Category: Residency

Singapore Goes The Mauritius Route, Loses Right To Tax Equity Capital Gains Arising In India

Starting April 1, 2017, India will have the right to tax capital gains arising on Indian equity shares sold by a Singapore resident. The governments of India and Singapore have amended the double taxation avoidance treaty between the two countries, in line with the changes India recently made to a… – Continue reading

Black money across the border: Why Pakistan’s elite are quivering as UAE demands tax information

According to unofficial estimates, more than $2 billion has flowed into Dubai real estate from Pakistanis every year for the past three years. Last week, account holders in a major UAE bank began receiving letters alerting them that soon they would be required to furnish information “with a view to… – Continue reading

Italy to target non-doms with new tax regime

Italy is to introduce a remittance-style tax regime aimed at attracting non-domiciled high net worth residents, just as the UK makes its rules in this area less attractive post the Brexit vote. The new measure in Italy’s Finance Bill for 2017 was approved by parliament last week, before its prime… – Continue reading

Double taxation: Ecuador, Italy sign agreement to foster private investements

Ecuador signed an agreement with Italy to define the tax obligations of the citizens of the two countries, in order to avoid double taxation on income taxes and equity and prevent tax evasion, the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry said. “This protocol modifies the agreement signed in Ecuador and Italy in 1984… – Continue reading

Kazakhstan Amends Its Tax Code

General On 30 November 2016, Kazakhstan adopted certain amendments to its Tax Code (the Tax Amendments). Most of the Tax Amendments take effect on 1 January 2017. Below we summarize some of the most important Tax Amendments: VAT Registration Threshold Under the Tax Amendments, the existing VAT registration threshold (i.e.,… – Continue reading

Ukraine: Tax Residency Status: Issues To Consider When Moving Abroad

Recent social and economic developments have had a powerful impact on many Ukrainian citizens and businesses and have led them to look for a better life beyond the borders of Ukraine. Obviously, Ukrainians moving abroad is not something new. Periods of economic crisis in almost every state are usually accompanied… – Continue reading

Italy: Italy Set To Introduce A Territorial System Of Taxation

Italy is considering a proposal to introduce a territorial system of taxation to attract high net worth individuals, including successful individuals in the sports, arts, and fashion and design sectors, who could be interested in moving to Italy to take part in these thriving sectors. The new measure is contained… – Continue reading

Implementation of Common Reporting Standard in Hong Kong – Implications for Family Trust with a Private Trust Company as Trustee

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Information in Tax Matters (Standard for AEOI) in July 2014, which aims to prevent offshore tax evasion and maintain the integrity of tax systems. Over 100 jurisdictions have committed to comply with the Standard… – Continue reading

U.K. Seeks to Incorporate Nonresident Companies Into Tax Regime

The U.K. government said it would investigate bringing nonresident companies’ income into the country’s corporation tax regime. The consultation on the move is expected to begin at Budget 2017 in March, the Treasury said in its Autumn Statement Nov. 23. “The government wants to deliver equal tax treatment to ensure… – Continue reading

Trump’s Corporate Tax Reforms: What CFOs Need to Know

While Trump wants to close loopholes, many of them stem from public policy concerns — not “special interests.” After a dramatic upset victory in one of the most bitterly contested presidential races in recent history, Donald Trump now has some serious work to do. His corporate tax policies—which are vital… – Continue reading

Multinationals still able to use ‘double Irish’ tax arrangement after 2020

Multinational companies will still be able to use the controversial “double Irish” tax arrangement after the final end date of 2020, Sinn Féin MEP Matt Carthy has said. A number of tax experts have confirmed this is the case, though they have disputed whether the terms of which they will… – Continue reading

German finance minister plans to clamp down on offshore firms with new draft law

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble wants to force Germans to disclose their dealings with offshore firms in tax havens and make banks liable for lost tax income if they conceal their clients’ business with such firms, a draft law shows. Tax havens were thrown into the limelight in April when… – Continue reading

Hong Kong to commence automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters with Japan and UK in 2018

Hong Kong has signed agreements with Japan and the United Kingdom with a view to commencing automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters (AEOI) with these two tax jurisdictions in 2018, a Government spokesman said today (October 26). In September 2014, Hong Kong indicated its support for the… – Continue reading

Ireland braced for new EU corporate tax plan

A new EU corporate tax proposal could fundamentally change how multinationals pay their tax bills in Ireland. It comes at a sensitive time for the State, following so closely after the commission ruled phone giant Apple tapped illegal tax breaks worth around €13bn. In proposals to be unveiled tomorrow, the… – Continue reading

Ecuador a Step Closer to Ending Politicians’ Use of Tax Havens

Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa wants the country to consider a novel approach to limit the use of tax havens: preventing politicians from using them. Accompanied by leaders from social movements and political allies, Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa made the case before the constitutional court for a plebiscite to give lawmakers… – Continue reading

EU Finance Ministers to Target Tax Advisers, Protect Whistle-Blowers

Tough rules to regulate tax advisers, banks and lawyers who help companies avoid tax are set to be advanced by European Union finance ministers. The Council of Economic and Financial Affairs Oct. 11 also will likely move toward a system of automatic exchange of beneficial ownership registers to better target… – Continue reading

Push for EU mandatory disclosure of tax avoidance schemes

Slovakia, the current president of the EU council, challenges finance ministers from all the EU member states to introduce mandatory disclosure rules for intermediaries including accountants who seek to profit from the promotion, design or implementation of tax avoidance schemes The proposals were outlined in a ‘presidency issues’ note presented… – Continue reading

EU anti-tax avoidance directive: Measures to be introduced aimed at curbing abuse

The European Union’s Anti-Avoidance Directive, which has to be put into national legislation by 2019,is aimed at plugging loop-holes in tax systems which allow large corporations to legally avoid paying tax. While Malta has been criticised for offering competitive tax rates, despite the openness and uniformity of such competitive rates,… – Continue reading

Tax conundrum for Indian-focused offshore private equity funds

Foreign private equity investors typically set up offshore pooling vehicles for routing investments into India, which offer them twin advantages of ease of administration and single window compliance with the Indian regulatory regime. Setting up such pooling vehicles in a tax favourable jurisdiction ensures that the interposition of the pooling… – Continue reading

Double Taxation Avoidance Bill passes second reading at House of Reps

The quest by the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to improve the ease of doing business in Nigeria and diversify the nation’s economy on Wednesday received a boost. This followed the passage of “a Bill for an Act to Provide for the Domestication and Enforcement in Nigeria of the Avoidance of… – Continue reading

Mauritius pact: A laudable reform

Last month the government announced an amendment to the Double Tax Avoidance Agreement between India and Mauritius. The DTAA was signed between the two countries in August 1982 and notified in December 1983. For the past thirty-three years it has been a key factor affecting foreign investment flows into India…. – Continue reading

EU finance ministers fail to agree on anti tax avoidance directive

The EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) has been unable to reach agreement on the European Commission’s proposed anti tax avoidance directive. The issue has therefore been postponed until the next ECOFIN meeting in June. The European Commission announced its proposed anti-tax avoidance directive (ATAD) in January. The proposed… – Continue reading

U.S. non-participation in the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) will be a challenge

The U.S. is under international criticism because under its Intergovernmental Agreement (known as IGA) reciprocal exchange accords, the U.S. has already transmitted information on those who are tax residents outside the U.S. to respective national tax authorities under the IGA. The spotlight is on the U.S. because the U.S. has… – Continue reading

GAAR to override bilateral tax treaty provisions: Official

New Delhi, May 11 (IANS) Following the revision of India’s bilateral tax treaty with Mauritius, the government on Wednesday said the General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR ) provisions, with effect from April next year, will override the Double TaxationAvoidance Agreement (DTAA) in case of abuse. “GAAR being anti-abuse provision can prevail… – Continue reading

Residence-Based Taxation Put Forward For Americans Abroad

With regard to the increasing talk in the US Congress on tax reform, American Citizens Abroad (ACA) has provided the House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee with a full reform proposal for the enactment of residence-based taxation (RBT) for American expatriates. ACA has said lawmakers should enact RBT instead… – Continue reading

Liberia: Africa’s unknown tax haven with much to lose

As world leaders consider what to do about the revelations emerging from the Panama Papers, Liberia’s government will be worrying about the fall-out that may cross the Atlantic Ocean from the affair. The European Union has announced it will be creating a new “tax haven blacklist”, to be released by… – Continue reading

Cayman Islands Automatic Exchange of Information Update – April 2016

FATCA Notification and Reporting Deadlines Extended The Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Cooperation (“DITC”) has issued an industry advisory advising that it will be adopting a soft approach to the upcoming 30 April notification deadline for US and UK FATCA and 31 May reporting deadline for both US and… – Continue reading

EU Warns Multinationals: Stop Shifting Revenues to Tax Havens

Their tax avoidance is costing EU countries an estimated $80 billion per year. Multinational companies must pay taxes where they earn profits and stop using aggressive tax optimization schemes, the European Union’s Economics Commissioner Pierre Moscovici said on Monday. Moscovi told French radio RTL that the EU had to put… – Continue reading

All you need to know about FATCA compliance

With increasing number of people from multiple countries investing in India and vice versa, there is a need to have a system that could track all such financial transactions in a transparent manner. With increasing number of people from multiple countries investing in India and vice versa, there is a… – Continue reading

Where next for Corporation Tax?

The amount of tax multinational companies pay – and the amount they don’t pay – has become highly controversial, writes RTÉ’s Economics Correspondent Sean Whelan. This is mainly as a result of public outrage over legal tax avoidance schemes that big companies can use to shelter vast amounts of money… – Continue reading

Dutch Presidency releases BEPS Roadmap

Following the release of the anti-tax-avoidance (ATA) package on January 28, 2016 by the European Commission, the Dutch Presidency of the Council of the European Union presented an EU-Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Roadmap (the Roadmap) to the Members of the High Level Working Party on Tax issues. The… – Continue reading

Budget 2016: Foreign investors seek a non-adversarial and stable tax regime

Is India back on the world map as a lucrative investment jurisdiction? Does the world see the Make in India dream becoming a reality? Well, the $222 billion investment pledges received during the Make in India week do resonate the revived positive sentiment! In fact, recent policy measures have clearly… – Continue reading

Govt seeks feedback on NZ implementation of OECD, G20 push to ‘end banking secrecy as we have known it’

The Government has released an issues paper on New Zealand’s implementation of an OECD initiative the OECD claims will “end banking secrecy as we have known it.” The OECD’s Automatic Exchange Of Information (AEOI) initiative is setting a global standard for sharing information between countries with the aim of reducing… – Continue reading

A New Set of Amendments to the Russian CFC and Beneficial Ownership Rules

On February 15, 2016, the President of the Russian Federation signed Federal Law No. 32-FZ “On Amendments to the First and Second Parts of the Russian Tax Code (with Respect to the Taxation of Controlled Foreign Companies and the Income of Foreign Organizations)”, introducing a new set of amendments to… – Continue reading

States Targeting Snowbirds Fleeing to Tax-Friendlier Climates

Wealthy taxpayers who split time between states should be prepared to prove where their true home lies. You’re lounging by the pool of your second home in Florida, chuckling as you think of your friends back home braving the blizzard in Massachusetts. And you’re musing: Perhaps it’s time to escape… – Continue reading

For tax evaders tax amnesty could be bad news and good news

The push for a tax amnesty has attracted a fair amount of criticism and even rebuke from analysts, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank and even the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Yustinus Prastowo, a respectable tax analyst, went so far as… – Continue reading

Canada: For Tax Purposes, Do You Know Where You Live?

In tax law, the concept of residency is used to determine tax liability based on whether there is a sufficient connection between an individual or legally recognized entity and a jurisdiction such that the jurisdiction is justified in taxing such individual or legally recognized entity on their worldwide income. Generally,… – Continue reading

Canada: Tax Withholding Obligations Of Non-Resident Employers: Further Exemption Details Released

In its 2015 Budget, the Canadian federal government announced its intention to exempt “certified” non-resident employers from the obligation to withhold and remit income tax in respect of certain employees that perform duties in Canada. The Canada Revenue Agency (the “CRA“) recently released the application form that a non-resident employer… – Continue reading

Canada: Taiwan – Canada Tax Arrangement Released

On January 15, 2016, Canada and Taiwan entered into an “Arrangement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income” (the “Arrangement“). The Arrangement will apply to amounts paid or taxation years beginning after January 1 of the year following the… – Continue reading

If you are looking for tax-free residency or citizenship, consider these countries

The UAE is one of the few places in the world where expats can live, earn and keep those well-earned dirhams, as income tax is still not in sight. This benefit has earned the country many rankings as one of the best immigration destinations in the world. Apart from good… – Continue reading

Redomiciliation of foreign companies

The redomiciliation of companies (ie, movement of a company incorporated in one jurisdiction to another, retaining its legal character) is not recognised under Chilean law. This means that in order to move to Chile, a foreign company must establish a branch or create a subsidiary there. It cannot move its… – Continue reading

Implementation of POEM rules may hit investments

The implementation of place of effective management (POEM) rules in the current scenario in India could not only hurt the nation’s outbound investments, but also discourage overseas multinational companies from setting up their regional hubs here, feel industry watchers. The draft guidelines for implementing POEM, which was released on December… – Continue reading

British Virgin Islands: Adoption Of The OECD Common Reporting Standard In The British Virgin Islands

On 1st January 2016, an amendment to the Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) Act, 2003 came into force which implements the Organisation for Economic Co-Operating and Development (OECD) Common Reporting Standard for the exchange of tax information (CRS) in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Globally this means that participating jurisdictions… – Continue reading

Expat eyes drift offshore

Offshore Financial Centres (OFCs) are jurisdictions, usually self-governing, which because of their low tax regimes, have specialized in providing commercial services to corporations and individuals, whether or not they are normally resident in that jurisdiction. The better-known offshore financial centres are small and sparsely populated countries or islands, and are… – Continue reading

BVI Enacts Legislation Implementing OECD Common Reporting Standard

The government of the British Virgin Islands (“BVI“) has amended the Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) Act, 2003 in order to enact domestic legislation implementing the OECD Common Reporting Standard (“CRS“) which was published on 31 December 2015 (the “BVI CRS Legislation“). It is not currently intended to issue guidance… – Continue reading

British Virgin Islands: BVI Adopts Legislation To Implement The OECD Common Reporting Standard

The BVI has passed legislation to implement the Organisation for Economic Co-Operating and Development (OECD) Common Reporting Standard for the exchange of tax information (CRS). The amendments to the Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) Act, 2003, which implement CRS in the BVI, will come into force on 1 January 2016…. – Continue reading