Swiss voters will vote next week on whether to reform corporate tax and remove the reduced tax rates that Switzerland currently grants to multinational firms. Voters will be asked whether they accept the federal law that was adopted by Switzerland’s national council in June 2016 “with a view to enhancing… – Continue reading
Italy’s government intends to use value-added tax (VAT) as the fundamental lever to fight evasion estimated at €40 billion annually, double the average of other European Union countries. The measures being studied (which will not concern an increase in VAT rates, Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan has assured) will also… – Continue reading
Business Council of Australia is urging tax cuts to remain competitive but transparency report show members’ effective rate is 24.3% The members of the Business Council of Australia, who are leading the push to cut Australia’s corporate tax rate from 30%, already pay an effective tax rate five percentage points… – Continue reading
India has revised 40 treaties for avoidance of double taxation so that the information exchanged with partner nations on tax matters can also be utilised for other purposes including criminal proceedings, Parliament was informed on Friday. “Treaty partner countries have been requested to modify the tax treaties, so as to… – Continue reading
EU member states sent a letter to 92 countries on Wednesday (1 February) informing them that they will be “screened” with a view to inclusion in a future “blacklist” of tax havens. The list of the countries that have been contacted is not public, but EUobserver understands that it is… – Continue reading
Multinationals owe responsibility to a wider group than their shareholders As the Apple tax case moves towards the European Union courts, €13 billion has been transferred to Ireland. The implications of the case will effect how multi-national companies implement taxes across Europe. has been accused of “bending the rules” in… – Continue reading
The Kuwait Ministry of Finance (MOF) has issued a ministerial resolution announcing that Deloitte & Touche, Al-Wazzan & Co in Kuwait has been certified with the ministry for the provision of Foreign Account Tax Compliance (FATCA) services. FATCA is a US legislation which aims to combat tax evasion by US… – Continue reading
The OECD made its end-November 2016 deadline to release the text of the multilateral treaty to give effect to the BEPS Actions which involve changes to tax treaties, see here. The 49 page treaty text, which is commonly referred to as the multilateral instrument or MLI, and 85 page explanatory… – Continue reading
More than 20 informants have signed contracts with tax agency that could lead to reward money The Canada Revenue Agency’s offshore tax evasion tip line has resulted in signed contracts with more than 20 informants and more than $1 million in tax reassessments and penalties. The tips have also resulted… – Continue reading
Indonesia has entered the third phase of its tax amnesty program, which was first launched in July 2016 to boost the country’s meagre revenue by collecting previously unreported funds hidden by wealthy citizens abroad and at home. The country, which has long struggled to increase its tax revenue, has so… – Continue reading
The OECD is seeking taxpayer input on the tax treaty dispute resolution process in a second tranche of countries and is seeking comments on the mutual agreement procedure (MAP) in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg and Sweden. Improving the tax treaty dispute resolution process is identified as a priority… – Continue reading
A key outcome of the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation’s (OECD’s) final Report on Action Plan 13 (Transfer Pricing Documentation and Country-by-Country reporting) is the commitment of OECD and G20 countries to introduce Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting along with the associated master file and local file documentation for large Multinational… – Continue reading
The European Commission has put forward a proposal to allow member states to expand their use of the value-added tax “reverse charge mechanism” for fraud-prone goods. The proposal was first unveiled last month, and was presented to a meeting of the EU’s Economic and Financial Affairs Council on January 27…. – Continue reading
CROSS-border taxation in current times is poised for significant changes. Tax is key in foreign ventures. Absent tax strategies and foreign tax leakages would erode margins and return of investment. Although international tax-efficient strategies to mitigate capital gains tax (CGT), withholding tax (WHT) and the risk of creating a taxable… – Continue reading
Documents for thousands of Canadian residents transferred under controversial FATCA legislation Banking records of more than 315,000 Canadian residents were turned over to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service last year under a controversial information sharing deal, CBC News has learned. That is double the number transferred in the deal’s first… – Continue reading
The programme includes measures to combat base erosion and profit shifting, based on four main measures that can challenge exploitation of tax agreements, monitor developing international tax work rules, and ensure a more transparent environment. Egypt was chosen by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), in a conference… – Continue reading
In a significant step, Mauritius will soon start automatically sharing of tax information with India and other countries as part of global efforts to curb multinational companies from profit shifting activities. The development also comes months after the island nation, long perceived to be a jurisdiction for alleged illegal fund… – Continue reading
What GAO Found In 2015, the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) issued revised guidelines, including 15 actions to help reduce base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) of multinational enterprises (MNEs). One action focuses on transfer pricing guidance with the intent of aligning MNE profits with the location of… – Continue reading
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
A European leader in financial, tax and regulatory reporting for the banking and insurance sectors, Invoke is expanding its software range to meet CRS/AEoI cross-country tax reporting requirements. As part of the global fight against tax evasion, the G20 and OECD program for the exchange of tax payers’ financial information… – Continue reading
The OECD is seeking feedback on a draft toolkit designed to assist developing countries in work on transfer pricing, which specifically addresses the ways developing countries can overcome a lack of data on ‘comparables’, or the market prices for goods and services transferred between members of multinational corporations The toolkit… – Continue reading
Several countries in Latin America have established new transfer pricing documentation obligations associated with the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative. In this new year, Mexico, Colombia and Peru have included in their local legislation new documentation requirements that follow a three-tiered approach: country-by-country (CbC) report, master file,… – Continue reading
Bermuda – the world’s former “top tax haven” – has joined the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s fight against multinational profit shifting. Bermuda disputes it is a tax haven despite companies such as Apple and Google in the past being accused of using the British overseas territory to minimise… – Continue reading
JERSEY could be left vulnerable to being blacklisted as a ‘tax haven’ by the EU as the UK’s influence in Brussels fades during the Brexit process, a top adviser to the States has warned. Speaking at an Institute of Law seminar on the implications of Brexit for Jersey, Colin Powell… – Continue reading
Germany’s BDI industry group has come out against a government plan to unilaterally close so-called ‘patent box’ tax loopholes used by foreign companies to avoid paying full taxes on profits earned in Germany. The Association of German Industrialists, BDI, said Tuesday that the government’s unilateral move would send a negative… – Continue reading
The OECD recently released a public discussion draft entitled the “BEPS Action 6 Discussion Draft on non-CIV examples” to clarify when investors like private equity funds, real estate funds and hedge funds should be entitled to tax treaty benefits. The release of the 2017 Discussion Draft is timely, given that… – Continue reading
Nassau, The Bahamas – The Bahamas has taken many steps to comply with global standards in the financial services sector. One such step is the implementation of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS). The Common Reporting Standard (CRS), developed in response to the G20 request and approved by the OECD Council… – Continue reading
The move comes after HM Revenue & Customs received representations from the Association of Charitable Foundations and the Charity Finance Group HM Revenue & Customs has updated its guidance on the forthcoming common reporting standard after receiving concerns from charities. The CRS is an international standard for the automatic exchange… – Continue reading
A new legislative approach of the German tax authorities leaked last December 19 will have a significant impact on the tax deductibility of royalties owed to related persons being subject to a preferential back end tax regime for IP not being in compliance with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and… – Continue reading
On December 21, 2016, the new Canada–Israel tax treaty entered into force. The new treaty was signed on September 21, 2016 in New York, and replaces the existing treaty that dates from 1975. For most purposes, the provisions of the new treaty took effect as of January 1, 2017. Overall,… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: The Multilateral Instrument (MLI), a new global tax avoidance agreement, that is in the process of being signed by 100 countries, is now causing a lot of anxiety among foreign portfolio investors (FPIs). MLI is an agreement put out by OECD, the intergovernmental economic organisation, to stop Base Erosion… – Continue reading
KARACHI: Finance minister Ishaq Dar on Friday said that tax evaders will find no place to park their ill-gotten money, as Pakistan will begin automatic-exchange of information from next year. “As per international agreement with OECD (Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development), Pakistan will start automatic exchange of information regarding… – Continue reading
The Bahamian financial services industry “will do all we can” to ensure this nation does not appear on a threatened European Union (EU) ‘blacklist’, Tribune Business was told yesterday. Tanya McCartney, the Bahamas Financial Services Board’s (BFSB) chief executive, said this nation’s implementation of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) for… – Continue reading
World Economic Forum debate hears how fight to make companies ‘pay their fair share’ is being undermined by race to cut corporation tax rates Efforts to tackle global tax avoidance are being undermined by a “race to the bottom” on corporate tax rates led by Britain and the US, the… – Continue reading
There is a possibility that the General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR, on taxes) and the tax treaties signed by the government with those of Mauritius, Singapore and Cyprus, and even other nations such as Netherlands, could be overtaken by another event. These could, say experts, be partially or fully overridden by… – Continue reading
Multinational companies headquartered in Germany worry that when they report their global tax and profits for 2016, some countries will leak their country-by-country reports to the press. German parents of multinational groups with annual consolidated group revenue of at least 750 million euros ($797 million) are required to file, with… – Continue reading
Unknown to many Kenyans, Parliament’s passing of Finance Bill, 2016 that granted amnesty to Kenyan residents who have offshore incomes and assets in foreign banks had a very global agenda. The foreign income that is subject to amnesty is for the year ended December 31, 2016 and offers a waiver… – Continue reading
An inter-governmental economic organisation could help tackle tax evasion across the Irish border following Brexit, the UK’s Treasury has suggested. The UK’s only land border with an EU state is in Northern Ireland. Without the European institutions, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) could help facilitate dialogue with… – Continue reading
In his Budget speech on 11 October 2016, the Minister for Finance announced a comprehensive programme of targeted intervention against offshore tax evasion. Positive action is required ahead of 1 May 2017 for those with undeclared income and gains from offshore assets. Finance Act 2016, which includes legislative changes required… – Continue reading
KUALA LUMPUR: The Royal Malaysian Customs Department is considering amendments to the Goods and Services Tax Act (GST Act) to start taxing foreign online service suppliers, said deputy director-general Datuk Subromaniam Tholasy. “E-commerce is pretty much catered for, except business-to-consumer (B2C) for example, downloads from overseas, how do we tax… – Continue reading
The government has quashed calls to look at extending the requirement to publish a public register of people with significant control to companies incorporated in the Crown dependencies and overseas territories, as part of a bid to increase tax transparency, saying new rules on the automatic exchange of information are… – Continue reading
In efforts towards global transparency, over 100 countries have agreed to automatically exchange information relating to financial accounts (AEOI) with each other under the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters (Convention). The OECD had also developed the Common Reporting Standards (CRS) which set out the common information to… – Continue reading
The Israel Tax Authority says Americans have provided information on 35,000 accounts held by Israelis in the U.S. and on an unspecified number of American accounts in Israel. The Israel Tax Authority said Monday it had begun passing on data on Israeli bank accounts held by American citizens and Green… – Continue reading
Coalition’s proposed diverted profits tax could capture billions in revenue from multinationals using profit-shifting practices, says Tax Justice Network One of the biggest critics of multinational tax avoidance has welcomed the Coalition’s proposed “Google tax”, saying a similar tax in the UK looks likely to increase corporate tax payments by… – Continue reading
Given the recent developments in the Indian economy, the upcoming Union Budget will certainly be critical and important in determining the future outlook of the economy. The financial services industry has been one of the key drivers of growth due to its strong cause and effect relationship with the economy…. – Continue reading
As per the Economic Survey 2016, the ratio of Indian taxpayers to voters is 4%; ideally it should be roughly 23% at existing levels of economic and political development. The tax to GDP ratio at 16.6% is well below the emerging market economy norm of 21% and OECD average of 34%…. – Continue reading
The Kuwaiti Ministry of Finance on Sunday signed a protocol with India amending the agreement between the two countries to avoid double taxation on income and to prevent tax evasion. The protocol amends the types of Kuwaiti taxes in Article two of the agreement, as well as Article 26 on… – Continue reading
Chancellor tells German newspaper if Britain were closed off from markets it may abandon European-style social model The chancellor, Philip Hammond, has suggested Britain could transform its economic model into that of a corporate tax haven if the EU fails to provide it with an agreement on market access after… – Continue reading
Trade agreement would have to include strict rules to prevent Britain becoming offshore haven, Dutch deputy PM says The Netherlands will block any EU trade deal with the UK unless it signs up to tough tax avoidance regulations preventing it from becoming an attractive offshore haven for multinationals and the… – Continue reading
The creation of a new United Nations tax body to clamp down on tax dodging, which experts say could cost developing countries more than $200 billion a year in missed revenues, will be a key priority of the Group of 77 and China under Ecuadorian leadership, according to the country’s… – Continue reading
