The BVI has passed legislation to implement the Organisation for Economic Co-Operating and Development (OECD) Common Reporting Standard for the exchange of tax information (CRS). The amendments to the Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) Act, 2003, which implement CRS in the BVI, will come into force on 1 January 2016…. – Continue reading
You may be aware that buying a second home or investing in a “buy to let property” is about to become more expensive. The Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in November 2015 the introduction of new higher SDLT rates of 3% above the current residential rates. The higher rates will… – Continue reading
Jan. 11 — The European Union is resuming efforts to create a common system for calculating the tax base of businesses operating in the EU, and aims to adopt the OECD BEPS package by the end of the Dutch EU presidency in June, a top official said. “This is the… – Continue reading
Tax inversions and corporate tax rate cuts would be huge for these stocks Certain politicians are decrying a tax move known as an “inversions,” which allow a U.S. company to merge with a foreign one with a more favorable tax rate. Yet, it’s the politicians who created the necessity for… – Continue reading
Canada and the United Kingdom have signed an agreement that clearly outlines procedures for the application of the arbitration provisions of the Canada-United Kingdom income tax treaty. The agreement provides for a clearly outlined process for the arbitration of tax disputes between the two nations. The agreement establishes rules and… – Continue reading
Savills estate agent in Bristol is urging those considering selling in 2016 to put their property on the market sooner rather than later, to ensure a sale is completed before 1st April 2016. After this date, purchasers are likely to be liable for an increased level of stamp duty on… – Continue reading
The government aims to turn the screws on tax delinquents this year as well as those who have escaped the taxman’s radar, finance minister Harris Georgiades told MPs on Tuesday. The Tax Department is preparing to launch a drive to track down and tax the owners of luxury assets, such… – Continue reading
HONG KONG: In the space of about five years, the offshore market in Chinese yuan has gone from the poster child of Beijing’s financial market liberalisation to a battleground to regain control of the currency, spooking investors and raising questions about the future of the market. While investor appetite for… – Continue reading
Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland denies treaty benefits in case of dividend paid on shares acquired for hedging derivative contracts. Court stated that due to the fully hedged nature of ownership, there was economic nexus and interdependency between two independent transactions and therefore, the “intermediary” bank did not have beneficial… – Continue reading
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella will be sitting in the House gallery as an honored guest at the State of the Union (SOTU) address tonight. By all rights, he be should sitting before a Congressional committee instead, answering for his company’s blatant tax avoidance. Microsoft is playing a game called “Global… – Continue reading
The UK tax authority, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), has announced that new double tax avoidance treaties with Bulgaria and Croatia have entered into force. The 2015 UK-Bulgaria double tax agreement was signed on March 26, 2015, and replaces the former 1987 treaty. It generally limits the withholding tax rate… – Continue reading
The jury is out on whether a group helmed by President Joko Widodo can revive stalled growth in Indonesia’s Islamic finance industry. The head of the world’s biggest Muslim population is chairing a new committee tasked with bringing fragmented regulations under one roof and taking action to spur the market,… – Continue reading
On 10 December 2015 the remaining changes to the income tax and the capital gains tax laws aiming to improve the tax system of Cyprus and make it more attractive to both the local and international business community were voted. The changes came into effect with their publication in the… – Continue reading
BRUSSELS – Three Italian consumer organizations have urged EU antitrust regulators to investigate McDonald’s (MCD.N) franchise system in Europe, a month after the opening of an EU inquiry into the U.S. fast food company’s tax deals with Luxembourg. Codacons, Movimento Difesa del Cittadino and Cittadinanzattiva filed their complaint with the… – Continue reading
‘We’re not a tax haven, we have never been involved in any kind of tax malpractice’ – Michael Noonan, Irish Minister for Finance 5th October 2015 If your top political figures need to constantly state that your country is not a tax haven, then the chances are it probably is… – Continue reading
An individual who has been normally resident outside the EU for the last ten continuous years intends to import a private jet into the UK. The aircraft is owned by a BVI company and is currently based in North America. The individual is a director and majority shareholder of the… – Continue reading
ECOFIN’s latest monthly review of VAT measures includes abandoning plans for a standard VAT return across 28 countries. The Czech Republic has requested to pilot the domestic reverse charge, an anti-VAT fraud measure. The EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) latest update on VAT measures includes, as anticipated, abandoning… – Continue reading
AB InBev says it’s `disappointed’ and is assessing its options Vestager lashes out at `double non-taxation’ schemes BRUSSELS – The European Union ordered Belgium to recover about 700 million euros ($763 million) in illegal tax breaks given to at least 35 companies, including Anheuser-Busch InBev and BP, as regulators continued… – Continue reading
Northern Ireland has moved one step closer to setting its own corporation tax rate when its Department of Finance and Personnel signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with HMRC, Economia reports. This sets out the arrangements for developing the necessary systems for devolving the tax, which will still be administered… – Continue reading
The focus has been on increasing global participation in India through liberalisation of foreign direct investment (FDI) laws. It covered easing FDI sectorial caps and conditions in diverse sectors ranging from highly regulated sectors like defence, construction& development, civil aviation to single brand retailing, automatic route for FDI in Limited… – Continue reading
As part of the ATO’s reinvention agenda we have been reviewing our Advance pricing arrangement (APA), Mutual agreement procedure (MAP) programs and our Competent Authority Network to identify opportunities to: improve the client experience and better support willing participation improve our bilateral and multilateral engagement increase our efficiency and effectiveness…. – Continue reading
An Australian Taxation Office (ATO) report issued last month on “corporate tax transparency” showed that 1,539 of the country’s biggest firms had a combined turnover of $1.6 trillion but paid a total of only $39.9 billion in company tax—about 2.5 percent of the collective turnover. Five hundred and seventy-nine of… – Continue reading
HAVE YOU worked on an overseas project for a Thai employer where you’ve had to stay in an overseas assignment for 183 days or more in a year or over two consecutive years? If so, how should you handle any double taxation? While it’s important to pay tax correctly, you… – Continue reading
According to a recent petition, the Israeli government has taken the wrong side in a world war that the US is waging over taxes of its overseas dual citizens. The financal future of 9 million Americans worldwide and hundreds of thousands living in Israel could be at stake. According to… – Continue reading
India collected INR24.28bn (USD363.4m) in taxes and penalties after 644 declarations were made under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act 2015. The Black Money Act, which came into force on July 1, 2015, provided taxpayers with a one-time compliance window to declare assets… – Continue reading
Royce Gracie isn’t scheduled to fight at Bellator 149 until February, but he’s in a serious fight with the IRS over his taxes, including whether he rightfully claimed a tax credit for the poor. Remember the scrawny guy in a gi who smoked the field at UFC 1 and had… – Continue reading
Once known as “Spain’s Princess Diana,” King Felipe’s younger sister is facing criminal fraud charges. Monday saw the start of the trial of Princess Cristina de Borbón – the first member of Spain’s royal family ever to be put on trial in a criminal court. Cristina, 50, is charged with… – Continue reading
Most Americans who work overseas feel that FATCA negatively impacts their careers, and that compliance requirements are burdensome, says a new study released by the Americans Abroad Global Foundation and the University of Nevada. The study surveyed nearly 700 adults who live and work in more than 60 countries. Key… – Continue reading
Changes in I-T Act likely to curb tax evasion by multinational companies The government might change transfer pricing provisions in Budget 2016-17 to ensure companies with overseas presence and consolidated revenue of more than Rs 5,000 crore comply with extensive data reporting and documentation. Legislative changes in the Income Tax… – Continue reading
This is the first of our series of posts on Brazilian tax treaties. In each post we will provide an overview of a specific tax treaty between Brazil and a particular foreign country, as well as comments on any Brazilian administrative or judicial precedents applying the treaty, and highlights on… – Continue reading
NAIROBI, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) — Kenya and Canada are set to sign an agreement on the promotion of investments and trade between the two countries, officials said on Monday. Canadian High Commissioner to Kenya David Angell told Xinhua in Nairobi that the two governments are talking to each other and… – Continue reading
The Nigerian Transfer Pricing (TP) Regulations officially known as Income Tax (Transfer Pricing) Regulations No 1, 2012 regulates transactions between connected taxable persons (controlled transactions). The regulation seeks to ensure that transactions among connected taxable persons are carried on at arm’s length. Applying the arm’s length principle to controlled transactions… – Continue reading
The year 2015 will be marked as the year of slow economic growth and haphazard fiscal and monetary policies due in part to the uncertainties brought about by the change in government. There were also leadership changes at the FIRS and a number of state tax authorities. This article outlines… – Continue reading
On December 21, 2015, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the U.S. Treasury Department (Treasury) released proposed regulations (REG-109822-15) on country-by-country (CbC) reporting (the Proposed Regulations). In general, the Proposed Regulations are modeled after, and are consistent with, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) recommendations for CbC reporting,… – Continue reading
few days before Christmas, in the full light of an Australian summer, the Australian tax commissioner published the tax details of 1,500 large corporate taxpayers which showed a staggering one-third of these companies paid no tax in 2014. This transparency measure was part of a wider package of ground-breaking legislation… – Continue reading
The European Union ordered Belgium to recover about 700 million euros ($762 million) in illegal tax breaks given to at least 35 companies, including Anheuser-Busch InBev NVand BP Plc, as regulators continued a crackdown on overly generous tax schemes throughout the 28-nation bloc. The European Commission told Belgium to recoup… – Continue reading
SEOUL, Jan. 11 (Yonhap) — Actor Jang Keun-suk has finally broken his silence after stirring up controversy for his alleged tax evasion in China. The “hallyu” star dropped out of the popular tvN reality show “Three Meals a Day” early last year after reports accused him of underreporting his income… – Continue reading
If taxed on the nearly $100 billion dollars they keep offshore, the largest U.S. financial institutions could cover the U.S.’s entire poverty-focused foreign assistance budget for 2014. Tax havens are a scourge. They allow individuals and institutions to cloak their financial activity in secrecy to escape and undermine other jurisdictions’… – Continue reading
Malta and Andorra have signed a Double Taxation Agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion. The agreement was signed on Andorra’s behalf by Claudia Cornella, Andorra’s Secretary of State for International Financial Affairs, and on Malta’s part by Aldo Farrugia, Director General for Legal… – Continue reading
On January 8, 2016 the UK HM Revenue & Customs issued a media release announcing that on December 15, 2015 the Convention between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Bulgaria for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with… – Continue reading
Action Plan 6 of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) final reports identifies treaty abuse, particularly treaty shopping, as one of the most significant causes of BEPS. It recognizes that existing domestic and international tax rules, including double taxation treaties, should be… – Continue reading
On January 8, 2016 the UK HM Revenue & Customs issued a media release announcing that on November 19, 2015 the Agreement between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Croatia for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with… – Continue reading
Johannesburg – We can expect 2016 to be an interesting year for tax, with a new Finance Minister promising a focus on fiscal consolidation and several key pieces of tax legislation due to be enacted in the coming months. The volatility of the currency due to events that began in… – Continue reading
If the place of effective management of a foreign company is established in India, then it becomes tax resident as per domestic laws The Finance Act, 2015, amended the provisions of the provisions of income tax act relating to determination of residence of a company. According to the amended provisions,… – Continue reading
On January 8, 2016 the UK HM Revenue & Customs issued a media release announcing that on December 16, 2015 the Convention between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Kosovo for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s hopes to seek information from Switzerland about the presumed $200 billion stashed in Swiss banks have apparently been ruined by tax authorities who mishandled delicate negotiations for amending a convention on avoidance of double taxation. A Pakistani delegation that visited Switzerland in August 2014 to renegotiate the 2005 treaty… – Continue reading
A draft agreement on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion convention was handed to Afghanistan in February 2014 Pakistan and Afghanistan will hold talks in March on a treaty to avoid double taxation and prevent fiscal evasion, an official said. A draft agreement on avoidance of double… – Continue reading
The Government of the Bahamas has recalled that 2015 brought significant challenges for the territory in the area of tax, with the implementation of a VAT regime, adoption of FATCA legislation, and the expansion of duty free concessions to cover the whole of Grand Bahama. The Bahamas Government recently released… – Continue reading
Range Extension Public Notice [2015] No. 60 provides non-resident taxpayers enjoying bilateral tax agreement and the international transport agreement with applicable unified, standardized management processes. Specific changes include: signed agreements for the avoidance of double taxation signed tax provisions of airlines, shipping and car services, tax agreement for the mutual… – Continue reading
The taxman has been forced to apologise after admitting that Accelerated Payment Notices he sent to 2,000 Montpelier tax scheme contractors should never have been issued. In a letter notifying the affected contractors, HM Revenue & Customs reminds that three conditions must be present for it to be able to… – Continue reading
