BEIJING, April 3 (Xinhua) — The State Administration of Taxation (SAT) has blacklisted 425 companies for tax offences, it announced on Friday, as the government aims to get tough on tax offenders. The offences took place between the start of 2013 and the end of 2014 and involved 553 corporate… – Continue reading
Inquiry sparked by leaked Luxembourg files naming the sovereign wealth fund among dozens of Australian companies using elaborate structures to cut tax bills The $100bn Future Fund has refused to give evidence to a Senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance despite being named in leaked documents last year among scores… – Continue reading
The banking sector’s risk from a cooling housing market might be contained, as prudential measures and the likely reversal of an accommodative monetary policy have helped check property speculation and the buildup of systemic risk, Fitch Ratings Ltd said yesterday. “The sector’s household debt servicing would remain manageable under a… – Continue reading
The measure of bank strength favoured by the financial system inquiry – capital levels – is too narrow, and assessing capital by reference to offshore banks will create “uncertainty and unintended consequences”, National Australia Bank has told Treasury. The more capital a bank holds, the less leveraged it is, which… – Continue reading
Riga, 2015-03-31 08:32 CEST (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — In the audited financial report of AS “TRASTA KOMERCBANKA” has been made some changes in the design of the document. These changes do not affect the important financial information about the Bank. In 2014, Latvia’s GDP grew by 2.4%, and this growth was… – Continue reading
Asia-Pacific Banks: Chart of the Month – Taiwan here TAIPEI, March 31 (Fitch) Fitch Ratings says in a new report that it expects risks to the Taiwanese banking sector from a cooling housing market to be contained. Macro-prudential measures and the likely reversal of an accommodative monetary policy have helped… – Continue reading
The Reserve Bank of India may ask large corporations to raise a certain portion of their funding needs from rupee bonds in a bid to deepen the domestic bond market and reduce India Inc’s dependence on bank loans. The unprecedented proposal is part of a discussion paper, released last week,… – Continue reading
March 31 marks the end of the tax-saving season and the beginning of the tax-filing season. Everyone will soon get busy collecting proofs of investment and try to minimise their tax outgo. However, in the hurry to get maximum deductions, do not cross the thin line between tax-saving and taxevasion…. – Continue reading
Canada’s Eldorado Gold Corp., the biggest foreign investor in Greece, is engaged in a tax-avoidance scheme that uses mailbox companies in the Netherlands to lower its tax load, a new report from a Dutch foundation says. The Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations, known as SOMO, made the claim in… – Continue reading
NATIONAL debt will soon come under effective and professional control, thanks to the national debt management office whose establishment is reportedly in the final stages, the national assembly heard on Friday. Deputy Finance Minister Mwigulu Nchemba under the envisaged office, the national debt will be effectively, efficiently and closely monitored… – Continue reading
A local authority has used a tax avoidance scheme to finance the upgrade of its offices. Clackmannanshire Council in central Scotland, jointly run by the SNP and Labour, saved £2.8million on the work, but the ruse may have cost the Treasury £3.6million in lost income tax receipts. The scheme used… – Continue reading
Chose not to prosecute HSBC despite money-laundering documentation NEW YORK – President Obama’s attorney-general nominee, Loretta Lynch, admitted to the Senate Judiciary Committee that her investigators in the money-laundering probe of HSBC were aware of evidence compiled by whistleblower John Cruz but she chose, nevertheless, not to bring criminal charges…. – Continue reading
Two important developments last week in the transfer pricing domain have the potential of completely transforming the way this critical and controversial tax area has been handled by the income-tax department. One is the Delhi High Court judgment on tackling the AMP (advertisement, marketing and sales promotion) expenses involving a… – Continue reading
Where applicable, foreign landlords with property in Turkey are required to file tax returns to Turkish financial authorities by March 25 The tax treatment of income elements earned by foreigners from any source of income usually tops the international tax agenda and is extensively debated worldwide by experts, academics and… – Continue reading
UK bank HSBC is the first non-Chinese bank to take advantage of new Shanghai Free Trade Zone (FTZ) rules designed to ease foreign currency borrowing and bring down funding costs. Shanghai FTZ allows corporates to use its free trade account to conduct foreign currency borrowing from offshore markets. People’s Bank… – Continue reading
Papua New Guinea’s central bank has moved to stop offshore foreign banks, which don’t operate in PNG, trading in the Kina.From this month, people and companies wanting to trade in Kina and foreign currencies will only be able to use one of six authorised dealers. Since July last year, after… – Continue reading
Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has ordered the signing of a protocol to the Russian-Chinese agreement aimed to eliminate double taxation and prevent tax evasion, the government said on its website on Wednesday. “Under the sanctions imposed on Russia by the European Union, US and other countries, the signing of… – Continue reading
CIBC FirstCaribbean’s regional chief yesterday said commercial banks were “convenient targets” for increased taxes and scapegoating by politicians, warning that this slowed their bottom line recovery. Rik Parkhill, speaking ahead of its Bahamian subsidiary’s annual general meeting (AGM) last night, warned that the asset-based nature of the sector’s tax structure… – Continue reading
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has shown its support for recent fiscal reforms in Ukraine by approving a four-year funding plan. The Executive Board of the IMF has now approved a four-year extended arrangement for Ukraine, worth about USD17.5bn, approved under the Fund’s exceptional access policy. This program will replace… – Continue reading
Amid a spreading climate of fear in Russia, underscored by the late February assassination of Boris Nemtsov, Russians with something to lose are increasingly trying to find safe havens abroad for their assets. The net outflow of capital from Russia reached $151.5 billion in 2014, according to statistics compiled by… – Continue reading
Giant financial institutions that benefitted from federal bailouts during the depths of the recession have repaid the American people’s largesse by hiding profits overseas to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. According to a report (pdf) commissioned by Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), four big banks—Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, Bank of… – Continue reading
State-run Hua Nan Commercial Bank (華南銀行) — the main subsidiary of Hua Nan Financial Holding Co (華南金控) — aims to increase its loan book by 4.2 percent this year, driven by corporate lending, senior bank executives said yesterday. The target is lower than the 5 percent increase last year, as… – Continue reading
Chairman Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Tariq Bajwa has said that Pakistan and China are re-negotiating agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. On the conclusion of Public Accounts Committee (PAC) at the Parliament House here on Thursday,… – Continue reading
OPPOSITION spokesman on finance and planning, Audley Shaw, believes that the failure of the Government to make any progress in wage-related discussions with its employees could make it the major challenge for 2015/16, as the budget debate commences this afternoon at Gordon House. “There is nothing in the budget which… – Continue reading
Transactions between related entities are common and engaged in for both business and tax purposes. Management fees, factoring fees, loans, and other intercompany transactions can be beneficial from a tax planning standpoint, provided the transactions are properly structured and supported by adequate documentation, which often includes a transfer pricing study…. – Continue reading
The regional operating headquarters (ROH) provisions that Thai tax authorities introduced in 2002 have never been popular, as they are difficult to understand and comply with. As a result, many businesses have bypassed Thailand and chosen Kuala Lumpur for their regional offices. Even a major revamp of ROH regulations in… – Continue reading
It is time to look at overseas options if you want stocks with good dividends. If you are particular about investing only in the banking sector, U.S. banks would give you at the most around 3% dividend yield. If this is not good enough for you, you can try investing… – Continue reading
Tax avoidance is being documented across the world, with Australia no exception. The government is now looking at how to clamp down on the billions of dollars being lost as top Australian firms are succeeding in dodging taxation. Last year saw the release of multiple reports highlighting the worrying number… – Continue reading
The ECB needs to make sure it isn’t hiding any risky practices that could destabilise the system, reports Irish Times. Fresh from putting the squeeze on banks to behave themselves, regulators are scrutinising so-called shadow banks, alternative lenders such as investment funds doing big business out of countries like Ireland…. – Continue reading
MANHATTAN (CN) – Israel’s largest bank helped procure sham loans for clients and advised them to dodge taxes in other ways, a shareholder class action says. Michael Porat, a citizen of Israel, filed the 57-page complaint against Bank Leumi and various international subsidiaries in New York County Supreme Court. Sixty-one… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Chinese developer Kaisa Group Ltd, mired in crisis since late last year after the local government in its home base of Shenzhen blocked sales at some of its projects, is seeking to restructure its debts, according to an exchange filing in Hong Kong on Sunday. The restructuring plans,… – Continue reading
ABU DHABI // Almost nine in ten expatriates send money back to their home country but financial experts warn they are more savvy ways to keep money safe. The National’s survey questioning expatriates on remittance, among other financial habits, found 86 per cent of employed expats transfer money to their… – Continue reading
The small business tsar and Conservative peer said she supported the party because she believed in “fairness” and that “everyone should pay their taxes” Apprentice star Tory Karren Brady has insisted that “everyone should pay their taxes” – but is on the board of a firm linked to an alleged… – Continue reading
Taipei, March 7 (CNA) Banks incorporated in Taiwan saw profits in their offshore banking units (OBUs) falling year-on-year in January, while earnings in their domestic banking units (DBUs) were up for the same month, the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) said Saturday. The FSC, the top financial regulator in Taiwan, said… – Continue reading
Just months after the Obama administration cracked down on mergers that helped US companies skirt domestic taxes, a wave of foreign takeovers is steering more tax revenue away from the US, reports the Wall Street Journal. In deals known as “tax inversions,” which spiked in 2014, US companies acquired foreign… – Continue reading
CANBERRA: The federal opposition has proposed a $1.9bn package targeting multinational tax avoidance, with most of the savings slated to come from changes to the amount of debt for which companies can claim deductions in Australia. Bowing to sustained government pressure to start spelling out alternative budget savings, Labor’s leader,… – Continue reading
If you have been running your business as a sole proprietor or are planning to be self-employed, you should probably give the idea of incorporating your business a serious thought. Since we are talking about incorporation from the point of view of taxation, you should know that it has its… – Continue reading
NUMBER OF THE WEEK: $42,268. The projected average taxable income of all tax returns in 2015, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation’s Feb. 27 report on “Fairness and Tax Policy.” The report also projects that the top ten percent (in terms of income) of all taxpayers in 2015 will… – Continue reading
If you thought the Republican-controlled Congress went crazy when President Barack Obama used his authority as commander in chief to make changes to immigration enforcement, consider what might happen if such action involved taxes. The mere hint of executive tax actions already has riled up conservatives. Sen. Bernie Sanders would… – Continue reading
The House of Representatives was consumed for much of the week on the vexing matter of whether Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs had been subject to an “offer” of an actual “job” by the government or had merely been party to “discussions” over a new “role”. As the business… – Continue reading
BANCO DEAR: NZ Superannuation Fund was joined with finance high-fliers in the loan to collapsed Portuguese bank. An Indian billionaire and a hedge fund run by former Goldman Sachs executives were among coinvestors with the Super Fund in a $1 billion loan to shaky Portuguese bank Banco Espirito Santo. The… – Continue reading
The British Virgin Islands is the most popular offshore jurisdiction, with favourable business regulations, a prosperous economy and a stable political situation. British Virgin Islands IBC, is a limited liability company which conducts its trading and business outside the British Virgin Islands and is intended for offshore activities. It takes… – Continue reading
[NEW YORK] Citigroup Inc said additional government authorities have started probes of possible breaches of anti-money laundering laws at its Banamex USA unit. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, a unit of the US Treasury, and the California Department of Business Oversight have asked the company for information on its compliance… – Continue reading
Greece’s far-left government was last night thrashing out a new package of economic reforms that it claims will crack down on tax evasion and overhaul its bloated civil service. The stricken Mediterranean country has been given until today to unveil the measures after reaching an agreement with its creditors from… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: A delegation of British Department for International Development (DFID) and Her Majesty Revenue & Customs (HMRC) will hold dialogue with the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on future course of action to further strengthen bilateral cooperation. The DFID is a department of the British government that leads the UK’s… – Continue reading
HM Revenue & Customs has defeated in the Court of Appeal a tax avoidance scheme which made false investments into Disney films. Eclipse 35 claimed to trade in film rights but has been defined as a tax avoidance scheme by UK courts. HMRC said an estimated £635m in tax has… – Continue reading
Divock Origi is among top European players who have been named for allegedly evading tax in Belgium. According to Sport24, Origi, son of former Harambee Stars goalkeeper turned striker Mike Okoth and who has been loaned to French side Lille, is among players being investigated by Belgium tax authorities for… – Continue reading
The Bank of Botswana (BoB) on Friday took over management of troubled offshore bank, Kingdom Bank Africa Limited (KBAL). The bank is reeling from liquidity constraints, which have seen depositors fail to withdraw their monies while workers haven’t received regular salaries for the past three months. In a statement released… – Continue reading
CANBERRA: Australian Tax Office has said that Australia’s corporate tax base is in crisis because of tax relief by multinational companies in the country. The alarming data in these internal documents is at odds with the public position of the Australian Tax Office (ATO), which maintains the tax regime in… – Continue reading
Confidential documents obtained from the Tax Office under the Freedom of Information Act show Australia’s corporate tax base is in crisis because of the explosion in tax haven dealings by multinational companies. The alarming data in these internal documents is at odds with the public position of the Australian Tax… – Continue reading
