Republican Senators Mike Lee and Marco Rubio have put forward version 2.0 of their tax reform proposal first released last September. The two men offer a bit more detail to their sweeping plan this time around, and it’s still a strong, pro-growth proposal. The broad strokes of the Lee-Rubio plan… – Continue reading
On December 2, 2014, the State Administration of Taxation (SAT), China’s highest tax authority, issued the Administrative Measures for the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (Trial) (GAAR), which went into effect on February 1, 2015. Prior to this legislation, China had no specific GAAR, only a few general anti-avoidance principles in various… – Continue reading
NEW PACTS WITH AMSTERDAM AND TOKYO BOOST TRANSFER PRICING IN HONG KONG When combined with aggressive tax planning, Hong Kong’s onshore-offshore tax regime often results in a reduced tax burden for taxpayers that operate through Hong Kong companies by pricing intra-group transactions. The Advance Pricing Arrangement agreement with the Netherlands… – Continue reading
Double Tax Avoidance Agreement to be Applied to China Funds Investors no longer have to be worried about double taxation on China-based funds. On Mar. 4, the Korea Financial Investment Association told asset management firms to hand in documents for double tax avoidance agreement applications. Four months ago, when the… – Continue reading
Cyril Ramaphosa said government would be improving tax collection and combating illicit financial flows. JOHANNESBURG – Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa on Wednesday announced that government would be improving tax collection and combating illicit financial flows. Ramaphosa was answering questions in Parliament on Wednesday afternoon. The Economic Freedom Fighters’ Floyd Shivambu… – Continue reading
If you have been running your business as a sole proprietor or are planning to be self-employed, you should probably give the idea of incorporating your business a serious thought. Since we are talking about incorporation from the point of view of taxation, you should know that it has its… – Continue reading
Politicians love to promise “tax breaks” for married couples, savers and small businesses, but what if they instead said “we want to promote tax avoidance, starting with married couples, savers and small businesses?” It’s the same thing, but it doesn’t sound as good. Tax avoidance can be good or bad…. – Continue reading
India has made a major breakthrough with Swiss tax authorities, who have agreed to provide information in respect of cases independently investigated by IT department whereas first round of talks have reportedly taken place between Pakistan and Swiss government on revision of Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation agreement…. – Continue reading
Associated Oregon Industries Oregon’s largest business advocate The issue of “tax havens” garnered early interest from the House and Senate Revenue Committees as the Oregon Department of Revenue issued a new report outlining which additional countries should be considered “tax havens” for purposes of Oregon tax law. AOI testified in… – Continue reading
UK official data show that almost 41,000 London properties owned by foreign companies 90% are based in tax havens such as the British Virgin Islands (BVI), which do not have to disclose ownership information. Transparency International, the anti-corruption organisation, used Land Registry and Metropolitan Police data to identify 40,725 properties… – Continue reading
On 9 February 2015, Insurance Europe published its comments on the discussion draft on action point 4 of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Plan published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in December 2014. The draft aimed to address weakness in the international tax… – Continue reading
Third country nationals may take up residence in Malta in terms of the Global Residence Programme Rules (GRP) Rules. Such individuals will be granted a special tax status by the Maltese tax authorities and will be subject to tax in Malta at a flat rate of 15% as described hereunder…. – Continue reading
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, MARCH 4: The taxman has taken a headlong plunge into an alphabetic soup to comply/align with emerging tax and jurisdictional requirements, domestic and foreign, of which is GST is only one. Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs); General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR); BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Sharing); and POEM (Place… – Continue reading
Ministry of Finance Enlists EY and Convey to Develop and Deploy FATCA Model Nassau, Bahamas – The Government of the Bahamas through the Ministry of Finance announced today that it has moved to a new stage in the development and rollout of its Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Model… – Continue reading
The year 2015 promises to be an active one in U.S. international tax policy, as new players take the stage in the tax reform debate, the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) effort continues to develop and even begins to go into effect around the world, and corporate inversions remain… – Continue reading
NUMBER OF THE WEEK: $42,268. The projected average taxable income of all tax returns in 2015, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation’s Feb. 27 report on “Fairness and Tax Policy.” The report also projects that the top ten percent (in terms of income) of all taxpayers in 2015 will… – Continue reading
If you thought the Republican-controlled Congress went crazy when President Barack Obama used his authority as commander in chief to make changes to immigration enforcement, consider what might happen if such action involved taxes. The mere hint of executive tax actions already has riled up conservatives. Sen. Bernie Sanders would… – Continue reading
Claims that the UK Treasury has started “gaming” to protect its own revenues from devolved Scottish tax competition should be given further consideration, a committee of MSPs has recommended. Holyrood’s Finance Committee is seeking further evidence on the Smith Commission’s call for devolution to cause “no detriment” to any part… – Continue reading
That Labor’s corporate tax policy has been so vociferously attacked by the business lobby proves it is on the right track The usual suspects, the Business Council of Australia, the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Minerals Council of Australia, all emerged on Monday like sprinters out of… – Continue reading
The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) met last month to ask HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) about its efforts to curb tax avoidance, including how HMRC has developed its transfer pricing approach to counteract tax arrangements such as those by Google, Amazon and Starbucks. Present at the hearing on February 11,… – Continue reading
Controlled foreign company rules Federal Law No. 376-FZ of November 24, 2014 This law, which entered into force on January 1, 2015, introduces a fundamentally new institution into Russian tax legislation: rules on controlled foreign corporations (CFCs) (primarily the new chapter 3.4 and new article 309.1 of the Russian Federation… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: India will seek to apply its proposed law on black money held abroad fairly, making sure that its stringent provisions aren’t used to harass students, research scholars and professionals going overseas for short stints. “There will be suitable safeguards,” Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das told ET in an interview…. – Continue reading
KUALA LUMPUR: Georgia is motivated to enhance economic cooperation with Malaysia, which has one of the most open economies in the world, its Charge d’Affaires ad interim (a.i.) to Malaysia Levan Machavariani said. “Malaysia is one of the world’s most open economies and fully integrated in the world’s trade and… – Continue reading
The outgoing High Commissioner of Pakistan, Major General Ulfat Hussain Shah, paid a courtesy call yesterday on the Prime Minister, Sir Anerood Jugnauth, at the Treasury Building in Port Louis, to bid him farewell after having served for two years in Mauritius. Both parties agreed that there is a need… – Continue reading
Hong Kong Financial Secretary, John Tsang delivered his eighth budget speech on 25 February 2015. Key Points: >Expansion of tax exemption for certain offshore investment funds >Tax concession for treasury centre activities on the way >Full steam ahead with implementation of OECD automatic exchange of tax information standard >Addressing Hong… – Continue reading
Notorious tax dodger GE recently released its annual financial report and the only thing eye-raising about the company’s paltry 0.9 percent federal income tax rate is that it’s marginally higher than the 0.4 percent average rate it paid over the past decade. Released without fanfare late in the afternoon last… – Continue reading
Though the issue of corporate tax avoidance has long been a topic which would find its home in the business pages, it has recently become a regular fixture on the global news agenda thanks to high profile scandals, such as the recent HSBC news. What’s more, global brands such as… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service’s Large Business & International division has opened a gateway that financial institutions and the tax authorities abroad can use to send information on financial accounts held by U.S. taxpayers in accordance with the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act. FATCA, which was included as part of the… – Continue reading
The Global Transfer Pricing Guide is created to assist tax and finance professionals responsible for cross-border tax planning and compliance with their inquiries. Sterling Heights, Michigan (PRWEB) March 02, 2015 Global accountancy network UHY releases its 2015 “Global Transfer Pricing Guide” to assist tax and finance professionals responsible for cross-border… – Continue reading
Italy has made a pact with Monaco aimed at clamping down on tax evaders, the finance ministry said in a statement on Monday. The agreement, which will see the two states exchanging information for tax purposes, follows similar ones made recently with Switzerland and Liechtenstein. It is expected to give… – Continue reading
Large businesses require access to finances to fund on-going market development, regional expansion and mergers & acquisitions (M&A) to name a few. Conglomerates in particular have discovered that pooling together the different business units’ assets under treasury operations enables these to better manage the company’s liquidity as well as mitigate… – Continue reading
France has always been an attractive place to live but, there is a long-held perception that French taxes will eat up much of your income and savings, says Jason Porter, business development manager at Blevins Franks. Where annual income exceeds €1m (£729m, $1.1m), taxation at a rate of 75% (a… – Continue reading
An investment registration scheme launched by the government last year attracted a total of 1,469 valid registrations covering an aggregate of €455.8 million worth of eligible assets, The Finance Ministry told The Malta Independent. Of the total amount registered, €69.8 million or 15% of the total was repatriated following registration…. – Continue reading
Global entities liable to pay tax on yearly income if their place of effective management is India even for a single day Shell companies based abroad would have to pay taxes on their global income for a year if their place of effective management (POEM) is India even for a… – Continue reading
Working overseas can lead to tricky tax pitfalls, but seeking expert advice can keep you from paying up twice. Going overseas to work is a grand adventure for many young professionals. It offers the opportunity to experience a different culture, expand your work experience and enhance future career opportunities. But… – Continue reading
Foreign subsidiaries may now have to pay tax both in India and the country of their operations At present, a company incorporated outside India is considered a tax resident only if the control and management of its affairs is situated wholly in India. Photo: Pradeep Gaur/Mint New Delhi: A budget… – Continue reading
Under Article 185, § 2, B of the Belgian Code on revenue taxes, an international group may ask for its taxes to be reduced by so-called excess profits, which are registered in the account of the Belgian entity as a result of the benefits of being part of an international… – Continue reading
In previous updates we have alerted clients to the introduction of Cayman Islands regulations1, which give effect to the automatic exchange of tax information principles established by the US and UK intergovernmental agreements (the “Cayman US Regulations” and the “Cayman UK Regulations”, respectively). While many Cayman Islands entities will be… – Continue reading
In previous updates we have alerted clients to the introduction of Cayman Islands regulations1, which give effect to the automatic exchange of tax information principles established by the US and UK intergovernmental agreements (the “Cayman US Regulations” and the “Cayman UK Regulations”, respectively). While many Cayman Islands entities will be… – Continue reading
GUEST COLUMN- Dinesh Agarwal & Amit Poddar The Finance Act, 2012, had introduced the provisions for specified domestic transactions (SDT), extending the laws of transfer pricing to domestic transactions. One of the criteria for applicability of domestic transfer pricing was that the aggregate value of domestic transactions should be at… – Continue reading
Government proposes to come out with a modified General Anti-Avoidance Rules by incorporating provisions of the OECD’s BEPS project so as to effectively deal with the problem of tax avoidance by MNCs. The BEPS initiative aims to ensure that taxes are paid where profits are made. Multinational companies use a… – Continue reading
The British Virgin Islands (BVI), as one of the world’s leading finance centres and meeting the changing needs of international businesses and high net worth individuals (HNWIs), has managed to create a stable, well-regulated and neutral jurisdiction that makes a significant contribution to the liquidity of the global economy. The… – Continue reading
New Delhi: India will join the league of countries like Singapore, UK and the US with its proposed law to check black money, under which those hiding income and evading tax in relation to foreign assets can be slapped with a prison term of up to ten years.In fact, the… – Continue reading
The art of taxation, declared King Louis XIV’s Minister of Finances Jean-Baptiste Colbert, is in “so plucking the goose as to obtain the largest amount of feathers with the least amount of hissing”. The Budgets of Singapore and Hong Kong – released two days apart this week – have thrown… – Continue reading
Minister of Finance Martin Dlamini said the proposed revenue measures would assist government in mobilising additional resources for protecting essential services while Southern African Customs Union (SACU) revenues fall in the medium term. He said these initiatives include an amendment of the Income Tax regulations, including removal of the tax… – Continue reading
This egregious situation lets the wealthiest enjoy privileges without paying their fair dues Much has changed in the world since William Pitt the Younger was prime minister and the United Kingdom was at war with Napoleon. But among the tax rules laid down by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs there… – Continue reading
After several rounds of revisions and consultations in the past few years, the State Administration of Taxation (“SAT”) has recently promulgated the Bulletin on Several Issues concerning the Enterprise Income Tax (“EIT”) on Indirect Asset Transfer by Non-Resident Enterprises (“Bulletin 7”)[1]. Tax matters occurred but have not been settled before… – Continue reading
As recommended by Tax Administration Reforms Commission (TARC) under Parthasarathi Shome, for taxation, the appellate functions must be housed separately from the field functions, in order to have fair and judicious orders passed. Indian Revenue should be divided into two distinct sets—the operational side and the technical/adjudication side. The quasi-judicial… – Continue reading
The income tax department has scaled down its estimate of income suppression by multinational corporations in India in the 2014-15 audit of intra-group cross-border transactions to Rs 47,000 crore, a steep 22% decline from the extra taxable income the department had attributed to the firms in the previous audit. The… – Continue reading
Two medical device companies, Cyberonics Inc from the United States and Italy’s Sorin SpA, have agreed to form a joint medical devices company with a combined equity value of USD2.7bn and will take advantage of the lower tax rate in the United Kingdom. Under the terms of the proposed transaction,… – Continue reading
