Category: Seychelles

Khalifa ratifies UAE agreements

ABU DHABI: President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan has issued a number of federal decrees with respect to ratifying agreements between the UAE and a number of friendly countries and transferring, appointing and promoting a group of diplomatic corps members. The decrees have been published in the… – Continue reading

OECD backs Guernsey in fight against tax haven status

The OECD has backed Guernsey in its fight against tax haven status, describing the crown dependency’s inclusion on the European Commission’s list of top 30 non-compliant tax jurisdictions as “very surprising”. Monica Bhatia, head of the secretariat of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Global Forum on Transparency and… – Continue reading

Making ‘steady progress’ towards OECD compliance: Seychelles responds to EU ‘tax haven’ listing

(Seychelles News Agency) – Seychelles’ Finance Minister says his ministry remains committed and on track towards complying with the widely-recognised Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s regulations on the sharing of tax information. “Seychelles is making considerable and steady progress in achieving the OECD standard in relation to the… – Continue reading

Bahamas ‘unfairly dumped on’ with EU blacklisting

The Bahamas was yesterday “dumped on” through its inclusion on another so-called financial services ‘blacklist’, although an ex-Attorney General and others suggested the development should be taken “with a big grain of salt”, reports the Bahamas Tribune. John Delaney told Tribune Business that the European Union’s (EU) decision to ‘blacklist’… – Continue reading

FATCA – Which Countries Are In And Out

FATCA – Which Countries Are In And Out The controversial US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) law is set to start from July 1, 2014, so with less than 21 days to go, here’s a look at which countries are in and who is outside of the tax network…. – Continue reading

St. Kitts-Nevis Among 30 Countries On EU’s Tax Evasion Blacklist

St. Kitts and Nevis is one of 30 countries placed on the European Union’s black list for not doing enough to fight tax evasion. The EU’s executive Commission published the list Wednesday (June 17). The blacklisted countries figure on at least ten of the EU’s 28 member nations’ lists of… – Continue reading

Scam sparks Scots fraud haven fears

Fears are growing that Scotland may be becoming a magnet for money-launderers following allegations linking shell companies there to a $1bn (£634m) fraud in the ex-Soviet republic of Moldova. The swindle allegedly emptied three of Moldova’s leading banks of almost all their funds. Investigators say a key role was played… – Continue reading

Cayman on new EU blacklist

Government appeared to brush off the latest blacklisting of the Cayman Islands when it released a short statement on Wednesday at around 5pm following revelations by the EU that the jurisdiction had been cited as facilitating tax evasion, reports the Cayman News Service. “It is unfortunate that the EU black… – Continue reading

Bermuda named on EU tax haven list

The European Union: Labelled Bermuda as a tax haven Bermuda has been named by the European Union as a country that is not doing enough to crack down on tax avoidance. The Island was one of 30 countries on the list published by the EU’s executive Commission today. “These tax… – Continue reading

EU releases tax haven blacklist

The European Union has published its first list of international tax havens as part of a crackdown on multinational companies trying to avoid paying tax in the 28-nation bloc. The list of 30 territories includes Hong Kong and Brunei in Asia, Monaco, Andorra and Guernsey in Europe, and a series… – Continue reading

India joins the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI)

India joined the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information on 3rd June, 2015, in Paris, France, alongwith Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Indonesia and New Zealand. On our behalf, the Declaration to comply with the provisions of the MCAA was signed by H.E. Mr. Mohan Kumar,… – Continue reading

Bulgaria court distrains BGN 1.5 mln property of ex-MP Hristo Biserov

Sofia. At the request of the Commission for Establishing Property Acquired from Criminal Activity Sofia City Court levied distraint on property of former MP Htristo Biserov and his step-son Ivaylo Glavinkov, worth BGN 1,555,883, the press office of the commission announced, as cited by the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR). The… – Continue reading

Veteran lawyer struck off the rolls

A veteran lawyer of 35 years, Mr Pascal Netto, has been struck off the rolls for professional misconduct. The 68-year-old had been a nominee director in a client’s firm but issued company shares to himself and borrowed some US$158,000 (S$215,000) from the firm without authorisation. In disbarring Mr Netto on… – Continue reading

Seychelles Sets Out Transfer Pricing Regime

The Seychelles Revenue Commission has issued, for comment, Public Ruling 2015-3, which explains the authority’s rules and procedures to enforce the arm’s length principle in respect of related-party transactions under Section 54 of the Business Tax Act, 2009. The Ruling states that in applying the arm’s length principle, the Commissioner… – Continue reading

Global Tax Transparency Goes Live in 2016

Cross border tax fraud and tax evasion by High Net Wealth Individuals (HNWI) are serious problems for many jurisdictions. For many years exchange of information between countries has been solely upon request. In practise this procedure is not efficiently working as it requires foreseeable relevance, thus ‘fishing’ for information is… – Continue reading

Luxembourg: Luxembourg’s Direct Tax Administration Publishes Circular On Residency Certificates For Funds

Luxembourg’s Direct Tax Administration has published a circular on February 12 clarifying issues relating to residency certificates for Luxembourg funds. These are applicable to both UCITS and non-UCITS funds regulated by Luxembourg’s investment fund legislation of December 17, 2010, which transposed the UCITS IV Directive, as well as Specialised Investment… – Continue reading

Strengthening ties in key economic sectors; the focus of Seychelles Finance Minister’s visit to Singapore

(Seychelles News Agency) – Seychelles and Singapore are looking to increase their collaboration in a number of economic sectors from trade, financial services, port development – including transshipment and fuel bunkering – to public-private partnerships. This follows the recent official visit to Singapore by the Minister of Finance, Trade and… – Continue reading

We are still at your side in the Indian Ocean’, says outgoing French Ambassador to Seychelles

(Seychelles News Agency) – France’s ambassador to Seychelles, Genevieve Iancu, left the Seychelles archipelago, situated in the Indian Ocean on Friday after a little over two years spent in the post. Seychelles and France have good bilateral relations and strong historical ties due to the presence of the first French… – Continue reading

Seychelles: Seychelles Company – Corporate Environment Summary

Seychelles is one of the most popular offshore jurisdiction, with favourable business regulations, a prosperous economy and a stable political situation. Seychelles IBC, is a limited liability company which conducts its trading and business outside the Seychelles and is intended for offshore activities. It takes up to 2 days to… – Continue reading

Nigeria, Seychelles Seek Closer Ties

Abuja — NIGERIA and Republic of Seychelles relations Wednesday received a boost even as both countries have renewed commitment to further strengthen bilateral relations between them. Speaking during the presentation of his Credence Letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Aminu Wali, in Abuja, the Honourary Consul of Seychelles… – Continue reading

Seychelles signs multilateral tax cooperation treaty

On February 24, Seychelles became the 85th signatory of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, reports Tax News. The Convention is described as a comprehensive multilateral instrument to tackle tax evasion and increase transparency. In a statement, the OECD… – Continue reading

Selective Disclosure: Armenia’s Central Bank Conceals Data on Offshore Transfers

Armenia’s Central Bank (CB) claims thatsome data regarding money flows to and from offshore financial centers is protected from public disclosure under the law. We say ‘some’, because the CB is being selective when it comes to which information can be disclosed and what cannot. When Hetq contacted the CB,… – Continue reading

BMI Offshore bank open but unable to process foreign transactions as overseas agent bank cuts ties

(Seychelles News Agency) – The Central Bank of Seychelles (CBS) says that the Bank of Muscat International Offshore (BMIO) is currently unable to process outward foreign currency transfers for its clientele. According to a statement issued by the CBS this afternoon, the bank BMIO uses as an agent abroad to… – Continue reading

Why is HMRC going to punish inadvertent tax avoidance as harshly as wilful evasion?

Mark Davies is not happy that accidents are going to cost you as much as intentions Recently, the government issued a consultation document on new legislation to extend HM Revenue & Customs’ powers of retribution for undeclared income and gains hidden offshore. It believes that offshore tax evasion is difficult… – Continue reading

Dirty money: 19 UK firms alleged ‘complicit’ in $20bn laundering scam

Some 19 British firms are at the center of an investigation into in a mammoth global money-laundering operation. The scheme was allegedly contrived to make $20bn (£12.5bn) worth of ill-gotten gains appear legitimate. The illicit funds are thought to have originated from criminal gangs and corrupt officials across the globe,… – Continue reading

We need clarity, we need fairness. The taxman has a case to answer

It is time for an inquiry into HMRC’s competence, policy, decision-making processes and duty to provide transparency Thomas Paine’s observation that what first was plunder later assumed the name of revenue is well-understood by those who have chosen to make their living abroad. Individuals move for various reasons: career development,… – Continue reading

Kenya: KRA After Sh30 Billion in Audit of Companies

The taxman is willing to “negotiate and strike a balance” with multinationals being audited for transfer pricing misconduct, a drive it says has a potential to realise over Sh30 billion. The Kenya Revenue Authority told a workshop organised by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in Nairobi that this will… – Continue reading

British Virgin Islands suffers amid push against money laundering

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3fbed922-3d51-11e4-871d-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz3Eo63WbfR The British Virgin Islands has long attracted Chinese companies looking to… – Continue reading

Small island nations Mauritius and Seychelles considered good prospects for foreign direct investment

(Seychelles News Agency) – According to a new report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Seychelles and Mauritius are two of the most attractive small island developing states for foreign direct investment (FDI) due to the competitive advantages they offer to foreign capital. SIDS which are… – Continue reading

No place to hide from the taxman – Seychelles signs automatic tax information sharing agreement

(Seychelles News Agency) – The Seychelles has become an early adopter of an agreement launched by the G5 group of countries – the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy and Spain – to automatically disclose details of individuals who have taxable income kept in offshore accounts. According to a press statement by Her Majesty’s… – Continue reading

101 Countries Sign Up For FATCA Network

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) has been in force for a month and still more countries are joining the tax network. So far, 101 countries and financial jurisdictions have either signed or agreed to join FATCA. FATCA is aimed at identifying US taxpayers with offshore bank accounts and investments. Overseas… – Continue reading

Singapore becomes the fourth signatory of double taxation agreement with Seychelles this year

Seychelles News Agency) – The Seychelles islands and Singapore have concluded a double taxation avoidance agreement, which will allow businesses operating in the two countries to pay tax in one of the jurisdictions and avoid taxation in the other, which is expected to encourage trade and investment between the two… – Continue reading

Kenya Inks Deal With Seychelles To Eliminate Double Taxation

NAIROBI (Xinhua) — The Kenyan government on Monday signed an agreement with the Seychelles to phase out double taxation on companies from the two countries. Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Treasury Henry Rotich said the elimination of double taxation will promote flow of investments, trade and labor between the two countries. “ Kenya has… – Continue reading