Top UK regulator says threat of fines is scaring banks and poses risk of cutting off financial services to emerging economies Andrew Bailey, the UK’s most senior banking regulator, has highlighted a ‘serious international coordination problem’. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images There should be more international cooperation on money laundering rules to… – Continue reading
The taxation of a person is based on two principles: Source and Residence. A person for tax purposes includes an individual, trust, company, partnership and any form of business arrangement one chooses to take on. It should be noted that with globalisation, there is a constant mix of these two… – Continue reading
It is important that the Brisbane G20 Summit on Nov. 15–16 is a success. In an increasingly integrated global economy, effective forums for economic cooperation are needed. The 2008 global financial crisis was the catalyst for the G20 becoming a leaders’-level forum. The Washington, London, and Pittsburgh summits helped save… – Continue reading
NEW YORK — Shifting the address of his Liberty Global Inc. from Colorado to London last year didn’t just put billionaire John C. Malone in a position to reduce his company’s tax bill. He also took precautions to avoid the capital-gains hit that the so-called inversion would trigger for him… – Continue reading
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Sunday said that the issue over the disclosure of the names of those who have illegally stashed their black money abroad is not a debate over the admission of confidential information but is a matter pertaining to the unauthorized expose of the names in… – Continue reading
Property purchases in Ireland help Liberty Global chairman John Malone avoid tax Billionaire Irish American businessman John Malone, who owns a number of prestigous properties in Ireland, didn’t just reduce his company’s tax bill when he shifted the address of UPC parent Liberty Global from Colarado to London last year…. – Continue reading
In a big setback to the IRS’s juggernaut against tax evasion and offshore accounts, a former top UBS banker has been acquitted of tax evasion. The U.S. charged Raoul Weil with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government. The former exec was facing five years in prison and a $250,000 fine,… – Continue reading
PARIS–(BUSINESS WIRE)–On September 2, 2014, under the aegis of the President of the Commercial Court of Paris, LVMH Moët Hennessy – Louis Vuitton (“LVMH”) and Hermès International (“Hermès”) entered into a settlement agreement (the “Settlement Agreement”) aimed at restoring a climate of positive relations between them. “Communiqué – Distribution exceptionnelle… – Continue reading
Since the global economic crash of 2008, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the U.S. has been trying to find other ways to generate income and much needed revenue. One avenue they are pursuing aggressively involves trying to stem tax evasion by U.S. citizens who are purposely hiding their funds… – Continue reading
New York • Shifting the address of his Liberty Global Inc. from Colorado to London last year didn’t just put billionaire John C. Malone in a position to reduce his company’s tax bill. He also took precautions to avoid the capital-gains hit that the so-called inversion would trigger for him… – Continue reading
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla./ZURICH — From bundles of cash inside scraps of newspaper to setting up shell companies, the trial in Florida of a former UBS executive is a reminder of the extreme methods some Swiss bankers used to hide clients’ cash. Raoul Weil, 54, is the highest ranking Swiss banker… – Continue reading
Mark Hendrickson teaches economics at Grove City College. He writes the “No Panaceas” blog at Forbes.com and is a contributing editor of the St. Croix Review. Hendrickson’s most recent book is “God and Man on Wall Street: The Conscience of Capitalism” with Craig Columbus. The political left in America remains… – Continue reading
High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e56ca00c-6010-11e4-98e6-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz3I617l1GT It is no secret that Apple, Starbucks and Amazon are among several high-profile companies… – Continue reading
A retired senior vice president at Israeli-based Mizrahi Tefahot Bank Ltd. (MZTF) was acquitted in Los Angeles federal court on charges he helped U.S. customers conceal their assets from the Internal Revenue Service. Jurors deliberated four hours yesterday before clearing Shokrollah Baravarian, 82, of conspiring to defraud the U.S. and… – Continue reading
Foreign profits sit on sidelines as companies seek tax reform. WASHINGTON — They are all companies that call Minnesota home: Medtronic, 3M, St. Jude Medical, General Mills and Ecolab. But they also all hold 90 percent or more of their cash outside the United States. Amid a growing national political… – Continue reading
Bruton says new business can be won after end of ‘Double Irish’ with fresh tax proposals More than 1,000 new jobs could be created based on commitments received from US multinationals on a Government trade mission, the Minister for Enterprise, Jobs and Innovation Richard Bruton said. Speaking at the end… – Continue reading
With FATCA having been officially implemented for the most part this past July 2014, withholding agents will want to be especially vigilant in their duties and obligations regarding the solicitation and receipt of the appropriate Form W-8 from foreign persons. They will also want to be up on the rules… – Continue reading
Medical device companies Wright Medical Group Inc. and Tornier NV have agreed to merge in an all stock USD3.3bn transaction that will involve the transfer of Wright’s tax domicile from the US to the Netherlands. Wright’s deal with Tornier is one of the few corporate tax inversions that have been… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: The government’s ability to keep a secret could determine whether it will be able to sign a key accord with the US before the year-end deadline. It’s not just private capital flows that face the risk of higher withholding tax there if India is unable to sign the… – Continue reading
U.S. tax law creates perverse incentives for American companies to hold cash offshore, and the U.S. Treasury recently announced proposals to deter the practice. The proposals have triggered an outcry that ranges from criticisms that the Obama administration has overstepped its authority, on one side, to criticisms that the proposals… – Continue reading
At the September 2014 convention of American labor unions, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont specifically urged taxation of wealth, asserting that, “We need a tax system which asks the billionaire class to pay its fair share of taxes and which reduces the obscene degree of wealth inequality in America.” The… – Continue reading
In one of the bluntest statements on the topic by any globalist thus far, controversial German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble (shown) openly called for “global standards” and “global governance” in taxation to ensure that governments can continue extracting huge sums in taxes from the wealth-producing class in perpetuity. In an… – Continue reading
In the fight against tax evasion, member banks of the Association of Cyprus Banks (ACB) are currently in the process of implementing the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), in anticipation of the upcoming intergovernmental agreement between the United States of America and Cyprus, ACB Director General Michael Kammas said…. – Continue reading
As the OECD’s proposals for global reform of corporate taxation advance, the challenge facing the Government is how best to adapt to major change, while ensuring Ireland remains competitive and continues to attract foreign direct investment. In the budget, Minister for Finance, Michael Noonan took a bold first step by… – Continue reading
The Government continues to move slowly on global tax evasion and no action is likely for four to five years, according to a statement by Revenue Minister Todd McClay. Companies like Facebook and Google have been under fire around the world for shifting revenue and profits to different jurisdictions to… – Continue reading
Ireland’s role in Apple’s affairs means the sums involved are material to Ireland Ireland has done extraordinarily well at attracting foreign direct investment, and the politicians and public servants involved must be hoping that when the current fuss over global tax competition subsides, that will continue to be the case…. – Continue reading
FORT LAUDERDALE Fla./ZURICH (Reuters) – From bundles of cash inside scraps of newspaper to setting up shell companies, the trial in Florida of a former UBS executive is a reminder of the extreme methods some Swiss bankers used to hide clients’ cash. Raoul Weil, 54, is the highest… – Continue reading
New Delhi: A day after the Centre submitted its list of 627 Indians who have accounts in HSBC bank, Geneva for tax probe for suspected black money to Supreme Court, India has pulled out of multilateral information sharing agreement. The Mutilateral Competent Authority Agreement was signed by 51 countries in… – Continue reading
IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in an interview last week that 2015 could present a very difficult filing season because of uncertainty about expired tax provisions and the implementation of new rules under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). More than 50 provisions… – Continue reading
The Internal Revenue Service is encouraging taxpayers with previously undeclared foreign bank accounts to enter into its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program, but there are now choices between a new streamlined version of the OVDP and the regular program that will require careful consideration and advice from practitioners. Since March 26,… – Continue reading
Some 51 countries, including the UK, have signed a new agreement at the Global Forum in Berlin to automatically exchange tax information, in an attempt to clamp down on tax evasion. Under the agreement, “unprecedented levels” of information, including account balances, interest payments and beneficial ownership, will be shared with… – Continue reading
Geneva: A huge global pressure to break secrecy veils of Swiss banks notwithstanding, Switzerland remains the world’s largest offshore financial centre with client assets totalling over USD two trillion, a new study said. Besides the country is expected to remain “the biggest offshore centre for private banking in 2018,” with… – Continue reading
Financial institutions including fund managers will need to up the ante on client due diligence and bolster investor reporting following the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) agreement on the automatic exchange of information. The OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS) will force national authorities in the 51 signatory states… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Indian entities having businesses in the US risk higher penal taxes in the US on any fund transfer to the country if New Delhi fails to endorse a pact for information exchange by December 31 on grounds of confidentiality. New Delhi will find it difficult to sign the… – Continue reading
The US policy is different. Moving away from the homeland doesn’t mean you are free from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). You are required to file your US tax returns every year, report your worldwide income to the IRS and pay any tax imposed by the US tax laws. Since… – Continue reading
MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 29, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Convey Compliance Systems recently expanded its Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) Management Services to include Global Intermediary Identification Number (GIIN) verification. This update allows users to manage client GIINs by comparing them against the most recent IRS published list. The new GIIN Verification capabilities are… – Continue reading
October 29: The IRS today issued transmittal message as a reminder that new versions of the following information returns (in the Form 1099 series) and instructions have been finalized for 2015. The IRS specially noted that each of these information returns has been updated for purposes of FATCA reporting. Form… – Continue reading
Montana has the sixth-best business tax climate in the U.S., according to a report from the Tax Foundation, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit think tank. The Tax Foundation’s 2015 State Business Tax Climate Index takes into account over 100 variables, including corporate taxes, individual income taxes, sales taxes, unemployment insurance taxes… – Continue reading
New U.S. tax rules applicable to Covidien acquisition make deal less attractive, Moody’s said. Two Wall Street rating firms expect to downgrade Medtronic Inc.’s debt because the company will have to borrow $13.5 billion more than it expected to buy health care supplier Covidien and move the combined company to… – Continue reading
Bruton says US multinationals will advise Government on ‘knowledge box’ tax scheme Germany has warned that corporate tax subsidy arrangements known as “patent boxes” are acceptable in the European Union only as a reward for research and investment by companies in member states, not as a new tax-avoidance tool. It… – Continue reading
(BERLIN) – The finance ministers of around 50 countries meet in Berlin on Wednesday to sign a deal they hope will put an end to banking secrecy and aid the worldwide fight against tax fraud and evasion. “Banking secrecy, in its old form, is obsolete,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble… – Continue reading
Here’s a quick update on the legal challenges to Canada’s agreement with the U.S. regarding the controversial FATCA law. The group behind the suit, the Alliance for the Defence of Canadian Sovereignty, says it has retained U.S. legal counsel to challenge in Washington whether so-called “Accidental Americans” resident in Canada… – Continue reading
* Leumi says working with NY State regulators on settlement * Says too soon to estimate final amount of deal * Bank rejects $300 mln settlement offer from NY State * Leumi has provisioned 950 mln shekels for final settlement * Share price falls 1.9 pct in Tel Aviv trading… – Continue reading
UBS, Switzerland’s largest bank, has had to set aside Sfr1.84bn (or £1.2 billon / $1.9 billion) in legal provisions to pay for possible fines and to settle regulatory investigations. It has also warned shareholders that these costs are likely to be “at elevated levels” for the “forseeable future”. The Swiss… – Continue reading
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has launched a new web site for financial institutions required to make reports about US taxpayer clients under the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) laws. The online portal offers advice and access to a reporting hub for financial managers sending information about their… – Continue reading
US banana producer and distributor Chiquita has decided to terminate its proposed inversion with its rival Fyffes, in a deal which would have involved moving its tax residence to Ireland, and will instead be acquired. Chiquita’s decision comes after the announcement of non-legislative measures by the US Treasury Department on… – Continue reading
New CIBC report offers tax tips for U.S. vacation properties TORONTO, Oct. 28, 2014 /CNW/ – CIBC (TSX: CM) (NYSE: CM) – As Canadians look to take advantage of low U.S. house prices to buy vacation homes and escape the chill of winter, a new report by Jamie Golombek, CIBC’s… – Continue reading
New York’s banking regulator will ask for more than $300 million to settle an investigation into whether Bank Leumi Le-Israel (LUMI) BM helped Americans evade taxes, a person familiar with the matter said. Benjamin Lawsky, head of the state’s Department of Financial Services, is seeking more than what the bank… – Continue reading
Canada’s Competition Bureau says that Burger King’s plan to buy Tim Hortons does not pose a competitive threat to the fast food industry. The antitrust watchdog issued a No Action Letter (NAL) Tuesday, confirming that it reviewed the proposed transaction and concluded that it will not, at this time, “challenge… – Continue reading
Did you hear the one about the billionaire mogul who thought the way to fix inequality was to cut corporate taxation? But wait, here’s the kicker – he’s one of the world’s biggest tax dodgers, but he wants a crackdown on the tax dodging of his competitors. The more we… – Continue reading
