The 28 nations of the European Union lose up to $1 trillion per year in revenue thanks to multinational corporations that use a spider’s web of completely legal constructs to lower their taxes. Now, Europe’s law enforcers and lawmakers want to wipe away these intricate tax-avoidance systems. If they have… – Continue reading
Today, the Senate Finance Committee met to discuss the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) project on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), a set of proposals on international tax policy approved earlier this fall that will place U.S. companies at a competitive disadvantage globally. Testifying with me today… – Continue reading
“It is not the strongest or the most intelligent who will survive but those who can best manage change”-Charles Darwin The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its final recommendations on the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Project on October 5, 2015. The BEPS project consist of… – Continue reading
Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade of Barbados, Senator Maxine Mc Clean, called on the Minister for Foreign Affairs, George Vella. Minister Mc Clean praised the Government of Malta for the organisation of the CHOGM, at which Barbados was represented by Prime Minister Freundel Stuart, and congratulated Minister Vella… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Ishaq Dar has said the government does not have any evidence of Rs 430 billion being taken out by Pakistanis abroad adding the figure was based on media reports. The Minister stated this while addressing a news conference after a special meeting of the Economic Co-ordination Committee (ECC)… – Continue reading
The House and Senate held hearings Tuesday on the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting action plan, also known as OECD BEPS, for combating tax avoidance by multinational corporations. A number of the lawmakers expressed a skeptical view of the international tax reforms. “The OECD’s… – Continue reading
UK tax authority HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced a change of view on the interpretation of the company residence articles in 16 double taxation agreements (DTAs). The change was prompted by an agreement with Jersey on the interpretation of the company residence tie-breaker article in their 1952 DTA…. – Continue reading
The current international tax regime was developed in the last century when the internet was not yet invented. At that time, a foreign company would typically require a substantial physical presence in Australia before it could be in a position to earn significant amount of income from Australian customers. This… – Continue reading
Sean Connery has not played James Bond for years, but is still a public figure prosecutors might like to attack. He was cleared, but Mr. Connery’s wife, Micheline Roquebrune, has been charged with taking part in an alleged plot to defraud the Spanish treasury of millions in taxes. It is… – Continue reading
Mauritius plans to launch a trading platform to hedge African currencies against the US dollar, part of a bid to expand its role as a financial hub for the continent, the financial services minister said. The Indian Ocean island is also in talks to boost ties with stock exchanges in… – Continue reading
New Article 76-A of the Income Tax Law was published in the Federal Official Gazette on November 18, 2015, establishing three new transfer pricing information returns: Master File, Local File and Country-by-Country Report. Background These measures arise in response to the commitment assumed by Mexico before the Organization for Economic… – Continue reading
(OECD) In Paris on the occasion of the COP21, the Honourable Billy Graham Talagi, Minister for Ministry of Natural Resources of Niue signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters in the presence of Deputy Secretary General Rintaro Tamaki. Developed by the OECD and the Council of… – Continue reading
(CNS Business): A new report released by a coalition of NGOs, including Transparency International UK, has described some of the British overseas territories (BOTs) as “some of the most notorious purveyors of financial secrecy”, despite promises about more transparency. The authors say a World Bank study found that BOTs are… – Continue reading
Santo Domingo.- Internal Taxes (DGII) director Guarocuya Feliz on Sunday agreed with Institutional and Justice Foundation (FINJUS) vice president Serbio T. Castaños that large fortunes need to be investigated over tax evasion. “This position is in line with the work the institution carries out to eliminate banking secrecy to ensure… – Continue reading
Barely a week goes by without Deutsche Bank featuring in the news for some reason, usually a bad one. This time, it’s tax avoidance. The FT reports that Deutsche Bank “has been devising complex tax avoidance strategies for some of its largest corporate clients”. Not that this is illegal, of… – Continue reading
Edward Snowden is not in jail, but his namesake soon could be. Switzerland has sentenced Hervé Falciani, a former HSBC Swiss bank employee, to five years in prison. He is the whistleblower and leaker often called the “Edward Snowden of tax evasion.” Leaks bank records and tax documents has helped… – Continue reading
Wesley Snipes is in court with the IRS, again, and this time he has gone on the offensive. He was one of the more high profile criminal tax defendants in recent memory, facing an all-out prosecution on multiple serious felony tax evasion counts. In 2008, Mr. Snipes was convicted of… – Continue reading
Charities remind Cameron of pledge to ‘continue to lead world on tax and transparency’ before meetings with leaders of overseas territories Campaigners are urging David Cameron to use a meeting with leaders of Britain’s overseas territories this week to demand a crackdown on tax dodging, corruption and money laundering. Leading… – Continue reading
Tax Justice Network’s biannual Financial Secrecy Index revealed United States as one of the tax havens for foreign businesses despite its Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). The Huffington Post noted Nov. 2 that the US landed the third spot behind Hong Kong and Switzerland as the tax havens for… – Continue reading
While the U.S. is plagued by inertia when it comes to tax policy, the rest of the world hasn’t been standing still. The biggest change of late has been the completion of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project, or BEPS, a multiyear… – Continue reading
Legislative Activity Tax-Writers Begin to Focus on BEPS, Tax Extenders Still Remain Though international tax reform negotiations may have fallen apart for 2015, tax-writers this week will hold their first hearings to address efforts by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to counter corporate tax avoidance as part… – Continue reading
East African countries expect to collect more revenue under a new code drawn, by the world’s richest economies to stop foreign multinationals from dodging taxes in host countries. The new code — Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) — adopted by G20 at its meeting in Turkey two weeks ago,… – Continue reading
Tech titans powering the economy shelter money through insane tax-avoidance havens. It’s wrong — and adding up Offshore tax havens enable not only individuals to dodge taxes—they also enable multinational corporations to do so. Often this tax avoidance is done within the letter of the law: multinational groups exploit the… – Continue reading
Canada and the UK have reached a deal on the application of the arbitration provisions of their double tax agreement (DTA). The Canadian Government announced on November 26 that the agreement was concluded through an exchange of notes in July and August. It governs the decision-making process of the arbitration… – Continue reading
Last summer, a client received a letter from their bank, a major German bank in which it was asked to indicate “whether you are a US tax or not” and also in the form of an affidavit (“Under penalties of perjury”) in to make English more detailed information about himself… – Continue reading
Uncertainty over the US Federal Reserve’s rate hike decision caused lower returns for offshore investments by local pension schemes during the third quarter of the year, new data show. The Alexander Forbes Consulting Actuaries Schemes Survey for the period ending September 2015 covering 380 schemes indicates earnings by pension schemes… – Continue reading
The Treasury Department and the IRS released Notice 2015-79 (the “2015 Notice”) on November 19th to further limit expatriation transactions and to supplement the anti-inversion guidance issued by them on September 22, 2014 (the “2014 Notice”). The 2015 Notice states that Treasury and the IRS will issue Treasury regulations to… – Continue reading
As Common Reporting Standard (CRS) comes into operation. OHANNESBURG – South Africans with undeclared offshore funds may only have a few months to get their affairs in order or risk facing significant penalties and even criminal prosecution as revenue authorities start the automatic exchange of information. The Common Reporting Standard… – Continue reading
The Kenya-South Africa double taxation agreement comes into force from January 1. An announcement in the November 19, South African government gazette says the agreement applies for taxes withheld at source. “A resident of Kenya will not be taxed on any South African business profits, unless it carries on business… – Continue reading
On the day he took office as Greece’s shipping minister in June 2012, Kostis Moussouroulis received a visit from a 90-year-old shipowner. He still remembers the older man’s words: “Don’t forget, the best minister of shipping and maritime affairs is the minister who is doing nothing for the shipping industry…. – Continue reading
Many Poles may cause blocking of accounts and bills. And all because at the beginning of December 2015. Poland will begin to implement the so-called. FATCA agreement, or an agreement with the United States, which is to counteract the concealment of income. As for the transmission of data for Ocean… – Continue reading
Following an independent report which ranked the British Virgin Islands (BVI) as the most important offshore jurisdiction for the sixth consecutive year, local stakeholders are singing the territory’s praises, with one going as far as to claim that the report has challenged the common perception that the BVI is being… – Continue reading
TODAY NICARAGUA – The upcoming entry into force of the tax rules on transfer pricing may take some Nicaraguan companies unawares. An article on Elnuevodiario.com.ni reports that “… Most Nicaraguans companies are concerned about not being ready to cope with the entry into force of the Law on Transfer Pricing… – Continue reading
Introduction Transfer pricing is a term used to define the price charged between associated enterprises for the transfer of goods, services and intangible property. Increasing cross-border activities have made transfer pricing a real issue as enterprises seek to use transfer pricing as a tool for tax avoidance. Consequently, HK has… – Continue reading
Israel has joined 90 other countries in signing up to the OECD’s instrument to combat offshore tax avoidance and increase transparency in tax matters. The middle-eastern country became the 91st jurisdiction to sign the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters yesterday, which enables the exchange of information,… – Continue reading
Global taxpayers can expect to pay more tax in the years ahead. Many governments worldwide continue to update their tax legislation and expand their tax systems to repay debt and pay for increased social welfare, even as the memory of the last global financial crisis lingers. These are the conclusions… – Continue reading
In response to the announcement that pharmaceutical firms Pfizer and Allergan would merge, Hillary Clinton released a statement that completely missed the real issue behind these inversions – they are a symptom of the greedy, complex, and inefficient U.S. tax code. “Inversion is a symptom, not a disease,” said Grover… – Continue reading
Sum of Us has said it wants to hit Amazon where it hurts – its sales – by posting ads alerting customers of Amazon’s tax practices An online activism group has plans to hit Amazon with a massive anti-tax avoidance ad campaign come Black Friday. Sum of Us has said… – Continue reading
Greater China, Southeast Asia Seen as Global Leaders in Use of Offshore Vehicles, Drawn by Efficiency & Legal Frameworks Key Highlights: OIL’s sixth annual survey shows: The offshore industry will be a leaner, more resilient and confident member of the global economy by 2020, driven by demand from increasing numbers… – Continue reading
Bermuda has been in the spotlight in Australia as senators examine the tax affairs of big business. An Australian senate committee set up to look at the tax affairs of major companies heard that oil giants Chevron had 200 companies registered in Bermuda and a further 200 registered in the… – Continue reading
The Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Tax Policy today both announced hearings relating to the OECD’s base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project. Both hearings are scheduled for Tuesday, December 1, 2015. SENATE FINANCE HEARING According to today’s release, the Senate Finance Committee’s… – Continue reading
Hong Kong is tipped to become the world’s largest offshore corporate services centre by 2020, helped ironically, by the industry’s own struggles against reform demands coming from western governments and pressure groups. On notice after high profile money laundering and tax avoidance scandals, traditional offshore havens like the British Virgin… – Continue reading
Transfer pricing adjustment cannot be made in a case where the tax rate in the country of the Associated Enterprise is higher than the Indian rate and where, accordingly, establishment of tax avoidance or manipulation of prices or establishment of shifting of profits is not possible. Only after proper application… – Continue reading
On September 16, 2015, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida entered an order allowing the IRS to proceed with “John Doe” Summonses seeking information regarding US persons who hold offshore accounts at Belize Bank International Limited and Belize Bank Limited (the “Belize Banks”).1 These summonses… – Continue reading
On Tuesday, Deutsche Bank Suisse, a unit of German lender – Deutsche Bank AG DB entered into an agreement with the Department of Justice (DOJ) under which the bank will pay a penalty of around $31 million. The non-prosecution deal entered under the Swiss Bank Program will help the bank… – Continue reading
The offshore yuan strengthened the most this month on speculation traders are paring bets the currency will weaken after a surprise drop in U.S. consumer confidence pushed down the greenback. A gauge of the dollar’s strength fell for a second day as an index of consumer sentiment slumped to the… – Continue reading
Deutsche Bank AG’s Swiss unit agreed to pay $31 million to receive a non-prosecution agreement in a U.S. probe of banks in Switzerland that helped Americans evade taxes. The accord announced Tuesday by the Justice Department is the third-largest of 57 reached this year with Swiss banks. The firms, which… – Continue reading
Israeli politicians occasionally risk the ire of their American allies. Some have successfully challenged legislation in court to slow the implementation of FATCA-related legislation. Watch and learn, Hong Kong. As the United States continues to bring country after country to their knees to comply with its Foreign Account Tax Compliance… – Continue reading
In the aftermath of the Paris attack on November 13, the European Union (EU) is looking to crack down on bitcoin with the hope of preventing the financing of future attacks. Regulators and advocacy groups agree, though, that kneejerk regulation is not what is needed; rather, it’s an increase in… – Continue reading
On 17-18 November 2015, a new regional meeting as well as a governmental workshop on BEPS was held for the Latin America and the Caribbean region to discuss the outcomes of the BEPS Project, and the ways that the countries can explore to be involved on an equal footing in… – Continue reading
