A new EU corporate tax proposal could fundamentally change how multinationals pay their tax bills in Ireland. It comes at a sensitive time for the State, following so closely after the commission ruled phone giant Apple tapped illegal tax breaks worth around €13bn. In proposals to be unveiled tomorrow, the… – Continue reading
With the exception of British Antarctica, the U.K.’s overseas territories and offshore dependencies are all surrounded by sun-winking ocean water. But that’s not their only common feature—they are all under increasing political pressure to become more transparent with their financial information. In a parliamentary report on tackling overseas corruption, the… – Continue reading
Aiken City Council unanimously approved the first of two votes to maintain the City’s tax rate of 62 mills and seek other funding sources to cover a millage shortfall due to decreased city property values during its Monday meeting. City leaders had considered raising taxes by 1.7 mills to cover… – Continue reading
Twenty years after starting talks, Poland and Taiwan have signed a double taxation agreement that Warsaw hopes will boost bilateral trade and investment. The deal, signed in the Taiwanese capital, Taipei, means citizens of Taiwan and Poland doing business in both countries will be able to pay taxes only in… – Continue reading
Governments of Pakistan and Mauritius on Friday signed a number of trade deals which included the Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) – an agreement on avoidance of double taxation – which have a great potential for enhancing their bilateral trade. These agreements were signed during discussions held at the Mauritius Board… – Continue reading
The narrowing figure of £36bn roundly condemned for ignoring estimated tens of billions lost in profit shifting and tax avoidance by multinationals Tax experts warned that HM Revenue & Customs was underestimating the size of Britain’s tax avoidance problem after the agency claimed that Britain’s annual tax shortfall was only… – Continue reading
An extensive tax treaty that would shield Chinese businesses operating in the Kingdom from double taxation, and vice versa, has been drafted and is expected to be approved imminently, according to a senior Cambodian tax official. Experts said yesterday the double taxation agreement (DTA) would create a clear legal framework… – Continue reading
FATCA disclosure agreement takes effect, worrying some Israeli-Americans Dual American-Israeli citizens finally need to pay up. After years of the US Internal Revenue Service gradually baring down on American citizens living in Israel who evaded reporting income or paying taxes and numerous rounds of amnesty for those belatedly coming forward,… – Continue reading
Several Swiss banks have received a letter from the United States Ambassador to Bern, Suzan LeVine, asking them not to shun US citizens who want to open accounts in Switzerland. Many Swiss banks have frozen out US clients, and even closed down existing accounts, in the wake of a damaging… – Continue reading
The OECD tax team is calling on tax professionals and multinationals to participate in an online survey on tax certainty, responding to widespread concerns about the increasing complexity of tax rules and lack of stability for companies and multinationals over tax regulations. This follows the detailed work on the OECD’s… – Continue reading
Proposed legislation is designed to curb the profit-shifting multinationals use to reduce tax liabilities on their income in Europe The European commission will redouble its crackdown on multinational tax avoidance next week with the relaunch of proposals to create an overarching corporation tax regime across all member states. The proposed… – Continue reading
China is requiring multinational groups to provide more information, including the location-specific advantages of their Chinese entities, when they apply for advance pricing agreements. The State Administration of Taxation’s Public Notice 64, dated Oct. 11 and released Oct. 18, requires companies to provide the additional information to Chinese tax authorities… – Continue reading
Turkmenistan in a bid to expand its bilateral ties with Germany in the trade sphere ratified an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation with respect to income and property taxes, the Turkmen government reported. The document signed with Germany was approved at the regular meeting of Parliament this week…. – Continue reading
India has stressed the need for a mutually acceptable mechanism among BRICS nations to prevent multinationals from dodging taxes, along with norms to curb black money and bring those accused of corruption and tax evasion to book. “Another key issue that we are pushing is the issue of tax evasion,… – Continue reading
The decision was made during a meeting between Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ali Tayyenbia and the visiting Luxembourg Economy Minister Etienne Schneider in Tehran on Monday, IRNA reported. As reported, the Luxembourger minister also visited Central Bank of Iran Governor Valiollah Seif on Tuesday. Expressing satisfaction over the… – Continue reading
Argentina and Chile yesterday announced the implementation of a long-awaited agreement to eliminate double taxation for residents of both countries in order to encourage investment and prevent tax evasion. Chile’s Foreign Minister Heraldo Muñoz, Public Works Minister Alberto Undurraga, and Finance Minister Rodrigo Valdés met with Argentina’s Finance Minister Alfonso… – Continue reading
A chartered tax body has echoed an alert that advice on complicated and unclear areas of law, such as IR35, could be hit by proposals to penalise so-called ‘avoidance enablers.’ In fact, in line with the alert by WTT Consulting, the Chartered Institute of Taxation says “many reputable” firms may… – Continue reading
Individuals and entities that have accounts at the Vatican bank and are subject to taxation in Italy will have until mid-April to report to Italian authorities the income earned by their Vatican accounts. As part of ongoing efforts by the Vatican to increase financial transparency and accountability, an agreement between… – Continue reading
On 30 September 2016 Ukraine signed a protocol (the “Protocol”) modifying the not-yet-in-force Convention between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital (the “Convention”)…. – Continue reading
One of the most common ways multinationals take advantage of current laws to reduce their tax bill is through what’s known as transfer pricing. Former Treasurer Wayne Swan last week accused mining giant BHP of “aggressive transfer pricing,” denying the Australian government A$5.7 billion in tax revenue. For most companies,… – Continue reading
The finance department over the weekend said it has received the backing of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on its planned comprehensive tax reform package, as well as proposals to relax the country’s bank secrecy law. The Department of Finance (DOF) said the IMF has given its nod to the… – Continue reading
Georgia and Kyrgyzstan are increasing economic cooperation by signing an agreement on avoidance of double taxation. The deal was signed today in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi and will prevent people or businesses working between the two countries from evading income and capital taxes. Double taxation is the levying of tax by… – Continue reading
Former Labor treasurer Wayne Swan has accused one of Australia’s biggest companies of evading taxes for more than a decade, and for lying to the former Labor government during the height of the mining tax debate. Swan used parliamentary privilege on Wednesday to claim BHP Billiton had been “gaming the… – Continue reading
Tough rules to regulate tax advisers, banks and lawyers who help companies avoid tax are set to be advanced by European Union finance ministers. The Council of Economic and Financial Affairs Oct. 11 also will likely move toward a system of automatic exchange of beneficial ownership registers to better target… – Continue reading
The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) has published detailed guidance on the implementation of a new country-by-country (CbC) reporting requirement in the territory. The guidance, released on October 10, sets out which entities are obliged to report and how to complete and submit a CbC report to IRAS. For… – Continue reading
In July 2016 the then Indonesian finance minister Bambang Brodjonegoro, in conjunction with the launch of the widely publicized tax amnesty program (TAP) for undeclared offshore assets, also laid out less publicized plans for a new tax haven on the islands of Bintan and Rempang (Proposed Tax Haven). A key… – 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
The season hasn’t started off that well for Wayne Rooney – and now it’s got even worse. The England and Manchester United captain is now facing a £3.5million tax bill after authorities challenged a tax avoidance scheme that he was involved with. Rooney has already come under fire this season… – Continue reading
Foreigners will come under a coordinated databank just after arrival so they could be traced until checkout and tax evasion by any of them prevented, officials said. They said a databank having networking with relevant nodal points would be developed under the National Board of Revenue (NBR). The NBR recently… – 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
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
In the wake of the recent disclosure of leaked Bahamas tax haven data, United Nations human rights experts today urged governments to work together on liquidating offshore tax avoidance and establishing tougher financial regulations. In a news release, Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky, the UN Independent Expert on foreign debt and human… – Continue reading
The Finnish Tax Administration has confirmed that the payment of Finnish-sourced royalties to taxpayers in Estonia are not subject to withholding tax under the Finland’s double tax avoidance treaty with the Baltic state. In a tax administration bulletin issued on October 3, the Finnish tax authority said that as of… – 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
Ethiopia recently adopted new transfer pricing rules in the form of Directive 43/2015 (“the Directive”) issued by the Ministry of Finance and Economic Development. The Directive provides detailed guidance as to the application of Article 29 of the Income Tax Proclamation (ITP) 286/2002, which requires taxpayers to ensure transactions between… – 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
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
Around 35 per cent of businesses in India have changed their tax approach following the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) tax plan, higher than the global average, says a report. The Grant Thorntons recently conducted global survey of 2,600 businesses in 36 countries, found little impact of the… – 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
The Indian government has sent out about 700,000 notices to suspected tax evaders to coax them to declare hidden income and assets, promising they won’t be pursued by the authorities if they pay a penalty now to clear their name. But, as the four-month campaign draws to a close this… – 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
The Zimbabwean government enacted a law last week to remove double taxation for individuals and firms doing business between Zimbabwe and China to boost economic cooperation between the two nations. Under the Statutory Instrument, investors in any of the two states would only be taxed in their country of operation… – 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
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
