Following the trends of countries such as Spain and Mexico, among others, Brazil has begun to amend and introduce new legislation to reflect BEPS recommendations in its internal legislation. Provisional Measure (PM) 685 was issued this month, determining a disclosure procedure as a result of BEPS Action Plan 12 (Mandatory… – Continue reading
It is widely recognized that offshore banking secrecy is fast becoming a thing of the past. The signing of bi-lateral and multi-lateral agreements between jurisdictions and the fast approaching Common Reporting Standard (CRS) under which jurisdictions will automatically exchange financial information has seen to that. The UK’s voluntary disclosure program… – Continue reading
Luxembourg and the United States signed, on 28 March 2014, a (reciprocal) Model I FATCA intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) to improve international tax compliance between both jurisdictions. On 27 March 2015, the Draft Law (n°6798) transposing the IGA in national law was released, requiring the first FATCA reporting to be submitted… – Continue reading
The implementation of stricter taxation scrutiny globally shows no sign of abating. Nonetheless, Guernsey is well-placed to meet many of these challenges, and indeed thrive in this new world order. Guernsey has repeatedly demonstrated an ability to comply with international obligations and adapt to challenges and changing circumstances and the… – Continue reading
Introduction US tax treaty policy can be affected by pressures for tax reform from within the United States and by major developments in international taxation from without. Talk of US tax reform has been widespread for years, although it is sometimes hard to gauge how much of the talk is… – Continue reading
Blatant corporate and personal tax evasion contributed to Greece’s debt crisis, but it’s dwarfed by the tax avoidance of U.S. multinationals operating in countries like Australia. There’s a popular misconception that Greece’s debt crisis was self-inflicted. ‘The Greeks are a bunch of tax evaders! They should never have been allowed… – Continue reading
Law 20,780 – published in the Official Gazette on September 29 2014 – introduced the most complex and comprehensive tax reform in Chile for decades. Several provisions are already in force, while others will enter into force on January 1 2016. Most of the remaining provisions will be in full… – Continue reading
Moves to track offshore buyers are rushed and confusing and could increase compliance costs to taxpayers, the Government has been warned, reports the New Zealand Herald. In its submission on the Taxation (Land Information and Offshore Persons Information) Bill, EY (formerly Ernst & Young) said the proposed legislation was being… – Continue reading
The UK Government has published draft legislation on devolving certain tax matters to Scotland (the Bill). It intends that the draft legislation should implement the terms of the devolution agreement made in November 2014 between the Westminster and Holyrood governments. Having looked over the Bill, it appears that the Scottish… – Continue reading
HM Revenue & Customs has proposed strengthening the ‘hallmarks’ it uses to identify inheritance tax planning arrangements but has excluded certain types of trusts used alongside life assurance policies. Under draft legislation released last week, a scheme will fall under the disclosure of tax avoidance schemes regime if its main… – Continue reading
Introduction Recently, the Cayman Islands Department of International Tax Compliance (DITC) notified financial institutions that in October 2015 it will be introducing local regulations to implement the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), also commonly referred to as global FATCA or GATCA. That notice also served as a reminder that international… – Continue reading
July 22: Tax legislative changes in Austria were passed by the parliament, and the effective date for most changes is 1 January 2016. Among the provisions are the following items. Withholding tax on dividend distributions, capital gains The withholding tax rate for dividends and capital gains will be increased to… – Continue reading
As governments around the world establish austerity measures to compensate for decreases in tax receipts, a new catch phrase has emerged: double non-taxation. Double non-taxation is the phrase used by governments to denote untaxed or lightly taxed profits that result from effective, legal tax planning techniques. These techniques include application… – Continue reading
On 8 June 2015, the Law “On optional declaration of assets and bank accounts (deposits) by individuals” (the “Capital or Tax Amnesty Law”) came into force. It was announced as part of the deoffshorisation campaign and opens a window of opportunity for the business community to declare “grey” assets without… – Continue reading
A report published today by Global Witness, alleging that an individual with ties to a former Kazakh public official owns large swathes of London, follows much recent interest in the issue of public officials owning property in the UK via secretive corporate structures that conceal their interest. Earlier this month,… – Continue reading
Moves to track offshore buyers are rushed and confusing and could increase compliance costs to taxpayers, the Government has been warned. In its submission on the Taxation (Land Information and Offshore Persons Information) Bill, EY (formerly Ernst & Young) said the proposed legislation was being rushed through to come into… – Continue reading
Categorizing it as a “large scale, continuing, complex commercial crime,” a judge has sentenced two Calgary businessmen to prison for five years for defrauding the federal government of millions in taxes that should have been paid on registered retirement savings plans. Court of Queen’s Bench Justice Peter McIntyre said Steven… – Continue reading
The Finance Ministry of the United Arab Emirates has released US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act guidance notes and the registration form for entities to access the FATCA reporting portal. FATCA, enacted by the US Congress in 2010, is intended to ensure that the US obtains information on accounts held… – Continue reading
A sweeping global reform of tax systems is under way and will have profound implications for the insurance industry, the London-based International Underwriting Association has warned. Responding to public concerns about tax evasion, the G20 major economies have ordered a major shift towards greater cooperation between tax authorities. This work… – Continue reading
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has launched four consultations on the UK Government’s proposed new approach to tackling offshore tax evasion. Under the proposals, corporates who are deemed to have failed to prevent tax evasion or the facilitation of tax evasion would face a criminal offence. A separate strict liability… – Continue reading
A number of jurisdictions (including the US, the UK and Italy) have launched voluntary disclosure (‘VD’) programmes. A substantial number of cases involve private foundations, typically legacy structures based in Liechtenstein and Panama. As the concept of foundations is alien to common law, their tax treatment raises delicate issues in… – Continue reading
The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) said it would like to see prison sentences imposed on business executives who moved cash to tax havens – where the rate of taxation is lower than in South Africa – “to deal decisively with transfer pricing and illicit financial flows”. This is one of… – Continue reading
Switzerland lies in “pole position” to gain from changes to the UK tax system which could encourage high net worth individuals living there to consider moving, according to a leading tax expert, John Huber. However, Malta should be doing more to attract a share of them, he said. “Chancellor George… – Continue reading
A new UK criminal offence for corporations who fail to take reasonable steps to prevent their agents from criminally facilitating tax evasion would apply even if it is non-UK tax that is being evaded. The proposed details of the new offence are set out in a consultation document published by… – Continue reading
DEVELOPED countries throughout the world are stepping up efforts to curb base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), a scheme used by multinational companies to avoid paying taxes estimated as high as $200 billion globally, especially when doing business across different jurisdictions. At the 2015 Asia Pacific Tax Symposium hosted last… – Continue reading
In response to the economic downturn and the growing need for tax revenues, the Italian Tax Authorities (ITA), like authorities in many other jurisdictions, have more aggressively targeted multinationals and their tax planning strategies in recent years, resulting in more domestic and international tax controversies. Transfer pricing (TP) issues account… – Continue reading
Treasurer Joe Hockey has taken aim at the United States for dragging its feet on taxing multinationals such as Google, and says the Obama administration now wants to come after Australia’s tax base. Australia has been working with the United Kingdom on a local version of Britain’s ‘Google tax’ to… – Continue reading
WASHINGTON • The CEO of Monsanto met Tuesday with one of the chief critics of the company’s potential merger with Syngenta, and Sen. Dick Durbin says he told Monsanto’s Hugh Grant that he would do all he could to change federal law to make it more difficult for companies to… – Continue reading
Whether or not the point-of-consumption tax (POC) enacted by the United Kingdom in 2014 is a barrier to the free trade of services across the European Union is a question that will now head to the Court of Justice of the EU, following a ruling in a UK case yesterday…. – Continue reading
The long-awaited formation of the Asean Economic Community (AEC) is just over five months away. Drawn by the promise of a freer flow of goods, services, investment, capital and skilled labour, many businesses need to study how to prevent or reduce the effects of double taxation. Double taxation results from… – Continue reading
A seismic change in the international private wealth arena is under way. Over 90 jurisdictions have committed to automatically exchange comprehensive financial information on an annual basis under the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS). The CRS will start in 2016 in over 55 jurisdictions. This article comments on the CRS… – Continue reading
Hopes for a broad overhaul of the corporate tax system are fading as the 2016 elections draw closer, but momentum is building for one key change — the U.S. tax that companies would pay on overseas profits. A bipartisan proposal, to be introduced soon in Congress, would tax the estimated… – Continue reading
As part of what experts call a war on tax competition and low taxes, a coalition of high-tax governments from around the world is working to erect a radical new planetary taxation regime that would further smother what remains of financial privacy and national sovereignty while seriously harming the global… – Continue reading
Banks and other financial institutions in the Federation are bracing for the imminent implementation of the US’ FATCA regulations. With the US Inland Revenue Service (IRS) Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act will come a drastic change to how local banks do business with US citizens and companies. Under FATCA, financial… – Continue reading
10/07/2015 – The OECD set out a clear path for Lithuania’s accession to the Organisation, reinforcing the OECD’s commitment to further extend its global membership. On 8 July 2015 the 34 OECD Members adopted the Roadmap for the Accession of Lithuania to the OECD Convention setting out the terms, conditions… – Continue reading
10/07/2015 – The OECD set out a clear path for Lithuania’s accession to the Organisation, reinforcing the OECD’s commitment to further extend its global membership. On 8 July 2015 the 34 OECD Members adopted the Roadmap for the Accession of Lithuania to the OECD Convention setting out the terms, conditions… – Continue reading
International aid agency Oxfam says it warmly welcomes the European Parliament’s decision to vote in favor of legislation that obliges large companies across all sectors to publicly declare their earnings and taxes in locations they operate. The legislation is part of the vote on the Shareholder’s Rights Directive. “By requiring… – Continue reading
The government’s grip over information is tightening not only in respect of transactions undertaken within the country but also overseas In a liberal economic and low tax rate environment, people are expected to go straight. Tax fraud and tax evasion deprive governments of revenues needed to restore growth and at… – Continue reading
Treaty developments Following last month’s report that the Mauritius/South Africa double tax treaty had been ratified in Mauritius, the treaty has now come into force on 28 May 2015. The new Hong Kong/South Africa double tax treaty, which was signed last year, has been ratified in Hong Kong on 3… – Continue reading
The Australian Government will introduce a withholding tax obligation to ensure that foreign investors comply with Australia’s tax laws. The Government has released exposure draft legislation that provides for the application of a ten percent non-final withholding obligation on the disposal by foreign residents of taxable Australian property. If passed,… – Continue reading
The FINANCIAL — On June 10, 2015, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded the Article IV consultation with Panama. Panama’s economic performance is expected to remain strong. Real GDP slowed to 6.2 percent in 2014, reflecting a slower pace of public investment, continued weakness in Colon… – Continue reading
The UK’s chancellor of the exchequer has said serial users of tax avoidance schemes will be ‘named and shamed’ as he promised to introduce further measures to tackle evasion, avoidance and aggressive tax planning in his Summer Budget. This move is part of a plethora of changes which chancellor George… – Continue reading
MEPs have backed rules that would require multinationals to report their tax payments on a country-by-country basis. Deputies in Strasbourg voted by a 556 votes to 67 margin on Wednesday (8 July) to approve plans to re-write the EU’s eight-year old Shareholders’ Rights Directive that would require listed companies to… – Continue reading
Where Qualified Dividend Treatment Is Important, Serious Consideration Should Be Given to Ensuring the Company Is Eligible for Treaty Benefits Before Taking It Public. Dividends generally are taxed at ordinary income rates (up to 39.6 percent for individuals). Qualified dividends derived by individuals, however, are taxed at the preferential rate… – Continue reading
The FINANCIAL — Tax is firmly under the spotlight and in the global insurance industry, the ramifications for finance and tax teams will be felt in both a new set of business demands and an overhaul of how these functions interact and operate. However, a new report from PwC says… – Continue reading
By common consent, the UK tax system is no longer fit for purpose. There is unfortunately less unanimity on how the system should be reformed. In 2010 the chancellor established the office for Tax Simplification (OTS) in recognition that the UK tax code had become far too complex. But by… – Continue reading
By common consent, the UK tax system is no longer fit for purpose. There is unfortunately less unanimity on how the system should be reformed. In 2010 the chancellor established the office for Tax Simplification (OTS) in recognition that the UK tax code had become far too complex. But by… – Continue reading
Moshe Asher told the Institute of Certified Public Accountants that money can be raised from unreported capital instead. Israel Tax Authority head Moshe Asher stated clearly today that no new tax hikes were necessary. Speaking at a conference of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants in Israel at a session… – Continue reading
The present French Tax Update will focus on an overview of several noteworthy French tax court decisions issued during the past few months. BUYBACK AND CANCELLATION OF OWN SHARES The tax treatment of buybacks, from the shareholders’ point of view, has now been simplified through a change of legislation, i.e.,… – Continue reading
Channel 4 documentary shows agents in wealthy districts agreeing to continue with purchase to be made with ill-gotten gains from Russian health budget Top estate agents in Britain’s wealthiest postcodes are willing to turn a blind eye to apparent money laundering by corrupt foreign buyers, according to an investigation by… – Continue reading
