Category: Real Estate

Government launches consultation on tax avoidance proposals

The government has launched a consultation on tax avoidance policies related to interest deductions that could have significant consequences for real estate. The proposals were released by the the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as part of a series of recommendations earlier this month designed to prevent companies… – Continue reading

Art Collectors Find Safe Harbor in Delaware’s Tax Laws

NEWARK, Del. — It may not summon up a sense of international intrigue like Geneva or Luxembourg, but this small city, just off the Interstate and down the road from Wilmington, can now boast that it has joined those more glamorous locales as a tax haven for art collectors. Fritz… – Continue reading

Tax Planning for Chinese Investment in U.S. Real Estate

According to recent estimates, Chinese investors represented the largest group of foreign investors in U.S. real estate in the second quarter of 2015 with $1.9 billion in acquisitions. In the last 12 months, Chinese investors acquired $5.9 billion in commercial U.S. real estate, and Asia was second overall to Europe… – Continue reading

India fails to get to root of black money problem

The Indian government’s initial unsuccessful efforts to unearth billions of dollars of undeclared foreign assets – some believed to be hidden in Swiss banks – highlight the complexity of vehicles used to move money illicitly. Earlier in the year, a new law on black money came into effect. It included… – Continue reading

Govt Drops Double Taxation Rule for REITs

Jakarta. The Indonesian government revealed its fifth stimulus package on Thursday in a bid to prop up the economy by, among others, scrapping double taxation imposed on companies called real estate investment trusts to improve property investment. The package was announced by Cabinet Secretary Pramono Anung, Coordinating Minister for Maritime… – Continue reading

HOUSING A TAX DODGE IN RICHMOND AND VANCOUVER

Some might be surprised to learn that certain areas of Richmond and Vancouver, despite being thoroughly decorated with mcmansions, monster homes, and incessantly rising land prices, are actually inhabited by low income residents that make up a surprising per cent of the population. Conservative Party leader Stephen Harper, during a… – Continue reading

Benefits of UAE-Based Offshore Companies

Offshore companies are established for a variety of reasons including a company’s necessity to restructure, create an international business entity as well as protect the assets of the company. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is home to three authorities that register International or offshore companies. The three UAE authorities that… – Continue reading

Real estate, the golden visa and tax

Golden visa EU citizens may freely register as residents in Portugal. However, non-EU citizens may also obtain residence in Portugal if they obtain a ‘golden visa’ by participating in investment activity and fulfilling certain requirements. Requirements Obtaining a golden visa requires one of the following types of investment: acquisition of… – Continue reading

Is a Canada Revenue Agency landlord avoiding taxes via offshore havens?

The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) rents office space from a Vancouver-based property developer – a company that exploits offshore tax havens in Liechtenstein, the British Virgin Islands and Channel Islands. Larco Investments Ltd. owns three buildings in Montreal, Calgary and Edmonton where they rent office space to the CRA. Larco… – Continue reading

Belarus-Georgia agreement on avoidance of double taxation ratified

MINSK, 15 October (BelTA) – The House of Representatives of the National Assembly of Belarus ratified the Belarus-Georgia intergovernmental agreement on avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital on 15 October, BelTA has learned. It is expected that the agreement… – Continue reading

Foreign investment and tax: what the ATO’s expanded armoury means for foreign investment into Australia

A series of recent developments means that tax is now a key part of the Australian foreign investment regime and the foreign investment rules have significantly more bite. When determining whether a foreign investment proposal is “contrary to the national interest”, the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB) actively considers the… – Continue reading

FACTA and the New Frontier in Offshore Reporting Enforcement

FATCA was passed to prevent U.S. citizens from evading tax by focusing primarily on foreign financial institutions with U.S. account holders. The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was enacted as part of the 2010 Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act, and its provisions became effective as of 7/1/14. FATCA… – Continue reading

Turnbull’s tax reform may see reviving his own tax report that he wrote 10 years ago

x Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull announces his new federal cabinet during a media conference at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, September 20, 2015. Australia got its fifth prime minister in as many years on Monday after the ruling Liberal Party voted to replace Abbott with former investment banker Malcolm… – Continue reading

Beyond the Black Money Bill

No focus on stock markets and other money-laundering machines After all the noisy assertions, only Rs4,147 crore of unaccounted wealth was declared during the special 90-day compliance window of the The Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax) Act, 2015 (Black Money Bill). Of this, just Rs2,488 crore will… – Continue reading

GSK, Novartis and Crédit Suisse put Switzerland on a high

Swiss firms have bagged major business from global brands such as GSK, Novartis and Crédit Suisse this year, while their Asia ventures have come good. The legal minds behind the Glaxo-SmithKline and Novartis asset swap, global banking investigations, Schaeffler’s €2bn high yield bond issuance and Dufry’s £1.05bn takeover of Nuance… – Continue reading

Fears over money laundering in Australia

A former head of Australia’s anti-money-laundering agency wants tough rules introduced to prevent the country from becoming a safe haven for foreign corrupt funds. Despite credible warnings that large volumes of illicit money leaving China are being laundered in Australia, an investigation by ABC programme Four Corners has found no… – Continue reading

Australia’s New Leader Dusts Off a Tax Plan Snubbed 10 Years Ago

As a newly-elected Australian lawmaker a decade ago, Malcolm Turnbull wrote an unsolicited 52-page proposal to reform the tax system. The report and its 281 recommendations were dismissed by the government and his costings called into question. Now, a month after replacing Tony Abbott as leader of the world’s 12th-largest… – Continue reading

France: French Tax Update: Draft Finance Bill For 2016, New France/Germany Double Tax Treaty, And ECJ Steria Decision

This French Tax Update will focus on (i) the main provisions of the draft Finance Bill for 2016 (Projet de loi de finance pour 2016) issued by the French Government on September 30, 2015 and to be discussed before the French Parliament between October and December (“Draft Finance Bill for… – Continue reading

Threats revealed to Cayman’s AML regime

(CNS Business): Government faces some serious challenges over the next 18 months to update the regulatory regime that protects the country’s financial service sector ahead of a task force inspection in March 2017. Francis Arana, head of the Anti-Money Laundering Unit in the Attorney General’s Chambers, who is coordinating the… – Continue reading

UK: The Use Of UK Holding Companies In International Group Structures

The location of a holding company is a significant consideration in any international corporate structure. Choice of jurisdiction for a group holding company (‘Holdco’) is relevant both from the point of view of tax optimisation (maximising withholding tax free dividend, interest and royalty flow up through the group and minimising… – Continue reading

Singapore: Singapore Tax Treaties: The End Of Limitation Of Relief?

What is limitation of relief? Here is an actual illustration: A client in Singapore has loans to a Spanish SOCIMI, a real estate investment company equivalent to a REIT. Spain requires tax to be deducted at source when interest becomes payable even if in fact the interest is not actually… – Continue reading

The value of dual citizenship for African’s wishing to take advantage of opportunities within the continent and abroad

It is estimated that only around 1% of the world’s population have two or more passports, making dual citizenship an exclusive privilege JOHANNESBURG – “No man is an island” is the theme of this year’s upcoming Investment Agenda, being held in Johannesburg on the 20th of October. Leading investors, asset… – Continue reading

Jersey: The Offshore Dragon: The Increasing Popularity Of IFCs In The PRC

Using companies incorporated in international financial centres (IFCs) in structuring financial transactions, capital raisings and corporate structures has long been popular in Asia, particularly Hong Kong (itself an IFC). Following the energetic expansion of the PRC economy and assisted in part by the relaxation of PRC regulations in relation to… – Continue reading

Global Tax News: Belgium Adopts New Fiscal Measures

The Belgian Parliament has adopted a Program Law containing a wide array of fiscal measures. The most salient of these measures are (i) the introduction of a transparency tax regime for physical and legal persons subject to legal persons tax and that qualify as founders or third-party beneficiaries of so-called… – Continue reading

Spotlight on tax havens reveals inequality link

With a slim new book that has the feel of Piketty’s bestselling Capital in the 21st Century, Zucman, a 28-year-old University of California-Berkeley economist, is taking his own swing at global capitalism. His target: tax havens that he says hide $7.6-trillion — about 8% of the world’s net financial wealth…. – Continue reading

Tips From the Pros: Domestic Trust Situs Opportunities for International Families

International families are establishing domestic trusts at a record pace.1 Previously, these families set up trusts in the United States only if they had family and/or assets in the United States. This strategy still remains popular for international families, but now they’re also using domestic trusts even if they don’t… – Continue reading

Treatment of companies managed outside Jersey

Tax residency of Jersey companies Jersey companies may (contrary to the default position) be treated as exclusively tax resident in jurisdictions other than Jersey pursuant to Article 123(1)(a) of the Income Tax (Jersey) Law 1961. The criteria for a Jersey incorporated company to be resident (for taxation purposes) in a… – Continue reading

If You See a Little Piketty in This Tax-Haven Book, That’s Fine

Look out, Thomas Piketty. Here comes Gabriel Zucman. With a slim new book that has the feel of Piketty’s bestselling “Capital in the 21st Century,” Zucman, a baby-faced 28-year-old University of California-Berkeley economist, is taking his own swing at global capitalism. His target: tax havens that he says hide $7.6… – Continue reading

Dutch Tax Plan 2016

Speed read On 15 September 2015 the Dutch government published its Tax Plan 2016. In this e-alert we discuss the legislative proposals in the Tax Plan which are of interest for companies. 1 INTRODUCTION Today, the Dutch Ministry of Finance published its Tax Plan 2016. In fact, the government sent… – Continue reading

The Netherlands – Budget 2016

On September 15, the Dutch government released its Budget 2016, containing the Tax Plan 2016 which includes certain amendments to Dutch tax law. The government will discuss the plans the coming weeks in parliament. Further to these discussions, some elements of the Tax Plan 2016 may change. Most proposals will… – Continue reading

Corruption in China: This will blow your mind

Is Xi Jinping (習近平)’s anti-corruption campaign crushing it or embarrassingly ineffective? You make the call. It was widely reported the year before Xi assumed office that upwards of 18,000 corrupt officials had fled China since 1990 with about US$120 billion. In early 2012, the Ministry of Supervision released figures saying… – Continue reading

The New Money-Laundering Sting: Come to the U.S., Get Arrested

Lawyer Patrick Poulin says he helped clients set up offshore corporations in the Caribbean. And that’s what he was working on when he flew to Miami from the Turks and Caicos last year to meet with two Americans who wanted him to invest $2 million from a real estate deal…. – Continue reading

Greece Plans Property Tax Reforms

Greece’s Alternate Finance Minister in the current caretaker government, Tryfon Alexiadis, has pushed for an overhaul of the controversial property tax ENFIA. The Single Property Ownership Tax (ENFIA) is widely seen as inequitable and has been deeply unpopular since its introduction on January 1, 2014. Earlier in 2015, the Syriza… – Continue reading

Guernsey: What Guernsey Can Offer Chinese HNWIs’

In September 2014, the Hurun Research Institute published its annual listing of the richest people in China. It showed that IT tycoon Ma Yun had increased his personal fortune during the last year by 500% to $25 billion and in doing so, had climbed to first position on the list…. – Continue reading

German businesses criticise changes to investment fund taxation

German business groups have hit out at Berlin’s plan to reform how it taxes investment funds, warning on Thursday that the proposed changes would hurt pension provisions and reduce the attractiveness of Europe’s largest economy as a place to invest. The finance ministry announced plans in July to reform the… – Continue reading

Canadians Owning Property in the U.S. Could Cash in on the Weak Loonie

For the past few years, Canadians have been taking advantage of our dollar being worth about the same as the U.S. dollar. From buying up real estate to cross-border shopping, being on par with the U.S. dollar has had its advantages. However, in the last few months, economic factors have… – Continue reading

Real Estate Investment into London and Europe

The Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) have long been known as leading offshore centres for the establishment of investment funds and other investment structures. In particular, Channel Island vehicles are often used for alternative investment structuring – including private equity, infrastructure and real estate. This article explains the trends in… – Continue reading

Greece To Keep Track Of Taxpayers’ Assets

Greece’s Deputy Finance Minister, Trifon Alexiadis, has fired Greece’s first salvo in the fight to overcome the country’s non-compliance problems, announcing the introduction of a comprehensive scheme of asset registration for all taxpayers. The new “Asset Declaration” measure will apply from the beginning of 2016. In preparation, the tax authorities… – Continue reading

Spain Welcomes Foreign Asset Declarations

Foreign asset declarations by Spanish taxpayers have totaled EUR126.3bn (USD145bn) since 2013, when such declarations became compulsory, Spain’s Ministry of Finance has said. The Ministry said that in the past three months 1,813 taxpayers declared EUR1.9bn in foreign assets under Modelo 720, which requires tax resident individuals to report assets… – Continue reading

Portugal expands its golden visa programme

New investment structures are making it easier for people from outside of the European Union seeking to live in Portugal through the country’s golden visa programme, reports the Expats Forum. The initial minimum investment of €500,000 has been reduced to €350,000 for investment in properties located in districts designated for… – Continue reading

Real estate bought with offshore cash raises money laundering concerns

Investigator says Canadian real estate market has developed reputation as a place to launder money A report prepared for Canada’s anti-money laundering watchdog points to offshore cash in the real estate sector as a “significant risk” for criminal wrongdoing. The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada, commonly known… – Continue reading