Category: Europe

Turkmenistan ratifies deal with Germany to avoid double taxation

Turkmenistan in a bid to expand its bilateral ties with Germany in the trade sphere ratified an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation with respect to income and property taxes, the Turkmen government reported. The document signed with Germany was approved at the regular meeting of Parliament this week…. – Continue reading

Iran, Luxemburg agree on mutual investment, double taxation avoidance

The decision was made during a meeting between Iranian Finance and Economic Affairs Minister Ali Tayyenbia and the visiting Luxembourg Economy Minister Etienne Schneider in Tehran on Monday, IRNA reported. As reported, the Luxembourger minister also visited Central Bank of Iran Governor Valiollah Seif on Tuesday. Expressing satisfaction over the… – Continue reading

Vatican advances financial clean-up with Italian tax deal

Individuals and entities that have accounts at the Vatican bank and are subject to taxation in Italy will have until mid-April to report to Italian authorities the income earned by their Vatican accounts. As part of ongoing efforts by the Vatican to increase financial transparency and accountability, an agreement between… – Continue reading

Vulture funds may have to wait until Christmas to learn fate

Department of Finance receives ‘unprecedented’ lobbying from property funds Overseas investors in Irish property may have to wait for a further two months for clarity on how the Government plans to tax structures they have used to snap up billions of euro of real estate after the financial crisis. The… – Continue reading

Ukraine and Luxembourg sign a Protocol modifying their double tax treaty

On 30 September 2016 Ukraine signed a protocol (the “Protocol”) modifying the not-yet-in-force Convention between the Government of Ukraine and the Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital (the “Convention”)…. – Continue reading

100 Financial Centres Start Swapping Tax Data

Expats who have money or assets outside Britain can expect to start receiving letters from the UK tax man soon. Hundreds of thousands of letters are being drafted for expats who have returned to the country after spells abroad and for expats considered UK taxpayers who have had overseas assignments…. – Continue reading

FinMin to issue rules for norms under BEPS

Applicable to transfer pricing for MNCs whose consolidated annual revenue is over Rs 5,000 crore The finance ministry will issue rules and guidance to address some concerns and ambiguity over mandatory reporting norms with respect to transfer pricing for multinational companies whose consolidated annual revenue is over Rs 5,000 crore…. – 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

Georgia-Kyrgyzstan sign agreement on double taxation

Georgia and Kyrgyzstan are increasing economic cooperation by signing an agreement on avoidance of double taxation. The deal was signed today in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi and will prevent people or businesses working between the two countries from evading income and capital taxes. Double taxation is the levying of tax by… – Continue reading

EU Cautioned on Plans to Regulate Tax Advisers

European Union plans to regulate tax advisers in an effort to clamp down on aggressive tax planning and tax avoidance could prove excessive, ineffective and trigger unfair competition, accountants and lawyers warn. The caution comes after EU finance ministers moved Oct. 11 to authorize the European Commission to draw up… – Continue reading

EU Finance Ministers to Target Tax Advisers, Protect Whistle-Blowers

Tough rules to regulate tax advisers, banks and lawyers who help companies avoid tax are set to be advanced by European Union finance ministers. The Council of Economic and Financial Affairs Oct. 11 also will likely move toward a system of automatic exchange of beneficial ownership registers to better target… – Continue reading

Tax haven: The devil is always in the detail

In July 2016 the then Indonesian finance minister Bambang Brodjonegoro, in conjunction with the launch of the widely publicized tax amnesty program (TAP) for undeclared offshore assets, also laid out less publicized plans for a new tax haven on the islands of Bintan and Rempang (Proposed Tax Haven). A key… – Continue reading

Civil Society proposes to step up measures to fight money laundering and terrorist financing

EESC debate also calls for safeguards against misuse of data collected An EESC debate this week on fighting money laundering, terrorist financing and tax evasion called for a number of policy proposals aimed at “making the lives of criminals more difficult and their actions impossible”. The Brussels event made a… – Continue reading

Facebook pays just £4million in tax while lavishing British staff with £165MILLION

Accounts show each of the firm’s 682 workers took home average of £242,000 each in 2015 Facebook lavished £165million on its UK staff last year, while handing the taxpayer just £4million. Accounts show each of the firm’s 682 workers took home average of £242,000 each in 2015. The bumper payout… – Continue reading

After disclosure on Bahamas tax havens, UN experts urge governments to take action

In the wake of the recent disclosure of leaked Bahamas tax haven data, United Nations human rights experts today urged governments to work together on liquidating offshore tax avoidance and establishing tougher financial regulations. In a news release, Juan Pablo Bohoslavsky, the UN Independent Expert on foreign debt and human… – Continue reading

Finnish Royalties To Estonia No Longer Taxed

The Finnish Tax Administration has confirmed that the payment of Finnish-sourced royalties to taxpayers in Estonia are not subject to withholding tax under the Finland’s double tax avoidance treaty with the Baltic state. In a tax administration bulletin issued on October 3, the Finnish tax authority said that as of… – Continue reading

German taxman goes after foreign banks

German state prosecutors are investigating nearly 60 foreign banks for “abetting tax evasion,” a newspaper report has said. Self-declaring former tax-evaders are proving a particularly valuable source of information. Prosecutors in Germany’s most populous state are investigating 57 foreign banks on charges of abetting tax evasion, according to the “Süddeutsche… – Continue reading

STUDY: 73% OF FORTUNE 500 COMPANIES USED TAX HAVENS IN 2015

In 2015, more than 73 percent of Fortune 500 companies maintained subsidiaries in offshore tax havens, according to “Offshore Shell Games,” released today by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Citizens for Tax Justice and the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy. Collectively, multinationals reported booking $2.5 trillion offshore, with just… – Continue reading

Indonesia is finally cracking down on tax avoidance

The Indonesian government recently launched tax hunt on Google Indonesia. If Google were indeed guilty of tax avoidance, it would have to pay a huge price for its actions. But Google is not alone in avoiding paying tax to Indonesian government. Indonesians and Indonesian companies are squirrelling their wealths in… – Continue reading

Hammond buries Osborne’s tax-dumping plans

On the way to Brexit, Hammond adopts a more conciliatory negotiating position Britain’s post-Brexit Finance Minister, Philip Hammond, has buried a tax-dumping plan to slash the corporate tax introduced by his predecessor. Before his resignation in July, George Osborne announced plans to reduce British corporate tax to encourage investment to… – Continue reading

Here’s the latest on the non-dom reform

What will happen to clean capital, tainted trusts and enveloped assets under the new tax regime? John Goodchild reports. The UK government has at last disclosed further details of the tax changes for UK resident non-domiciled individuals first announced in July 2015. The government remains determined to implement all the… – Continue reading

Heat on tax evaders could be endgame for black money

Chances of tax evaders coming under the scanner is rising due to the implementation of the GST, greater use of technology and exchange of information between countries New Delhi: The noose is tightening around tax evaders. Be it the implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) or the greater… – Continue reading

VP Kalla Reminds Tax Dodgers That They Can’t Escape Automatic Exchange of Information

Jakarta. Tax dodgers and taxpayers who have underreported their wealth in the past and who now seek to rectify the situation should join the tax amnesty program as they will not be able to hide once a system for the automatic exchange of financial information between states comes into effect… – Continue reading

Tax havens are under attack

Ireland, accused of being a tax haven for multinationals such as Apple to pay nearly zero tax on the bulk of its profits earned outside the United States, finds itself with a new adversary in the global fight against unfair tax practices — Brazil. As of October 1, Brazil will… – Continue reading

EU to black list tax havens, EU Commissioner Moscovisi says

A list on non-cooperative tax jurisdictions around the world, the first ever common EU list, is being under preparation, Commissioner for Economic and Financial Affairs, Taxation and Customs Pierre Moscovici has said. “This month, we started the process that will lead, by the end of 2017, to the first ever… – Continue reading

European Parliament Begins Panama Papers Probe Despite Tax Haven Splits

Members of the European Parliament, September 27, have begun their investigation into the Panama Papers scandal, which exposed the sheer extent of rich people and companies using offshore tax havens to reduce their tax liabilities in EU member states. However, the latest probe comes on the back of another investigation… – Continue reading

UK aid programme “failing to tackle tax avoidance and evasion”

A report by the Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) has criticised the Department for International Development’s (DfiD) approach to tackling tax avoidance and its alleged failure to achieve value for money on HMRC collaboration DfiD has failed in its efforts to fully include developing countries so that they benefit… – Continue reading

CANADA, ISRAEL SIGN AGREEMENT ON DOUBLE TAXATION

CANADA, ISRAEL SIGN AGREEMENT ON DOUBLE TAXATION As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined other world leaders in addressing the United Nations General Assembly, behind the glare of the camera lights, Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion met with Israel’s Finance Minster Moshe Kahlon on the sidelines to sign an agreement to… – Continue reading

OECD official says EU Apple ruling not precedent for future tax cases

A multi-billion euro back tax bill handed to Apple by the European Commission should not be seen as a precedent for future tax cases as it was based on state aid rather than tax law, the OECD official spearheading global tax reform said on Monday. European Union antitrust regulators last… – Continue reading

Irish corporation tax not under threat – OECD tax chief

The Director of the OECD’s tax policy and administration unit has said there is no pressure on Ireland to change its 12.5% tax rate. “There is no question about the 12.5% rate, even the French have understood that Ireland will not change the rate,” Pascal Saint-Amans said. He said the… – Continue reading

Switzerland ratifies convention for automatic tax

Paving the way for the automatic exchange of tax information with India and other nations, Switzerland has ratified the multilateral convention on administrative assistance in taxation matters. The move marks a significant step in the continuing global efforts to crackdown on illicit fund flows in the system and do away… – Continue reading

OECD BEPS tax avoidance plans fail to change tax approach

Nearly a year after release of the OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) anti tax avoidance action plan, which introduces changes to the treatment of interest deductibility and profit shifting, the majority of businesses have not changed their approach to tax compliance. The major economies in the G7 (83%),… – Continue reading

Bahamas files: New leak exposes offshore ‘tax haven’ dealings of politicians, companies

Five months after the Panama Papers exposed the offshore dealings of government leaders and influential people, a new leak of 1.3 million files has revealed the names of individuals associated with companies registered in the Bahamas, a notorious tax haven. The files – received by the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung… – Continue reading

Switzerland’s Supreme Court Permits Dutch Tax Info Request

Switzerland’s Supreme Court has overturned the decision of a lower court preventing information on bank accounts held by Dutch citizens with UBS to be sent to the Netherlands tax authority. Upholding an appeal by a Dutch client of Swiss bank UBS in March 2016, the Federal Administrative Court blocked the… – Continue reading

Private sector groups urge passage of FATCA legislation

Seven private sector organisations Tuesday called on the Trinidad and Tobago government and opposition to put aside their differences and ensure the country meets the September 30 deadline for the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). They also warned that failure to do so could result in ”serious negative consequences”… – Continue reading

U.K. Considers Tough Regs on ‘Tax Avoidance Enablers’

Tax evasion is a serious crime that can result in hefty fines and even prison time for the taxpayer if convicted. In an effort to curb the incidence of tax evasion in the U.K., Treasury officials are considering new regulations that would penalize accountants, financial advisors and other promoters and… – Continue reading

Nine Middle East Countries At Risk Of EU Sanctions Over Tax Governance

The European Commission has put nine Middle Eastern and North African countries on notice that they are at risk of measures being taken against them to deter tax avoidance. The nine countries (see table below) are Bahrain, Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates… – Continue reading

EU opens probe into tax deals between Luxembourg and Engie

European Union antitrust regulators opened a probe on Monday into tax deals granted by Luxembourg to French power utility Engie, stepping up the EU’s campaign against tax avoidance by multinationals. The European Commission said it had concerns the tax rulings granted by Luxembourg since 2008 appeared to treat the same… – Continue reading

Pakistan can access 15 years data of offshore accounts

The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) will now be able to obtain the data of offshore bank accounts of Pakistani nationals for the last 15 years under the international tax treaty that it signed with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), officials said on Saturday. “The signatories of… – Continue reading

Singapore and the UK sign agreement to exchange financial account information

Singapore’s tax authority has signed another agreement to fight tax evasion. The Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) and the British tax authority, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) have agreed to share financial account information. In a statement from IRAS today (September 16), it said that the agreement is… – Continue reading

New Zealand extends anti-money laundering rules to capture property agents

New Zealand will extend its anti-money laundering laws to cover real estate agents and other professions amid fears the country has become a soft target for illegal fund flows that have also helped inflate the property market. Soaring property prices have become a hot issue among the New Zealand public… – Continue reading

Wales to switch to Land Transaction Tax

Wales is to replace stamp duty with a land transaction tax as it moves towards devolved tax collection. The new tax on land transactions will be introduced from April 2018 alongside measures to tackle devolved tax avoidance, the Welsh government said. Land transaction tax is paid on the purchase or… – Continue reading

UK overseas territories could be affected by EU tax crackdown

Eight British overseas territories and crown dependencies, including Jersey, the British Virgin Islands and Cayman Islands, could face EU economic sanctions after Brussels identified them as having low or no corporation tax. Experts have published a scorecard showing red flag warnings set against a list of the 81 countries that… – Continue reading

OECD Pushes For More Certainty In International Tax Rules

OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría has stressed the need for policy makers to provide a certain tax environment for businesses, to maintain trade and investment. Discussing the tax challenges facing EU countries at the informal meeting of EU finance ministers, held in Bratislava, Slovakia, on September 10, 2016, Gurría said:… – Continue reading