The Government yesterday broke down the divide between Bahamian domestic and international financial institutions to meet European Union (EU) demands. KP Turnquest, the Deputy Prime Minister, in unveiling a radical regulatory shift said the Government will “make the playing field level for all financial institutions in The Bahamas” by enabling… – Continue reading
The Dutch finance ministry is expanding its official list of places it considers to be involved in tax evasion by a further 16 low tax jurisdictions, including the islands of Guernsey and Jersey, the Isle of Man, and Belize. The list contains five jurisdictions currently blacklisted by the EU: American… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service is giving foreign-based banks with U.S. operations some leeway when calculating a major new international tax aimed at preventing global companies from shifting profits abroad. Multinationals often transfer payments, such as interest or royalties, to their affiliates in low-tax jurisdictions to maximize deductions and minimize tax… – Continue reading
The United States Department of Justice has charged four people with crimes allegedly brought to light by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism’s Panama Papers expose, according to a DOJ announcement published earlier this month. They are the first US criminal charges stemming from the ICIJ’s 2016 investigation, which reported… – Continue reading
The Virgin Islands ranked as the second-most-important financial jurisdiction in the world in a recent study published by Vistra, a corporate services provider. The research — titled the “Vistra 2020 Report” — evaluated insight from more than 800 financial services industry professionals around the globe, according to the company. Published… – Continue reading
The governments of Argentina, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay have joined forces to create a Latin American initiative to tackle tax evasion and corruption by making sharing and making better use of the information exchanged under international tax transparency standards. The countries have agreed to “consider the possibility” of making a… – Continue reading
The governments of Argentina, Panama, Paraguay and Uruguay have joined forces to create a Latin American initiative to tackle tax evasion and corruption by making sharing and making better use of the information exchanged under international tax transparency standards. The countries have agreed to “consider the possibility” of making a… – Continue reading
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has issued guidance on the voluntary disclosure regime now in force, following the termination of its offshore predecessor on 28 September 2018. The new rules are effective for all disclosures after that date. And the possible penalties have gone up quite significantly. One of… – Continue reading
The US government announced charges on Tuesday against four men it said laundered money and arranged tax avoidance schemes through the Panama firm at the centre of the “Panama Papers” scandal. The four were affiliated with Mossack Fonseca, the law firm that helped thousands of clients around the world move… – Continue reading
The center of the money laundering investigation at Deutsche Bank lies at a tiny unit that was barely able to eke out a profit and had been up for sale since the early part of 2016, reported Financial Times. Citing several people briefed on the matter, the publication reported that… – Continue reading
OTTAWA, Dec. 03, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A large majority of Canadians (77%) agree “It would be a good investment for the Government of Canada to allocate more resources towards preventing tax evasion and avoidance,” according to a recent Environics Research poll. The poll was commissioned by the Professional Institute… – Continue reading
After global index puts Israel in top third of most financially secretive countries, NGO calls for more public scrutiny and regulations to stop rich from hiding their assets Israel must immediately move to pass regulations against tax evasion and money laundering if it is to protect its credit rating and… – Continue reading
There is confusion among taxpayers regarding taxability of foreign rental income in Pakistan and filing of income tax returns in view of avoidance of double taxation treaties signed between Pakistan and UAE, UK and Canada. A leading tax consultant Shahid Jami has approached the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for… – Continue reading
Introduction – Offshore funds and Canada Revenue Agency’ reach Gone are the days when offshore bank accounts were outside the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA)’s reach. With the advent of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS), CRA automatically receives financial information of Canadian taxpayers who own bank accounts or assets in other… – Continue reading
THE Caribbean Association of Banks (CAB) has joined the growing list of advocates for the expedited passage of urgent legislation to strengthen this country’s international tax compliance. “Non-compliance with Global Forum Standards and Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations increases the sovereign risk profile of not only the jurisdiction (TT)… – Continue reading
Barbados is to scrap its international business company (IBC) regime in response to the OECD labeling the policy as “harmful” to competition, and being in breach of rules governing international taxation. Last year the OECD included Barbados on its list of jurisdictions with a “harmful” preferential tax regime, and said… – Continue reading
Government officials have devised what they believe is a solution to the looming European Union blacklist threat, according to Neil Smith, the executive director of government’s Office of International Business (Regulations). The EU has threatened to place the Virgin Islands on an anti-tax avoidance blacklist at the end of the… – Continue reading
BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Thursday November 22, 2018 – Barbados will harmonize its domestic and international corporation tax regimes, by December 31, 2018, slashing the tax burden for some local companies by up to 29 per cent. Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced in the Barbados Parliament on Tuesday, November 20, the ambitious… – Continue reading
The cabinet of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is set to implement tax cuts for the nation’s businesses, which, along with the announced plans to reduce regulation, are highly reminiscent of the economic policies of Canada’s southern neighbour. Kristian Rouz — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has unveiled an ambitious… – Continue reading
Trusts still remain under public scrutiny, but can their reputation be safeguarded, asks Stuart Price A recent government consultation on the law of trusts brought out some interesting issues concerning how the status quo aligns with the principles of transparency, fairness and simplicity (the principles that, at least in the… – Continue reading
Two years after the Panama Papers brought to fore alleged hidden offshore accounts of the world’s wealthy, the income-tax department has issued notices to many in India for not disclosing all their foreign assets as well as interest and income earned through such assets. Notices were issued following an investigation… – Continue reading
Many U.S. multinational corporations have packed up or are choosing to open subsidiaries in low-tax, rather than no-tax, countries that are seen as more legitimate than the formerly popular island destinations of the Cayman Islands and the Bahamas. They’re fleeing in response to regulations from the European Union that require… – Continue reading
US multinational corporations are plundering the populations of the United States and the world to the tune of trillions of dollars by driving down and evading taxes on profits booked overseas. This is the conclusion that emerges from a recent study by University of California at Berkeley economist Gabriel Zucman… – Continue reading
The Swiss bank is on trial in France for its role in a tax evasion scandal Swiss bank UBS Group could be forced to pay up to €5.3bn in fines over allegations that it helped wealthy French clients conceal money from tax authorities. The double-pronged lawsuit has been brought against… – Continue reading
Since January 1, 2009, federal tax law limits the amount of gain eligible for exclusion from taxation (known as the “Primary Residence Exclusion”) when you sell a house used as a primary residence, if you also used the house for another purpose, such as a rental. Under Section 121 of… – Continue reading
Introduction A person’s status as a tax resident determines the extent to which Canada may tax that person’s income. The test for whether an individual—i.e., a natural person—is a Canadian tax resident turns on the individual’s particular circumstances. Every detail counts. But Canadian courts and the Canada Revenue Agency both… – Continue reading
As part of the British Virgin Islands’ (“BVI”) ongoing commitment to international tax transparency pursuant to the Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”), the BVI Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) Act, 2003 has been amended by the BVI Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) (Amendment) Act, 2018 (the “Amendment Act”). The Amendment Act… – Continue reading
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced that it has fined Capital One $100 million due to shortcomings in the company’s Bank Secrecy Act and anti-money laundering programs. “The deficiencies, cited in the OCC’s 2015 order against the bank, included weaknesses in its compliance program and related… – Continue reading
Officials in the international business sector here are in somewhat of a wait and see mode as Barbados continues to make necessary legislative and regime changes governing the sector. This means companies seeking to attract new international business to Barbados have not been as robust in their efforts as they… – Continue reading
FRANKFURT AM MAIN: German Finance Minister Olaf Scholz in an interview said he backed a global minimum fiscal regime for multinationals as Europe looks to levy tax notably on US tech giants. “We need a minumum tax rate valid globally which no state can get out of (applying),” Scholz, a… – Continue reading
The Antigua and Barbuda government is willing to amend the necessary laws to ensure that local financial institutions are able to share banking information of dual citizenship holders with the relevant authorities in their original country of birth, if this becomes necessary. Prime Minister Gaston Browne made the disclosure following… – Continue reading
On the list of countries operating CBI/RBI schemes, that the OECD feels have the potential to be used for tax dodging, are 2 tax havens that are popular with wealthy Canadians and large Canadian companies. These are Barbados and Panama. Ottawa (19 Oct. 2018) — New information from the Organization… – Continue reading
In Greece, an individual who has moved abroad must file an application to the local authorities in order to demonstrate a new address should they wish to change their status from resident to non-tax resident. Such an application is typically filed by March 10th of the year following the year… – Continue reading
The Swiss Data Protection Commissioner has issued a legal complaint against the Finance Ministry for sending the names of bank employees, lawyers, accountants and other third parties to the United States to assist with tax evasion investigations. The Swiss Supreme Court has already issued a ruling that bans the indiscriminate… – Continue reading
Pakistan has been unable to get much cooperation from 11 countries known as tax havens around the world to share information on offshore wealth amid a global clampdown on tax evasion. Under the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) new automatic exchange of information programme, effective since September 1,… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: India and Russia are exploring the option of trading in their local currencies and looking at signing agreements on investment protection and avoidance of double taxation, Russia’s minister for economic development Maxim Oreshkin said on Friday. The commerce ministry is considering the feasibility of a renminbi-rupee trade with… – Continue reading
Switzerland has begun sharing financial record data with tax authorities in many countries as a method for battling tax evasion, however, Africa, which loses about $60 billion in unlawful flows every year, generally into European banks, is prominent by its nonappearance from the arrangement. Swiss bank accounts have for quite… – Continue reading
The ministry of finance last night said The Bahamas had met the September 30 deadline to begin automatic tax information exchange (AEOI) with some 35 partner jurisdictions. Revealing that the first such exchange with another country had already occurred, the ministry said this further demonstrated The Bahamas’ commitment to meet… – Continue reading
The American Institute of CPAs made recommendations to the U.S. Department of Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service on Monday about the proposed rules regarding the deduction for qualified business income under section 199A of the Internal Revenue Code. The proposed guidance, issued Aug. 16, 2018, provides rules addressing how… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service’s Bank Secrecy Act program, in which it is supposed to safeguard against money laundering, is having only a minimal impact on tax compliance, according to a new report. The report, from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, noted that the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service is considering relaxing the rules for companies to qualify for tax-free spinoffs — a shift that could benefit drugmakers and tech firms with promising early-stage products. The agency said Tuesday it’s looking into whether units should still be required to generate revenue before a spinoff from… – Continue reading
Tax havens are typically assumed to be islands in warm climates offering low tax rates for organizations looking for a lucrative loophole. But these “havens” are also sought after for opaque financial laws that can allow organizations to get away with illegal activity, like money laundering. Now, a new report… – Continue reading
The federal tax-collecting authority should update its virtual assets guidance because the lack of clarity creates uncertainty for citizens, Capitol Hill lawmakers said in an open letter. The US House of Representatives has urged the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to release a new, comprehensive version of its cryptocurrency guidance because… – Continue reading
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – McDonald’s tax deal with Luxembourg did not breach EU state aid rules, EU antitrust regulators ruled on Wednesday, saying the reason the US fast food chain did not pay some taxes was due to the mismatch between US and Luxembourg laws. The decision by the European Commission… – Continue reading
On September 13, South China’s Guangdong province announced a series of investment incentives and cost-cutting measures to offset the impact of the worsening trade war with the US. The measures, outlined in the Policy Measures for Expanding Opening-up and Using Foreign Investment, consist of a 10-point plan to attract foreign… – Continue reading
In June this year, the Chinese government announced much-anticipated revisions to the country’s individual income tax laws. KPMG Partner and Senior Advisor Michael Olesnicky says that these new revisions will likely have ‘profound implications’ within the wealth management community in Asia. Hubbis CEO Michael Stanhope recently spoke with him about… – Continue reading
Walmart-Flipkart deal will help the government mop up over $1.3 Bn (10,000 Cr) in taxes The payment by Walmart ends the uncertainty regarding $16 Bn transaction tax dues NCLAT wants to know india business models from Walmart, Flipkart US retail giant Walmart has said it has completed all the tax… – Continue reading
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a regulation in European Law on data protection and privacy for all individuals within the European Union (EU). The EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) superseded the UK Data Protection Act 1998 on May 25, 2018. Significant and wide-reaching in scope, the new… – Continue reading
A European Union board member gave a speech criticizing the weak presence of European fintech businesses in the continent’s own market. The leader’s comments come in response to several major clashes with American multinationals over their unscrupulous practices. Yves Mersch, European Central Bank (ECB) member of the Executive Board, addressed… – Continue reading
Basel Cantonal Bank has become the latest Swiss financial institution to accept a fine for helping United States citizens to evade taxes. The bank was forced to pay a total of $60.4 million (CHF58.9 million) in penalties to settle the case without having to face a criminal trial. Announcing the… – Continue reading
