Category: Statutory

QFII investors bogged down by burdensome tax filings

International investors are finding the compliance around qualified foreign institutional investor (QFII) licences burdensome as they prepare to file their tax returns before the July deadline. The QFII program, and its renminbi equivalent (RQFII), allows institutional investors – like non-resident Chinese fund managers – to invest in Chinese A-shares. The… – Continue reading

Canada: Canada’s 2015 Federal Budget: Updates On BEPS, Exchange Of Tax Information

The April 21, 2015 Federal budget released by the Conservative Government includes updates on Canada’s involvement in the BEPS project and how Canada intends to fulfill its obligations to implement an automatic exchange of tax information with the G-20. Notably (with the exception of the common reporting standard discussed below),… – Continue reading

Kiwi shareholders face ‘unfair’ BHP breakup tax

The Shareholders Association is making “strenuous representations” to the Inland Revenue Department over what it says is an unfair tax facing possibly thousands of New Zealand investors as a result of a proposed demerger of Anglo-Australian mining giant BHP Billiton. In an effort to simplify its business, Melbourne-based BHP is… – Continue reading

Anti-tax avoidance campaigner Margaret Hodge ‘given £1.5m shares from tax haven’ Liechtenstein

The former head of parliament’s public accounts committee – and a fierce critic of tax avoidance and “secretive” offshore funds – has received more than £1.5m in shares from the tax haven of Liechtenstein, according to a report. The money came through a controversial scheme that lets wealthy Britons move… – Continue reading

Factbox – HSBC must weigh up UK and Hong Kong regulatory regimes

LONDON (Reuters) – HSBC shares have rallied after the bank said it was reviewing whether to move its headquarters out of Britain and potentially back to its former home in Hong Kong. The following are some of the regulatory issues raised if Europe’s biggest bank were to relocate to Hong… – Continue reading

The FBAR tax plight: The maddening implications of when Uncle Sam deems you have signing authority

One million American citizens in Canada face double tax troubles. Max Reed explores these challenges in a spring series. The United States has two tools with which to collect information on accounts held by its citizens, FATCA and FBAR. Lots of attention has been paid to FATCA, less so to… – Continue reading

11th Circuit Punts Tax Shelter Question to Florida Justices

When should the beneficiaries of an IRS-targeted tax shelter be allowed to sue their enablers? That’s the question the federal appellate court in Atlanta posed to the Florida Supreme Court April 17 in an ongoing bankruptcy-related case. The answer, which turns on statutes of limitations, probably will boil down to… – Continue reading

EU Member States should benefit from the Capital Markets Union

On Saturday 25 April, at the second session of the informal meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN), one of most important issues on the agenda was the further development of the Capital Markets Union concept, which was broadly supported by the ministers and Governors of central banks…. – Continue reading

Bermuda: Bermuda’s Trust Law: Ticking All The Right Boxes

With the Transcontinental Trusts Bermuda Forum taking place next week, it is timely to reflect on some of the attractive features and structuring alternatives that Bermuda’s trusts and related law provides and to consider some recent exciting developments. Bermuda provides a flexible, cost effective regime for the formation and administration… – Continue reading

British Virgin Islands: The BVI: Stepping Stone To Russia

International finance centres (IFCs) are frequently used to structure Russian inward and outward investment and it has been observed that in 2012, 11 of the 40 main recipients of Russian FDI were IFCs1. The BVI is at the forefront of offshore investment into Russia, and the share of outward FDI… – Continue reading

Financial Services Act and Financial Institutions Act: results of consultation procedure

The federal government has published the results of the consultation on the Financial Services Act and the Financial Institutions Act (for further details please see “Federal Financial Services Act and Federal Financial Institutions Act”). The Financial Services Act governs the prerequisites for providing financial services and offering financial instruments and… – Continue reading

Tax treaty shield will not apply to a majority of foreign investors

FPIs are battling it out with the income-tax department, which has issued notices demanding that they pay MAT to the tune of Rs40,000 crore New Delhi/Mumbai: Despite the government affirming that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) can use tax treaties to fight tax demands on past capital gains, a majority of… – Continue reading

Goodman Luxembourg firm paid 0.4% tax on profit of €52.6m

Company accounts provide insight into Parlesse Investments A Larry Goodman company based in Luxembourg made a profit of €52.6 million in 2013 and paid just 0.4 per cent tax, according to accounts in the tiny EU member state. The company, Parlesse Investments Sarl, began operations in 2010 and had accumulated… – Continue reading

BSI Provides Road Map For Future Swiss Bank Agreements

On March 30, 2015, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had entered into a nonprosecution agreement with BSI SA, the first Swiss bank to reach resolution with the U.S. government as to its potential criminal exposure for assisting its U.S. clients in engaging in tax evasion.[1] As part… – Continue reading

Company announcement on Stock Exchange: More resignations at GlobalCapital

A company announcement on the Malta Stock Exchange website announced on Tuesday  that Arun Shankardass and Oumeshing Sookdawoor have tendered their resignation from the office of director of the company with effect from 17 April. Mr Shankardass will also be stepping down as chairman of the Audit Committee of the… – Continue reading

CONFERENCE PREVIEW: Succession, Cross-Border Tax And Trusts Under Spotlight In Geneva

Moves to create a supposed level playing field for succession issues in Europe, along with more established themes around automatic exchange of information and US extra-territorial tax powers make their appearance in a major Geneva-based conference later in April. Figures from the world of wealth management will gather at the… – Continue reading

‘Hound of Hounslow’ made £30million in just four years trading from his parents’ home

The “Hound of Hounslow” day trader accused of helping trigger a Wall Street “flash crash” made more than £30 million profit dealing from his parents’ home in four years, the Evening Standard can reveal. FBI agents are investigating claims that Navinder Sarao, 36, transferred as much as £26 million to… – Continue reading

Georgia-Belarus avoid double taxation, establish customs cooperation

Georgia and Belarus are stepping up their bilateral cooperation in taxation, customs affairs, and a number of other avenues. Representatives of both countries today signed a cooperation agreement on avoidance of double taxation, prevention of evasion of income and capital taxes, which would act as a basis for further talks…. – Continue reading

Switzerland To Amend Tax Treatment Of PEs

Switzerland is to amend federal tax legislation to prevent the double taxation of certain permanent establishments (PEs) located in the country. The planned reform is the result of a consultation on the application of the flat-rate tax credit. It will affect PEs in Switzerland that have their registered office in… – Continue reading

We’re Just Learning the True Cost of China’s Debt

The true cost of the debt that China’s real estate developers peddled to eager international investors during a five-year property boom is now becoming clear. Having found themselves shut out of local bond and loan markets seven years ago, a band of developers began looking elsewhere for funds. First an… – Continue reading

Paulson, Highbridge Bermuda Ventures May Be at Risk From IRS

Investment vehicles set up by Paulson & Co. and Highbridge Capital Management in tax-friendly Bermuda may be under threat from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The IRS, in proposed rules published Thursday, said that the favorable treatment enjoyed by insurers under the tax code shouldn’t extend to companies that borrow… – Continue reading

A taxing problem of Olympic proportions: no copyright in a digital data signal

The Federal Court has found that copyright does not exist in a digital data signal (Seven Network Limited v Commissioner of Taxation [2014] FCA 1411). Clayton Utz acted for Seven in the proceedings. The rights to broadcast the Olympic Games Seven Network Limited held the exclusive rights to broadcast certain… – Continue reading

Finance Ministry gives up on tax row

Mumbai: The equity markets snapped their five-day losing streak following a late hour surge in buying of blue-chip stocks on reports that the minimum alternate tax (MAT) would not be levied on overseas investors coming through those jurisdictions with which India has a double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA). After trading… – Continue reading

Luxembourg diplomat seeks investments from India Inc

MUMBAI: In a bid to attract investments into Luxembourg, once seen as a “tax haven”, its ambassador today assured industrialists and investors that his government “does not encourage money laundering.” “We do not encourage dirty money. It is a misconception that the Luxembourg is a tax haven,” the alpine nation’s… – Continue reading

Jersey: Funds Quarterly Legal And Regulatory Update – 1 January 2015 To 31 March 2015

FATCA 1. New FATCA IGA guidance notes On 3 February 2015, the Jersey Chief Minister’s Department published the latest version of the Guidance Notes on the Taxation (International Tax Compliance) (Jersey) Regulations 2014 in relation to the implementation of obligations arising under the intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) with the US and… – Continue reading

UK: Weekly Tax Update – Monday 20 April

1 General news 1.1 HMRC organisation chart HMRC has published its latest organisation chart showing the names of senior management. One point to note is the number of senior people now in roles such as change management as opposed to being in pure technical roles. This clearly demonstrates the direction… – Continue reading

Parliament takes aim at corporate ‘looting’

MPs say transfer pricing, though legal, presents challenges when determining if firms have evaded taxation and they want the practice criminalised. The portfolio committee on trade and industry has heard calls for the criminalisation of transfer pricing – a practice that, when abused, results in large corporations shifting profits offshore… – Continue reading

Budget 2015 – Canada

The Minister of Finance (Canada), the Honourable Joe Oliver, presented the Government of Canada’s 2015 Federal Budget (“Budget 2015”) on April 21, 2015 (“Budget Day”). Budget 2015 contains several significant proposals to amend the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the “ITA”) while also providing updates on previously announced tax measures and… – Continue reading

Corporate Investigations & White Collar Defense – April 2015

In This Issue: • It’s Stifling in Here! SEC Rules That Companies Can’t Put Restrictive Language in Confidentiality Agreements That Could Potentially Stifle Whistleblowers • An Opinion on Opinions: U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Omnicare • Is OFAC the New Black? Schlumberger and PayPal—The Rise in the Enforcement of Sanctions… – Continue reading

Canada: MT Federal Budget Review – Introduction

Minister of Finance Joe Oliver today tabled the 2015 Federal Budget (the “Budget”), his first budget as Minister of Finance, entitled “Strong Leadership: A Balanced-Budget, Low-Tax Plan for Jobs, Growth and Security”. We are pleased to provide our summary of tax measures contained in the Budget. The Budget proposed no… – Continue reading

Canada: 2015 Federal Budget: Tax Highlights

As has been widely predicted, today’s federal budget (Budget 2015) delivered a handful of tax “goodies” in the lead-up to the coming election. It also includes a number of important proposed changes to the corporate tax rules. They are noteworthy, although not as extensive as the corporate tax changes proposed… – Continue reading

Parliament urged to speed up on attracting foreign investment

The Cyprus Investment Promotion Agency (CIPA) is urging parliament to expedite a batch of bills aimed at facilitating much-needed foreign investment in Cyprus. Chief among the proposals are the establishment of foreign leasing companies and cell companies, opening up the professional provident fund business to foreign concerns, and updating company… – Continue reading

Budget 2015: striking a balance in an election year

Finance Minister Joe Oliver faced formidable challenges, both economic and political, in delivering his first Budget. In a time of depressed oil prices, and mere months ahead of the next federal election, it appears he felt it was imperative to follow through with prior commitments to balance the budget, provide… – Continue reading

Tax boss rebukes Google, Apple and Microsoft over Senate inquiry eviden

Commissioner Chris Jordan delivers rebuke to multinational tech giants contesting evidence they gave to a Senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance The tax commissioner, Chris Jordan, has delivered a public rebuke to multinational tech giants Apple, Google and Microsoft, vigorously contesting evidence they gave to a recent Senate inquiry hearing… – Continue reading