“The business tax system today is inefficient, overly complex, and too riddled with loopholes,” said Mark Mazur, assistant secretary for tax policy at the U.S. Department of Treasury. So much so, in fact, that it can’t fulfill its function to be a world-class system, he noted. Mazur, speaking Tuesday at… – Continue reading
India and China developing frameworks for Reits but while their sheer sizes impress, both face tax and high interest rate hurdles, reports the Business Times. India and China are both developing frameworks for real estate investment trusts (Reits), but the threat to Singapore’s position as a major regional Reit centre… – Continue reading
As the saying goes, there are two certainties in an uncertain world: death and taxes. The corporate world, while unable to eliminate the former, is doing everything in its considerable power to eliminate the latter. As recent developments over the past couple of years show, transnationals are determined to not… – Continue reading
A new watchdog team of the revenue authority is ready to start operation to check transfer mispricing by the multinational companies (MNCs) on their tax returns as such trick is allegedly used in underhand cross-border transactions. The revenue board recently completed appointment of officials for enforcing the measure. It was… – Continue reading
SINGAPORE, April 12 (Reuters) – The Singapore trading hubs of the world’s largest commodity companies are coming under scrutiny from the governments of some resource-producing countries who say they suspect they are using units in the Southeast Asian financial centre to avoid tax. Some of the world’s largest oil, mining… – Continue reading
There was a moment on Tuesday evening – hours before the first public hearing of the Senate inquiry into corporate tax evasion – when Treasurer Joe Hockey and his advisers should have sensed a firestorm approaching. Sandwiched between a story on a Gold Coast diet blogger accused of pinching other… – Continue reading
Australia is well placed to leverage international work to tackle base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), but cannot act unilaterally, Rosheen Garnon, KPMG’s National Managing Partner, Tax, has told the Senate inquiry on corporate tax avoidance. “Our view is that there are fundamental changes that are going on with the… – Continue reading
Representatives from “Big Four” accounting firm Deloitte were up before the Senate tax inquiry on Friday morning. They were keen to dispel any notion that their firm would have any involvement in tax avoidance. Senator Christine Milne asked if they were aware of the Deloitte document “Investing in Africa though… – Continue reading
Treasurer Joe Hockey is working on new laws to counter tax avoidance by global companies, but the OECD is urging countries not to go it alone. The Paris-based institution has been working on a so-called base erosion and profit-shifting action plan through the G20 since 2013 and is aiming to… – Continue reading
Major accounting firms say they are not doing anything illegal in helping corporations to minimise tax liabilities. KPMG’s managing partner Rosheen Garnon faced the second day of the Senate inquiry into tax avoidance, which has so far heard Australia is missing out on billions of dollars in tax every year… – Continue reading
Tax and business consultants KPMG are warning the government to be cautious in reforming corporate tax law in its moves to target offshoring of corporate profits. In its submission to the Senate inquiry examining corporate tax avoidance, KPMG said while governments need to ensure they are receiving appropriate amounts of… – Continue reading
Inquiry sparked by leaked Luxembourg files naming the sovereign wealth fund among dozens of Australian companies using elaborate structures to cut tax bills The $100bn Future Fund has refused to give evidence to a Senate inquiry into corporate tax avoidance despite being named in leaked documents last year among scores… – Continue reading
April 2: Guidance from the State Bank of Vietnam provides financial institutions and branches an automatic 90-day extension of time in which to file their FATCA reporting forms. Therefore, financial institutions have until 30 June 2015 to file their FATCA reports to the U.S. tax agency (IRS). KPMG observation Pending… – Continue reading
An agreement to lower the mainland withholding tax for aircraft and ship leasing is a crucial first step towards realising the Hong Kong government’s ambition of making the city an international centre for financing a global aviation industry that will need US$4.6 trillion worth of planes in the next two… – Continue reading
On March 19, 2015, the Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority (“TIA”) officially opened the Cayman Automatic Exchange of Information (“AEOI”) Portal. Reporting Process The TIA indicated that the Portal is now available for Cayman Islands Reporting Financial Institutions (“Cayman Reporting FIs”) to submit their Notification (due by April 30, 2015)… – Continue reading
European trade unionists have called for the split-up of the Big Four accountancy firms, PWC, Ernst & Young, Deloitte and KPMG, who they say are using their dominant position to help multi-national companies avoid trillions of Euros in tax. The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) has called for the break-up… – Continue reading
Dividend payment by an overseas company with related assets in India will not be taxable in India, the govt says New Delhi: The income tax department on Thursday clarified that dividend payment by an overseas company with related assets in India will not be taxable in India, as part of… – Continue reading
Public accounts committee advocates legislation making promotion of aggressive tax avoidance illegal and review of government tax relief schemes The next government should introduce new laws to prosecute financial advisers who help wealthy individuals and firms in aggressive tax avoidance, a comprehensive parliamentary report has found. The public accounts committee,… – Continue reading
Virgin Care has won a £280m contract to run NHS healthcare for frail and chronically ill people in the Midlands, it was revealed today. Virgin Care have won a £280 million contract to run NHS healthcare in East Staffordshire, it was revealed today. Virgin will now provide (or sub-contract to… – Continue reading
GRAND CAYMAN, Cayman Islands, March 18, 2015 /PRNewswire/ — DMS Offshore Investment Services Ltd., (DMS) the world’s largest fund governance firm, is expanding its International Tax Compliance Group to better serve private investment funds in meeting their compliance obligations under various international tax initiatives worldwide. DMS announces the recent addition… – Continue reading
In a development that will usher in relief to multinational companies and reduce litigation, the central board of direct taxes (CBDT) on Monday notified rules for implementation of roll back provisions of advance pricing agreements (APAs). The provisions for roll back of APAs were announced by finance minister Arun Jaitley… – Continue reading
The British Virgin Islands (BVI), as one of the world’s leading finance centres and meeting the changing needs of international businesses and high net worth individuals (HNWIs), has managed to create a stable, well-regulated and neutral jurisdiction that makes a significant contribution to the liquidity of the global economy. The… – Continue reading
KPMG in India through its survey, has tried to understand the expectations of India Inc. on various parameters such as policy reforms, clarity on indirect transfer tax provisions, applicability of MAT on foreign companies, amendment in the tax regime for REITs/ InvITs, deductions allowed to individuals, etc. Over 200 senior… – Continue reading
CANBERRA: Australian Tax Office has said that Australia’s corporate tax base is in crisis because of tax relief by multinational companies in the country. The alarming data in these internal documents is at odds with the public position of the Australian Tax Office (ATO), which maintains the tax regime in… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: The Mumbai bench of the tax tribunal has clarified that additional tax liability cannot be claimed from competitive industries in the name of location savings arising out of the country’s low-cost manufacturing base. The ruling may benefit pharmaceutical, auto, IT and IT-enabled companies, among others, that are engaged in… – Continue reading
The Australian Tax Office is pushing ahead with a controversial plan to allow the country’s biggest corporations to audit themselves through their own private auditors, despite mounting public anger over corporate tax avoidance. An ATO spokesman said 56 public companies with a turnover of between $100 million and $5 billion… – Continue reading
Hong Kong’s Government should use greater-than-expected revenue receipts to implement measures to enhance the city’s international competitiveness in the 2015/16 Budget, according to a KPMG survey of senior Hong Kong-based business executives. It is foreseen that the Government will be in a position of increased fiscal strength at the end… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: In what will be widely perceived as a sentiment booster for investors, the government has asked the I-T department to apply the principle behind a tax ruling involving Vodafone Group to all similar transfer pricing cases, an official letter seen by Reuters showed. Reacting to the news, Dinesh Kanabar of KPMG India told ET Now,… – Continue reading
The Tax Story in 2015: Myths, Misconceptions and Reality Checks by Aswath Damodaran, Musings on Markets Each of us believes that we pay our fair share in taxes and that it is other people that do not, and not surprisingly, we find evidence to back up our priors. I find… – Continue reading
Countries are competing to lower their tax rates to please the corporate giants, but the result is a massive collective loss of revenue. Only international coordination can wipe out the practice and defeat the negative influence of the Big Four accounting firms. Tax havens have long existed in the popular… – Continue reading
KPMG has responded to the ATO’s recent taxation ruling TR 2014/8 (documentation requirements) and practice statements PSLA 2014/2 (penalties) and PSLA 2014/3 (simplification). Anthony Seve, KPMG transfer pricing partner, said the ruling places increased compliance and documentation obligations on larger companies. This, he said, is reflective of global developments. “Although… – Continue reading
More leaked documents relating to tax avoidance schemes involving Luxembourg’s government under the leadership of Jean-Claude Juncker, now President of the European Union (EU) Commission, have intensified the political crisis surrounding the EU. It comes at a time of growing opposition to the pro-business EU and the vicious austerity cuts… – Continue reading
Former PricewaterhouseCoopers auditor charged with theft and violating trade secrets in wake of LuxLeaks scandal speaks out A 28-year-old former PricewaterhouseCoopers auditor charged with theft and violating trade secrets in Luxembourg in the wake of the LuxLeaks tax avoidance scandal has revealed his identity and claimed he acted out of… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – Tax deals that entertainment giant Walt Disney Co., commodities group Koch Industries [KCHIN.UL] and others agreed with the Luxembourg authorities were revealed on Tuesday by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ). The ICIJ said the two companies engaged in complex restructurings, and channeled hundreds of millions 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
A new leak of confidential documents expands the list of big companies seeking secret tax deals in Luxembourg, exposing tax-saving maneuvers by American entertainment icon The Walt Disney Co., politically controversial Koch Industries Inc. and 33 other companies. Disney and Koch Industries, a U.S.-based energy and chemical conglomerate, both created… – Continue reading
MOSCOW, December 8 (RAPSI) – The world’s four largest audit firms, which provide services under the FATCA norms, have provided contradictory consultations to their Russian clients, Kommersant newspaper writes on Monday. The Big Four are the four largest international professional services networks, offering audit, assurance, tax, consulting, advisory, actuarial, corporate… – Continue reading
Public accounts committee will demand intricate details from Kevin Nicholson about tax avoiding schemes in Grand Duchy One of Britain’s top tax advisers at PricewaterhouseCoopers has been summoned to give evidence before MPs in the wake of revelations about controversial tax deals for PwC clients in Luxembourg. Kevin Nicholson, PwC… – 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
For more than a decade, tax gurus at PricewaterhouseCoopers helped Caterpillar Inc., the U.S. heavy equipment maker, move profits produced by its lucrative spare-parts business from the U.S. to a tiny subsidiary in Switzerland. Little changed except the bookkeeping. Parts were still shipped from suppliers to a warehouse in Morton,… – Continue reading
More private Swiss banks are suffering slumping profits, with a crackdown by the US authorities on tax cheats having a big effect. A study by consultancy firm KPMG and Switzerland’s University of Saint Gallen found that of the 94 they examined more than a third did not make any profit… – Continue reading
Changes to Ireland’s residency rules, designed to eliminate mismatches between tax treaty partners, have not yet affected the residency status of any company, Finance Minister Michael Noonan has confirmed. The reforms were introduced in Noonan’s 2014 Budget and included in this year’s Finance Bill. They are intended to prevent companies… – Continue reading
