committee has heard. Addressing a joint sub-committee hearing on global taxation matters, yesterday, Brian Keegan — director of taxation at Chartered Accountants Ireland — said the OECD’s base erosion and… – Continue reading
European Union member states should adopt a common position on corporation tax in the current debate on changing global tax rules, according to a high level European Commission report on the digital economy. The report says that the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project (Beps), which is examining how… – Continue reading
NEW YORK — A Russian businessman who emigrated to the U.S. and then became a citizen of his adopted homeland Tuesday became the latest suspect to plead guilty to charges he failed to disclose a secret offshore bank account to the IRS. Viktor Kordash, 64, potentially faces a maximum five-year… – Continue reading
Mauritius on 27 May 2014 decided to provide automatic tax information exchange to India. The decision was announced by the Prime Minister of Mauritius Navin Ramgoolam after his meeting with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. Navin Ramgoolam was in India to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as… – Continue reading
Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse is set to plead guilty to helping thousands of Americans cheat Uncle Sam. At the same time, the federal government is chasing taxpayers who hid their money overseas. It seems a good time to ask what’s fair and just in tax-evasion cases. You can’t throw… – Continue reading
Chief Executive Officer Martin Scholl said in an interview in Zurich today that he is waiting to hear from U.S. authorities after the Justice Department last month extracted a guilty plea and an agreement to pay $2.6 billion from Credit Suisse Group AG (CSGN), the first global bank in a… – Continue reading
We are living in the golden age of global tax reform. At no point in history have there been so many initiatives coordinated by such a dizzying array of tax authorities, all focused on one thing: replenishing municipal budgets that have been depleted over the last five years of global… – Continue reading
Republican tax law writers in the U.S. Congress and multinational businesses on Monday said international talks aimed at preventing companies from moving profits to low-tax countries could hurt the United States. Representative Dave Camp and Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah warned of the effect on U.S. taxpayers from the Organisation… – Continue reading
Hardcore tax avoiders are facing their last stand as one of the last tax safe havens sends HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) a list of countries where they have stashed their secret cash. Swiss banks must supply the list by May 31 under a tax agreement between Britain and the… – Continue reading
Georgian Finance Minister Nodar Khaduri held the bilateral meetings in the Hague as part of the annual meeting of member-states of the Holland-Belgium group of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. In particular, he met with Moldovan Minister of Finance Anatoly Arapu and manager of the Moldovan National Bank… – Continue reading
Geneva’s private banks may have to wait years before they can prospect for business in the European Union from Switzerland and service clients across borders, according to a managing partner at the city’s oldest bank. The EU won’t allow the banks to market wealth-management services into the 28-member bloc, especially after the… – Continue reading
Law360, New York (June 03, 2014, 7:10 PM ET) — Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen said Tuesday that an international plan to squash corporate profit shifting will create headaches for administrators and hurt U.S. taxpayers.Addressing the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Koskinen said the plan would create tens… – Continue reading
International moves to shut down profit-shifting from high to low tax countries is starting to have an impact on Australian companies doing business offshore. A new EY report says these local companies are feeling the heat of a global trend of “increasingly aggressive” tax authorities. EY’s 2014 Tax Risk and… – Continue reading
Nearly 6 million Americans living abroad are facing a June 16 deadline to file their taxes this year. Regardless of the confusion that U.S. citizens abroad have over what will ultimately be required of them under the Affordable Care Act and other laws, all taxpayers whose income exceeds $10,000 are… – Continue reading
The best way to deal with B.C.’s socially and economically harmful Property Transfer Tax would be to scrap it. However, the B.C. Chamber of Commerce is promoting a second-best solution that has a far better chance of winning support from provincial politicians hooked on spending our money. The Chamber’s approach,… – Continue reading
…as FATCA comes into force in JulyGovernment is to broaden the current tax net to include Ghanaians engaged in economic activities or hold investments in the United States, Dr. Larbi Siaw, Tax Policy Adviser at the Ministry of Finance (MOFEP) has saidDr. Larbi said that implementation of the Foreign Account… – Continue reading
