Category: Netherlands

Biggest tax inverters ‘have $21bn offshore’

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. C Three US companies seeking to use controversial takeovers to cut their US tax bills hold at least… – Continue reading

Most Dutch banks are ‘vague’ about tax avoidance: fair banking report

Seven Dutch financial institutions may be involved in evading taxes and are ‘extremely vague’ about what they do to ensure this does not happen, the Dutch Fair Bank Guide said on Wednesday. ABN Amro, Aegon, Delta Lloyd, ING, NIBC, Rabobank and Van Lanschot emerge as potential tax avoiders in research… – Continue reading

The Biggest Tax Scam Ever

I n July, the American pharmaceutical giant AbbVie, maker of the world’s top-selling drug – the arthritis treatment Humira – reached a blockbuster deal to acquire European rival Shire, best known for the attention-deficit medication Adderall. The merger was cheered by Wall Street, not for what the deal will do… – Continue reading

Twitter Spain shifts profits to Ireland

Twitter is the latest major internet multinational to have opened up a Spanish subsidiary. But the popular micro-blogging site has followed in the footsteps of Google, Apple, Facebook and Linkedin, all of whom keep their Spanish corporate taxes down to the bare minimum by shifting their income to Ireland. Created… – Continue reading

Burger King-Tim Hortons: Is Canada becoming a corporate tax haven?

Potential inversion deal highlights dropping corporate taxes in Canada, now the lowest among 10 countries, with the U.S. in 5th place. Fast-food giant Burger King faced anger from both Washington and average Americans Monday, a day after it announced that it was in talks to buy Tim Hortons and relocate… – Continue reading

U.S. businesses moving overseas to dodge taxes

NEW YORK — There’s more than one way for a U.S. company to avoid taxes by claiming a foreign address. Consider the business founded in 1916 as General Plate Co., a maker of sensors and controls for everything from Fords and Frigidaires to the spaceship that first carried Americans to… – Continue reading

Review of patent tax regimes in EU has Irish support

Ireland can adopt ‘wait-and-see’ approach on tax breaks, says Department of Finance Ireland supports the EU review of all patent box regimes – under which certain member states offer tax breaks for intellectual property – and has decided to take a “wait-and-see approach” on the issue until guidance is provided… – Continue reading

Corporate foreign tax moves have bedeviled U.S. for decades

(Reuters) – The U.S. government has grappled for more than 30 years with corporate deals known as inversions in which U.S. companies shift their tax domiciles abroad to avoid U.S. taxes. Fifty-two substantial deals like this have occurred since 1983, about half of them since the 2008-2009 credit crisis, according… – Continue reading

Global Tax Topical Focus – Corporate Inversions FAQ

To some, US companies switching their tax residency to gain a tax advantage are economic “traitors.” To others, they are victims of a United States tax code that effectively punishes them for investing at home and encourages them to look for opportunities overseas. In this Tax-News Topical Focus, we try… – Continue reading

Russian FM Provides Anti-Offshore Law Update

Russia’s Finance Minister, Anton Siluanov, has told President Vladimir Putin that a new bill to deter Russian tax residents from hiding income offshore is expected to raise about RUB30bn (USD844m) from overseas accounts in Cyprus and the Netherlands. During a Government meeting on July 30, 2014, Siluanov explained that entrepreneurs… – Continue reading

European Union is examining overseas tax breaks for Apple, Starbucks and Fiat

The European Commission raised pressure on Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg over their corporate tax practices, saying it was investigating deals the countries have cut with Apple, Starbucks and Fiat. The Commission, the executive body of the European Union, is looking at whether the countries’ tax treatment of multinationals that… – Continue reading

EC launches Apple tax investigation

EC launches Apple tax investigation The European Commission has launched a formal investigation into Apple’s tax arrangements in Ireland The EC has announced three “in-depth investigations” into the transfer pricing arrangements on the corporate taxation of Apple, Starbucks in the Netherlands and Fiat in Luxembourg, as to whether they comply… – Continue reading

Apple, Starbucks Tax Deals With Irish, Dutch Probed by EU

Tax breaks for Apple Inc. (AAPL:US), Starbucks Corp. (SBUX:US) and Fiat Finance & Trade SA in three European Union countries are under investigation by EU competition regulators in a clampdown on special treatment for companies. The EU is checking whether the tax deals in Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are illegal state aid, according to… – Continue reading

EU investigates tax rulings on Apple, Starbucks, Fiat

Reuters) – The European Commission raised pressure on Ireland, the Netherlands and Luxembourg over their corporate tax practices, saying it was investigating deals the countries have cut with Apple, Starbucks and Fiat. The EU is looking at whether the countries’ tax treatment of multinationals, which help to attract investment and… – Continue reading

FDI from Mauritius to India drying up

India had received in $8.17 bn during April- January 2012-13 Foreign Direct Investment inflows from Mauritius have almost halved during April-January period of last fiscal to $4.11 billion on fears of impact of GAAR and possible re-negotiation of the tax avoidance treaty. India had received in $8.17 billion during April-… – Continue reading

KKR’s Entry Into Canadian Oil Patch Crimped by Tax Clampdown

Canada is clamping down on off-shore tax shelters used by private-equity funds, in a move that may curb investment in the oil and gas industry by KKR & Co. and Blackstone Group LP. (BX) The government has given private-equity firms and other interested parties until April 11 to respond to proposals tucked… – Continue reading

Corporate Tax: OECD’s Saint-Amans says “Double Irish Dutch” sandwich tax scheme will be axed

Corporate Tax Reform: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) held a briefing and webcast at its Paris headquarters Wednesday on its Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project and Pascal Saint-Amans, the director of the OECD’s tax centre confirmed that “Double Irish Dutch” sandwich tax schemes, which involve… – Continue reading

Why ‘Londongrad’ Weighs On Britain’s Russia Policy

LONDON — They are the most expensive and luxurious flats in the whole of London. Their ultramodern bay windows offer an unobstructed view onto Hyde Park. An underground corridor connects them to the Mandarin Oriental, the palace where Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal has one of his prized restaurants. In total, the… – Continue reading

Luxembourg Ordered to Give EU Tax-Deal Detail Amid Aid Probe (1)

European Union competition watchdogs ordered Luxembourg to hand over details of tax breaks for businesses after they said the Grand Duchy was hindering a state-aid probe spanning several EU nations. Luxembourg refused to deliver details concerning the 100 largest companies benefiting from a special program for companies whose profits stem… – Continue reading

Companies’ Offshore Profits Keep Piling Up

U.S. corporations added at least $206 billion to their stockpiles of offshore profits last year, parking earnings in low-tax countries until Congress gives them a reason not to. They have accumulated $1.95 trillion outside the U.S., up 11.8 percent from a year earlier, according to securities filings from 307 corporations…. – Continue reading

British Virgin Islands: BVI & Canada: Down To business – TIEA Now Effective

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

Corporate Tax Avoidance: Zara fashion brand owner amasses $10bn property empire

Corporate Tax Avoidance: Inditex, the Spanish owner of Zara, this week announced its first fall in annual profits in five years as the world’s biggest fashion retailer invested in stores while foreign exchange rates moved against it. However, Amancio Ortega Gaona, founding chairman of Inditex, with a stake of 60%… – Continue reading

Apple to IBM hoard $206b abroad to avoid US tax

The largest US-based companies added $206 billion to their stockpiles of offshore profits last year, parking earnings in low-tax countries until Congress gives them a reason not to. The multinational companies have accumulated $1.95 trillion outside the US, up 11.8 per cent from a year earlier, according to securities filings… – Continue reading

Finance ministry seeks early disposal of Vodafone transfer pricing case

NEW DELHI: The finance ministry will soon write to British telecom major Vodafone to press the company to seek an early decision from the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) in the Rs 8,500-crore transfer pricing case. The Union Cabinet had, on February 28, directed the finance ministry to wait for the… – Continue reading

Pensions Create Yet Another Tax Trap For U.S. Expatriates

Think your taxes are confusing? Ha! Try living and working abroad as a U.S. citizen. As the following guest column details, even something as  seemingly ordinary as participating in a pension plan can create huge tax complications. (For less esoteric advice on preparing your 1040 for 2013 and minimizing your… – Continue reading

Indo-Netherlands BIPA pact doesn’t cover taxation: FinMin

New Delhi: The Income Tax department has rebutted Vodafone’s notice under BIPA saying that the pact between India and Netherlands does not cover taxation issues. “Tax department has sent its response to Vodafone saying BIPA does not cover tax issues,” an official source said. The response to the Bilateral Investment… – Continue reading

Ortega’s Zara Fashions Tax Avoidance by Shifting Profits to Alps

Zara’s celebrity chic helps make its Spanish parent company, Inditex SA, the world’s biggest fashion retailer. Singer Taylor Swift, reality-television personality Kim Kardashian and Kate Middleton, Prince William’s wife, have all been spotted wearing the stylish, low-cost brand. Another reason for Inditex’s industry-best profit margins of almost 15 percent: the… – Continue reading

Income Tax department finalises response to Vodafone’s BIPA notice

NEW DELHI: The Income Tax department plans to rebut Vodafone’s notice under BIPA saying that the pact between India and Netherlands does not cover taxation issues. The response to the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPA) notice was finalised after a meeting of the inter-ministerial group, headed by the Finance Secretary. The other… – Continue reading

G20 to tackle transfer pricing with new tax exchange scheme

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

Will Offshore Tax Havens Face More Scrutiny in 2014?

The Isle of Man is kind of like the United Kingdom’s version of the Caymen Islands. Technically it’s a crown dependency, and the British government is responsible for its defense and foreign relations. But it’s also completely self-governing with one of the oldest Parliaments in the world. The “island administration,” which… – Continue reading

Tuesday’s papers: More on tax havens, media coverage of immigration and errant education funding

Apart from tracking the fortunes of Finns battling for Olympic greatness in Sochi, Tuesday’s news headlines also looked at domestic themes. Among them official concerns about Estonia as a possible tax haven for Finnish firms, a comparison of media coverage of immigration in Finland and the Netherlands and education funding… – Continue reading

Guernsey: Guernsey And Jersey Issue Draft Guidance Notes For FATCA-Based Reporting

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

Ireland in spotlight over multinationals

When Taoiseach Enda Kenny was grilled over Ireland’s low tax regime for multinationals on a visit to Paris last week, he fell back on a familiar defence. By now it’s a regular refrain – Ireland’s corporate taxes are crystal clear and transparent. Ours, he added, is a statute-based system which… – Continue reading

France will not tolerate tax avoidance, says Francois Hollande

France will not tolerate tax avoidance, says Francois Hollande French president Francois Hollande says that “everyone must be in the same competitive situation” French president Francois Hollande speaks during a press conference to present his 2014 policy plans at the Elysee presidential palace. Francois Hollande is making a state visit… – Continue reading