As reported in Clyde & Co’s 2011 article titled ‘Chinese charterers deducting taxes from hire payments’ (click here to view), foreign vessel owners engaged in business with Chinese charterers have long faced China’s Enterprise Income Tax regime (“EIT”). That regime looks set to extend further into the international transportation sector… – Continue reading
The start of tax information reporting between the US and foreign governments and financial institutions under Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) from July 1, 2014 triggered a rush of nations joining the network at the eleventh hour. The major surprise for FATCA watchers was China agreeing ‘in substance’ to… – Continue reading
The use of ‘inefficient’ branch networks for fundraising goes against international practice, but mainland banks gain marketing benefits When it comes to their offshore debt programmes, mainland banks embrace the mantra of thinking globally and acting locally. Looking at all offshore debt issued by the five biggest mainland banks since… – Continue reading
Macau and Guernsey are set to ink a new tax information exchange agreement (TIEA). While no date has been set yet, the announcement was published yesterday in the Official Gazette. According to the Official Gazette, the Secretary for Economy and Finance Francis Tam Pak Yuen is to sign the agreement… – Continue reading
Rich Chinese, watch out. The growing arm of U.S. tax authorities appears poised to also help China obtain information about Chinese taxpayers in the U.S., a move that could make it harder for Chinese to move large sums of money out of the country. As the WSJ’s Wei Gu reports:… – Continue reading
The 2010 Foreign account tax compliance act represents a significant initiative by the United States to tackle offshore tax evasion. But it has not been popular with Chinese authorities, especially the banking sector, in part because it was considered an extra burden. Why should it obligate itself to do such… – Continue reading
Just days before the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act’s entry into force, China and the United States initialed a model one intergovernmental agreement (IGA) on June 26, 2014, to simplify the process for financial institutions in both territories to provide relevant information to support tax enforcement activities under the Act…. – Continue reading
The agreement between China and the United States for US financial accounts registered at banks in China to send their tax reports to the US Internal Revenue Services (IRS) to curb offshore tax evasion will have positive effects for China, experts said. The agreement will also enable Beijing to obtain… – Continue reading
Mainland China has been included on a list of jurisdictions co-operating with the United States on a new law to halt tax evasion. It removes the threat of blacklisting or penalties that had been hanging over Chinese financial institutions. The inclusion will also benefit institutions in Hong Kong, the US… – Continue reading
The first Chinese company to issue offshore bonds under a more liberal guarantee framework has underlined the premium attached to a simplified security package. In a departure from the keepwell deeds and pledges of support featured on recent offshore financings, last week’s US$1bn issue from Greenland Global Investment came with… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – The United States has reached an agreement with China on implementing and enforcing a new U.S. law meant to combat overseas tax avoidance by Americans, a U.S. Treasury Department official said on Thursday. Long seen as a crucial step for the rollout of 2010’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance… – Continue reading
In brief On 28 March 2014, China and Germany entered into a new double taxation agreement (DTA) and protocol (together referred to as ‘the new DTA’). The new DTA results in an extensive revision of the currently applicable treaty signed in 1985 (1985 DTA). The key changes include extending the… – Continue reading
While financial companies in city gear up for compliance with Fatca, those with mainland affiliates are unlikely to meet requirements Hong Kong financial institutions with mainland affiliates are hoping Beijing signs an agreement with Washington soon on a new US tax disclosure law, because of concerns mainland financial institutions will… – Continue reading
GlaxoSmithKline Plc (GSK)’s China unit was accused by a government-run legal newspaper of failing to pay more than 100 million yuan ($16 million) in import duties and taxes for its HIV treatment. The company evaded the taxes from 2005 to 2008, China’s Legal Daily newspaper reported May 16 on its… – Continue reading
May 7th, 2014 (InsideCostaRica.com) Tax evaders and privacy advocates beware – Costa Rica and 46 other countries signed up yesterday to automatically share banking, financial, and tax information in what the OECD is touting as a major step towards cracking down on global tax evasion. The Declaration on Automatic Exchange… – Continue reading
Switzerland is no longer considered as a “tax haven”. Being the world’s largest offshore financial center, Switzerland has agreed automatically to share foreigners’ account information with other countries. Analysts say that this is good news for the other countries, however, for the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) corrupt officials, it seems… – Continue reading
The agreement of Switzerland to disclose information on banking accounts in its territory, at the risk of its time-honored status as the world’s foremost tax haven, may prompt the wealthy worldwide, including Chinese nationals, to search for new shelters for their fortunes. Switzerland, the world’s largest offshore financial center, announced… – Continue reading
After several rounds of negotiations, on 28 March 2014, a new Double Taxation Treaty (“new DTT”) was signed between the governments of the PRC and Germany to replace the old DTT which was signed by both governments on 10 June 1985. The new DTT incorporates new elements of a typical… – Continue reading
The much-anticipated initial public offering of Chinese Internet giant Alibaba Group could be a double-edged sword for the company: Investors are drooling for a piece of the action in that country’s burgeoning online payment market, but its growing use in illegal transactions could attract scrutiny from Chinese government regulators. Alibaba,… – Continue reading
The development of free trade zones and the rise of the new offshore market for the renminbi, will continue to ensure that offshore renminbi-denominated capital grows at a relatively fast pace. Standard Chartered Bank has projected that the total renminbi-denominated capital will grow by at least 40% to 2.5 trillion… – Continue reading
A call to tax technology companies such as Apple and Google in the countries where they have substantial activities has re-ignited concerns companies may be taxed twice and stop business altogether. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which is working on a global plan to prevent companies from avoiding paying… – Continue reading
Hong Kong may feel affect of any new law to uncover financial information China is expected to impose its own version of the new US tax law which requires financial institutions around the world to provide Washington with information on US taxpayers, analysts say. On March 25, the Secretary for… – Continue reading
Recent discussions about the movement of capital and offshore accounts have to be a major cause for concern. During a Central Bank seminar recently, Minister of Industry, International Business, Commerce and Small Business Development, Donville Inniss, sounded the warning that compliance with the recently passed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act… – Continue reading
The long arm of the American tax man has officially reached its way to Hong Kong. The question is, will it extend to the rest of China? Hong Kong, a special administrative region of China, signed an agreement with the U.S. on Tuesday to share tax information about Americans who… – Continue reading
A looming global crackdown on aggressive tax avoidance is set to stop internet companies slashing bills by routing profits to havens. Plans to “restore taxation” in the countries where digital companies make their sales and base their headquarters were set out on Monday in the first international response to the… – Continue reading
As 2008 began, the future looked brilliant for green energy giant Suntech Power and its high-flying founder, Shi Zhengrong. Suntech was one of the world’s largest makers of solar panels, the first non-state-owned Chinese company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. And Shi, born to a farm family so… – Continue reading
More bits of information have emerged regarding China’s secretive, young billionaire Perenna Kei. After Forbes Magazine put Kei on their list of the world’s youngest billionaires, the search for details began. Most publications could not confirm her identity, as several photos were published mistakenly labeling Kei. A new photo of… – Continue reading
The Canada-BVI Tax Information Exchange Agreement (“TIEA”) came into force on 11 March 2014. The TIEA was signed in May 2013, and the effective date provisions are set out in Article 13 of the Agreement. The BVI is now party to 25 TIEAs. What are the benefits? The BVI/Canada TIEA is significant due… – Continue reading
Vice Prime Minister Liviu Dragnea declared on Thursday after his meeting with the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region K.Y. Leung that Romania and Hong Kong will start negotiations for the signing of the double taxation agreement that was already discussed last summer during Prime Minister Victor… – Continue reading
The mainland’s efforts to fight tax evasion brought in 46.9 billion yuan (HK$59.2 billion) of additional taxes in 2013, 38 times more than 2008, according to the website of the State Administration of Taxation. Since 2011, China’s transfer pricing agreements with Hong Kong and Macau have saved 34.57 billion yuan… – Continue reading
A visit to China by twelve Isle of Man delegates could soon produce “tangible results” for the Manx economy, according to the chief minister. On Wednesday Allan Bell signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) in the northern Chinese port of Tianjin. The agreement concretes an alliance aiming to provide “mutually… – Continue reading
KUALA LUMPUR: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should tap Hong Kong’s access to the markets in China, Japan and South Korea to gain tax advantages under the double-taxation deduction pact signed between Malaysia and HK. Hong Kong Trade Development Council deputy executive director, Margaret Fong, said HK SMEs paid five… – Continue reading
There has been considerable publicity in recent months on the alleged tax avoidance perpetrated by multinationals that has resulted in the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) publishing its action plan on base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). The action plan, consisting of 15 proposals to counter the perceived… – Continue reading
Apple, famous for its innovative products, is equally creative in its tax structure. From 2009 to 2012, it successfully sheltered US$44 billion from being taxed anywhere in the world, including sales generated in Australia. While there are probably some sound reasons for Apple’s CEO, Tim Cook, to claim in a US congressional… – Continue reading
BEIJING – Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprises (WFOEs) are able to repatriate funds out of China in a variety of forms, for which tax implications vary according to the form of repatriation used and the Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) in place between China and the recipient country. The four most commonly… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – China’s foreign currency regulator eased restrictions for companies registered in Shanghai’s recently established free trade zone (FTZ), increasing the amount of foreign currency companies registered in the zone can lend in offshore markets, according to an announcement posted on the FTZ’s website. The new regulations issued by the… – Continue reading
Feb 26 (Reuters) – Luxembourg is talking to China about allowing mutual recognition of investment funds based in the two countries, a senior Luxembourg official said on Wednesday. Such an agreement would boost the European financial centre’s bid to be a major hub for the offshore renminbi, or yuan, currency,… – Continue reading
HONG KONG, Feb 20 (Reuters) – The British and Chinese governments are in active discussions about setting up a clearing bank in London for China’s currency, a milestone that will put the city in a leading position to offer yuan trade business in Europe. Taking a leaf out of Hong Kong’s blueprint in being… – Continue reading
The U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will hold a hearing on a crackdown on offshore tax evasion that has stalled as prosecutors conduct criminal probes of 14 banks, including Credit Suisse Group AG. (C:US) The hearing will focus on “the status of efforts to hold Swiss banks and their U.S. clients… – Continue reading
The days of multinational companies being able to use the Double Irish Dutch Sandwich to avoid taxation may soon be coming to an end, with the G20 group of nations looking to create a reporting standard to allow for automatic exchange of tax information. In the official communique coming at the end… – Continue reading
Congress is on a roll, trying to track down hidden offshore accounts, and the latest news is a report that shows which states have the most taxpayers disclosing such accounts (California is No. 1), and where they are located (Switzerland is tops). All told, taxpayers in at least 45 states… – Continue reading
In a world of widening inequality, it is perhaps the most pernicious injustice of them all. Multinational corporations and wealthy individuals avoiding tax on an unprecedented scale, shuffling assets, income and debt to the most favourable tax jurisdictions and confounding hapless authorities. It is impossible to identify exactly how much… – Continue reading
Bangladesh and Kuwait have signed a double taxation avoidance agreement recently in a bid to promote bilateral trade and investment between the two countries. The agreement titled ‘The avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income’ was signed Wednesday in Kuwait. Bangladesh’s National… – Continue reading
Irish Corporate Tax 2014: The current Irish governance system has remained unchanged through boom and bust and the addiction to political spin, distortion and sometimes lies, works at least in the short term while in some cases it has an enduring impact. To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, America’s 16th president, it’s possible “to… – Continue reading
INTRODUCTION On 31 January 2014 the Crown Dependencies of Guernsey and Jersey jointly issued draft Guidance Notes (in conjunction with the Isle of Man) on the implementation of obligations arising under the intergovernmental agreements (“IGAs“) signed by each island with the UK in October 2013 and with the US in… – Continue reading
A mainland spokeswoman on Monday talked up cross-Strait plans for a pact on the avoidance of double taxation, after concern that it may lead to the exposure of people’s personal data. The pact, currently being discussed by negotiators across the Strait, will benefit both sides, said Fan Liqing of the… – Continue reading
Luxembourg is lobbying Beijing for equal treatment with London, which was granted an investment quota last year allowing investors based there to invest their offshore yuan directly in the mainland’s securities markets. In an effort to capture a larger share of Europe’s offshore yuan business, top officials from the grand… – Continue reading
SEOUL, Feb. 17 (Yonhap) — South Korea’s tax agency said Monday that it imposed more than 1 trillion won (US$944.3 million) in taxes last year through an investigation into offshore tax evasion. A total of 1.08 trillion won was imposed as a result of its offshore tax evasion probe last… – Continue reading
Swiss bank UBS is at the centre of embarrassing revelations that it helped to set up a secretive offshore firm for the wife and daughter of a former senior Chinese official who has since been convicted of corruption. Zhang Shuguang, a former deputy chief engineer of the disbanded railways ministry,… – Continue reading
Belgium’s finance ministry on January 27 announced changes to the effective dates of the agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with China. The finance ministry had previously announced that the agreement would come into effect on Jan. 4, 2014 and apply to taxes on income… – Continue reading
