As significant changes take effect with pensions, offshore tax evasion and property, 2015 looks like it will be an interesting year. However, there are still opportunities to be found despite the ongoing upheaval. As we all start a fresh new year, many advisers will be starting to think about the… – Continue reading
Introduction Malta is increasingly becoming a financial services centre of repute looked at by a number of financial services operators as the ideal platform to set up their private pension schemes. Malta’s success is attributable to the flexible and prudent manner in which the industry is regulated, providing the desired… – Continue reading
The German Fiscal Code provides for the possibility of a voluntary self-disclosure of tax evasion. Taxpayers are able to correct or complete their own incorrect tax returns or furnish relevant information previously omitted. In such cases, the taxpayer will be exempt from criminal prosecution for tax evasion in respect of… – Continue reading
Potential impact on American citizens and Israeli citizens living in the United States should not be ignored January 14, 2015, St. Louis, Missouri…A historic agreement between Israel’s second-largest bank and the United States government could lead to substantial financial penalties or even potential criminal prosecution for United States citizens and… – Continue reading
Ireland: The Department of Finance will publish a consultation document Wednesday on the proposed ‘knowledge box’ patent tax regime that will be enacted in replacement of the Double Dutch tax avoidance scheme. Late last year Department officials hinted that a 5% rate was under discussion to match the Dutch rate…. – Continue reading
On October 14 2014, Ireland’s Minister for Finance (the Minister) announced changes to Ireland’s corporate residence rules. Following much speculation, the Minister confirmed that Ireland would change its rules to restrict the ability of Irish incorporated companies to be treated as non-Irish resident. Under existing Irish law, an Irish incorporated… – Continue reading
From Premier International Tax Library With the publication in September of Notice 2014-52, the IRS has made it extremely difficult for any foreign corporation that is not primarily engaged in an active business to acquire a U.S. business in exchange for its stock without risking being transformed into a U.S…. – Continue reading
Barbados appears to be moving into full financial information-sharing mode as the world’s most powerful countries put their foot down on tax evasion. It is already known that last November Government signed an Inter Governmental Agreement with the United States (US) to exchange information on their citizens who have thousands… – Continue reading
As the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) passes the halfway point in its joint project with the G20 to address base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) concerns, it is worth pausing to examine what the consequences of some of the proposed changes may be. Much of the focus… – Continue reading
IN A PREVIOUS column (http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Economy&title=the-oecd-action-plan-on-base-erosion-and-profit-shifting&id=99561), we wrote about the general framework of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative, why addressing BEPS is a key priority for many governments across the globe, and the 15-point BEPS Action Plan drafted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The… – Continue reading
The conditions for becoming tax-resident and tax non-resident vary from country to country and depend on such things as length of stay, type of accommodation, location of family, and nationality. In most tax systems, presence of an individual in a country for 183 days or more in any 12-month period… – Continue reading
Swiss banks are training their crosshairs on Israeli customers. Legal sources said that in the past two weeks, the large banks in Switzerland have begun sending many queries to their Israeli customers demanding confirmation either that the assets deposited with the banks were reported to the Israeli tax authorities, or… – Continue reading
You may have heard in the news about Boris Johnson. He’s a flamboyant politician in the U.K. with an unruly mop of blonde hair. Recently, he made news by publicly saying he absolutely won’t pay his U.S. taxes. And yes, he is the mayor of London (the “real” London, where… – Continue reading
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles publicly denied a media report saying it was thinking about moving the tax residence of its Ferrari luxury sports car division outside Italy. “These rumors have no grounds,” FCA said in a company statement. “There is no intention to move the tax residence of Ferrari SpA outside… – Continue reading
While the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) has focused worldwide attention on U.S. efforts to create a mandatory cross-border exchange of tax information, the enactment of FATCA was not an isolated occurrence. For more than a decade, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has been trying to… – Continue reading
Even Father Christmas should make sure he’s not inadvertently hiding anything from the US tax authorities, says Sophie Mazzier We all risk becoming a little preoccupied with counting at this time of year, don’t we? Actually, with both counting and deadlines. If it isn’t opening those 24 doors on the… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON, D.C. (WDAM) – This is a news release from the U.S. Senate Finance Committee In a new policy paper, Republican staff of the Senate Finance Committee have proposed major changes to the way the United States taxes its citizens overseas. According to the report, “The United States needs to… – Continue reading
MotoGP champion Marc Marquez hit hard by criticism of a planned move to Andorra, will continue to pay tax in Spain. MotoGP champion Marc Marquez gave an emotional response to the criticism he has received within Spain over a reported move to Andorra. Speaking during Friday’s preview for the Superprestigio… – Continue reading
This Alert provides more details on the most significant measures contained in the draft Finance Bill. Draft clauses of the UK Finance Bill 2015 were published on 10 December 2014. They will now be the subject of consultation until 4 February 2015. This Alert provides more details on the most… – Continue reading
Non-resident UK homeowners that have spent less than 90 days in their UK property in the previous tax year will be liable to pay capital gains tax (CGT) on any gains when they sell that property from next year, the UK government has confirmed.02 Dec 2014 Private wealth tax Tax… – Continue reading
Ireland has knocked the UK off the top spot as the most competitive tax destination, according to KPMG’s annual survey of Britain’s largest businesses However, the UK has increased the number of times it is mentioned in the companies’ top three competitive tax regimes. The KPMG Annual Survey of Tax… – 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
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
A publication in the Economic Times has caused much debate in India since after blacklisting Cyprus for not sharing information on tax evaders, India is now looking to take away the favourable tax treatment available to investors from the European tax heaven under the bilateral tax treaty between the two… – Continue reading
ITR Correspondent In an effort to provide taxpayers with an integrated procedural framework for the negotiation of advance pricing agreements (APAs), the Greek Ministry of Finance recently released template application forms for both preliminary consultations and formal negotiations, as well as additional guidelines on the overall APA procedure. The forms… – Continue reading
Expats have a range of choices – so how do they find a safe home for their assets? The traditional use of offshore centres as a way of enabling better tax planning – and even tax evasion – has all but fallen away. An increasing desire for countries to share… – Continue reading
Proposals to extend capital gains and investment income tax exemptions under Portugal’s Non-Habitual Residents Tax Regime have not been passed, say government officials It seems that the Portuguese government has shelved plans, at least for 2015, to extend capital gains and investment income taxation exemptions. However, officials say they are… – Continue reading
Only a third of financial institutions now believe that their FATCA compliance efforts will now be completed within budget, according to a new survey by Thomson Reuters. Undermining the costs involved appears to be a common problem, with 27% of organisations surveyed saying that they expect their FATCA compliance spend… – Continue reading
Delhi Tribunal holds that the mere fact that one of the steps in a transaction resulted in capital loss for the taxpayer would not make the series of transactions a sham. Karnataka High Court holds that shares bought at a premium, and sold at a lower value to individuals (ex-employees… – Continue reading
Being a non-UK resident can offer certain tax advantages however new regulation around capital gains tax proposed to take effect next year, may have implications for non-residents when they dispose of a residential property as Kirstie Carr of Mogers Drewett explains. Capital gains tax (CGT) is a tax which applies… – Continue reading
ICC has expressed concern that the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Action Plan on combating Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”), mandated by the G20, may inadvertently incur severe collateral damage on compliant taxpaying companies of all sizes as a result of well-meaning measures undertaken unilaterally by states… – Continue reading
Noonan makes no reference to Irish Water charges or tax credits in Finance Bill speech Abolition of the “double Irish” corporate structure will not bring an end to “international tax planning”, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has said. The change would, however, “address the reality that Ireland’s company tax residence… – Continue reading
The taxation of a person is based on two principles: Source and Residence. A person for tax purposes includes an individual, trust, company, partnership and any form of business arrangement one chooses to take on. It should be noted that with globalisation, there is a constant mix of these two… – Continue reading
PARIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–On September 2, 2014, under the aegis of the President of the Commercial Court of Paris, LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton (“LVMH”) and Hermès International (“Hermès”) entered into a settlement agreement (the “Settlement Agreement”) aimed at restoring a climate of positive relations between them. “Communiqué – Distribution exceptionnelle… – Continue reading
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
Medical device companies Wright Medical Group Inc. and Tornier NV have agreed to merge in an all stock USD3.3bn transaction that will involve the transfer of Wright’s tax domicile from the US to the Netherlands. Wright’s deal with Tornier is one of the few corporate tax inversions that have been… – Continue reading
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
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
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
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
The US policy is different. Moving away from the homeland doesn’t mean you are free from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). You are required to file your US tax returns every year, report your worldwide income to the IRS and pay any tax imposed by the US tax laws. Since… – Continue reading
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
New CIBC report offers tax tips for U.S. vacation properties TORONTO, Oct. 28, 2014 /CNW/ – CIBC (TSX: CM) (NYSE: CM) – As Canadians look to take advantage of low U.S. house prices to buy vacation homes and escape the chill of winter, a new report by Jamie Golombek, CIBC’s… – Continue reading
October 27: The IRS today announced that a new “frequently asked question” (FAQ) has been posted with information concerning a search for the name and GIIN of a branch on the foreign financial institution (FFI) list. The new FAQ is posted under the “Branch/Disregarded Entity” category of topics on the… – Continue reading
Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan has published the 2014 Finance Bill, which gives effect to the tax reforms announced in his Budget and introduces a number of new anti-avoidance measures. Noonan’s October 14 Budget included plans to reduce the marginal tax rate from 52 percent to 51 percent, through a… – Continue reading
The Treasury Department has spent millions of dollars on federal contracts for companies that have shifted their legal address abroad, even as the Obama administration pushes to rein in the practice. Just last month, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew moved to limit the appeal of those tax deals, known as inversions,… – Continue reading
With the announced end of banking secrecy for non-residents, the time has come to make use of favourable repatriation schemes, such as the voluntary disclosure regime in Italy. Despite increasing pressure for fiscal transparency and exchange of information, beneficial owners still have a choice: move the capital out (of Luxembourg),… – Continue reading
On October 14, 2014, the Irish Minister for Finance released proposals as part of the 2015 Irish Budget that would cause Irish incorporated non-resident (“INR”) companies to be treated as tax resident in Ireland beginning January 1, 2015. The goal is to shut down the use of so-called “Double Irish”… – Continue reading
Move intended to make Ireland more attractive to firms wanting to bring key decision makers The Government is to relax the rules governing a special tax incentive scheme to attract foreign executives into Ireland after just 31 individuals availed of the scheme last year. The move, contained in the Finance… – Continue reading
Measures to ensure people who are not on social welfare or paying tax get relief on water charges will be brought forward at the committee stage of the Finance Bill, the Finance Minister has said. This follows controversy when it emerged that thousands of people would not be able to… – Continue reading
