NEWS

By Martin Banks   Tax dodging costing EU Member States €1trillion a year in lost revenue, say MEPs.   The European Parliament now has a “proper body to tackle Europe’s massive tax avoidance and evasion”.   That was the message from Greens/EFA group MEP Kira Marie Peter-Hansen, who also told this site that “The creation of the new tax subcommittee is a long-standing demand from the Greens/EFA group, and I would like to thank everyone who has pushed for it. I am both thrilled and honored to be appointed as vice-chair of the subcommittee."   She added that the subcommittee’s creation...

FUNDS & FUNDS SERVICES NEWS 2020

By Reuters Staff   BRUSSELS (Reuters) - European Union finance ministers added Anguilla and Barbados to the EU’s blacklist of tax havens on Tuesday and removed the Cayman Islands and Oman after they passed the necessary reforms.   The EU list, set up in 2017 after revelations of widespread tax evasion and avoidance schemes, now includes 12 jurisdictions: American Samoa, Anguilla, Barbados, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Seychelles, Trinidad and Tobago, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Vanuatu.     Those on the blacklist face reputational damages, higher scrutiny in their financial transactions, and risk losing EU funds.   Source: Reuters

FUNDS & FUNDS SERVICES NEWS 2020

By Christopher Copper-Ind   The British Virgin Islands (BVI) has formally announced plans to create a publicly accessible register of company ownership by 2023 in an effort to clamp down on corruption. The long-awaited announcement follows years of scandals relating to money-laundering and tax evasion involving BVI-based shell companies, most recently the FinCen Files.   As reported by International Investment last month, the BVI premier announced its commitment to the implementation of public registers of beneficial ownership in the territory, albeit with "reservations".   This [is a] positive step towards greater transparency and clarity of corporate structures, which should help stem the flow...

CORPORATE & FIDUCIARY NEWS 2020

By Special Correspondent   ST GEORGE’S, Grenada — The government of Grenada has announced a 25 percent increase in successful citizenship applications in the first half of this year, with more than 500 granted between January to June. The statement attributed the increase largely to the popularity of Range Developments’ Six Senses La Sagesse project.   Experts say that Grenada’s success validates its strategy of maintaining its pricing in the face of drastic reductions from its competitors. It can afford to do this because it is the only country offering visa-free travel to China and the opportunity of living in...

IMMIGRATION BY INVESTMENT NEWS 2020