In order to encourage the growth of international trade including that of financial services, successive Maltese governments have sought to conclude double tax treaties with important trading partners as well as with emerging countries. This policy is expected to continue in the future. To date, treaties are in force with… – Continue reading
Over 90 jurisdictions have committed to the OECD’s Common Reporting Standard (CRS), creating comprehensive global automatic information exchange for financial assets and the entities through which such assets may be held. Over 70 jurisdictions have signed the OECD’s Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement, which implements the CRS. The CRS is scheduled… – Continue reading
Taxpayers in Romania and throughout the world can expect to pay more tax in the years ahead as governments expand their tax systems to repay debt and pay for increased social welfare, and international efforts to update tax legislation for the 21st century take hold. These are the conclusions of… – Continue reading
QCOSTARICA via Tax-news.com – The inclusion of a passport revocation provision to fund part of the proposed US highway bill would “disproportionately” affect American citizens living overseas, like in Costa Rica, according to a recent release from the deVere Group, a financial consultancy. The provision, which would be effective from… – Continue reading
Pfizer $160bn purchase of Allergan will see firm move HQ to Dublin Ireland’s exchequer is in line for an annual boost of up to €620 million following the announcement that Pfizer is buying rival Allergan in a $160 billion (€151 billion) deal. The takeover will see Pfizer move its corporate… – Continue reading
MILAN (Reuters) – San Marino is looking for a new central bank governor to clean up its banks – traditional havens for tax dodgers – and fix their badly damaged balance sheets. Big problems for the micro-state began in 2009 when Italy, hit hard by the global financial crisis, added… – Continue reading
The evidence is in: company tax harms investment, innovation, and entrepreneurship — and even reduces wages. Not that you’d know this from reading some stories this week, which claim advocates of company tax cuts had avoided using evidence. This seems to be wilfully ignoring the strong evidence that is in… – Continue reading
The latest Tax Reform Business Barometer survey, issued by The Tax Council and Ernst & Young, found that tax professionals expect Congress to approve tax reform legislation no earlier than 2017, with most congressional leaders having all but given up hope that tax reform is achievable in the remainder of… – Continue reading
A European Parliamentary debate this afternoon discussed measures that would lead to the curtailing of tax evasion and avoidance. A debate was sparked last year when it was revealed that Luxembourg had struck preferential multi-billion dollar tax deals with some of the world’s largest multinational corporations. This debate has been… – Continue reading
Of these, one advance pricing agreement has a ‘rollback provision’ The government has concluded 11 agreements to tax multi-national companies via the transfer-pricing mode. Of these, one advance pricing agreement (APA) has a ‘rollback provision’, which means those relating to previous years. The government has signed 22 APAs so far… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: India proposes a major clean-up of decade-and-a-halfold rules that govern the prices of imports by related parties – such as arms of multinationals from their parent – in an attempt to reduce delays and disputes and make it easier to do business. The finance ministry is not just… – Continue reading
The global rupee bonds would be used to refinance costly loans or raise capital for new projects with little currency risk Mumbai/Singapore: Some of India’s most indebted infrastructure and steel groups are considering so-called masala bonds to diversify their funding options as local banks tighten lending, investment banking sources with… – Continue reading
The offshore industry is poised for growth, as the industry insiders see the demand for offshore financial and corporate services likely to increase in the coming years, according to an industry survey conducted by OIL, a corporate service provider specializing in international incorporations. The industry has been battling negative perceptions… – Continue reading
The offshore industry is poised for growth, as the industry insiders see the demand for offshore financial and corporate services likely to increase in the coming years, according to an industry survey conducted by OIL, a corporate service provider specializing in international incorporations. The industry has been battling negative perceptions… – Continue reading
Wealth inequality is a scourge of many countries. Last year, Credit Suisse reported that the richest 0.7% of adults in the world owned 44% of global wealth. Closer to home, earlier this year, the Lien Centre for Social Innovation’s ‘A Handbook on Inequality, Poverty and Unmet Social Needs in Singapore‘… – Continue reading
Earlier we already reported that Malta and Curaçao had signed a DTA. When we wrote our earlier article we had not yet been able to locate the text of the DTA. Now however, the English version of the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal… – Continue reading
The extra corporate tax collected by tax inspectors targeting the UK’s largest businesses fell 13 per cent last year to £3.5bn, according to new figures, reports the Financial Times. Heather Self, a partner at Pinsent Masons, international law firm, said the decline was likely to be a sign that HMRC… – Continue reading
Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci says the country is set to follow in the footsteps of Spain, Portugal and Cyprus and launch its own Golden Visa scheme to grant citizenship to those foreigners who invest from €500,000-€1m in property, reports Property Showrooms. Leading Istanbul agent, Universal21, says the move could… – Continue reading
The OECD proposals make it imperative for MNEs to review their means of doing business in India With the global economic recovery hanging in a humdrum, increasing curbs on welfare spending even within developed countries, and business boundaries being blunted in a virtual world with resources spread across the globe,… – Continue reading
The English version of the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes on Income and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion as concluded on August 24, 2015 between the Government of the Italian Republic and the Government of Barbados (Hereafter: the DTA) has been made available on… – Continue reading
Complexity of regulations means first adopters will gain competitive advantage, newly released white paper notes The banking industry should be braced for further complexity when it comes to the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) and the looming Global FATCA (GATCA). And those institutions that move more quickly to… – Continue reading
On July 22 2015, National Treasury released for comment the Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, 2015 (DTLAB 2015), the Draft Tax Administration Laws Amendment Bill, 2015 (DTALAB 2015), and related Explanatory Memoranda. Section 9D currently provides for diversionary income rules which seek to impute into the income of South African… – Continue reading
SARS may now impose a dividends tax on dividends paid by a South African company to a Cypriot shareholder as provided for in the Protocol to the current agreement for the avoidance of double taxation between South Africa and Cyprus. In terms of the current agreement for the avoidance of… – Continue reading
Following a ruling by the Swiss Federal Tax Administration, payments of interest under the DDM Treasury SEK 300 million Senior Secured Notes with ISIN SE0005280831 (the “Notes”) are subject to Swiss withholding tax since the refinancing executed in June 2015. On 23 June 2015 certain amendments to the documentation in… – Continue reading
The World Bank has placed India twelve notches higher than last year in its Ease of Doing Business rankings for 2016. This comes close on the heels of the country’s sixteen place leap on the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness index. These rankings underline the impact of the recent spate… – Continue reading
Hong Kong’s Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, K C Chan, has emphasized that the Government is committed to complying with the latest international tax developments, including on tax transparency and tackling base erosion and profit shifting. In his speech to the Taxation Institute of Hong Kong 2015 CTA… – 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
SINGAPORE-listed Sinarmas Land is looking to unlock the value of its investment properties in Indonesia by spinning them into a real estate investment trust (Reit) but has not decided on whether to list in Singapore or Jakarta, with tax benefits on offer likely to be a key determinant. “The unlocking… – Continue reading
Professional services firm PwC has predicted that UK Chancellor George Osborne will introduce an “apprenticeship levy” and seek to lessen the impact of tax credit cuts when he delivers his Autumn Statement on November 25. In his Summer Budget, Osborne pledged that the Government would “introduce an apprenticeship levy on… – Continue reading
Today, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) released statistics for the 2014 reporting period on the mutual agreement procedure (MAP) caseloads of all of its member countries and of non-OECD economies that agreed to provide such statistics. The OECD has already provided MAP statistics for reporting periods 2006… – Continue reading
The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) today released annual statistics on the mutual agreement procedure (MAP) caseloads of all its member countries and of non-OECD economies that agree to provide such statistics for the 2014 reporting period. Today’s OECD release explains: The MAP statistics correspond to the 2014… – Continue reading
A pending Protocol, that would amend the income tax treaty between Luxembourg and France, may not be effective until 2017. RATIFICATION PENDING The Luxembourg Parliament passed a bill to ratify the fourth Protocol to the income tax treaty (1958) between Luxembourg and France. However, it currently appears that the ratification… – Continue reading
On 10 November 2015, the Danish Ministry of Taxation introduced a draft bill (bill no. L46) including an amendment to section 3B of the Danish Tax Control Act (skattekontrolloven). The purpose of the proposed amendment is to implement Action Point 13 of the BEPS Initiative (Guidance on Transfer Pricing Documentation… – Continue reading
Through tweaks to the Model Tax Convention, the OECD believes its work on profit shifting will stem elaborate structures, such as commissionaire arrangements, used by large multinationals to avoid the creation of a permanent establishment. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, however, responded to concerns from taxpayers by narrowing… – Continue reading
The U.K. and the U.S. governments will adopt different approaches to implementing the OECD’s final package of measures to tackle base erosion and profit shifting, panelists at a London forum said. The U.K. government considers an inclusive, multilateral instrument to upgrade bilateral tax treatments as the “best way” for countries… – Continue reading
DESPITE repeated allegations from the Spanish government that Gibraltar is a tax haven, news is regularly received that suggests this is far from the case, and that the government has been doing all that it can to ensure that it complies as fully as possible with international standards, whilst generating… – Continue reading
LK Hewlett Customers throughout the region are likely to see additional or increased fees and charges as their banks incur mounting financial burden in the face of FATCA and CRS. The regional banks have recently had to expand their IT, security and human resources to become compliant with the US’… – Continue reading
Already from December 1, 2015 come into force provisions requiring all financial institutions calling their clients to make statements about their residence tax (FATCA – Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act). It is the first significant action since records to OPF. FATCA imposes on foreign institutions, including the Polish reporting obligations… – Continue reading
Big name companies have faced a lot of criticism from the media about the low taxes they pay in some countries. Lately, the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has finalised a set of recommendations to stop base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS). The rules are aimed at curbing… – Continue reading
Proposed measure would allow US to revoke passport if individual has over $50,000 unpaid taxes The 8 million Americans living overseas should “ensure their financial affairs are in order and compliant” before the New Year, or face having their passports revoked, warns a financial advisory organisation. The company – deVere… – Continue reading
The eight million Americans living overseas, including In Hong Kong and the rest of Asia, should “ensure their financial affairs are in order and compliant” before the New Year, or face having their passports revoked, warns the boss of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations. Nigel Green,… – Continue reading
ISLAMABAD: In a major scam tax evasion of hundreds of billions of rupees and whitening of black money worth trillions of rupees take place every year with the government authorities facilitating the extremely undervalued sales and purchases of thousands of residential and commercial properties throughout the country every day. While… – Continue reading
The OECD’s final report on Action 13 under the base erosion and profit shifting project—which calls for countries to adopt a country-by-country reporting template, master file and local file—has the potential to be one of its “greatest legacies.” Marlies de Ruiter, head of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s… – Continue reading
Under the judge’s order, Microsoft must hand over more documents and make some former and current executives available for interviews in a long-running tax audit of the company’s books. Microsoft must comply with Internal Revenue Service requests for documents and interviews with current and former executives as part of a… – Continue reading
LK Hewlett St. Kitts-Nevis Permanent Representative to the OAS, Dr. Everson Hull has expressed strong views on the impact of FATCA on the region’s banking system. Delivering a presentation to over 200 banking executives and other stakeholders in the financial services sector from across the Caribbean at the recent Caribbean… – Continue reading
The IRS has upgraded the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Online Registration System, enabling sponsoring entities to register their sponsored entities to obtain a global intermediary identification number. The upgraded system also will allow users to update their information, download registration tables and change their financial institution type. The… – Continue reading
WILLEMSTAD – A 20-member delegation from Curaçao participated in the STEP Latin America Conference (STEPLatAm) 2015, which was held on the 22nd and 23rdof October at the Renaissance Hotel in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The STEPLatAm conference is a leading conference for wealth structuring and trust and estate practitioners. During the… – Continue reading
The European Commission has requested that the Netherlands amend the limitation on benefits clause in its double tax treaty with Japan. The Commission said that, on the basis of previous cases such as Gottardo (C-55/00) and Open Skies (C-466/98), a member state concluding a treaty with a third country cannot… – Continue reading
EXCLUSIVE The self-styled biochemist known as “Dr Ageless”, Shane Charter, appears to have shrugged off the Essendon supplements scandal and is pursuing a new business venture — chasing more than $11 million hidden in offshore tax havens by notorious conman Peter Foster. Mr Charter has been negotiating for several months… – Continue reading
Failed tax avoidance business Welbeck hired young actors to push schemes onto City big earners, and reaped millions in commissions that fuelled lifestyles of fast cars and exotic holidays, according to a whistleblower who worked at the firm. Welbeck Solutions sold pensions and financial products, but it specialised in tax… – Continue reading
