Cracking down on tax evasion could more than cover the cost of South West council cuts, campaigners claim, as they urge MPs to tackle financial loop holes. Local councillors argue that up to £380 million could be raised for Devon councils alone, if all businesses paid their “fair share” of… – Continue reading
McDonald’s Australia was able to more than halve its tax bill last year after routing payments via the low-tax nation of Singapore. Each year McDonald’s reduces its profit, and thus its local tax bill, by paying McDonald’s Asia Pacific based in Singapore, and registered in Delaware, a “service fee” amounting… – Continue reading
The present French Tax Update will focus on an overview of several noteworthy publications, including decisions issued during the past few months by the French Administrative Supreme Court (Conseil d’Etat) and French Constitutional Court (Conseil Constitutionnel), as well as the European Commission decision in respect of the Belgian Excess Profit… – Continue reading
The brands are known worldwide, and even though global companies like Google, Amazon, and Starbucks make billions — they pay little or no taxes at all in the UK and other markets where the firms make a majority of revenue and profits. Companies like Microsoft, Twitter, and Apple don’t set… – Continue reading
European Commission’s tax avoidance plan announced last week includes positives, like country-by-country reporting, but doesn’t go far enough to turn the tide against corporate tax dodging; Such reporting should be made public The European Commission last week announced proposals for new laws to tackle tax avoidance and evasion in the… – Continue reading
Mauritius will start automatic exchange of tax information with other nations only from September 2018, as it has postponed by a year implementation of global common reporting standard on tax matters. The delay could impact Indian authorities’ efforts to gather more tax-related information from Mauritius, which is allegedly being used… – Continue reading
The European Commission proposed a set of new rules to curb tax avoidance by large companies. This follows Google’s £130m “sweetheart” tax deal with UK’s HM Revenue and Customs to allegedly avoid paying its fair share of corporate tax that spreads across ten years. Euronews reported that one of the… – Continue reading
The whistleblower who helped to reveal how Google was avoiding paying tax in the UK said that Britain needed to create better incentives to encourage more people to come forward and reveal how multinationals are avoiding paying tax to the exchequer. Like millions of others this weekend, Barney Jones is… – Continue reading
The European Parliamentary Research Service has estimated that corporate tax-dodging costs the EU between $54.5 billion and $76.4 billion a year. The European Commission has proposed a package of measures to clamp down on corporate tax avoiders that would close a loophole companies have used to shift profits to low-tax… – Continue reading
The Italian Patent Box regime largely complies with the OECD recommendations to prevent base erosion and profit shifting. Its non-compliant features offer a brief window of opportunity for companies able to take swift advantage of its wide range of qualifying intangible assets. Many countries have implemented specific IP regimes through… – Continue reading
Australia is one of 31 countries to sign an agreement in Paris to confidentially share tax information on multinational companies in a bid to stamp out tax avoidance. The deal comes as Apple has taken advantage of accounting rules in its local business that could allow it to pay virtually… – Continue reading
Today’s proposals aim for a coordinated EU wide response to corporate tax avoidance, following global standards developed by the OECD last autumn. New rules are needed to align the tax laws in all 28 EU countries in order to fight aggressive tax practices by large companies efficiently and effectively. The… – Continue reading
2015 has officially come to an end. Amidst the ending celebrations, packing away of decorations, and last spoonful of dessert, many of us are putting together our work plans and resolutions for 2016. And looking back at last years’ list, there remains one capitalised, un-crossed-off item: BEPS Perhaps your organisation… – Continue reading
x The government plans to exchange financial information on multinational firms doing business here with members of the OECD and G20 countries in order to make them pay appropriate taxes to countries where profits are generated, officials said Thursday. The Ministry of Strategy and Finance said that it will follow… – Continue reading
Over the last two decades, an increasing number of companies have chosen to register or establish subsidiaries in offshore financial centres. OFCs are characterized by low taxation, flexible regulations, and secrecy policies (see Fig 1 for the list of OFCs, ranked by Offshore Attitude Index). Many companies with subsidiaries offshore… – Continue reading
Despite EU intentions to crack down on tax avoidance, the European Commission’s Anti-Tax Avoidance Package does not do what it says on the tin, warns Oxfam, and developing countries will feel the EU’s failure most. The package comes a week after the international NGO revealed that just 62 people own… – Continue reading
Tech company’s 2015 earnings will be announced next week as governments aim to crack down on Google’s controversial tax avoidance arrangements Google is poised to confirm next week that controversial tax structures in Ireland, the Netherlands and Bermuda have boosted its offshore cash mountain to more than $43bn (£30bn), figures… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI, JANUARY 26:Ministers and top tax officials from more than 30 countries including India will sign an international agreement on Wednesday to significantly advance the fight against corporate tax avoidance. This agreement – Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) – will be signed at the OECD in Paris, sources said…. – Continue reading
Transfer pricing is the general term for the pricing of cross-border and domestic, intra-group transactions between connected parties. It refers to the setting of prices for transactions between connected persons involving the transfer of property or services. Companies can be connected in various ways, for example, two wholly owned subsidiaries… – Continue reading
Here’s a transaction that did the rounds some years ago. If I wanted some foreign exchange in the future I could enter into a contract with a bank by which it would sell me some. Assume that, in order to get a bank to promise to give me $2bn in… – Continue reading
Directive follows a series of high-profile tax cases involving Google, Apple and others. Rampant corporate tax dodging and sweetheart deals that cheat governments and skew markets, have prompted the European Commission to unveil a new directive Thursday. The proposed legislation follows a quick succession of tax rulings, settlements and investigations… – Continue reading
The US Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has added more banks to the swelling list of financial institutions involved in tax avoidance. Customers of these banks owning up to past financial indiscretions under the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) face penalties based on balances over the past eight years. Penalties for… – Continue reading
On 5th October 2015, the OECD released its final reports setting out the action plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project, thus concluding the two year project which started at the behest of G20 countries in 2013. The reports are aimed at suggesting the measures to reform the… – Continue reading
GE division makes millions in sales to health service, and is net beneficiary from UK Exchequer One of the biggest suppliers of equipment and testing services to the NHS pays barely any corporate tax in the UK, despite receiving hundreds of millions of pounds a year from medical sales to… – Continue reading
Coinciding with the World Economic Forum in Davos this week Oxfam has issued a report – entitled An Economy for the 1% – outlining how wealth inequality has grown to the stage where 62 of the world’s richest people own as much as the poorest half of the world’s people… – Continue reading
Multinational companies are facing severe constraints on their ability to avoid taxes on their activities in Europe as regulators seek to close loopholes laid bare by the LuxLeaks scandal Pierre Moscovici, the EU’s tax policy chief, will set out plans next week to curb practices such as using debt interest… – Continue reading
While most computer users are likely familiar with Adobe products, they are probably not aware of the company’s tax-dodging practices. The maker of the ubiquitous PDF reader and Flash software earlier this week released its annual report, which revealed the company is rapidly diverting profits offshore. Its stash of “permanently… – Continue reading
Tax dodging by the super-rich is one of the main drivers of global income inequality and must be sharply curtailed, according to a new report from the global nonprofit Oxfam. Citing research by Berkeley economist Gabriel Zucman — a protégé of Thomas Piketty, author of the global bestseller on inequality,… – Continue reading
India’s biggest source of FDI is India itself, money departing on a short holiday to a tax haven and then routed back as FDI. Will the government muster up the political will to clamp down on the tax-allergic business elite? This could be a bumper year for the ever-lucrative tax… – Continue reading
Apple Inc. is pushing back against an European tax investigation that could force the iPhone maker to pay more than $8 billion in back taxes. Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook met with the European Commission’s antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager in Brussels on Thursday to press the company’s case. After the… – Continue reading
According to their acolytes, the rich are great innovators and job creators. But they haven’t lived up to that billing in this century as both job growth and overall economic growth have been extraordinarily weak since 2000. If their benefit to the economy is in doubt, no one can dispute… – Continue reading
Ireland’s emergence from economic meltdown provides a model for other nations, the Taoiseach has told the World Economic Forum. Enda Kenny also defended his country’s tax arrangements with multinational companies, telling the audience past claims that it was a tax haven for big businesses were without foundation. Mr Kenny took… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: In what could lead to an increase in domestic tax liabilities of many Indian conglomerates and multinationals, the government is set to introduce a framework for Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), a global agreement to check tax avoidance by multinationals, in the upcoming Budget. Industry sources expect the… – Continue reading
People using trusts to shelter income and thereby avoid tax could be hit with higher bills under a review by the Australian Taxation Office. The agency has told Fairfax Media it is conducting a pilot program to determine whether trusts are complying with tough anti-avoidance rules when they distribute income… – Continue reading
Two weeks remain to influence draft legislation which reduces the ability for individuals to convert income distributions from a company into capital gains by way of winding-up that company, an expert has warned.19 Jan 2016. Proposals amending the Transactions in Securities (TIS) rules were published by HMRC on 9 December… – Continue reading
Wherever you and your clients stand on the ethics of tax avoidance – and on offers of 70% commission – moral considerations are now being superseded by more practical concerns of the personal damage attempting to avoid tax can cause, writes Laura Miller… There are many reasons to avoid tax… – Continue reading
Banking and IT contractors forced to stump up tens of thousands of pounds to settle contested tax debts last year are now in line to be repaid, after the UK tax authority accepted it should not have issued payment demands. HM Revenue & Customs has withdrawn so-called accelerated payment notices… – Continue reading
Wherever you and your clients stand on the ethics of tax avoidance – and on offers of 70% commission – moral considerations are now being superseded by more practical concerns of the personal damage attempting to avoid tax can cause, writes Laura Miller… There are many reasons to avoid tax… – Continue reading
There will be no end to the inequality crisis until world leaders end the era of tax havens, once and for all, according to a report from charity Oxfam. In its report, “An Economy for the 1%”, published ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Oxfam has challenged world… – Continue reading
The European Parliament has voted in favour of a “Fair Tax Payer” label across the EU to tackle tax avoidance. The proposal was passed on 16 December by 500 votes to 122, and drew cross-party support from members of the green, socialist, liberal, labour and conservative blocks. The plan came… – Continue reading
Plans to restrict the generous tax treatment of interest costs — a key aspect of Britain’s business-friendly taxation regime — are unnecessary and potentially damaging, companies have told the Treasury. Professional bodies and business groups are voicing fears about the restrictions that are set to be introduced as part of… – Continue reading
Nearly a third of the 26 large foreign banks operating in Australia, including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, Lloyds and BNP Paribas, had no taxable income in 2014, data released by the Australian Taxation Office shows. Eight banks with total revenue of $9 billion had no taxable income, while Credit Suisse, which… – Continue reading
The only thing worse than paying taxes is the idea that other people avoid paying their fair share of them. On the subject of tax avoidance by other people, I can think of at least three principal feelings. As the kids say, I feel all the feelings. Outright tax fraud… – Continue reading
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), the world’s company by market capitalization, may face more than $8 billion tax bill in connection with the investigation of the European Commission regarding its tax policies, according to Bloomberg. Matt Larson, a litigation analyst Bloomberg Intelligence analyzed the European Commission’s investigation against Apple, which was accused… – Continue reading
The introduction of government measures to clamp down on tax avoidance could cost the UK development sector as much as £600m, according to a new study Plans to restrict the tax deductibility could harm investment in debt-reliant industries, the British Property Federation (BPF) warned. Despite supporting the initiative, the BPF… – Continue reading
The Netherlands will be at the forefront of efforts to combat multinationals’ tax avoidance, its finance minister has said. The comments come amid a dispute with the European Commission over his country’s tax treatment of Starbucks. The Commission, the EU’s executive arm, will propose a new set of binding rules… – Continue reading
The European Commission has ordered Belgium to recover €700 million from 35 large companies in back taxes in the EU executive’s biggest move yet to crack down on tax avoidance by multinationals. The Commission said Belgium’s “excess profit” tax system, whereby multinationals’ economies of scale can enable them to reduce… – Continue reading
Things just keep getting worse for Gene the Taxi King. A federal judge ruled Tuesday that New York taxi mogul Evgeny “Gene” Freidman illegally transferred more than $60 million in real estate assets into offshore trusts as a means of evading ex-lender Citibank. The ruling, which cited “numerous and glaring”… – Continue reading
The Netherlands will prioritize action against corporate tax avoidance during its Presidency of the Council of the European Union, from now until the end of June. In a report detailing its plans for its six-month term, the Dutch Government said: “The Netherlands Presidency will prioritize action against tax evasion and… – Continue reading
UK property companies are seeking changes to the proposed implementation of a global agreement to fight tax avoidance that is set to add £660m to their annual tax bill. Private equity and infrastructure companies are also among those groups facing additional payments under OECD rules on base erosion and profit… – Continue reading
