In November 2014 the WikiLeaks scandal known as “LuxLeaks”, the large scale exposure of over 340 companies (such as IKEA, Coca-Cola and Disney) who paid a rate of one per cent or less tax on profits moved to Luxembourg by advance pricing arrangements has affected all nationalities and brought the… – Continue reading
In a year when technology deals are set to break records, U.K. targets are proving popular. About $20 billion of deals were struck for British technology companies in the last 12 months, almost double the amount spent a year earlier. U.S. buyers accounted for about half the acquisitions. They included… – Continue reading
Switzerland’s government wants banks to toughen up checks to avoid accepting untaxed assets, possibly including a refusal to do business with a client who can’t show the money has been regularized, reports Bloomberg. For clients from countries that aren’t covered by automatic exchange of information agreements, banks will need to… – Continue reading
Demands for greater transparency from business about their tax affairs have prompted more than half of all FTSE 100 companies to disclose information about their approach to taxation, compared with less than a third two years ago, reports the Financial Times. The rise in disclosures is a sign of the… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Several countries, including tax havens like British Virgin Islands, Cyprus and Jersey, have begun sharing information with Indian authorities, in a development that is expected to boost the government’s efforts in tracking black money stashed abroad. Sources said some of the information had already been verified, adding that… – Continue reading
Proposed Amendments To Cyprus’s Assessment And Collection Of Taxes Law The Cyprus Government has published a draft law amending the Assessment and Collection of Taxes Law (Law 4 of 1978) in order to facilitate implementation of agreements for automatic exchange of information with other countries. When it is enacted, the… – Continue reading
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has responded to the recent coverage regarding its approach to Reasonable Excuse claims for filing self-assessment tax returns late. The tax authority has reiterated its desire to use an increasing percentage of its resources on investigating major tax avoidance and evasion as opposed to penalising… – Continue reading
EU regulators today gave Poland and Estonia a month to hand over details of their tax ruling practices. It also ordered 15 other countries to provide data on individual tax bills as part of a region-wide investigation. Pressures on government budgets since the global financial crisis have spurred a crackdown… – Continue reading
A lawyer claims there is a way for a ‘beneficial owner’ of a business to head off the “unwanted scrutiny” that the government’s central register of companies might bring them. James Austen of legal advisory Charles Russell Speechlys says “help is at hand” if his clients wish to avoid the… – Continue reading
On 20 May 2015, the European Parliament increased the hunt for tax evaders, money launderers and terror financiers by adopting the fourth instalment of the Anti-Money Laundering Directive (“AMLD”). The main novelty of the new directive is the introduction of a central UBO-register, a public register which identifies the ultimate… – Continue reading
Guardian obtains memo urging producer of promotional video for One Hyde Park in London to make several edits to ‘hugely improve tax profile’ A promotional video featuring the property tycoons behind London’s most expensive housing complex, One Hyde Park, was edited after an adviser warned it could raise “huge issues”… – Continue reading
The Swiss Federal Council has adopted a dispatch on the Corporate Tax Reform Act III (CTR III), a package of reforms it said will strengthen the country as a business location and ensure companies make an appropriate tax contribution. The Council agreed on the parameters of the CTR III on… – Continue reading
A Malta-based shell company is linked to financial transactions which likely saw Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his family amass hundreds of millions of euro at the expense of the country he leads and its citizens. FA Invest (Malta), whose registered address is in the Cornerstone Complex in Mosta, has… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: The government has proposed several provisions in the Finance Bill 2015 for documentation of economy. The bill empowers the government to obtain or render information related to transactions undertaken in and outside Pakistan regarding both resident and non-resident taxpayers. Legal cover has been provided to allow government to enter… – Continue reading
George Osborne should use his budget to cut taxes. You can’t redistribute wealth unless you first create some. Simples Far be it from me to suggest the central paradox of leftism, but the recent election campaign seemed to highlight it better than ever. If you believe so passionately in the… – Continue reading
Amid a global black money crackdown including by India, Switzerland has announced a stringent due diligence regime for its banks to “reject” accepting illicit funds from both existing and new customers. Swiss banks, known for their strict secrecy practices, would also terminate ties with existing clients who are found to… – Continue reading
BERNE: Amid a global black money crackdown including by India, Switzerland has announced a stringent due diligence regime for its banks to ‘reject’ accepting illicit funds from both existing and new customers. Swiss banks, known for their strict secrecy practices, would also terminate relationships with existing clients who are found… – Continue reading
The resurgent interest in transfer pricing abuse by multinationals might be missing the first “link in the chain” – the shifting of profits inside South Africa to the detriment of empowerment partners, workers, communities and the economy. This is the emerging line from a prominent think-tank, the SA Mining Development… – Continue reading
MiFID II – FCA Issues Discussion Paper on MiFID II Implementation Measures The FCA issued a discussion paper (DP15/3) on 26 March 2015, asking firms for their views on a range of MiFID II implementation measures, including on: The revised inducements standards. Receipt of commissions and other benefits by discretionary… – Continue reading
Australia should consider adopting tax structures like those used in Ireland and Luxembourg in order to attract greater foreign investment, the government’s tax advisory body has recommended. On Thursday night, Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg released several reports by the Board of Tax, which advises the government on how to reform… – Continue reading
Google’s European chief has admitted that the company screwed up in Europe. The search giant has a strained relationship on the continent, facing a litany of complaints and accusations on issues ranging from alleged tax avoidance to anti-trust allegations. In response, the Californian company shook up its operational structure in… – Continue reading
Crucial deadlines are approaching for millions of U.S. taxpayers who live abroad or have offshore financial ties. For expatriates, the annual income-tax filing deadline is normally June 15, instead of April 15. In addition, all U.S. taxpayers with offshore accounts totaling more than $10,000 in 2014–regardless of where they live–have… – Continue reading
Romanian businessman Florian Walter, who fled the country after local prosecutors charged him with tax evasion, was located abroad, and authorities have asked for his extradition, reports local Agerpres. The Prahova Court declared Florian Walter internationally wanted, after previously issuing an arrest warrant on his name. Romanian authorities, which have… – Continue reading
ZURICH (Reuters) – The Swiss government said on Friday it is doing away with a frequently criticised privileged tax status for holding companies based in Switzerland, which will lead to a billion-franc shortfall in annual tax revenue. “While these arrangements made a valuable contribution to the business location’s appeal in… – Continue reading
Romanian Prime Minister Vctor Ponta exits the anti-corruption prosecutor’s office in Bucharest, Romania, Friday, June 5, 2015. Ponta told media that he was suspected of making false statements, money laundering and being an accomplice to tax evasion while working as a lawyer from 2007 to 2008 when he was also… – Continue reading
The government scheme dubbed “stability savings account”, which lets people repatriate offshore money, should be scrapped because it is making Hungary into a “gangsters’ paradise”, the green LMP party said. It also undermines tax morale and the credibility of the tax system, László Heltai, the party’s economic spokesman, said in… – Continue reading
Australia has signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information, reports Tax News. The agreement was signed by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Steven Ciobo, at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD’s) Ministerial Council meeting on June… – Continue reading
Tax doesn’t have to be taxing for US firm with inside track Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is the first major department to move to Google Apps, part of an apparent loosening of Microsoft’s stranglehold on the government’s software services. The department will join the Cabinet Office and Department… – Continue reading
Solicitors have a week to pay the tax they owe on undeclared income or face hefty penalties, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) warned today (4 June). Solicitors have until 9 June 2015 to tell HMRC about any undeclared income and pay the tax they owe. By taking this chance to… – Continue reading
A European probe into the Irish taxes paid by technology giant Apple, as well as multi-nationals in Luxembourg and the Netherlands, is close to finishing. The news came as Taoiseach Enda Kenny issues a robust defence of Ireland’s corporate tax regime, which has been under international pressure in recent years… – Continue reading
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is reviewing the selling activity of thousands of online sellers who use websites such as Amazon, Etsy and eBay to earn a living, as part of a fresh crack down on tax evasion. According to The Telegraph, these websites are being forced to hand over… – Continue reading
TRENTON – A New Jersey think tank says the state could reap hundreds of millions of dollars by changing tax rules to close loopholes and make multi-state corporations pay what they owe. The left-leaning New Jersey Policy Perspective called on lawmakers to enact combined reporting to thwart businesses that operate… – Continue reading
Medtronic is on the lookout for early-stage technologies developed by medical device firms in the United States, as well as larger acquisitions that can help the company implement a three-pronged strategy, in the wake of its $43 billion merger with Covidien. The tax inversion deal allowed Medtronic to relocate to… – Continue reading
Jersey experienced a 10% increase in new company incorporations in 2014 over the previous year, according to a report released today by Appleby, one of the world’s largest providers of offshore legal, fiduciary and administrative services. Last year also saw the total number of active companies on Jersey’s registry rise… – Continue reading
By 2013, Banque Cramer knew it had a problem. With just SFr2bn of client money, the 300-year-old Swiss private bank was too small to weather the radical changes sweeping through its industry, reports Financial Times. Extra regulatory and compliance demands were driving up costs. Big advantages that traditionally helped Swiss… – Continue reading
Chief prosecutor for canton’s decision to investigate despite inaction by other Swiss regulators shows power struggle within establishment The £28m HSBC will pay in “compensation” to the Swiss authorities following a money laundering investigation may be no more than a drop in the lake for Europe’s biggest bank, but it… – Continue reading
(Bloomberg) — HSBC Holdings Plc will learn the results of a Geneva probe into allegations of money laundering at its Swiss private banking unit when prosecutors hold a press conference. Representatives for prosecutors and HSBC declined to immediately comment on what will be disclosed at the press conference, which will… – Continue reading
A COMMON REPORTING STANDARD ACROSS THE WORLD The goalposts in international tax reporting are moving rapidly. In conjunction with the G20, the OECD developed the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) as a global standard for the automatic exchange of information. This was approved by the OECD Council on 15 July 2014… – Continue reading
There’s been a preliminary investigation into the amount of money that secret bank accounts Belgians have in Switzerland can yield for the Belgian treasury. It turns out the answer is EUR 540 million. Finance Minister Johan Van Overtveldt (Flemish Nationalists) revealed the figures to financial newspaper De Tijd. “However, the… – Continue reading
India and Belarus on Wednesday inked six agreements, including a Roadmap for India-Belarus Cooperation as President Pranab Mukherjee held talks here with Belarusian counterpart Alexander V. Lukashenko. Besides the roadmap, the agreements include a protocol amending the agreement between the two sides for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the… – Continue reading
India joined the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement on Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information on 3rd June, 2015, in Paris, France, alongwith Australia, Canada, Costa Rica, Indonesia and New Zealand. On our behalf, the Declaration to comply with the provisions of the MCAA was signed by H.E. Mr. Mohan Kumar,… – Continue reading
Sofia. Bulgarian National Assembly is to discuss on second reading a non-reciprocal agreement between the Government of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Government f the United States of America on the improvement of the observation of the tax legislation in international aspect and enforcement of Foreign Account Tax Compliance… – Continue reading
The special committee leading the European Parliament’s inquiry into tax rulings has upped the pressure on businesses and European governments. The inquiry will be extended until October. EurActiv France reports. Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Luxembourg and Switzerland have one thing in common. These five countries have all received an investigative… – Continue reading
Bermuda experienced 4% year-on-year growth in new company registrations in 2014, with more than 1,000 companies incorporating in the jurisdiction for the second year in a row, according to a report released today [June 3] by Appleby. In total, 1,113 new companies incorporated in Bermuda in 2014, according to the… – Continue reading
Bulgaria’s government has proposed to parliament to ratify the agreement with Norway to avoid double taxation of income. The agreement was signed in July of last year to update the regulation framework governing the bilateral economic relations, the cabinet said in a statement on Wednesday. The previous agreement had been… – Continue reading
Two Switzerland-based banks have agreed to disclose secret accounts belonging to US taxpayers as part of a new US program to fight offshore tax evasion, the US Department of Justice announced in a statement on Wednesday. WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — “The days of safely hiding behind shell corporations and numbered bank… – Continue reading
Controversial recent changes to UK and EU law combined with parallel G8, G20 and OECD measures risk the beneficial owners of certain companies being subjected to unwanted public scrutiny. However, help is at hand for affected individuals. The political background Reacting to concerns about tax evasion, money laundering and the… – Continue reading
Some of the first banks that streamed into Crimea after Russia wrested control of the region from Ukraine in 2014 were better known for laundering money than banking. Five of the banks have questionable histories, including ties to the US$ 20 billion money laundering scandal known as the Russian Laundromat… – Continue reading
On 1 April 2015 the Italian Minister of Economy and Finance issued a ministerial decree removing the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands and 19 other jurisdictions from Italy’s ‘blacklist’ on the nondeductibility of costs and expenses, established in January 2002. As a result, expenses and costs incurred by Italian… – Continue reading
As Cayman finds itself at the heart of what may be the world’s biggest ever corruption scandal, following the arrest of local football boss, Jeffrey Webb, the premier has defended the jurisdiction in a statement from his office about the FIFA probe. Alden McLaughlin said that local law enforcement agencies… – Continue reading
