The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act is a US law, obligating banks in other countries to disclose to the American tax authorities information about the accounts of American taxpayers in these banks WASHINGTON, April 11. /ITAR-TASS/. Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov has notified US Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew of… – Continue reading
Introduction Article 10 of the Russia-Cyprus double tax agreement grants taxing rights over dividends to the state of residence of the company paying the dividends (in addition to the state of residence of the recipient). The tax that may be imposed in the state in which the dividends originate is… – Continue reading
Foreign financial institutions, such as offshore funds, should register with the IRS by May 5 and review new and revised IRS forms. The July 1 start date for Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) withholding on certain payments of U.S. source income[1] is fast approaching, and no extensions of that start date are on the… – Continue reading
Potato king Paul Rennie has told a court he is unable to explain why he sent millions of dollars to tax havens in transactions revealed by a Project Wickenby investigation. The Federal Court heard Mr Rennie had been raided by federal police, who seized documents related to his Griffith-area potato… – Continue reading
In round-tripping, U.S. investors move funds to offshore tax havens, then invest in U.S. equity and debt markets with these “foreign” funds. In essence, the U.S. investors are disguising themselves as foreign investors, who are not subject to the same tax rates on capital gains and interest income. The money… – Continue reading
The standard corporate income tax rate is 16%, applicable to both Romanian companies and to foreign companies operating through a permanent establishment in Romania. Profit repatriation In case of the Romanian company being set up as a subsidiary of a foreign company profits may be repatriated solely by way of… – Continue reading
U.S. states are trying to capture corporate income taxes lost to offshore havens, wary of companies exploiting rules that let them channel cash abroad and weary of congressional inaction. Oregon enacted a bill for the 2014 tax year identifying 39 countries and territories as corporate shelters a decade after Montana… – Continue reading
Greece is asking Swiss authorities to lift bank secrecy practices and allow its investigators to reveal the names and details of bank accounts held by Greek citizens. The request comes as Greece is already poring through a list of 2,059 Greeks who have put away 1.5 billion euros in the… – Continue reading
The Finance Ministry is drawing up legislation allowing Russian banks to give information about their clients to foreign tax authorities, after U.S. stonewalling halted bilateral negotiations on a financial information sharing agreement. At the same time, the ministry intends to oblige foreign banks to report similar information to the Russian tax service, Vedomosti reported Wednesday, citing sources in the ministry…. – Continue reading
A joint effort by India and the US to amicably decide on their respective shares of taxes from IT and ITeS companies operating in both countries is threatening to unravel, owing to a big, seemingly unresolvable gap between the transfer pricing (TP) margins individually determined by them. While New Delhi… – Continue reading
The OECD has been prolific in its publication of discussion documents since the start of the year. OECD discussion draft documents have been released in respect of: Action 13: Transfer pricing documentation and country by country reporting – 30 January 2014 The BEPS Action Plan issued on 19 July 2013… – Continue reading
To anyone who even casually monitors international agencies — such as the UN, the OECD, and the IMF — it will come as no surprise that those agencies have long wanted stable sources of funding that they could count on, rather than relying on handouts from governments around the world…. – Continue reading
On Tuesday, the House Ways and Means Committee holds a hearing to discuss making permanent several of multinationals’ favorite tax code provisions, including the Apple loophole. Thus the House, like the Senate, is in the early stages of enacting these expired provisions yet again. That’s how Congress traditionally gives multinationals their offshore tax loopholes: propose… – Continue reading
Given the proximity of Canada to the U.S., it is not surprising that many Canadians own real estate south of the border. Some, especially those who are retired snowbirds, also spend a good part of the year in the U.S. It is important to understand what the tax implications are… – Continue reading
The bitter marital split of aviation tycoon Clive Joy has highlighted the issue the role tax efficient offshore trusts can play in lengthy High Court divorces. Recently aviation tycoon Clive Joy hit the headlines, but not for his expertise in aerospace issues. It was because in the course of a bitter… – Continue reading
The schedule of the Russian parliament has been updated yet again and it appears that forex dealing regulation is coming back to the fray. According to recent reports by Russian media there might be some key amendments aimed to limit the participation of brokers residing in offshore financial centres (OFCs)…. – Continue reading
Where do you stand on the issue of taxing profits earned overseas by American companies? I ask because Caterpillar (CAT) found itself on the U.S. Senate hot seat last week. There, what should have been an information-gathering hearing about offshore earnings turned into a full-blown attack on Caterpillar and its… – Continue reading
Australian tax laws are inhibiting the export of financial services and the nation’s development as an “international financial centre”, according to Macquarie Group. In its submission to the Financial System Inquiry, Macquarie said Australia’s tax provisions are becoming “increasingly detailed, complex and hard to interpret, making it difficult for businesses… – Continue reading
Irish Corporate Tax 2014: The Government today issued what it calls a technical paper on effective corporation tax rates to effectively confuse the public by avoiding the key issues about its facilitation of corporate tax avoidance. It’s irrelevant to the core issues as it is simply trying to divert attention… – Continue reading
ST. GEORGE’S, GRENADA, Tuesday April 1, 2014: The Member Governments of the Eastern Caribbean Currency Union (ECCU) have commenced discussions with the United States of America (US) towards executing an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) for the implementation of the provisions of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). On 18… – Continue reading
Starting July 1, every international business and investment in the world is going to feel the full weight of U.S. tax law directly or indirectly. It is all part of the Congress’s long-time policy of making international business — referred to derogatorily as offshore — the scapegoat in order to… – Continue reading
IRELAND’s effective rate of corporation tax averaged between 10.7pc and 10.9pc over the last decade, a report by the Department of Finance states. It claims that the tax paid by companies is close to the 12.5pc headline rate, amid controversy over the amount paid by multinationals here. The Department commissioned… – Continue reading
If you asked financial professionals to list the world’s biggest “tax havens,” they would quickly identify some of the most obvious international financial centers. Switzerland would be on virtually every list, as would the Cayman Islands. Other logical choices would be Jersey and Luxembourg. But would anybody, if asked to… – Continue reading
We are a tax avoidance nation. Almost everyone employs some strategies to avoid paying more taxes than they should. So it’s hardly news to anyone, except Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, that Caterpillar Inc. may have employed some strategies to reduce the amount of federal taxes it pays. Levin, chairman of… – Continue reading
All bar the dotting of the i’s and crossing of the t’s appears done in New Zealand’s intergovernmental agreement with the United States over its controversial Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA. An Inland Revenue Department (IRD) spokesman confirmed to interest.co.nz negotiations between the two countries have progressed sufficiently… – Continue reading
Irish Economy 2014: Ibec, Ireland’s leading business lobby group, in its latest economic forecast today forecasts “continued robust growth in services exports and a recovery in goods exports.” The strong growth in services mainly reflects tax-avoidance related revenue diversions to Ireland that do not reflect local economic activity. If the… – Continue reading
People who used to know young billionaire-in-exile Serhiy Kurchenko say that if he ever started drawing his financial “chain” on a piece of paper, it would finish up on the ceiling. Kurchenko’s chain is made up of hundreds of fake Ukrainian companies, dozens of offshore firmsand more than 600 people who… – Continue reading
Commission proposal to clamp down on companies cheating tax by opening subsidiary companies in different member states supported by vast majority of MEPs. On Wednesday Labour MEPs were part of a very small minority of 32 MEPs who voted against a resolution backing the Commission’s proposal to tighten the Parent-Subsidiary… – Continue reading
ZURICH (Reuters) – Credit Suisse faces the threat of a new investigation into its role in helping wealthy Americans avoid paying taxes after New York state’s top financial regulator requested documents from the Swiss bank. Switzerland’s second-largest lender had raised expectations it was putting the long-running American tax controversy behind it when it… – Continue reading
PARIS — Netflix is set to follow iTunes and Google’s footsteps: The service is expected to launch in Gaul in the fall but will be headquartered Luxembourg in order to avoid the heavy French regulations. French newspaper Les Echos reported the move will bring Netflix’s French outpost together with its other European headquarters —… – Continue reading
Luxembourg and the US have signed an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Luxembourg and the US negotiated a Model 1 IGA, requiring the Luxembourg Tax Administration and the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to exchange information automatically on accounts held by US citizens… – Continue reading
The offshore jurisdictions are commonly thought to be highly secretive, with banking secrecy being an important part of what those jurisdictions offer to businesses and individuals who use them. For example, in 2000, the U.S. Treasury Department issued an advisory notice stating that extra vigilance was required in doing business… – Continue reading
On January 30, 2014, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released a discussion draft for comment on Action 13; the transfer pricing documentation prong of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, which includes country-by-country reporting. As the Committee of Fiscal Affairs believes it is essential to… – Continue reading
U.S. authorities are expanding their investigation of hidden overseas assets far beyond Switzerland. The latest focus: the Cayman Islands. Undercover agents from the Internal Revenue Service conducted a yearlong probe that led to the arrests in Miami last month of three financial advisers based in the Caribbean territory. This past week, an… – Continue reading
The much-anticipated initial public offering of Chinese Internet giant Alibaba Group could be a double-edged sword for the company: Investors are drooling for a piece of the action in that country’s burgeoning online payment market, but its growing use in illegal transactions could attract scrutiny from Chinese government regulators. Alibaba,… – Continue reading
The Bahamas is aiming to complete its FATCA Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) this coming Tuesday when a high-level team visits Washington, a Cabinet Minister yesterday disclosing this nation was pushing for another key product to be exempt from reporting requirements. #While declining to name the product in question, Ryan Pinder, minister… – Continue reading
A correspondent told me that last week’s column on Caribbean response to the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was puzzling. Why didn’t the column expose those wimps – Caribbean ministers of finance and governments? How could they accept this bullying US imposition? My response was that I expressed… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday gave foreign financial institutions 10 extra days to register with the U.S. government, under a new law to combat offshore tax dodging by Americans that goes into effect on July 1. Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), foreign banks,… – Continue reading
Offshore companies can not acquire and have ownership of agricultural land in Bulgaria, according to the latest amendments to the Agricultural Land Ownership and Use Act. The changes to the Agriculture Land Act were passed on second reading, Thursday, Bulgarian BTV reports. The restriction applies to joint-stock companies that have issued bearer shares, as well…. – Continue reading
The National Treasury and the SA Revenue Service are discussing entering into an inter-governmental agreement (IGA) with the United States on a foreign tax compliant act, Sars said on Thursday. “The wording of a draft IGA has now been agreed upon and will be signed at governmental level as soon… – Continue reading
Every foreign entity must take steps immediately to determine whether FATCA will apply to it and, if so, whether FATCA registration will be required by April 25, 2014. FATCAi will go into effect on July 1, 2014. Foreign entities that must be FATCA-compliant by July 1, 2014 must register with… – Continue reading
The United States Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) have announced that foreign jurisdictions that have reached agreement on the terms of intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) can be treated as having such agreements in effect until the end of… – Continue reading
Deadlines are fast approaching for funds to comply with FATCA, the IRS announced an April 25 deadline for fund managers to register their offshore funds and offshore master funds with the IRS. Funds have until May 5 2014 to get their Global Intermediary Identification Numbers. Notably, the IRS has also… – Continue reading
April 2 — The Treasury Department and the Internal Revenue Service announced that countries that have reached intergovernmental agreements (IGAs) in substance under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act before July 1 will be treated as having signed agreements through Dec. 31, 2014, winning praise from practitioners. The government also said… – Continue reading
Baku, Fineko/abc.az. The U.S. is waiting for Azerbaijan’s response on the agreement on the exchange of tax information on the FATCA rules. The U.S. Embassy reports that the US has engaged the Azerbaijani government on this issue. “Now we’re waiting for their response. The US government is negotiating similar arrangements… – Continue reading
Aggressive tax strategies pioneered by Macquarie Group are under scrutiny both internationally and in Australia, putting at risk techniques the company has used to claim more than $1.3 billion in deductions. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development is targeting ”foreign tax credit generators” as part of its battle against… – Continue reading
Offshore finance companies are offering a way around strict new low-deposit mortgage rules, and documents obtained by 3 News reveal the Reserve Bank is keeping a close eye on it. The International Monetary Fund today warned the Auckland housing market is one of the biggest risks to our economy. Low-deposit… – Continue reading
The department had slapped a tax demand of Rs 2,080 crore on the company last year while re-opening the assessment for AY 2006-07 and 2007-08. As Finnish phone-maker Nokia strives to meet the April 30 deadline for sealing the $7.2 billion deal with Microsoft, its tussle with the Indian tax… – Continue reading
The revised figure of more than £1.1bn now judged to be “at risk” by HMRC is an increase of 12% on 2012 and 65% on 2011, according to figures calculated by law firm Pinsent Masons. A crackdown on intra-group payments was announced in the chancellor’s Budget earlier this month as… – Continue reading
The development of free trade zones and the rise of the new offshore market for the renminbi, will continue to ensure that offshore renminbi-denominated capital grows at a relatively fast pace. Standard Chartered Bank has projected that the total renminbi-denominated capital will grow by at least 40% to 2.5 trillion… – Continue reading
