Category: Offshore Tax Evasion

HMRC accused of hypocrisy over tax avoidance stance

Pinsent Masons has accused HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) of hypocrisy over its recent approach to tax planning and avoidance. Fiona Fernie, a partner at the law firm, said many of the government department’s investigations of late had been politically motivated, “concentrating on the best soundbites for ministers”. Tax avoidance… – Continue reading

Automatic exchange of financial account information

The Government recently introduced into the Legislative Council a bill to provide a legal framework for the implementation of automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters (“AEOI”). This would have significant implications both for financial institutions and, in a cosmopolitan city like Hong Kong, for many of their… – Continue reading

Uzbekistan okays changes to double taxation avoidance deal with Pakistan

A protocol on changes to the Uzbekistan-Pakistan agreement on double taxation avoidance and prevention of income tax evasion has been approved upon the Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s decree. The presidential decree was disseminated by the Uzbek media Feb. 15. Under the decree, the country’s foreign ministry was tasked to send… – Continue reading

Taiwan, Italy sign pact to avoid double taxation

Taipei, Feb. 15 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday that Taiwan and Italy have completed an agreement to avoid double taxation and tax evasion. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Monday that Taiwan and Italy have completed an agreement to avoid double taxation and tax evasion. The ministry… – Continue reading

Kenya to Intensify War Against Tax Evasion, Economic Crimes

Kenya will now be able to pursue individuals who use offshore companies to evade taxes and commit other economic crimes, after it signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters last week. The agreement is the most comprehensive multilateral instrument available for all forms of cooperation to… – Continue reading

Varner: Taxes and international trade

A while back in Germany, I was driving on the straight as an arrow B-1. That is Bundesstrasse, the equivalent of a U.S. highway, a notch below the Autobahn. Roads tend to curve around farmers’ fields, having been there first. The B-1 from Cologne on the Rhine toward Berlin was… – Continue reading

Senegal signs multilateral agreements to fight tax avoidance and evasion

Senegal on February 4 signed the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, becoming the 93rd jurisdiction to sign the document, and the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for the automatic exchange of Country-by-Country reports, becoming the 32nd signatory to that agreement, the OECD has announced. The Multilateral Convention… – Continue reading

IRS 80- Swiss Banks 0

The formal IRS/Department of Justice (DOJ) Swiss Bank Program has concluded with 80 Swiss banks coming forward. The banks agreed to provide information about personnel, depositors and advisors who were participated in or assisted U.S. taxpayers in offshore tax evasion. In addition to disclosure and cooperation with investigations each of… – Continue reading

Taxman is on the prowl for cheaters overseas

An unnamed Korean, according to the National Tax Service (NTS), was living a luxurious life with properties and investments inherited from his father. This inherited fortune, which included stocks overseas, high-end residences as well as diverse financial assets, was not only unreported to the Korean tax agency but was managed… – Continue reading

Ireland – the tax haven

‘We’re not a tax haven, we have never been involved in any kind of tax malpractice’ – Michael Noonan, Irish Minister for Finance 5th October 2015 ‘Nobody is using Ireland as a tax haven’ – Minister for Agriculture, Simon Conveney, The UN’s Philip Aston says, ‘When lists of tax havens… – Continue reading

Ireland: the Tax Haven that Dare Not Speak Its Name

‘We’re not a tax haven, we have never been involved in any kind of tax malpractice’ – Michael Noonan, Irish Minister for Finance 5th October 2015 If your top political figures need to constantly state that your country is not a tax haven, then the chances are it probably is… – Continue reading

Why is the Republican Party coming to the Israeli High Court for help?

According to a recent petition, the Israeli government has taken the wrong side in a world war that the US is waging over taxes of its overseas dual citizens. The financal future of 9 million Americans worldwide and hundreds of thousands living in Israel could be at stake. According to… – Continue reading

Irish banks collect data in new OECD worldwide tax clampdown

The first stage of an un-precedented worldwide crackdown on tax evasion and banking secrecy has got under way, with Irish banks this week starting to collect details of non-resident bank account holders. The collection of information follows on from the agreements brokered by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development… – Continue reading

United States: Global Tax Enforcement in 2016: What You Need To Know

The investigation and prosecution of tax evasion has, in the last decade, grown from a specialized subcategory of law enforcement into a first-tier policy concern for the global community. Starting with the U.S. government’s crackdown on Swiss bank UBS in 2008, there has been a steady drumbeat of news about… – Continue reading

Off-Shore Tax Sheltering Brought To An End By Law In Iceland

Iceland passed legislation that will make secret off-shore accounts very difficult to maintain for tax dodgers. RÚV reports that as of the start of this year, the Directorate of Internal Revenue will have access to the details of all overseas bank accounts held by Icelandic companies and individuals. The legislation,… – Continue reading

Two Swiss Banks Reach Deal to Avoid Possible U.S. Tax-Evasion Charges

Two Swiss banks will pay a total of more than $107 million to the U.S. Department of Justice to avoid possible prosecution for helping Americans evade taxes, the department said on Thursday. Bank Lombard Odier & Co. Ltd, a Geneva-based unit of Lombard Odier Group, will pay $99.8 million in… – 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

George Osborne’s tax avoidance crackdown misses target by hundreds of millions of pounds

The Office for Budget Responsibility says some areas of scheme are underperforming compared to expectations George Osborne’s plan to crack down on tax avoidance has fallen £600m short of its hearalded benefits, according to an analysis by a Government watchdog. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said in an analysis… – Continue reading

Global dragnet puts pressure on tax evaders as year-end deadlines loom

Tax cheats are facing a series of year-end deadlines to come clean, as an international dragnet affecting both wealthy Canadians with offshore accounts and Americans in Canada who have failed to file U.S. tax returns keeps tightening. Lawyers say some Canadians with Swiss bank accounts have received letters demanding written… – Continue reading

US Swiss bank tax evasion program reaches $1 bn in fines

(MENAFN – AFP) US officials announced settlements with four more Swiss banks Wednesday to lift the total fines in the two-year disclosure program to more than 1 billion from 75 banks. “With today’s resolutions under the Swiss Bank Program, the department has reached agreements with 75 Swiss banks, imposed penalties… – Continue reading

UK taxman warns expats that tax evasion penalties will get tougher in 2016

With a new year on the horizon it is often at this time when people start thinking about fulfilling a dream of moving abroad and making plans. Others may be thinking about moving back home. For people paying tax in the UK, the country’s tax man has come up with… – Continue reading

Common Reporting Standard start date fast approaching

The start date for the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) in early adopting countries is approaching fast, with financial institutions required to begin new account on-boarding procedures from 1 January 2016. CRS requires financial institutions in participating jurisdictions to identify account holders who are tax resident in other participating jurisdictions and… – Continue reading

China Regulatory Brief: China Commits to Automatic Exchange of Tax Information

China Commits to Automatic Exchange of Tax Information Approved by the State Council, China has committed to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) global standard for automatic exchange of tax information and will start to automatically exchange information with other countries’ tax authorities by September, 2018. On December… – Continue reading

Italian 2014 Tax Evasion Estimated At Over EUR120bn

A study from Confindustria, the Italian business association, has estimated that tax and social security contributions evaded in Italy amounted to EUR122.2bn, or 7.5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP), in 2014. Confindustria described tax evasion as “a serious obstacle to Italy’s economic and social development because it penalizes equity,… – Continue reading

Elite Lawyers Now Selling Caribbean Tax Havens as Havens From Terror, Too

Caribbean nations have long served as tax havens for the world’s economic elite, with many offering so-called economic citizenship where, for large payments, one can simply buy citizenship in their countries. That can save the 1 percent a pretty penny. Overseas tax evasion costs the U.S. government as much as… – Continue reading

Out of Bangladesh

According to a research report titled “Illegal Financial Flows from Developing Countries: 2004-2013”, recently published by the Washington based research institute Global Financial Integrity (GFI), Bangladesh stands 26th in the list of 149 developing nations, in terms of flight of capital including money laundering (The Daily Star, December 10, 2015)…. – Continue reading

Swiss bank hid assets for Jews, then tax evaders

Dreyfus Sons & Co. has operated for two centuries as a private Swiss bank, catering to Jewish clients who wanted to hide assets from the Nazis during the 1930s and World War II. More recently, it helped U.S. clients hide assets from the Internal Revenue Service by concealing their true… – Continue reading

Luxembourg – Main New 2016 Tax Measures At A Glance

IP regime  To comply with the OECD’s BEPS reports and more specifically its action plan n° 5 regarding harmful tax practices, the Luxembourg intellectual property (“IP“) regime under article 50bis of the Luxembourg income tax law (“ITL“) will be repealed as from 1 July 2016. As such, the Luxembourg 80%… – Continue reading

Worldwide: Global FATCA: Let’s Do It Again

Fifty-three jurisdictions have agreed to automatic exchange of tax information beginning in 2017, under the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard. Over 40 others have committed to exchange information by 2018. Another wave of global tax information is about to take place, and financial institutions everywhere are in a race to prepare… – Continue reading

China takes important step to boost international co-operation against tax evasion

16/12/2015 – Today the People’s Republic of China became the 77th jurisdiction to sign the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA), which allows it to move forward with plans to activate automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters and commence exchanges with other countries in 2018. The G20 Leaders… – Continue reading

New Corporate Offence Modelled on The Bribery Act

Summary In the March 2015 Budget the Chancellor announced tough new sanctions for tax evasion, intended to have a deterrent effect. After a period of consultation, the intention to proceed with these measures was confirmed in the 2015 Autumn Statement. In summary, the measures to be implemented are:  A new… – Continue reading

Offshore tax evasion penalties could lead to double jeopardy and conflict of interest, warns expert

FOCUS: New UK government plans to penalise those who help others evade tax could punish those who unknowingly enable evasion and could create conflicts of interest and the danger of double jeopardy. The government will introduce a new civil penalty for those who deliberately “enable” offshore tax evasion. It also… – Continue reading

Switzerland: Towards the end of the tax gifts to foreign companies

For the Socialist Senator Roberto Zanetti, the reform is an open-heart surgery, which must be done with great accuracy. Under pressure from the EU, G20 and the OECD, also Switzerland is obliged to give up his special tax regimes for holding companies and management companies. After years of negotiations with… – Continue reading

Voluntary Disclosure: capital, relations spring (Italy Today, December 15, 2015)

Broader terms for the presentation of the report and the documentation related to the demands of voluntary disclosure. According to its statement in ItaliaOggi, assessments are under way between the tax authorities and the Ministry of Economy to allow more time for the completion of the procedures of the instances… – Continue reading

HMRC To Proceed With ‘Facilitating Evasion’ Offense

The UK Government has confirmed that it will legislate for a new criminal offense for corporations that fail to take adequate steps to prevent the facilitation of tax evasion. Tax authority HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has published responses to four consultations on anti-evasion measures announced at the March 2015… – Continue reading

Swiss banks pay $130M to avoid US tax evasion charges

Three Swiss banks, including a unit of France’s Crédit Agricole SA, will pay a total of more than $130 million to the U.S. Justice Department to avoid possible prosecution for helping Americans evade taxes, the department said on Tuesday. The Zurich-based unit of Crédit Agricole will pay $99.2 million, the… – Continue reading

Foreign Banks Pay To Avoid Tax Evasion Charges As More Americans Disclose Offshore Accounts

Lately, the IRS is warning offshore account holders to disclose before it’s too late. Under FATCA, banks everywhere want to know if you are compliant with the IRS. And the cost of compliance for many people is growing. The IRS updated its list of foreign banks where accounts trigger a… – Continue reading