The OECD has invited comments on a discussion draft on proposed changes to the OECD model tax convention to prevent tax treaty abuse. The OECD’s recent report on action 6 of the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) action plan recognised that further work would be needed on the precise… – Continue reading
George Osborne is not going to want to do anything too controversial given the forthcoming General Election in May 2015, but does need to address some clear issues relating to public finances. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies, the current budget deficit is estimated at just under £100bn and… – Continue reading
HMRC’s controversial tactic of publishing a list of tax dodgers’ details has outed 77 individuals and businesses this year. How exactly did they make the list? HMRC’s list of people who dodge thousands of pounds of tax – and subsequently try to cover it up – could soon be bombarded… – Continue reading
Boris Johnson has a point about his U.S. tax bill, but he should still cough up. The London mayor objects to the fact that his dual UK and U.S. citizenship means he has been issued with an American tax bill, and he says he won’t pay. Though many U.S. expats… – Continue reading
DOUBLE taxation for companies and individual investors at the securities market could be scrapped in 2016, if a plan by the Capital Markets Authority is adopted. In a move to attract and grow investments, the Capital Markets Authority has initiated talks on a transparent tax regime, to eliminate multiple taxes… – Continue reading
New Delhi: Aiming to intensify government’s drive on black money, the PMO has asked the revenue department to look for ways other than bilater24al tax treaties to bring back funds stashed abroad. The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) has suggested the tax department to think of other ways to tackle the… – Continue reading
Transfer pricing can be identified as an area of tax law that continues to attract the attention of both tax authorities and businesses worldwide. The growing importance of transfer pricing can be observed in the Slovak Republic as well, as it has become one of the dominant tax issues addressed… – Continue reading
One of George Osborne’s flagship policies is set to be reformed in next week’s Autumn Statement following the resolution of a protracted spat with Germany over the controversial tax break. The so-called Patent Box took effect last year and allowed companies to pay lower tax bills on profits derived from… – Continue reading
Strasbourg, France (dpa) – European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker urged lawmakers on Monday to trust his determination to tackle tax avoidance, ahead of a parliamentary confidence vote related to a tax scandal in his native Luxembourg. The controversy, known as LuxLeaks, grew out of allegations by a team of investigative… – Continue reading
Tax havens have created an unsustainable economic structure wherein the rich get richer, Dennis Howlett summarized. Daily Herald Other news Zary’s hat trick leads Trojans over Mintos Bauer earns Player of the Week honours Crusaders win provincial championship in all P.A. final PAPHR received significant staffing boost under the Sask…. – Continue reading
Mumbai: While the Central Government has expressed its commitment to bring back black money stashed abroad, the Mumbai bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) took a first concrete step towards this direction. It recently passed a crucial order in a case where unaccounted money was stashed in LGT… – Continue reading
SMALL Scottish businesses trading over the internet are being forced to turn down thousands of pounds of foreign business because of new European Union rules aimed at preventing tax avoidance by the likes of Amazon. From 1 January, VAT on what the EU deems “digital services” will have to be… – Continue reading
The concept of base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) has been debated at various international forums following discussions at the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting and the G20 Heads of State summit in Russia last year. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) BEPS Action Plan… – Continue reading
The concept of base erosion and profit shifting (“BEPS”) has been much discussed at various international forums including the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting in July 2013 in Moscow as well as the G20 Heads of State meeting in September 2013. From a South African perspective, the… – Continue reading
When FATCA was signed by Barack Obama in 2010, many commentators were quick to argue that such ‘breathtakingly extra-territorial’ provisions would never come to fruition. Fast-forward only a few years and those five letters, FATCA, have become etched in the minds of exasperated US taxpayers (many of whom are queuing… – Continue reading
Nov 22 (Reuters) – German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble sharply criticised leading German companies for reducing taxes by creating subsidiaries in Luxembourg, where tax rates are lower, according to Focus news magazine. “The list of those that have institutions in Luxembourg with the aim of saving taxes is a Who’s… – Continue reading
By closing the tax gap, South Africa can reap billions of rands to benefit the economy. A global crackdown on tax avoidance has begun and South Africa is forging ahead in a bid to tackle wealthy individuals and corporates who practise this tactic. The initiative is better poised to succeed… – Continue reading
Former treasurer Peter Costello and Future Fund chairman appears before the Finance Estimates committee at Parliament House. Photo: Andrew Meares Former treasurer Peter Costello has offered some veiled advice to the Abbott government on how to collect more tax revenue, saying it would be easier to tighten Australia’s domestic tax… – Continue reading
Cyprus and Iceland have released the text of a new double tax agreement signed between the two nations on November 14, 2014. The signing took place at the Embassy of Cyprus in Stockholm. The agreement caps the withholding tax on dividends income at source to five percent, if the recipient… – Continue reading
President Yahya Jammeh and the Emir of Qatar have signed two agreements on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion on income and air services between The Gambia and Qatar. According to Qatar News Agency (QNA), the signing of the agreements between “the governments of the State of… – Continue reading
Jamaican banks and other financial institutions affected by the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) will have to bear the cost to implement the programme, says the Jamaica Bankers Association (JBA). “Though no formal research has been undertaken by the JBA to ascertain the cost implications for its members… – Continue reading
New Zealand is rated 22nd out of 189 economies in its ease of paying taxes, according to Paying Taxes 2015, now in its ninth edition. The unique study by PwC and the World Bank Group is the only piece of research which measures the ease of paying taxes by assessing… – Continue reading
HM Revenue & Customs has introduced “safeguards” to reduce the potential impact of its proposals to recover tax directly from debtors’ bank accounts. The plans, which are known as Direct Recovery of Debts (DRD), will allow the Revenue to recover cash directly from the bank accounts, building society accounts and… – Continue reading
Washington, DC – Credit Suisse AG was sentenced today for conspiracy to aid and assist U.S. taxpayers in filing false income tax returns and other documents with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Credit Suisse pleaded guilty to conspiracy on May 19. The sentencing of the Swiss corporation is the result… – Continue reading
On September 16, 2014, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (“OECD”) released seven reports addressing certain aspects of the base erosion and profit shifting (“BEPS”) project. The seven BEPS reports released by the OECD include tax challenges of the digital economy (Action 1), hybrid mismatch arrangements (Action 2), countering… – Continue reading
Action 6 of the BEPS Action Plan identified treaty abuse as one of the most important sources of BEPS concern. The report offers alternative model provisions for the prevention of treaty abuse given constitutional and other restrictions that may apply to some treaty countries. Notwithstanding, each alternative shares a common… – Continue reading
MOSCOW — There is nothing new about offshore tax shelters. In ancient Athens, after the government decided to levy a 2% tax on all trade operations, merchants started avoiding the city, conducting business on the surrounding islands instead. Those Greek islands became the first offshore tax havens. The current offshore… – Continue reading
Background In July 2013, the G20 Finance Ministers, including Australia, fully endorsed the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) Action Plan. As a result of the Action Plan, the Australian government encouraged a new commitment to focus resources on investigating international business structures to ensure companies pay tax in the… – Continue reading
The Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) between Japan and the British Virgin Islands came into effect on October 11 2014. Authority and scope The BVI-Japan TIEA is essentially consistent with the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development standard model template for TIEAs. It provides for assistance through exchange of information… – Continue reading
THE South African Revenue Service (SARS) is investigating possible changes to the law to make it easier for it to audit transfer pricing by multinational companies to ensure that they pay their rightful tax dues to the government. The need to maximise tax revenue has become particularly acute in the… – Continue reading
People curious to know the amount of “black money” stashed by Indians in foreign banks may be in for yet another disappointment after the Supreme Court monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT), submits its findings. After six months in office, the Narendra Modi Government has not been able to lay its… – Continue reading
Action Item 5 of the BEPS Action Plan commits the Forum on Harmful Tax Practices (“FHTP”) to: “revamp the work on harmful tax practices with a priority on improving transparency, including compulsory spontaneous exchange on rulings related to preferential regimes, and on requiring substantial activity for any preferential regime. It… – Continue reading
Last week, HM Revenue & Customs published the latest edition of its Publishing Details of Deliberate Defaulters (PDDD) list, or, as it is also known, the A-Z of UK Tax Evasion. The list serves as a form of trophy cabinet for the Revenue, showcasing the individuals they have identified as… – Continue reading
Criticism of slow prosecution of tax avoidance schemes ignores HMRC’s impressive success in closing down the aggressive tax avoidance industry in recent years Tuesday’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report and the associated media drive, which accuses HMRC of being ‘unacceptably slow’ in pursuing tax avoidance schemes, is the latest in… – Continue reading
The Central Bank says it is only a matter of time before this country becomes fully compliant with the United States’ Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which was enacted by the US Congress in March 2010. FACTA is a US law designed to prevent tax evasion by US citizens… – Continue reading
A recent Internal Revenue Service ruling now allows certain individuals to move after tax contributions from a 401(k) or IRA to a Roth IRA on a tax free basis. Fatca has caused local banks to document which of its clients are US citizens or residents and who are not. And… – Continue reading
Small- and medium-sized firms are unprepared for tough new US tax reporting legislation, a survey has found. Software firm Blue Bison, part of the Ignition group of companies, found that more than half of respondents to its readiness survey admitted that understanding the requirements of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance… – Continue reading
The UK’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has criticized what it says has been “unacceptably slow” action from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) against tax avoidance and has recommended that the Department be more transparent about its compliance yield estimates. In a new report, PAC said tax revenues are being placed… – Continue reading
REGIONAL businesses continue to suffer from double taxation three years after a plan to harmonise taxes was approved, causing a delay in realisation of East Africa Community integration benefits. Kenya Association of Manufacturers CEO Betty Maina said the tax issue needs to be urgently addressed by ensuring all member countries… – Continue reading
Luxembourg’s Prime Minister has spoken out against a harmonsiation of tax within the EU, arguing that it should be left to member states to decide. Xavier Bettel was quoted in an interview published by Belgian daily L’Echo on Wednesday, following the Lux Leaks scandal in which tax agreements between the… – Continue reading
Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel has criticized the European Union’s single tax plans, arguing that it should be left to member states to decide. “To say that everyone within the European Union must move toward a single tax policy with the same tax rate, that I’m against,” Belgian daily L’Echo… – Continue reading
U.S. multinational corporations are hoarding an estimated $2 trillion “offshore” to take advantage of a loophole in our tax laws. At our 35 percent top federal corporate tax rate, that represents up to $700 billion in taxes owed but “deferred” because they are “offshore.” This is not imaginary or future… – Continue reading
Canada and Spain have signed a Protocol to their income tax convention which, when implemented, will reduce the withholding tax rates applicable on payments of dividends and interest. The Protocol was inked on November 18, 2014, by Canada’s Ambassador to Spain, Jon Allen, and Spain’s Finance Minister, Cristóbal Montoro. The… – Continue reading
MOSCOW, November 19. /TASS/. The Federation Council, the upper house of Russia’s parliament, approved a new tax law on Wednesday as part of President Vladimir Putin’s “deoffshorization” initiative designed to return Russian capital and assets from foreign jurisdictions. The law introduces amendments to the country’s tax code that will oblige… – Continue reading
UK and multinational enterprises are starting to consider (re)organising themselves under a UK holding company for their global operations, rather than using other traditional onshore holding company jurisdictions. This new trend is the result of a number of factors, which have moved the UK from an outside choice as an… – Continue reading
In our previous post, we looked at the ways that global corporations minimise their tax burdens by routing income through offshore tax havens and transfer pricing. The ultimate beneficiaries of these shenanigans, of course, are actual people rather than legal entities. Many of these people also take advantage of offshore… – Continue reading
Nobody likes paying taxes. The rich, however, can reduce the burden more easily than others because capital is more mobile than labour. A clever new paper in the Journal of Economic Perspectives by Gabriel Zucman attempts to measure how much government revenue is lost because of the careful re-routing of… – Continue reading
This is a very important time for anyone older than 70½ who has a 401k, IRA or other qualified asset. These people must take out their required minimum distributions before Dec. 31. The government is your partner in these assets and they want to make sure that they get their… – Continue reading
Barbados has agreed to share information with the U.S. under a new law aimed at preventing offshore tax evasion by American citizens. One of the most controversial laws of the Barack Obama administration, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) requires financial firms to report information on U.S. account-holders to… – Continue reading
Backbench MHK John Houghton’s antics in the House of Keys have been branded ‘outrageous’ by the Chief Minister. Mr Houghton was ordered to leave the Keys last week after refusing to apologise for questioning the honesty of the Treasury Minister. Chief Minister Allan Bell said: ‘It seems the election is… – Continue reading
