Tax deals involving Apple, Starbucks and are facing an EU probe over allegations they amounted to state aid worth billions of pounds. The development follows a move by the EU’s competition authorities last year to gather information on corporate tax arrangements from several member states. The European Commission said it… – Continue reading
The probe, announced on Wednesday by Europe’s competition commissioner Joaquín Almunia, will look into whether the low rate of tax Apple pays in Ireland breaks European state aid rules. Apple pays less than two percent tax in the country — far less than the standard 12.5 percent corporation tax… – Continue reading
New agreement The new double tax agreement between Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates took effect from January 1 2014. For the most part, the agreement reproduces the corresponding provisions of the latest Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Model Tax Convention verbatim. The principal departures from the OECD… – Continue reading
Tax expert and member of the GSD executive Chris White has said that Daniel Feetham, the Leader of the Opposition, “was absolutely right in the statements he made. The Government of Gibraltar has signed 27 Tax Information Exchange Agreements.” In a recent statement the Gibraltar Government said that Mr Feetham… – Continue reading
Malta is the only member state stopping a tax loophole costing billions of euros being closed, after Sweden dropped its opposition to a EU finance ministers’ agreement to stop multinational companies exploiting hybrid loan arrangements to pay little or no tax. The European Commission reassured Swedish diplomats last week that… – Continue reading
The European Union may open a formal probe as soon as next week into tax breaks that Ireland and the Netherlands use to attract international companies, according to people familiar with the case. The European Commission is scheduled to discuss the issue at a meeting June 11, said two people,… – Continue reading
The world is close to the point where hiding money offshore is foolhardy, no matter how little or large the amount is. As the loopholes continue to close, the Australian Tax Office (ATO) has announced a voluntarily scheme for people to declare unreported foreign income and assets. The ATO wants taxpayers with… – Continue reading
The European Union must throw its full weight behind international efforts to clamp down on tax avoidance, a European commissioner has said. Speaking as a high-level expert group published its five-month review on taxation challenges for the EU in the digital economy, commissioner for tax and customs Algirdas Šemeta said… – Continue reading
There has been remarkable progress in the fight against tax evasion and corporate avoidance in the past eighteen months. This month it was announced that 47 countries had agreed to an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) framework that commits them to “swiftly” pass new domestic laws that will… – Continue reading
Having spent the past eighteen months claiming that Ireland does not facilitate international corporate tax avoidance despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, the Irish Government has done a U-turn and has signalled that it is ready to prepare for the reality of reform. On Tuesday the Department of Finance published… – Continue reading
International tax policy changes being considered by the OECD could shave €1bn off Ireland’s annual multinational tax take, a Dáil Committee has heard. Addressing a joint sub-committee hearing on global taxation matters, yesterday, Brian Keegan — director of taxation at Chartered Accountants Ireland — said the OECD’s base erosion and… – Continue reading
European Union member states should adopt a common position on corporation tax in the current debate on changing global tax rules, according to a high level European Commission report on the digital economy. The report says that the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project (Beps), which is examining how… – Continue reading
Mauritius on 27 May 2014 decided to provide automatic tax information exchange to India. The decision was announced by the Prime Minister of Mauritius Navin Ramgoolam after his meeting with Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi. Navin Ramgoolam was in India to attend the swearing-in ceremony of Narendra Modi as… – Continue reading
We are living in the golden age of global tax reform. At no point in history have there been so many initiatives coordinated by such a dizzying array of tax authorities, all focused on one thing: replenishing municipal budgets that have been depleted over the last five years of global… – Continue reading
Law360, New York (June 03, 2014, 7:10 PM ET) — Internal Revenue Service Commissioner John Koskinen said Tuesday that an international plan to squash corporate profit shifting will create headaches for administrators and hurt U.S. taxpayers.Addressing the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, Koskinen said the plan would create tens… – Continue reading
International moves to shut down profit-shifting from high to low tax countries is starting to have an impact on Australian companies doing business offshore. A new EY report says these local companies are feeling the heat of a global trend of “increasingly aggressive” tax authorities. EY’s 2014 Tax Risk and… – Continue reading
THE Department of Finance has launched a public consultation on how Ireland’s tax system might respond to proposed international changes. The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is already conducting a public discussion around its Base Erosion and Profit shifting (BEPs) project, which could see tax avoidance loopholes shut… – Continue reading
LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Most developing countries do not have tax systems sophisticated enough for them to join a new OECD-led transnational project for countries to automatically exchange tax information in an effort to tackle evasion and offshore financial havens, said an official from the OECD. The Paris-based Organisation… – Continue reading
Introduction Successive surveys of tax executives and senior finance professionals at multinational companies show that risks associated with transfer pricing have become the number one tax-related concern for businesses operating across several jurisdictions. Ernst and Young’s (EY’s) latest Global Transfer Pricing Survey shows that businesses are taking increasing heed of… – Continue reading
India has asked Switzerland to speed up the ratification of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) convention on automatic exchange of tax information. ”I would urge you and your (Swiss) government to ratify the multilateral convention on mutual administrative assistance in tax matters as early as possible,” outgoing… – Continue reading
On April 9, 2014, the Finance Ministry issued guidelines on the application of agreements on the avoidance of double taxation (DTAs), which requires tax agents and tax authorities to conduct an assessment of whether foreign recipients of income in Russia have the right to apply a tax exemption in Russia… – Continue reading
The Liechtenstein Government plans to set up a working group to closely monitor and recommend domestic tax policy responses to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD’s) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. The Government anticipates that the OECD’s work will have a significant impact on the territory’s… – Continue reading
Switzerland isn’t the only tax haven feeling the heat from countries that are trying to scrape more revenue by raking in taxes from citizens with undeclared offshore assets. According to the U.K.-based Ethical Consumer, mini-states, like Andorra and the Cayman Islands, and financial centers, like Hong Kong and Singapore, all offer banking… – Continue reading
IT’S BECOMING increasingly apparent that the OECD’s plan to reduce tax base erosion and profit-shifting, as laudable as it is, is hugely reliant on the US making significant and drastic alterations to its corporate regime if it is to be successful. The cases of Starbucks and Google have shown us… – Continue reading
Switzerland has recently joined a number of nations in the fight against tax evasion by pledging to minimize bank secrecy. This pledge took the form of an accord, signed by 47 nations, under the supervision of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Switzerland, along with countries such as… – Continue reading
Robert Stack, deputy assistant secretary for international tax affairs with the U.S. Treasury, gave an update on several items in the OECD’s project to combat base erosion and profit shifting at the American Bar Association Section of Taxation’s May meeting. As reported more fully by Transfer Pricing Report’s Kevin Bell, Stack,… – Continue reading
Some key tax or moneylaundering havens may be all set to lose the secrecy that surrounds their banking practices, with 64 jurisdictions, including Switzerland, Singapore, Liechtenstein and the Cayman Islands signing on Tuesday a far-reaching declaration on tax data sharing. Signatories to the ‘Declaration on Automatic Exchange of Information in… – Continue reading
May 7th, 2014 (InsideCostaRica.com) Tax evaders and privacy advocates beware – Costa Rica and 46 other countries signed up yesterday to automatically share banking, financial, and tax information in what the OECD is touting as a major step towards cracking down on global tax evasion. The Declaration on Automatic Exchange… – Continue reading
As they continue their efforts to clamp down on the menace of black money, India and other countries will have to wait at least till 2017 before the new global standard for automatic exchange of tax information comes into effect. India, Switzerland and 45 other nations had agreed upon automatic… – Continue reading
Forty-seven countries signed up Tuesday to automatically share bank data, including key financial centres Singapore and Switzerland, the OECD said, in what has been touted as a major step towards cracking down on global tax evasion. Under the declaration, the 47 countries have committed to “swiftly” pass new domestic laws… – Continue reading
• Partnership creates end-to-end solution for enabling and ensuring FATCA compliance, including: data consolidation, indicia identification, additional KYC data/document capture, alerts/notifications and dashboards to monitor compliance, withholding calculations and remittance, and tax reporting. Banking analytics, risk and compliance pioneer, iCreate, today announced a strategic partnership with tax information reporting leader,… – Continue reading
Expats, offshore investors and multinational companies are the target of a new global tax network that is set to revolutionise how governments impose tax laws. Even before the US-led Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) takes effect from July 1, 2014, the Organisation of Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) is… – Continue reading
The implementation of stricter rules by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) surrounding tax treaty benefits could see these benefits not being granted as easily as they were in the past, says professional services firm Deloitte. “The discussion surrounding ‘inappropriate circumstances’ relating to the issues of treaty shopping… – Continue reading
OECD BEPS Project: If new international corporate tax rules take effect from 2016, at least €50bn or half the annual value of services exports will be vapourised. Nevertheless, Ireland should support reform to a) protect the 12.5% corporation tax rate that will continue to give the country an advantage in… – Continue reading
Joe Oliver says Canada brings labour market, tax reforms to international forum Finance ministers from the G20 nations say they will press ahead on tax reform to prevent profit-shifting by companies and new governance measures for banks to prevent future bank failures. At the conclusion of a morning meeting in Washington, Finance Minister… – Continue reading
March 31 –A proposed country-by-country reporting template will not require multinational companies to break down financial details by legal entity, an official with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development announced March 31. Joseph Andrus, head of the OECD’s transfer pricing unit, said that Working Party No. 6 has tentatively… – Continue reading
In June 2013 the OECD published a report for the G8 Summit regarding delivering a standardised, secure and cost effective model of bilateral automatic exchange of information in a multilateral context. The report noted a step change in international tax transparency driven by developments around the globe and the endorsing… – Continue reading
The OECD has been prolific in its publication of discussion documents since the start of the year. OECD discussion draft documents have been released in respect of: Action 13: Transfer pricing documentation and country by country reporting – 30 January 2014 The BEPS Action Plan issued on 19 July 2013… – Continue reading
Irish Economy 2014: Ibec, Ireland’s leading business lobby group, in its latest economic forecast today forecasts “continued robust growth in services exports and a recovery in goods exports.” The strong growth in services mainly reflects tax-avoidance related revenue diversions to Ireland that do not reflect local economic activity. If the… – Continue reading
Commission proposal to clamp down on companies cheating tax by opening subsidiary companies in different member states supported by vast majority of MEPs. On Wednesday Labour MEPs were part of a very small minority of 32 MEPs who voted against a resolution backing the Commission’s proposal to tighten the Parent-Subsidiary… – Continue reading
On January 30, 2014, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released a discussion draft for comment on Action 13; the transfer pricing documentation prong of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, which includes country-by-country reporting. As the Committee of Fiscal Affairs believes it is essential to… – Continue reading
CFOs of multinationals face growing confusion because of mixed message on new tax rules around the world that threaten investment and the global recovery, a new study revealed on Wednesday. A total of 74 percent of finance chiefs polled in the study by Taxand, a global tax adviser, said political… – Continue reading
BRUSSELS: While the origin of illicit financial flows ranges from government embezzlement to human trafficking, and from corporate tax evasion to grand corruption, the destination seems less ambiguous. A $35 million mansion in California, artwork totalling 18 million, and a $38 million dollar private jet. These sound like items purchased… – Continue reading
Corporate Tax Reform: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) held a briefing and webcast at its Paris headquarters Wednesday on its Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project and Pascal Saint-Amans, the director of the OECD’s tax centre confirmed that “Double Irish Dutch” sandwich tax schemes, which involve… – Continue reading
The decision by Luxembourg and Austria to automatically exchange tax data with other European Union countries has isolated Switzerland in the global crusade against banking secrecy, a Tax Justice Network (TJN) expert tells swissinfo.ch. The two European Union states caved in to demands last month by signing up to the revised… – Continue reading
Expats should put their financial affairs in order while they have the chance as governments around the world prepare a global tax net aimed at wiping out avoidance. The operation is headed by the Organisation of Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) and closely follows the lines of the controversial US… – Continue reading
Luxembourg’s Prime Minister Xavier Bettel said the conclusions adopted at the recent European Council meeting on the revised Savings Tax Directive have enabled “a green light from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.” He expressed his satisfaction that all 28 European Union (EU) member states reached an agreement at the latest… – Continue reading
A call to tax technology companies such as Apple and Google in the countries where they have substantial activities has re-ignited concerns companies may be taxed twice and stop business altogether. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, which is working on a global plan to prevent companies from avoiding paying… – Continue reading
The European Council this week adopted a directive strengthening EU rules on the exchange of information on savings incomes, aimed at enabling the member states to better clamp down on tax fraud and tax evasion. The EU Directive requires the member states to exchange information automatically so as to enable… – Continue reading
Hong Kong may feel affect of any new law to uncover financial information China is expected to impose its own version of the new US tax law which requires financial institutions around the world to provide Washington with information on US taxpayers, analysts say. On March 25, the Secretary for… – Continue reading
