ISLAMABAD: Authorities probing illegal foreign accounts and properties of thousands of Pakistanis made shocking revelations on Tuesday that the volume of these assets hidden in different tax havens abroad reached up to US$350 (Rs43 trillion). Interestingly, the authorities also revealed for the first time that only accounts and properties worth… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: The people belonging to Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad are on top on account of receiving 75 percent tax notices from the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) for owning expansive properties in UK out of total 600-700 properties. This information has been shared by the UK tax authorities in a… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: After expiry of the tax amnesty scheme that had failed to lure owners of offshore assets abroad in a big way, the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has decided dispatching tax notices to 600-700 individuals having rental income from possessing expensive properties in the UK in a bid to… – Continue reading
The Government is moving to reinstate the $50,000 property tax “cap” after The Bahamas’ wealthiest community slammed “punitive taxation” that threatens “500 percent or greater” tax hikes. KP Turnquest, deputy prime minister, yesterday told Tribune Business that the Government was “actively reviewing” recent Real Property Tax Act reforms that could… – Continue reading
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is urging UK taxpayers to come forward and declare any foreign income or profits on offshore assets before 30 September to avoid higher tax penalties New legislation called “Requirement to Correct’ requires UK taxpayers to notify HMRC about any offshore tax liabilities relating to UK… – Continue reading
Foreign investors were yesterday said to have halted construction projects, with some threatening to sell their high-end properties, as the “shockwaves” from Budget tax changes hit home. Robert Myers, the Organisation for Responsible Governance’s (ORG) principal, told Tribune Business that much of the Bahamas’ second home market “is dead” unless… – Continue reading
Revamped rules for Delaware Companies create new reporting obligations for owners and eliminate any vestiges of confidentiality that once made these offshore structures attractive for many property buyers. Effective since the beginning of 2017, Delaware Limited Liability Companies (LLCs) that are wholly owned by a non-resident, now become subject to… – Continue reading
The Greek authorities are trying to battle tax evasion said to be rampant among the thousands of owners of Airbnb-type properties. Lacking a mechanism to monitor the short-term leasing of lodgings, inspectors have been doing random checks with the aim of identifying taxpayers that do not declare their extra income…. – Continue reading
The walls continue to close in on Offshore property holding companies in Portugal. Once a popular solution for home ownership, these structures are based in low-tax jurisdictions that allow shareholders to take advantage of certain “loopholes” to avoid paying Capital Gains tax when selling. Over the past 15 years, successive… – Continue reading
Concerned about the tax implications of buying property in Portugal? Good news! Foreigners who want to buy in Portugal and meet certain criteria may be exempt from paying tax on most forms of overseas income. Here’s how! In a bid to bounce back from the 2008 financial crisis, Portugal has… – Continue reading
Western Australia’s residential sector could be facing up to 12 months or more of limited interest from Chinese buyers in the wake of the state government’s decision to increase taxes on offshore purchasers. Earlier this week, as part of its annual state budget, the WA government announced that it would… – Continue reading
PROPERTY in the UK, particularly London, has always been popular with GCC investors for many years. It has remained a safe haven and an attractive destination for investors and their families from the GCC region perhaps more than any other major city. Depending on the level of investment, well… – Continue reading
The Canada Revenue Agency’s recently announced “postal code project” targets Canada’s richest neighbourhoods, to identify non-compliance apparent from discrepancies between residents’ tax reporting with their apparent wealth. Even prior to the postal code project, which focuses on any potential high net worth individual, the CRA had enhanced audit activity on… – Continue reading
Africa is estimated to have lost over $1 trillion in illicit financial flows (IFFs) within the past 50 years, with drainage of over $50 billion annually. These outflows, according to the African Union and Economic Commission for Africa (AU/ECA) High Level Panel on Illicit Financial Flows (IFFs), refer to “money… – Continue reading
Summary: The Chancellor unexpectedly announced a U-turn to tax gains made by non-residents on UK commercial property with effect from April 2019. This will have a significant impact on overseas investors into UK real estate and creates additional uncertainty during an already volatile time as Brexit negotiations continue. Overseas investors… – Continue reading
In the aftermath of Satoshi Nakamoto’s groundbreaking paper in 2009, money began travelling via a new financial route – virtual currencies. The first Bitcoin exchange was established on February 6, 2010 where Bitcoin traded for the first time for 0.3 cents. Last June, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants… – Continue reading
Plan proposes 12.5% tax rate on intellectual-property income Bills ‘upend decades of U.S. tax policy’ on tight deadline U.S. companies that make billions of dollars from patents and other intellectual property held offshore would be eligible for a special 12.5 percent tax rate on those earnings under the Senate tax… – Continue reading
The investigation wing of the income-tax department in Goa probing money laundering and black money has uncovered more than Rs 1,000 crore worth of tax evasion in recent months. The tax evasion cases came to light between April and October 2017 following the post-demonetisation crackdown on undisclosed income, a senior… – Continue reading
On October 2 the US Government released the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, setting out in legislation its plans for comprehensive reform of the US tax code. For businesses, the bill will bring about a landmark shift to a territorial corporate tax system, replacing the current worldwide tax basis regime… – Continue reading
The government’s planned changes to the tax law for South Africans working abroad – either permanently or on a long-term contracts – has brought financial emigration into sharp focus. Financial emigration is a formal process with the South African Reserve Bank (SARB) to change your tax status from “resident” to… – Continue reading
Move on multinational tax arrangements expected to be announced in the Budget An important change to multinational tax arrangements is expected to be announced in Budget 2018, limiting the tax write-offs big companies can take up front on movements of valuable intellectual property to Ireland. The move could provide a… – Continue reading
The latest changes in Australia’s housing affordability laws are likely to have an effect on property sales tax liabilities for Australian citizens and associated property taxes for expats living and working in the country as well as property investors. Firstly, Aussie citizens living overseas may lose their Capital Gains Tax… – Continue reading
In our last publication, we discussed the signing of the Ghana-Morocco Double Tax Agreement (“DTA”) and the provisions of the DTA in relation to the taxation of permanent establishments and business income. In the concluding part of the article, we will discuss the taxation of investment, employment and service incomes… – Continue reading
The Treasurer has recently released exposure draft legislation (Treasury Laws Amendment (Housing Tax Integrity) Bill 2017) in relation to removal of the CGT main residence exemption for foreign residents. The changes are part of the Commonwealth Government’s ‘housing affordability’ reforms announced in the 2017-18 Budget. This will affect both Australian… – Continue reading
According to China Merchants Bank and Bain & Company, a global business consulting firm, nearly 60 percent of China’s high net worth individuals have assets overseas in 2017, while in 2011 this ratio was only 20 percent. In 2015 and 2016, China’s annual financial assets exported overseas amounted to more… – Continue reading
INTRODUCTION HMRC have successfully challenged the offshore residence of Jersey companies holding UK real estate. In the case of Development Securities, the First Tier Tribunal held that Jersey companies set up to hold UK real estate were resident in the UK for tax purposes. This case serves as a timely… – Continue reading
Every individual has a nil rate band of £325,000 after which any assets above this threshold become taxable at 40% unless they are passing to an exempt beneficiary such as a charity or spouse/civil partner. This threshold has been frozen until the end of the 2020/21 tax year. The government… – Continue reading
I am a trustee of an offshore trust settled by a UK resident, non-UK domiciled settlor (with no UK origins) for the benefit of himself and his family. He previously opted to be taxed on the remittance basis. The trust holds only offshore investments. The settlor lent monies to the… – Continue reading
HM Revenue & Customs’ new online Trusts Registration Service is now up and running, and beginning to get the attention of trust providers in a big way. Here, tax commentator Gerry Brown looks at the new regulations, and what they will mean for those in the trusts industry. The UK… – Continue reading
The Act currently provides for income taxable as ‘capital gains’ to be computed after taking into account the full value of consideration received or accrued on transfer of a capital asset “A person doesn’t know how much he has to be thankful for until he has to pay taxes on… – Continue reading
Passing on your inheritance and your place of residence – the tax minefield QUESTION: I was born in Belfast and now live in Dublin. I have 2 children who both live in Dublin and I am contemplating retiring to Northern Ireland. Is there a difference between the Inheritance tax systems… – Continue reading
Tax returns and annual financial disclosures contain different information Candidates and members of Congress are required by law to file personal financial disclosures that are designed to shed a light on their potential conflicts of interest. These documents show a lawmakers’ assets and liabilities, reported in broad ranges. Tax returns,… – Continue reading
In Federal Budget 2017, the Government is clamping down on tax avoidance by foreign investors in real estate, by tightening the foreign resident capital gains tax withholding regime. The new laws apply to both Australian resident and foreign resident vendors: Australian resident vendors of real property of $750,000 or more… – Continue reading
Italy June 30 will apply OECD guidelines for “patent box” rules, a new version of the tax break for intangible property that will remove protections for brand identities originally put in place to protect iconic Italian fashion brands, observers told Bloomberg BNA. The new regime is substantially similar to the… – Continue reading
Transferring wealth to a spouse who isn’t a U.S. citizen can create complex gift, estate and generation-skipping transfer tax challenges. Such transfer tax issues require careful planning, as well as a clear understanding of the differences in how citizens and non-citizens are taxed. Unlike citizens and resident aliens, a non-resident… – Continue reading
KARACHI: The rate of withholding tax for non-filers against the winning amount on prize bonds has been increased to 25 percent from the existing 20 percent. The government through the Finance Bill, 2017 has proposed stern measures for non-filers in order to broaden the tax base and generate revenue. In… – Continue reading
You may be liable for capital gains tax. Here’s how. There is a common misconception that the sale of a person’s primary residence will never result in capital gains tax being payable; this is incorrect. For most taxpayers the sale of a primary residence will not result in a taxable… – Continue reading
For approximately 7,000 tax-evading individuals and businesses in Detroit, it may be time to pay up. Detroit tax collectors are conducting a large scale litigation campaign against tax evading individuals and businesses operating at 33 properties within the city’s downtown and midtown areas, the Associated Press reports. The team behind… – Continue reading
The American Institute of CPAs has sent a list of six tax regulations to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that it wants the Treasury Department to review under an executive order from President Trump calling for reducing overly burdensome tax regulations. Trump signed an executive order last month on identifying such… – Continue reading
Australian Treasurer Scott Morrison’s 2017 Budget focused on measures to cool the housing market and crack down on tax avoidance. Morrison handed down the Budget on May 9. He said the the budget would return to a surplus in 2020-21 and remain in surplus over the medium term. The Budget… – Continue reading
The United States continues to be a magnet for immigration, with nearly 8 million new immigrants settling here between 2008 to 2014 — and some of these new immigrants are high-net-worth individuals who are unprepared for the intricacies of the U.S. tax law, according to Seth Entin, a shareholder at… – Continue reading
Foreign ownership of new developments will be restricted, there will be steeper charges applied to purchases, less favourable tax treatment and charges on those with empty properties, in a raft of measures in the federal budget aimed at taking the sting out of the housing market. One measure to be… – Continue reading
KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has initiated audit of all those taxpayers who have made offshore transactions during the last six years, sources said on Tuesday. “All corporate and individual taxpayers, who have made offshore investments, have been selected for audit to check the tax concealment,” an official… – Continue reading
Overview of the Tax As expected, the Government of Ontario has introduced a new non-resident speculation tax (“NRST”) that takes effect on April 21, 2017. The NRST is a 15% tax payable on the purchase of an interest in residential property located in the “Greater Golden Horseshoe” area (which includes… – Continue reading
A new report from Transparency International has revealed that more than US$2.7 billion worth of property in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city, is hidden behind shell companies, many of which have close links to the United Kingdom, which has many offshore tax havens in its overseas dependencies. Using newly released… – Continue reading
A new report from Transparency International has revealed that more than US$2.7 billion worth of property in Sao Paulo, Brazil’s biggest city, is hidden behind shell companies, many of which have close links to the United Kingdom, which has many offshore tax havens in its overseas dependencies. Using newly released… – Continue reading
The Revenue Department on Friday said it has detected evasion of more than Rs 1.37 lakh crore in both direct and indirect taxes and identified over 1,000 shell companies which indulged in bogus transactions worth Rs 13,300 crore in the last three financial years. Warning tax evaders, it said the… – Continue reading
The federal government is considering doubling the tax rate applied to more than $199 billion worth of so-called stapled structures, in a move that experts say could scare off foreign investors. Separate securities, such as a share in a company and a unit in a trust, can be stapled together… – Continue reading
Property buyers will be quizzed about their tax residency under new anti-money-laundering rules being introduced by Westpac and its subsidiaries St George Bank, Bank of Melbourne and BankSA. Mortgage brokers, who act as intermediaries between the banks and buyers, are being told that from this week they must also ask… – Continue reading
The new regulations expand the filing requirements for Form 5472 to include disregarded entities with foreign owners when there are certain reportable transactions. If a non-U.S. person (individual or corporation) owns 100 percent of the stock of a U.S. corporate subsidiary, the subsidiary needs to obtain an employer identification number… – Continue reading
