Category: Activity

Pakistan money in Swiss banks dwindling for last three years

LONDON: Money kept by Pakistani nationals and enterprises in Swiss banks fell by 33 per cent to a record low of CHF380 million (Rs63 billion) in 2018, falling below the level of Indian funds for the first time in four years, Swiss National Bank’s (SNB) annual statistics report showed on… – Continue reading

BIR files tax evasion charges against 15 Metro Manila business taxpayers

The Bureau of Internal Revenue filed Thursday separate criminal cases against 15 business taxpayers in Metro Manila for alleged refusal to pay tax debts totaling to more than P493 million. This brought to 482 the number of tax evasion charges lodged by the bureau under its Run-After-Tax-Evaders (RATE) program under… – Continue reading

A Huge Tax Break Went to a Politically Connected Company in New Jersey Despite Red Flags

Holtec International told New Jersey regulators that Ohio was competing for its new headquarters. But officials there stripped the firm of past tax awards for failing to create the jobs it promised.n January 2014, as Holtec International explored sites for a new national headquarters and high-tech manufacturing center, the New… – Continue reading

India: Government Of India Ratifies MLI – Bringing India On The Cusp Of A New International Tax Regime

The Government of India (Union Cabinet) has approved the ratification of the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI) and India's final position to the same. ... - Continue reading

HMRC defeated as Jersey companies deemed not UK-resident

The UK’s Upper Tribunal has decided that three special purpose vehicles (SPVs) incorporated in Jersey as part of a tax planning arrangement were not tax resident in the UK for tax purposes, overturning a 2017 decision from the First-tier Tax Tribunal. Development Securities, a property and investment group based in… – Continue reading

Tax on reserve to hit cos’ business expansion: ICAB

The imposition of 15 per cent tax on reserve and retained earnings of listed companies will reduce capital and expansion scope of the companies, said the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh on Saturday. The ICAB made the statement in its post-budget review. Finance minister AHM Mustafa Kamal placed the… – Continue reading

India ratifies multilateral convention to curb abuse of tax treaties

The union cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday approved the ratification of the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (MLI). The Convention will modify India’s treaties in order to curb revenue loss through treaty abuse and base erosion… – Continue reading

RGN Reviews the State of Play for CRS and AEOI Rollout

Ivan Pelle, one of the Founders and Executive Director, expert in International Taxation at Recontam Global Network (RGN) is on a mission to make its clients and partners aware of the rollout of CRS and AEOI across Asia-Pacific and how this might affect tax planning and investment strategies. He addressed… – Continue reading

Oman to introduce Common Reporting Standards

Muscat: Oman, in line with its commitment to align itself with international best practices in tackling cross-border tax evasion and meeting the standards set by the European Union (EU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), is currently in the process of issuing regulations for automatic exchange of… – Continue reading

Chief of the economy for tax cuts

The head of the economic experts, Christoph Schmidt, has spoken out for tax cuts. “Other countries such as the United States have reduced business taxes. Germany has fallen back in the international tax competition,” said Schmidt of the German press Agency in Berlin. The tax burden had increased in the… – Continue reading

Australia: OECD releases beneficial ownership implementation toolkit to facilitate transparency

In brief – Beneficial ownership toolkit aims to help governments implement legal and supervisory frameworks to identify and collect beneficial ownership information Beneficial ownership is a critical issue in many areas of law, in particular tax and anti-money laundering. National authorities often struggle to keep up with private ingenuity in… – Continue reading

Luxembourg: Tax Dispute Resolution Mechanism

The Bill of Law 7431 (“Bill”) introduced by the Luxembourg government on 11 April 2019 implements the European Union (“EU”) Directive 2017/1852 dated 17 October 2017 on tax dispute resolution mechanisms in the EU (the “Directive”). The Directive meets the BEPS Action Plan 14 minimum standards and is a subsidiary… – Continue reading

Canada: With Recent Regulatory Developments, Canadian Business Interest In Cayman Will Grow

Canada is home to some of the largest multinational corporations in the world, a bustling pension fund and private equity industry, and growing numbers of alternative investment, real estate, and insurance shops. With dynamic industry and growth in the region, Canadian business leaders are leveraging Cayman as a financial centre to help… – Continue reading

NBR building up profiles of MNCs

National Board of Revenue is building up profiles of the multinational companies operating in the country for the purpose of conducting audits on the MNCs’ accounts to prevent tax evasion through misuse of transfer pricing system. Transfer Pricing Cell (TPC) of NBR is also conducting risk assessment of the companies’… – Continue reading

United States: IRS Faces Big Decisions To Update The 482 Transfer Pricing Rules

It has been over a year since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (“TCJA”) was enacted. The transfer pricing rules set forth in the treasury regulations with respect to IRC Sec. 482 (“the Section 482 regulations”) have remained relatively unchanged since 1986. Nonetheless, multinational corporations doing business within the United… – Continue reading

Cyprus: The True Impact Of BEPS On International Business Structures

In the last decade, OECD officials have recommended measures to combat tax avoidance, culminating first in the BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) initiative in 2015 and then the MLI (Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent BEPS) effective from July 2018 – yet have all their… – Continue reading

British overseas territories top corporate tax loophole index

Governments are stepping up efforts to recoup more tax from multinationals, with the European Commission forcing iPhone maker Apple to repay 13 billion euros after it used Ireland to cut its tax on European profits to almost zero. The Tax Justice Network, a group campaigning for transparency, said its study… – Continue reading

Cyprus: Cyprus–Kazakhstan First-Time Double Tax Treaty: Cyprus Ratifies

On 24 May 2019, Cyprus ratified the first-time double tax treaty it had signed with Kazakhstan on 15 May 2019 (the DTT). Certain legal procedures now need to take place in both states following which the DTT will ‘enter into force’. The DTT will be ‘in effect’ as from the… – Continue reading

Bahamas’ Corporate Tax World’s Most ‘Corrosive’

The Bahamas yesterday received no credit for laws said to have raised compliance costs by 75-80 percent after its corporate tax policies were rated as the world’s most “corrosive”. This nation achieved a “perfect” 100 out of 100, a score matched only by the Isle of Man, Turks & Caicos… – Continue reading

Delving into Hong Kong’s New Transfer Pricing Landscape

On July 4, 2018, Hong Kong’s Inland Revenue Department passed the country’s final Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 6) Bill 2017, (the Amendment Bill).  This Amendment Bill (which became law on July 13, 2018) specified the documentary requirements from a transfer pricing perspective and also introduced measures to address various recommendations… – Continue reading

Government Should Investigate BAT’s Tax Evasion

Kenya  Tobacco Control Alliance KETCA has today called upon the government to prioritize regulations that enable the  maximization of corporate tax revenue from British American Tobacco (BAT) Company. The  KETCA  Chairman, Joel  Gitali  said that  BAT avoids paying full corporate taxes which would have been used for public  services like… – Continue reading

Revised tax treaties usher in a new era in investment, taxation

Policy tweaks  curb evasion,  show  India  can woo investments without  sops Singapore, another major FDI contributor to India, too, enjoyed the same tax sops under a similar treaty with India NEW DELHI: For about a decade-and-a-half, revenue authorities examining foreign investment proposals received by the erstwhile Foreign Investment Promotion Board… – Continue reading