With the end of banking confidentiality, many Israelis are fleeing the long arm of the Israel Tax Authorityto the tax haven of Dubai, which has no bank reporting. Tightening tax regulations in many countries, beginning with the US, requiring banks to provide information about their customers, or face sanctions, has caused people… – Continue reading
A temporary tax holiday for US companies to repatriate offshore profits would cost the government $95.8 billion in revenue over a decade, said the Joint Committee on Taxation, Congress’s nonpartisan scorekeeper. Lawmakers occasionally talk about a repatriation tax break as a way to pay for spending such as replenishing the… – Continue reading
Apple Operations International, the principal Irish holding company for foreign subsidiaries, was not always stateless for tax purposes based on the last filed accounts in Ireland. It stopped paying tax in Ireland from 2006, based on US Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations evidence. The most explosive revelation in the May… – Continue reading
The National Foreign Trade Council (NFTC) has joined with other leading business organizations in sending a letter to every United States Senator expressing support for and calling for expeditious action on the bilateral double taxation agreements (DTAs) and protocols currently pending before the Senate. The NFTC has emphasized that “adoption… – Continue reading
Ireland’s revenue agency has launched a dedicated Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) webpage containing information and links to documents on a range of initiatives. In unveiling the page, Revenue said that Ireland fully supports the global move towards AEOI. The page provides guidance on the Intergovernmental Agreement reached with the… – Continue reading
Imagine being excluded from the financial services industry because of your passport. That happened to Carrie Walczak, an American living in Germany, in May. She received a letter from Deutsche Bank informing her that her bank account was going to be closed because she is an American. Walczak, a 37-year-old from… – Continue reading
The UAE has reached an initial agreement with the US to carry out a financial data-sharing programme aimed at curbing offshore tax evasion by US citizens. The Ministry of Finance announced on Tuesday that the two countries had negotiated an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) in substance to implement the US’s Foreign… – Continue reading
On June 9, 2014, South African Finance Minister Nhlanhla Musa Nene and the US Ambassador to South Africa, Patrick H. Gaspard, signed an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) to support international efforts to improve tax compliance. The agreement includes provisions allowing the reciprocal exchange of information, which requires that financial institutions in… – Continue reading
Revenue Minister Todd McClay and United States Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Marie Damour, today signed an intergovernmental-agreement (IGA) which will minimise compliance costs to financial institutions in New Zealand while assist in the prevention of tax evasion. The IGA is in response to the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) information-reporting… – Continue reading
Tax breaks for Apple Inc. (AAPL:US), Starbucks Corp. (SBUX:US) and Fiat Finance & Trade SA in three European Union countries are under investigation by EU competition regulators in a clampdown on special treatment for companies. The EU is checking whether the tax deals in Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are illegal state aid, according to… – Continue reading
In an ever-increasing globalized world, more and more people are finding themselves working outside their home countries. There are estimated to be over 6 million American citizens living outside the U.S. As a financial advisor, no matter where you work in the world, if you are dealing with clients or… – Continue reading
Azerbaijan and the U.S. Internal Revenue Office (IRS) will sign an additional agreement on confidentiality under the intergovernmental agreement on implementing the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) by Azerbaijani banks by September 30, 2015. The news was announced by Azerbaijani Taxes Ministry last week. “It is known that the… – Continue reading
The IRS had made a worldwide push to get information about offshore accounts over $50,000 of American taxpayers, using the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA. Commentator Rob Wood discusses the new effort in his Forbes article, “IRS Nets Offshore Data Wood underscores the point that U.S. citizens abroad… – Continue reading
With Russia unlikely to be able to conclude a Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) intergovernmental agreement (IGA) with the United States in the foreseeable future, and subject to the country’s current law on tax information exchange, VTB has become the first Russian bank to disclose that it is reducing… – Continue reading
Government’s recent initiative to allow unlisted companies to list on offshore markets through the depository receipt (DR) mechanism without the requirement of simultaneous listing in India is likely to be a major shot in the arm for many sectors, and also offer exits to private equity players looking to monetize… – Continue reading
GENEVA, June 4 (Reuters) – Switzerland is working hard to prevent ill-gotten assets of corrupt leaders from reaching Swiss bank coffers and an international clampdown on tax evasion could help the campaign, a senior Swiss foreign ministry official said on Wednesday. Swiss authorities are already working closely with Egyptian counterparts… – Continue reading
SA and the US have signed an intergovernmental agreement aimed at improving international tax compliance Yesterday a reciprocal agreement was signed by Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene and Patrick Gaspard, US Ambassador to SA that will force local financial institutions to report information about US account holders to the SA Revenue… – Continue reading
Walgreen, the biggest U.S. retail drugstore chain, is considering decamping to Switzerland in a quest for bigger tax breaks, just two years after reaping a hefty package of Illinois tax credits in exchange for keeping corporate jobs in the state. Such a move, through a maneuver called an inversion, would… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Cracking down on corporate tax avoidance sounds like a winner, and officials are working on it, but the practical challenges are formidable and they dominated discussion at an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development conference on Tuesday. The OECD, a Paris-based club of large economies, has an… – Continue reading
● UKIP leader says no-one would pay more tax than they had to ● Says he paid money into company Thorn in the Side Limited to save cash ● He saved £11,000 by paying 20p corporation tax instead of 40p income tax Nigel Farage has said that some tax avoidance… – Continue reading
Despite international efforts to clamp down on offshore tax havens, small offshore havens for tax dodging and money laundering are becoming even busier. As the international community focuses on well-known havens like Switzerland and the British Virgin Islands, small remote outposts have become more popular, according to the International Consortium of Investigative… – Continue reading
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has given the US notice that he is serious about leading global efforts through the Group of 20 to stop tax evasion through profit shifting by multinationals, which would include some of America’s biggest companies. Mr Abbott said international tax rules should be structured to capture… – Continue reading
One hundred of Australia’s richest people have taken advantage of a rare amnesty from the Australian Taxation Office – issued in March this year – to reveal their use of secretive offshore tax havens without severe punishment. There has also been a ”large number of expressions of interest” in addition… – Continue reading
The Italian Supreme Court ruled, on April 16, that all transactions carried out between companies belonging to the same Group, and all of which have offices in Italy, are subject to the arm’s length principle. Ruling No. 8869 confirmed once more the Supreme Court’s position already expressed through Ruling No…. – Continue reading
New agreement The new double tax agreement between Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates took effect from January 1 2014. For the most part, the agreement reproduces the corresponding provisions of the latest Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Model Tax Convention verbatim. The principal departures from the OECD… – Continue reading
More South Korean conglomerates have been registering subsidiaries in offshore tax havens, according to corporate researcher Chaebul.com. The number of South Korean companies established in the top 10 offshore tax havens last year jumped nearly 60 percent on-year from 54 to 86, indicating more conglomerates taking advantage of lower tax… – Continue reading
HANOI – On May 7th, New Zealand’s double tax agreement (DTA) with Vietnam went into effect. The DTA agreement was originally signed on August 5, 2013. New Zealand’s Revenue Minister, Todd McClay, stated that “the new double tax agreement which was signed in August 2013 brings our network of tax… – Continue reading
Kiev, Ukraine: On paper, the Ukrainian trading firm known as Mistral dealt in management consulting and research, doing millions of dollars’ worth of deals before going bust after Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych was chased out of office earlier this year.But when police recently tried to visit Mistral’s Kiev office at No…. – Continue reading
BEIRUT, June 9 (KUNA) — Governor of the Central Bank of Lebanon (BDL) Riad Salameh said Monday the recently-imposed US sanctions do not target the Lebanese banks, but rather the banks that helped finance the Lebanese group Hezbollah.The BDL has repeatedly cautioned the local banks against violating the banking laws… – Continue reading
Johannesburg – South Africa and the US agreed on Monday to put into effect the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (Fatca), the SA Revenue Service (Sars) and US Embassy said. The agreement was signed in Pretoria by Finance Minister Nhlanhla Nene and United States ambassador to South Africa Patrick Gaspard…. – Continue reading
With the impending FATCA compliance rollout and the U.S. Justice Department deal for Swiss banks, there are lots of letters and phone calls being made to account holders with American indicia. American citizens, residents—even people with a U.S. address or phone number—should be prepared. Possible American status means proving you’re… – Continue reading
Following the ratification of the double tax treaty (“DTT”) between Cyprus and Spain on March 22nd, the new treaty will come into force three months after the exchange of official notifications and upon completion of the official exchange of the ratified documents between the governments of Spain and Cyprus. Accordingly,… – Continue reading
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service and manufacturer Illinois Tool Works Inc. are battling in U.S. Tax Court over a $356.8 million dispute that highlights a type of cross-border tax avoidance strategy facing increased scrutiny worldwide. As governments crack down on tax-driven profit-shifting, the IRS is asserting that a loan used… – Continue reading
South Korea’s largest business conglomerates have been setting up more paper companies in tax havens around the world, a report by a local corporate research firm showed Monday. With the exception of holding companies for shipping lines, the number of South Korean companies located in the top 10 offshore tax… – Continue reading
The US tax authorities are set to make the amnesty programme aimed at encouraging US citizens to declare any offshore bank accounts less tough. Recently appointed head of the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS), John Koskinen, said at a tax conference in Washington D.C. that re-striking the balance between enforcement… – Continue reading
While Perrigo Co. plc has already cut its tax burden by moving offshore in the $8.6 billion blockbuster deal with Irish pharmaceutical maker Elan Corp. that it says will allow it to expand globally, other U.S. corporations could have a hard time pulling off similar deals. New federal legislation aims to change… – Continue reading
In an article published by The Mirror on May 20th, it was claimed that an untaxed shadow economy now accounts for a tenth of all the money spent here in the UK. Undisclosed corporate takings annually equate to £100bn, meaning that HMRC annually fail to collect around £47bn in tax revenue. Tax… – Continue reading
The U.S. has given Swiss banks more time to show some Americans’ accounts were not used to evade taxes in a program that has banks deliver account data to avoid criminal prosecution. The Department of Justice has given as many as 106 banks until July 31 to demonstrate that an… – Continue reading
US firms are using the UK as a haven in which they can symbolically shift their companies to benefit from the country’s relatively low corporation tax regime. Several American companies have already sailed parts across the Atlantic and set up in the UK by moving a handful of executives over… – Continue reading
Nothing about the narrow cream-colored lobby at 160 Aldersgate Street in the City of London financial district gives a hint of its role at the center of the offshore oil industry. That’s because the building is occupied by a law firm. Yet, on paper at least, it is also home to… – Continue reading
Bank Leumi, Israel’s second largest bank, said on Sunday it was close to a deal to pay nearly 1 billion shekels ($289 million) to the U.S. Justice Department in relation to its investigation into possible tax evasion by the bank’s American clients. The settlement, likely to take weeks or months… – Continue reading
The U.S. has given Swiss banks more time to show some Americans’ accounts were not used to evade taxes in a program that has banks deliver account data to avoid criminal prosecution. The Department of Justice has given as many as 106 banks until July 31 to demonstrate that an… – Continue reading
Malta is the only member state stopping a tax loophole costing billions of euros being closed, after Sweden dropped its opposition to a EU finance ministers’ agreement to stop multinational companies exploiting hybrid loan arrangements to pay little or no tax. The European Commission reassured Swedish diplomats last week that… – Continue reading
A draft Council of Europe Convention on the manipulation of sports competitions may see Malta losing on the remote gaming industry The Maltese government will continue to push for changes to a new definition of illegal sports betting which is being drafted by the Council of Europe, and pushed by… – Continue reading
Thousands of investors worldwide are finding out that controversial new US tax avoidance laws have a much wider reach than just American taxpayers with offshore accounts. This is because an unforeseen consequence of the new Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is international customers of US financial institutions must reveal… – Continue reading
All financial institutions in the UAE must comply with the agreement signed with the US Financial institutions in the UAE will start sharing extensive data of account holders with a US nationality from July 1st with the Internal Revenue Services (IRS), or the American tax collecting authority. On May 23rd… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: UK-based telecom major Vodafone is facing tax claims and interest totalling more than Rs 27,000 crore in India, which includes Rs 14,200 crore for acquiring Hutchison’s stake in 2007, the company said in its annual report. Vodafone said that its Indian subsidiary had received a letter in January… – Continue reading
Bank Leumi, one of Israel’s largest financial institutions, will pay a billion-shekel fine to US authorities for suspected tax evasion, Channel 2 reported on Sunday. Related: Israel agrees to turn American’s bank accounts over to IRS According to a US-led investigation, the bank’s American branches made illegal transactions to clients’… – Continue reading
As they pile up in cash accounts, undistributed foreign profits are inflating U.S. multinationals’ valuations and making companies appear less leveraged. Undistributed foreign earnings (UFE) — foreign profits earned by overseas subsidiaries that have not, at least not yet, been remitted back to the U.S. parent — are a good… – Continue reading
The Tanzania Revenue Authority (TRA) has set up new tax determination guidelines aimed at providing consistency in tax administration on both domestic and cross-border transactions.The new system –“Transfer Pricing Regulation” will also provide taxpayers with insights on the procedures followed in determination of income tax, duty and levies in various… – Continue reading
