The Bahamas will have “lost the plot” if it allows external pressures to dictate tax reform, a top accountant yesterday warning against any “knee jerk” changes. Gowon Bowe, the Bahamas Institute of Chartered Accountants (BICA) president, told Tribune Business that this nation must avoid reform merely for the sake of...
The Congressional Budget Office’s analysis of the new tax law suggests it could incentivize companies to offshore investments and jobs, which is directly at odds with GOP claims about the tax law. After the release of the GOP’s tax reform plan, several outlets, including the Prospect, noted that new tax...
PARIS — Tom Wallis was born here and has spent his entire life in France, but it turns out that the 40-year-old entrepreneur from Grenoble owes tens of thousands of dollars in taxes to the United States. Wallis’ mother was French, but he holds U.S. citizenship through his American father....
(Web Desk) – Pakistan Stock Brokers Association (PBSA) has proposed end of double taxation whereby abolishing tax on dividends, bonus and capital value tax as it has been discouraging foreign as well as domestic investment in the Pakistan stock exchange . Pakistan Stock Brokers Association sent budget proposals from the...
The Government has stripped corporate taxation from its anti-blacklisting response, as a top attorney yesterday warned: “Time is not our friend.” Michael Paton, who co-heads the financial sector working group dealing with the European Union (EU) concerns, told Tribune Business it will be “a long summer” as the Bahamas seeks...
The UK tax agency, HM Revenue and Customs, on April 16, 2018, released proposed changes to the list of amendments it intends to make to its bilateral double tax avoidance agreements through the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting multilateral instrument. The new document – Proposed changes to the provisional...
The rich are getting richer in America but that prosperity is not trickling down the economic food chain, with investment capital pooling up in thriving portions of big cities. One reason for this, experts believe, is the amount of wealth tied up in assets—real estate holdings and stock portfolios, primarily—that...
KUALA LUMPUR: The Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM) yesterday said it will continue with the drive to counter the threat of aggressive tax planning, base erosion and profit shifting, and tax evasion practices that cause tax leakages. IRBM chief executive officer Datuk Seri Sabin Samitah said the effort to...
Capital gains taxes will always remain a controversial topic. This is especially true in Thailand, by the look of things, as the cryptocurrency community wants the nation’s Finance Ministry to rethink its guidelines in this regard. For most people, this is also an effort to create a more lenient ecosystem...
Expanding the tax base under the existing conditions is like bleeding an anaemic person. A recent directive by President Yoweri Museveni to the Minister of Finance to tax users of social media platforms such as Facebook and WhatsApp in a bid to widen the country’s tax base has stirred a...
The Bermuda Monetary Authority has issued a consultation paper on draft regulations pertaining to “virtual currency businesses” and initial coin offerings (ICOs). The proposed bill seeks to create a framework that encourages and fosters the development of Bermuda’s nascent cryptocurrency industry. Bermuda Reveals Regulatory Proposals for Crypto Industry The minister...
Malawi is struggling to address loss of revenues due to smuggling of minerals, unregulated artisanal and small-scale mining activities, under declaration of taxable income and transfer mispricing by mining companies. Reserve Bank of Malawi statistics show that Malawi lost $980 million (MWK78 billion) between 2010 and 2017 due to foreign...
In what appears to be an attempt to test their ability to distribute Bitcoin Gold (BTG), a Coinsecure weakness was apparently exposed, and over 3 million dollars worth of bitcoin were stolen as a result. The large crypto exchange based in India filed a First Information Report (FIR) with police,...
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has launched a consultation inviting input on proposals to tackle arrangements entered into by individuals, partnerships, or companies that aim to move UK profits outside the scope of UK taxation, typically through the use of offshore trusts and companies. The new legislation, to be drafted...
The OECD has published new transfer pricing country profiles for Australia, China, Estonia, France, Georgia, Hungary, India, Israel, Liechtenstein, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, and Uruguay, bringing the number of such overviews published by the OECD to 44. The profiles explain the current transfer pricing legislation and practices of each country....
Assets seized by Polish police are reportedly linked to the cryptocurrency exchange’s account in the country. Following a couple of days of rumours, Bitfinex – currently the fifth largest cryptocurrency exchange based on volume, according to Coinmarketcap – has been moved to deny it is embroiled in an investigation regarding...
Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni said he wanted to tax social media to keep the gossip mill in check and raise revenue for the cash-strapped country. Now the government says it has no such plans. The government of Uganda admitted this week that it won’t impose a social media tax, after...
The Central Board of Direct Taxes ( CBDT ) yesterday released a draft notification which proposes to amend Rule 44E, Form 34C, 34D and 34DA of Income Tax Rules, 1962 as per Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Item 5. The proposal has been made with a view to...
THE Bahamas will be unable to satisfy the European Union’s (EU) demands by merely promising to implement corporate taxation, a prominent attorney has warned. Michael Paton, who co-heads the financial services industry working group assessing the Government’s ‘blacklisting’ response, told Tribune Business in a recent interview that time and the...
The Bahamas could be removed from the European Union’s (EU) ‘blacklist’ as early as this Thursday, with the Government hoping to at least get “an indication” of delisting progress. K P Turnquest, Deputy Prime Minister, told Tribune Business that the Government was yesterday “following up” with EU officials on the...
The Central Board of Direct Taxes ( CBDT ) has released Central Action Plan for the First Quarter April 2018 to June 2018 of the FY 2018-2019. The Key Result Areas of the Action Plan and the Time Frame in the which it is to be achieved has been categorically...
The General Department of Taxation on Friday issued a statement reminding Cambodian financial institutions to comply with the reporting requirements of the US’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Cambodia and the US have signed an agreement to enforce FATCA, which mandates that financial institutions holding certain amounts of money...
The Seychelles has been told to deploy more resources to implement recommendations from the OECD on base erosion and profit shifting. Ingela Willfors, a United Nations tax expert from the Swedish Ministry of Finance, held discussions on implementation with the Seychelles’ Minister of Finance, Trade, and Economic Planning and in...
The Cayman Islands has released new guidance on the obligation on large multinational groups to file a country-by-country report in the territory and also an update on Common Reporting Standard and US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act reporting. CbC Reporting Guidance The March 29 guidance from the Cayman Islands’ Department...
The Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria (AEAT), more commonly known as the Agencia Tributaria, the tax agency of the Spanish government is set to take a hard-line stance on what it suspects to be tax evasion activities aided and abetted by cryptocurrencies. The move comes as yet another chapter in...
The Centre for Trade Policy and Development (CTPD) has commended the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA) for exposing the tax evasion scam worth K76.5 billion in the extractive sector. The center has also welcomed intentions by the authority to undertake an extensive audit of mining companies. CTPD Executive Director Isaac Mwaipopo...
In comments to the TPMinds International Conference in late March, Deputy Commissioner Mark Konza outlined the Australia Taxation Office’s priorities in the area of international tax enforcement, with an especial focus to be placed on the energy and resources sector and pharmaceutical industry. His comments, published by the ATO on...
Jakarta. Indonesia’s tax office plans to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to update its outdated technology to boost low tax compliance and raise revenue collection in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, the country’s tax chief told Reuters. Indonesia completed one of the world’s most successful tax amnesties in 2017, but...
PROPERTY in the UK, particularly London, has always been popular with GCC investors for many years. It has remained a safe haven and an attractive destination for investors and their families from the GCC region perhaps more than any other major city. Depending on the level of investment, well...
US taxpayers who have failed to declare their offshore money will lose the chance to confess to the Internal Revenue Service later this year. The IRS has announced that the Overseas Voluntary Disclosure Program will close on September 28. In the 10 years the OVDP has run, 56,000 taxpayers have...
Tax authorities reviewed a case in which a doctor worked at a limited partnership firm and was paid via a limited liability company. The court described the arrangements as tax evasion. Many professionals would prefer to pay taxes on capital income because the tax burden is lighter than on earned...
Muscat: Tax authorities in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are starting to use sophisticated digital platforms that require taxpayers to submit data in real time or near-real time prompting companies in the GCC to enhance their digital capabilities. This is changing the way businesses collect, format and report tax information,...
Kazakhstan’s National Bank is considering banning cryptocurrency use, exchanges, and mining, saying virtual currencies are an ideal vehicle for fraud, money-laundering, and tax evasion. “In Kazakhstan, the National Bank is taking a very conservative approach toward the matter, and it welcomes nothing but extremely tough restrictions,” Daniyar Akishev, the chairman...
Thailand’s awaited tax framework for cryptocurrencies has been announced this week by the Thai Finance Minister, local news outlet Nikkei Asian Review reported Friday, March 30. Apisak Tantivorawong reported during a March 27 cabinet meeting that crypto trades will be taxed with a 7 percent value added tax (VAT), and...
India has approved amendments to its double tax agreement with Qatar. The amendments update the information exchange provisions between the two countries in line with current international standards. A new Limitation on Benefits (LOB) provision has been introduced, which is designed to prevent “treaty shopping” (whereby companies or transactions are...
Argentina’s Federal Administration of Public Income has extended the filing deadline for country-by-country (CbC) notifications. Taxpayers who are part of multinational enterprises now have until May 2, 2018, to file CbC notifications where the ultimate parent company of the multinational group has a December 2017 fiscal year end. The CbC...
Speakers corner: Delano asked Raymond Krawczykowski, partner and tax leader at Deloitte Luxembourg, “In your view, what have been the key changes in EU & Luxembourg tax rules in 2017, and what major shifts could be in store for 2018-19?” His response was clear: Beps and Atad. The Base Erosion...
The federal government wants to block multinational companies using trusts and partnerships to escape paying tax in Australia. Assistant to the Treasurer Michael Sukkar introduced legislation to parliament on Wednesday that would bring artificial or contrived arrangements involving trusts and partnerships under the multinational tax avoidance laws introduced in 2016....
The Indian Central Board of Direct Taxes has issued a statement to defer the filing obligation on surrogate parent entities with regards to country-by-country reporting. Section 286 was inserted into the Income Tax Act 1981 through the 2016 Finance Act to introduce a requirement to furnish a country-by-country report. The...
The Australian Tax Office (ATO) has launched a community consultation to seek feedback on practical compliance issues arising from complying with taxation obligations in relation to cryptocurrency transactions. On March 13, the ATO updated its web guidance tax treatment of cryptocurrencies to address some of the common enquiries in relation...
British lawmakers are shifting their focus towards the offshores and tax havens detailed in the Panama and Paradise papers, in order to improve tax collection, curb multinationals’ tax avoidance practices, and track the money flows of ill-gotten gains. Kristian Rouz — Members of Parliament (MPs) are set to investigate the...
Luxembourg and France have signed a new double taxation treaty (DTT), replacing the existing treaty that had been in force since 1958. The accord was inked during the official state visit led by Grand Duke Henri and Grand Duchess Maria Teresa, in Paris, on 20 March 2018. A communiqué released...
All international groups operating in the country will have to provide a country-by-country (CbC) report as per the revised Income tax Act, the government clarified in a finance ministry release issued today. The CbC report is to be furnished by the ultimate parent entity of an international group in the...
HEADS of financial institutions face a fine of up to $10,000 or two years in prison if they fail to make the necessary accounts reports. The reminder came in a statement from the Ministry of Finance, Trade and Investment this week. It stressed that the deadline is approaching for filing...
THE Bahamas’ ‘blacklisting’ response threatens to “cause a lot of damage” to its IBC business and create “much less certainty” for the financial services industry, a top attorney is warning. Michael Paton, a former Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) chairman, told Tribune Business that the proposed Multinational Entities Reporting Bill...
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday signed two agreements with two countries following the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC). The agreements, according to a statement issued by the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the President, Femi Adesina, include the instrument for ratification of agreement between Nigeria and...
The United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) recently published a document reminding taxpayers that income derived from virtual currency transactions must be reported on income tax returns. The IRS states that taxpayers who fail to report virtual currency earning may be audited or made liable for “penalties and interest.” IRS...
Granting tax relief to Deloitte India, the Mumbai bench of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) held that the provisions relating to Tax deduction at Source (TDS) are not applicable to the professional fee paid by them to its Group Entities in US and Singapore. The division bench of the...
One of the fastest growing crypto exchanges over the past year, Binance, announced on its official blog its intention to move operations to the European island of Malta. This decision comes after the difficulties experienced to operate under the conditions imposed by the Japanese government. A few weeks ago the...
The OECD has announced that its multilateral convention to implement tax treaty-related measures to counter base erosion and profit shifting will enter into force on July 1, 2018. The Convention, negotiated by more than 100 countries and jurisdictions under a mandate from G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors, will...
