Category: Tax evasion investigations

United States: Levin And McCain Urge DOJ To Seek Extradition Of Fugitive Swiss Bankers

Bloomberg news reports that on March 18, 2014, U.S. Senators Carl Levin and John McCain wrote a letter urging the Justice Department to seek extradition of about 30 Swiss bankers and others who are charged with enabling offshore tax evasion and failed to appear in federal courts. McCain and Levin,… – Continue reading

Nokia India, Finnish parent discuss tax evasion in emails

The department had slapped a tax demand of Rs 2,080 crore on the company last year while re-opening the assessment for AY 2006-07 and 2007-08. As Finnish phone-maker Nokia strives to meet the April 30 deadline for sealing the $7.2 billion deal with Microsoft, its tussle with the Indian tax… – Continue reading

KKR’s Entry Into Canadian Oil Patch Crimped by Tax Clampdown

Canada is clamping down on off-shore tax shelters used by private-equity funds, in a move that may curb investment in the oil and gas industry by KKR & Co. and Blackstone Group LP. (BX) The government has given private-equity firms and other interested parties until April 11 to respond to proposals tucked… – Continue reading

Macquarie won concessions ahead of offshore banking tax crackdown

Macquarie Group successfully lobbied the Abbott government to water down and delay moves to tighten laws over which the bank is fighting a tax battle worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Fairfax Media has learnt that Macquarie was among industry players who attended a November 6 meeting with then-assistant treasurer… – Continue reading

Republican senators express support for Caterpillar tax strategy

WASHINGTON — Caterpillar Inc. executives defended a tax strategy Tuesday that has saved the manufacturing giant billions in U.S. taxes. They got support from Republican senators, including one who said the company deserves an award. Caterpillar has avoided paying $2.4 billion in U.S. taxes since 2000 by shifting profits to… – Continue reading

Senate Probe: Caterpillar Avoided $2.4B in U.S. Taxes

Caterpillar avoided $2.4 billion in federal taxes between 2000 and 2012 by shifting $8 billion in profits from international parts sales to a tax haven in Switzerland, said Chairman Carl Levin, (D-MI), of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations on Monday. Joining Microsoft (MSFT), Hewlett Packard (HPQ) and Apple (AAPL),… – Continue reading

Black money menace

It would be surprising if Union finance minister P. Chidambaram’s threat to his Swiss counterpart — to declare Switzerland an uncooperative nation for not sharing information on the 562 Indians who allegedly stashed their black money in Swiss banks — is actually carried out. The threat has trade implications. These… – Continue reading

India, Switzerland spar over access to bank accounts information

NEW DELHI: The Indian Tax authorities and the Swiss government could be headed for a showdown over what the Indian side regards as lack of co-operation from the Alpine country over access to information on bank accounts. Last week Finance Minister P Chidambaram wrote to his Swiss counterpart – officials… – Continue reading

Ghana and Denmark sign Double Taxation Agreement

Ghana and Denmark have signed a Double Taxation Agreement, moving the bilateral cooperation between the two countries to another level. A Double Taxation Agreement regulates the tax treatment of income or capital gains in situations where the same taxpayer is subject to tax in two states with respect to the… – Continue reading

How Suntech, Chinese Solar Giant, Was Snared In An Italian Fraud Scandal

As 2008 began, the future looked brilliant for green energy giant Suntech Power and its high-flying founder, Shi Zhengrong. Suntech was one of the world’s largest makers of solar panels, the first non-state-owned Chinese  company traded on the New York Stock Exchange. And Shi, born to a farm family so… – Continue reading

EU orders Luxembourg to hand over corporate tax practices information

European Union antitrust regulators ordered Luxembourg on Monday to hand over information on its corporate tax practices as part of their investigation into tax loopholes which have allowed companies such as Starbucks and Apple to cut their tax bills. The move by the European Commission came after Luxembourg failed to… – Continue reading

New legislation adds problems for Americans abroad

An inability to open a bank account is not news for everyone in Hong Kong. Just ask the long-suffering American residents. “Nobody wants to deal with the US citizen account signatory, whether it is a company account or an account for my own financial needs,” said Ross Feingold, a director… – Continue reading

The ATO Might Be Investigating Google And Apple Right Now

Companies have every right to minimise their own tax burdens, but shrinking your footprint only lasts so long before someone gets annoyed. For Apple Australia and Google Australia, that time might be nigh as the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) reportedly gears up to investigate the pair for tax minimisation. The ABC… – Continue reading

Bayern’s Hoeness tax evasion sentence won’t be appealed by prosecutors

MUNICH, Germany — German prosecutors said Monday they won’t appeal against Uli Hoeness’ 3 1/2-year sentence for tax evasion, clearing the way for the former Bayern Munich president to start his prison term. Hoeness, one of German football’s most prominent figures, was convicted last Thursday of evading about 28.5 million… – Continue reading

Argue later but pay NOW says taxman: Shock order means big bills for thousands in avoidance schemes

Celebrities and major companies locked in legal battles over tax-avoidance schemes will be forced to pay up before their cases are resolved, under new rules to be introduced in this week’s Budget. The rules will hit 65,000 companies and individuals in dispute with the taxman over their use of complex… – Continue reading

Shamed former minister ‘hid €2.5m in UK account’

France’s disgraced former budget minister Jerôme Cahuzac, who was sacked after admitting he hid funds in a Swiss account, also had a €2.5 million stashed in a secret bank account in the Isle of Man, a British tax haven, it was claimed on Thursday. Cahuzac’s estranged wife Patricia admitted the… – Continue reading

Use HK’s access to marts in China, Japan and S Korea

KUALA LUMPUR: Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) should tap Hong Kong’s access to the markets in China, Japan and South Korea to gain tax advantages under the double-taxation deduction pact signed between Malaysia and HK. Hong Kong Trade Development Council deputy executive director, Margaret Fong, said HK SMEs paid five… – Continue reading

Documents reveal Kurchenko’s alleged tax evasion schemes

The young Ukrainian ex-billionaire Serhiy Kurchenko, now widely suspected of being a front man for overthrown President Viktor Yanukovych’s family, clearly liked offshore destinations. His companies registered in offshore zones are now accused of trading in oil products using a tax evasion scheme that cost Ukraine’s government an estimated $1… – Continue reading

$50K delivered to your door: a convenience of (illegal) offshore banking

The rich are not like the rest of us, and neither are their offshore bankers. Court documents filed in a big tax evasion case in Northern Virginia provide just a glimpse of the extra services available if you have the means and will to maintain secret accounts with large banks in Switzerland… – Continue reading

Black money: Swiss exchanging ‘lawful’ info with India

New Delhi: With India stepping up its pursuit of alleged black money in Swiss banks, Switzerland says it is exchanging information with Indian authorities on all lawful requests, but cannot help on enquiries based on stolen banking data. The European country, which has often been accused of being the most… – Continue reading

Germany’s Bayern football boss to face tax trial

BERLIN: German football legend Uli Hoeness (pix), boss of champion club Bayern Munich, will face a high-profile tax evasion trial from Monday, accused of having stashed away millions in Switzerland. The folksy 62-year-old Bavarian club president, who also runs a flourishing sausage company, was arrested and bailed almost a year ago… – Continue reading

Schroders latest to brace for US tax evasion fines

London: Schroders is the latest UK group to set aside millions of pounds for potential fines arising from a US investigation into companies that helped American clients evade taxes. Schroders, the UK’s second-biggest listed fund house, has reserved £15 million (Dh92 million) for a possible penalty in connection with the… – Continue reading

Justice Department Targets Credit Suisse, Israeli Banks for Tax Dodging

Bankers at Credit Suisse helped their affluent American clients hide billions in assets from the IRS, according to a Senate investigative report released Tuesday. The Swiss banking giant is currently under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for allegedly aiding tax evasion by its rich clients, is even accused of… – Continue reading

Justice Department Targets Credit Suisse, Israeli Banks for Tax Dodging

Bankers at Credit Suisse helped their affluent American clients hide billions in assets from the IRS, according to a Senate investigative report released Tuesday. The Swiss banking giant is currently under investigation by the U.S. Justice Department for allegedly aiding tax evasion by its rich clients, is even accused of… – Continue reading

B K Syngal writes that Vodafone tax evasion case and its historical FDI pattern is a classical example of crony capitalism

Much brouhaha has been created by the recent reports about the Vodafone Tax case with respect to whether or not a capital gains tax is due from them on the purchase of assets in India. New lexicon has been created for the uninitiated – “tax avoidance” versus “tax evasion”; “look… – Continue reading

Bundesliga – Bayern chief Hoeness to go on trial on tax evasion charges

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness, once one of Germany’s most admired managers, goes on trial on Monday charged with tax evasion in a case that has shocked the nation and changed attitudes towards paying taxes. Hoeness, 62, who helped turn Bayern Munich into one of the world’s most respected clubs and won… – Continue reading

Jersey: Volaw Trust & Corporate Services Limited And Mr Berge Gerdt Larsen, v The Office Of The Comptroller Of Taxes [2013] JCA 239

This was an appeal to the Court of Appeal from the decision of the Royal Court of Jersey, by which the Royal Court dismissed an appeal brought under Article 14(1)(c) of the Taxation (Exchange of Information with Third Countries) (Jersey) Regulations 2008 (the “Regulations”) and upheld the decision of the… – Continue reading

Tough action against tax evaders is only fair

WASHINGTON – The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, which I chair, has spent several years examining the ways offshore banks have aided and encouraged U.S. taxpayers in evading their responsibility to pay what they owe. By using secret bank accounts, these taxpayers conceal their income and therefore avoid paying taxes…. – Continue reading

Rand Paul in cross hairs of tax evasion war

When a bipartisan Senate panel last week lambasted Swiss bank Credit Suisse for helping rich Americans evade billions in taxes, some watching the high-profile hearing couldn’t help but notice an elephant in the room. That is, Sen. Rand Paul. The connection? Paul for years has single-handedly blocked an obscure U.S.-Swiss… – Continue reading

Russia targets offshore investors

The Russian Finance Ministry will offer companies based offshore but with operations in Russia a choice: either disclose their ultimate beneficiaries and maintain their zero tax rate, or pay taxes at the higher Russian rate. Under Russia’s current corporate tax structure, offshore beneficiaries of Russian companies are treated as de-facto… – Continue reading

U.S. Expands Investigations Against Offshore Tax Evasion To India, Israel

WASHINGTON: The U.S. has expanded its action against tax cheaters to countries such as India, Israel and Liechtenstein, a top U.S. official told lawmakers. So far, the U.S. action was primarily focused against tax cheaters on Switzerland. Since 2009, the Department has publicly charged 73 account holders and 35 professionals… – Continue reading

IRS Continues to Target Accounts in Israel, Caribbean Island Nations: Bank Mizrahi Depositor Pleads Guilty

  Kevin Thorn of the Thorn Law Group comments on the recent guilty plea by a United States Taxpayer with undisclosed overseas bank accounts as one in a long line of ongoing IRS and DOJ investigations into U.S. citizens with hidden overseas bank accounts. Thorn observes the U.S. government’s expanded… – Continue reading

UK Government and HMRC Announce Crack Down on Tax Evasion

UK Government and HMRC Crack Down on Secret Bank Account Tax Evasion. Here, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Christine Lagarde (L) chats with Osborne before the G20 round table meeting in Sydney.Reuters Britain’s government and its taxman have announced the net is closing on people who are evading tax… – Continue reading

U.S. scrutinizing Swiss insurers in offshore probe – WSJ

Feb 24 (Reuters) – U.S. prosecutors are widening their probe of how Swiss banks helped wealthy Americans avoid taxes to look at insurers as well, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, citing unnamed sources. Insurers in Switzerland have been preparing for months for U.S. officials to investigate products known as insurance… – Continue reading

US Senate panel says Credit Suisse actively sought US tax dodgers

Credit Suisse Group , Switzerland’s second biggest bank, went to great lengths to assist US customers trying to open Swiss bank accounts and evade taxes, entertaining them at a Swiss-themed ball in New York and golf tournaments in Florida and opening a branch in the Zurich airport to serve Americans… – Continue reading

Panel faults US gov’t over offshore tax evasion

WASHINGTON (AP) — Billions of dollars in U.S. taxes are going unpaid because Americans are exploiting Swiss bank accounts, and the U.S. government has failed to aggressively pursue Switzerland’s second-largest bank, a Senate investigation has found. The bank, Credit Suisse, has provided accounts in Switzerland for more than 22,000 U.S. clients… – Continue reading

Senate Investigations Committee To Question DOJ And Swiss Officials On Illegal Offshore Banking

NWC calls for full and complete investigation into wrongdoing and full protection for whistleblowers Washington, D.C.  February 25, 2014.  The Permanent Subcommittee On Investigations will hold a hearing on “Offshore Tax Evasion” on Wednesday, February 26, 2014, at 9:30AM, in Room G-50 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building. More information can be found… – Continue reading