Panel to hear taxpayer before invoking GAAR under new set of rules
New rules mandate officials to refer a suspected case of tax avoidance to a panel of senior officials ... - Continue reading
Category: Activity
FATCA blamed for one in five US expats planning to give up passport
One in five US citizens living abroad are on the verge of giving up their passports according to a survey published by US tax consultants Greenback. The Greenback survey – which was conducted by more than 3,000 US expats – studies the expat community’s opinions on taxation, citizenship renunciation, and… – Continue reading
EU Commission’s tax policy 2019 – 2024: What can we expect?
The start of a new European Commission also means setting new political priorities in the EU tax field. ... - Continue reading
Villanueva urges DILG to crack down on tax-evading POGOs
Senator Joel Villanueva has urged the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) to order local government units and police to crack down on Philippine offshore gaming operations (POGOs) that refuse to comply with the country’s tax laws. Villanueva also backed the Department of Finance’s (DOF) order to shut down… – Continue reading
German finance minister endorses public country-by-country reporting of MNE tax information
German finance minister Olaf Scholz is in the midst of a campaign tour for the social democrats (SPD) presidency. ... - Continue reading
EU Commission to investigate 39 Belgium “excess profit” tax rulings for potential State aid violations
The European Commission today announced that it has opened 39 in-depth investigations to assess whether Belgian “excess profit” tax rulings granted to multinationals between 2005 and 2014 provided benefits that are contrary to EU State aid rules. ... - Continue reading
Unresolved cross-border tax disputes continue to rise, OECD stats show
Despite OECD efforts to encourage countries to more swiftly and effectively resolve of cross-border tax disputes, overall mutual agreement proceedure (MAP) inventory continues to increase, OECD statistics released today revealed. ... - Continue reading
Dominguez orders BIR to shut down tax-dodging POGOs
'Those who don't pay or respond to your assessments, clamp them down,' says Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez III ... - Continue reading
IRS offers tax break to some American expats
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has outlined new procedures for some “accidental Americans,”, giving them the chance to comply with their US tax and filing obligations and in turn qualify for relief from back taxes, penalties and interest. The changes would allow people with less than $2m in net worth… – Continue reading
US-born British citizen launches crowdfunding campaign to stop FATCA
A US-born British citizen has started a crowdfunding campaign to stop HMRC sharing her personal information with the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Law firm Mishcon de Reya has taken on the UK case for a client who alleges HMRC is… – Continue reading
Saint Amans provides update on digital tax reform effort
The preliminary results of an impact assessment reveal that proposals advanced in an OECD-led effort to update the global rules for taxing digital businesses would not create large changes to countries’ existing taxing rights, Pascal Saint-Amans, OECD Director of the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration, said September 11. ... - Continue reading
Australia: Glencore’s ‘big win’ for taxpayers on transfer pricing
The Federal Court of Australia on 3 September issued its much-anticipated judgement Glencore Investment Pty Ltd v Commissioner of Taxation of the Commonwealth of Australia [2019] FCA 1432, herein referred to as the Glencore decision. ... - Continue reading
Colombia: Colombia Publishes Guidelines On Advance Pricing Agreements
Colombia's National Directorate of Taxes and Customs (DIAN) released detailed guidelines (the Guidelines) to clarify the procedure for Advanced Transfer Pricing Agreements (APAs) requests in order to ensure certainty between the parties regarding their transfer pricing arrangements. ... - Continue reading
Netherlands destination of choice for tax-dodging multinationals – report
Multinational companies channel more than $3 trillion a year in “phantom” foreign investment through the Netherlands in order to bring down their corporate tax bills, according to research published in the Financial Times. ... - Continue reading
Ukrainian government approves bill ratifying FATCA
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved a bill to ratify the Agreement between the governments of Ukraine and the United States to improve tax compliance and application of provisions of the U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and related bills, the Ukrainian Finance Ministry’s press service reported. “On September… – Continue reading
US AND LUXEMBOURG RATIFY DOUBLE TAXATION PROTOCOL
Luxembourg and the US have amended their double taxation convention, updating the exchange of information article to harmonise it with that of the US model income tax treaty and the OECD. US ambassador to Luxembourg Randy Evans and Luxembourg finance minister Pierre Gramegna (DP) on Monday announced the ratification of… – Continue reading
OECD sees progress in 116 nations’ implementation of country-by-country reporting
The OECD said its initiative to have minimum standards on the collection and exchange of country-by-country (CbC) reports on large multinational businesses has reached 116 jurisdictions and has shown major progress in the delivery of international tax transparency. The OECD’s second annual peer review report on the base erosion and… – Continue reading
Swiss banks start providing details of Indian accounts to Delhi
Banking details of Indians with accounts in Switzerland have been made available to tax authorities as the automatic exchange of information agreement starts between the two countries. “India will receive information of the calendar year 2018 in respect of all financial accounts held by Indian residents in Switzerland. This will… – Continue reading
Canada: Canada Ratifies The Multilateral Instrument
On June 7, 2017, Canada along with numerous other jurisdictions signed the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (“OECD”) Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the “MLI” or “multilateral instrument”). The multilateral instrument is the culmination of work undertaken as part of the OECD/G20 BEPS Project to equip governments with domestic and international instruments to address tax avoidance. ... - Continue reading
DoF: Tax perks should be reviewed every 2 yrs
FINANCE Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd is pushing for tax perks to be reviewed every two years as he reiterated that the Philippines had been too generous in granting incentives to select companies. In a statement on Thursday, the Department of Finance (DoF) quoted its chief as saying the government must… – Continue reading
ECC approves new tax regime for non-resident firms
ISLAMABAD: The Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the cabinet on Wednesday approved a new tax regime for non-resident companies to attract investment into the local debt market, while it also directed officials to check wheat price hike in Karachi and other parts of the country. The ECC approved the tax… – Continue reading
Cyprus: The Cyprus Investment Programme And The Benefits
The Cyprus Investment Programme is rapidly becoming one of the EU’s most popular residence schemes.
- Non Cypriot citizens (and their families) can acquire Cyprus Citizenship by investing €2.5 million* in Cyprus.
- Following the application, Cyprus citizenship will be granted in six months, assuming the application has been completed accurately and the correct documentation filed.
- The applicant needs to be in posession of a residence permit for a period of six months before obtaining the citizenship.
Canada: Transfer Pricing: What’s New In Canada (Part II)
Transfer pricing disputes in Canada have, predominately, been resolved through either a request for competent authority assistance under the Mutual Agreement Procedure ("MAP") of a treaty, or, to a much lesser extent, through the notice of objection process with CRA Appeals. Regardless of the recent increase in transfer pricing cases being brought before the Courts, the MAP will likely continue to be the dispute resolution process most often utilized by a Canadian corporation in transfer pricing cases because, in the absence of a 100% reversal of a transfer pricing adjustment by either CRA Appeals or a Canadian court, economic double taxation may still exist as a consequence of the CRA upward transfer pricing adjustment. The correlative relief provided by the treaty partner under a MAP settlement resolves that double taxation. ... - Continue reading
Ireland proposes sweeping changes to transfer pricing laws
The government brought into legislation a specific element of the 2017 OECD guidelines that permits the tax authority to re-characterize an intra-group arrangement. ... - Continue reading
Report assesses 116 nations’ implementation of country-by-country reporting
The OECD today released a peer review report judging whether 116 countries and their tax administrations have met standards on the collection and exchange of country-by-country (CbC) reports on large multinational businesses. ... - Continue reading
Australia provides arm’s length debt test guidance
The Australian Tax Office on 28 August, released its awaited draft guidance contained in Practical Compliance Guideline 2019/D3, on applying the arm’s length debt test contained in Division 820 of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1997, Australia’s thin capitalization statutory provisions. ... - Continue reading
Brian Jenn joins McDermott Will & Emery’s Chicago tax practice
Brian Jenn, former US Treasury Deputy International Tax Counsel, has joined McDermott Will & Emery’s tax practice as a partner, the firm announced today. Jenn will be based in McDermott’s Chicago office. ... - Continue reading
FBR demands Rs992m from TV channel in alleged tax evasion case
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has served a notice on ARY Communications Limited (ARY) and raised a tax demand of Rs992 million – alleging that the entity had evaded tens of millions in taxes through misrepresentation, concealment and misuse of exemptions, thereby causing a substantial loss to the… – Continue reading
Georgia: a low-tax European country with much to offer investors
Georgia, an Eastern European Country, was ranked 6th in the World Bank Group’s 2019 “Doing Business” survey. ... - Continue reading
Mexico proposes new rules to tax highly digitalized businesses
A bill was introduced to the Mexican Congress on August 21 to tax digital platforms. ... - Continue reading
HMRC collects record £191bn in income tax
The taxman is raking in record amounts in income tax as the latest figures reveal Britons paid an extra £11bn in 2018/19. Income tax receipts have soared to a record £191bn, according to figures published, a 6% increase from the previous year. Britons are paying almost 30% more income tax… – Continue reading
ICAB happy with Barbados’ removal from the EU’s blacklist
Barbados’ removal from the European Union’s (EU) blacklist has been welcomed by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Barbados (ICAB). During her welcome remarks at the 15th Annual ICAB International Business Workshop, at the Barbados Hilton Resort, ICAB’s Executive Director, Kathy-Ann Hewitt, stated: “We are indeed happy that this change… – Continue reading
Canada, Switzerland ratify instrument to tackle tax avoidance
Canada and Switzerland on August 8 deposited with the OECD their instruments of ratification for the Multilateral Convention to implement tax treaty-related measures to prevent base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS MLI). The BEPS MLI, negotiated by over 100 countries and jurisdictions, updates the existing network of tax treaties and… – Continue reading
OECD’s minimum tax to apply by jurisdiction
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development is going to propose a global minimum tax that would apply country by country before the next meeting of G‑20 finance ministers and central bankers set for 17 Oct. in Washington, DC. G7 leaders announced at their Biarritz summit meeting this week a… – Continue reading
Canada and Switzerland deposit BEPS MLI ratification documents with OECD
Canada and Switzerland have deposited their instruments of ratification for the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI), the OECD today announced. ... - Continue reading
Luxembourg: bill submitted to implement anti-tax avoidance provisions
With effect from 1 January 2019, the Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD) I intra-EU hybrid mismatches rules were introduced into Luxembourg’s domestic law. ... - Continue reading
British citizens born in America face having bank accounts frozen
Tens of thousands of British citizens born in the US but only lived there for a few months or years face having their bank accounts frozen as part of a crackdown by the US tax authorities. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is ordering British banks to hand over the… – Continue reading
Brazil: Brazilian Tax Review – August 2019
After 20 years of negotiations, the European Union and Mercosur have moved forward with the free trade agreement between the two blocs. ... - Continue reading
United States: D.C. Circuit Expands U.S. Prosecutors’ Reach Over Foreign Bank Documents
In a recent decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit unanimously affirmed a district court order compelling three Chinese banks (not currently identified) to produce financial records in response to subpoenas issued by U.S. federal prosecutors, including records that were unrelated to the banks' U.S. operations or U.S. correspondent accounts. ... - Continue reading
If PIO is non-resident, no tax needs to be paid on sale of foreign properties
NRI taxpayer may choose to invest long-term capital gains in another house property or purchase capital gains bonds to prevent taxation of capital gains ... - Continue reading
US, France reach deal on digital services tax
French President Emmanuel Macron today confirmed that the US and France have reached a compromise agreement which requires France to refund all digital services tax (DST) paid by multinationals once a new international system for taxing multinationals in the digital sector is in place. ... - Continue reading
Transfer pricing: DGIT starts analysing potential cases of MNCs
The Directorate General of International Taxes of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has started analysing a few potential multinational companies’ cases of transfer pricing where companies are directly involved in shifting their profits outside the country without payment of any taxes. In this regard, Directorate General of International Taxes… – Continue reading
Govt launches crackdown on benami assets
ISLAMABAD: The government has kicked off a far-reaching crackdown against benami assets directing the departments concerned at the federal level and the provincial governments to track benami properties, harvesting the Benami Act, 2019 in the national and global contexts. Prime Minister Imran Khan chaired a meeting on August 20 on… – Continue reading
Bulgarian mandatory transfer pricing documentation rules enacted
A new law introducing mandatory transfer pricing documentation in Bulgaria was officially published in the State Gazette in early August. ... - Continue reading
Malaysia: Adding Confidence To Captives
When it comes to risk management, the adage "Failing to plan is planning to fail", rings truer than most. Risk management is vital in any business, and when a more cost-efficient and customisable alternative to outright insurance purchase is sought, captive insurance ticks all the right boxes. ... - Continue reading
United States: Captive Insurance Strategies Can Pay Off For Real Estate Operators
Federal tax law has permitted U.S. businesses to form so-called "captive" insurance companies for many years, and numerous large companies have done so. ... - Continue reading
Cayman Islands publishes FAQ’s on economic substance for tax purposes
The Cayman Islands has published a set of frequently asked questions detailing a law requiring that companies with geographically mobile activities have economic substance for tax purposes. ... - Continue reading
Gaming Companies Call for Reaching USA-Croatia Double Taxation Avoidance Deal
ZAGREB, August 21, 2019 – Computer gaming is the most propulsive segment of the IT industry worldwide, and this trend is present in Croatia, too, where local gaming companies export all their products, however the biggest challenge in doing business is the absence of a Croatia-USA double taxation avoidance agreement,… – Continue reading
German economics minister sees SMEs as “secret weapon”: report
German Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy Peter Altmaier had developed a strategy for the “Mittelstand” or small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), the newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Wednesday. “In the eyes of foreigners, SMEs are Germany’s secret weapon and, unlike the Dax 30 companies, SMEs are proving to be extremely… – Continue reading
