I. VAT and Customs In many cases, the principal in the contract manufacturing relationship owns some or all of the raw materials, work-in-process and finished goods throughout the manufacturing process. The principal and many of the suppliers are typically outside of the manufacturing jurisdiction. 1. Generally Speaking, What Are The… – Continue reading
After finding them guilty of manipulation in the stock market for making illegal gains, Sebi has restrained the 178 entities, including Pine Animation, from accessing the securities market. In a fresh clampdown on misuse of stock market platform for suspected money laundering activity, Sebi today banned Pine Animation and 177… – Continue reading
Analysts at the accountancy firm found that the UK system was even more intricate than the equivalent structure in France The British property tax system is now the most “complex” in the world, endangering London’s reputation as an investment haven, according to new analysis from accountancy firm PwC. Research showed… – Continue reading
New Delhi: Market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has asked bourses to take immediate action against entities involved in misuse of stock exchange system for tax evasion, Parliament was told Friday. Preliminary enquiries conducted by the regulator in the recent past, inter alia, indicate that certain persons/companies… – Continue reading
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) have gained huge popularity in recent times with Irish investors; however, there has been much complexity and uncertainty in relation to their tax treatment. The concept of an ETF is not specifically provided for in Irish tax legislation. It depends on the legal form and characteristics… – Continue reading
PART I – CAPITAL GAINS TAX If you are thinking of doing a Will, or you are the executor of a deceased estate, it is important to consider what taxes and duties may be payable by the estate or the beneficiaries when the time comes for an executor to deal… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to South Korea this month, the Cabinet today approved revising the double tax avoidance pact with Seoul to provide tax stability and facilitate flow of investment and technology between the countries. The Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister gave its approval… – Continue reading
UK funds invested in India could face demands for tax from which they thought they were exempt. Minimum alternate tax (MAT), a tax on the book profit of a company, has been in existence in India in its current form since 2001 and is levied at 18.5 per cent. Because… – Continue reading
Bipartisan legislation has been introduced into the House of Representatives to amend the Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) of 1980 that requires foreign investors to pay taxes on capital gains when selling commercial properties or real estate securities in the United States. To encourage foreign investment in… – Continue reading
A guide to Spanish taxation in 2015 for expats, with up-to-date information on income tax, VAT, property tax and other taxes for residents and non-residents in Spain. If you are living and working in Spain, you will be liable to pay Spanish taxes on your income and assets and will… – Continue reading
The IRS, the most powerful and least accountable agency of the federal government, is an admitted criminal enterprise. To deal with this, Republican candidates for president are placing tax reform at the top of their agendas. You will have to guess why the Democrats seem not to care. Sen. Ted… – Continue reading
The patent box regime, adopted at the end of 2014 with Italy’s Stability Law, was recently modified by the Investment Compact Decree and implemented into law at the end of March 2015. A distinctive feature of the Italian regime is that the measure now also covers trademarks and designs. A… – Continue reading
The Tax Foundation released its inaugural “International Tax Competitiveness Index” (ITCI) on September 15th, 2014. The United States was ranked an abysmal 32nd out of the 34 OECD member countries for the year 2014. (See accompanying Table 1.) The European welfare states such as Norway, Sweden and Denmark, with their… – Continue reading
Morgan Stanley veteran and former managing director Sridhar Sivaram told NDTV that the government’s decision to levy the contentious minimum alternative tax (MAT) retrospectively on foreign institutional investors (FII) for capital gains made during previous years, poses a hindrance to foreign fund flow into the country. “It’s very tough to… – Continue reading
MUMBAI: Five Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) on Thursday mainly from the US and the UK have dragged the Indian government and the Income Tax department to the court for levying Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) on their capital gains for the year 2011-12. The five FPIs — National Westminster Bank Plc,… – Continue reading
With its enviable reputation in offshore trusts, pensions and insurance, Bermuda is an ideal jurisdiction for employers to establish international pension and employee benefit plans (IPPs). Global organisations may consider establishing Bermuda IPPs for employees who work outside their home country or the home country of both the employees and… – Continue reading
A committee set up by the finance ministry to address industry’s tax concerns has invited trade and industry for talks on the issue. Experts, however, say Finance Minister Arun Jaitley should have in his reply to a debate on the Finance Bill 2015 provided clarity on minimum alternate tax (MAT)… – Continue reading
The game of cat and mouse between tax authorities and citizens has been played for a very long time. People have been dodging taxes for centuries. But the more nuanced and sophisticated game of avoiding tax is a more recent phenomenon. Indeed, when it comes to tax avoidance the game… – Continue reading
Deferring income helped the billionaire hedge fund manager build his fortune George Soros likes to say the rich should pay more taxes. A substantial part of his wealth, though, comes from delaying them. While building a record as one of the world’s greatest investors, the 84-year-old billionaire used a loophole… – Continue reading
Autumn Statement 2014, Budget 2015 and Finance Act 2015 The UK Chancellor delivered his Autumn Statement on 3 December 2014 and his Budget speech on 18 March 2015. For an overview of some of the key announcements, please see our Autumn Statement 2014 briefing and Budget 2015 briefing. The UK’s… – Continue reading
Although you may be working in China, does the ATO still consider you an Australian resident? It’s just one of the things you need to get absolutely right. The tax requirements for Aussies working overseas vary from region to region. Aussies working in Hong Kong will find last month’s tax… – Continue reading
India’s rupee rose for a second day as the dollar weakened and global funds resumed purchases of local bonds after the government sought to clear uncertainties over a retrospective tax on capital gains. Overseas funds bought a net $130 million of local-currency notes on April 24, the latest figures show,… – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: India may set up a panel to resolve legacy tax cases that have revived allegations of ‘tax terrorism’, making it difficult for the government to meet its pledge to boost investor sentiment. “I am considering a high-level committee to explore what can be done to resolve the past,… – Continue reading
Section 55 of the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the “Tax Act”) contains an anti-avoidance rule that prevents a corporation from converting what would otherwise be a taxable capital gain into a tax-free intercorporate dividend. Section 55 deems a dividend not to be a dividend, but rather a capital gain, where… – Continue reading
NEW YORK — Introduced in the 1920s to ease the tax burden of farmers who wanted to swap property, it soon became a tool for real estate investors flipping, say, office buildings for shopping malls. Now, this little-known provision in the tax code, known as a like-kind exchange, has become… – Continue reading
With the Transcontinental Trusts Bermuda Forum taking place next week, it is timely to reflect on some of the attractive features and structuring alternatives that Bermuda’s trusts and related law provides and to consider some recent exciting developments. Bermuda provides a flexible, cost effective regime for the formation and administration… – Continue reading
Americans have overcome oligarchy before — and there’s no reason we can’t do it again. Rising inequality seems to pose an insurmountable political problem. If the underlying causes are technological change and globalization, the forces appear to be unstoppable. Alternatively, if the causes are primarily political and involve the power… – Continue reading
THE REVENUE Commissioner’s large cases division is investigating almost 100 schemes it suspects were designed by companies and wealthy individuals to avoid paying capital gains tax. The taxman is enquiring into 89 cases which used sophisticated financial instruments known as contracts for difference to generate artificial losses. The schemes avoided… – Continue reading
Benchmarks are poised just above their 200-day moving average — a long-term support April 25, 2015: Both the Sensex and the Nifty are very tantalizingly poised just above a long-term support level. This adds zing to next week’s trading that is expected to be full of action thanks to the… – Continue reading
Mumbai, April 25 (IANS): The capital gains tax claims on foreign funds with retrospective effect and worries over similar notices ahead hit the marked mood during the week ended Friday, sending a key index down to its lowest level in three-and-a-half months. The mixed corporate results for the last quarter… – Continue reading
FPIs are battling it out with the income-tax department, which has issued notices demanding that they pay MAT to the tune of Rs40,000 crore New Delhi/Mumbai: Despite the government affirming that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) can use tax treaties to fight tax demands on past capital gains, a majority of… – Continue reading
However, OECD being persuasive may not help funds based out of nations whose treaties do not give specific exemption The Indian government’s clarification that it would honour tax treaties while making a demand of Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) at the effective rate of 20 per cent came as a relief… – Continue reading
Britons overseas are now subject to CGT when selling UK properties, but this straightforward advice could help minimise the impact Expats who have kept a house or flat in Britain need to act now to avoid being stung by a hefty capital gains tax (CGT) bill in the future. Since… – Continue reading
Tax evasion overseas has been further targeted by authorities as HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) implements tougher penalties for those who hide assets and income abroad. The maximum penalty for offshore evasion of income and capital gains tax has doubled to 200 per cent of the tax due, but can… – Continue reading
Investment vehicles set up by Paulson & Co. and Highbridge Capital Management in tax-friendly Bermuda may be under threat from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. The IRS, in proposed rules published Thursday, said that the favorable treatment enjoyed by insurers under the tax code shouldn’t extend to companies that borrow… – Continue reading
A property investment company does not believe its advert selling Auckland property as a cash cow for offshore landlords is exploiting New Zealanders. The radio advert has been on air in Singapore since Monday for Property Solutions Singapore, which is a subsidiary of Dunedin-based company Australian Property Solutions. It said… – Continue reading
The government on Wednesday assured over 1,000 foreign institutional investors (FIIs) across the United States, Hong Kong and Singapore they can avail of treaty benefits to ward off tax demands on capital gains booked over the years till March 31, reports the Financial Express. The development is significant given the… – Continue reading
The Minister of Finance (Canada), the Honourable Joe Oliver, presented the Government of Canada’s 2015 Federal Budget (“Budget 2015”) on April 21, 2015 (“Budget Day”). Budget 2015 contains several significant proposals to amend the Income Tax Act (Canada) (the “ITA”) while also providing updates on previously announced tax measures and… – Continue reading
Minister of Finance Joe Oliver today tabled the 2015 Federal Budget (the “Budget”), his first budget as Minister of Finance, entitled “Strong Leadership: A Balanced-Budget, Low-Tax Plan for Jobs, Growth and Security”. We are pleased to provide our summary of tax measures contained in the Budget. The Budget proposed no… – Continue reading
As has been widely predicted, today’s federal budget (Budget 2015) delivered a handful of tax “goodies” in the lead-up to the coming election. It also includes a number of important proposed changes to the corporate tax rules. They are noteworthy, although not as extensive as the corporate tax changes proposed… – Continue reading
San Francisco, California – The United States filed a complaint to bar a San Francisco enrolled agent and tax return preparer from implementing, facilitating and promoting allegedly abusive tax shelters and tax avoidance schemes, the Justice Department announced today. According to the complaint, which was filed in the U.S. District… – Continue reading
Finance Minister Joe Oliver faced formidable challenges, both economic and political, in delivering his first Budget. In a time of depressed oil prices, and mere months ahead of the next federal election, it appears he felt it was imperative to follow through with prior commitments to balance the budget, provide… – Continue reading
1. NON-TAX ISSUES 1.1 Domestic law 1.1.1 Briefly describe your legal system and its origins The legal system of the Republic of Ireland is a common law system. In order to ensure consistency, a legal principle developed whereby courts were generally required to follow earlier relevant decisions. This doctrine of… – Continue reading
India said foreign portfolio investors can use tax treaties to reject demands on past capital gains, seeking to defuse a row that cast a cloud over the $48 billion poured into stocks and bonds from overseas. Foreign institutional investors domiciled in countries that have signed double taxation avoidance treaties with… – Continue reading
TL: What are the main considerations and advantages for doing business in Malta? AB: Malta’s positive approach to business promotion, development and standard of living within the EU makes the island a destination of choice for relocation of business purposes. Malta offers noteworthy benefits to individuals and investors who are… – Continue reading
Dinesh Kanabar, CEO, Dhruva Advisors explains that there are three kinds of FIIs: protected by double taxation avoidance treaty, no treaty but physical presence in India, and no treaty and no presence in India. So far notices have been sent only to the second category of investors. Minimum alternate tax… – Continue reading
The Finance Minister has failed to assuage markets’ fears on the issue of retrospective tax Markets are getting jittery each time the finance minister or his ministry utters the T word. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley reminds the market of UPA’s finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, who introduced the now-dreaded retrospective tax…. – Continue reading
NEW DELHI: Tax authorities have issued a fresh notice to UK-based telecom giant Vodafone seeking reassessment of tax returns for two years. The notice has been served under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act which seeks to deal with income that has escaped assessment. Sources said the notice seeks… – Continue reading
Why Does Residency Status Matter? An Ohio resident must pay Ohio income tax on his or her worldwide income (including investment income (i.e., dividends, capital gains etc.) and pass-through income from LLCs and S corporations with operations outside of Ohio), subject to credits for taxes paid in other jurisdictions. A… – Continue reading
CHINA Tax Free Reorganisations • With circulars 109 and 116 jointly issued in December 2014 by the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation, the Chinese authorities have relaxed the conditions for internal reorganisations. • Circular 109 deals with internal reorganisations. Provided the pertinent requirements are met, the… – Continue reading
