Britain’s Conservative government has relaxed demands on the Cayman Islands to create a register detailing company ownership, despite Prime Minister David Cameron’s previous call for Overseas Territories to adopt the measure to promote transparency. The UK’s Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies make up almost 25 percent of the world’s tax… – Continue reading
Grant Shapps, Foreign Office minister, says on visit that Cayman Islands could use existing systems to help tax authorities The UK government appears to have relaxed its pressure on the Cayman Islands to create a register of company ownership, despite David Cameron’s plea last year for overseas territories to do… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands are somewhat a tourism paradise. There are crystal blue waters and golden beaches, but the fate of the economy is often overlooked. For years the country has been sustaining itself on the financial services industry, but with the impending issue of tax avoidance in global media, could… – Continue reading
Almost 173,500 financial institutions from around the world have signed up to report customer information to the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Around 2,230 registered with the FATCA portal in the past month, according to the IRS. At least one financial institution… – Continue reading
Two Cayman residents are challenging a decision by the Tax Information Authority to comply with a tax information exchange request by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Lee and Sheila Aronfeld are naturalized citizens of the Cayman Islands but remain taxpayers in the United States, where they are subject to a… – Continue reading
For hedge funds in most jurisdictions, the first wave of registration and reporting deadlines surrounding the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is now in the rearview mirror, but a significant amount of work likely remains. Due to the staggered approach regarding the definition of a reportable investor in 2014… – Continue reading
The Finance Ministry said Tuesday that it would pardon individuals and companies that not paid taxes on gains from overseas investments, as long as they voluntarily report their gains for tax payment by the end of March. The tax authority’s policy came from the Park Geun-hye administration’s efforts to expand… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands Department for International Tax Cooperation (DITC) has advised that it is in the final stages of preparing its FATCA data to be provided to the IRS. Information on US Reportable Account Notifications and 2014 Returns for US FATCA should now be completed and successfully submitted. It is… – Continue reading
Acting U.K. Overseas Territories Minister Grant Shapps said Thursday he is hopeful that Cayman and the Mother Country can reach some form of agreement on requirements to list the beneficial owners of companies registered here. “There’s more than one way to skin a cat,” Mr. Shapps said during a brief… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands as one of the leading offshore financial centres have a great level of uncertainty in its future with all the recent developments around tax compliance. One looming uncertainty is the European Union’s (EU) Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) passport. The AIFMD is one of several measures… – Continue reading
To check black money generation, the government today approved signing and ratification of the agreement between India and Seychelles for exchange of information with respect to taxes, reports the Economic Times. The agreement will stimulate the information exchange between India and Seychelles for tax purposes, which will help curb tax… – Continue reading
According to recent estimates, Estonia, which is situated halfway between Stockholm and St. Petersburg, currently has more than 350 start-up technology companies – one for every 3,700 citizens – and the government expects this number to reach 1,000 by the year 2020. This makes Estonia the number one start-up technology… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands is confident that the pan-European marketing ‘passport’ will be extended to alternative investment funds (AIFs) set up in the jurisdiction, according to the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA). Cayman, where a high percentage of offshore hedge funds are registered, still awaits assessment by the European Securities and… – Continue reading
South Africans with undisclosed offshore accounts may feel exposed after their offshore Swiss bank account information found its way into the public domain this year. The theft of information relating to some 30 000 HSBC accounts – the biggest banking leak in history – actually took place five years ago… – Continue reading
International finance centers play a significant role in Russian foreign direct investment (FDI). For example, in 2012 it was observed that 11 of the 40 main recipients of Russian FDI were IFCs. Of these finance centers, the largest recipients were the BVI, the Cayman Islands and Cyprus. Despite the popularity… – Continue reading
In May of 2012, and soon before Facebook’s IPO, Eduardo Saverin renounced his U.S. citizenship. Saverin was a co-founder of the social-networking site, and the consensus was that he gave up his citizenship to avoid U.S. taxes that would be levied after the offering. Saverin was widely denounced for his… – Continue reading
The following article by Dr Monica Galea John, partner in the Financial Services Department, analyses the manner in which the Fourth EU Anti Money Laundering Directive (the “Directive“) which has just made its way through the EU’s legislation, obliges, for the first time, EU member states to maintain central registers… – Continue reading
Large South Korean companies have sent more than $400 billion to offshore tax havens over the past eight years, with nearly 40 percent of the amount yet to be returned home, data showed Sunday. According to the data by the Bank of Korea and other government agencies, local big firms… – Continue reading
Yet another American company has announced its intention to carry out a corporate inversion, a fancy term for buying a smaller company, completing some paper work and, for tax purposes, declaring its new headquarters are in a foreign nation. This time it’s Terex, a Connecticut-based heavy equipment and crane manufacturer,… – Continue reading
As the Islamic financial industry continues to experience exponential growth, offshore financial centres (OFCs) are keen to market their value for the development of Islamic financial products. OFCs are working towards establishing comprehensive eco-systems to gain competitive advantages over other jurisdictions for Islamic finance. Most OFCs promote the element of… – Continue reading
The first reporting cycle for the United States Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) kicked off with the 31 March deadline set by the US Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) for countries and territories such as Hong Kong that have a Model 2 Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA). Although the IRS has granted… – Continue reading
The rise of Islamic finance and sukuk issuances have brought with it a growing phenomenon: Shariah banking is increasingly taking advantage of offshore banking jurisdictions, and this for a number of reasons, reports the Gulf Times. Many offshore centres around the world meanwhile offer a wide range of features allowing… – Continue reading
FATCA refers to provisions contained in the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act (the ‘HIRE’ Act) signed into law on 18 March 2010 in the United States. The main purpose of FATCA is to identify and gather information on US persons who may be evading tax through the use of… – Continue reading
Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority v 1. MH Investments, 2. JA Investments – CICA No. 31 of 2013; G391/2012 The Court of Appeal in rejecting the appeal of the Tax Information Authority against the decision of Mr Justice Quinn in MH Investments Ltd and JA Investments Ltd1 has confirmed in… – Continue reading
A judge’s ruling that the Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority acted unlawfully when it handed over a trove of documents on two Cayman-registered companies to Australian tax authorities has been upheld by the Court of Appeal. The court ruled that the decision to provide documents, requested as part of an… – Continue reading
Tax evasion by Canadian companies using offshore havens promises to become election issue Canadian corporations that use tax havens like Switzerland and the Cayman Islands to reduce the taxes they pay at home have good reason to worry. The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) has been stepping up its scrutiny of… – Continue reading
Introduction The Cayman Islands have an extremely open, accountable and transparent government and regulatory system. Despite the dated stereotype, the Cayman Islands have promoted transparency regulations and initiatives for many years. In May 2000, the Cayman Islands made commitments to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (the “OECD“) to… – Continue reading
Introduction Following the implementation of the EU Alternative Investment Fund Managers (AIFM) Directive (2011/61/EC) and associated legislation, Cyprus now lays claim to being a growth jurisdiction within the European Union for the establishment and servicing of boutique and low cost alternative investment funds based locally or offshore. The choice of… – Continue reading
Maples and Calder and Maples Fund Services representatives explain how US and UK Fatca will impact Cayman-based funds. The implementation of the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (US Fatca) and the less well-known but equally applicable UK equivalent (UK Fatca) have been a topical and core focus for Cayman… – Continue reading
In the midst of the Special Investigative Team (SIT) on undisclosed money flagging concern on participatory notes (p-notes), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) says it is probing a case of alleged round tripping. The term refers to transactions between companies that bolster their revenue but, in the… – Continue reading
Just as every new government fiddles around with high school history text books, it also dabbles in Mauritius and P-notes. Both actions have a sharp, short-lived impact, leaving behind a trail of conspiracy theories. Mauritius and P-notes are ghosts that New Delhi and regulators could never quite exercise. They unfailingly… – Continue reading
Over the past year, a number of legislative measures have been adopted to ensure that the Cayman Islands remains the leading jurisdiction of choice for structured finance and capital markets transactions and for secured lending transactions generally. This article focuses on two recent key legislative developments. The first is the… – Continue reading
Over the past year, a number of legislative measures have been adopted to ensure that the Cayman Islands remains the leading jurisdiction of choice for structured finance and capital markets transactions and for secured lending transactions generally. This article focuses on two recent key legislative developments. The first is the… – Continue reading
The Supreme Court-appointed special investigation team on black money has called for clamping down on betting in cricket and stringent checks to prevent rampant use of unaccounted funds in educational institutions by way of donations and capitation fee. The panel has also called for a cash holding limit of Rs… – Continue reading
Travelling from the Cayman Islands to the City of London, from Panama to Hong Kong, two photographers encapsulated the hidden world of tax avoidance. The global financial crisis has led to unprecedented scrutiny of financial institutions and the individuals and companies that use them. Tax avoidance – the legal exploitation… – Continue reading
Introduction Recently, the Cayman Islands Department of International Tax Compliance (DITC) notified financial institutions that in October 2015 it will be introducing local regulations to implement the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), also commonly referred to as global FATCA or GATCA. That notice also served as a reminder that international… – Continue reading
Hollywood-resident James Robert Shipman Jr. is one of three men arrested in a $2.6 million money laundering sting, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced last week. Shipman and one of his co-conspirators, Kenneth Ardell Landgaard, were arrested after flying to an airport in New… – Continue reading
It’s well-documented that profitable Fortune 500 companies are stashing profits offshore to the tune of at least $2.1 trillion and avoiding as much as $550 billion in U.S. taxes. But instead of taking steps to halt this brazen tax dodging, lawmakers have floated various misguided “reform” proposals that would actually… – Continue reading
According to a local newspaper report, the Cayman Islands, the Caribbean territory often called an offshore financial haven, could be the site of a future diamond bourse. The proposed exchange is the brainchild of local jeweler Dennis Smith, who sees it as a way for overseas companies to service the… – Continue reading
The implementation of tax information reporting agreements is costing the financial services sector a pretty penny. Financial Services Councillor Roy McTaggart told Cayman 27 the industry has spent time and money making sure their systems are compatible with government’s recently established reporting portal, which ultimately transmits the information to the… – Continue reading
Sens. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today released a long-awaited tax reform plan that reads like a wish list for multinational corporations. The Senate Finance Committee working group’s report provides recommendations for restructuring the federal government’s international corporation tax rules. The plan is long on misguided ideas and… – Continue reading
The ministry of financial services has announced that Cayman will implement the OECD common reporting standard later this year. The CRS standardizes the global automatic exchange of information for tax purposes. Automatic exchange of information will ultimately lead to the transmission of large amounts of data, such as the investment… – Continue reading
With the first round of US FATCA reporting completed on Friday, 26 June, Cayman Islands Reporting Financial Institutions (RFIs) can now begin their summer relaxation in earnest, having successfully navigated the complex notification and reporting processes. For many, the process has been all-consuming since 1 January, when FATCA went live,… – Continue reading
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
Calcutta, July 5: Singapore and Hong Kong, with their low corporate tax rates, have started to hove into view on the radars of multinational companies that are looking to lower their tax burdens through profit shifting. Profit shifting is a perfectly legal way of moving the earnings of an MNC… – Continue reading
After a four-year ramp up, America’s far-reaching tax law, FATCA – the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (enacted in 2010) – is now in full effect. With over 60 countries (including, most recently, the Vatican) having signed an agreement with the United States related to the enforcement of FATCA, it… – Continue reading
When the HSBC Holdings plc (ADR) (NYSE:HSBC) (LON:HSBA) Swiss leaks story broke the big shock was that someone had produced evidence, not that one of Switzerland’s notoriously secretive banks had helped people evade taxes. We know that trillions are stashed away in tax havens around the world (the ICIJ estimates… – Continue reading
The next step for all Irish entities which are classified as Financial Institutions (“FIs”) for FATCA purposes is to submit a return (the “FATCA Return”) to Irish Revenue setting out details of any US reportable accounts they may have maintained during the 2014 calendar year, or to confirm by way… – Continue reading
The next step for the Cayman Islands in relation to international tax cooperation is the implementation later this year of the OECD Common Reporting Standard (CRS). The CRS standardises the global automatic exchange of information (AEOI) for tax purposes. Financial Services Minister Wayne Panton said the CRS will further strengthen… – Continue reading
June 30 — Taxpayers continue to wrestle with big questions a year after the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act opened for business. Acknowledging that the Internal Revenue Service is doing its best to implement a complex law, issues still remain as the reach of FATCA goes global, practitioners told Bloomberg… – Continue reading
