The GMB union said the top 20 private landlords in Britain received between half a million pounds and £4.6 million in housing benefit in the 2013/14 financial year Private landlords are ” abusing” housing benefit by receiving huge amounts of money, paid in part or in full by taxpayers, according… – Continue reading
Tim Thornton, Chief Data Officer, Mitsubishi UFJ Fund Services comments on the upcoming deadline for registration on the Cayman FATCA portal… The upcoming 30 April deadline for registration on the Cayman FATCA portal is another milestone in the implementation of FATCA. The relatively short window from the portal being available,… – Continue reading
SCOTTISH Nationalist MPs could help force up taxes at English airports unless their Westminster voting rights are curbed, David Cameron claimed yesterday (Friday, April 24). The prime minister raised the prospect of the Edinburgh Parliament slashing air passenger duty (APD) in Scotland, then its MPs voting with Labour to widen… – Continue reading
Neil Saunders, whose wife is the Director of Public Prosecutions, is a member of a controversial scheme being investigated by the taxman, The Telegraph can disclose The Director of Public Prosecutions’ husband is a member of a controversial “tax loophole” scheme that has been investigated by the taxman, it can… – Continue reading
The trio have NOT appealed against a tax tribunal ruling from last May that the Icebreaker scheme they poured millions into was designed to exploit legal loopholes TV sports presenter Gabby Logan has kept her promise to pay back all the money she owed from a controversial “tax shelter” scheme…. – Continue reading
However, OECD being persuasive may not help funds based out of nations whose treaties do not give specific exemption The Indian government’s clarification that it would honour tax treaties while making a demand of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) at the effective rate of 20 per cent came as a relief… – Continue reading
Osborne accepts public scepticism and ‘fatigue’ is growing about all parties The borrowing and spending plan of all of the main British parties in the general election leave voters “in the dark” about the spending cuts and tax increases that will necessary after May 7th, Britain’s leading economic organisation has… – Continue reading
On 20 March 2015, the British Virgin Islands Government issued revised guidance notes regarding the Intergovernmental Agreements between the British Virgin Islands (“BVI”) and the United States of America (the “US”) and the United Kingdom (the “UK”) to improve international tax compliance (the “Guidance Notes”). The Guidance Notes confirm that… – Continue reading
Sarao made about $40m in profit using spoofing techniques that involve putting in an order and swiftly withdrawing it before a trade can take place Washington/London: The west London trader charged with contributing to a sudden crash in US equity markets five years ago set up companies in the Caribbean… – Continue reading
The tax status of (usually well-heeled) long-term foreign residents in the United Kingdom hit the headlines again recently as the opposition Labour Party pledged to abolish the non-domicile tax rules if its wins the general election on May 7. At least, that seemed to be the message when Labour leader… – Continue reading
Britons overseas are now subject to CGT when selling UK properties, but this straightforward advice could help minimise the impact Expats who have kept a house or flat in Britain need to act now to avoid being stung by a hefty capital gains tax (CGT) bill in the future. Since… – Continue reading
Arris stock on Thursday rose over 22 percent—leading the Nasdaq Composite index. The gain was due to an announcement that the company would acquire Pace, a U.K.-based telecommunications company. The deal will allow Arris to change its domicile to the United Kingdom, where it will enjoy a 21 percent tax… – Continue reading
Tax evasion overseas has been further targeted by authorities as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) implements tougher penalties for those who hide assets and income abroad. The maximum penalty for offshore evasion of income and capital gains tax has doubled to 200 per cent of the tax due, but can… – Continue reading
HSBC bank has been based in UK ever since it took over Midland Bank in 1993 but the bank was born in Hong Kong and it looks like its headquarters is headed back East. The bank has traditionally reviewed its head office location every three years, this morning the bank… – Continue reading
1 General news 1.1 HMRC organisation chart HMRC has published its latest organisation chart showing the names of senior management. One point to note is the number of senior people now in roles such as change management as opposed to being in pure technical roles. This clearly demonstrates the direction… – Continue reading
1. NON-TAX ISSUES 1.1 Domestic law 1.1.1 Briefly describe your legal system and its origins The legal system of the Republic of Ireland is a common law system. In order to ensure consistency, a legal principle developed whereby courts were generally required to follow earlier relevant decisions. This doctrine of… – Continue reading
Myanmar remains an enigmatic country – one of the largest and most populated in Asia but also one of its poorest and least understood. It remains a country that has largely stood still for seventy years – hardly any infrastructure of note was developed in the country since the end… – Continue reading
The London School of Economics’s Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) has said that proposals to reintroduce a 50 percent top rate of income tax would likely result in a negligible fall in the working hours of higher earners but will lead to an increased tax avoidance risk. It says tougher… – Continue reading
HSBC and Standard Chartered are looking at the viability of quitting London for a new home in Asia because a big jump in a tax on UK banks makes staying in Britain increasingly painful, reports Reuters. Several investors told Reuters they want the two banks to do a thorough analysis… – Continue reading
Summary:Australia and the UK have reached a deal aimed at helping tackle profit-shifting practices by multinational companies, such as Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Australia and the United Kingdom have agreed to form a joint working group to tackle profit shifting by multinational companies such as Google, Apple, and Microsoft. The… – Continue reading
Business is braced for a slew of new anti-avoidance measures after the UK general election next month as politicians compete on promises to raise billions of pounds from closing tax loopholes, reports the Financial Times. A cross-party consensus is emerging over the scope for a renewed crackdown. Last week Vince… – Continue reading
The number of NHS nurses in England is set to fall by almost 2,000 over the next four years according to government projections, Labour has said. Accusing the Conservatives of having a “secret plan”, Labour’s Andy Burnham said fewer nurses would push hospitals “over the edge”. The health document Labour… – Continue reading
The United Kingdom (UK) has followed Germany in lodging a formal protest with the Finance Ministry over the alleged breach of confidentiality of data and secret banking details received via diplomatic channels. While German authorities objected to the manner in which 18 names of Indian account holders in the LGT… – Continue reading
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has confirmed it will be “significantly increasing” the number of tax avoidance disclosures it makes to professional bodies. More practitioners are likely to face disciplinary action from their institutes having advised on tax avoidance schemes for their clients. Last week, the Institute of Chartered Accountants… – Continue reading
Dixcart, an international business support services provider, has released a new guide on the UK’s Diverted Profits Tax, which was altered ahead of its introduction on April 1, 2015. The DPT is intended to counter aggressive tax avoidance by multinational companies. It is charged at a rate of 25 percent… – Continue reading
Tax inspectors conducted last year 130 tax inspections which included an analysis of the affiliation relations of the taxpayer and the transfer prices applied as part of the transactions undertaken with the identified related parties, says Transfer Pricing Services (TPS). “Last year were conducted a third of the total number… – Continue reading
OECD director admits UK’s Google tax may undermine some of the body’s BEPS work GOVERNMENT plans to introduce a diverted profits tax have caused embarrassment at the OECD, according to Pascal Saint-Amans [pictured], the body’s director leading the Base Erosion and Profit-Shifting (BEPS) project. Appearing via video link before Australia’s… – Continue reading
One of Ed Miliband’s key election advisers pays no UK tax on his reported £300,000 earnings, it has emerged. David Axelrod, a former adviser to Barack Obama, admitted he was not a resident in the UK for tax purposes and the Labour party pays him in dollars through his consultancy…. – Continue reading
New Delhi: The government has set the record straight on tax disputes, maintaining they are not covered by the Bilateral Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (BIPA) and need to be judicially and legally settled. “…But again on the BIPA issue, let me mention, it has been our consistent view that… – Continue reading
Conservative Party candidates are bankrolled by hedge fund donations siphoned to Westminster from lucrative tax havens including the Cayman Islands, new analysis suggests. Figures released on Thursday by the Electoral Commission detail donations received by Britain’s political parties since the general election campaign began. Sixteen of Europe’s 50 most prolific… – Continue reading
David Maclean, Baron Blencathra, wrote to Cayman Islands in 2014 that transparency push was to head off G8 pressure and EU’s financial transaction tax A Conservative peer has described David Cameron’s flagship G8 anti-tax avoidance initiative as a “purely political gesture” designed to head off European attempts to curb the… – Continue reading
TWELVE members of a counterfeit drug ring – including six from the Grimsby area – raked in more than £10 million selling fake Viagra under the cover of a mail-order fishing tackle business. The UK-wide conspiracy offered cheap erectile dysfunction pills to online and face-to-face customers around the world. The… – Continue reading
On 26 March 2015, the United Kingdom Parliament passed into law the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 (the “Act”). The Act will bring about a number of fundamental changes to UK company law including, amongst others, the abolition of bearer shares and corporations acting as directors and, perhaps… – Continue reading
Britain’s Conservative Party has vowed to reform inheritance taxes in a bid to counter the Labour Party’s promise to abolish the ‘non-domicile’ regime as the UK election campaign heats up. These two promises, along with proposed mansion taxes, changes to the top rate of income tax and greater efforts to… – Continue reading
Ahead of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) return deadline of 31 May, two recent updates have changed the reporting criteria. UK financial institutions are no longer required to file nil returns Following a recent clarification from the US Internal Revenue Service(IRS) – see question C19 – HMRC has… – Continue reading
Offshore investment entities in the Cayman Islands and many other international financial centers should now start turning their attention to compliance with the Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”) promulgated by GATCA – Global FATCA. They must document all account holders existing on December 31, 2015, with the exception of entities with… – Continue reading
Legal problems have caused a serious strain on the credibility of Europe’s biggest bank HSBC Holdings plc (ADR) (NYSE:HSBC), which is currently up by 0.34% and trading at $44.69, has found itself at the center of a series of serious legal and possibly criminal tangles in recent years. Tax evasion,… – Continue reading
British Virgin Islands entities who have determined that they are Reporting BVI Financial Institutions (“Reporting FIs”) for the purposes of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of the United States (“FATCA”) and recently registered with the US Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) for a Global Intermediary Identification Number (“GIIN”) should now… – Continue reading
On 18th March 2015, George Osborne delivered his sixth budget as Chancellor and the last of the current Parliament. Amongst the announcements were a number of developments relevant to tax planning, the key points of which are summarized below: Capital Gains Tax – Entrepreneurs’ Relief Entrepreneurs’ Relief (ER) reduces the… – Continue reading
One of the most senior judges in the United Kingdom, speaking to Cayman’s judiciary and legal fraternities last week, said the jurisdiction chosen for a legal dispute can often be the deciding factor for many cases. Lord Mance, a justice for the Supreme Court of England and Wales, sits on… – Continue reading
Ed Miliband hardened his stance on tax avoidance by pledging to end the U.K.’s non-domicile loophole used by the wealthy, hitting back at Conservative accusations a Labour government would hit working families the hardest. “There is no bigger symbol of this failure to expect people right to the top to… – Continue reading
For British pension holders in the US, transferring into a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme (QROPS) is now commonplace. These pension solutions are widely accessible to all US residents or nationals who have accrued pensions from their time working in the UK, and are an invaluable aspect of financial planning… – 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
The number of Australian companies using renminbi to settle cross-border business has increased substantially over the past year, according to a new business survey. HSBC surveyed companies transacting with China and found that the proportion of Australian companies using RMB for cross-border business has risen from nine per cent in… – Continue reading
The number of Australian companies using renminbi to settle cross-border business has increased substantially over the past year, according to a new business survey. HSBC surveyed companies transacting with China and found that the proportion of Australian companies using RMB for cross-border business has risen from nine per cent in… – Continue reading
A second Scottish council used a controversial tax avoidance scheme to finance an office upgrade, The Mail on Sunday can reveal. Inverclyde Council struck a deal with investors including Olympic rowing champion Sir Steve Redgrave to save it cash on the development. The move saved Inverclyde £1million, but may have… – Continue reading
We asked Vincenzo Villamena, a New York-based international tax adviser and certified public accountant with Online Taxman, and his British-expat client Ed Zitron of San Francisco, to share personal finance tips for expats, particularly those hailing from the U.K. Here are their top tips: 1. Mind your pensions & QROPS!… – Continue reading
Jurisdictional issues will limit success. It’s no secret that companies including Apple, Google and Amazon, seem to pay less than their fair share of tax in Australia. Despite booking huge revenues from sales to Australian customers they are able to reduce their profits in this country by shifting profits to… – Continue reading
It is a peculiar feature of devolution in the United Kingdom that each nation is treated differently, with its own settlement geared to local political demands. Foreign observers look with puzzlement, seeing it as British pragmatism taken to extremes. Yet, whether by chance or design, devolution does seem to occur… – Continue reading
The Mirror can reveal that a third have ploughed £9m into the Tory war chest while all are likely to have saved thousands from the Tories’ income tax cut Bosses who backed Tory tax cuts can be revealed as party donors, tax avoiders, firms using zero-hours contracts and others accused… – Continue reading
