Padoan : “it will enable member states to better fight aggressive tax planning by groups of companies” The Council approved an amendment to an EU directive with the aim of preventing tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning by corporate groups. To this end, it agreed that it would introduce a… – Continue reading
The European Commission welcomes two breakthrough agreements reached by the Council today towards combating corporate tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning. The Council has given its political backing to the anti-abuse clause of the Parent Subsidiary Directive and to the mandatory exchange of information between EU tax authorities. “I applaud… – Continue reading
Juncker has put corporate tax reform firmly back on the EU agenda The “Lux leaks” scandal may have cast a shadow over Jean-Claude Juncker’s first months as European Commission president, but its real significance will be how it impacts the EU’s position on corporate tax. Some contend the scale of… – Continue reading
The EU’s most powerful official is under mounting pressure as dozens more multinational corporate names are dragged into the Luxembourg tax scandal following a new leak of confidential documents on Tuesday. Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European commission, has been battling to distance himself from the growing furore over the… – Continue reading
European Union nations that offer “patent box” tax breaks should retool their laws so that only deserving companies can claim benefits tied to technical innovations, according to a draft report from a European Union working group. Countries that use this kind of technology tax break should start legislative work next… – Continue reading
The luxleaks scandal has been used as “cover” by big European nations to point the finger at the tax affairs of small countries like Ireland and try to push through rules that suit their own interests, according to Fine Gael’s Brian Hayes. The MEP, who sits on the parliament’s economic… – Continue reading
President Putin’s surprise amnesty allowing Russians with cash stashed abroad to bring it back home with no penalty may be a windfall, but then maybe not. The US, Mexico, Italy, Kazakhstan, and many others have tried it with varied success. When financial crises hit, governments have tried to reel in… – Continue reading
Brisbane communiqué, after the G20 heads of government summit, and that from their finance ministers, after their earlier meeting in Cairns, along with recent developments in the Forum on Tax Administration mean for business. The Brisbane communiqué contained one paragraph on tax. It read: 13. We are taking actions to… – Continue reading
Brisbane communiqué, after the G20 heads of government summit, and that from their finance ministers, after their earlier meeting in Cairns, along with recent developments in the Forum on Tax Administration mean for business. The Brisbane communiqué contained one paragraph on tax. It read: 13. We are taking actions to… – Continue reading
European Union nations that offer “patent box” tax breaks should retool their laws so that only deserving companies can claim benefits tied to technical innovations, according to a draft report from a European Union working group. Countries that use this kind of technology tax break should start legislative work next… – Continue reading
Corporation tax is “not a good candidate for devolution” an independent think tank has concluded. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) analysed the Autumn Statement, in which the chancellor made a conditional offer to devolve the tax to Northern Ireland. The IFS said such a move could introduce profit shifting… – Continue reading
(AFP) The European parliament ordered reports delving into tax evasion Thursday, a contentious topic after the “Luxleaks” scandal that has embroiled EU commission head and former Luxembourg premier Jean-Claude Juncker. A journalistic investigation using thousands of leaked files revealed last month that Luxembourg allowed hundreds of top companies to enjoy… – Continue reading
Greens say Malta should start thinking of Plan B on its attractive tax regime for foreign companies as pressure from major EU states on European Commission grows Malta should be prepared to diversify its current fiscal policy and even wave goodbye to its incentives to attract foreign industry, Alternattiva Demokratika… – Continue reading
The European Commission (Commission) has given one of its clearest indications yet that it is seeking to clamp down on unfair tax breaks or ‘waivers’ for underpaying companies through the EU rules on state aid. How does State aid apply to taxation? The EU rules on state aid prohibit the… – Continue reading
The United States won’t give up its right to tax multinationals, and nations will go to war soon with countries like China on taxing rights, a US tax head says. Grant Thornton’s national managing partner of tax in the United States, Randy Robason, is in Australia this week for a… – Continue reading
December 3: Budget bill 2015—which would provide a tax credit for research and development (R&D) and would introduce a patent box regime—was passed by the Italian lower house on 30 November 2014. The budget bill is pending consideration by the Italian Senate. Changes to the legislation are possible during this… – Continue reading
YORKSHIRE businesses that invest in research and development could face higher tax bills if Chancellor George Osborne uses his Autumn Statement to water down tax breaks following complaints by Germany. One of Mr Osborne’s flagship policies is set to be reformed on Wednesday following the resolution of a dispute with… – Continue reading
What unites the dates February 12, 2013, July 19, 2013, and September 16, 2014? They are the key dates to this point in the OECD’s crusade against base erosion and profit shifting, which will be remembered either as a well-coordinated campaign against abusive tax avoidance by large multinational enterprises, or… – Continue reading
Project cannot be a ‘dialogue of the privileged’, stresses Minister for Finance Plans to reform the global tax system must not be used to create advantages for larger countries, Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has said. Addressing a conference in Dublin, he said Ireland overwhelmingly supported the Organisation for Economic… – Continue reading
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. The UK has lost its top slot in a league table of multinational companies’… – Continue reading
YORKSHIRE businesses that invest in research and development could face higher tax bills if Chancellor George Osborne uses his Autumn Statement to water down tax breaks following complaints by Germany. One of Mr Osborne’s flagship policies is set to be reformed on Wednesday following the resolution of a dispute with… – Continue reading
Ireland has knocked the UK off the top spot as the most competitive tax destination, according to KPMG’s annual survey of Britain’s largest businesses However, the UK has increased the number of times it is mentioned in the companies’ top three competitive tax regimes. The KPMG Annual Survey of Tax… – Continue reading
George Osborne’s targeting of corporate tax dodges faces voter scepticism • Chancellor waters down tech company measures • Disbelief will greet key plan in autumn statement Almost 60% of adults in the UK don’t believe politicians’ promises to tackle corporate tax avoidance, according to a damning poll published ahead of… – Continue reading
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has welcomed long-awaited recommendations from the Smith Commission on the devolution of additional tax powers to the Scottish Parliament. Cameron established the Commission in the wake of the “no” vote in September’s Scottish independence referendum. He sought to keep Scotland in the UK with promises… – Continue reading
Even as Finance minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said a heavy tax regime was responsible for black money, his ministerial colleague M Venkaiah Naidu told parliament amidst uproar that BJP had never promised to bring back black money stashed aboard in first 100 days of power. Reading BJP manifesto, Naidu,… – Continue reading
Proposals by the Smith Commission to allow Scotland to vary income tax rates could lead to a rise in tax avoidance unless properly managed, according to a tax expert at Pinsent Masons, the international law firm. Karen Davidson, a legal director and tax specialist at Pinsent Masons says that any… – Continue reading
To prevent cross-border tax evasion, we endorse the global Common Reporting Standard for the automatic exchange of tax information (AEOI) on a reciprocal basis. We will begin to exchange information automatically with each other and with other countries by 2017 or end-2018, subject to completing the necessary legislative procedures,’’ says… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said tax rates should be brought down to reasonable levels to get rid of rampant instances of evasion and to improve the environment for investments. “Our tax system has to be friendly for tax payers and that is what we are trying to do… – Continue reading
Passage by the French assembly on 18 November 2014 of a draft Finance Bill for 2015 (which now will be presented to the Senate) Introduction by the French government on 12 November 2014 of a second draft amended Finance Bill for 2014 In general, the draft Finance Bill for 2015… – Continue reading
Latest updates as proposals for new devolution to Scotland unveiled in Edinburgh 14.00 We’re going to wrap it there for today. Thank you for following. 13.30 Labour are concerned about regional airports in the north of England, and tax competition from lower levels of air passenger duty in Scotland. Is… – Continue reading
Hal Hicks cleared his throat and addressed a roomful of peers in a midtown Manhattan auditorium. The topic: the tax-avoidance technique called inversion, in which a U.S. company claims a foreign legal address. Waving his hands back and forth as if tracing a pendulum’s swing, Hicks explained how four government… – Continue reading
European tax experts say that despite rule changes, Britain has one of the clearest systems Tax professionals view the Netherlands and the UK as the most attractive European countries in which to do business, according to a new survey. The two countries scored well on how simple their tax rules… – Continue reading
Strategies: Economists suggest removing easy avoidance VANCOUVER — Never mind that business-friendly tax policies – reforms like the dramatic reductions in federal and provincial corporate taxes over the past decade or so – enhance international competitiveness. This doesn’t impress the electorate when the benefits go mostly to the relative handful… – Continue reading
Martin Lock was formerly the top withholding-tax specialist at the Tax Office, a role that encompassed oversight of profit shifting by multinationals. He is one of many former officers who have voiced their concerns to Fairfax Media about the challenge of arresting the slide in tax receipts from multinational companies… – Continue reading
Favourable tax systems for businesses operating in Northern Ireland must be transparent and open, according to a campaigner. Eamonn Donaghy, head of tax at KPMG Belfast and spokesman for Grow NI, a campaign to devolve corporation tax varying powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly, was speaking as a new report… – Continue reading
Responsible corporations paying their taxes and revealing their ownership structure could be a possible solution in the fight of Europe against tax evasion and tax havens which cost billions of euro annually. EurActiv Czech Republic reports. “We should step up our efforts to combat tax evasion and tax fraud”, Jean-Claude… – Continue reading
One of George Osborne’s flagship policies is set to be reformed in next week’s Autumn Statement following the resolution of a protracted spat with Germany over the controversial tax break. The so-called Patent Box took effect last year and allowed companies to pay lower tax bills on profits derived from… – Continue reading
Tax havens have created an unsustainable economic structure wherein the rich get richer, Dennis Howlett summarized. Daily Herald Other news Zary’s hat trick leads Trojans over Mintos Bauer earns Player of the Week honours Crusaders win provincial championship in all P.A. final PAPHR received significant staffing boost under the Sask…. – Continue reading
Nov 22 (Reuters) – German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble sharply criticised leading German companies for reducing taxes by creating subsidiaries in Luxembourg, where tax rates are lower, according to Focus news magazine. “The list of those that have institutions in Luxembourg with the aim of saving taxes is a Who’s… – Continue reading
By closing the tax gap, South Africa can reap billions of rands to benefit the economy. A global crackdown on tax avoidance has begun and South Africa is forging ahead in a bid to tackle wealthy individuals and corporates who practise this tactic. The initiative is better poised to succeed… – Continue reading
New Zealand is rated 22nd out of 189 economies in its ease of paying taxes, according to Paying Taxes 2015, now in its ninth edition. The unique study by PwC and the World Bank Group is the only piece of research which measures the ease of paying taxes by assessing… – Continue reading
Sit down before you read this: Internet companies pay more corporation tax than the European average, in some cases many times more. According to the European Commission the average ‘effective’ corporate tax rate in the European Union and EFTA is 12.9%; in 2012 Amazon had a whopping 78% in corporation… – Continue reading
Action Item 5 of the BEPS Action Plan commits the Forum on Harmful Tax Practices (“FHTP”) to: “revamp the work on harmful tax practices with a priority on improving transparency, including compulsory spontaneous exchange on rulings related to preferential regimes, and on requiring substantial activity for any preferential regime. It… – Continue reading
The European Commission will use the ‘Luxleaks’ documents uncovered by investigative journalists three weeks ago in its ongoing investigation of tax avoidance at the European level, Margrethe Vestager, the EU competition chief, said on Thursday (20 November). The documents, known as the ‘Luxleaks’, showed that more than 300 companies, including… – Continue reading
Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said he was firmly opposed to harmonising tax policies in the EU, a report said Wednesday, hitting back after an investigation exposed his tiny country as a global tax haven. Jean-Claude Juncker, Bettel’s predecessor and new European Commission president, is under pressure after it was… – Continue reading
REGIONAL businesses continue to suffer from double taxation three years after a plan to harmonise taxes was approved, causing a delay in realisation of East Africa Community integration benefits. Kenya Association of Manufacturers CEO Betty Maina said the tax issue needs to be urgently addressed by ensuring all member countries… – Continue reading
Luxembourg’s Prime Minister has spoken out against a harmonsiation of tax within the EU, arguing that it should be left to member states to decide. Xavier Bettel was quoted in an interview published by Belgian daily L’Echo on Wednesday, following the Lux Leaks scandal in which tax agreements between the… – Continue reading
Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel has criticized the European Union’s single tax plans, arguing that it should be left to member states to decide. “To say that everyone within the European Union must move toward a single tax policy with the same tax rate, that I’m against,” Belgian daily L’Echo… – Continue reading
UK and multinational enterprises are starting to consider (re)organising themselves under a UK holding company for their global operations, rather than using other traditional onshore holding company jurisdictions. This new trend is the result of a number of factors, which have moved the UK from an outside choice as an… – Continue reading
On 11 November 2014, the UK and Germany made a joint announcement about a proposal they had developed to address some of the concerns raised over the OECD’s suggested approach to dealing with preferential IP tax regimes. These regimes will close to new entrants from June 2016, and will be… – Continue reading
