Abstract Over the past 25 years, Cyprus has become the portal of choice for investment into and out of Russia and Central and Eastern Europe. The new Russian de-offshorization law, which took effect on 1 January 2015, will have significant implications for users of overseas structures. This article examines the… – Continue reading
The 11 European nations seeking a financial-transactions tax will meet Thursday in Luxembourg in a bid to decide how to design the measure, according to European Union officials. Participating states are wrangling over which trades to tax and who should collect revenue, according to planning documents obtained by Bloomberg News…. – Continue reading
A special scheme is provided for foreign-securities holding companies or ETVEs (Entidades de Tenencia de Valores Extranjeros) in the Corporate Income Tax (“CIT”) Act 27/2014. ETVEs are regular limited liability companies (S.L., S.A. or other company forms), subject to the normal CIT on its income, but exempt from taxation on… – 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
To staff their board of directors with the best and most diverse talent, multinational companies commonly elect boards with international representation. It is also common for companies to convene periodic board meetings outside the United States. This may be done, for example, to provide board members with an opportunity to… – Continue reading
The opera singer Montserrat Caballé failed to appear in a Spanish court this week to settle a tax fraud case, and her lawyer stepped down as her legal representative in the matter. Ms. Caballé, who was summoned by a judge in Barcelona, Spain, on Tuesday, did not explain her absence,… – Continue reading
Arun Jaitley said that the governments of Switzerland, the UK and Spain have not provided details of any black money accounts, reports the Financial Express. The governments of Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Spain have not provided details of any black money accounts, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said today. “No… – Continue reading
A guide to Spanish taxation in 2015 for expats, with up-to-date information on income tax, VAT, property tax and other taxes for residents and non-residents in Spain. If you are living and working in Spain, you will be liable to pay Spanish taxes on your income and assets and will… – Continue reading
Group of wealthy expats facing prison for failing to declare property purchases in Marbella A NETWORK of foreign businessmen and lawyers are facing 48 years in prison for tax evasion on the Costa del Sol. The group are to go on trial for using offshore companies to avoid paying taxes… – Continue reading
“There have been times,” Hervé Falciani tells me, “when I’ve wondered if I was losing touch with reality. Could I really have seen what I saw, and revealed the things that I did, while the financial world continued as if nothing had happened?” Falciani, sometimes called “the Ed Snowden of… – Continue reading
Spanish politician Alberto Garzon, who is a member of the Communist party, suggests there is no chance Barcelona forward Lionel Messi will receive a prison sentence if he is found guilty of tax evasion. Garzon implies the player’s stature will see any punishment limited to a payment he’s already made…. – Continue reading
Spanish taxpayers who hold money and financial assets outside Spain barely use Gibraltar compared to other jurisdictions, according to figures revealed by the head of the Spanish tax agency in parliament in Madrid yesterday. Santiago Menéndez, director general of the Agencia Tributaria, told the parliament’s tax commission that 197,000 taxpayers… – Continue reading
Bitcoin transactions are exempt from value-added-tax (VAT) in Spain, says Spanish tax lawyer Alejandro Gómez, The General Directorate of Taxes, a subsidiary of the Spanish taxing authorities, made the statement in a response to a request from Gómez. According to Gómez, the consultation found that Bitcoin payments were a form… – Continue reading
Like many other public banks, the European Investment Bank (EIB) leverages its own means by acting as a catalyst for private investment through various financial mechanisms. Too often, though, attempts to attract private capital result in unpredictable risks and higher-than projected costs for the public coffer, write Xavier Sol and… – Continue reading
The OECD Mutual Agreement Procedure Statistics for 20131 (MAP Statistics), released on November 25, 2014, show a dramatic surge in the inventory of mutual agreement procedure (MAP) cases among OECD member countries. The MAP Statistics confirm that the potential for double taxation is increasing. This is reflected most starkly in… – Continue reading
UBS whistleblower Stéphanie Gibaud talks to the Herald before travelling to Argentina With tax evasion allegations against HSBC under the spotlight in Congress, a whistleblower from another banking giant famous for its secrecy, Switzerland’s UBS, says she is coming to the country to testify soon, and warns that emerging economies… – Continue reading
In recent years we have seen a seismic shift in the tax transparency landscape. The US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (US FATCA) has proved to be a watershed moment and we are rapidly moving towards a global network of automatic information exchange spearheaded by the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard… – Continue reading
Case against former head of IMF and finance minister, arrested on tax evasion charges, is damaging to People’s party, Spanish PM acknowledges Spain’s ruling party is scrambling to limit the damage after one of Europe’s most high-profile politicians was arrested on charges of tax evasion and money-laundering. The prime minister,… – Continue reading
Rato’s dealings include misappropriation of funds through a Visa card totaling 6 Million Euro, income from serving on the international advisory board of a Turkish bank in violation of Spanish banking laws, and a series of shell corporation divestments. UPDATE: Spanish prosecutors have arrested Rato, charging him with fraud, money-laundering… – Continue reading
Rodrigo Rato, the former head of the International Monetary Fund and deputy prime minister of Spain, was detained by customs agents in Madrid on Thursday night as the tide of corruption allegations swamping the country’s political establishment reached a fresh high. Rato, 66, is being investigated for possible money laundering… – Continue reading
European Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager is preparing to reopen the antitrust case against Google following the settlement with the search giant under Joaquin Almunia two years ago. Vestager has been speaking to various advisors both inside and outside of Europe, alongside companies affected by Google’s anti-competitive search results. She… – Continue reading
New freedoms mean you can move your pension abroad. We show you where you’ll pay the least tax It is the ultimate dream for many people – to work hard, build up a nest egg and retire abroad to a climate with year-round sunshine. Now there is an added financial… – Continue reading
(Reuters) – European Union regulators are scrutinizing four EU countries’ treatment of banks’ deferred tax assets (DTAs) to see if they constitute potentially illegal state aid, the European Commission said on Tuesday. The EU executive said it had contacted authorities in Spain, Italy, Portugal and Greece following requests from some… – Continue reading
The EU is collecting evidence to determine if Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy should face an investigation into whether they are illegally underwriting banks, reports the Irish Times. The EU is collecting evidence to determine if Greece, Portugal, Spain and Italy should face an investigation into whether they are illegally… – Continue reading
Cross border tax fraud and tax evasion by High Net Wealth Individuals (HNWI) are serious problems for many jurisdictions. For many years exchange of information between countries has been solely upon request. In practise this procedure is not efficiently working as it requires foreseeable relevance, thus ‘fishing’ for information is… – Continue reading
Government questions dividend imputation and company tax rate Australian investors appear to have dodged a bullet, with the government’s first paper on tax reform discussing the dividend imputation system but falling short of attacking it outright as an idea that has outlived its usefulness. David Murray’s inquiry into the Australian… – Continue reading
Luxembourg’s Direct Tax Administration has published a circular on February 12 clarifying issues relating to residency certificates for Luxembourg funds. These are applicable to both UCITS and non-UCITS funds regulated by Luxembourg’s investment fund legislation of December 17, 2010, which transposed the UCITS IV Directive, as well as Specialised Investment… – Continue reading
British expats in France can claim a share of millions of pounds of compensation after the European Court ruled in their favour against unfair social security payments imposed by President Francois Hollande’s government. Around 200,000 expats who have rented out or sold homes in France during the past three years… – Continue reading
The initiative means to lobby for a harmonization of Corporation Law in Europe to tackle tax evasion and re-fund public spending. About 40,000 Spanish citizens have signed a petition demanding measures against front companies and tax heavens in Europe, explained the activists in charge of the initiative Saturday. Beyond Spain,… – Continue reading
According to news reports, Gibraltar’s government isn’t going to take being called a ‘tax haven’ lying down. The little British Overseas Territory at the tip of Spain is suing ABC—not the TV network, the Spanish newspaper—for defamation. Gibraltarians may live in what many call a tax haven, but their government… – Continue reading
(Seychelles News Agency) – Seychelles and Singapore are looking to increase their collaboration in a number of economic sectors from trade, financial services, port development – including transshipment and fuel bunkering – to public-private partnerships. This follows the recent official visit to Singapore by the Minister of Finance, Trade and… – Continue reading
Things just got worse for HSBC. Its private banking arm faces new criminal charges after a French magistrate officially requested that the Swiss bank be brought to trial over a suspected tax-dodging scheme for wealthy customers, the Guardian reports. The request for trial comes after a series of allegations against… – Continue reading
The amendment of matriculation tax law in 2013 signaled a relevant change for charter operations in Spain: the possibility for non EU flagged vessels to be licensed in the Balearics, this change will allow not only EU but Non EU flagged vessels to operate from the Balearic Islands. Alex Chumillas… – Continue reading
The Business Council of Australia says that the Tax Office is holding company directors and management to account about their tax affairs, despite there only being one company in the nation with a top risk rating. “There is ongoing [Australian Taxation Office] scrutiny of corporate boards,” the BCA said in… – Continue reading
David Denton, technical expert at Old Mutual International, explores the new decumulation opportunities which are emerging in the offshore market, looking at how they compare to traditional drawdown or annuity options. International annuities targeted at retail investors are emerging in the offshore market which allow QROPS or QNUPS when crystallized… – Continue reading
Growing trend of chasing ‘high net worth foreign nationals’? Cooperation between HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and foreign tax authorities will only increase as more countries sign up to automatic tax information exchange agreements. This is according to Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, which obtained figures showing a… – Continue reading
The number of requests from foreign governments for tax information from the UK rose by 45 percent in 2013, according to international law firm Pinsent Masons. 2,466 requests were received by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the year to December 31, 2013, up from 1,701 recorded in 2012. James… – Continue reading
Madrid’s public prosecution has accused two high-level tax officials under former prime minister José Luis Zapatero’s administration of helping hundreds of suspected tax dodgers implicated in the HSBC scandal to avoid possible jail sentences, according to Spanish daily newspaper El Pais. María Dolores Bustamante, the former director of tax management… – Continue reading
February 13 2015 Following the entry into force of the double tax agreement between Spain and Cyprus (for further details please see “New double taxation agreement between Cyprus and Spain enters into force”), the Spanish Ministry of Finance has announced that Cyprus has been formally removed from the Spanish tax… – Continue reading
Mr Falciani says his email warned tax collectors that thousands of British clients of an HSBC subsidiary in Geneva were using the bank to hide money. The email, from 2008, has been uncovered by Le Monde and seen by the BBC. Revenue and Customs and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS)… – Continue reading
In a recent letter to the Committee on Foreign Relations, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) requested that the US Senate urgently approve all pending bilateral double taxation agreements (DTAs) and protocols. The AICPA pointed out that the full Senate has not approved any DTA or protocol since… – Continue reading
The Labour leader has faced a backlash after accusing many of Britain’s overseas territories of helping tax dodgers Gibraltar’s chief minister has hit out at Ed Miliband – accusing him of fuelling Spanish attacks on the territory by wrongly suggesting it was operating as a “tax haven”. Fabian Picardo said… – Continue reading
The nation’s largest organization of accounting and tax professionals is urging the Senate to approve income tax treaties between the U.S. and various countries. In a February 3 letter to Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations and Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), the committee’s ranking… – Continue reading
As countries share more information, opportunities to squirrel away cash abroad will continue to narrow AMONG the sins that have most angered the austerity-weary everywhere is the use of undeclared offshore accounts to stash the wealth of the rich. Greeks were particularly enraged when data stolen from Swiss banks showed… – Continue reading
THE European Union (EU) will not pursue a probe of national programmes that create tax breaks for research and development, giving a boost to drug and technology companies that generate revenue from patents. The EU’s hands were tied by a 2008 decision to approve a “patent box” tax break in… – Continue reading
NEWS: Spain’s Foreign Minister said “it was fine” for Fabian Picardo to speak in Madrid: “as long as no one forces me to listen”. The Chief Minister was introduced by the British Ambassador. In a breakfast speech in central Madrid to a room filled with some 250 politicians, businessmen, diplomats… – Continue reading
The Government of Spain has announced that new country-by-country (CbC) reporting obligations will be effective in Spain for tax periods beginning on or after January 1, 2016. The CbC reporting obligation, which was announced on January 20, 2015, will technically apply from 2017, when tax returns for the previous year… – Continue reading
Money from charity games featuring Barça star was sent to Curaçao, Civil Guard says Messi charity games investigated for link to drug traffickers Charity soccer matches organized under the name of Argentinean star Lionel Messi in four countries in 2012 and 2013 raked in hundreds of thousands of euros that… – Continue reading
Jonathan Weiss hasn’t lived in the US for 25 years. But that didn’t keep his foreign bank account from being frozen in the wake of new US tax laws. Find out how you can avoid the same fate at the hands of FATCA. “I had been living in Switzerland for… – Continue reading
SUCCESSFUL INTERNATIONAL STRUCTURES in most cases begin with choosing the right jurisdiction to host a company that will form part of an international business. Depending on the company’s activities, the choice will depend on the range of double taxation treaties and the availability of tax reliefs followed by a host… – Continue reading
