On the day he took office as Greece’s shipping minister in June 2012, Kostis Moussouroulis received a visit from a 90-year-old shipowner. He still remembers the older man’s words: “Don’t forget, the best minister of shipping and maritime affairs is the minister who is doing nothing for the shipping industry…. – Continue reading
Recent developments with regard to CRS (the OECD’s “Common Reporting Standard”) mean that Irish funds need to take steps now to update their application forms and subscription documents. As referred to in Matheson’s November Investment Funds Newsletter, the Irish Finance Bill 2015 contains further provisions putting in place the necessary… – Continue reading
Over 90 jurisdictions have committed to the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), creating comprehensive global automatic information exchange for financial assets and the entities through which such assets may be held. Over 70 jurisdictions have signed the OECD’s Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement, which implements the CRS. The CRS is scheduled… – Continue reading
Guidance published in the Spanish official gazette on 17 November 2015, establishes the requirements: (1) to identify the tax residence of persons holding or controlling certain financial accounts; and (2) to report that information within the context of mutual assistance. Accordingly, Royal Decree 1021/2015 transposes into Spanish domestic law the… – Continue reading
The latest Tax Reform Business Barometer survey, issued by The Tax Council and Ernst & Young, found that tax professionals expect Congress to approve tax reform legislation no earlier than 2017, with most congressional leaders having all but given up hope that tax reform is achievable in the remainder of… – Continue reading
Earlier we already reported that Malta and Curaçao had signed a DTA. When we wrote our earlier article we had not yet been able to locate the text of the DTA. Now however, the English version of the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal… – Continue reading
On July 22 2015, National Treasury released for comment the Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, 2015 (DTLAB 2015), the Draft Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill, 2015 (DTALAB 2015), and related Explanatory Memoranda. Section 9D currently provides for diversionary income rules which seek to impute into the income of South African… – Continue reading
Through tweaks to the Model Tax Convention, the OECD believes its work on profit shifting will stem elaborate structures, such as commissionaire arrangements, used by large multinationals to avoid the creation of a permanent establishment. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, however, responded to concerns from taxpayers by narrowing… – Continue reading
Already from December 1, 2015 come into force provisions requiring all financial institutions calling their clients to make statements about their residence tax (FATCA – Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act). It is the first significant action since records to OPF. FATCA imposes on foreign institutions, including the Polish reporting obligations… – Continue reading
Notice 2015-79—released November 19, 2015, by the Treasury Department and IRS—announces their intention to issue regulations relating to inversion transactions and post-inversion restructuring transactions. Notice 2015-79 provides for rules that: Limit the ability of domestic companies to effect an inversion Limit the advantages of certain post-inversion restructuring transactions Clarify certain… – Continue reading
The Chancellor could target capital gains tax for extra revenue when he delivers his Autumn Statement next week as gains from investors and landlords hit their highest on record in the past financial year, accountants suggest. George Osborne, who will unveil his spending plans for Britain next Wednesday, is under… – Continue reading
This week, the IRS released Notice 2015-79, which describes intended regulations to cover inversions and related transactions. Colloquially, an inversion refers generally to a transaction in which a domestic corporation is acquired by a foreign corporation. I.R.C. §§ 367 and 7874 operate as the anti-inversion rules; § 367 deals with… – Continue reading
The Ministry of Finance issued a regulation with guidance concerning the procedures for the exchange of financial information with other jurisdictions and countries. The “automatic exchange of information” (AEOI) process will allow for the exchange of data to verify and confirm compliance with tax obligations, including information from financial institutions…. – Continue reading
The US Department of the Treasury said that the United States introduced new restrictions to prevent US-based multinationals from restructuring after mergers to establish foreign parent companies in order to avoid paying taxes. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The United States introduced new restrictions to prevent US-based multinationals from restructuring after mergers… – Continue reading
Introduction Facts Decision Introduction The European Court of Justice (ECJ) recently ruled that the system of interim taxation for Austrian private foundations does not comply with EU law.(1) A special feature of private foundations is the so-called ‘interim tax’ – a type of corporate income tax. Pursuant to Section 13(3)… – Continue reading
The European Commission has asked the German Government to amend its inheritance tax (IHT) law after finding that current rules discriminate against those who are not resident in Germany for tax purposes in certain situations. Under German IHT law, a special maintenance allowance is granted to surviving spouses or registered… – Continue reading
Officials from the ministries of finance and economy of five CEE countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia) have called for a joint approach to combat VAT fraud and increase VAT collection in a conference hosted by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Budapest on Thursday. According to the EU Commission data,… – Continue reading
On November 19, 2015 the European Commission published the key decisions of its November infringement package. One of the key decision mentioned is the Commission’s decision to request Germany to bring its inheritance tax rules on special maintenance allowances in line with EU law. According to a press release issued… – Continue reading
Under the Double Taxation Treaties (“DTT“) General Communiqué (Serial No. 3) (published in the Official Gazette dated July 15, 2015 and No.29417); it is stated that in cases where the incomes earned by individuals and legal entities resident in Germany through their professional services in Turkey are taxed through withholding… – Continue reading
Darion Pohl, chief executive of Prism Xpat provides an expert view on the factors an adviser needs to take into account when considering a defined-benefit pension transfer to a recognised overseas pension scheme for a UK retiree planning to retire overseas. This follows the introduction of the UK pension reforms… – Continue reading
If statistics are anything to go by, today India is the world’s fastest growing economy at 7.3% in 2015, outstripping the global average of 3.1%. With a new government in the centre, we do seem to be riding high on the growth trajectory. The Modi government has certainly done its… – Continue reading
Online accommodation platform, Airbnb, appeared before the Senate Inqury into the tax avoidance of multinational companies on Wednesday, with the ANZ manager arguing the startup brings a significant amount of money into the economy. Airbnb has found itself in the spotlight on Wednesday, when a Senate inquiry into the tax… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON—The U.S. Treasury Department will release new “targeted guidance” this week designed to reduce the tax benefits available to U.S. companies that move their tax addresses overseas. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew informed lawmakers of the coming announcement in a letter on Wednesday, which provided no details on its intentions. The… – Continue reading
BearingPoint’s FiTAX catches on while a FATCA critic says that more Americans are renouncing their citizenship because of the controversial tax law. While controversy swirls around the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), management and technology consultancy BearingPoint reports that between March and August 2015, more than 2,000 financial institutions… – Continue reading
On November 10th 2015, the European Council announced that the EU Savings Directive 2003/48/EC (EUSD) has been repealed in order to eliminate the overlap with other legislation developed in the aspect of preventing measures of tax evasion. Brief Background The 2003 EUSD, which originally came into effect on 1 July… – Continue reading
New Zealand introduced a tax bill on November 16, 2015, for a new withholding tax on sales of residential property by people who live overseas and go on to sell the property within two years of purchase. The proposed measure is the third part of the Government’s investment property tax… – Continue reading
Across the globe, base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) is making headlines and drawing the attention of not only governments and tax authorities but also non-government organizations, activists, lobbyists and the general public. As the public debate has spread to the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, the focus now centers… – Continue reading
The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) impacts Irish funds from 1 January 2016. The CRS framework represents a globally coordinated approach to the disclosure of income earned by individuals and organisations in order to combat tax evasion. It emerged from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in February 2014… – Continue reading
Recently, the Internal Revenue Service announced the exchange of financial account information with certain foreign tax administrations as the next step in efforts to combat offshore tax evasion. This is a significant portion of the IRS’s efforts to enforce FATCA, the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, which was enacted in… – Continue reading
As at least the first phase of the OECD’s BEPS project1 wound down with the October release of the “final” BEPS deliverables, questions remained regarding how much of the recommended changes would be implemented in the United States in the near term. Because many of the recommendations require legislative changes… – Continue reading
The Mumbai Bench of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal held that an Assessing Officer cannot “mechanically” refer a taxpayer’s international transactions to a Transfer Pricing Officer for a determination of the arm’s length price, but must first independently conclude that the taxpayer did not determine the arm’s length price or did… – Continue reading
The top 20% of income earners would have been rudely surprised when Budget 2016 was unveiled. The budget proposed to increase the tax rate for those with a chargeable income of RM600,001 to RM1 million to 26% from 25% previously, and for those with chargeable income exceeding RM1 million to… – Continue reading
Some time ago we wrote an article on the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (‘FATCA’) which says that although the FATCA tentacles are fairly intrusive, at the end of the day, it represents just another form for tax payers to complete. Rather to my surprise this article elicited a threat… – Continue reading
Introduction On September 30 2015 Her Majesty’s Treasury published its long-awaited consultation on two of three proposed changes to the taxation of individuals domiciled outside the United Kingdom. The three measures – announced by Chancellor George Osborne in the 2015 Summer Budget published on July 8 – are intended to… – Continue reading
Irish corporation tax returns are behaving oddly: the Department of Finance estimates that they are running €2 billion (74 percent) ahead of forecast for the year. Economist Seamus Coffey has described these figures as “very strange”. Coincidentally (or perhaps not) the global accounts of the Apple corporation revealed an increase… – Continue reading
The “heads up” for Reporting Financial Institutions on foreign investors’ limited voluntary disclosure opportunities Nearly one hundred jurisdictions (Participating Jurisdictions) have already committed to participate in the CRS promulgated by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Most of them have committed to be “early adopters” of the CRS… – Continue reading
Austria’s legislative implementation of the common reporting standard (CRS) requires the exchange of information beginning in 2018 (instead of 2017 as in most EU Member States). DUE DILIGENCE Austria has voluntarily agreed to apply the new financial account “due diligence” requirement for accounts opened on or after 1 October 2016,… – Continue reading
Clare Maurice, Arabella Murphy and Sophie Mazzier, Maurice Turnor Gardner LLP For better or worse, the concept of “fairness” is here to stay in relation to taxation, whether domestic or international. Politicians of all persuasions like to insist that their respective policies will ensure that everyone pays his or her… – Continue reading
In this edition we also include the leading trustees, private bankers and accountants serving the private client industry. RBC Wealth Management leads our research in trust and advisory services with an impressive 18 names recommended. Alan Binnington specialises in establishing and administering trust and fiduciary structures for high net worth… – Continue reading
The Council of European Union has revoked Directive 2003/48/EC, which has allowed tax administrations better access to information on private savers since 2005. By revoking the directive, which is part of a tax transparency package presented by the Commission in March this year, the Council says it strengthens measures to… – Continue reading
Article by Patrick W Martin and Ashley Fife With a net worth of USD77.1 billion, Mexican telecoms businessman Carlos Slim Helú was ranked the second richest person in the world in a 2015 survey.1 At the end of 2014, 16 of Mexico’s citizens were on Forbes’ billionaires list.2 As for… – Continue reading
The chief executive of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations unambiguously condemned the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act in a recent series of comments. deVere Group CEO Nigel Green likened the act, which went into effect in July 2014, to a “masterclass in fiscal imperialism and the… – Continue reading
The UK is one of several countries to introduce voluntary disclosure schemes. More people are coming forward to regularise their affairs as they realise there is nowhere left to hide in this new world of tax transparency. Tax authorities and financial institutions are gearing up for the new automatic exchange… – Continue reading
Millions more Greeks need to start paying taxes says OECD boss, as Athens likely to fall short in bid to secure €2bn cash injection this week Greece is battling to secure the release of €2bn in bail-out cash as one of the world’s foremost tax chiefs has warned the country… – Continue reading
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has issued an interpretation note to provide guidance on the term “place of effective management” for the purposes of determining the tax residence of a company in South Africa. SARS notes that, in general, a resident is liable to income tax on gross income… – Continue reading
In Canada, taxes are levied at the federal, provincial and municipal levels of government. At the federal level, the government generates most of its revenue by way of income taxes and excise taxes imposed on the distribution and consumption of goods and services in Canada. The provinces and territories also… – Continue reading
Buying a property overseas is an exciting venture, but also one that requires careful financial consideration. To help ease the process, Chris White, Founding Director of boutique estate agency Ideal Homes Portugal, has compiled his top tax tips for buying property in Portugal. Portugal has been called ‘Europe’s best kept… – Continue reading
LOS ANGELES—A recent report estimates that foreign investors are on track to spend more than $70 billion on US commercial real estate in 2015. And another report says that nearly a quarter of all recent commercial real property sales in its survey involved offshore investors. “Foreign investment in U.S. real… – Continue reading
The Swiss Federal Council has adopted dispatches on a new double tax agreement (DTA) with Liechtenstein and a protocol to the agreement with Norway. The DTA with Liechtenstein was signed on July 10, 2015. It replaces the existing 1995 treaty. The agreement provides that old age and survivors’ insurance (AHV)… – Continue reading
Indians nowadays are increasingly buying properties overseas, particularly in London, New York, Singapore and Dubai. It is critical for them to study foreign exchange regulations and tax provisions of the relevant country as well as India before they make buying decisions. Some of the important aspects to be noted in… – Continue reading
