Mauritius plans to sell itself as a world class financial-services hub to investment companies in Asia and the Far East to win new business, an official said. The island-nation’s Financial Services Promotional Agency plans to market the country as an international financial center, or IFC, and is already collaborating with… – Continue reading
The amount of tax multinational companies pay – and the amount they don’t pay – has become highly controversial, writes RTÉ’s Economics Correspondent Sean Whelan. This is mainly as a result of public outrage over legal tax avoidance schemes that big companies can use to shelter vast amounts of money… – Continue reading
Fortune 500 firms may be avoiding $695 billion in U.S. income taxes on $2.4 trillion held offshore. What do Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump have in common? Both seek an end to the use of offshore tax havens by corporate America. Bernie Sanders’ plan ends the ability of corporations to… – Continue reading
EU countries will exchange information on the tax affairs of multinational companies under new rules backed by EU finance ministers aimed at stopping big companies avoiding paying their fair share into government coffers. The rules, that should take effect later this year, are a response to growing concerns about corporate… – Continue reading
For several years now Google has been facing what appears to be a case of tax avoidance in the UK, at some point in time, the company went as far saying it did not make any money from business in the UK all in a desperate attempt to pay less… – Continue reading
Governments around the world want more tax income. There is a widely held feeling that many international companies are basing themselves in places like Luxembourg, Ireland, and the Netherlands to avoid tax. The world’s largest countries have a plan and things will change. What will be the effect on Luxembourg,… – Continue reading
Facebook has caved to the tax pressure. The company is likely to pay millions more in U.K. taxes after making changes to its corporate structure that will stop revenue earned in the U.K. from being routed through Ireland. Facebook had been accused of “profit shifting,” a common practice for multinational… – Continue reading
HMRC has put out an extraordinary publication about tax avoidance in which it seems to suggest, contrary to its messaging and policies thus far, that if a structure works, it is not tax avoidance, says Jolyon Maugham QC, specialist tax barrister at Devereux Chambers The publication in question, a ‘policy… – Continue reading
In its departmental plan for 2015-2020 published last month, HMRC set out it’s role “to help the honest majority to get their tax right and make it hard for the dishonest minority to cheat the system”. One of the headline objectives for this period is: “maximise revenues due and bear… – Continue reading
For now… corporations, as responsible global citizens, should endeavour to pay their fair share of taxes to avoid threats to their own long term sustainability. Multinational companies like Google, Starbucks, Facebook, Amazon and other global corporations are constantly coming under public fire for avoiding taxes on their British sales. For… – Continue reading
With the adoption of the BEPS package, OECD and G20 countries laid the foundations of a modern international tax framework under which profits would be taxed where economic activity and value creation occurs. It is now time to focus on implementation of the recommended changes in a consistent and coherent… – Continue reading
In Shanghai, Wolfgang Schäuble is urging his fellow G20 countries to put new rules to tackle tax avoidance into law. Back home, business leaders worry that German companies could be left exposed by the new rules if they are introduced unilaterally or go too far. The finance ministers of the… – Continue reading
If a member of Congress told you that he was going to use some of your hard-earned tax dollars to support an international organization that demands that you pay higher taxes, what would you say? Unfortunately, the question is not hypothetical, because that is exactly what is now happening. Congress… – Continue reading
France is seeking €1.6 billion in back taxes from Google, criticised for its use of aggressive tax optimisation techniques, a source at the finance ministry has said. “As far as our country is concerned, back taxes concerning this company amount to €1.6bn,” the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity,… – Continue reading
A new report from ActionAid titled ‘Mistreated’ released this week has revealed that Zambia has 13 restrictive tax treaties that dramatically restrict the government’s power to tax global companies doing business on our soil and therefore unfairly limit our country’s potential to collect tax revenue. The report also found that… – Continue reading
“We are clear. We will not stand for a minority of taxpayers continuing to seek out unacceptable ways to reduce the amount of tax they pay, and we will ensure HMRC has the tools to robustly tackle such activity.” So said David Gauke, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury. A clampdown… – Continue reading
The OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project – which is aimed at closing gaps and mismatches in tax laws that conspire to reduce corporate tax liability – is a game-changer for treasury planning. The final reports of the BEPS Action Plan, announced by the Organization for Economic Cooperation… – Continue reading
During a political season in which populist fury and anger at big business is running high, two presidential candidates want to eliminate the ability of multinational firms to keep earnings overseas and avoid U.S. taxes. They also just happen to be the two most surprising and disruptive candidates in the… – Continue reading
In its time, the Irving empire has had plenty of federal contracts — all of them lucrative, many of them controversial. So it wasn’t a surprise to hear that a federal cabinet committee is reviewing Irving’s $26 billion sole-source (but still unsigned) contract to build a fleet of warships for… – Continue reading
Treaties limit the tax poorer nations can place on British companies doing business within their borders, says ActionAid. The UK has signed a high number of tax deals with some of the world’s poorest countries, potentially depriving those states of millions in tax revenues every year, according to an analysis… – Continue reading
On February 23, US House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee Ranking Member Sander Levin (D – Michigan) and Budget Committee Ranking Member Chris Van Hollen (D – Maryland) introduced legislation aimed at reducing the number of corporate tax inversions by limiting the use of “earnings stripping.” Tax inversion techniques… – Continue reading
The “power of three” is a principle of writing and joke telling that suggests that events or items presented in threes are somehow funnier or more satisfying than tales organized around other numbers. It will be interesting to see if the theory holds true for the current state legislative sessions… – Continue reading
A 30% tax bracket. A rise in the standard rate, with a rebate for lower earners. Higher taxes all round to finance more spending. In Scotland, ahead of May’s elections for the devolved parliament, a fascinating debate on tax and spending is under way, with the main parties setting out… – Continue reading
When Tim Cook and his two senior Apple colleagues were questioned by a US Senate sub-committee back in May 2013, the headlines generated in the world’s business press were unsettling. Some lawmakers repeatedly characterised Ireland as a tax haven, saying behemoth Apple channelled billions of dollars of global revenues generated… – Continue reading
Polish tax authorities plan to increase inspections on companies suspected of artificially increasing their operation costs and sending taxable profits across the borders to stop a trend of falling corporate tax revenue. Audits will start in the second quarter, the Finance Ministry said on its website on Friday, adding that… – Continue reading
At least this is the goal – member states safeguarding their social models by preventing trans-border operating multinational companies from avoiding “their fair share” of the tax burden. According to the European Commission, small and medium-sized enterprises in the EU pay 30% higher tax burden than large multinational companies. With… – Continue reading
A collective of unions has slammed the latest proposals by the European Commission to stamp out elaborate tax plans used by multinational companies to move vast profits around the EU in an effort to reduce their corporate tax bills in member states. The European Commission last week published a series… – Continue reading
Cracking down on tax evasion could more than cover the cost of South West council cuts, campaigners claim, as they urge MPs to tackle financial loop holes. Local councillors argue that up to £380 million could be raised for Devon councils alone, if all businesses paid their “fair share” of… – Continue reading
The present French Tax Update will focus on an overview of several noteworthy publications, including decisions issued during the past few months by the French Administrative Supreme Court (Conseil d’Etat) and French Constitutional Court (Conseil Constitutionnel), as well as the European Commission decision in respect of the Belgian Excess Profit… – Continue reading
The brands are known worldwide, and even though global companies like Google, Amazon, and Starbucks make billions — they pay little or no taxes at all in the UK and other markets where the firms make a majority of revenue and profits. Companies like Microsoft, Twitter, and Apple don’t set… – Continue reading
U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany is leading an effort to change terms of a treaty with Norway that he says puts at a disadvantage U.S. companies doing construction work on the Outer Continental Shelf. The Lafayette Republican and his Louisiana colleagues wrote to Treasury Secretary Jack Lew on Thursday, asking him… – Continue reading
Radical changes to business taxation may be necessary to reduce large multinationals’ ability to avoid levies, a respected economic think tank has indicated. In the wake of the row over Google’s deal with HM Revenue and Customs, the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggested a shake-up of the corporation tax… – Continue reading
The European Parliamentary Research Service has estimated that corporate tax-dodging costs the EU between $54.5 billion and $76.4 billion a year. The European Commission has proposed a package of measures to clamp down on corporate tax avoiders that would close a loophole companies have used to shift profits to low-tax… – Continue reading
Modi promised efficiency in allocation of resources as well as creation of opportunities for citizens to progress. New Delhi: Promising reforms that will transform lives, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the government will not eliminate all subsidies but will rationalise and target them to the needy. He said… – Continue reading
Today’s proposals aim for a coordinated EU wide response to corporate tax avoidance, following global standards developed by the OECD last autumn. New rules are needed to align the tax laws in all 28 EU countries in order to fight aggressive tax practices by large companies efficiently and effectively. The… – Continue reading
2015 has officially come to an end. Amidst the ending celebrations, packing away of decorations, and last spoonful of dessert, many of us are putting together our work plans and resolutions for 2016. And looking back at last years’ list, there remains one capitalised, un-crossed-off item: BEPS Perhaps your organisation… – Continue reading
BRUSSELS (Alliance News) – The EU stepped up the fight against corporate tax avoidance Thursday, unveiling proposals including an EU-wide blacklist of international tax havens, as part of a wider clampdown on firms using loopholes to reduce their tax bills. The EU’s executive estimates that member states are deprived of… – Continue reading
Australia must not be blown off course from getting a company tax rate closer to 20 per cent. Corporate tax transparency figures released in December by the Australian Taxation Office should not slow momentum. For the first time, the ATO reported the tax affairs of companies with total incomes of… – Continue reading
In an effort to provide their tax administrations with more tools to combat corporate tax avoidance through transfer pricing, officials from 31 countries today signed an agreement setting out the parameters for automatic exchange of country-by-country reports on large multinational corporations. The agreement — the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI, JANUARY 26:Ministers and top tax officials from more than 30 countries including India will sign an international agreement on Wednesday to significantly advance the fight against corporate tax avoidance. This agreement – Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) – will be signed at the OECD in Paris, sources said…. – Continue reading
Directive follows a series of high-profile tax cases involving Google, Apple and others. Rampant corporate tax dodging and sweetheart deals that cheat governments and skew markets, have prompted the European Commission to unveil a new directive Thursday. The proposed legislation follows a quick succession of tax rulings, settlements and investigations… – Continue reading
Yesterday was quite a day for corporate tax geeks. We saw a corporate tax inversion that comes with a long, Baroque history; an estimate by Reed College economist Kim Clausing that inversions and other income-shifting techniques reduced Treasury revenues by as much as $111 billion in 2012; and a new… – Continue reading
A vast majority of tax directors working for multinational corporations located in Belgium fear that the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project will lead to higher administrative charges, a survey of over 800 tax directors across Europe has revealed. According to Deloitte’s European Tax Survey, 85 percent of the… – Continue reading
In a move to woo offshore fund managers to locate in India, the Union Budget for 2016-17 is likely to relax conditions for them to avail of tax exemptions. Budget 2015 had announced some exemptions by amending the permanent establishment (PE) norms. The rules were changed to the extent that… – Continue reading
The Gulf countries’ proposed 5% value added tax (VAT) may translate as more than a 10% hit on net income, unless tax efficiencies are improved, according to Ernst and Young (EY). “A 5% rate may not sound like a lot, but if it ends up as an additional cost on… – Continue reading
Ireland’s insistence that it is not a tax haven and that in fact other EU countries have tax regimes that facilitate tax dodging by multinationals will be borne out by a study to be released next week. But while this will be good news to Finance Minister Michael Noonan a… – Continue reading
Having companies pay their tax where they make their profits is the best way to resolve unfair tax competition between member states, Competition Commissioner Margarita Vestager said yesterday. She was responding to a European Parliament reporting calling for countries to forfeit tax that the Commission say companies should pay when… – Continue reading
The Financial Services Council (FSC) is calling for the company tax rate to be cut by eight percentage points to 22 per cent in order to boost growth, investment and employment. The FSC has released a tax reform package, which it said would turn around Australia’s sagging competitiveness and flat… – Continue reading
