Bern, 24.11.2015 – On 23 November 2015, Switzerland and Brazil signed in Brasilia an agreement on the exchange of information on tax matters (“Tax Information Exchange Agreement” TIEA). The Agreement with Brazil is the tenth TIEA signed by Switzerland. The agreement deepens the bilateral relations between Switzerland and Brazil. Switzerland… – Continue reading
Switzerland is on its way towards the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI). The AEOI will lead to the transmission of sets of data from a reporting financial institution (e.g. a bank) to the domestic tax authority. The domestic tax authority will have to exchange such data with the respective foreign… – Continue reading
As the founder of a startup company, one of the first questions you need to consider is “where should I incorporate my company?” Investors are drawn to the British Virgin Islands (BVI) for its flexible and modern corporate regime, tax neutrality, respected legal system, political stability and effective regulatory framework…. – Continue reading
The blacklisting saga did not start with Spain, but it did end with a timely correction related to it. Harbour Times explains how Hong Kong was taken off the Spanish tax haven list. Friends of Harbour Times would be familiar with the remedy of Hong Kong being named a non-cooperative… – Continue reading
We are all aware of “base erosion and profit shifting” or “BEPS”. On 5 October 2015, the OECD released its final reports in connection with its BEPS Action Plan including its final report on Action 15 dealing with the development of a multilateral instrument to modify bilateral tax treaties (“Final… – Continue reading
Swaziland will implement the United States Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act FATCA 2010 by collecting tax from US individuals and companies operating in the country.APA learnt on Friday that the act, whose objective is the facilitation of the exchange of financial information between US and other countries where its citizens… – Continue reading
Introduction Tax exemptions Eligibility Trademarks Calculating tax benefits Eligible costs Introduction At the end of 2014, the government presented the 2015 budget, which introduced a ‘Patent Box’ tax regime in line with similar schemes adopted in other European countries. It applies to corporate income tax and regional tax on productive… – Continue reading
THE United States of America (USA) wants all companies of US origin, individuals and body corporates that are resident in Swaziland to report their financial information in their home country, the USA. This development is a result of Swaziland government announcing that it will implement the United States Foreign Account… – Continue reading
The governments of Malta and the Caribbean island of Caraçao have signed a treaty, which both sides say will prevent tax evasion and the double taxation of companies operating in both jurisdictions. In line with internationally agreed standards, Malta’s finance minister Edward Scicluna and his counterpart from Caraçuo Jose Jardim… – Continue reading
Employees in tax functions need to fundamentally change the way they use and gather data if they are to meet the growing demands on business of tax transparency, reform and technology enabled decision making. PwC’s latest research into the Tax function of the future – Unlocking the power of data… – Continue reading
It has been announced on the official website of the Directorate of Revenue Administration on July 30, 2015 that the “Agreement on Increasing International Tax Compliance through Extended Information Exchange” was signed in Ankara between Turkey and USA within the scope of Foreign Accounts Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA“). Under the… – Continue reading
Latest developments under the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) was one of the key points of a recent four-day visit by KPMG’s global leader for Transfer Pricing Services Sean Foley to Vietnam. He shared the issue with Vietnam’s General… – Continue reading
Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Azerbaijan and the U.S. are likely to sign another agreement in support of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA). Deputy Taxes Minister Natig Amirov has stated that the general agreement on cooperation has already been ratified by the head of state. “Work is underway over the signing… – Continue reading
18 November 2015 – The Group of 20 (G20) leaders have called for more collective action to achieve strong, sustainable and balanced growth that can be universally beneficial. In a communique issued at the end of the summit, the leaders agreed that not only do they have to do more… – Continue reading
Hong Kong (HKSAR) – The Financial Secretary, Mr John C Tsang, on behalf of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, today (November 18), signed in Bucharest an agreement on the avoidance of double taxation with Romania. Romania’s State Secretary for Public Finance, Mr Attila Gy?rgy, signed on… – Continue reading
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval for the protocol amending the Agreement between India and Kuwait for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income. The Protocol provides for internationally accepted standards… – Continue reading
As early adopters of the new global standard for the automatic exchange of information; Jersey and Spain signed a tax information exchange agreement (TIEA) on Tuesday. The agreement was signed at the Spanish Embassy in London by Jersey’s assistant chief minister, senator Philip Ozouf, who said: “We attach great importance… – Continue reading
The Brazilian Government has submitted to Congress four tax information exchange agreements (TIEAs) concluded with Uruguay, Jersey, Guernsey, and the Cayman Islands, Brazil’s Ministry of Finance said on November 11, 2015. Congress will also consider a protocol to expand and upgrade provisions for the exchange of information with India in… – Continue reading
A Protocol to Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement between India and Denmark that has entered into force on February 1, 2015, has been notified by Notification No. 45/2015/F No. 503/02/1998-FDI-I, to expand the scope of Exchange of Information (EOI) clause under Article 26 by substituting the same with a new Article… – Continue reading
The fundamental contradiction between IndAS and taxation is that the latter is based on real income theory while the former is based on economic substance of transactions The country is undergoing an overhaul under the present government at the Centre, and so are its corporate laws. The country’s tax regime… – Continue reading
The Common Reporting Standard (CRS) impacts Irish funds from 1 January 2016. The CRS framework represents a globally coordinated approach to the disclosure of income earned by individuals and organisations in order to combat tax evasion. It emerged from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in February 2014… – Continue reading
On October 6, 2015 Poland and Sri Lanka concluded a new Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income (Hereafter: the DTA). When entering into force this new DTA will replace the existing Double Taxation Agreement (stemming from 1980)… – Continue reading
The voluntary disclosure is passing under the banner of the last kilometer. By November 30, the games will be made. One can already say that the operation is a success announced. Order of Chartered Accountants of Milan has estimated that the transaction will derive from the tax authorities at least… – Continue reading
On November 13, 2015 the UK HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) published a policy paper setting out planned negotiations on Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs) and Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs). According to the policy paper HMRC will begin negotiations on double taxation agreements with: • Nepal • Romania • Trinidad… – Continue reading
10 November 2015, Guernsey and Spain signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement. The two countries shall notify each other through appropriate channels that the internal procedures required by each Country for the entry into force of the Agreement have been complied with. The Agreement shall enter into force after a… – Continue reading
French lawmakers sought to tackle corporate tax avoidance on Thursday, voting to require big French companies to report tax information on their foreign activities on a country-by-country basis from 2016. The French government wants to get an early start on implementing an OECD recommendation for country-by-country reporting that aims to… – Continue reading
By the very criteria set in the United States by the Multistate Tax Commission (MTC), several states in the US are “tax havens”. But, they have not been named in the legislation passed by the legislatures of Oregon, Montana and others. Among the MTC criteria for determining a tax haven… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: A US passport doesn’t look like such a priced possession anymore. Some Indians even want to surrender their hard-won green cards. India and the US are set to freely exchange financial information about their citizens, leaving no asset concealed. This could mean US tax officials imposing punitive levies on… – Continue reading
Contractors are running out of time to get to grips with international tax regulations, according to CXC Global. The contractor management specialist has warned professionals that the new automatic exchange of tax information, put in place by the OECD, will mean that countries will have considerably more information on potential… – Continue reading
Hyderabad: Customers of several public and private sector banks across the Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are finding fault with their bankers for asking to fill up more forms under Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), and Common Reporting Standard (CRS). The new rules have come into effect from November 1,… – Continue reading
The Caribbean island says its financial system is all aboveboard, yet it remains a gateway to less scrupulous offshore havens like the Cayman Islands. BRIDGETOWN — Is there “dirty” money strewn across the pristine sands of Barbados? Does something sinister hide beneath the glistening coral reefs of this former pirate… – Continue reading
The implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliant Act is showing consistent progress with thousands of banks in over 150 countries agreeing to share financial accounts data of their US clientele with US taxation authorities. This clearly indicates the firm resolve of the US administration to make this initiative a… – Continue reading
Presidency sent to Congress ratification of treaties with Jersey, Guernsey, the Cayman Islands and Uruguay; text follows the G20 guidelines The Presidency referred for evaluation of Congress four agreements for the exchange of tax information (TIEA, which stands for the English term “Tax Information Exchange Agreement”) entered into with Uruguay,… – Continue reading
The Common Reporting Standard (“CRS”) will impose new investor due diligence and reporting obligations on funds and other financial institutions based in “early adopter” participating jurisdictions, with effect from January 1, 2016. According to the OECD, all major financial centres have now signed up to the standard. Financial institutions should… – Continue reading
Mexico and Argentina have signed an agreement for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and capital. The agreement allocates taxing rights to the two countries, to avoid taxation being levied twice on the same income from companies and individuals… – Continue reading
The New Zealand foreign trust regime – its use in international wealth planning The New Zealand “foreign trust” regime came into being over 25 years ago. It arose from a domestic initiative to make the use of offshore trusts for tax minimisation more difficult for New Zealand residents, by imposing… – Continue reading
Dorothy Coleman, the NAM’s Vice President, Tax and Domestic Policy, today joined U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) and a panel of experts, including representatives from the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), to discuss key international tax issues, including the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) project recommendations recently… – Continue reading
Article by Patrick W Martin and Ashley Fife With a net worth of USD77.1 billion, Mexican telecoms businessman Carlos Slim Helú was ranked the second richest person in the world in a 2015 survey.1 At the end of 2014, 16 of Mexico’s citizens were on Forbes’ billionaires list.2 As for… – Continue reading
Ghana’s financial secrecy – the tendency to facilitate tax evasion, money laundering and illicit financial transfers – has been rated at a fairly high 67 per cent. The Tax Justice Network, an organisation concerned with tax havens and tax evasion, ranked Ghana 48th out of 92 territories, in its 2015… – Continue reading
Transportation and other issues also taken up by the Cabinet Prague, Nov 9 (ČTK) —The Czech government today approved the Industry and Trade Ministry’s program Expansion, under which Kč 9.5 billion (€350 million) should be provided in support of small and medium-sized enterprises until 2020, Deputy Prime Minister Pavel Bělobrádek… – Continue reading
The UK is one of several countries to introduce voluntary disclosure schemes. More people are coming forward to regularise their affairs as they realise there is nowhere left to hide in this new world of tax transparency. Tax authorities and financial institutions are gearing up for the new automatic exchange… – Continue reading
The Isle of Man has signed a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with Romania. The TIEA was signed during a ceremony in London on 4 November 2015, by His Excellency Mihnea Ioan Motoc, Romania Ambassador in London and Eddie Teare MHK, the Isle of Man’s Treasury Minister. Mr Teare said:… – Continue reading
The UAE delegation, which was headed by HE Obaid Humaid Al Tayer, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, has concluded its official visits to the Scandinavian countries. These visits aimed at strengthening the country’s network of agreements on exchange of information for tax purposes, reviewing the financial practices adopted by… – Continue reading
No member state of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) ranks among the top 20 jurisdictions worldwide for financial secrecy. The United States of America (at number 3), Germany (8), Japan (12) and Britain (15), all rate as bigger tax havens than any CARICOM jurisdiction, according to the Tax Justice Network (TJN),… – Continue reading
ST. JOHN’S, Antigua, Friday November 6, 2015 – No member state of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) ranks among the top 20 jurisdictions worldwide for financial secrecy. The United States of America (at number 3), Germany (8), Japan (12) and Britain (15), all rate as bigger tax havens than any CARICOM… – Continue reading
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting action plan is likely to have a major impact on tax planning at multinational corporations by both tax professionals and corporate treasurers. Tom Driscoll, U.S. managing partner for international tax, transfer pricing, and indirect tax at Deloitte Tax… – Continue reading
(Seychelles News Agency) – Seychelles’ efforts to comply with the widely-recognised Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)’s regulations on the sharing of tax information has led the island nation’s jurisdiction to be rated ‘largely compliant’. This follows a re-assessment of the island nation’s ‘practical implementation’ of its legal and… – Continue reading
British MEP Anneliese Dodds has accused national governments of hampering progress in tackling corporate tax dodging, warning that EU capitals are “far too focussed on their own self-interests”. On the anniversary of the breaking of the LuxLeaks scandal, Dodds said MEPs had made some progress in stamping out aggressive tax… – Continue reading
A delegation from the UAE’s Ministry of Finance (MoF) is on its official visit to Denmark, where it seeks to strengthen trade relations and sign an agreement on the exchange of information for tax purposes at the Danish Ministry of Taxation. The agreement was signed by Obaid Humaid Al Tayer,… – Continue reading
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval today for amending the Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) signed between India and Turkmenistan in 1997 for the avoidance of double taxation and for the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income… – Continue reading
