The Competent Authorities Agreement is part of Panama’s continued commitment to upholding international transparency standards PANAMA CITY, June 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Panama and Mexico signed today a Competent Authorities Exchange of Tax Information Agreement, in accordance with Panama’s commitment to the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) of the Organization for… – Continue reading
A negative review of the tax department by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) Global Forum for transparency and exchange of information, which aims to tackle tax evasion and tax avoidance, has excluded Cyprus from the convention of mutual administrative assistance in tax matters, it was reported on… – Continue reading
GOVERNMENT has a bill on the Parliament agenda allowing for automatic extradition for people wanted for tax evasion in foreign jurisdictions, announced Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi. He said on the Parliament agenda there is a miscellaneous bill to deal with allowing prosecution of tax evasion matters in a reciprocal arrangement… – Continue reading
Revealing the secret identifies behind shell companies and opaque trusts is the “new frontier” in fighting tax evasion, says the OECD’s head of tax Pascal Saint-Amans. In an exclusive interview with Fairfax Media, Mr Saint-Amans also spoke about the Turnbull government’s tougher domestic laws aimed at cracking down on multinational… – Continue reading
The German upper house of Parliament, the Bundesrat, passed a bill June 2 to stymie tax evasion through letterbox companies as part of a wider crackdown on illegal tax practices in light of last year’s Panama Papers scandal. The bill, which will become law after being signed by the German… – Continue reading
A study released May 28 by University of California Berkeley economist Gabriel Zucman and two Scandinavian colleagues, “Tax Evasion and Inequality,” demonstrates that global wealth inequality is drastically underestimated in official statistics because of how successful the super-rich are at evading taxes. According to the paper, the super-rich, that is… – Continue reading
Noting a substantial drop in the tax burden in Romania, the International Monetary Fund has called on lawmakers to avoid further tax cuts. The IMF said that successive tax burden-cutting measures, impacting value-added tax (VAT), fuel excises, and health contributions had resulted in a drop in revenue worth nearly 2.5… – Continue reading
Taxpayers laundering tax-evaded money through gifts received fromparents, siblings and spouses who are out of tax net or have no known sources of income ISLAMABAD: The Anti Money Laundering Cell of the Directorate General of Intelligence & Investigation, Islamabad has started investigating cases of money laundering committed through gift back… – Continue reading
THE Philippines and Mexico have discussed new ways to further improve trade and investment cooperation, and avoid incidents of double taxation, the Department of Finance (DoF) said. A recent meeting between Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd and Mexican Ambassador to Manila Julio Camarena Villaseñor focused on Mexico’s concerns regarding a… – Continue reading
The first set of ‘hidden’ financial data about Britons living abroad is set to be handed to the UK’s Revenue & Customs later today, as part of the global transparency drive that has been introduced via a series of information sharing agreements across the world’s financial centres. As a result,… – Continue reading
The Canadian Government has issued an update on its anti-avoidance work, and said that audits carried out in the past fiscal year are on track to capture more than CAD13bn (USD9.6bn) worth of taxes owed. The report was issued to the Standing Committee on Finance, in accordance with commitments made… – Continue reading
Hon Judith Collins Minister of Revenue 1 June 2017 Automatic exchange of financial information to begin in New Zealand Revenue Minister Judith Collins has today welcomed the start of Inland Revenue’s information campaign on the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) which is part of the OECD-led effort to combat tax… – Continue reading
The Government yesterday moved to prevent the “devastating” consequences of a financial services ‘blacklisting’ by confirming its readiness to alter the Bahamas’ automatic tax information exchange approach. A Ministry of Finance statement, issued yesterday evening, said the Minnis administration had “formally indicated its interest” to the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation… – Continue reading
The Government yesterday moved to prevent the “devastating” consequences of a financial services ‘blacklisting’ by confirming its readiness to alter the Bahamas’ automatic tax information exchange approach. #A Ministry of Finance statement, issued yesterday evening, said the Minnis administration had “formally indicated its interest” to the Organisation for Economic Co-Operation… – Continue reading
Pretoria – South African financial institutions, which include banks, long-term insurers and asset managers, will have to exchange financial account information in terms of the common reporting standard for the first time this year. Financial institutions, although having to do similar exchanges in terms of the US’s Foreign Account Tax… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will travel to Paris next week to sign the OECD multilateral convention that aims to check crossborder tax evasion by multinational companies. During his three-day visit beginning June 7, Jaitley will also attend the OECD Ministerial Council meeting, in which ministers from the OECD and partner… – Continue reading
Japan and Iceland have agreed in principle to sign a convention aimed at eliminating international double taxation and preventing tax evasion, the Japanese Finance Ministry said Monday. The convention is hoping to boost mutual investment and encourage economic exchange, the ministry said. After signing, the convention is expected to come… – Continue reading
The finance minister says federal government doesn’t “want to wait for the next Panama Papers.” Canada’s finance minister denounced “unfair” tax loopholes on Thursday and put Bay St. on notice that the Liberal government is committed to addressing “blind spots” and exposing shadowy corporate finances to public scrutiny. “We don’t… – Continue reading
Kosovo and Switzerland signed on Friday an agreement regulating taxation of income and capital, which is beneficial for both countries, the Swiss federal government said. Under the agreement on double taxation dividends will be taxed at source at a maximum rate of 15%, while qualified participations – at no more… – Continue reading
The UK Conservative Party has outlined plans to “legislate for tougher regulation of tax advisory firms.” In its Manifesto last week, the ruling Conservative Party said: “We have taken vigorous action against tax avoidance and evasion, closing the tax gap the difference between the amount of tax due and the… – Continue reading
Cyprus and the Caribbean island-state of Barbados signed a double tax avoidance and prevention of tax evasion treaty on Wednesday, the finance ministry said. “The agreed text will contribute to the development of commercial and financial ties between Cyprus and Barbados, as well as other countries,” the finance ministry said… – Continue reading
India’s e-commerce firms lost the GST battle after months of discussions with the government and representation through sectoral bodies. The GST Council on Friday decided to levy an up to 1 percent tax collected at source on e-commerce companies while making payments to suppliers. Once the new indirect tax regime… – Continue reading
About 21 staff of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) have been interdicted for allegedly aiding some private companies to evade duties and taxes. Citi News understands that those interdicted were mostly from the customs division of GRA. Sources close to GRA also told Citi News that the case is currently… – Continue reading
About 21 staff of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) have been interdicted for allegedly aiding some private companies to evade duties and taxes. Citi News understands that those interdicted were mostly from the customs division of GRA. Sources close to GRA also told Citi News that the case is currently… – Continue reading
For approximately 7,000 tax-evading individuals and businesses in Detroit, it may be time to pay up. Detroit tax collectors are conducting a large scale litigation campaign against tax evading individuals and businesses operating at 33 properties within the city’s downtown and midtown areas, the Associated Press reports. The team behind… – Continue reading
ABUJA, May 22 (Reuters) – Nigeria will increase the interest rate on unpaid taxes to discourage companies and individuals from paying late and racking up a larger debt, the finance ministry said on Monday. The ministry said the measure will take effect on July 1 and that the rate would… – Continue reading
New reporting regulations meant to help authorities track down evasion at home and corrupt officials overseas Beijing has ordered an overhaul of financial accounts to crack down on tax cheats at home and abroad. From July 1, all deposit-taking institutions, policy banks, investment agencies and insurers must ensure each new… – Continue reading
New centre established to focus efforts on gaining better foothold in tax havens A unanimous Parliament yesterday agreed to significantly step up Denmark’s efforts to combat international tax evasion. Among the new initiatives are the establishment of a new centre that will consolidate efforts against tax evasion, more transparency regarding… – Continue reading
The European Commission will be forced to draw up a new blacklist of countries that facilitate money laundering after the European Parliament overwhelmingly rejected the latest effort that failed to consider countries that enable tax evasion. EU lawmakers voted 392-80, with 207 abstentions, to reject the list that includes 11… – Continue reading
The tax base in India is set to widen with more people coming forward to pay taxes after unaccounted for cash lost its anonymity following the note ban, finance minister Arun Jaitley said today. “A move towards digitisation, an increase in the number of tax assessees and tax returns filed… – Continue reading
The CBEC will be rechristened as the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and will supervise GST and Customs activities and provide the government policy inputs. Ahead of the planned GST rollout from July 1, the government is strengthening the body responsible for detecting tax evasion and will… – Continue reading
Money laundering offences usually consist of conduct which seeks to conceal the criminal origin of wealth. When it was first introduced into the legal order in the 1980s, the principal objective of anti-money laundering legislation was to combat the introduction of the proceeds of drug dealing into the legitimate economy… – Continue reading
Panama needs to require greater due diligence from financial and banking institution to tackle tax fraud in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal, a United Nations official has said. “The main component of illicit cash flows at the global level is tax fraud,” UN rights expert Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky… – Continue reading
India has called for enhanced international cooperation to address illicit cross- border financial flows, tax evasion and “hawala” transactions as it stressed that the world’s governance architecture for cooperation in taxation has not kept pace with globalisation. “Raising awareness on the important issue of International Cooperation on Tax matters is… – Continue reading
The Criminal Finance Act 2017 received Royal Assent on April 27, 2017, making its way onto the statute book before the halting of Parliamentary business ahead of this year’s general election. As well as giving enforcement agencies further powers to recover the proceeds of crime and tackle money laundering, the… – Continue reading
Norbert Walter-Borjans has been busy turning himself into the public scourge of German tax cheats and foreign tax havens. Having already riled Switzerland by buying CDs with stolen bank account data – and then accusing the Alpine state of spying on his tax offices – North Rhine-Westphalia’s finance minister criticized… – Continue reading
Malaysian individuals and entities that have bank accounts overseas will soon see their financial information being shared with other countries and tax authorities in an effort to boost global transparency and tax compliance. This requirement is part of the automatic exchange of financial account information set out by the Organisation… – Continue reading
The governments of Japan and Russia on April 28 announced they have agreed the text of a new double tax agreement that would replace the 1986 pact between Japan and the former USSR. In a statement following a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Moscow, the Japanese Finance… – Continue reading
Malta denies claims A data leak has revealed information about 70,000 offshore companies in Malta, a German state minister claimed this morning. North Rhine-Westphalia finance minister Norbert Walter-Borjans said the data also included information about several German corporations and up to 2,000 German taxpayers. Tax authorities in the city of… – Continue reading
THE Fiji Revenue and Customs Authority has uncovered a scam where companies hire graphic artists to manipulate the value of overseas invoices. Speaking on the global move towards greater financial disclosure, FRCA director corporate services Fazrul Rahman said a Fiji company was under the microscope for incorrect invoicing. “This Fiji… – Continue reading
Tokyo: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Monday assured that the Goods and Service Tax (GST) will be implemented on July 1, and there will be no significant change/increase in the price of goods, even as some services may encounter marginal hikes. When the GST comes into the picture, the sectorial… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos on Monday stressed the need to combat tax evasion in order to increase tax revenues and reduce tax rates. Tsakalotos was addressing a conference of the Independent Public Revenues Authority on the dispute resolution and the protection of tax payers. The Finance Minister explained that the… – Continue reading
Only a few days left for this financial year to end and tax filing deadline is striking the calendar. Indian Government has already taken many initiatives to simplify the tax filing process by introducing new ITR forms, online filing facility etc. Yet many taxpayers tend to make silly mistakes while… – Continue reading
Over $2.6 trillion is held as untaxed cash in offshore accounts by top US companies like Apple, Google, IBM, Pfizer, Pepsi and Coke, McDonald’s etc. according to a report by the Washington-based Institute for Tax and Economic Policy (ITEP). This is the highest-ever hoard held offshore by American companies and… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: India’s apex body for direct taxes has proposed new rules for bringing the value of unquoted shares on a par with the fair market value of underlying assets, seeking to prevent tax avoidance by firms that use the historical acquisition cost to set the price of unlisted stock…. – Continue reading
A high percentage of UK executives are unaware of the impending introduction of new laws which could make a business’s failure to prevent tax evasion by its employees and agents a criminal offence, according to research by Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com. In a YouGov poll of more… – Continue reading
The total loss to EU member states from the schemes revealed in the Panama Papers could be in the region of between EUR109bn (USD119bn) to EUR237bn, according to a new study commissioned by the European Parliament’s PANA committee. The Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance, and Tax Evasion… – Continue reading
Starting on April 27, and finishing on May 2, the European Parliament (EP)’s Committee of Inquiry into Money Laundering, Tax Avoidance and Tax Evasion (PANA) is holding two meetings to present several related studies which address the impact of, and the fight against, tax evasion and money laundering, particularly in… – Continue reading
Finance ministry officials are considering the mandatory installment of an application across the country that will prevent cash registers from cancelling transactions, a measure ostensibly aimed at reducing the still “Olympus-sized” mountain of tax evasion in Greece. According to reports, the relevant deputy finance minister was in the German federated… – Continue reading
East Africa tax experts have raised concerns over increasing cases of tax evasion and fraud by some tax payers in the region which is crippling the economies. They made the remarks on Wednesday during the 6th East Africa regional meeting on tax investigation and enforcement in the Rwandan Capital Kigali…. – Continue reading
