Representatives from the tax authorities of Cambodia and Thailand have agreed in principle to speed up a proposed double taxation agreement that would protect their nationals from dual taxation and encourage bilateral investment. The agreement was made last week during a two-day consultation workshop in Bangkok for tax officials from...
India has participated in the global joint task force meet to discuss with countries information exchange as it looks to pursue work on the Panama Papers, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. The Joint International Taskforce on Shared Intelligence and Collaboration (JITSIC) meeting was reconvened in Paris in the last...
TEHRAN – A Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) was signed between Iran and Kenya during the visit of an Iranian trade delegation to the African country. According to the Public Relations Department of Iran’s Trade Promotion Organization (TPO), the agreement was signed by the Iranian ambassador to Kenya Hadi Farajvand,...
The UAE Ministry of Finance (MoF) signed a final agreement for the avoidance of double taxation with the Republic of Cameroon at the Ministry’s premises in Dubai today. The agreement comes in line with the ministry’s strategy to strengthen bilateral trade and economic relations between the two countries, in order...
The National Assembly of Ecuador endorsed the agreement on cooperation in taxation with Belarus by a majority vote. The document is meant to avoid double taxation and prevent property and real estate tax evasion. The agreement was endorsed by the Belarusian and Ecuadorian governments in 2016. The Special Permanent Commission...
Irish Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has explained the country’s approach to tax evasion during a hearing of the European Parliament’s PANA Committee, and said Ireland is “a strong supporter of international tax reform efforts.” Donohoe was one of several European finance ministers who appeared before the committee on July 11....
The Government of the Netherlands has announced that it has concluded an agreement with Indonesia on the taxation of investment funds. The Dutch Ministry of Finance announced on July 11 that the new competent authority agreement was signed by the two sides on June 23, 2017. The agreement clarifies the...
Switzerland and France have smoothed over concerns which had blocked the exchange of tax data between the two countries, a boost to French efforts to pursue cash hidden from the taxman. The way in which data sent over by Switzerland was used in a French legal case involving UBS (UBSG.S),...
Move to maximise revenue collections this fiscal The Income-Tax Department is likely to monitor transactions by e-commerce firms in the coming year to maximise revenue collections including those from the equalisation levy. This is part of the enforcement strategy in the Central Board of Director Taxes (CBDT) action plan for...
Mauritius has signed the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI). Once ratified, the MLI will affect as many as 23 tax treaties entered into by this island nation, which has been an important jurisdiction for routing investments into India. Interestingly,...
On June 28, 2017, the Swiss Federal Council adopted the dispatch on a revised double taxation agreement with Latvia and submitted it to Parliament for approval. A protocol to revise the agreement was signed by the two countries in November 2016. The revised agreement contains an anti-abuse clause in line...
New Zealand has updated its double tax agreement with Hong Kong to allow for the automatic exchange of information in tax matters between the two jurisdictions. Once in force, the updated double tax treaty will require both Hong Kong and New Zealand to automatically exchange tax information with each other,...
Ghana signed another Double Tax Agreement (DTA) with the Czech Republic on 11 April, 2017. Ghana already has DTAs in force with Denmark, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Italy, South Africa, Switzerland, Netherlands, France and Germany. DTAs with Mauritius, Singapore and the Czech Republic are in the process of being ratified...
The Australian Taxation Office has reversed its stance on the tax treatment of trustee dividend-equivalent payments to participants in employee share schemes. The ATO’s June 8 draft guidance, Draft determination TD 2017/D2, deals with circumstances in which an employer establishes a trust to provide shares to employees under an employee...
The Government of Australia has announced it is taking steps to become a global financial services leader by loosening a number of policy standards. One includes removing the double tax that currently implemented on digital currencies. The Australian Government has announced it will no longer be imposing a double tax...
Nigeria has ratified multilateral conventions on tax related treaties to end profit shifting and tax evasion by multinational companies. The ratification of the treaties Wednesday followed the approval of a memo submitted by the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, who said this was part of government’s plan to widen its...
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) announced on Tuesday that Botswana has joined the Inclusive Framework on base erosion profit shifting (BEPS) becoming the framework’s 99th member.The Inclusive Framework on BEPS is a group of countries that have pledged to implement measures designed by OECD and G20 countries...
BISHKEK (TCA) — On June 13, the first Double Taxation Agreement was signed between the Kyrgyz Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland by British Ambassador Robin Ord-Smith and Kyrgyz Minister of Economy Arzybek Kojoshev, the British Embassy in Bishkek said. This Double Taxation Agreement represents...
The OECD is seeking taxpayers’ input on the mutual agreement procedure (MAP) frameworks in place in the third batch of countries that will now be peer reviewed under Action 14 of the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting Action Plan: the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Korea, Norway, Poland, Singapore, and...
In a meeting with Iran’s foreign minister in Tehran on Sunday, Schelling said he has visited Iran with the purpose of boosting bilateral economic and financial relations. Voicing Austria’s eagerness to develop joint training programs with Iran in the banking industry, Schelling hoped he would nail down investment deals and...
Effects on Cayman to be relatively benign Ministers and high-level officials from more than 60 countries and jurisdictions on Wednesday are to sign a multilateral convention to reduce the opportunity for tax avoidance by multinational enterprises. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, which developed the convention, said the signing...
Tax experts have highlighted the increasing importance of substance in the fund management sector in view of the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project recommendations. The OECD’s recommendations, among other things, aim to realign taxation with economic substance and value creation, while preventing double taxation. Speaking at the...
THE Philippines and Mexico have discussed new ways to further improve trade and investment cooperation, and avoid incidents of double taxation, the Department of Finance (DoF) said. A recent meeting between Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd and Mexican Ambassador to Manila Julio Camarena Villaseñor focused on Mexico’s concerns regarding a...
Russia will sign the OECD’s Multilateral Convention to implement tax treaty-related measures to prevent base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), the Government announced on May 20. The Convention, developed by the OECD under Action 15 of the BEPS project, will transpose BEPS recommendations into over 2,000 tax treaties worldwide. According...
Japan and Iceland have agreed in principle to sign a convention aimed at eliminating international double taxation and preventing tax evasion, the Japanese Finance Ministry said Monday. The convention is hoping to boost mutual investment and encourage economic exchange, the ministry said. After signing, the convention is expected to come...
Kosovo and Switzerland signed on Friday an agreement regulating taxation of income and capital, which is beneficial for both countries, the Swiss federal government said. Under the agreement on double taxation dividends will be taxed at source at a maximum rate of 15%, while qualified participations – at no more...
Cyprus and the Caribbean island-state of Barbados signed a double tax avoidance and prevention of tax evasion treaty on Wednesday, the finance ministry said. “The agreed text will contribute to the development of commercial and financial ties between Cyprus and Barbados, as well as other countries,” the finance ministry said...
Malaysia uses both progressive and flat rates for personal income tax, depending on an individual’s duration and type of work in the country. As expatriates may fall into either tax category depending on their work, it is important to understand Malaysia’s basic tax structure. The Income Tax Act of 1967...
Grandfathering is term for alteration of rules that apply to a certain investment technique Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) based in Mauritius and Singapore had, it now appears, rushed to take advantage of the ‘grandfathering’ clause in the new Double Tax Avoidance Agreement signed between both the governments of the two...
Cyprus and San Marino have signed a double taxation avoidance agreement. The agreement, which further enhances the relations between the two states, was signed between the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus and San Marino, Ioannis Kasoulides and Nicola Renzi, who held a tete – a – tete meeting before...
The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the signing of multilateral convention to implement tax treaty-related measures to prevent base erosion and profit shifting. A product of OECD/ G20 BEPS Project, this convention is aimed at tackling baseerosion and profit shifting through tax planning strategies that exploit gaps and...
The governments of Japan and Russia on April 28 announced they have agreed the text of a new double tax agreement that would replace the 1986 pact between Japan and the former USSR. In a statement following a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to Moscow, the Japanese Finance...
Malta denies claims A data leak has revealed information about 70,000 offshore companies in Malta, a German state minister claimed this morning. North Rhine-Westphalia finance minister Norbert Walter-Borjans said the data also included information about several German corporations and up to 2,000 German taxpayers. Tax authorities in the city of...
Luxembourg and Cyprus on Monday signed a bilateral convention for the elimination of double taxation. Luxembourg’s Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna was on a working visit in Nicosia and signed the convention with his Cypriot counterpart Harris Georgiades. Cyprus was the last EU member state not to have a tax convention...
Cyprus and Luxembourg, two of the EU`s financial centres, on Monday cautioned against the implementation of the proposed Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCTB) in the European Union. “Cyprus believes that we should be very cautious and very careful when it comes to corporate taxation,” Cypriot Finance Minister Harris Georgiades...
This article is the first of a series of articles that looks at tax aspects of the UK company which make it an attractive international business company, or “IBC”. This generic label, and its acronym, are normally associated with the BVI company, and its international competitors. An essential feature of...
It has been more than a year since the Australian government committed itself to remedying the nation’s double taxation scheme for cryptocurrencies. The delay in crafting a fix has left some observers wondering whether the issue had been set aside entirely. In a statement released this week, the government has...
(Second of two parts) In last week’s article, we discussed the revised procedure to avail of tax treaty benefits for dividend, interest, and royalty payments under Revenue Memorandum Order (RMO) No. 8-2017. Under the amended rules, a tax treaty relief application (TTRA) is no longer required and withholding agents can...
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled in favor of Austria in its dispute with Germany relating to the taxation of interest from profit-participation certificates received by an Austrian bank from a German bank. The case involved the interpretation and application of Article 11 of the 2000 double tax...
Pakistan and Bulgaria on Wednesday signed the Agreement for Avoidance of Double Taxation and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income (ADTA) after the conclusion of second round of negotiations in Islamabad. The ceremony was overseen by Federal Board of Revenue Chairman Dr Muhammad Irshad and Bulgaria...
The Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) are putting a new breath to the fight against tax fraud and evasion in Nigeria, as the two agencies will soon launch an anti-tax fraud and evasion team. This collaboration, according to the FIRS Executive Chairman,...
In early April 2017, an important taxation agreement between Monaco and Italy came into force… As a direct result, Monaco now appears on the Italian ‘White List’ of tax compliant jurisdictions. The Agreement creates both opportunities and challenges for companies or individuals that fall within its scope, and is an...
Tax residency certificate is required from the resident country tax authorities to claim applicable relief under the DTAA What is the purpose of a tax residency certificate? —Srivats Typically, source of income lies where the services are performed, or where the asset, from which the income arises, is located. Residential...
LUSAKA – Zambia and Malawi have resolved to harmonise trade barriers that affect trade between the two neighbours through the signing of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA). The DTAA, also referred to as a Tax Treaty, is a bilateral economic agreement between the two nations that aims to avoid...
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has signed an international tax agreement – Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters(MAC), which is now seen as the ‘gold standard’ for co-operation in tax administration. With this move, UAE has become the 109th jurisdiction to join the most powerful multilateral treaty...
On April 13, 2017, the Ukrainian Parliament ratified its tax treaty with Malta, which provides for lower withholding tax rates on dividends, interest, and royalties. Under the deal, the withholding tax rate for dividends would be capped at 15 percent. A special rate of five percent would apply to dividends...
NEW DELHI, APRIL 19: The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the signing of the Protocol amending the Convention between India and Portugal for avoidance of Double Taxation. According to an official statement, the Protocol will also ensure prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. The statement said,...
(Second of two parts) In last week’s article, we discussed how or why taxpayers working on international assignments have to consider the impact of different tax jurisdictions on their individual tax obligations. We also explained how most companies implement a tax equalization (TEQ) arrangement for the employees so that they...
Ghana and the Czech Republic have signed a Double Taxation Agreement. The Minister for Finance, Ken Ofori Atta, and the Czech Ambassador to Ghana, Margita Fuschova, signed on behalf of both countries. This agreement was signed after the two countries concluded negotiations for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the...
The European Commission wants stricter guidelines for the “tax privileges’’ some European Union countries permit within special economic zones in their jurisdictions, to enhance economic development. The confidential proposal for the guidelines, seen by Bloomberg BNA, is currently under discussion within the EU’s Code of Conduct Group for Business Taxation,...
