Category: Individuals

How major tech companies exploit tax laws: A focus on Ghana and Nigeria

When World Trade Organisation (WTO) officials designed the territorial taxing rights back in the 1920s, not many people imagined that a century later; these guidelines would still underpin the international tax system. Today, highly digitalised companies such as Facebook and Google are able to operate internationally from their tax havens,… – Continue reading

GRI issues international corporate tax reporting standard

The Global Reporting Initiative has issued a new international tax reporting standard that aims to ensure multinational companies are much clearer about how much they pay in taxes, and where. While the standard has no legal force, it could influence the ongoing debate in the U.S. and abroad on how… – Continue reading

Ukraine, U.S. ratify agreement on FATCA de-offshorization

The bill foresees that the Ukrainian banks will open information about the accounts of U.S. citizens in this country; Ukraine, on the other hand, will not be able to get the respective information about Ukrainian accounts in the States The Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has passed the document about ratification… – Continue reading

US IRS tells banks not to close accounts just because of missing tax ID number: FATCA

The US Internal Revenue Service has eased the rules of FATCA compliance by telling banks overseas that they are not required to close the accounts of their accidental Americans clients who have not provided their tax identification number by January 2020. FATCA was passed in 2010 and forces banks wanting… – Continue reading

Australians owe record levels of tax: commissioner

Australians are avoiding their tax responsibilities in record numbers. The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) announced at a Senates Estimates hearing that the debt owed by Australians to the tax man has recently hit 45 billion Australian dollars (31 billion U.S. dollars), a record figure, according to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation… – Continue reading

EU Council revises its tax blacklist, addresses “two out of three” exception and foreign source income exemption regimes

As suggested by the EU Code of Conduct Group (Business Taxation), on 4 October, the EU Council today adopted a revised EU list of non-cooperative tax jurisdictions (annex I – blacklist) removing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Marshall Islands. ... - Continue reading

OECD consulting on digital tax proposal

The OECD today published for stakeholders’ comments a proposal to advance international negotiations to ensure that multinational enterprises (MNEs), including digital companies, pay tax wherever they have significant consumer-facing activities and where they generate profits. The proposal – Secretariat Proposal for a Unified Approach – would re-allocate some profits and… – Continue reading

Worldwide: Financial Institutions And Personal Data

Combating Tax EvasionIn recent years, there have been several high-profile prosecutions for the crime of tax evasion (for example the actor, Wesley Snipes, and the footballer, Lionel Messi). Governments around the world have been making a concerted effort in an attempt to tackle this problem. Their objective is for their respective tax administrations to work together so that taxpayers pay the correct amount of tax in the correct jurisdiction. ... - Continue reading

Uganda: Don’t Make Up Losses To Avoid Tax

Conflicting interests arise for many businesses where decisions have to be made to determine how they consistently achieve profitability, while on the other hand minimise payment of tax. The temptation to minimise profits or even make a loss then becomes a tax risk management strategy. ... - Continue reading