Category: Legislation

Call to curb tax evasion

THE Government should do more to prevent multi-national companies from dodging their tax bills, according to Bradford Council. The authority called on the government to increase its efforts to combat the problem, saying tax avoidance was costing the country up to £12 billion a year and that public services were… – Continue reading

Harris: Ireland has ‘nothing to fear’ from EU tax proposals

Minister of state stresses taxation rates remains a matter for member states Ireland has “nothing to fear” from European proposals to tackle multinational tax avoidance, the Minister of State at the Department of Finance Simon Harris said on Tuesday as EU finance ministers rubber-stamped new rules on the automatic exchange… – Continue reading

EU finance ministers agree on measures against tax avoidance

RUSSELS, Dec. 9 (Xinhua) — European Union (EU) finance ministers Tuesday agreed on two taxation measures towards combating corporate tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning. According to a statement, finance ministers have given their political backing to the anti-abuse clause of the Parent Subsidiary Directive and to the mandatory exchange… – Continue reading

Impact of FATCA on Bermuda Entities

This publication provides a brief overview of the expected impact on entities established in Bermuda of (a) the foreign account tax compliance provisions (“FATCA”) of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act, 2010 of the United States of America (the “US”); and (b) equivalent rules implemented in relation to United… – Continue reading

Beating the big business tax minimisation schemes

Peter Mac Swedish “flatpack” furniture manufacturer IKEA has suffered a number of blistering mass media attacks for business practices that reduce their Australian tax liabilities to a tiny fraction of the company’s profits here. The criticism is certainly justified. Most ordinary working taxpayers, as well as companies that don’t engage… – Continue reading

Ireland: Property Investment Structures In Ireland: Irish Investment Opportunities

In recent times there has been a welcome return to activity in the Irish real estate market. Overseas investors have been circling and private equity groups have started investing heavily in Irish real estate amid confidence that the Irish economy has stabilised and is returning to growth. In this briefing… – Continue reading

Interviews/Commentary Luxembourg Says Tax Rulings Are Not Secret, Never Have Been

Tax rulings “issued by the Luxembourg tax authorities are not, and have never been, secret,” the nation’s finance ministry said in an e-mailed statement. “In fact, Luxembourg, spontaneously and upon request, exchanges information on rulings with other countries, as foreseen by non-double taxation treaties as well as by directives and… – Continue reading

Jersey: Chancellor Must Address Root Causes Of Tax Evasion

In advance of the UK Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, Geoff Cook, CEO of Jersey Finance said: “The Chancellor has shown a strong commitment to tackling tax evasion and I look forward to hearing more detail behind his future plans in this regard in the Autumn Statement. It is vital that the… – Continue reading

ECONOMYAustralia to crack down on corporate tax avoidance

Australia may follow the UK in implementing a “diverted profits” tax on multinationals to crack down on tax avoidance. Joe Hockey, Australia’s treasurer, said on Tuesday that his office is exchanging information with London on its “Google tax”, which was announced last week, writes Jamie Smyth in Sydney. I am… – Continue reading

EU Agrees Twin Tax-Avoidance Measures

BRUSSELS–European Union finance ministers struck two separate deals on Tuesday aimed at cracking down on tax avoidance by multinationals, an issue that is high on Europe’s political agenda as a lackluster economic recovery fails to replenish crisis-hit state coffers. At a meeting in Brussels, finance ministers agreed to update a… – Continue reading

Jersey: Chancellor Must Address Root Causes Of Tax Evasion

In advance of the UK Chancellor’s Autumn Statement, Geoff Cook, CEO of Jersey Finance said: “The Chancellor has shown a strong commitment to tackling tax evasion and I look forward to hearing more detail behind his future plans in this regard in the Autumn Statement. It is vital that the… – Continue reading

EU focus on tax avoidance may deflect direct heat from Ireland

Juncker has put corporate tax reform firmly back on the EU agenda The “Lux leaks” scandal may have cast a shadow over Jean-Claude Juncker’s first months as European Commission president, but its real significance will be how it impacts the EU’s position on corporate tax. Some contend the scale of… – Continue reading

Tax deals raise questions over Ireland’s growth spurt

Four years after entering a punishing €67bn bailout, the Irish economy is booming again. Gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 5.5 per cent between January and June. The European Commission expects Ireland to be the fastest-growing country in the eurozone in 2014. Yet a chorus of economists… – Continue reading

Luxembourg tax files: how Juncker’s duchy accommodated Skype and the Koch empire

The EU’s most powerful official is under mounting pressure as dozens more multinational corporate names are dragged into the Luxembourg tax scandal following a new leak of confidential documents on Tuesday. Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European commission, has been battling to distance himself from the growing furore over the… – Continue reading

American citizens like Boris must pay more tax, says US ambassador to UK (but Google and Amazon are doing nothing wrong)

Ambassador to London Matthew Barzun says US citizens must pay up Boris Johnson was born in New York so faces a tax bill in America London Mayor has branded the Transatlantic rules ‘outrageous’ Barzun defends US firms like Amazon and Google over tax dodging Insists they are just playing by… – Continue reading

Swedish Tax Agency reviews TP legislation and proposes changes

The Swedish Tax Agency has, on request by the Swedish Government (Ministry of Finance), evaluated the transfer pricing documentation rules’ functionality and proposed possible changes to simplify the application. The first step was to make an international comparison of the rules in relevant, comparable OECD countries. An overall assessment showed… – Continue reading

B2B: Beneficial Owner of Income: Treaty Benefits and the Introduction of the New Rules

The MT Conferences section did not involve the reporting or the editorial staff of The Moscow Times. Russian business is trembling in expectation of the new year when major changes recently introduced to the tax legislation will enter into force. There has been a lot of discussion regarding the increase… – Continue reading

US Anti-Inversion Bill ‘Could Save More Revenue’

The Joint Committee on Taxation has increased, from USD19.5bn to more than USD33.5bn, its estimate of tax revenue that could be saved over a ten-year period from legislation to restrict corporate inversions introduced by Democrat lawmakers in the United States House of Representatives in May this year. A recent letter… – Continue reading

Officials use IT to catch tax dodgers

Please credit and share this article with others using this link:http://www.bangkokpost.com/business/telecom/448032/officials-use-it-to-catch-tax-dodgers. View our policies at http://goo.gl/9HgTd and http://goo.gl/ou6Ip. © Post Publishing PCL. All rights reserved. The Revenue Department has adopted an IT system to track taxpayers with irregularities in their tax payments as part of its effort to increase collection… – Continue reading

Global regulators need to standardise tax reporting mechanisms

Global regulators need to standardise the mechanisms by which financial institutions exchange tax information on their clients amid concern the number of tax information exchange agreements between various countries is spiraling out of control. This comes as a number of countries and global regulatory bodies introduce their own tax reporting… – Continue reading

Putin declares amnesty for returning capital, tax breaks for small business

In his annual address to both houses of parliament, President Vladimir Putin announced a large-scale program for the liberalization of the Russian economy. In particular, he proposed an amnesty for the repatriation of offshore capital and tax breaks for small businesses. However, Russian experts point out that some of the… – Continue reading

UK: International Trade

People who provide services delivered through electronic means (‘Electronic Services’), sold to final consumers based in other EU states, need to cope with the change of ‘place of supply’ rules from 1 January 2015. Place of supply rules are one of the more hotly debated areas of VAT. They determine… – Continue reading

Tax Avoidance: The LuxLeaks Scandal Explained

On November 6th, 2014, the ICIJ journalists’ network revealed its investigation into leaked documents from professional services firm PricewaterhouseCoopers. Their analysis shows that over 340 multinational companies use schemes to avoid paying taxes – schemes made possible by Luxembourg’s particularly favourable tax laws. How did the ICIJ work together on… – Continue reading

Property Council Pushes for Tax Reform

The Property Council of Australia has joined efforts by the broader business community to lobby the federal government to implement significant tax reforms next year. Members of the Business Coalition for Tax Reform (BCTR) will meet with the Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) on December 15 to commence discussions… – Continue reading

Sri Lanka receives $1.42 billion as foreign direct investment in 2013

Islamic Finance has garnered an increased interest in the last few years and has the potential to develop the capital markets of Sri Lanka and assist in the development of infrastructure along with encouraging foreign investment in the island state, according to an economist in Sri Lanka. In an interview… – Continue reading

FICCI bats for GAAR deferment

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

Putin welcomes billionaires back to Russia – but will they come?

President Putin’s surprise amnesty allowing Russians with cash stashed abroad to bring it back home with no penalty may be a windfall, but then maybe not. The US, Mexico, Italy, Kazakhstan, and many others have tried it with varied success. When financial crises hit, governments have tried to reel in… – Continue reading

Banking secrecy to remain despite FATCA

BEIRUT: There is no threat to Lebanon’s banking secrecy, despite the mounting pressure from the international community to disclose the accounts of Lebanese with dual passports, bankers said. “The United States and some European countries, which are seeking the full cooperation of other states in disclosing the bank accounts of… – Continue reading

UK firms face retaliation threat over ‘Google tax’: Crackdown on tech firms could enrage other nations

The Treasury will this week detail sweeping new powers for the Revenue to investigate tax-avoiding global companies, and will issue a list of suspect structures which it says are designed to dodge British dues. The Chancellor declared war on tech giants such as Google, Amazon and eBay, which pay little… – Continue reading

Two Years of Magnitsky Act: Facts and Details

The factbox devoted to two years of the so-called Magnitsky Act passed by US Senate. This act allows Washington to deny visas and freeze assets of Russian officials allegedly involved in the death of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky. Five years ago, on November 16, 2009, Sergei Magnitsky, a tax and… – Continue reading

Solomon Lew’s GST threat over Australia Post offshore plan

RETAIL billionaire Solomon Lew is threatening to ship Australian online orders from New Zealand to sidestep the GST in light of the Federal Government’s failure to axe the tax-free threshold for overseas purchases. The Premier Investments chairman has also slammed Australia Post for setting up a US mail forwarding service… – Continue reading

Peru Capital-Gain Tax Suffocates Stock Market, Exchange Says

The Lima Stock Exchange urged Peru to eliminate a 5 percent capital-gain tax on equities, saying it has deterred investors and contributed to a drop in trading volume over the past five years. The country’s weighting in global portfolios has fallen 40 percent since 2010, and the tax has helped… – Continue reading

Norway’s Commission Recommends Corporate Tax Rate Cut

The Tax Commission, appointed by the Government in March last year to review corporate taxation in Norway in light of international developments, submitted its report on December 2, and proposed a cut in both corporate and individual income tax rates, alongside other adjustments to combat corporate base erosion and profit… – Continue reading

Brazil Ministry of Finance reduces threshold rate for tax haven classification

The Ministry of Finance this week published Ordinance MF 488/14 in the Official Gazette, which reduces from 20% to 17% the threshold income tax rate for defining the concepts of low-tax jurisdictions and privileged tax regimes. The qualifications of low-tax jurisdictions and privileged tax regimes are relevant because they may… – Continue reading

EU Tax Working Group to Propose Retool of Patent Boxes

European Union nations that offer “patent box” tax breaks should retool their laws so that only deserving companies can claim benefits tied to technical innovations, according to a draft report from a European Union working group. Countries that use this kind of technology tax break should start legislative work next… – Continue reading

EU parliament studies tax avoidance in member states

(AFP) The European parliament ordered reports delving into tax evasion Thursday, a contentious topic after the “Luxleaks” scandal that has embroiled EU commission head and former Luxembourg premier Jean-Claude Juncker. A journalistic investigation using thousands of leaked files revealed last month that Luxembourg allowed hundreds of top companies to enjoy… – Continue reading

Guernsey’s economy shows signs of recovery despite protests

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e3cae272-73d4-11e4-82a6-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz3LIqHN5hj A seafront car park in St Peter Port overlooked by Guernsey’s… – Continue reading

UK: Switzerland UK Autumn Statement 2014 Analysis

In yesterday’s Autumn Statement, the UK Chancellor announced several measures that will directly affect non-UK individuals who live or own property in or are considering moving to the UK. Although in many cases the measures will mean that such individuals are liable to pay more tax in the UK than… – Continue reading

The Reasons To Be Skeptical About The UK’s Google Tax

Two things should be said about the UK’s new Google GOOGL -2.7% Tax as proposed in the Autumn Statement by George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The first is that there really is a certain amount of public anger about the manner in which the big tech companies (here… – Continue reading

TAX EVASION AND REFORMS IN GREECE – ANALYSIS

Greece is currently implementing a fiscal adjustment programme aimed at tackling tax evasion. This column discusses the impact of recent tax administration reforms on tax compliance in Greece. The intensification of audits, enforcement of penalties, and efficient collection of past debts can induce tax compliance and raise the collected revenue…. – Continue reading

Group Says Tax Extenders Would Renew Wasteful Loophopes

The Financial Accountability and Corporate Transparency (FACT) Coalition is calling on Congress to reject the tax extenders package that includes two wasteful offshore loopholes that allow U.S. companies to dodge billions worth of taxes. The tax extenders are a set of 54 temporary tax breaks, which are ostensibly designed to… – Continue reading

AREF welcomes UK’s proposed stamp duty land tax relief

John Cartwright (pictured), Chief Executive of the Association of Real Estate Funds (AREF), comments on the UK government’s objective to introduce stamp duty land tax relief in 2016… We welcome the government’s intention to introduce a stamp duty land tax (SDLT) relief for seeding investment – a much needed removal… – Continue reading

Taxing system drives Germans into arms of advisers

High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Business has never been better at Knappworst and Partner, a tax advisory firm in Potsdam, a leafy city… – Continue reading

Tax moratorium, western sanctions to facilitate Putin’s offshore amnesty — experts

Economy  December 04, 17:06 UTC+3 Vladimir Putin announced an all-out amnesty for offshore capital to return Russian capital from foreign jurisdictions MOSCOW, December 4. /TASS/. Russia’s moratorium on tax hikes and western sanctions that provoked a cautious attitude to money from Russia will facilitate offshore capital amnesty announced by President… – Continue reading