Category: Japan

President Trump eyes border tax on Mexico, China and Germany

The Trump White House favours a “flexible” border adjustment tax targeting countries with which the United States runs big trade deficits, including Mexico, China and Germany, the President’s top trade and industry adviser said. Peter Navarro, a sceptic of free trade, wants the US to entice advanced manufacturing production onshore… – Continue reading

Helpful For Shipping Industry

Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement Amended between S. Korea and India The Korea Shipowners’ Association announced on January 24 that the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between South Korea and India was amended so that South Korean shipping companies’ shipping income generated as a result of their maritime transport services provided for… – Continue reading

Hong Kong and Korea sign agreement on automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters

Hong Kong (HKSAR) – Hong Kong has signed an agreement with Korea with a view to commencing the automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters (AEOI) in 2019, a Government spokesman said today (January 24). “Since the signing of the first two agreements for AEOI with Japan and… – Continue reading

Latvia and Japan sign agreement intended to promote investment and make investors’ work easier

RIGA – Latvian Finance Minister Dana Reizniece-Ozola (Greens/Farmers) and Motome Takisawa, Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan, today signed a convention for the elimination of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and the prevention of tax evasion and avoidance, BNS was told at the Finance Ministry. The… – Continue reading

Israel Tax Authority Deems Bitcoin a Taxable Asset

The Israeli Tax Authority has issued an official draft circular to clarify the tax guidelines that apply to bitcoin adopters. In an announcement last week, the Israel Tax Authority released its draft [PDF] on the proposed taxation of virtual currencies which are considered “assets”. Pointedly, the announcement also cites the… – Continue reading

India-Japan Agree New Advance Pricing Agreement

India has signed a bilateral advance pricing agreement with the Indian subsidiary of a Japanese company, India’s Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has announced. The APA was signed on January 13. With this, India and Japan have concluded three bilateral APAs, all of which include roll-back provisions. Overall, the… – Continue reading

Richards accuses Oxfam of ‘serial errors’

Finance minister Bob Richards has expressed dismay at Oxfam’s claim that Bermuda is the world’s worst corporate tax haven. And the Progressive Labour Party joined him to condemn the report as “extremely disappointing”. Mr Richards pointed to “serial errors” in the global charity’s report on offshore centres, which found that… – Continue reading

Bermuda is world’s worst corporate tax haven, says Oxfam

Four UK territories in list ‘undermine Britain’s efforts to be responsible member of the international community’ Bermuda is the world’s worst corporate tax haven, according to a list by Oxfam, which includes three other UK territories among those it names and shames. The charity’s list of the “world’s worst” 15… – Continue reading

Saint-Amans: greater co-operation the only way to maintain tax sovereignty

Tax sovereignty is incompatible with the globalised world, according to OECD tax policy director Pascal Saint-Amans Speaking at the Public Accounts Committee’s Global Tax Transparency Summit, Saint-Amans told told ministers, tax professionals and international representatives ‘a gap’ still exists ‘between the world globalising and tax sovereignty’. ‘As members of parliament,… – Continue reading

Switzerland eyes AEOI with 21 countries

Switzerland, which has been working to end its years-long practice of banking secrecy, on Thursday said it aimed to dramatically increase the number of countries it cooperates with toward international fiscal transparency. The Swiss government said in a statement that it wanted to extend the automatic exchange of information (AEOI)… – Continue reading

Implementation of Common Reporting Standard in Hong Kong – Implications for Family Trust with a Private Trust Company as Trustee

The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Information in Tax Matters (Standard for AEOI) in July 2014, which aims to prevent offshore tax evasion and maintain the integrity of tax systems. Over 100 jurisdictions have committed to comply with the Standard… – Continue reading

OECD Says Trump Tax and Spending Plans Will Boost Global Economy

A resurgent U.S. economy would help offset softness elsewhere in the world. Global growth will pick up faster than previously expected in the coming months as the Trump administration’s planned tax cuts and public spending fire up the U.S. economy, the OECD said on Monday, revising up its forecasts. In… – Continue reading

Switzerland Adopts Ordinance On International AEOI

Switzerland’s Ordinance on the International Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) in Tax Matters will enter into force on January 1, 2017. The Swiss Federal Council adopted the ordinance on November 23. The ordinance contains the Federal Council’s implementing provisions for the Federal Act on the International Automatic Exchange of Information… – Continue reading

Federal government moves to stop double taxation, evasion

The Federal Executive Council, FEC, on Wednesday approved a bilateral agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of physical evasion of taxes on income and capital benefits between Nigeria and Singapore. The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun disclosed to State House Correspondents, after the FEC meeting… – Continue reading

Australian Practitioners Urge Zero Withholding for Pooled Funds

Practitioners in the managed funds industry are calling for a zero-rate for withholding tax in Australia amid the government’s proposals for new tax concessions to boost it, saying the proposed measures don’t go far enough. The government released a consultation paper Nov. 3 on non-resident withholding taxes for pooled funds—or… – Continue reading

India-Japan amended tax treaty comes into force

The amended bilateral tax treaty between India and Japan, which provides for strengthened exchange of information to help reduce tax evasion, has come into force from October 29. The agreement to amend the 27-year old Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) was signed when Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited India… – Continue reading

With 42% increase in trade, India-NZ agree to amend Double Taxation Agreement

India and New Zealand also vowed to press for successful negotiations of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). India and New Zealand decided to amend the bilateral tax treaty and expressed commitment to work towards a comprehensive free trade agreement with a view to boost economic ties on Wednesday. The… – Continue reading

Hong Kong to commence automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters with Japan and UK in 2018

Hong Kong has signed agreements with Japan and the United Kingdom with a view to commencing automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters (AEOI) with these two tax jurisdictions in 2018, a Government spokesman said today (October 26). In September 2014, Hong Kong indicated its support for the… – Continue reading

UK could slash corporation tax to 10 pct if EU blocks trade deal in Brexit (Update 1)

Britain could slash corporation tax to 10 percent if the European Union refuses to agree a post-Brexit free trade deal or blocks UK-based banks from accessing its market, the Sunday Times reported, citing an unidentified source. The newspaper said the idea of halving the headline rate from 20 percent had… – Continue reading

UK could slash corporation tax to 10 pct if EU blocks trade deal in Brexit (Update 1)

Britain could slash corporation tax to 10 percent if the European Union refuses to agree a post-Brexit free trade deal or blocks UK-based banks from accessing its market, the Sunday Times reported, citing an unidentified source. The newspaper said the idea of halving the headline rate from 20 percent had… – Continue reading

Japan, Austria Agree MAP Arbitration

The Governments of Japan and Austria have agreed in principle to amend their double taxation avoidance agreement to further promote trade and investment between the two countries. The new agreement would enable arbitration under the mutual agreement procedure to ensure settlement of double tax disputes. The new agreement will also… – Continue reading

Germany and Panama move closer towards information-sharing agreement

Talks on a data exchange agreement have progressed following Panama President Varela’s state visit to Berlin. Panama is looking to clean up its reputation in the aftermath of the “Panama Papers” leak earlier this year. Germany and Panama moved a step closer towards signing an information-sharing agreement, German Chancellor Angela… – Continue reading

Singapore, Japan To Automatically Exchange Tax Info

Singapore and Japan have agreed to automatically exchange financial account information under the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard. The CRS, the new global standard for the automatic exchange of information for tax purposes, requires all participating countries and jurisdictions to obtain information from their financial institutions and to exchange that information… – Continue reading

Introduction of Stringent Transfer Pricing Documentation Requirement

A recent 2016 tax reform in Japan (“Reform”) has introduced stringent Japanese Transfer Pricing Documentation Requirements, which require the preparation/filing of: (i) a Master File, (ii) a Country-by-Country Report, and (iii) a Local File, as well as (iv) a “Notification of the Ultimate Parent Entity.” Any ultimate parent company (“Parent… – Continue reading

Govt to disclose details of disputes under mutual agreement procedures

Disclosures under the MAP are aimed at improving dispute resolution mechanism and are part of global initiative on base erosion and profit shifting. India will soon disclose the number of disputes being negotiated under the mutual agreement procedures (MAP) of tax treaties as well as details of the time being… – Continue reading

Assessing the Hong Kong – Russia Double Taxation Agreement: Another Step Towards Amplifying China’s Eurasian Connection

Assessing the Hong Kong – Russia Double Taxation Agreement: Another Step Towards Amplifying China’s Eurasian Connection   The long-awaited Comprehensive Double Taxation Agreement (CDTA) between Hong Kong and Russia entered into force on July 29, 2016. The agreement will take effect on April 1, 2017 in Hong Kong and January… – Continue reading

Warning against tax evasion: Indonesia to adopt aeoi next year

Indonesia will be among the first to join the group of countries adopting the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) in 2018. AEOI would provide automatic exchange of tax information among the members of the group. All bank accounts in the world would be accessible for taxable assets. Dishonest and greedy… – Continue reading

Minister Of Finance Visits Kyoto, Japan – OECD BEPS Process And Tax Agreement United Arab Emirates

As part of the aim to sustainably meet the highest international standards in the tax field, the Minister of Finance Dr. Jose Jardim has joined the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting agenda of the OECD. In this context, the section with regard to the Common Reporting Standards concerning the automatic… – Continue reading

Five More Countries Agree To Exchange CbC Reports

A further five countries have signed the OECD’s Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for the automatic exchange of country-by-country (CbC) reports, bringing the total number of signatories to 44. The Agreement allows all signatories to bilaterally and automatically exchange CbC reports with each other, as contemplated by base erosion and profit… – Continue reading

How new EU tax laws impact Thai firms

THAI MULTINATIONAL companies will be impacted on their cross-border business activities due to rapidly evolving tax laws in Europe and Asia-Pacific. For instance, the European Union (EU) achieved a groundbreaking result on June 20 by agreeing to a package of tax measures to combat corporate tax avoidance, which will be… – Continue reading

Nations discuss corporate tax avoidance at OECD meeting in Kyoto

Representatives of more than 80 countries and jurisdictions met in Kyoto on Thursday for a two-day conference aimed at going after corporate tax avoidance in the first-ever effort of its kind to include developed and developing countries. The meeting of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Committee on Fiscal… – Continue reading

Passing Bilateral Tax Treaties Will Promote American Competitiveness

Pending before the United States Senate are a number of tax treaties. Seven of these are bilateral treaties between the U.S. and a foreign country, in this case Chile, Hungary, Japan, Luxembourg, Poland, Spain, and Switzerland. ATR urges all Senators to support these routine, yet important treaties that protect against… – Continue reading

Global Tax Update – June 2016

Asia Pacific The January – March edition of tax highlights for the Asia Pacific region highlights industry developments from Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia and Singapore including: Australia’s new tax system for Managed Investment Trusts The final stage of China’s B2V reform to be rolled out from… – Continue reading

Japan Agrees Tax Information Exchange With Panama

Japan and Panama have agreed the provisions of a bilateral tax information exchange agreement (TIEA), subject to further work on finalizing its text. Negotiation of the TIEA was initiated following the Japan-Panama Summit Meeting held on April 20 between Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Panama’s President, Juan Carlos Varela…. – Continue reading

Greater transparency significant change for UAE-based multinationals: KPMG

Dubai: UAE-based multinationals will start to feel the impact of the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) proposals that come into effect this year, a KPMG seminar on international tax developments has revealed. The BEPS proposals are focused on mitigating tax planning strategies that exploit gaps and mismatches in… – Continue reading

Hong Kong: Recent Development On CRS / AEOI & CbC Reporting

In August 2015, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published the first edition of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) Implementation Handbook to provide practical guidance to assist government officials in implementing the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters (AEOI). The AEOI and CRS… – Continue reading

Japanese money in offshore tax havens could solve a lot of problems at home

TOKYO — Do the rich and powerful really dodge taxes? They do. The “Panama Papers” – 11.5 million or so documents leaked from a Panama law firm specializing in tax shelters of various kinds and degrees of ingenuity – are shocking, however, not only to the naively innocent but to seasoned… – Continue reading

Troubling Implications of the BEPS Project: Interest Deductibility

On October 5, 2015, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) issued final tax policy recommendations stemming from its Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. The reports, endorsed by the G20 Finance Ministers on October 8 and by the G20 leaders at their November 15-16 summit, consist primarily… – Continue reading

U.S. Treasury readies new tax rules as G20 vows to fight evasion

The U.S. Treasury Department is finalising new tax rules aimed at combating the use of shell companies to evade taxes, U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said on Saturday amid increased pledges by global finance leaders to cooperate on tax issues. In a statement to the International Monetary Fund’s steering committee,… – Continue reading

OECD chief expects Panama cooperation to prevent tax avoidance

The chief of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Monday that the Panamanian government is expected to cooperate in international efforts to prevent tax avoidance after the revelation of the so-called Panama Papers.      OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria said in a press conference in Tokyo that… – Continue reading

G-20 to discuss combating tax avoidance

TOKYO — Measures to deter tax avoidance will be discussed at next week’s meeting of Group of 20 finance ministers and central bankers in light of the release of the Panama Papers, including expanding an information-sharing agreement to include Panama and other countries. The release of leaked documents from a… – Continue reading

The IBFM tax regime: A non-starter

Despite best intentions of the government, there have been little or no takers for India-based fund managers In 2015, the Indian government took a commendable step by introducing a new provision in the Income-tax Act, 1961 (i.e. section 9A), to promote India as a fund manager jurisdiction, and to encourage… – Continue reading

Kenyan appointed to head global tax administration program

Kenya has received global recognition from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), following the appointment of James Karanja, a career Kenyan tax administrator to lead the recently established Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) Secretariat. TIWB is a global scope initiative, that was launched mid last year at the… – Continue reading

Important changes and developments in German double tax treaties

1. New double tax treaty between Germany and the Netherlands: tax authorities now bear burden of proof regarding tax- evading or tax-avoiding arrangements A new Double Tax Treaty (DTT) has been in place between Germany and the Netherlands since 01 January 2016. Art. 23 of the DTT introduces an important… – Continue reading

Zambia signing its way out of tax revenues-ActionAid Zambia

A new report from ActionAid titled ‘Mistreated’ released this week has revealed that Zambia has 13 restrictive tax treaties that dramatically restrict the government’s power to tax global companies doing business on our soil and therefore unfairly limit our country’s potential to collect tax revenue. The report also found that… – Continue reading

Start-ups Hope Budget Will Follow up on Modi’s Promises

NEW DELHI: With Prime Minister Narendra Modi promising tax cuts and a $1.5-billion fund for India’s start-up eco-system, young entrepreneurs hope that the Budget 2016-17 will have some concrete steps to foster new businesses. “Implementation of nationwide GST (Goods and Services Tax) will help in simplifying the entire tax structure,… – Continue reading