NEW DELHI: The much-feared general anti avoidance rules (GAAR) could be deferred by about two years so that business sentiment is allowed to improve in India but will need to be rolled out in some form or the other by 2017, in sync with the international framework on preventing treaty… – Continue reading
The mainland has stepped up its participation in the G20’s fight against international tax avoidance by passing a law cracking down on the indirect sale of assets outside the country to avoid paying taxes. The law would affect investment companies, analysts said, adding it would also have a significant impact… – Continue reading
In 2014, China continued to develop its taxation system affecting domestic and crossborder transactions. This “Legal Flash – Special Edition 2014” highlights the most significant tax updates of the year. Please see our monthly legal flashes for more information and analysis here. Taking a step-forward on anti-avoidance provisions, the State… – Continue reading
Planned new measures to tackle what UK tax authorities have described as “persistent” use of avoidance schemes would target the promoters of these schemes, as well as taxpayers, an expert has said.03 Feb 2015 HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is consulting on proposed additional financial and reporting burdens for those… – Continue reading
Feb 1 (Reuters) – The Chinese government’s vow to increase tax scrutiny of foreign companies has sent firms rushing to tax advisors ahead of the implementation on Sunday of new rules designed to rein in cross-border tax avoidance. Tax professionals and business lobbies alike have welcomed the move as an… – Continue reading
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has published a consultation paper, ‘Strengthening Sanctions for Tax Avoidance’, setting out proposals to tackle the serial use of tax avoidance schemes. Tax avoiders can already face penalties, but this consultation proposes additional financial costs such as a surcharge and additional reporting requirements on users… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry on Tuesday asked the government to implement the General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) from April 1, 2016 instead of April this year. The government had earlier proposed imposing GAAR from April 1, 2015, for those claiming tax benefit of over Rs 3… – Continue reading
A recent clarification issued to Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) clarified that fund managers of FPIs who are present in India would not be treated as permanent establishments in India, addressing the concern that the FPIs may be taxable in India to the extent attributable to permanent establishments. An extension of… – Continue reading
Substantial changes have been made to Ireland’s general anti-avoidance regime (GAAR) in an effort to simplify the procedures Revenue must follow to successfully withdraw a tax advantage from a taxpayer on the basis that the transaction constituted a tax avoidance transaction. The changes will apply to transactions entered into on… – Continue reading
On December 14, 2014, the government approved a major tax reform aimed at giving legal certainty and protecting taxpayers’ fundamental rights. The tax reform will be effective once it receives the non-binding opinion of the relevant committee of the Italian parliament. The tax reform covers several topics, with developments of… – Continue reading
Globally, the sphere of taxation has witnessed a constant tussle between its primary players – while governments continually strive to maximise revenue and widen the tax base through successive amendments to tax laws and streamlining tax administration, taxpayers seek to arrange their affairs in a manner so that the incidence… – Continue reading
Chinese nationals and companies operating overseas, who hold their fortunes outside of China, will soon be required to pay taxes on their worldwide earnings come Feb 1. Part of Beijing’s New Year resolution to crack down on tax avoidance and evasion, the general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) and new penalties will… – Continue reading
Multinationals told to be more cautious about intra-group transactions as Beijing imposes stiff measures against avoidance and evasion Multinationals have been advised to take notice of Beijing’s New Year resolution to crack down on tax avoidance and evasion, especially after the announcement of the general anti-avoidance rule (GAAR) and new… – Continue reading
*Ernst & Young LLP, New York, NY The BEPS beat plays on. Congratulations to the OECD for meeting (mostly) the ambitious goals for release of their reports on seven action items in September 2014 – right on schedule on September 16. The documents released on September 16 relate to Action… – Continue reading
This is going to be the plum job for any international tax practitioner: Competent Authority for the Republic of Ireland. It seems pretty clear that the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project will meet its announced deadline of the end of 2015 to produce final reports on all of… – Continue reading
1. The traditional attitude to tax avoidance is encapsulated in the judgment of Lord Tomlin in the English case of IRC v Duke of Westminster (1936): “Every man is entitled if he can to arrange his affairs so that the tax attaching under the appropriate Acts is less than it… – Continue reading
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued a new factsheet for users of tax avoidance schemes, explaining how its follower notices and accelerated payments regimes operate. The factsheet defines a tax avoidance scheme as “a set of arrangements that try to use the law to gain a tax advantage that… – Continue reading
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has issued a new factsheet for users of tax avoidance schemes, explaining how its follower notices and accelerated payments regimes operate. The factsheet defines a tax avoidance scheme as “a set of arrangements that try to use the law to gain a tax advantage that… – Continue reading
A new UK tax on the ‘diverted profits’ of multinationals operating in the UK “is probably not needed, will be hard to apply and will raise little money” according to one expert. 10 Dec 2014 Corporate tax Tax International tax UK Europe Heather Self of Pinsent Masons, the law firm… – Continue reading
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has urged the Finance Ministry to defer the introduction of General Anti-Avoidance Rules (GAAR) under the Indian Income-Tax law. In their pre-Budget interaction with the Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das, a high-level FICCI team led by its President Sidharth Birla also… – Continue reading
The government has become the biggest threat to the rule of law, according to veteran Tory backbencher and former minister David Davis. Speaking at a briefing organised by the Taxpayers’ Alliance and the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) he slammed the government’s attempts to limit tax avoidance through laws such… – Continue reading
DELHI – Mauritius has overtaken Singapore as the largest source of foreign direct investment (FDI) in India, it was announced earlier this week. During the April-September period, Mauritius emerged as the strongest contributor of investment with an inflow of $4.19 billion. During the same period, Singapore provided $2.41 billion in… – Continue reading
On November 21, 2014, as part of its Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), the OECD released a discussion draft on “Follow-up work on BEPS Action 6: Preventing Treaty Abuse” (the Discussion Draft) for comments. The Discussion Draft deals with a number of issues relating to tax… – Continue reading
Criticism of slow prosecution of tax avoidance schemes ignores HMRC’s impressive success in closing down the aggressive tax avoidance industry in recent years Tuesday’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report and the associated media drive, which accuses HMRC of being ‘unacceptably slow’ in pursuing tax avoidance schemes, is the latest in… – Continue reading
Apex industry body ASSOCHAM has urged the Centre to amend the Indian income-tax law so as not to introduce the general anti avoidance rules (GAAR) from assessment year 2016-17 as India’s economy is neither mature enough to stand up to its exacting standards nor is the tax administration ready to… – Continue reading
Ed Balls said Labour will bring in tough penalties to deter people from tax avoidance if they get into power at the next general election. Labour will impose fines of up to 100% of the value of the avoided tax, said the shadow chancellor. As it stands, those who are… – Continue reading
The Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) ensures that we have learnt the lessons from the banking crisis. Unless we accelerate the work on improving the rules so that they are adequate to an environment of globalisation, we will destroy the support for the European integration and that will be the end… – Continue reading
Vivek Prasad, chief commissioner of Income-Tax – III, Mumbai said they were striving to rid themselves of the unwarranted epithet of ‘tax terrorists,’ and said with regards to tax morality, base erosion, profit shifting and GAAR (general anti-avoidance rules) they were on a learning curve and are evolving beyond the… – Continue reading
Austria said the European Union should tax more kinds of trades at a lower rate to move forward with a financial-transactions tax among 11 willing nations. There is “clear movement” toward reaching a deal by year-end so the tax can start in 2016, Austrian Finance Minister Hans Joerg Schelling said…. – Continue reading
Delhi Tribunal holds that the mere fact that one of the steps in a transaction resulted in capital loss for the taxpayer would not make the series of transactions a sham. Karnataka High Court holds that shares bought at a premium, and sold at a lower value to individuals (ex-employees… – Continue reading
Update on Accelerated Payments HMRC have recently published a briefing on the requirement of tax avoidance scheme users to make upfront payments of tax, known as ‘Accelerated Payments’. The briefing explains why HMRC believe it was necessary for them to be granted the power to demand tax ahead of the… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 2: Industry body Assocham has sought deferment in the introduction of General anti-avoidance rules (GAAR) under the Indian income tax law. The income tax law must be amended immediately so as not to introduce GAAR from assessment year 2016-17 (financial year 2015-16), Assocham said in a memorandum… – Continue reading
Taxes are the price of a civilised society and without them no state can provide social infrastructure, alleviate poverty, subsidise corporations or rescue distressed banks. But tax revenues are under relentless attack and corporate ingenuity in avoiding taxes shows no limits. Companies have become very adept at shifting profits to… – Continue reading
Britain’s taxman HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) paid out £400,000 in 2013 to whistleblowers who notified the authority of people who had avoided paying tax through elaborate schemes. According to a Freedom for Information (FoI) request, made by the Telegraph, whistleblower payouts ranged from £50 (€63, $81) to £1,000. The… – Continue reading
Irish Finance Minister Michael Noonan has published the 2014 Finance Bill, which gives effect to the tax reforms announced in his Budget and introduces a number of new anti-avoidance measures. Noonan’s October 14 Budget included plans to reduce the marginal tax rate from 52 percent to 51 percent, through a… – Continue reading
Around 33,000 Britons are likely to receive letters from the taxman telling them they owe the government, on average, £155,000 as the HMRC starts cracking down on tax avoidance in line with new powers granted under the Finance Act 2014. According to law firm Winckworth Sherwood, the first batch of… – Continue reading
In determining the optimum gateway for investing into India, reliance on industry data may be the most prudent opening gambit. Data released by India’s Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion peg Mauritius and Singapore as the top two destinations through which foreign direct investment and private equity capital is routed… – Continue reading
European Union finance ministers have reached a breakthrough agreement that will make it more difficult for tax cheats to hide their money. The new legislation, which had been blocked for years by countries with a reputation as tax havens, was approved last week after Luxembourg and Austria agreed to lift… – Continue reading
Advisers should notify their insurers early if they think they may be facing claims from advice to invest in tax avoidance schemes, a professional indemnity insurance (PII) lawyer has warned. Solicitor at commercial claims resolution firm Triton Global, James Field, said acting late could mean advisers risk “falling between the… – Continue reading
Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to rollout a red carpet for investors during his visit to the US at a time when his ambitious “Make in India” campaign, which is aimed to turn the country into a global manufacturing hub, needs huge investments. In meetings over the past month… – Continue reading
Cyprus transposed the EU Parent-Subsidiary Directive1 into domestic legislation when it updated its tax laws in preparation for EU membership in 2004. The Income Tax Law and the Special Contribution for the Defence of the Republic Law provide a liberal system of double taxation avoidance, which also extends to non-EU countries,… – Continue reading
India has seemingly reached an impasse with both Cyprus and Mauritius over the re-negotiation of their respective double taxation avoidance agreements (DTAA). For the former, the disagreement relates to Cyprus’s status as a notified jurisdictional area (NJA) in India, whilst for the latter, it pertains to the update of their… – Continue reading
On September 16, 2014, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its first seven of 15 deliverables under the OECD/G20 base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) project (the 2014 BEPS Package). The 2014 BEPS Package arises from the Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the BEPS Action Plan),… – Continue reading
The Centre is likely to take a final call on the controversial General Anti Avoidance Rule (GAAR) only by next February. The decision may well be announced by finance minister Arun Jaitley in his next Budget presentation. “The finance ministry has started holding discussions on the issue but no hurried… – Continue reading
(Editor’s note: As the summer holidays wind down, we thought readers might appreciate a chance to revisit some of the stronger, and more controversial, items that have been published on this news channel since the start of what has been an eventful year.) Since the financial crisis, governments worldwide have… – Continue reading
The Delhi High Court upholds the non-taxability of gains from sale of shares of overseas entities by the Copal Group to the Moody’s Group. Interpretation of the indirect transfer tax provisions in a restrictive manner. 50% threshold for substantiality based on guidance by OECD/ UN material and Shome Committee Report… – Continue reading
TAX avoidance is always a hot topic, never more so than with the recent stream of famous individuals involved in the Liberty scheme. The fact that some of these 1,600 stars risk bankruptcy highlights just how serious these cases can be, and the financial and reputational value at stake. The media… – Continue reading
Legislation which will establish and govern Scotland’s first tax collection system in 300 years has been passed by the Scottish Legislation which will establish and govern Scotland’s first tax collection system in 300 years has been passed by the Scottish Parliament.21 Aug 2014 The Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Bill… – Continue reading
Legislation which will establish Scotland’s first tax collection system for 300 years will be approved today by Holyrood. MSPs are expected to pass a bill from the Scottish Government which will set up Revenue Scotland – the new body which will collect two newly-devolved taxes. Finance Secretary John Swinney said… – Continue reading
New Delhi: The government Wednesday ruled out any tax amnesty scheme to unearth black money saying it goes against honest taxpayers even as it sought to send out a positive signal to investors by promising a re-look at the controversial GAAR shortly. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also referred to demands of… – Continue reading
