Tensions between Swiss banks and the United States justice authorities should ease up in 2015, Finance Minister Eveline Widmer-Schlumpf has said on the sidelines of the joint International Monetary Fund and World Bank spring meetings in Washington. The minister said she had received positive signals that this year would bring… – Continue reading
Mumbai: The United States of America (USA) has toppled Mauritius to become the top jurisdiction from where India is receiving the highest amount of foreign portfolio investment (FPI) into the equity markets.Mauritius lost out due to the uncertainty over the double tax avoidance treaty (DTAA) between India and Mauritius and… – Continue reading
ABU DHABI: The UAE Cabinet has on Sunday endorsed hosting the headquarters of the joint Police Force of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) in Abu Dhabi. By hosting the GCC Police Force, the UAE aims to foster its relations with the other Gulf countries to safeguard the region from any… – Continue reading
The United Kingdom (UK) has followed Germany in lodging a formal protest with the Finance Ministry over the alleged breach of confidentiality of data and secret banking details received via diplomatic channels. While German authorities objected to the manner in which 18 names of Indian account holders in the LGT… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who had previously stated that India was not a tax haven and legitimate dues from foreign investors will be pursued, had earlier this week said that “the amount involved is Rs 40,000 crore.” Refusing to relent on a Rs 40,000 crore tax demand on foreign portfolio… – Continue reading
CHEYENNE, WY, April 17, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ — OUTPOST PROVISIONING LLC today announced the launch of its “Wyoming…the Offshore Alternative” campaign alongside release of its Wyoming Paymaster Purpose Trust product. “Wyoming…The Offshore Alternative” touts Wyoming as being the Offshore-equivalent for wealth protection without the inconvenience, scrutiny, compliance costs and risks involved… – Continue reading
ROME–Italy’s Chamber of Deputies passed legislation Wednesday aimed at avoiding double taxation with Taiwan. It is the first time Italy’s parliament has passed legislation related to relations with Taiwan. The bill gained the support of the center-left Democratic Party, the largest party in the Chamber of Deputies, as well as… – Continue reading
Chinese authorities will cooperate with Indonesia to confiscate more than $500 million of ill-gotten assets illegally transferred to China by corrupt Indonesian banking officials. Under the Treaty on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters between China and Indonesia that took effect in 2006, the Ministry of Justice will “give support… – Continue reading
World-Herald Bureau WASHINGTON — Nebraska rancher John McFadden will be watching this week as the House votes on eliminating the federal estate tax that could affect how much of his 500-head cattle operation he leaves to his children. McFadden saw much of his grandfather’s land sold off to pay taxes… – Continue reading
On 17 March 2015 Cyprus and Bahrain signed a new double taxation agreement. Like all of Cyprus’s recent DTAs it closely follows the 2010 OECD Model Tax Convention. Its main provisions are summarised below. Taxes covered The agreement applies to taxes on income imposed by either country. In Bahrain these… – Continue reading
Dixcart, an international business support services provider, has released a new guide on the UK’s Diverted Profits Tax, which was altered ahead of its introduction on April 1, 2015. The DPT is intended to counter aggressive tax avoidance by multinational companies. It is charged at a rate of 25 percent… – Continue reading
“Tax policy and administration should incentivise compliance. They should be administered fairly, transparently, with minimum discretion, with no harassment of taxpayers but also ensuring that tax evasion is dealt with firmly.” Promising a ‘modern tax system’ with low and globally competitive rates, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has assured foreign investors… – Continue reading
It has never been easier for Americans to start businesses while living outside the U.S. If you are an American entrepreneur operating abroad, however, be aware of U.S. tax reporting obligations on non-U.S. businesses operated by Americans and make sure you are leveraging the value of U.S qualified retirement accounts… – Continue reading
When Hillary Clinton recently borrowed Elizabeth Warren’s talking points and claimed “the deck is still stacked in favor of those at the top” (in our economic and political system) against regular working people, did she mention reforming the tax code — and then offer any solutions? The simple answer is… – Continue reading
The British Virgin Islands International Tax Authority (ITA) has launched its BVI Financial Account Reporting System (BVIFARS). The portal was opened yesterday and is ready to accept enrolment applications from BVI Reporting Financial Institutions (FI) which are required to submit information under the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between the BVI and… – Continue reading
Foreign owners of UK property assets are being advised to seek property valuations to avoid falling foul of changes to Capital Gains Tax, writes David Westgate – Managing Director, Andrews Letting & Management CHANGES to Capital Gains Tax for UK property investors based overseas were first announced by George Osborne… – Continue reading
The measure probably won’t advance further, at least not this year. The U.S. House voted to repeal the 99-year-old U.S. estate tax amid a partisan clash over whether the government should break up concentrated wealth or make it easier to pass along assets to the next generation. The House passed… – Continue reading
Last week some of Australia’s biggest and richest companies voluntarily fronted up to a senate inquiry on corporate tax avoidance. Bigwigs from big brands, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Fortescue Metals, squirmed under the spotlight as they were grilled about how they (legally) shift profits offshore… – Continue reading
On March 30, 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it reached the first non-prosecution agreement under the Swiss bank program with BSI, S.A. (BSI). BSI, one of Switzerland’s ten largest banks, has agreed to pay $211 million in fines and cooperate in any related civil or criminal… – Continue reading
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has issued a revised draft interpretation note that discusses the principles and guidelines for the considering the “place of effective management” in determining the tax residence of a company. SARS points out that the concept of residency is critical in determining a company’s South… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday said the government will press ahead with Rs 40,000 crore tax demand on foreign institutional investors as FIIs lost a case against levy of tax on capital gains they made. “FIIs went to a tribunal, which is called Authority for Advance Rulings (against levy… – Continue reading
Get three tax advisers in the same room and they will come up with at least four definitions of tax avoidance: put in a couple of members of the public and the total will double. There are a few purists who dispute that tax avoidance exists – either something is… – Continue reading
Portugal’s deputy prime minister, Paulo Portas, and Saudi Arabia’s minister of trade, Tawfiq bin Fawzan Al-Rabiah, recently signed an agreement abolishing double taxation between the two countries, as part of a continued broader effort by Portugal’s government to boost exports and investment. The document was signed after a meeting in… – Continue reading
Rome, April 16 (CNA) Italy’s Chamber of Deputies passed legislation Wednesday aimed at avoiding double taxation with Taiwan. It is the first time Italy’s parliament has passed legislation related to relations with Taiwan. The bill gained the support of the center-left Democratic Party, the largest party in the Chamber of… – Continue reading
The Attorney-General, Hon. Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum today received the new non-resident Ambassador of the Sultanate of Oman to Fiji, His Excellency Nazar Al-Said. In welcoming the Omani envoy to Fiji, Minister Sayed-Khaiyum said that the Fijian Government looked forward to developing its bilateral relations with Oman, particularly in the areas of… – Continue reading
One of Ed Miliband’s key election advisers pays no UK tax on his reported £300,000 earnings, it has emerged. David Axelrod, a former adviser to Barack Obama, admitted he was not a resident in the UK for tax purposes and the Labour party pays him in dollars through his consultancy…. – Continue reading
KATHMANDU, APR 16 – With the selected consultant for the Tanahu Hydropower Project demanding income tax exemption during ongoing negotiations before signing a contract, the Nepal Electricity Authority (NEA) has said that the government cannot provide the facility as the current tax law does not allow it. The NEA clarified… – Continue reading
As foreign portfolio investors balk at India’s claim of $6.4 billion in back taxes, the finance ministry’s latest demand isn’t damping interest in the nation’s stocks and bonds. Foreigners were net buyers of local equities every day barring one since the finance ministry said April 6 it is well within… – Continue reading
Cross border transactions involving German entities investing in French real estate may need to be restructured as a result of proposed changes to the France/Germany double tax treaty, according to two experts. French tax expert Franck Lagorce and German tax expert Werner Geisselmeier, both of Pinsent Masons, the law firm… – Continue reading
Lithuania thanks Japan for lending support to the ambition to join OECD On 15 April 2015, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Linas Linkevicius in a meeting with Parliamentary Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan Kentaro Sonoura expressed his gratitude to Japan for supporting Lithuania’s ambition to join the… – Continue reading
In a major relief to Vodafone, the Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the income tax department’s appeal challenging Vodafone Essar Gujarat’s transfer of certain passive assets to Vodafone Essar Infrastructure. However, it said that the department is free to raise tax demand under relevant tax laws but can’t block the… – Continue reading
Suppose you own 2 houses: one in a state with an income tax and another in an income-tax-free state, such as Florida or Nevada, where you spend an increasing amount of time. You’re ready to assert you primarily reside in the tax-free state. Goodbye, big tax bill? Don’t be surprised… – Continue reading
Suppose you own 2 houses: one in a state with an income tax and another in an income-tax-free state, such as Florida or Nevada, where you spend an increasing amount of time. You’re ready to assert you primarily reside in the tax-free state. Goodbye, big tax bill? Don’t be surprised… – Continue reading
It’s undoubtedly too soon to begin getting your hopes up yet, but there are signs that the new GOP controlled Congress may finally be getting down to some of the regular business we were promised during the election. Plenty of fire and brimstone has been flying around both chambers over… – Continue reading
In October 2012 Portugal launched its Golden Visa Residence Programme with the aim to provide prospective Non-EU foreign investors with the opportunity to take up residency in Portugal through investment. Recently, the Portuguese Parliament promulgated a set of new rules pertaining to this particular programme. The said rules are still… – Continue reading
An agreement was signed between GIFT SEZ and NCDEX on Thursday at Gandhinagar, according to a joint media statement Ahmedabad: National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX), India’s leading online commodity exchange, said it will set up an international commodity and derivatives exchange in the special economic zone (SEZ) area… – Continue reading
This week, the Royal Bank of Canada became the first bank to complete cross-border Renminbi (RMB) payment using Canada’s new RMB Trading Hub through the hub’s designated clearing bank, Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (Canada). On 23 March, Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), other Canadian banks and government delegates… – Continue reading
Top Democrats in both the House and the Senate are bringing back legislation to crack down on offshore tax deals. Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Rep. Sandy Levin (D-Mich.) and five other Democratic lawmakers are proposing to ban companies that shift their legal address abroad and score a lower… – Continue reading
The IRS is growing increasingly uncomfortable that an increasing number of smaller companies and professional firms have been doing what larger companies do — creating their own or joining a captive insurer, reports Insurance Journal. The IRS believes some of these smaller companies are creating these so-called “microcaptives” in order… – Continue reading
“Tax day” comes and goes each year, but unfortunately, the systemic issues that plague American taxpayers linger on without resolution well past the mid-April deadline. The U.S. tax code has long been manipulated by corporate lobbyists and their corporate tax attorneys. (President Jimmy Carter once called the loophole-ridden tax laws… – Continue reading
Within the current discussion of corporate tax there are a number of terms used to describe the corporate strategies and behaviours involved, such as “tax minimisation” or “tax avoidance”. There are also other terms used in the academic accounting literature on tax. This can result in confusion about what exactly… – Continue reading
Ahead of this week’s income tax filing deadline, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation Foundation said the U.S. should exempt its companies’ foreign earnings from corporate taxes. In contrast to current tax policy, the groups’ analysis argued that exempting those earnings would allow… – Continue reading
Israel joined the OECD in 2010. Background The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development is spearheading a concerted effort to help governments around the world collect more taxes. The OECD is doing so by issuing a series of recommendations for tightening up corporate and personal tax measures. Individual governments are… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — Wall Street banks and other financial firms should pay new fees to bankroll their own government oversight, according to a member of the top U.S. derivatives regulator. Sharon Y. Bowen, a Democrat on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said Congress should let the agency set fees on banks… – Continue reading
NEW YORK • When it comes to taxes, corporate America is getting a bit less corporate. And a bit less American. Fueled by a wave of inversions, a record 54 companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of leading U.S. firms are now at least partially exempt from the… – Continue reading
As the above title indicates (it is only a modest exaggeration), the Treasury Greenbook regarding the FY 2016 budget proposes a radical restructuring of the system for U.S. taxation of foreign income of U.S. multinational enterprises (MNEs). Some Congressional players have suggested that these proposals are an opening bid in… – Continue reading
Introduction Soft commodity prices, divergent monetary policies across major economies, high unemployment rates and weak world trade have all conspired to slow down global economic recovery over the past seven years. Consequently, governments have had to cut spending as future revenues remain uncertain. This has led governments to look for… – Continue reading
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL), a GOP 2016 presidential candidate, joined Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) to discuss their new tax reform plan at The Heritage Foundation, which they recently released. Lee began by saying the proposed tax plan is “pro growth and pro families,” explaining that the current tax code is… – Continue reading
The Labour party call for stripping non-domiciled UK residents of tax privileges has gone down well with people at large April 15, 2015: In January 1799, British Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger brought in a 10 per cent tax on income for Britons for the first time, as part… – Continue reading
New Delhi: With overseas investors pumping in over Rs 2,000 crore in the Indian capital markets so far this month, total foreign fund inflows have crossed the Rs 81,000 crore mark since the beginning of the year. Analysts expect the inflows to accelerate further going ahead, helped by clearance of… – Continue reading
