When A New York Exempt Resident Trust Meets The Sale Of A Business
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Category: New York
Trump’s tax plan could have rich New Yorkers fleeing for Florida
President Trump has signed three executive orders to spark reviews of tax and financial regulations so taxes on businesses and individuals can be cut. The approach would be different from Trump’s earlier plan, which was criticized as an approach that would mostly benefit higher earners. Michael Zezas, a strategist at… – Continue reading
Deutsche Bank to pay $425 million fine over Russian money-laundering scheme: New York regulator
Deutsche Bank will pay a $425 million fine in relation to a money-laundering scheme that regulators say moved $10 billion out of Russia, the New York State Department of Financial Services said Monday. The department said Deutsche was moving money out of Russia by using a stock “mirror trading” strategy,… – Continue reading
China’s banking regulator issues guidelines on outbound investment
China’s banking regulator issued guidelines on Wednesday calling for the country’s financial institutions to strengthen their control and management of funding for outbound investment. The guidelines are the latest new rules on overseas investment as Beijing moves to clamp down on cross-border capital outflows and halt questionable investments. The China… – Continue reading
Country-by-Country Confusion: Narrow BEPS Queries Abound
Global governments battling tax avoidance increasingly are pushing multinational corporations for a bigger picture of how and where they pay taxes, leading to increasingly narrow questions from company tax officers. “We have a number of entities that are disregarded for U.S. tax purposes. When I fill out the country-by-country form,… – Continue reading
UN, IFIs Introduce Platform for Tax Collaboration
The International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA), and the World Bank Group introduced a joint initiative, the Platform for Collaboration on Tax, to UN Member States. Marijn Verhoeven, World Bank Group, expressed excitement that the… – Continue reading
CANADA, ISRAEL SIGN AGREEMENT ON DOUBLE TAXATION
CANADA, ISRAEL SIGN AGREEMENT ON DOUBLE TAXATION As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined other world leaders in addressing the United Nations General Assembly, behind the glare of the camera lights, Foreign Affairs Minister Stéphane Dion met with Israel’s Finance Minster Moshe Kahlon on the sidelines to sign an agreement to… – Continue reading
Ecuador Fights for Global Rules to Clamp Down on Tax Evasion
Ecuador’s foreign minister, leading economists and campaigners call for a new U.N. body to root out tax evaders and crack down on offshore havens. Ecuador ramped up its fight against tax dodging Wednesday as the South American country proposed a plan on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in… – Continue reading
The rich are getting more secretive with their money
You might think the Panama Papers leak would cause the ultrarich to seek more transparent tax havens. Not so, according to Jordan Greenaway, a consultant based in London who caters to the ultrawealthy. Instead, they are going further underground, seeking walled-up havens such as the Marshall Islands, Lebanon, and Antigua,… – Continue reading
Developing Nations Seek Tax Body to Curb Illicit Financial Flows
Despite Western opposition, the 134-member Group of 77 is continuing to pursue a longstanding proposal for an inter-governmental UN-affiliated tax body aimed at combating corporate tax dodging and curbing illicit financial flows, including money laundering and off-shore banking. The proposal has already been shot down twice by Western nations, first,… – Continue reading
How to get ready for BEPS tax reporting rule changes
Multinational companies are making strides in preparing for radically changed cross-border tax and transfer-pricing reporting rules as compliance deadlines near, research by Thomson Reuters suggests, but uneasiness remains amongst tax executives about their readiness. The new rules will require multinational enterprises with annual revenues of €750 million ($830 million) or… – Continue reading
Practically Untouchable: Going Offshore Still Has Benefits
THE RECENT LEAK of millions of documents from Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca served as a reminder of what wealthy Americans should already know: Hiding assets offshore can be risky and hiding them from Uncle Sam is a crime. Yet law-abiding folks continue to stash money offshore for reasons that… – Continue reading
Brexit Risks Losing Corporate Tax Break Worth Billions in U.K.
British multinational companies face new withholding taxes that may cost hundreds of billions of euros a year if U.K. voters decide to leave the European Union, international tax specialists say. A so-called Brexit “would have a major impact” on British corporations that have subsidiaries in the EU, said Daniel Gutmann,… – Continue reading
U.S. companies are saving $100 billion a year by shifting profits overseas, report says
NEW YORK — U.S. multinational companies are saving $100 billion a year by shifting their profits overseas to lower their tax bills, according to a study released Tuesday that found that corporate tax-dodging is a bigger problem than previously estimated. Most U.S. companies pay far less than the country’s 35… – Continue reading
Governor of U.S Tax Haven Delaware Launches Blockchain Initiative
Governor Jack Markell will extend Delaware’s hospitality (home to more corporations than people) to Blockchain firms. Speaking at the Bitcoin community’s event in New York, Consensus 2016, Democratic Governor Jack Markell announced an initiative by the U.S State of Delaware to embrace the blockchain industry. His plan is to provide… – Continue reading
LuxLeaks whistleblower trial begins in Luxembourg
The former PwC employee turned whistleblower behind the LuxLeaks scandal that implicated Luxembourg in industrial tax avoidance went on trial in the tiny European duchy on Tuesday. Antoine Deltour, 30, a former auditor at global accounting firm PwC, is accused of stealing documents from his employer before he quit the… – Continue reading
U.S. launches ‘criminal investigation’ involving Panama Papers
A federal prosecutor in New York has opened a criminal investigation involving the Panama Papers — a trove of materials from a Panamanian law firm that show a massive, secretive world of offshore industry. In a letter to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara wrote… – Continue reading
Global tax enforcement puts Cayman in the crosshairs
The investigation and prosecution of tax evasion has, in the last decade, grown from a specialised subcategory of law enforcement into a first-tier policy concern for the global community.Starting with the US government’s crackdown on Swiss bank UBS in 2008, there has been a steady drumbeat of news about prosecutions… – Continue reading
Markit launches tax utility
LONDON & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Markit (Nasdaq:MRKT), a leading global provider of financial information services, today announced the launch of a tax utility. The initial offering supports compliance with US Treasury FATCA obligations. Designed in partnership with Deutsche Bank, HSBC and Morgan Stanley, the service provides tax form validation and secure… – Continue reading
The rich people who pay no tax
Only the little people pay taxes. For a small, select cohort of rich Australians, the famous quote of New York property billionaire Leona Helmsley rings not as an outrage but as an inspiration. In the most recent documents released by the Australian Tax Office, there were 55 people who had… – Continue reading
No double taxation agreement with Panama; Maltese domicile subject to tax on worldwide income
Maltese individuals resident and domiciled for tax purposes, that is people whose permanent residence is in Malta, are required to pay tax in Malta on their worldwide income, according to the Income Tax Act. This essentially means that Minister Konrad Mizzi is required to pay tax on foreign earnings. However… – Continue reading
Would the real tax havens please stand
“It is tantamount to an economic blockade”. That’s how Antigua and Barbuda’s Prime Minister, Gaston Browne, described the current withdrawal from Caribbean indigenous and offshore banks of correspondent relationships by US banks. His sentiments were echoed by Dean Barrow and Freundel Stuart, the prime ministers of Belize and Barbados respectively…. – Continue reading
Internet sales tax Bill could land state in high court
South Dakota could be on the road to a U.S. Supreme Court challenge with a bill that allows the state to collect sales taxes from out-of-state Internet retailers. The bill in question requires those businesses to remit sales taxes if they sell more than $100,000 in the state or have… – Continue reading
States Targeting Snowbirds Fleeing to Tax-Friendlier Climates
Wealthy taxpayers who split time between states should be prepared to prove where their true home lies. You’re lounging by the pool of your second home in Florida, chuckling as you think of your friends back home braving the blizzard in Massachusetts. And you’re musing: Perhaps it’s time to escape… – Continue reading
Special investigation: Why it’s not just planes that vanish in Bermuda
Journalist Steve Topple investigates Bermuda-based big business tax avoidance and its links with UK political parties – and even some charities LAST WEEK saw the news emerge that everyone’s favourite search engine, Google, only had to pay £97m in back-tax (not the “major success” of £130m as was first reported)… – Continue reading
US firm Johnson Controls to cut tax bill with $16bn Tyco takeover
Car battery and heating equipment maker accused of ‘stranding honest taxpayers’ Johnson Controls, a US maker of car batteries and heating and ventilation equipment, has agreed to buy Irish-based peer Tyco International in a $16.5 billion (€15.23 billion) deal that will lower its tax bill. By redomiciling to Tyco’s headquarters… – Continue reading
The ABCs of FIRPTA
We all know that foreigners have been snapping up real estate in the United States for a while, but are they taxed the same way? Since the introduction of the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act, called FIRPTA, in 1980, Congress has had a way to tax foreigners who… – Continue reading
PROPERTY TAX POST: ROLL OF THE ‘D.I.C.E.’ —BUSINESS PERSONAL PROPERTY TAX RELIEF IS A CRAP SHOOT
Each year, states enact tax law changes and create local government programs that provide personal property tax breaks for businesses. These concessions come in various forms—deductions, incentives, credits and exemptions (i.e., D.I.C.E.), and they have a significant impact on whether businesses remain viable. Many states commonly impose ad valorem tax… – Continue reading
US TIGHTENS UP ON LUXURY PROPERTY PURCHASES THROUGH OFFSHORE COMPANIES
The US’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network has announced it will be investigating the individuals behind secretive all-cash purchases of high-end luxury real estate in a six-month trial programme intended to enhance the treasury’s anti-money laundering efforts. The initiative will focus on all-cash property purchases of over $3 million in New… – Continue reading
PBOC Spurs Offshore Yuan’s Biggest Weekly Advance Since October
The offshore yuan posted the biggest weekly gain since October as China’s central bank limited the currency’s supply and forced a narrowing of its discount to the mainland rate. The monetary authority repeatedly bought the currency in Hong Kong this week, sending interbank borrowing costs to an all-time high. Yuan… – Continue reading
Taxi King found to have evaded lenders via offshore trusts
Things just keep getting worse for Gene the Taxi King. A federal judge ruled Tuesday that New York taxi mogul Evgeny “Gene” Freidman illegally transferred more than $60 million in real estate assets into offshore trusts as a means of evading ex-lender Citibank. The ruling, which cited “numerous and glaring”… – Continue reading
Paulson Reinsurer Winds Down After Slump, Tax Criticism
Billionaire John Paulson’s New York hedge fund firm has shut an operation in Bermuda that had been targeted by a Democratic lawmaker as a tax shelter. Paulson’s venture, a reinsurer named PacRe Ltd., has stopped writing new coverage, and its insurance policies have expired, according to two people familiar with… – Continue reading
Viacom Accused of Hiding Mutant Ninja Revenue in Netherlands
Viacom Inc. was accused by one of its former executives of plotting to hide revenue from “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” in a Netherlands entity to avoid taxes. The ex-vice president for financial planning at Viacom claims she was fired after opposing what she believed was an illegal tax dodge. Nataki… – Continue reading
Teenage Mutant Ninja tax dodge: Viacom whistleblower claims she was sacked for opposing plan to avoid paying taxes on international license rights on Turtles movie
A Viacom whistleblower claims she was sacked by the media company for opposing its alleged plan to illegally avoid paying U.S. taxes on the international licensing rights to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court on Tuesday, former vice president Nataki Williams said she was… – Continue reading
Art Dealer Wildenstein Accused of Huge French Tax Fraud
International art dealer Guy Wildenstein is going on trial in Paris on charges of defrauding the French state of half a billion euros (about $550 million) in taxes, after two relatives tipped off authorities about the family’s financial dealings. Wildenstein, 70, Franco-American heir of a New York art-dealing empire, is… – Continue reading
How Microsoft moves profits offshore to cut tax bill
SEATTLE — When someone in Seattle buys a copy of Office at a Microsoft Store, that cash doesn’t take the short route to the company’s area headquarters. Instead, after accounting for state taxes, the profit goes to a Microsoft sales subsidiary in Nevada. From there, much of that money begins… – Continue reading
Swiss bank Julius Baer to settle US tax probe for $547 mn
One of the leading Swiss banks Julius Baer Group AG is set to reach a deal with US authorities over a tax probe by paying $547 million early next year. Julius Baer, Switzerland’s third-largest wealth manager after UBS and Credit Suisse has been under criminal investigation since 2011 by the… – Continue reading
Pakistani bank in NY takes steps to allay US concerns after being hit by curbs
NEW YORK – The General Manager of Pakistan’s Habib Bank Ltd., New York branch, said Friday that steps have been taken to address the concerns of U.S. authorities after being hit by an enforcement order that barred the bank from conductingany dollar-clearing transactions or accepting any new accountsfor U.S. dollar… – Continue reading
Latvian regulator hits Privatbank with record fine for Moldova bank fund laundering
RIGA – The Latvian Financial and Capital Markets Commission (FCMC) on Dec. 11 imposed a record 2-million-euro fine on Ukrainian-owned A/S Privatbank and ordered the dismissal of its CEO and managing board for violations of money laundering and other banking regulatory laws in connection with the alleged plundering and collapse… – Continue reading
Icahn Says Stop Corporate Inversions By Giving Tax Break
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn has a strong opinion on almost every subject, especially politics. He’s also quite happy to share that opinion with anyone who will listen to or read what he has to say. Icahn’s comments this week on how to stop future tax-motivated corporate inversions such as the… – Continue reading
Investing in Morocco
Over recent years, Kingdom of Morocco has created a legal and regulatory framework very attractive for foreign investors. In addition to its political stable environment, a recent series of tax treaties with numerous countries and reforms in almost all of its sectors of activities, in conjunction with its creation of… – Continue reading
Compromise appears likelier on tax code, 2016 budget
Ukraine’s state budget next year may amount to only $38 billion. For perspective, that is less than half of the municipal budget of New York City, with eight million residents, compared to Ukraine’s 43 million people. But viewed another way, the spending represents 40 percent of the official gross domestic… – Continue reading
Clinton offers new ‘exit tax’ on U.S.-foreign company mergers
WASHINGTON — Hillary Clinton on Wednesday will unveil a proposal for a new “exit tax” aimed at cracking down on corporate inversions, a practice that permits U.S. companies to merge with corporations overseas to lower their tax bill. The new tax would be part of a broader effort to target… – Continue reading
Wal-Mart Sues Puerto Rico Over ‘Astonishing’ Tax Increases
Island’s biggest employer files suit in San Juan federal court Legal challenge comes as Puerto Rico copes with debt payments The Puerto Rico unit of Wal-Mart Stores Inc. sued the island’s government, seeking to overturn a new tax the retailer calls unfairly high. Enacted in May, Puerto Rico’s… – Continue reading
Medtronic’s Overseas Tax Move Freed Up $9.3 Billion
Company changed tax address from U.S. to Ireland this year CEO says 40 percent of cash still located outside U.S. Medtronic Plc’s decision to move its tax address out of the U.S. is already starting to pay dividends. The medical device company used a deal with Covidien Plc this year… – Continue reading
“Tax Extenders” Bill Swells Massively Under Lobbyist Onslaught
A blockbuster tax cut deal, with a 10-year cost of $889 billion and counting, is deep into negotiations on Capitol Hill, proving that Congress doesn’t care about the deficit as long as the right groups get the giveaways. Virtually every year, Congress packages a series of over 50 tax breaks… – Continue reading
Peter Canale Avoids Prison in Swiss Bank Tax Evasion Case
(Bloomberg) — A retired optician who illegally avoided taxes on hundreds of thousands of dollars using multiple Swiss bank accounts was spared prison time, after his brother went to jail for hiding money in the same accounts. Peter Canale said in August that he concealed assets of more than $780,000… – Continue reading
Squeezing the turnip
Congress tightens the tax abuse of Americans who live and work abroad Doubling down on Americans living and working abroad is a way for the Internal Revenue Service to squeeze the turnip a little harder in pursuit of a little more blood. The Obama administration, which has never met a… – Continue reading
Federal Tax Advisory: Economic Substance Doctrine Cases
Things are heating up in the economic substance doctrine area, which could lead to a U.S. Supreme Court review of the IRS’s aggressive arguments for the doctrine. Certiorari Petitions Salem Financial Inc. and Bank of New York Mellon Corporation have both petitioned for Supreme Court review of the Federal Circuit… – Continue reading
The Changing Face of Luxembourg Finance
“Luxembourg is famous for two things: its steel industry and its rose cultivation industry”. This quote from an Italian guidebook of the 1930s was uttered by Luxembourg’s Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna at the annual conference of the Luxembourg Directors’ Association on 17 June 2015[1]. The economic outlook of the tiny… – Continue reading
