The agenda of the meeting of the European Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) of December 8, 2015 has been published on the website of the European Council/Council of the European Union. According to the Agenda, ECOFIN will a.o. discuss 2 tax subjects. First of all the proposal for a… – Continue reading
Hungary’s National Economy Minister Mihály Varga called on European Union members to assist in a joint crackdown on value added tax evasion, the minister said today at a conference in Prague, according to a report from the National Economy Ministry. Varga and Czech finance minister Andrej Babis, whose ministry organized… – Continue reading
“The Business Council welcomes the passage of the government’s multinational tax bill through the Parliament. The legislation will see Australia play its part in responding to the OECD’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting package. It will provide companies with certainty around their obligations, and provide the community with greater confidence… – Continue reading
Multinationals in India will soon have to forgo to a great extent the flexibility in managing their tax outgo in the country and have to report their global operations in elaborate detail to the tax authorities here. This is because New Delhi is set to adopt a new regime to… – Continue reading
Corporate tax revenues have been falling across OECD countries since the global economic crisis, putting greater pressure on individual taxpayers to ensure that governments meet financing requirements, according to new data from the OECD’s annual Revenue Statistics publication. Average revenues from corporate incomes and gains fell from 3.6% to 2.8%… – Continue reading
x MUMBAI: India has been an active participant in the Base Erosion and Profit Sharing (BEPS) action plan, the final package of which was rolled out by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in October. The action points, set down by the OECD, aim at closing loopholes that… – Continue reading
Developments driven by Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (Beps) boost Irish tax The closing down by Irish multinationals of tax planning arrangements involving offshore or foreign subsidiaries is part of the reason for Ireland’s increased corporation tax receipts, according to an informed source. Under country-by-country reporting rules, Irish companies with… – Continue reading
Some of the DTAAs entered into by India with other countries allow taxation of capital gains on shares only in the country of which the taxpayer is a resident. The government on Friday told the Lok Sabha that it has started negotiations with some countries to amend provisions on capital… – Continue reading
At the plenary of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) local and regional leaders called for a fair and efficient corporate tax system in the European Union. The opinion drafted by Jean-Luc Vanraes (BE/ALDE), member of Uccle Municipal Council, criticises the complexity of corporate taxation systems, which disadvantages small… – Continue reading
The Luxembourg government said on Friday that it would appeal against the European Commission’s decision ordering it to recover 20-30 million euros ($22-33 million) of back taxes from Fiat Chrysler. The Commission ruled in October that Fiat had benefited from illegal tax deals with the Luxembourg authorities, as well as… – Continue reading
At the plenary of the European Committee of the Regions (CoR) local and regional leaders called for a fair and efficient corporate tax system in the European Union. The opinion drafted by Jean-Luc Vanraes (BE/ALDE), member of Uccle Municipal Council, criticises the complexity of corporate taxation systems, which disadvantages small… – Continue reading
Tax authorities around the world could take a “cowboy” attitude towards captive tax rights when following guidance from the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) papers, according to Dr Pierre Olivier Gehriger, partner and certified tax expert at Pestalozzi Attorneys at Law. Speaking on a Captive Review webinar hosted by… – Continue reading
As part of the Isle of Man Government’s continuing commitment to meet international standards in tax co-operation and transparency, a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) has been signed with Spain. The agreement was signed by Mr José Manuel Gutiérrez Delgado, Financial Counsellor of the Embassy of Spain to the UK,… – Continue reading
Only time will tell whether the benefit of enhanced compliance and effective enforcement will outweigh the costs. The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is a new international system for the automatic exchange of tax information promoted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and modelled on the United States’… – Continue reading
The Government of India is aware of the potential loss of revenue from tax avoidance, and has been taking all necessary measures for preventing it. As a part of these measures, India has actively participated n the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project undertaken by the OECD and G-20… – Continue reading
The highly significant changes to transfer pricing guidance planned for under the SAT’s public discussion draft on ‘Special Tax Adjustments’ (yet to be finalised at the time of writing), and the impact of these changes in the light of evolving Chinese transfer pricing enforcement practice is the focus of this… – Continue reading
On December 3, 2015 the OECD issued a press release in which it announced that on that same day Andorra signed the Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA), bringing the total number of signatories to 75. Andorra signed the MCAA during a meeting of experts on automatic exchange of information convened… – Continue reading
The European Parliament has endorsed a deal between the EU and Liechtenstein that will make it harder for EU citizens to hide cash in bank accounts in the state Liechtenstein and the EU signed a deal in October this year, agreeing to automatically exchange information on the financial accounts of… – Continue reading
(CNS) UPDATED: The Cayman Islands and other overseas territories have agreed to hold beneficial ownership information in their jurisdictions via “central registers or similarly effective systems”, according to the communique released by the FCO following this week’s meeting in London with territory leaders and the UK government. The agreement on… – Continue reading
A newly introduced amendment to the Bulgarian Offshore Companies Act (the “Act”) will bring significant changes to investment opportunities for offshore companies. If the Bulgarian Parliament adopts the amendment within the next month, the amended Act is expected to enter into force in the beginning of 2016. The proposed amendments… – Continue reading
The South African Revenue Service (SARS) has issued draft regulations to require certain financial institutions (FIs) to report on accounts held or controlled by foreign residents. The OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), which the regulations are in response to, obliges countries and jurisdictions to obtain financial information from their FIs… – Continue reading
The Australian Government has introduced legislation to implement the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD’s) Common Reporting Standard for the automatic exchange of financial account information. Treasurer Scott Morrison said: “The Standard will assist the tax office to crack down on taxpayers hiding funds and investments offshore in order… – Continue reading
Australians hiding funds and investments offshore to avoid paying tax have been put on notice. The federal government on Thursday introduced to parliament legislation to enable the tax office to crack down on taxpayers hiding funds overseas. It implements an OECD scheme allowing the sharing of information between foreign tax… – Continue reading
Leaders from the Group of 20 largest economies (G20) met in Turkey last month to put their final stamp of approval on a major overhaul of the international rules governing corporate taxes. The vote was the icing on a cake that the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has… – Continue reading
A lengthy and yet complex investigation by The Botswana Gazette into financial affairs of the company in the shady tax haven of Bermuda blows the lid off the dealings amounting to P29 million with a mailbox sister company that has no office, employees or any legitimate business activities. Not only… – Continue reading
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) sees treaty shopping as an important source of Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS). In this context, it identified the prevention of treaty abuse as one of fifteen issues or “actions” in respect of which recommendations were to be formulated as part… – Continue reading
Amid all the diplomatic comings and goings on Syria and how to tackle Islamic State, an important but little-noticed high-level gathering has been taking place in London. The Overseas Territories were holding the fourth meeting of their Joint Ministerial Council at Lancaster House. Leaders from Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands,… – Continue reading
We are all aware of “base erosion and profit shifting” or “BEPS”. On 5 October 2015, the OECD released its final reports in connection with its BEPS Action Plan including its final report on Action 15 dealing with the development of a multilateral instrument to modify bilateral tax treaties (“Final… – Continue reading
Corporation tax receipts for the year came to €4.6bn in 2014. By October this year, receipts had already exceeded that, with the expectation that the full-year receipts will be around €6.5bn with the Budget projecting growth in receipts in 2016 of 10 per cent. In a little over a year,… – Continue reading
Royal Decree 1021/2015, of November 13, establishing the obligation to identify the tax residence of persons who hold or control certain financial accounts and to provide information concerning them in the area of mutual assistance. On November 17 last the above-mentioned Royal Decree was published in the Official State Gazette…. – Continue reading
Lawmakers seek late deal to scale back ‘Cadillac tax’ Lawmakers are making a late push to repeal or scale back Obamacare’s “Cadillac tax” by the end of the year, eying inclusion of changes in a broader tax package, wrote Peter Sullivan of The Hill. But lawmakers in both parties say… – Continue reading
The U.S. multinational will likely be investigated for evading taxes with Luxembourg’s help, following a report by trade unions earlier this year. McDonald’s is under investigation by European Union regulators for illegal tax deals with Luxembourg, according to sources close to the inquiry. The multinational—joining a list of EU tax… – Continue reading
The Government has recently launched a consultation on amending the UK’s interest deductibility rules for companies. The consultation follows the OECD’s recommendations as part of the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project. In line with those recommendations, it is proposed that a company’s net interest deductions be limited to… – Continue reading
An EU deal with Liechtenstein, which will make it harder for EU citizens to hide cash from the tax man in bank accounts there, was endorsed by Parliament in a vote on Wednesday. Under the deal, the EU and Liechtenstein will automatically exchange information on the bank accounts of each… – Continue reading
Swiss Senate has sealed the end of banking secrecy for foreign clients, following the House of Representatives in accepting the legal groundwork for the automatic exchange of information. The decision paves the way for a “decorous funeral for tax secrecy,” as senator Roberto Zanetti of the leftwing Social Democrats put… – Continue reading
Inland Revenue is looking at the tax treatment of hybrid debt and equity instruments and the use of related party loans funding local subsidiaries as part of a global clamp-down on tax avoidance. Acting deputy commissioner of policy and strategy David Carrigan told Parliament’s finance and expenditure select committee that… – Continue reading
The Global Forum established an AEOI group in consequence of the G20 Leaders’ Declaration in September, 2013 with a view to establish a mechanism to monitor and review the implementation of the new global standard on automatic exchange of information. As India and other countries enhance their cooperation to crack… – Continue reading
Members of the European Parliament have tasked the EU Commission to table measures to improve corporate tax transparency, coordination, and EU-wide policy convergence, in legislative recommendations passed by the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee on December 1, 2015. The recommendations build on the work of EU Parliament’s Special Committee on… – Continue reading
Republicans in both chambers of Congress said international tax reform is necessary to retain companies in the United States following pharmaceutical giant Pfizer’s announcement it is moving its headquarters overseas after its merger with Ireland-based Allergan, citing the country’s high corporate tax rates. During hearings in the House Ways and… – Continue reading
AUTOMATIC EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION IN TAX MATTERS – THE COMMON REPORTING STANDARD Introduction The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is a tool which facilitates the automatic exchange of information at a global level. The fight against tax evasion in cross border transactions has become a priority for Government around the globe…. – Continue reading
As the Joint Ministerial Council meeting continues in London this week Financial Services Minister Hon Wayne Panton says he intends to meet with European States in a bid to have Cayman removed from their lists of third-country, Non-cooperative Tax Jurisdictions. The minister, speaking at the last sitting of the Legislative… – Continue reading
The European Commission’s use of state aid rules to challenge corporate tax agreements is causing uncertainly for businesses in Europe, Luxembourg finance minister Pierre Gramegna has said. Gramegna told the Financial Times this week that the situation “raises so many issues about predictability and certainty”. The Commission announced in October… – Continue reading
Holiday home owners and others who inadvertantly break new tax rules could be ‘criminalised’ Holiday home owners who miscalculate tax owed, and those inheriting offshore money, face having their income wiped out entirely due to new penalties and punishments being introduced in the New Year. HM Revenue & Customs has… – Continue reading
A new international framework is targeting tax avoidance—and it has implications for captive insurers. Jenny Coletta of Ernst & Young explains In recent years, tax authorities around the world have been increasingly scrutinising captive insurance arrangements, focusing on questions relating to commercial purpose, pricing and substance. In what is likely… – Continue reading
The introduction of the so-called “offshore tax” in Latvia may have adverse effects on Latvia’s accession to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), reports LETA. The OECD has informed Latvia about this, urging the country to consider the potential effects of the “offshore tax” on its progress towards… – Continue reading
On 17 September, 2015, China State Administration of Taxation (“SAT”) released the Discussion Draft of Implementation Measures for Special Taxation Adjustments (“Discussion Draft”), as a complete revamp to the existing trial version of the Implementation Measures, i.e., Circular 2. Circular 2 has been serving as a backbone transfer pricing (“TP”)… – Continue reading
The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) is the standard for automatic exchange of financial account information produced by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) which provides for systematic and periodic automatic exchange of information between signatory jurisdictions. At its heart is a requirement for financial institutions, including British Virgin… – Continue reading
Following a directive proposal put forward by the European Commission as part of a package of measures in March, the European Council reached political agreement on a directive amending the text of 2011/16/EU directive on administrative cooperation in the field of taxation. EU member states will be required to automatically… – Continue reading
The Channel Islands (Jersey and Guernsey) have long been known as leading offshore centres for the establishment of investment funds and other investment structures. In particular, Channel Island vehicles are often used for alternative investment structuring – including private equity, infrastructure and real estate. This article explains the trends in… – Continue reading
Amazon Anonymous van drove through central London emblazoned with the line: ‘Enjoy unlimited instant tax dodging subsidised by government hand-outs. Anywhere, anytime’ Anti-Amazon campaigners drove a van through central London yesterday that was emblazoned with a crowdfunded, fake Amazon advert attacking the online retailer’s alleged tax avoidance. Booksellers have championed… – Continue reading
