Lawmakers want to ease the tax bite on most short-term rentals, but agreements made through Airbnb and similar marketplaces would still face 12 percent levy A new state tax meant to help level the playing field for hotels and motels amid rising competition from online rental marketplaces like Airbnb may...
The HMRC has successfully argued two cases in the First-tier Tribunal involving the use of offshore trusts to avoid tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs). The case was brought against Hyrax Resourcing Limited and Curzon Capital Limited. The Tribunal decided in both cases that the disguised remuneration arrangements being promoted...
A proposal for new corporate tax incentives butted heads with a desire for property tax relief in the Legislature Wednesday. Nebraska’s current corporate tax incentives, the so-called Nebraska Advantage program, expires next year. So Sen. Mark Kolterman said it’s important to put a new program in place. “The time is...
The EU finance ministers scrap Aruba from the black list of tax havens. According to EU sources from the ANP, they will formally remove Aruba on Friday because it has amended its tax legislation. Barbados and Bermuda are also being removed, so that the list still has twelve tax culprits....
On 11 February 2019 the Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina confirmed the indictment in the case of Selman Husejin et al. charging the accused Selman Husejin with the continued criminal offense of Tax Evasion or Fraud under Article 210(4) as read with Paragraph 1, and Article 54 of the Criminal...
The power to levy tax in Nigeria, being a federation, is shared between the Federal, State and Local governments. To avoid double taxation, the tax system spells out which government unit (federal, state or local) has the power to levy tax on specific persons and matters. The Federal Inland Revenue...
KARACHI: Number of tax return filers has increased around seven percent year-over-year to hit the record 1.96 million for the tax year 2018 as the government extended the deadline of filing three times to April 30, sources said on Wednesday. The FBR received 1,963,348 returns by April 30, 2019, which...
KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has documented Rs75 billion worth of properties during the first nine months of the current fiscal year of 2018/19 under a tax amnesty scheme; although the revenue collection fell a quarter year-on-year on uncertainty about the concessions, sources said on Tuesday The sources...
The AML Council is seeking additional powers to combat financial crime, including the lifting of the bank secrecy law, which would allow it to check all accounts regardless of transaction thresholds. The Philippine AMLC (Anti-Money Laundering Council) is seeking additional powers to combat financial crime as part of the BSP...
LIMA, PERU — The Peruvian government passed a law on Monday aimed at closing loopholes that allow companies to avoid paying taxes, estimating it will be able to collect additional revenues equal to nearly 1 percent of gross domestic product per year. The law, which was passed by decree after...
A developer and builder based in Anmore has been found guilty of tax evasion and making false statements under the Income Tax Act, the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) announced on Friday. According to the CRA, Willi Isaak was sentenced to pay a $23,100 fine, after being found guilty on two...
Whistleblowers across the European Union have won greater protection under landmark legislation aimed at encouraging reports of wrongdoing. The new law, approved by the European Parliament on Tuesday, shields whistleblowers from retaliation. It also creates “safe channels” to allow them to report breaches of EU law. It is the first...
Barbados is hopeful that it will be removed from a European blacklist of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions by next month, the head of the Barbados International Business Association (BIBA) has said. Julia Hope said her organisation, which represents international business companies and offshore financial services, will be giving every support it...
The financial services sector in the British Virgin Islands is set to soar as the new economic substance rules are expected to triple the number of persons employed by the industry. Under the new rules, it is mandatory for offshore financial services companies to set up physical offices in the...
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., a member of the Senate Finance Committee, introduced a pair of bills aimed at stopping corporations from using offshore tax havens and outsourcing jobs to other countries. The first bill, the No...
The chief ministers of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man are united against the recent proposals from Westminster to force public registers of company beneficial ownerships in the Crown Dependencies. More than 40 MPs have signed an amendment attempting to force the Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories to...
Panama enacted the Law 70 of 2019, where the Tax Evasion is considered a crime by adding said dispositions to Criminal Code and modifying the Tax Code. This new law brings Panama to a new level of compliance under International Law, as it was one of the few countries in...
Barbados is no longer under threat of a negative listing by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Minister of International Business and Industry, Ronald Toppin, made this disclosure during an international tax conference with stakeholders in New York on Thursday. Minister Toppin said his Ministry had received confirmation...
During 2017 the Italian Government introduced a new tax regime: The Resident Non-Domiciled Tax Regime(also known as the “Flat Tax Regime”), with the aim of attracting high net worth individuals who want to relocate to Italy. The new legislation introduced a key change to the general principle of worldwide taxation...
The announcement by National Treasury and SARS in 2017 that the tax exemption on South African expatriates is set to change, has resulted in the lifestyle of many South Africans, who are employed by companies abroad, to rapidly change from a South African tax liability point of view. By Claudia...
KUWAIT CITY, Jan 13: The Fatwa and Legislation Department has submitted to the Council of Ministers a draft law that allows banks to declassify the data of their customers, as provided by the CRS Convention on Join Reporting, reports Al-Rai daily quoting sources. The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is an...
In recent weeks, major anti-money-laundering enforcement actions have highlighted the critical role of whistleblowers in government efforts to curb illegal movement of funds. The German raids of Deutsche Bank, U.S. indictments of three employees and a client of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca, and an earlier Danske Bank money-laundering investigation...
Continuing its ongoing commitment to the development and maintenance of the very highest standards of economic and financial propriety, the Bermuda Government has tabled legislation that embraces a global initiative to combat base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). The legislation, which was tabled in the House of Assembly on 7...
The Isle of Man’s parliament has approved tax legislation that will allow the jurisdiction to avoid being put on the European Union’s blacklist. Tynwald gave the green light this week to the Income Tax (Substance Requirements) Order 2018. This means that from January 2019, companies engaging in “relevant activities” will...
The Cayman Islands government has published draft tax legislation that will have far-reaching impact for the offshore finance industry operating in the jurisdiction by demanding that certain Cayman-registered companies have an adequate level of economic substance locally. The International Tax Co-operation (Economic Substance) Bill 2018 introduces a substance test for...
European Union finance ministers worked out a plan for combating money laundering and also made a deal on major bank reform on Tuesday (Dec. 4), according to reports from Reuters. The money laundering plan is a response to highly visible cases of alleged criminal activity at EU banks in countries...
After global index puts Israel in top third of most financially secretive countries, NGO calls for more public scrutiny and regulations to stop rich from hiding their assets Israel must immediately move to pass regulations against tax evasion and money laundering if it is to protect its credit rating and...
General UK Tax Developments Finance Bill The Finance (No 3) Bill 2018-19 (which will become the Finance Act 2019) was published on 7 November and includes legislation to enact the changes highlighted in our UK Budget blog post ( UK Budget Blog). Another key area covered by the Finance Bill...
The Income-Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) has said NRIs do not need to reveal details of their foreign bank accounts and assets to Indian authorities. The tribunal has also ruled that the onus is on the I-T Department to prove an assessee has parked undeclared income arising from India in foreign...
Introduction – Offshore funds and Canada Revenue Agency’ reach Gone are the days when offshore bank accounts were outside the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)’s reach. With the advent of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), CRA automatically receives financial information of Canadian taxpayers who own bank accounts or assets in other...
Barbados is to scrap its international business company (IBC) regime in response to the OECD labeling the policy as “harmful” to competition, and being in breach of rules governing international taxation. Last year the OECD included Barbados on its list of jurisdictions with a “harmful” preferential tax regime, and said...
New Delhi, Nov 26 India and China have amended the bilateral tax treaty which will help prevent tax evasion by allowing exchange of information, the Finance Ministry said Monday. The Government of India and the People’s Republic of China have signed a protocol on November 26, 2018, to amend the...
Britain’s parliamentary upper house has requested the current investigation limit set out in the Draft Finance Bill 2018 be scrapped. The House of Lords’ request to HMRC would, if passed, remove the 12-year offshore investigation limit from the Draft Finance Bill 2018 – a proposal that has seen an outcry...
Government officials have devised what they believe is a solution to the looming European Union blacklist threat, according to Neil Smith, the executive director of government’s Office of International Business (Regulations). The EU has threatened to place the Virgin Islands on an anti-tax avoidance blacklist at the end of the...
The cabinet of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to implement tax cuts for the nation’s businesses, which, along with the announced plans to reduce regulation, are highly reminiscent of the economic policies of Canada’s southern neighbour. Kristian Rouz — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has unveiled an ambitious...
Prime Minister, Mia Mottley has announced a major tax break for local business. In her mini-budget presentation made earlier this year, she had announced that come July 1, corporation tax will increase from 25 per cent to 30 per cent which was expected to raise $57M in a full year....
While SARS is scrambling to meet collection targets, a new report estimates the country lost $37-billion in revenue to trade misinvoicing in five years. Trade misinvoicing is thought to be the largest component of illicit financial flows, draining developing countries of much-needed finances. In a new report, Global Financial Integrity...
China’s double tax avoidance agreements (DTAs) can be used to avail lower tax rates while making outbound payments. However, DTA benefits are not automatically applicable to everyone. Foreign invested enterprises and their overseas headquarters must satisfy certain qualifications and go through relevant procedures to obtain the benefits. Beneficial owner assessment...
Jersey has tabled new laws to address the EU’s concerns over ‘economic substance’, the degree of real business activity carried out by companies registered in the Island. The new proposed requirements for an economic substance test for Jersey tax-resident entities have been published and are set to come into force...
Having established a groundbreaking regulatory framework for companies using distributed ledger technology, Gibraltar is now poised to publish draft legislation for initial token offerings and is setting its sights too on the market for crypto funds. These were among the key messages signalled at a breakfast briefing for fund managers...
Officials in the international business sector here are in somewhat of a wait and see mode as Barbados continues to make necessary legislative and regime changes governing the sector. This means companies seeking to attract new international business to Barbados have not been as robust in their efforts as they...
Macau (MNA) – The Macau Legislative Assembly (AL) has approved a bill revoking the current offshore law, with several legislators warning the government over the future of the local workers in the sector. The bill approved on Thursday had been proposed by authorities in order to comply with standards of...
Ireland’s 2018 Finance Bill legislates for a new exit tax regime compliant with the EU’s Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive. The exit tax charge was introduced via financial resolution on Budget night, October 9, 2018, and applies to certain events occurring on or after October 10. Finance Bill 2018 formally legislates for...
The New Delhi bench of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) in Global Academy of Emergency Medicine versus CIT(E), held that under the Income Tax Act appointing of NRIs as trustees of valid Indian trusts are permissible. The sole issue in the instant case was CIT (E) held that the owner...
While preparations for a Brexit deal slowly gain pace in the UK, the German government hasn’t been wasting any time. The German Chancellor Angela Merkel is not a fan of Brexit and having predicted that the future UK-EU relationship is likely to be based on a “very, very intensive free...
The entry into force of Value Added Tax in Angola has been postponed from January 2019 to July of the same year due to delays in legislation, an official said on Wednesday in Luanda. The coordinator of the technical group for the introduction of VAT, Adilson Sequeira, was speaking on...
The deputy prime minister has reiterated that The Bahamas “must address” access to beneficial ownership information for all corporate entities domiciled in this jurisdiction. KP Turnquest said the Government was looking to the Register of Beneficial Owners Bill 2018 as the solution, although beneficial ownership will not be publicly available....
The ministry of finance last night said The Bahamas had met the September 30 deadline to begin automatic tax information exchange (AEOI) with some 35 partner jurisdictions. Revealing that the first such exchange with another country had already occurred, the ministry said this further demonstrated The Bahamas’ commitment to meet...
How tax residency in China gets determined is among key changes introduced in the recently passed individual income tax (IIT) law. The new law is set to reform IIT in the country, including the tax treatment of foreigners. Beginning January 1, 2019, an individual who resides in China for 183-days...
The Government’s changes to the web shop industry’s “sliding scale” tax structure will not prevent the sector moving forward with its legal challenge, a well-known QC says. Wayne Munroe, pictured, who is representing several web shops in their fight against the budget’s tax measures, said he expects to file a...
