Category: Tax Laws

Chasing black money: How parties are resisting transparency in funding

Given a choice of priority, should Indian authorities be chasing black money in circulation within the country or the illicit billions held in foreign banks? It is a nobrainer. Money whisked away abroad is tiny compared with the unaccounted money within India. Yet, the political system has long been barking… – Continue reading

Minnesota companies shelter billions in cash from U.S. taxes

Foreign profits sit on sidelines as companies seek tax reform. WASHINGTON — They are all companies that call Minnesota home: Medtronic, 3M, St. Jude Medical, General Mills and Ecolab. But they also all hold 90 percent or more of their cash outside the United States. Amid a growing national political… – Continue reading

Black money: Preneet Kaur, ex-UPA minister, figures among 627 names submitted to SC

NEW DELHI: Former minister of state for external affairs in the UPA regime, Preneet Kaur, figures in the list of 627 names of Indians holding accounts in foreign banks, which was submitted by the Centre to the Supreme Court. Kaur, wife of former Punjab CM and Congress’s deputy leader in… – Continue reading

Fighting tax evasion together

We are witnessing profound changes in the way that the world economy works. As a result of the growing pace and intensity of globalization and digitization, more and more economic processes have an international dimension. As a consequence, an increasing number of businesses are adapting their structures to domestic and… – Continue reading

Tax treaties can’t be amended to drop confidentiality clause: official

If the Supreme Court insists on disclosures of all names, India won’t be able to sign any further treaties for exchange of information Vrishti Beniwal  |  New Delhi  November 1, 2014 Last Updated at 00:29 IST India cannot amend its Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) to drop the confidentiality clause… – Continue reading

Forget tax evaders, it’s the tax avoiders we should be tackling

The government has signed a deal to swap bank account information with 50 countries By Michelle McGagh, Nov 1, 2014 Chancellor George Osborne is looking happy this week. Along with 50 other countries he has signed an agreement to share individuals’ tax details in an effort to get those who… – Continue reading

Australia’s stance on tax avoidance out of step, says Bill Shorten

The “Double Irish Dutch sandwich” sounds like something questionable you’d find on the menu at backpacker-run cafe. But it’s actually a notorious tax loophole in Ireland which allows huge multinational companies to get away with paying tiny amounts of tax through shifting money between multiple countries. For almost 30 years,… – Continue reading

Tax havens will end in 2018, says OECD

Tax havens will no longer exist in five years as a result of sweeping rules to combat tax abuse, a leading global think-tank has said. Grace Perez-Navarro, of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which is leading a crackdown on tax avoidance and evasion, said that banking secrecy… – Continue reading

Transfer pricing inflicting heavy losses

HA NOI (VNS) — Appropriate policies and enhanced management capacity are critical in the fight against transfer pricing to ensure a healthy business investment environment in Viet Nam, said experts on Wednesday. They were participating in an online discussion on the Government’s e-portal. Transfer pricing is causing losses to the… – Continue reading

Cameron’s vow to tackle tax avoidance ‘disingenuous and hypocritical’

Multinational firms which exploit loopholes to avoid paying tax in the UK will be pushed to “damn well pay,” David Cameron said on Thursday. The PM’s statement was denounced as disingenuous by global tax expert and UK economist Richard Murphy. Cameron’s comments follow recent controversy over the manner in which… – Continue reading

Tougher disclosure rules for offshore accounts held by ‘non-doms’ once single tax reporting standard in force

Financial institutions based in certain British Overseas Territories (BOTs) and Crown Dependencies (CDs) will be subject to stricter reporting requirements covering accounts held with them by UK resident non-UK domiciled taxpayers from 2016 if specific “carve outs” are not negotiated, an expert has said.31 Oct 2014 Private wealth tax Tax… – Continue reading

The growing threat of wealth taxation

At the September 2014 convention of American labor unions, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont specifically urged taxation of wealth, asserting that, “We need a tax system which asks the billionaire class to pay its fair share of taxes and which reduces the obscene degree of wealth inequality in America.” The… – Continue reading

“Taxation Must Go Global,” Says German Finance Minister

In one of the bluntest statements on the topic by any globalist thus far, controversial German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble (shown) openly called for “global standards” and “global governance” in taxation to ensure that governments can continue extracting huge sums in taxes from the wealth-producing class in perpetuity. In an… – Continue reading

Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj to visit Mauritius, Maldives over the weekend

NEW DELHI: Ahead of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj’s three-day visit to Mauritius from tomorrow, India today said amendments to the bilateral tax treaty with the island nation would be made only after taking into account the “legitimate interests” of both sides. Swaraj will also be visiting Male and hold… – Continue reading

Cyprus banks in the process of implementing FATCA

In the fight against tax evasion, member banks of the Association of Cyprus Banks (ACB) are currently in the process of implementing the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), in anticipation of the upcoming intergovernmental agreement between the United States of America and Cyprus, ACB Director General Michael Kammas said…. – Continue reading

Tax revenues are under relentless attack – the government needs to take action

Taxes are the price of a civilised society and without them no state can provide social infrastructure, alleviate poverty, subsidise corporations or rescue distressed banks. But tax revenues are under relentless attack and corporate ingenuity in avoiding taxes shows no limits. Companies have become very adept at shifting profits to… – Continue reading

Hodge calls for tougher tax regime

Public Accounts Committee chair Margaret Hodge has called for a tougher tax regime that closes loopholes exploited by companies and prosecutes avoidance schemes. Speaking at a debate on tax reform at national and international level yesterday, Margaret Hodge said it was ‘unfair’ and ‘offensive’ that companies and individuals could take… – Continue reading

Tax benefits

As the OECD’s proposals for global reform of corporate taxation advance, the challenge facing the Government is how best to adapt to major change, while ensuring Ireland remains competitive and continues to attract foreign direct investment. In the budget, Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan took a bold first step by… – Continue reading

Government and Supreme Court at war over tax treaties: Centre ordered to finish the job as it hands over envelope with 627 names

The Supreme Court on Wednesday virtually thwarted fresh attempts by the Modi government to go slow on the black money probe, citing “sovereign powers to sign treaties”. The court sternly asked the Centre to “just go whole hog to unearth the money”, leaving other worries to the Special Investigation Team… – Continue reading

Government says its hands tied, defers tax treaty signing –

On a day when it furnished before the Supreme Court the full list of 627 Indians having accounts in foreign banks, the NDA government put off the signing of a crucial multilateral agreement aimed at facilitating access to financial information on taxpayers abroad. This has been prompted by the uncertainties… – Continue reading

Only case-specific information can be disclosed: Switzerland

Amid a debate on disclosure of names of suspected black money holders, Switzerland on Thursday said information exchanged under the Swiss-India tax treaty cannot be disclosed “in principle” to a court or any other body outside the proceedings of a “specific and relevant” case. The comments come at a time… – Continue reading

IRS Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program Offers Stark Choices for Taxpayers

The Internal Revenue Service is encouraging taxpayers with previously undeclared foreign bank accounts to enter into its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, but there are now choices between a new streamlined version of the OVDP and the regular program that will require careful consideration and advice from practitioners. Since March 26,… – Continue reading

Why Taxation Must Go Global

BERLIN – We are witnessing profound changes in the way that the world economy works. As a result of the growing pace and intensity of globalization and digitization, more and more economic processes have an international dimension. As a consequence, an increasing number of businesses are adapting their structures to… – Continue reading

Black money: Info can’t be disclosed outside specific proceedings, says Switzerland

New Delhi/Berne: Amid a debate on disclosure of names of suspected black money holders, Switzerland today said information exchanged under Swiss-India tax treaty cannot be disclosed “in principle” to a court or any other body outside the proceedings of a ‘specific and relevant’ case. The comments come at a time… – Continue reading

Bruton To Promote Irish Corporate Tax Changes In US

Ireland’s Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton is undertaking his first investment mission since the Government announced major changes to the corporate tax regime as part of Budget 2015. Bruton is visiting the East Coast of the US as part of a program of engagement by the Government with multinational companies on… – Continue reading

HMRC investigators home in on massive Square Mile tax avoidance scheme

European prosecutors and tax authorities are intensifying an investigation into a huge tax avoidance trading scheme costing European countries hundreds of millions of euros. The investigation centres on complex stock trades that major banks allegedly use to earn tax rebates. The practice was revealed by the Bureau three years ago…. – Continue reading

India fails to attend meet on combating tax evasion

New Delhi/Berlin, Oct 29: India today failed to attend an OECD meeting in Berlin where a multilateral agreement requiring a commitment to follow international standards of confidentiality for information received relating to black money was signed. Official sources said that India was not able to attend the Berlin meeting where… – Continue reading

OECD introduces further investor reporting

Financial institutions including fund managers will need to up the ante on client due diligence and bolster investor reporting following the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) agreement on the automatic exchange of information. The OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS) will force national authorities in the 51 signatory states… – Continue reading

Indian businesses in US risk higher penal taxes on fund transfer

NEW DELHI: Indian entities having businesses in the US risk higher penal taxes in the US on any fund transfer to the country if New Delhi fails to endorse a pact for information exchange by December 31 on grounds of confidentiality. New Delhi will find it difficult to sign the… – Continue reading

BJP needs to take a re-look at tax treaties if it’s serious about black money

On Wednesday, when the Supreme Court accepted and handed over the sealed envelope from the government carrying the Swiss bank account details of Indians to the special investigation team, what seems to have won is the concern over the double taxation avoidance treaty (DTAT) and many such agreements that the… – Continue reading

Foreign-invested enterprises receive too many tax incentives: survey

VietNamNet Bridge – Recent surveys about the tax policies applied to foreign-invested enterprises (FIEs) show that Vietnamese have become choosier about foreign direct investment (FDI) and FIEs (foreign-invested enterprises). “Do you think that the FIEs in Vietnam are transparent in tax payments?” was one survey question raised by Thoi Bao… – Continue reading

Black money: SC order may impact other tax treaties

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court’s directive on sharing the names of overseas account holders has raised worries about India’s commitment to the confidentiality clause in various tax treaties and may impact remittances from the US. Any move to make the names public without prosecution may hamper signing of the Foreign… – Continue reading

Angry Supreme Court demands black money list TODAY: 800 names could surface as Modi government is accused of protecting the guilty

Furious at what it sees as the Modi government’s flip-flops on the black money issue and selective revelation of names of Indians holding foreign bank accounts, the Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered it to disclose by Wednesday the names of around 800 holders of accounts abroad. A bench led by… – Continue reading

Black money: SIT seeks probe unit, changes in DTAA

In its first report submitted to the Supreme Court, the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on black money has sought an investigation unit, with the Enforcement Directorate as the nodal co-ordinating agency. The court-appointed SIT, headed by retired Supreme Court judges M B Shah and Arijit Pasayat, has made several recommendations… – Continue reading

Panton signs latest global information exchange deal

(CNSBusiness): The Cayman Islands government joined more than 50 countries Wednesday, when it signed the latest agreement to tackle global tax evasion. Wayne Panton, the financial services minister, signed on the dotted line of the OECD’s Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) in Berlin, the latest worldwide standard for automatic exchange… – Continue reading

Chiquita To Merge After Cancelled Inversion With Fyffes

US banana producer and distributor Chiquita has decided to terminate its proposed inversion with its rival Fyffes, in a deal which would have involved moving its tax residence to Ireland, and will instead be acquired. Chiquita’s decision comes after the announcement of non-legislative measures by the US Treasury Department on… – Continue reading