Treasury concedes that provision to use an income tax instrument to address estate duty and donations tax avoidance is flawed. The initial tax avoidance blow to prevent the misuse of low interest or interest free loans to trusts as a vehicle to reduce wealth taxes – such as donations tax… – Continue reading
EESC debate also calls for safeguards against misuse of data collected An EESC debate this week on fighting money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion called for a number of policy proposals aimed at “making the lives of criminals more difficult and their actions impossible”. The Brussels event made a… – Continue reading
Accounts show each of the firm’s 682 workers took home average of £242,000 each in 2015 Facebook lavished £165million on its UK staff last year, while handing the taxpayer just £4million. Accounts show each of the firm’s 682 workers took home average of £242,000 each in 2015. The bumper payout… – Continue reading
Staff at the corporation could face demands for unpaid taxes if they are found to have been incorrectly listed as self-employed. HMRC says it is looking at tax records of around 100 BBC staff About 100 current and former BBC presenters are being investigated over claims they have not paid… – Continue reading
For years, strict Swiss bank secrecy laws helped the world’s super-rich keep their money hidden from the taxman. Spain has asked Switzerland for help on tax matters, UBS said on Friday, making it the latest European country to look into foreign account holders at Swiss banks. For years, strict Swiss… – Continue reading
EY announced today the results of a new tax survey at its 35th Annual International Tax Conference, “Unlocking the future.” The survey revealed that, more than ever, companies are experiencing an increasing number of audits and more aggressive enforcement from tax authorities around the world. According to the survey, nearly… – Continue reading
Various agencies are expected to work together to draft a decree and keep the practice in check. In a move that signals Vietnam’s apparent stronger stance against tax evasion, the Ministry of Finance has sought to work with other ministries and agencies to draft a new decree on transfer pricing… – Continue reading
German state prosecutors are investigating nearly 60 foreign banks for “abetting tax evasion,” a newspaper report has said. Self-declaring former tax-evaders are proving a particularly valuable source of information. Prosecutors in Germany’s most populous state are investigating 57 foreign banks on charges of abetting tax evasion, according to the “Süddeutsche… – Continue reading
In 2015, more than 73 percent of Fortune 500 companies maintained subsidiaries in offshore tax havens, according to “Offshore Shell Games,” released today by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Collectively, multinationals reported booking $2.5 trillion offshore, with just… – Continue reading
The Indonesian government recently launched tax hunt on Google Indonesia. If Google were indeed guilty of tax avoidance, it would have to pay a huge price for its actions. But Google is not alone in avoiding paying tax to Indonesian government. Indonesians and Indonesian companies are squirrelling their wealths in… – Continue reading
What will happen to clean capital, tainted trusts and enveloped assets under the new tax regime? John Goodchild reports. The UK government has at last disclosed further details of the tax changes for UK resident non-domiciled individuals first announced in July 2015. The government remains determined to implement all the… – Continue reading
Chances of tax evaders coming under the scanner is rising due to the implementation of the GST, greater use of technology and exchange of information between countries New Delhi: The noose is tightening around tax evaders. Be it the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) or the greater… – Continue reading
Jakarta. Tax dodgers and taxpayers who have underreported their wealth in the past and who now seek to rectify the situation should join the tax amnesty program as they will not be able to hide once a system for the automatic exchange of financial information between states comes into effect… – Continue reading
India has made as many as 250 references to other countries asking for details about tax evaders and bank accounts related to the Panama cases, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said. This is significant as at least 500 Indians are reportedly said to have held offshore accounts in tax havens,… – Continue reading
Ireland, accused of being a tax haven for multinationals such as Apple to pay nearly zero tax on the bulk of its profits earned outside the United States, finds itself with a new adversary in the global fight against unfair tax practices — Brazil. As of October 1, Brazil will… – Continue reading
A list on non-cooperative tax jurisdictions around the world, the first ever common EU list, is being under preparation, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs Pierre Moscovici has said. “This month, we started the process that will lead, by the end of 2017, to the first ever… – Continue reading
Members of the European Parliament, September 27, have begun their investigation into the Panama Papers scandal, which exposed the sheer extent of rich people and companies using offshore tax havens to reduce their tax liabilities in EU member states. However, the latest probe comes on the back of another investigation… – Continue reading
CANADA, ISRAEL SIGN AGREEMENT ON DOUBLE TAXATION As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined other world leaders in addressing the United Nations General Assembly, behind the glare of the camera lights, Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion met with Israel’s Finance Minster Moshe Kahlon on the sidelines to sign an agreement to… – Continue reading
A multi-billion euro back tax bill handed to Apple by the European Commission should not be seen as a precedent for future tax cases as it was based on state aid rather than tax law, the OECD official spearheading global tax reform said on Monday. European Union antitrust regulators last… – Continue reading
More than 2,000 files under review, 85 taxpayers under audit National Revenue Minister Diane Lebouthillier said in a statement Monday that a few thousand files are now being pursued by the tax agency after it sifted through the Panama Papers. Canadians implicated in the Panama Papers shouldn’t expect any leniency… – Continue reading
The Director of the OECD’s tax policy and administration unit has said there is no pressure on Ireland to change its 12.5% tax rate. “There is no question about the 12.5% rate, even the French have understood that Ireland will not change the rate,” Pascal Saint-Amans said. He said the… – Continue reading
The threshold could be R5,400 crore of annual consolidated group revenue for the purpose of country-by-country reporting Not more than 120 India-headquartered firms — along with their global associates — are likely to be impacted by the base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) protocol once it is implemented, as the… – Continue reading
India’s advance pricing agreements (APAs) programme crossed a milestone with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) signing five more unilateral APAs. With the latest move, the total number of APAs entered into by the CBDT has reached 103. The five APAs signed on Friday pertained to diverse sector, that… – Continue reading
House Democrats have introduced legislation that would require multinational corporations to disclose more information about the taxes they pay in other countries. The bill, known as the Corporate Transparency and Accountability Act, aims to shine more light on corporate tax avoidance strategies, requiring the disclosure of country-by-country and pre-tax profit… – Continue reading
Nearly a year after release of the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) anti tax avoidance action plan, which introduces changes to the treatment of interest deductibility and profit shifting, the majority of businesses have not changed their approach to tax compliance. The major economies in the G7 (83%),… – Continue reading
Ecuador’s foreign minister, leading economists and campaigners call for a new U.N. body to root out tax evaders and crack down on offshore havens. Ecuador ramped up its fight against tax dodging Wednesday as the South American country proposed a plan on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in… – Continue reading
Switzerland’s Supreme Court has overturned the decision of a lower court preventing information on bank accounts held by Dutch citizens with UBS to be sent to the Netherlands tax authority. Upholding an appeal by a Dutch client of Swiss bank UBS in March 2016, the Federal Administrative Court blocked the… – Continue reading
The government has stepped up efforts to collect what it says are millions of dollars of outstanding tax liabilities from Singapore-based Google Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., which has allegedly booked hefty revenue from Indonesian advertisers without paying proper taxes. The message to the tech giant is clear: we want a… – Continue reading
Auditing and tax advisory firm KPMG is calling for establishment of the T&T Revenue Authority (TTRA) so there can be a structured way of collecting taxes. “The current main tax authority does not appear to have structured means, if any, of treating with businesses that conceal transaction to avoid tax… – Continue reading
The European Commission has put nine Middle Eastern and North African countries on notice that they are at risk of measures being taken against them to deter tax avoidance. The nine countries (see table below) are Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates… – Continue reading
European Union antitrust regulators opened a probe on Monday into tax deals granted by Luxembourg to French power utility Engie, stepping up the EU’s campaign against tax avoidance by multinationals. The European Commission said it had concerns the tax rulings granted by Luxembourg since 2008 appeared to treat the same… – Continue reading
New Zealand will extend its anti-money laundering laws to cover real estate agents and other professions amid fears the country has become a soft target for illegal fund flows that have also helped inflate the property market. Soaring property prices have become a hot issue among the New Zealand public… – Continue reading
Wales is to replace stamp duty with a land transaction tax as it moves towards devolved tax collection. The new tax on land transactions will be introduced from April 2018 alongside measures to tackle devolved tax avoidance, the Welsh government said. Land transaction tax is paid on the purchase or… – Continue reading
Back in July, ABC’s The Business and Michael West featured an extraordinary raft of allegations from a 32-year veteran industry insider turned whistleblower, George Rozvany, who claimed that multinational tax avoidance was “out of control” and cost the Budget up to $50 billion dollars a year in lost revenue. Rozvany… – Continue reading
Eight British overseas territories and crown dependencies, including Jersey, the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands, could face EU economic sanctions after Brussels identified them as having low or no corporation tax. Experts have published a scorecard showing red flag warnings set against a list of the 81 countries that… – Continue reading
Apple Inc. may face double taxation on some of its profits if the European Commission’s Aug. 30 ruling inspires France to slap its own tax adjustment on the company, practitioners said. Apple could even face “triple taxation” if it repatriates profits from the European Union to the U.S., Laurent Leclercq,… – Continue reading
The following is a bolded checklist of important situations that may “trigger” a tax review by a skilled United States tax professional. Many of these situations also require a simultaneous review by a foreign tax professional. It is generally best practice for these tax professionals to work together to minimize… – Continue reading
The Australian government shouldn’t rely on leaks like that of the Panama Papers to pick up on tax evasion, it should consider stronger action. The federal government showed some leadership earlier this year by announcing the establishment of a public register of beneficial ownership of companies, with the aim of… – Continue reading
Whether they indulged in legal tax avoidance or evaded taxes under the counter, leaked documents of a Panamanian firm revealed quite a lot in April about a number of Pakistani politicians and businessmen. Tax evasion has of late become synonymous with Pakistan because of its failure to overcome its taxation… – Continue reading
Slovakia, the current president of the EU council, challenges finance ministers from all the EU member states to introduce mandatory disclosure rules for intermediaries including accountants who seek to profit from the promotion, design or implementation of tax avoidance schemes The proposals were outlined in a ‘presidency issues’ note presented… – Continue reading
Tax havens have become increasingly formidable players in the global economy. With increased globalization and financialization of the global economy, tax havens have become important players in the world economy. According to a report by Tax Justice Network, $21 to $32 trillion is stashed offshore. According to the World Bank, the GDP… – Continue reading
According to a new report, secretive offshore tax avoidance practices are on the rise among multinational businesses. The report, released from the Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency Coalition (FACT), finds that these practices put investors at risk because they are caught off guard when governments act to collect the lost… – Continue reading
Current rules allow over 100,000 wealthy residents to pay a lower rate of tax, even if they have lived in UK for many years. The Government is risking more than £6bn of tax revenue by changing rules governing non-domiciled taxpayers, an international law firm has warned. Pinsent Masons said that… – Continue reading
Potential slice of the Apple pie stems from Commission’s invitation to EU tax authorities. BRATISLAVA — The €13 billion clawback of unpaid taxes from U.S. tech giant Apple has piqued the interests of EU finance ministers, who have today asked the European Commission for more details on the potential share… – Continue reading
A legislative amendment in the UK this week will give the British government the power to publish details of tax payments made by UK-based multinational corporations on a country by country basis, as tax authorities try to clamp down on the abuse of tax laws and aggressive tax avoidance. The… – Continue reading
Denmark pays up to £1m for documents from anonymous source and plans to investigate up to 600 Danes who may have evaded tax Denmark has become the first country in the world to apparently buy data from the Panama Papers leak, and now plans to investigate whether 500-600 Danes who… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) are lobbying the government to resolve problems related to the India-Singapore tax treaty and general anti-avoidance rules (GAAR), worried about their investment in equities. FPIs fear after April 1, 2017, when both the renegotiated India-Singapore treaty and GAAR come into force, they will face challenges…. – Continue reading
The G20 summit in China has stressed the need for international tax cooperation to achieve ‘a globally fair and modern international tax system’, after US President Obama warned of the risks if countries ‘race to the bottom’ in tax policies At a press conference at the conclusion of the summit,… – Continue reading
European Union countries should better coordinate tax rules to avoid hitting corporations too hard, the Slovak presidency of the European Union has proposed. This would be an effort to provide more balance to an EU campaign against tax avoidance by multinational companies. The proposal will be discussed at an informal… – Continue reading
The international tax landscape has been changing rapidly and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has agreed on a base erosion and profit shifting (Beps) action plan that could affect businesses operating in the UAE. The plan addresses the issue of artificial shifting of profits and its proposals… – Continue reading
