This, like previous initiatives, seems nothing more than a thinly veiled revenue measure. A new amnesty scheme is being considered to allow those who hold wealth abroad to bring it back into the country without facing a penalty other than paying a nominal amount of tax on the value of… – Continue reading
The Australian Treasury is consulting on plans to increase administrative penalties for multinationals that fail to adhere to tax disclosure obligations. The new rules will apply to companies with global revenue of AUD1bn (USD749.7m) or more. From July 1, 2017, penalties relating to the lodgment of tax documents to the… – Continue reading
Portuguese income tax law provides for a 20% reduced rate and, in respect to income obtained abroad, a full tax exemption, for certain types of income derived by individuals having the status of Non-Habitual Portuguese Residents (NHPR). Any individual that in a certain year becomes tax resident in Portugal will… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands Government issued the second tranche of the Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”) regulations at the end of December 2016. Updated Guidance Notes will be issued in Q1 2017 by the Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority (“TIA”) to assist with the implementation of the regulations. Furthermore, TIA stated in… – Continue reading
Malta was today (11 January) accused of being a tax haven as it took over the rotating presidency of the EU. Some companies in the EU’s smallest country pay as little as 5% tax on their profits. The small Mediterranean island would have been included in the list of tax… – Continue reading
Move could be a worrying indicator of investment trends post-Brexit, post-Beps Snap, the company behind Snapchat, has opted to open its new new international headquarters in London, rather than Dublin, Amsterdam or Luxembourg, bucking a trend which for decades has seen US multinationals book their international sales in one of… – Continue reading
Cyprus signed the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement for the Automatic Exchange of Country-by Country Reports between its member states on 1 November 2016 after approval by the Council of Ministers at its meeting held on 28 September 2016. Following publication in the government gazette… – Continue reading
Authored by IFC Media Recent global events from the release of the Panama Papers to a series of high-profile inversions have given international tax regulators both rhetorical ammunition and public support to execute a global crackdown on multinational tax planning. The goal is to increase total taxes paid by global… – Continue reading
A further three countries have committed to participate in international base erosion and profit shifting discussions and implement minimum standards, under the OECD’s new “inclusive framework” for countries. The OECD confirmed on January 6 that the three territories are: Bermuda, Côte d’Ivoire, and Kazakhstan. This brings the total number of… – Continue reading
On December 23, 2016, the US ambassadors and Alberto Abad signed an agreement for the exchange of tax information on request. 1. Introduction For the past few years, Argentina has been an active participant in the progress of exchange of international tax information. More than seventeen agreements have been signed… – Continue reading
Hong Kong’s Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) has issued a paper setting out key recommendations for the Government to consider in the area of international tax law. The paper, which was issued on December 29, 2016, recommends that the Government should issue clearer guidance on appropriate transfer pricing methodologies for… – Continue reading
The amended double taxation agreement between the UK and the Isle of Man has entered into force, effective from 5 January 2017, following the latest arrangements signed on 8 March 2016. The bilateral agreements between the UK and the Isle of Man concern cooperation in tax matters through the exchange… – Continue reading
The UK and Switzerland have terminated tax arrangements under the Savings Tax Directive and will instead share information in tax matters automatically under the Common Reporting Standard. The UK Government said, under the switch to the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard, UK taxpayers will no longer be able to pay a… – Continue reading
On 23 November 2016, the Swiss Federal Council adopted the dispatch on the Multilateral Agreement on the exchange of Country-by-Country Reports (CbCRs) and draft federal implementing legislation. The proposal is aimed at implementing the minimum standard of the G20 countries and the OECD to combat base erosion and profit shifting… – Continue reading
Centralised company registers will now detail who ultimate beneficiaries are. Malta’s stand on amendments seen as ‘watering down’ anti-money-laundering rules are in line with the EU’s position, a spokesman for the Office of the Prime Minister told the Times of Malta. EU governments have just agreed to create centralised company… – Continue reading
On December 29, 2016, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had reached final arrangements with the financial institutions meeting the requirements of its Swiss Bank Program. The Program, which was originally signed by the United States and Switzerland in August 2013, has provided a path for Swiss… – Continue reading
Jean-Claude Juncker deliberately blocked the EU’s efforts to fight tax avoidance while in office as prime minister of Luxembourg, according to documents revealed by The Guardian and the International Consortium of Journalists. EurActiv France reports. Member states have supposedly spent the last two decades cooperating in the committee on business… – Continue reading
Switzerland’s reputation as a secretive tax haven looks set to end following the introduction of rules over sharing bank account data. The International Convention on the Automatic Exchange of Banking Information (AEOI) entered into force on January 1, pulling Switzerland in to line with international standards on taxation. The convention,… – Continue reading
Luxembourg on Tuesday said it would sharpen its corporate tax rules, making it more difficult for large corporations to avoid tax by channelling funds through the small European country, a practice exposed in media reports known as “LuxLeaks”. The rules, entering into force on Jan. 1, firm up the “arm’s… – Continue reading
The Cayman Islands Tax Information Authority (International Tax Compliance) (Common Reporting Standard) (Amendment) Regulations, 2016 (the “Regulations“) were issued on 19 December 2016. The Regulations amend the Tax Information Authority (International Tax Compliance) (Common Reporting Standard) Regulations, 2015 currently in force in the Cayman Islands and contain the enforcement powers… – Continue reading
Alphabet Inc.’s Google managed to save $3.6 billion in 2015 by shifting its profits to a Bermuda shell company, according to filings in the Netherlands. Google used Ireland and the Netherlands as intermediaries. According to files obtained by Bloomberg, Google used the so-called “Double Irish” and a “Dutch Sandwich” tax… – Continue reading
The US government is facing calls to delay the introduction of a new tax on foreign investors in US equity-linked derivative transactions, after the G5 group of countries signalled their opposition and the US Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) indicated its members would not be ready for the… – Continue reading
NASSAU, The Bahamas — December 2016 marks a significant month for the Financial Services Industry in The Bahamas. The much-anticipated Bill to provide for the implementation of the Common Standard on Reporting and due diligence for financial Account Information in Tax matters and for connected purposes was passed unanimously in… – Continue reading
New Zealand’s Inland Revenue has published draft guidance to help financial institutions prepare for the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard for the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters. The country is expected to pass legislation to implement the CRS by March 2017. The CRS is an international standard… – Continue reading
A parliamentary drive to force greater transparency on the UK’s offshore tax havens is being led by former Commons spending watchdog chairwoman Dame Margaret Hodge and ex-international development secretary Andrew Mitchell. The pair, backed by scores of MPs from across the Commons and supported by an alliance of charities, are… – Continue reading
The Mauritius IFC: Driving Growth in Africa As a jurisdiction of substance, the Mauritius International Financial Centre (Mauritius IFC) has been instrumental in driving quality investments in Africa, leading to sustained growth and prosperity across the continent. It is therefore with deep regret that we take note of the misperceptions… – Continue reading
The `Google tax’ could soon ensnare the likes of IBM, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Apple and Netflix, which provide online services in India. Cloud computing companies and content providers with customers in the country may be needed to pay equalisation levy on their revenue from the next financial year as… – Continue reading
According to unofficial estimates, more than $2 billion has flowed into Dubai real estate from Pakistanis every year for the past three years. Last week, account holders in a major UAE bank began receiving letters alerting them that soon they would be required to furnish information “with a view to… – Continue reading
Two reports on company taxation show that more than a third of the largest companies operating in Australia paid no tax in 2014–15 and that multinational tax evasion cost an estimated $4.8 billion that year. These reports show the fraud of the claims being made by the Australian government and… – Continue reading
Tax directors and CFOs at multinational companies are facing increasing numbers of tax audits, and are becoming concerned about the impact of public perception of their tax planning on their company’s reputation, according to research by Taxand. Its fifth annual global survey of CFOs, tax and finance directors across Europe,… – Continue reading
A recent report has revived claims Singapore is a tax haven but the Singapore Government and experts here reject the label emphatically. They say the report contains inaccurate assertions and fails to recognise recent steps here to crack down on tax evasion. The Republic ranked fifth on a list of… – Continue reading
Monaco has ratified the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters. The ratification underlines Monaco’s commitment to fighting tax evasion and avoidance. It also means the principality has taken another important step in implementing the Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information in Tax Matters, developed by the… – Continue reading
The Governments of Brazil and Switzerland have released a joint declaration expressing their intent to introduce, on a reciprocal basis, an automatic exchange of financial account information in tax matters based on the OECD Common Reporting Standard, beginning in the year 2018. The first transmission of data will take place… – Continue reading
The Isle of Man Government’s Agreement for the Exchange of Information relating to Tax Matters with the Government of the Turks and Caicos Islands enters into force on 29 December 2016. The Agreement was signed by His Excellency Peter Beckingham, Governor to the Turks and Caicos Islands, on 30 June… – Continue reading
Ireland’s Ministry of Finance, the EU and several other governments have emphatically rejected claims by Oxfam International that the countries are tax havens, with Ireland insisting its corporate tax laws are “fully compliant” with international best practices when it comes to transparency and information exchange. The Irish government said the… – Continue reading
Finance minister Bob Richards has expressed dismay at Oxfam’s claim that Bermuda is the world’s worst corporate tax haven. And the Progressive Labour Party joined him to condemn the report as “extremely disappointing”. Mr Richards pointed to “serial errors” in the global charity’s report on offshore centres, which found that… – Continue reading
Lower corporate tax rates around the world are expected to play an important part in multinational companies’ tax planning in 2017, with a rate as low as 15 percent on the table in the U.S. and countries such as the U.K. planning to maintain or lower their current rates. A… – Continue reading
Facebook Ireland yesterday declared “we do not avoid tax” as revenues and pre-tax profits soared to record levels. New accounts show that Facebook Ireland Ltd’s corporate tax bill of €16.53m for 2015 represented only a tiny fraction of its record revenues of €7.89bn. The 63pc – €3bn – increase in… – Continue reading
Changes in the way international taxation is collected, thanks to recommendations made by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) could “pose a major challenge to the sustainability and profitability” of many iGaming operations in Malta. This information came to light through a report issued by Country Profiler on… – Continue reading
The NGO’s report exposes the worst offenders in the ‘race to the bottom on corporate tax.’ Luxembourg, Ireland, Cyprus, and the Netherlands are among the world’s 10 worst tax havens, despite an ongoing EU crackdown on tax avoidance and profit shifting across the bloc. The findings come in a report… – Continue reading
A showdown between the Australian Taxation Office and the nation’s largest companies including Chevron, Crown and BHP Billiton is looming as the tax man hits seven large companies with tax bills amounting to $2 billion. On Friday, the ATO released its corporate tax transparency report for 2014-15, which includes limited… – Continue reading
Recent social and economic developments have had a powerful impact on many Ukrainian citizens and businesses and have led them to look for a better life beyond the borders of Ukraine. Obviously, Ukrainians moving abroad is not something new. Periods of economic crisis in almost every state are usually accompanied… – Continue reading
1. Why was a new offshore provision introduced by this year’s Finance Bill? Following revelations in the “Panama Papers” of major worldwide tax evasion in April 2016 (which included certain Irish Resident account holders), the Minister for Finance announced on budget day, 12 October 2016 that this year’s Finance Bill… – Continue reading
Four UK territories in list ‘undermine Britain’s efforts to be responsible member of the international community’ Bermuda is the world’s worst corporate tax haven, according to a list by Oxfam, which includes three other UK territories among those it names and shames. The charity’s list of the “world’s worst” 15… – Continue reading
Tax sovereignty is incompatible with the globalised world, according to OECD tax policy director Pascal Saint-Amans Speaking at the Public Accounts Committee’s Global Tax Transparency Summit, Saint-Amans told told ministers, tax professionals and international representatives ‘a gap’ still exists ‘between the world globalising and tax sovereignty’. ‘As members of parliament,… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD – Pakistan and China signed third protocol to the avoidance of double taxation agreement that would allow a Chinese bank and a state-owned investment fund to avail income tax exemption on interest income from loans for energy projects under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman… – Continue reading
The Canada Revenue Agency needs to toughen up the program that offers advantageous deals to tax cheats, especially in cases where large amounts of income were not declared through deliberate schemes, a federally appointed committee says. In a report released Thursday, the Offshore Compliance Advisory Committee called for a series… – Continue reading
Fast-food chain’s reorganisation means £800m from restaurants in Europe will flow through the UK instead McDonald’s is to scrap its controversial Luxembourg tax structure in a corporate shakeup that means $1bn (£800m) of income from fast-food restaurants across Europe will flow through the UK instead. The move comes 12 months… – Continue reading
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has released guidance, in a question and answer format, for financial institutions (FIs) seeking to understand the impact of the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS). The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s CRS obliges countries and jurisdictions to obtain financial information from their FIs… – Continue reading
A new report says little has changed after a number of global tax scandals… Ireland is entering unfair tax deals with developing countries according to a new report on ‘sweetheart deals’ in the EU. Of the 18 countries in the study, Ireland is found to have on average “introduced the… – Continue reading
