Category: Offshore Trusts
Bermuda: Enforcement Of Judgments 2020 – Trends And Developments
Bermuda is a self-governing overseas territory of the United Kingdom. It has a population of over 60,000 people on a land mass of just 21 square miles. The island group is located in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 760 miles due east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Surrounded by coral reefs and the Gulf Stream, Bermuda remains a popular destination for tourists but its infrastructure, flexible and innovative corporate structures and strong regulatory environment have made it a leading offshore jurisdiction for company incorporations, including for a number of companies listed on the main New York and Hong Kong stock exchanges ... - Continue reading
GTBank Urges FG to Introduce Structural Reforms
The recurring inability of government to achieve its projected non-oil revenues over the years points to the need for urgent structural reforms, a report by Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) has stated. The bank stated this in its 2020 macroeconomic and banking sector outlook, obtained yesterday. It stressed the need… – Continue reading
South Africa: Offshore Trusts: The Basic Considerations And Recent Amendments.
The world of offshore trusts is now more dynamic than ever. ... - Continue reading
UK – HMRC WINS TWO TAX AVOIDANCE CASES OVER USE OF OFFSHORE TRUSTS
The HMRC has successfully argued two cases in the First-tier Tribunal involving the use of offshore trusts to avoid tax and National Insurance Contributions (NICs). The case was brought against Hyrax Resourcing Limited and Curzon Capital Limited. The Tribunal decided in both cases that the disguised remuneration arrangements being promoted… – Continue reading
Income Tax Dept cannot probe Foreign Assets of Assessee after Six Years: Delhi High Court [Read Judgment]
The Delhi High Court, in its recent decision, quashed an order of the Income Tax department questioning the overseas earnings and assets prior to March 31, 2005. The earnings included money in tax-haven banks, overseas properties and interests in offshore trusts and applies to non-resident Indians as well. The assessee,… – Continue reading
Wealthy Chinese Rushing to Establish Overseas Trusts
Consultants, private bankers and lawyers are seeing more business from PRC clients as they seek to shelter assets and income in overseas trusts ahead of new tax laws, which will be introduced in January. China’s tax law reforms that target high net worth individuals, set to come into force on… – Continue reading
China’s new income tax laws to bring ‘profound implications’
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
Macau | Monetary Authority revoked 13 offshore permits this year
The Monetary Authority of Macao has revoked offshore authorisation for 13 companies in the first half of this year with no new offshore permits being provided Macau (MNA) – Some 13 offshore companies saw their authorisation to operate in Macau revoked in the first half of this year by the… – Continue reading
India’s sweeping anti money laundering agenda comes under scrutiny
Money laundering and abuse of sophisticated financial instruments have come under increasing scrutiny from regulators. However observers warn high-profile initiatives often act as a distraction from a lack of genuine political will to tackle global financial crime. For example, India’s leading stock exchange, the BSE, de-listed 222 dormant shell companies… – Continue reading
Ottawa Implementing New Reporting Rules For Trust Funds
The federal government has introduced sweeping new reporting rules for private trust funds, which have been accused of hiding wealthy Canadians’ money from tax collectors. Going forward, trusts that fail to file a tax return will face fines equalling 5% of its total value. The Canadian government still has no… – Continue reading
Keith Schembri Once Again Contradicts His Own Statements Regarding His Offshore Company Network
His story has changed somewhere along the line Keith Schembri’s latest explanation today of his network of offshore companies flies in the face of his original statement when the Panama scandal first broke out two years ago. Reacting to stories published today by German paper Süddeutsche Zeitung and the Times… – Continue reading
UK unveils new anti-avoidance legislation targeting offshore trusts
In its latest policy paper to target the cross-border financial services sector, the UK government today unveiled proposed legislation that seeks to prevent the use of offshore trusts to avoid tax. The measure ensures that payments from an offshore trust intended for a UK-resident individual “don’t escape tax when they… – Continue reading
Non-dom reforms and offshore trusts
I am a trustee of an offshore trust settled by a UK resident, non-UK domiciled settlor (with no UK origins) for the benefit of himself and his family. He previously opted to be taxed on the remittance basis. The trust holds only offshore investments. The settlor lent monies to the… – Continue reading
Five things agents and developers need to know about the non-dom tax changes
From 6 April 2017, non-dom owners of UK property will be liable to inheritance tax (IHT) at 40% on any UK residential property they own. This has always been the case where a non-dom (broadly an individual who is resident in the UK but who has their permanent home abroad)… – Continue reading
New Zealand: New Zealand To Enact Tighter Foreign Trust Disclosure Rules
The New Zealand Parliament has passed a Bill which, following royal assent, will meaningfully increase disclosure obligations for NZ resident trustees of NZ foreign trusts. The Taxation (Business Tax, Exchange of Information, and Remedial Matters) Bill, was passed by Parliament on 14 February 2017. The Bill contains important provisions relating… – Continue reading
Foreign person NRA tax withholding
Nonresident Alien NRA tax withholding is applicable to U.S sourced income paid to foreign person and does not apply to payments made to U.S. persons. Foreign persons include nonresident alien individual, foreign partnerships, foreign corporations, foreign estates, and foreign trusts. The tax generally must be withheld from the payment made… – Continue reading
Govt moves to end NZ’s tax haven reputation
The government is pulling out all the stops to end perceptions that New Zealand is a tax haven. With tougher disclosure rules set to come into force from July following the Panama Papers scandal, Inland Revenue (IRD) is promising to pass on the details about those with New Zealand foreign… – Continue reading
New tax measure takes aim at Offshore Trusts
A bombshell hidden in the detail of the 2017 Budget review relates to the taxation of offshore trusts. It refers to the 2015 Budget review in which it was announced that measures would be introduced to the tax treatment of foreign companies held by interposed trusts. No specific countermeasures were… – Continue reading
UK: Offshore Trust Deadline Looming For UK Non-Doms
Individuals who will be deemed UK domicile from 6 April 2017 should be considering their options with regard to offshore trusts as a matter of priority. On 5 December 2016, the UK Government published the Reforms to the taxation of non-domiciles: further consultation outcome, which provided clarity on the following… – Continue reading
IRS Going After Offshore Debit Cards With John Doe Summons
The IRS has been using a John Doe summons to get access to taxpayers’ bitcoin information and is now using the same tactic to get debit card information. According to a report by Forbes, a federal court in Montana gave the IRS permission to serve Michael Behr of Bozeman, Montana,… – Continue reading
SARS trust rules may put lid on asset disclosure
Tax experts believe significant sums of undeclared assets have been hoarded offshore by South African taxpayers but they might be reluctant to declare them under the special voluntary disclosure programme because of the way it deals with trusts. The Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws (Administration) Bill… – Continue reading
Final Response to Non-Dom Consultation Published
In Depth There is mixed news for affected individuals, including far-reaching changes relating to offshore trusts and a further wait (possibly until March 2017) for the rest of the draft legislation. The following are highlights from the government’s response and the draft legislation. Deeming Provisions Deemed Domiciled: Non-doms will become… – Continue reading
Tax Agreements: From Double Taxation To Double Evasion
The issue of tax havens is inherently international in scope. As a result, the government can use tax agreements to fight tax avoidance schemes. Unfortunately, tax agreements haven’t been used for that purpose. On the contrary, they have facilitated the outflow of Canadian money to offshore financial centres, and have… – Continue reading
Panama Papers and US initiatives to identify entity beneficial owners
In early April 2016 files leaked from a large Panama-based law firm (known as the ‘Panama Papers’) brought to the attention of many the ways in which offshore companies and structures can be used to obscure the identity of beneficial owners, some of whom have used such entities to avoid… – 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
New Zealand Poised to Toughen Rules for Offshore Trusts
New Zealand is poised to toughen its disclosure rules for offshore trusts in the wake of the massive data leak known as the “Panama Papers.” Tax expert John Shewan on Monday released a report recommending a big increase in the amount of information disclosed when a foreign trust sets up,… – Continue reading
UK: Proposed Changes To The Non-Dom Regime From April 2017
The tax treatment of non-domiciled individuals is changing again from April 2017. The changes were first announced in the 2015 Summer Budget, and a Consultation document was issued in September 2015 setting out further details. The proposed changes target three key areas: The taxation of non-domiciled individuals who have been… – Continue reading
Panama Papers Row Fails To Deter Trust Buyers
The Panama Papers row has failed to deter Permira and TPG from bidding for offshore trust firms, Sky News learns. Some of the world’s biggest buyout firms are queuing up to buy a string of offshore trust administrators despite the escalating global furore about the leaked Panama Papers. Sky News… – 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
For tax evaders tax amnesty could be bad news and good news
The push for a tax amnesty has attracted a fair amount of criticism and even rebuke from analysts, the International Monetary Fund, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank and even the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK). Yustinus Prastowo, a respectable tax analyst, went so far as… – Continue reading
Call to tighten UK’s new property law to crack down on ‘dirty money’
Rules should require foreign owners of prime London homes to come clean about beneficiary owners, say anti-corruption groups Large parts of London’s Baker Street, including the Beatles store, are owned by offshore trusts. New laws that aim to stop the UK being a magnet for money launderers – by forcing… – 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
Seychelles Low Tax or Tax Free Living?
Could you be one of the lucky expats who qualifies for tax free living in the Seychelles? Or would you have to pay the Seychelles flat tax on personal income? At first glance it looks as though the Seychelles levies a flat rate of personal income tax, and at only… – Continue reading
The World’s Favorite New Tax Haven Is the United States
Moving money out of the usual offshore secrecy havens and into the U.S. is a brisk new business. Last September, at a law firm overlooking San Francisco Bay, Andrew Penney, a managing director at Rothschild & Co., gave a talk on how the world’s wealthy elite can avoid paying taxes…. – Continue reading
Birmingham Post Rich List 2016: More taxing times for non-domiciled individuals
The taxation of ‘non-UK domiciled’ individuals has been a thorny political issue as successive governments have sought to crack down on those enjoying what some have seen as an excessively benign tax regime The taxation of ‘non-UK domiciled’ individuals has been a thorny political issue as successive governments have sought… – Continue reading
HMRC to repay tax to thousands of banking and IT contractors
Banking and IT contractors forced to stump up tens of thousands of pounds to settle contested tax debts last year are now in line to be repaid, after the UK tax authority accepted it should not have issued payment demands. HM Revenue & Customs has withdrawn so-called accelerated payment notices… – Continue reading
HMRC to repay tax to thousands of banking and IT contractors
Banking and IT contractors forced to stump up tens of thousands of pounds to settle contested tax debts last year are now in line to be repaid, after the UK tax authority accepted it should not have issued payment demands. HM Revenue & Customs has withdrawn so-called accelerated payment notices… – Continue reading
Investor group buys Barclays’ offshore trust business
Barclays (BARC.L) has sold its offshore trust business to an independent investor group but will keep a 20 percent stake in the new company, renamed as ZEDRA, for at least three years. The sale marks another step in the British bank’s efforts to simplify its wealth and investment management activities…. – 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
2016 CHALLENGES FOR COMPANIES OPERATING IN JERSEY
Last year Jersey cemented its position as a leading centre for companies looking to list – as reflected in the rise in volume and value of Jersey companies listed on exchanges around the world. Here are some challenges that lie ahead in this jurisdiction over the next 12 months. In… – 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
IRS: Sam Wyly considered renouncing U.S. citizenship
A lawyer for the Internal Revenue Service on Monday disclosed a series of emails and legal memos from 2004 apparently showing that Dallas entrepreneur Sam Wyly was interested in knowing the legal and financial ramifications if he renounced his U.S. citizenship. The IRS also introduced testimony from previous court proceedings… – Continue reading
£50m big catfight: Claws out as divorcing tiger sanctuary wife launches new battle for her husband’s millions
The woman who claims her banker husband has hidden millions of pounds of her divorce settlement in a tiger charity is set to launch a new legal battle – and says he cared so little for animals he wouldn’t even allow her to have house cats. Li Quan, a former… – Continue reading
.@ScotGov refuses to reinstate central land reform proposal
Despite popular campaign and committee recommendations, tax haven restrictions will not be included in bill AN OVERDUE land reform report from the Scottish Government has categorically refused to bring back a proposal which campaigners say would have tackled the phenomenon of Scottish land being owned in offshore tax havens. Dropped… – Continue reading
Texas tycoon Wyly faces $2 billion tax trial over offshore trusts
(Reuters) – Texas tycoon Sam Wyly is set to face off against the Internal Revenue Service at trial on Wednesday over more than $2 billion the agency says he owes for using offshore trusts to engage in one of the largest tax frauds in U.S. history. The trial in federal… – Continue reading
MPs given exemption from tax avoidance
The Government introduced legislation on ‘disguised remuneration’ in the Finance Bill last week to target the practice of using third party vehicles such as offshore trusts to allow employees to avoid or defer the payment of income tax or national insurance contributions. However, it has emerged that MPs will not… – Continue reading