Taxes are the enforced proportional contributions from persons and property, levied by the state by virtue of its sovereignty for the support of government and for all public need. From the above definition it is seen that taxes are contributions to a common pool by the people for the use… – Continue reading
The Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) is putting in place a series of measures to prevent use of its exchange platform by various unscrupulous entities to evade taxes and launder money. These measures include putting additional circuit filters on stocks that are susceptible for price manipulation and reducing the number of… – Continue reading
New transparency requirements could see tax-dodging companies being listed on a ‘name and shame’ register, a Senate committee has proposed. The Australian Tax Office would also be forced to disclose all tax avoidance settlements which exceed a proposed $100 million threshold, Fairfax has reported. In addition, companies based in Australia… – Continue reading
Large South Korean companies have sent more than $400 billion to offshore tax havens over the past eight years, with nearly 40 percent of the amount yet to be returned home, data showed Sunday. According to the data by the Bank of Korea and other government agencies, local big firms… – Continue reading
Revenue authorities need to be “vigilant” in monitoring the super-rich, according to research that called on many of them to improve their scrutiny of their richest taxpayers, reports the Financial Times. The study by the Paris-based OECD is a further sign of the pressure on tax departments to squeeze more… – Continue reading
On August 11, 2015, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its annual report addressing global tax administration. The OECD’s stated mission is to “promote policies that will improve the economic and social well-being of people around the world.” The OECD describes its annual report as follows: Tax… – Continue reading
The nonprofit Korean American National Coordinating Council has provided support to U.S. citizens for travel to Pyongyang. NEW YORK, Aug. 13 (UPI) — A Korean American organization that previously has helped Americans travel to North Korea is under investigation for tax evasion and political activities that violate U.S. tax laws…. – Continue reading
A CAMPAIGN questioning the “fairness” of land ownership launched across Scotland yesterday. Our Land is a month-long initiative created by Common Weal, Women for Independence and land reform campaigners Andy Wightman and Lesley Riddoch and aims to highlight problems caused by a land ownership system that “allows a handful of… – Continue reading
The Danish government is hopeful ratification of the convention for avoidance of Double Taxation agreements (DTA) with Ghana — and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital gains between the two countries — will help to double Denmark’s investment in the country. This brings… – Continue reading
Nerijus Numavičius, large owner of Maxima Group and one of the richest businessmen in the Baltics, is being accused of tax evasion by his business partner, writes Äripäev. According to small shareholder Mindaugas Marcinkevičius, various tax schemes employed by Maxima amount to over 200 million euros in tax evasion, of… – Continue reading
NAIROBI: The civil society in Kenya wants Parliament to join them in the push to end tax evasion through enactment of laws that enhance compliance from international trade. This, they argue, will boost revenue collection by the State. They say tougher laws will criminalise tax avoidance and spell harsher penalties… – Continue reading
THE OECD has published three reports outlining the framework for the automatic exchange of financial information between governments as part of its efforts to curb tax avoidance and evasion. In October last year, the organisation announced the agreement to automatically share tax information on individuals by the year 2018, to… – Continue reading
Hundreds of millions of tax dollars are flooding into exchequers across the world, as governments offer evaders a last chance to own up to undeclared accounts, reports the Financial Times. Taxpayers with funds stashed offshore are coming forward voluntarily in their tens of thousands ahead of new transparency rules that… – Continue reading
High net worth individuals seen using illiquid stocks in options segment to evade taxes, manipulate markets; order likely soon The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) is likely to act against several wealthy investors, for alleged manipulation of the stock exchange route for evading taxes. Sources said the market… – Continue reading
A thorough investigation into retail giant Lotte Group is picking up a head of steam. Korea’s Fair Trade Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service have separately requested Lotte Group provide them with related information. They are looking into Lotte’s complicated governing structure and possible tax evasion, in light of the… – Continue reading
For the third year on the trot, Shell service stations generated billions of dollars and revenue but not a cent in company tax. In fact the owners of the sunny yellow servos reported tax benefits in all three years despite total sales which may be in excess of $60 billion…. – Continue reading
ROME: Italian authorities are checking on 59,000 people who moved funds between Italy and the tax haven of San Marino in the last six years and have uncovered 850 million euros (£600 million) of income on which no tax was paid, the tax police said on Thursday. Tax evasion is… – Continue reading
The six individual defendants indicted in the Lukoil tax evasion and money laundering case remain under court supervision, as the Prahova Court rejected on Tuesday the defendants’ requests to have the court restriction lifted; the court ordered instead the confinement for 60 days running from August 4 to October 2…. – Continue reading
The UK will help Ghana clamp down on tax avoidance and evasion by sharing expertise to improve their tax system. The UK will work with the Government of Ghana to tackle tax evasion so the country can raise revenues and build stronger public services, International Development Secretary Justine Greening and… – Continue reading
A new town hall committee is set to be established to cut council ties with any companies suspected of avoiding tax or promoting evasion methods. Under moves by the performance and policy scrutiny committee, a number of organisations could be investigated and stopped from winning council contracts. Cllr Andy Hull,… – Continue reading
On 16 July 2015, the Government issued four consultation documents on the topic of offshore tax, non-compliance and evasion. The first consultation document discusses an increase in the minimum penalty for offshore non-compliance and evasion. This includes a new asset-based penalty regime which potentially could be so high as to… – Continue reading
Holding out no assurance of an absolute confidentiality to those disclosing foreign assets on their own, the government on Tuesday said details of information provided during the one-time compliance window can be revealed in the public interest. “In this (black money) law, there is no assurance of confidentiality but at… – Continue reading
ANY MOVES towards tackling tax havens are welcome, says Jim Orr Earlier this year Scottish Government plans to restrict land ownership in Scotland only to EU registered people or entities were very well received with 82 per cent of consultation respondents recorded as supportive. These proposals would improve transparency and… – Continue reading
Tax evasion by Canadian companies using offshore havens promises to become election issue Canadian corporations that use tax havens like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands to reduce the taxes they pay at home have good reason to worry. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has been stepping up its scrutiny of… – Continue reading
A Romanian court has rejected an appeal by the general manager and six executives of a subsidiary of Russian oil company Lukoil who have been indicted on tax evasion and money laundering charges. The Court of Appeal in Ploiesti dismissed the appeal made by general manager Andrey Bogdanov, a Russian… – Continue reading
Romanian prosecutors have completed its investigations into the alleged fraud committed at a local Lukoil refinery and on August 4 indicted the Russian-owned Petrotel refinery, its Russian director-general and five other officials. Prosecutors estimate the losses to the state at RON 7.6bn (€1.76bn), and have seized shares and bank accounts… – Continue reading
Two Canadian women begin their Federal Court case in Vancouver on Tuesday, seeking to have a judge declare that Canada’s cooperation in supplying financial information to U.S. tax collectors is unconstitutional. Gwen Deegan, 53, a Toronto graphic designer, and Ginny Hillis, 68, a retired lawyer living in Windsor, were both… – Continue reading
HSBC has reported its half-year profits are up 10 per cent to £8.7bn as it sets aside £731m to deal with a raft of ongoing regulatory investigations. The bank posted a pre-tax profit of £7.9bn at the same time last year. Its interim results, published today, reveal HSBC has made… – Continue reading
NEW YORK, USA — On the heels of revelations earlier this year about questionable Clinton family activities in Haiti, the Wall Street Journal revealed last week that presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and her husband accepted cash from Swiss bank UBS, after she intervened to help it out with the IRS,… – Continue reading
On July 30, 2015, the Justice Department’s Tax Division announced that three more Swiss banks — PKB Privatbank AG, Falcon Private Bank AG and Credito Privato Commerciale in liquidazione SA (CPC) – have cut deals with the U.S. to resolve allegations that those institutions assisted their U.S. customers in hiding… – Continue reading
Tax enforcers are targeting people with big houses, private jets and yachts to make sure they are declaring all of their income. People living millionaire lifestyles and flaunting “badges of wealth” but only declaring a relatively small income will be hunted down by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC). It has… – Continue reading
Overpayments are often the result of errors on the part of the Government rather than criminal intent Last month the National Audit Office published a ‘stocktake’ of incorrect payments by Department for Work & Pensions and HM Revenue & Customs to those claiming state benefits, including working tax credits. It… – Continue reading
THOUSANDS of pieces of land across Scotland have been snapped up by huge offshore companies – many of which are based in the world’s biggest tax havens. The revelation has prompted fears that firms owning Scottish land are dodging taxes, or even acting as fronts for laundering money. In total… – Continue reading
A millionaire businessman charged over an alleged $63 million tax-evasion and money-laundering scheme can’t afford to pay his legal bills after blowing millions of dollars on luxury cars, boats and an extravagant lifestyle, a court has heard. The taxpayer will now bear at least $624,000 in legal fees incurred by… – Continue reading
CIVIL society organisations and the business community say the impact of Tax Inspectors without Borders (TIWB) initiative meant to curb tax evasion and illicit financial flows depended on the willingness of actors in Zimbabwe to reform and agree to be scrutinised. The TIWB project is aimed at helping developing countries… – Continue reading
In the wake of the recent arrests of stakeholders in the Maltese remote gaming sector, it seems that professional firms and the remote gaming authority did not carry out due diligence appropriately on ultimate beneficial owners of the companies they have registered and represented. This failure has seriously tarnished Malta’s… – Continue reading
RBS’s private banking business has swung deeply into the red as litigation and conducts costs relating to Coutts mount. According to an interim update from the bank, the private banking business registered a loss of £50 million in the second quarter versus a £145 million profit in the corresponding period… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The government today said it’s taking effective steps to deal with black money and will focus on high-impact cases with a view to prosecuting offenders expeditiously for credible deterrence against tax evasion. “While focusing on non-intrusive measures, due emphasis has been given on enforcement measures in high-impact cases… – Continue reading
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)[LR1] is generally associated with reporting requirements for foreign banks and foreign entities to disclose the names of U.S. individuals using such foreign vehicles to hide U.S. financial accounts. (See all three blog posts in this series on FATCA compliance.) However, there is an… – Continue reading
The international press, especially the Italian one, has been filled these past days with stories of ‘Ndrangheta criminals who have been arrested in Italy and who seem to have links with online gaming companies in Malta which they may have been using for money laundering. This is bad news for… – Continue reading
Understanding FATCA and having a comprehensive FATCA compliance program is essential for financial firms to limit non-compliance risk and meet obligations with relevant IGA’s. The US has made inroads on the Exchange of Information front and tax havens like Switzerland have declared a willingness to meet or even exceed OECD… – Continue reading
OUAGADOUGOU, July 29 (Xinhua) — Burkina Faso’s Transition Parliament has questioned the country’s economy and finance minister as it opened an inquiry into tax evasion, a parliamentary source told Xinhua on Tuesday. Official sources revealed that the government had in the last five years lost approximately 40 million U.S. dollars… – Continue reading
From five-star hotels to humble tavernas, Greek tax inspectors are fixing their attention on tax evasion at summer holiday hotspots. The government served notice on Wednesday that Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras’s promised crackdown on tax evasion is now under way, a week after sweeping increases in value-added tax were imposed…. – Continue reading
Kenya collected 1.001 trillion shillings ($10 billion) in the fiscal year to end-June, a 3.86 percent increase from the previous year, the Treasury said on Wednesday. Officials in East Africa’s biggest economy are aiming at increasing tax collections to fund several infrastructure projects, including a new railway, and pay for… – Continue reading
GOMA, DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO—The Democratic Republic of Congo’s biggest-ever corruption probe was called off without an official explanation, according to both a Congolese lawmaker and a government spokesman. Investigators were looking into fraud that may have cost the government more than $3 billion. It was an investigation of alleged… – Continue reading
“People have had ample opportunity to regularise their affairs”, says HMRC as it presents the next move in its “No Safe Havens” strategy. A package of measures was proposed in the Summer Budget 2015 designed to ramp up HMRC’s powers to tackle offshore tax evasion. With civil deterrents and civil… – Continue reading
In the first 100% Conservative Budget in nearly two decades, chancellor George Osborne has introduced a raft of changes, including significant revisions to UK non-dom status. On 8 July, chancellor George Osborne delivered the first Conservative Government Budget for 19 years. Many headlines had already been flagged up in advance,… – Continue reading
A Huddersfield tycoon, accused of masterminding one of Europe’s biggest tax frauds, is expected to be extradited from the USA to Germany. Mohammad Safdar Gohir has been in a Las Vegas jail for more than a year and is now awaiting deportation to Germany following a US court’s decision. Gohir,… – Continue reading
Billionaire offshore tax cheat Igor Olenicoff has won a big one in his long running court battle with his former Swiss bank, UBS AG, and his former UBS banker turned whistleblower, Bradley Birkenfeld. In a ruling from the bench Thursday, Orange County Superior Court Judge Kim G. Dunning shot down… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: Power politics within the ruling party may ruin the move to control tax evasion, as traders supported by Punjab government have backed out from the agreement they signed earlier this month that would bring them under the tax net in return of seeking major concessions. Daylong talks between representatives… – Continue reading
