Around £60m earmarked for serious and complex tax-crime investigations, while £300m will target small businesses, public bodies and affluent individuals Stretched HMRC tax investigators are to be armed with £800m of extra funding over the next five years to combat tax evasion and non-compliance, the chancellor has promised, as part… – Continue reading
The UK’s chancellor of the exchequer has said serial users of tax avoidance schemes will be ‘named and shamed’ as he promised to introduce further measures to tackle evasion, avoidance and aggressive tax planning in his Summer Budget. This move is part of a plethora of changes which chancellor George… – Continue reading
PARIS (Reuters) – The U.S, UK and Chinese economies are showing fresh signs of weakening while activity in the euro zone as a whole is firming up, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said on Wednesday. The OECD’s monthly leading indicator, a measure designed to flag turning points in… – Continue reading
HMRC has delisted thousands of overseas schemes that could previously accept pension transfers from Britain, reports the Telegraph. HM Revenue and Customs has launched a crackdown on overseas schemes open to UK expats who want to move their pension abroad, with hundreds being removed from its approved list. Australia is… – Continue reading
How should non resident or non domiciled buyers of UK residential property own or hold residential property? Overseas buyers or owners of UK residential property above £1m in value need to consider carefully in what name or legal structure they should buy or hold property for their protection and to… – Continue reading
Britain’s corporation tax rate will fall to 19% in 2017 and 18% by 2020 Corporation tax in Britain will fall to 18% by 2020 in a move which Chancellor George Osborne claims will send out a message that Britain is open for business. Mr Osborne made the announcement in his… – Continue reading
This is a complex question with two parts. In respect of the investors – only UK tax resident investors are eligible to claim EIS or SEIS income tax relief. If your non-UK investors do not suffer any UK income tax, then no relief is available. This may solve the problem… – Continue reading
The FINANCIAL — Tax is firmly under the spotlight and in the global insurance industry, the ramifications for finance and tax teams will be felt in both a new set of business demands and an overhaul of how these functions interact and operate. However, a new report from PwC says… – Continue reading
LONDON (Alliance News) – The UK Budget to be outlined by Chancellor George Osborne on Wednesday is set to include a pledge to re-examine the banking levy, a crackdown on non-domiciles, and a relaxation of Sunday trading hours, along with controversial plans to slash around GBP12 billion from the UK’s… – Continue reading
By common consent, the UK tax system is no longer fit for purpose. There is unfortunately less unanimity on how the system should be reformed. In 2010 the chancellor established the office for Tax Simplification (OTS) in recognition that the UK tax code had become far too complex. But by… – Continue reading
By common consent, the UK tax system is no longer fit for purpose. There is unfortunately less unanimity on how the system should be reformed. In 2010 the chancellor established the office for Tax Simplification (OTS) in recognition that the UK tax code had become far too complex. But by… – Continue reading
Ian Barlow previously ran UK tax department at KPMG and was close associate of controversial One Hyde Park property tycoons Nicholas and Christian Candy The chair of HM Revenue & Customs has confirmed that he gave advice of a “general business nature” to the property tycoons behind One Hyde Park,… – Continue reading
The present French Tax Update will focus on an overview of several noteworthy French tax court decisions issued during the past few months. BUYBACK AND CANCELLATION OF OWN SHARES The tax treatment of buybacks, from the shareholders’ point of view, has now been simplified through a change of legislation, i.e.,… – Continue reading
Channel 4 documentary shows agents in wealthy districts agreeing to continue with purchase to be made with ill-gotten gains from Russian health budget Top estate agents in Britain’s wealthiest postcodes are willing to turn a blind eye to apparent money laundering by corrupt foreign buyers, according to an investigation by… – Continue reading
The UK Government’s goal is to make the UK the best place in the world to locate an international business; it has one of the most open economies globally, a highly skilled workforce, access to capital markets, a first-class infrastructure, and a highly competitive corporate tax system. UK tax policy… – Continue reading
Concerns have been raised that there is an anomaly in the Canadian overseas pension schemes system, as under Canadian law savers are allowed to encash them at any age, irrespective of the UK’s pension age test, reports the FT Adviser. HM Revenue and Customs’ pension age test requires schemes to… – Continue reading
As chancellor allegedly George Osborne prepares to crack down on non-doms in Wednesday’s budget, experts have recommended offshore bonds as an alternative to those facing an increasing amount to protect their foreign earnings from UK tax. According to The Financial Times, chancellor George Osborne has committed to increasing the annual… – Continue reading
HMRC has delisted thousands of overseas schemes that could previously accept pension transfers from Britain HM Revenue and Customs has launched a crackdown on overseas schemes open to UK expats who want to move their pension abroad, with hundreds being removed from its approved list. Australia is one of the… – Continue reading
There are estimated to be one million Britons living in Spain, with UK expatriates making up the largest group of European foreign nationals. Many Britons arrive with certain misconceptions around the tax and financial make-up of the country. The foreign perception of the Spanish tax system is made up of… – Continue reading
Booming demand for offshore tax services will trigger a £240m takeover deal involving a unit of Appleby Global, Sky News learns. The booming demand for offshore trust and fund administration services will be underlined in the coming days by a $370m (£238m) takeover deal involving Bridgepoint, the London-based buyout firm…. – Continue reading
Chancellor George Osborne needs to carry out an “ambitious” tax reform agenda in his Budget on Wednesday, the Institute of Directors (IoD) has said, reports the BBC News. Simplifying the “painfully complex” tax system would allow him to “deliver an investment-boosting Budget”, said IoD director Simon Walker. In May, a… – Continue reading
Banks have intensified their calls for George Osborne, the UK chancellor, to give them a break on the bank levy in this week’s Budget by arguing that it has already caused a 13 per cent shrinkage of UK banking assets, reports the Financial Times. Optimism is growing among senior bankers… – Continue reading
Experts expect restrictions to pensions tax relief for higher earners Some also predict Osborne may look to overhaul the bank levy Chancellor George Osborne could this week usher in deeper than expected spending cuts by forcing the Government to run a budget surplus within two years. Wednesday’s Budget, the first… – Continue reading
Apple is most valuable company in the world – worth an estimated £500bn But it funnels sales though Ireland to whittle down its tax bills in the UK Company made £1.9bn profit in UK last year worth £400m incorporation tax But they paid just £11.8million – only £400,000 more than… – Continue reading
The City of London is the money-laundering centre of the world’s drug trade, according to an internationally acclaimed crime expert. UK banks and financial services have ignored so-called “know your customer” rules designed to curb criminals’ abilities to launder the proceeds of crime, Roberto Saviano warned. Mr Saviano, author of… – Continue reading
BMI View: Montserrat’s economic growth will slow significantly in the coming years as the key financial services sector faces headwinds from an international crackdown on tax havens in the Caribbean. Additionally, th e end of a government programme of capital investment will also temper the island’s economic activity beginning in… – Continue reading
BVI, 2 July 2015 – The Government of the Virgin Islands, through the BVI International Tax Authority of the Ministry of Finance is informing the public that a template has been prepared for the Self Certification Forms required under the United States of America and United Kingdom FATCA Agreements. These… – Continue reading
In an unexpected decision, the United Kingdom Supreme Court has held in Anson v Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue & Customs [2015] UKSC 144 that a UK member of a Delaware limited liability company (“LLC”) was entitled to relief under the UK/US double taxation treaty (the “Treaty”) for United States… – Continue reading
Confidence has returned to real estate markets in Europe, and London is still a firm favourite with investors, offering vast tax-efficient opportunities for Qatari investors, according to Aqua Group, the first offshore trust company to receive licence from the Qatar Financial Center (QFC). In view of the need for better… – 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
HMRC IS OFFERING A GENUINE (ALBEIT PARTIAL) TAX AMNESTY. THIS IS OPEN TO MOST PEOPLE WITH AN OFFSHORE CONNECTION, NOT ONLY THOSE WITH FUNDS IN LIECHTENSTEIN THE AGREEMENT In 2009 H M Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced a landmark agreement with the Liechtenstein government which launched a unique disclosure process… – Continue reading
Legal and General has offloaded its Dublin-based offshore business, L&G International, to Canada Life Group for an undisclosed sum. Launched in 2007, the unit was a subsidiary of L&G, based in Dublin. It provides investment and tax planning solutions, primarily focused on the UK high net-worth market. The business has… – Continue reading
Thousands of retirees living abroad face the prospect of high tax charges, following an HMRC crackdown on offshore pension transfers. The Financial Times reported that HM Revenue & Customs is now investigating whether offshore pension schemes that accepted transfers from the UK meet new requirements. Offshore pension funds must comply… – 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 Commerce Commission says it may not be able to do much about a company that more than 100 businesses have complained about, because it appears to be based overseas. The Commission has been investigating the New Zealand Small Business Assistance Centre since October 2014. Complainants say the company told… – Continue reading
Top Democrats are increasingly embracing a framework for taxing offshore corporate earnings that has long been favored by Republicans, as the two parties seek a deal that could provide long-term funding for the nation’s highways Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) is the latest Democrat to get on board, releasing a plan… – Continue reading
HM Revenue & Custom is scrutinising savings accounts and property sales for evidence of tax avoidance. Tackling tax avoidance is top of HM Revenue & Custom’s to-do list, but it’s not turning its attention to popstars or the super-rich: it’s looking at you. Take That’s Gary Barlow has apologised for… – Continue reading
Action 3 of the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) agenda promised to address how countries could use controlled foreign corporation (CFC) rules to combat BEPS. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending upon one’s vantage point), as is pretty much universally agreed, the OECD’s draft report on CFC rules (the “draft”)1… – 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
A private equity executive won his five-year legal battle with U.K. authorities to stop his fees from managing venture capital funds being taxed twice. George Anson, who has worked at Boston-based HarbourVest Partners for 25 years, faced a 67 pence levy on every pound earned from a Delaware company between… – Continue reading
The British Virgin Islands (BVI) maintains its popularity as the jurisdiction of choice for international business companies by ensuring it is at the forefront of corporate legislation and international cooperation. The popularity of BVI companies continued unabated in 2014, with incorporations of approximately 60,000 new business companies during the year;… – Continue reading
Latvia has become the second European state to remove Bermuda from its blacklist of uncooperative tax jurisdictions In June, the European Commission (EC) published a list of 30 uncooperative tax jurisdictions, with a so-called master blacklist comprising of countries that were targeted by 10 or more EU member states. Bermuda… – Continue reading
Latvia has become the second European state to remove Bermuda from its blacklist of uncooperative tax jurisdictions In June, the European Commission (EC) published a list of 30 uncooperative tax jurisdictions, with a so-called master blacklist comprising of countries that were targeted by 10 or more EU member states. Bermuda… – Continue reading
New digital identity systems could be used to combat money laundering and terrorist financing risks linked with the use of virtual currencies, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has said. In new guidance (48-page / 622KB PDF) it has issued, FATF said a risk-based approach is required when imposing measures… – Continue reading
British banks have fallen down world league tables for lenders so rapidly that there may soon not be a global-ranked bank in this country, the editor of the industry bible has warned, reports the Independent. “At one time several UK banks were among a handful of truly global players,” said… – 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
HM Revenue and Customs have confirmed to the Australian Treasury that Australian superannuation funds no longer comply with its rules under the new pension age test for them to remain recognised overseas pensions, FTAdviser understands. These funds have the facility to allow recognised overseas pensions. HMRC’s pension age test requires… – Continue reading
A ruling at the First-tier Tribunal has allowed different form of tax credit relief on certain types of offshore dividends taxed in the UK. Overpayment claims for 2010/11 and later years should be considered immediately. Shirley v HMRC A UK resident who benefited from an overseas trust has successfully claimed… – Continue reading
Andrew Tyrie MP, chairman of the Treasury select committee, has proposed a variety of ways for the government to strengthen the Office of Tax Simplification, one of which is that the OTS must be “more independent” and should not be a “creature” of the tax man. The Conservative party manifesto… – Continue reading
The UAE ranked 15th in an index rating countries’ residency-in-return-for-investment programmes As global economic growth slackens, a number of countries are offering citizenship or residency permits in return for investment in their markets. According to the latest Global Residency Programme Index by Henley & Partners, Portugal topped the list with… – Continue reading
