Former Nudie Juice CEO Andrew Binetter allegedly sought the destruction of incriminating files at Bank Hapoalim. The names of Israeli banks Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI) and Israel Discount Bank (TASE: DSCT) have been mentioned in the Australian press as involved in alleged tax fraud in the millions of dollars by… – Continue reading
One of the UK’s leading hedge fund managers must pay nearly £8m in tax after a judge upheld a ruling that Patrick Degorce had attempted to shelter millions in a controversial avoidance scheme. Mr Degorce, co-founder of The Children’s Investment Fund along with Sir Chris Hohn, denied knowing that a… – Continue reading
A funding line has been launched to help business taxpayers facing payment deadlines arising from Accelerated Payment Notices (APNs) APNs, introduced in 2014, enable HMRC to request full upfront payment of disputed tax within 90 days. They are issued to individuals and companies suspected of partaking in aggressive avoidance schemes…. – Continue reading
Commercial finance provider LDF has launched a funding line to help taxpayers facing payment deadlines arising from accelerated payment notices issued by HMRC. Accelerated payment notices, otherwise known as APNs, were first introduced in 2014. Designed to change the economics of avoidance, the notice enables HMRC to request full upfront… – Continue reading
In a move that could add real bite to India’s war on black money, the Swiss Federal Council on Wednesday approved a bill that would allow the government to share “stolen data” with other countries. The council, Switzerland’s highest executive authority, said in a statement: “The Federal Council initiated the… – Continue reading
The European Commission is refusing to hand over documents to MEPs investigating whether EU member states are using special tax regimes that favour large multinational corporations such as Facebook and Amazon. EU economics commissioner Pierre Moscovici wrote to the European Parliament’s special committee on tax rulings (TAXE) this week claiming… – Continue reading
As Labor Day weekend approaches, a tanned and rested Congress is poised to return to Washington to hash out corporate tax changes. Much of the debate over corporate tax reform in Washington sensibly focuses on how to encourage Fortune 500 corporations to repatriate and pay U.S. taxes on the $2.1… – Continue reading
The number of Swiss banks that have entered deferred prosecution agreements with the U.S. government keeps growing. The subject is tax evasion involving American account holders. Today, banks everywhere want to know if you are compliant with the IRS. Under FATCA, the entire world is lending the IRS a hand…. – Continue reading
Moneycontrol Bureau Credit Suisse has maintained its underperform rating on Glenmark Pharma as it feels potential currency devaluation in Venezuela could hurt profit meaningfully. The stock lost more than 3 percent intraday Wednesday. The brokerage expects a 20 percent degrowth in company’s FY17 earnings per share as it continued to… – Continue reading
HSBC’s Argentine unit told to remove CEO and one director HSBC accused of helping capital flight by wealthy Argentines Argentina’s central bank revoked the licenses of two top executives at HSBC Holdings Plc’s local unit, including the chief executive officer, arguing they had failed to prevent clients from laundering funds… – Continue reading
HSBC Argentina has been asked to appoint a new president and vice president within 24 hours by Argentina’s central bank for failing to prevent tax evasion and money laundering. Last year, HSBC was charged for helping more than 4,000 clients evade taxes by hiding their money in secret Swiss bank… – Continue reading
Swiss banking secrecy is no longer viable as the U.S. Justice Department closes in on agreements with most of the institutions that may have helped Americans evade taxes, according to the top American diplomat in Switzerland. Negotiations with about one-third of Swiss lenders, known as Category 2 banks, to finalise… – Continue reading
International worldwide transactions in Mexico face a weakness as a result of an old and outdated provision which disallows for income tax purposes, the deduction of payments made abroad on a prorated basis with other parties that are not subject to Mexican income tax, such as foreign residents with no… – Continue reading
The Swiss authorities, already annoyed by India’s new black money law that puts pressure on its banking system, has now rejected an Indian government request for legal assistance to proceed against a Swiss firm for alleged bribery. A report by the NZZ am Sonntag newspaper said Switzerland’s office of the… – Continue reading
Introduction Transfer pricing methods and tested parties Troubling trend Tools for taxpayers Introduction In some recent transfer pricing audits the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has ‘flipped the tested party’ after examining transactions between related US and foreign companies. Typically, this practice results in the attribution of a larger portion of… – Continue reading
Three-member AP Shah Committee has recommended extending minimum alternate tax (MAT) relief to foreign companies which do not have permanent establishment or public business in India. In an earlier version, the committee had sought to restrict MAT to foreign institutional investors and foreign portfolio investors. The committee had also not… – Continue reading
Three-member AP Shah Committee has recommended extending minimum alternate tax (MAT) relief to foreign companies which do not have permanent establishment or public business in India. In an earlier version, the committee had sought to restrict MAT to foreign institutional investors and foreign portfolio investors. The committee had also not… – Continue reading
The new head of Barclays Plc’s Swiss unit is pushing private bankers in Geneva and Zurich to double client assets in four years as international competitors exit the world’s largest hub for offshore wealth. James Buchanan-Michaelson, who joined from Coutts International in June, aims to increase Swiss assets, including loans,… – Continue reading
After the leak of two major secret documents from HSBC’s Swiss private banking arm that revealed names of roughly 2,000 Indian account holders, the global bank itself has done it now. For the first time ever, HSBC Singapore shared a new list of 1,200 individuals all across the globe of… – Continue reading
The online craft website Etsy is facing new scrutiny for its recent decision to shift some of its intellectual property into a secretive Irish subsidiary. As Bloomberg reported last week, the company’s Irish subsidiary has been made into an “unlimited liability corporation,” a form that exists primarily to avoid disclosure… – Continue reading
The UK is preparing to triple the number of prosecutions of “serious and complex” tax evaders using an arsenal of proposed new powers, reports the Financial Times. A unit combining the civil and criminal investigations teams at HM Revenue & Customs will spearhead a crackdown that George Osborne, the chancellor,… – Continue reading
Many have, mistakenly, confused the prime minister (PM)’s recent remark that Rs 6,500 crore had been disclosed by holders of hitherto unaccounted money with disclosures under the compliance window in the recent law on the subject. However, this money has nothing to do with the latter’s three-month window. These came… – Continue reading
(CS) German financial institution HSH Nordbank reportedly reached a 22-million-euro settlement with prosecutors in Cologne over setting up offshore companies through Luxembourg to hide client assets from tax authorities. Newspaper “Süddeutsche Zeitung” and broadcasters NDR and WDR first reported on the deal on Tuesday. Allegedly, HSH Nordbank approached the prosecutor’s… – Continue reading
Subsidiaries in Luxembourg of food group had no staff and assets at year’s end of €1.3bn In its 2014 accounts Glanbia Luxfin, a subsidiary of Irish food group Glanbia, reported profits of $14.2 million and tax of $4,175, while Glanbia Luxinvest reported profits of €2.9 million and tax of €38,863…. – Continue reading
South Africans with undisclosed offshore accounts may feel exposed after their offshore Swiss bank account information found its way into the public domain this year. The theft of information relating to some 30 000 HSBC accounts – the biggest banking leak in history – actually took place five years ago… – Continue reading
In May of 2012, and soon before Facebook’s IPO, Eduardo Saverin renounced his U.S. citizenship. Saverin was a co-founder of the social-networking site, and the consensus was that he gave up his citizenship to avoid U.S. taxes that would be levied after the offering. Saverin was widely denounced for his… – Continue reading
The private equity industry has long been known for its ability to take advantage of tax rules. But international changes are set to have an impact on their businesses. After a string of multinationals such as Apple, Google and Starbucks came under fire for paying minimal tax on their British… – Continue reading
The Senate inquiry into multinational tax avoidance will table an interim report today detailing some of its findings after holding five public hearings and receiving more than 100 submissions from some of the world’s largest companies including Apple, Microsoft, BHP, Rio Tinto and Google. The final report is due to… – Continue reading
New transparency requirements could see tax-dodging companies being listed on a ‘name and shame’ register, a Senate committee has proposed. The Australian Tax Office would also be forced to disclose all tax avoidance settlements which exceed a proposed $100 million threshold, Fairfax has reported. In addition, companies based in Australia… – Continue reading
Introduction In 1934 distinguished US jurist Judge Learned Hand famously opined that “one may so arrange his affairs so that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to… – Continue reading
Artisan goods marketplace Etsy Inc., which promised to be a beacon for transparency as a public company, recently implemented a strategy that shrouds its offshore tax-cutting arrangements in secrecy. Because of a change in how its Irish subsidiary is registered, Etsy no longer needs to publicly disclose basic financial information… – Continue reading
The rise of Islamic finance and sukuk issuances have brought with it a growing phenomenon: Shariah banking is increasingly taking advantage of offshore banking jurisdictions, and this for a number of reasons, reports the Gulf Times. Many offshore centres around the world meanwhile offer a wide range of features allowing… – Continue reading
NAIROBI: The civil society in Kenya wants Parliament to join them in the push to end tax evasion through enactment of laws that enhance compliance from international trade. This, they argue, will boost revenue collection by the State. They say tougher laws will criminalise tax avoidance and spell harsher penalties… – Continue reading
Hundreds of millions of tax dollars are flooding into exchequers across the world, as governments offer evaders a last chance to own up to undeclared accounts, reports the Financial Times. Taxpayers with funds stashed offshore are coming forward voluntarily in their tens of thousands ahead of new transparency rules that… – Continue reading
For the third year on the trot, Shell service stations generated billions of dollars and revenue but not a cent in company tax. In fact the owners of the sunny yellow servos reported tax benefits in all three years despite total sales which may be in excess of $60 billion…. – Continue reading
Fears of a VDP application giving rise to a ‘witch hunt’ are ill-founded. The rapid development in international tax transparency over the past two years in the form of the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) Common Reporting Standard (CRS) has caused many South African taxpayers to consider regularising… – Continue reading
Prime Minister Narendra Modi needs to offer much more than just his best intentions to clean up India’s whimsical tax regime to help convince insurers. Companies from Allianz SE to American International Group Inc. are avoiding offering tax-liability coverage in India’s cross-border mergers and acquisitions market because of a relatively… – Continue reading
Britons in the US who have retained bank accounts at home are having to submit a raft of forms to satisfy the US Internal Revenue Service British expats living in America are being threatened with having their UK bank accounts shut down if they fail to comply with rigorous new… – Continue reading
SEOUL, Aug. 6 (Yonhap) — The top court ruled Thursday against an oil company of the United Arab Emirates, headed by a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family, saying that it must pay millions of dollars in stock trading tax to South Korea. IPIC International B.V. (IPIC), a state-run… – Continue reading
SINGAPORE’S easiest days as a financial hub are over. The city remains a gateway to Asia, a great base for basing multinationals, settling lawsuits and parking money. But elsewhere, the city is being sidelined; the worry is that is a sign of things to come. In just 50 years, the… – Continue reading
Microsoft Corp.’s stockpile of offshore profits rose to $108 billion, with a 17 percent increase over the past year as the company continues reaping profits in low-tax foreign jurisdictions. The company crossed the $100 billion mark, making it just the second U.S. corporation — after General Electric Co. — to… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: HSBC has been asking all “politically exposed persons” (PEP) having accounts with the bank to disclose their source of fund and income. The bank is also refraining from opening accounts of US-based non-resident Indians and persons of India origin in the wake of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act… – Continue reading
A challenge by way of judicial review to notices issued by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) requiring “accelerated payment” of tax pending the outcome of a tax dispute has been dismissed by Mrs Justice Simler DBE in the High Court.04 Aug 2015 Tax Disputes and Investigations Litigation & International Arbitration… – Continue reading
HSBC has reported its half-year profits are up 10 per cent to £8.7bn as it sets aside £731m to deal with a raft of ongoing regulatory investigations. The bank posted a pre-tax profit of £7.9bn at the same time last year. Its interim results, published today, reveal HSBC has made… – Continue reading
When it comes to opening its $5.7 trillion bond market to global central banks, China is rolling out the red carpet. The world’s top underwriters are struggling to get in the back door. Morgan Stanley set up a joint venture that’s helped manage 30.2 billion yuan ($4.9 billion) of note… – Continue reading
On July 30, 2015, the Justice Department’s Tax Division announced that three more Swiss banks — PKB Privatbank AG, Falcon Private Bank AG and Credito Privato Commerciale in liquidazione SA (CPC) – have cut deals with the U.S. to resolve allegations that those institutions assisted their U.S. customers in hiding… – Continue reading
Overpayments are often the result of errors on the part of the Government rather than criminal intent Last month the National Audit Office published a ‘stocktake’ of incorrect payments by Department for Work & Pensions and HM Revenue & Customs to those claiming state benefits, including working tax credits. It… – Continue reading
British expats in Cyprus could lose a host of privileges if Britain withdraws from the EU, a popular expat forum has warned. The website is urging them to register to vote in the UK’s in/out referendum, which could take place as early as the middle of next year. The vote’s… – Continue reading
What is the difference between 30 per cent of zero and 20 per cent of zero? Correct: precisely $5227.27 less than a Bronwyn-Bishop-taxpayer-funded helicopter trip from Melbourne to Geelong. A reduction in the corporate tax rate, as unrelentingly espoused by the business lobby in its pro-GST campaign, may be a… – Continue reading
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has secured victory after Ingenious tax avoidance scheme investors’ challenge to its tax avoidance crackdown process were rejected. Accelerated payment notices were introduced in July in the Finance Act 2014. They allow tax avoidance scheme users to pay disputed tax 90 days before HMRC challenges… – Continue reading
