Accounts show each of the firm’s 682 workers took home average of £242,000 each in 2015 Facebook lavished £165million on its UK staff last year, while handing the taxpayer just £4million. Accounts show each of the firm’s 682 workers took home average of £242,000 each in 2015. The bumper payout… – Continue reading
In 2015, more than 73 percent of Fortune 500 companies maintained subsidiaries in offshore tax havens, according to “Offshore Shell Games,” released today by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Collectively, multinationals reported booking $2.5 trillion offshore, with just… – Continue reading
The Indonesian government recently launched tax hunt on Google Indonesia. If Google were indeed guilty of tax avoidance, it would have to pay a huge price for its actions. But Google is not alone in avoiding paying tax to Indonesian government. Indonesians and Indonesian companies are squirrelling their wealths in… – Continue reading
Revised rules affecting the way corporate debt and derivative contracts are taxed have now been drafted and are out for a brief consultation, in a bid to avoid double taxation and curb potential abuse HMRC has issued draft legislation for consultation following amendments to the Change of Accounting Practice Regulations… – Continue reading
On the way to Brexit, Hammond adopts a more conciliatory negotiating position Britain’s post-Brexit Finance Minister, Philip Hammond, has buried a tax-dumping plan to slash the corporate tax introduced by his predecessor. Before his resignation in July, George Osborne announced plans to reduce British corporate tax to encourage investment to… – Continue reading
Jakarta. Tax dodgers and taxpayers who have underreported their wealth in the past and who now seek to rectify the situation should join the tax amnesty program as they will not be able to hide once a system for the automatic exchange of financial information between states comes into effect… – Continue reading
Ireland, accused of being a tax haven for multinationals such as Apple to pay nearly zero tax on the bulk of its profits earned outside the United States, finds itself with a new adversary in the global fight against unfair tax practices — Brazil. As of October 1, Brazil will… – Continue reading
Around 35 per cent of businesses in India have changed their tax approach following the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) tax plan, higher than the global average, says a report. The Grant Thorntons recently conducted global survey of 2,600 businesses in 36 countries, found little impact of the… – Continue reading
A report by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) has criticised the Department for International Development’s (DfiD) approach to tackling tax avoidance and its alleged failure to achieve value for money on HMRC collaboration DfiD has failed in its efforts to fully include developing countries so that they benefit… – Continue reading
India’s advance pricing agreements (APAs) programme crossed a milestone with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) signing five more unilateral APAs. With the latest move, the total number of APAs entered into by the CBDT has reached 103. The five APAs signed on Friday pertained to diverse sector, that… – Continue reading
House Democrats have introduced legislation that would require multinational corporations to disclose more information about the taxes they pay in other countries. The bill, known as the Corporate Transparency and Accountability Act, aims to shine more light on corporate tax avoidance strategies, requiring the disclosure of country-by-country and pre-tax profit… – Continue reading
Nearly a year after release of the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) anti tax avoidance action plan, which introduces changes to the treatment of interest deductibility and profit shifting, the majority of businesses have not changed their approach to tax compliance. The major economies in the G7 (83%),… – Continue reading
Auditing and tax advisory firm KPMG is calling for establishment of the T&T Revenue Authority (TTRA) so there can be a structured way of collecting taxes. “The current main tax authority does not appear to have structured means, if any, of treating with businesses that conceal transaction to avoid tax… – Continue reading
Apple Inc. may face double taxation on some of its profits if the European Commission’s Aug. 30 ruling inspires France to slap its own tax adjustment on the company, practitioners said. Apple could even face “triple taxation” if it repatriates profits from the European Union to the U.S., Laurent Leclercq,… – Continue reading
The Australian government shouldn’t rely on leaks like that of the Panama Papers to pick up on tax evasion, it should consider stronger action. The federal government showed some leadership earlier this year by announcing the establishment of a public register of beneficial ownership of companies, with the aim of… – Continue reading
Slovakia, the current president of the EU council, challenges finance ministers from all the EU member states to introduce mandatory disclosure rules for intermediaries including accountants who seek to profit from the promotion, design or implementation of tax avoidance schemes The proposals were outlined in a ‘presidency issues’ note presented… – Continue reading
Tax havens have become increasingly formidable players in the global economy. With increased globalization and financialization of the global economy, tax havens have become important players in the world economy. According to a report by Tax Justice Network, $21 to $32 trillion is stashed offshore. According to the World Bank, the GDP… – Continue reading
According to a new report, secretive offshore tax avoidance practices are on the rise among multinational businesses. The report, released from the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT), finds that these practices put investors at risk because they are caught off guard when governments act to collect the lost… – Continue reading
A recent 2016 tax reform in Japan (“Reform”) has introduced stringent Japanese Transfer Pricing Documentation Requirements, which require the preparation/filing of: (i) a Master File, (ii) a Country-by-Country Report, and (iii) a Local File, as well as (iv) a “Notification of the Ultimate Parent Entity.” Any ultimate parent company (“Parent… – Continue reading
Potential slice of the Apple pie stems from Commission’s invitation to EU tax authorities. BRATISLAVA — The €13 billion clawback of unpaid taxes from U.S. tech giant Apple has piqued the interests of EU finance ministers, who have today asked the European Commission for more details on the potential share… – Continue reading
European Union countries should better coordinate tax rules to avoid hitting corporations too hard, the Slovak presidency of the European Union has proposed. This would be an effort to provide more balance to an EU campaign against tax avoidance by multinational companies. The proposal will be discussed at an informal… – Continue reading
The international tax landscape has been changing rapidly and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has agreed on a base erosion and profit shifting (Beps) action plan that could affect businesses operating in the UAE. The plan addresses the issue of artificial shifting of profits and its proposals… – Continue reading
After state aid inquiries into Amazon and McDonald’s, EU looks again at Luxembourg The European Commission may open a fresh investigation into tax rulings offered by Luxembourg as early as this week, as EU competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager continues her clampdown against corporate tax avoidance. Luxembourg is already awaiting a… – Continue reading
Malcolm Turnbull will push for a crackdown on multinational tax avoidance when he meets with world leaders at the G20 summit in China. But Labor have accused Mr Turnbull of not having a strong plan for confronting corporate tax avoidance at home, let alone abroad. The prime minister will arrive… – Continue reading
Today, we see more enthusiasm for tax reform in Indonesia. Although opposed by some civil society groups, President Joko “Jokowi” Widodo’s administration continues to push its fiscal framework reform — which includes a tax amnesty and more incentives for taxpayers. Last year, the Finance Ministry issued a new tax holiday… – Continue reading
A coalition of Silicon Valley tech companies has urged the Dutch Government against making changes to the most “attractive” features of its corporate tax regime, warning that it risks damaging its traditionally strong tax competitiveness by doing so. The Silicon Valley Tax Directors Group (SVTDG), which includes more than 80… – Continue reading
For the last three years, the international debate on tax policy was all about consensus. Led by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, countries across the globe agreed that aggressive tax planning by multinational corporations which pushed profits into low-tax countries – or indeed took profits outside the charge… – Continue reading
Ireland has become a destination of choice for holding companies due to its capital gains participation exemption, generous foreign tax credit system, membership of the EU, ever expanding double tax treaty (“DTT“) network (72 signed, with 70 in effect), lack of controlled foreign companies legislation, thin capitalisation rules and the… – Continue reading
Twenty of the nation’s largest companies have voluntarily signed up to a comprehensive new code to disclose more details of their tax affairs in their latest ¬annual accounts following a series of scandals involving local and offshore firms. In the May budget, the federal government announced it was committed to… – Continue reading
Democrats are likely to object to the House GOP’s and Donald Trump’s plans for sharply lower rates President Ronald Reagan once chided government’s approach to the economy as following this mantra: “If it moves, tax it.” Today’s Republicans are following Mr. Reagan’s ideas by trying the exact opposite approach. The… – Continue reading
Apple is a major part of why the United States is the world’s leading innovator on new technologies, particularly those involving telecommunications and computers. The company has over 66,000 domestic employees, and a large percentage of its customers are here — at least 40 percent, according to its latest annual… – Continue reading
On June 7, AEI hosted two panels on how the US could reform the corporate tax code, the first focusing on business-level taxation and the second focusing on shareholder-level taxation. Christopher H. Hanna of the Senate Finance Committee delivered the symposium’s opening remarks, with a major focus on how the… – Continue reading
Coles has urged its German rival Aldi to sign up to a new tax transparency code that will lead to more big businesses, particularly multinationals, releasing detailed information about the tax they pay. Aldi has yet to sign up to the Voluntary Tax Transparency Code, which targets more than 1500… – Continue reading
Indonesia has defined two islands near Singapore as its own tax havens to prevent taxpayers from keeping their assets offshore – in Singapore, for example. The two islands identified by Indonesia are Bintan and Rempang, according to a report on Monday in the Singaporean daily «Straits Times» and a story… – Continue reading
Greece intends to sign agreements with Bulgaria and Cyprus which will allow Athens to look into suspected tax evasion by Greek-owned companies registered in the two countries, Greek newspaper Kathimerini has reported. The closer inspection of Greek-owned companies registered in Bulgaria and Cyprus will aim to find out whether they… – Continue reading
Apple CEO Tim Cook struck back at critics of the iPhone maker’s strategy to avoid paying U.S. taxes, telling The Washington Post in a wide ranging interview that the company would not bring that money back from abroad unless there was a “fair rate.” Along with other multinational companies, the… – Continue reading
“Maybe lower the income tax from 25 percent to 20 percent first, then 17 percent.” The government will once again provide the public with tax break following its tax amnesty program. It is currently reviewing a plan to lower income tax rates and the possibility of establishing a tax haven,… – Continue reading
Budget 2016 introduced a new tax called Equalisation Levy (“EL”), aimed at taxing online transactions. EL was originally mooted by the OECD in Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project Final Report on Action 1 – Addressing the Tax Challenges of the Digital Economy (the “Report”). We will examine Equalisation… – Continue reading
Despite Western opposition, the 134-member Group of 77 is continuing to pursue a longstanding proposal for an inter-governmental UN-affiliated tax body aimed at combating corporate tax dodging and curbing illicit financial flows, including money laundering and off-shore banking. The proposal has already been shot down twice by Western nations, first,… – Continue reading
The National Tax Service (NTS) Seoul Regional Office has been probing into a Korean processed food maker Paldo Company Ltd. since June on possible overseas tax evasion. According to the NTS Sunday, it has deployed international transaction investigators to investigate whether the instant food maker manipulated its transfer price to… – Continue reading
New Zealand is not being singled out for investigation as a tax haven, the European Union says. In a statement released today, the EU delegation in Wellington confirmed that a committee was assessing 28 non-EU countries’ tax policies. But media reports that New Zealand was being targeted for investigation as… – Continue reading
Slashing rates probably won’t be the U.K.’s magic bullet. As Britain plans its way out of the European Union, politicians have been looking for ways for the country to maintain its dominance as a center for global capital. One idea: turning the post-Brexit U.K. into a tax haven. In the… – Continue reading
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) review has called for a comprehensive reform of the US tax system, with the aim of removing exemptions, simplifying the system, rebalancing from direct to indirect taxes, and reducing statutory rates for individual and corporate income taxes According to its annual Article IV consultation report… – Continue reading
Tax executives at U.S.-based multinational companies are having a hard time adjusting to the new rules demanded by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting plan, also known as OECD BEPS, according to a new survey. While OECD BEPS is not a requirement in the… – Continue reading
Multinational companies are making strides in preparing for radically changed cross-border tax and transfer-pricing reporting rules as compliance deadlines near, research by Thomson Reuters suggests, but uneasiness remains amongst tax executives about their readiness. The new rules will require multinational enterprises with annual revenues of €750 million ($830 million) or… – Continue reading
The “Big Four” global accounting firms – PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and Ernst & Young – are the masterminds of multinational tax avoidance and the architects of tax schemes which cost governments and their taxpayers an estimated $US1 trillion a year, according to an Australian taxation expert. The controversial new claims… – Continue reading
Fast-fashion retailer H&M is one of a growing number of multinationals locking in their Australian tax, as debate continues about whether Australia has stopped corporate tax leakage. H&M’s strongly performing Australian subsidiary has entered into a four-year Advanced Pricing Agreement (APA) with the tax office that expires on November 30,… – Continue reading
The European Union’s Anti-Avoidance Directive, which has to be put into national legislation by 2019,is aimed at plugging loop-holes in tax systems which allow large corporations to legally avoid paying tax. While Malta has been criticised for offering competitive tax rates, despite the openness and uniformity of such competitive rates,… – Continue reading
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) said Facebook Inc. may have understated the value of intellectual property it transferred to Ireland by “billions of dollars,” unfairly cutting its tax bill in the process, according to court papers. The U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit on Wednesday in federal court in… – Continue reading
The absence of adequate data on the operations of businesses in the extractive sector continues to impede the GRA’s ability to fully implement Ghana’s transfer pricing policy. According to the Deputy Commissioner in charge of Policy Programs at the GRA, Edward Gyamerah, the issue makes it difficult to fully assess… – Continue reading
