NEWS

By Leo Zhang A tax agreement between the UK and Switzerland, which was signed on October 6 2011, is expected to come into force in January 2013. The agreement targets UK taxpayers who have accounts in Switzerland for which they have not declared income and gains to UK tax authorities. Under the deal, UK taxpayers will be allowed to clear their arrears and keep their anonymity by making a one-off payment which will be deducted by the Swiss bank from the balance in the account in 2013 and passed over to HMRC. Accounts held by UK taxpayers in Switzerland will...

NEWS 2020

By Tendai Musakwa Hong Kong-based business people will soon no longer have to pay double taxes on their Canadian investments. The Hong Kong Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, K C Chan and the Canadian Minister of International Trade Edward Fast signed an agreement on November 11 that aims to avoid double taxation and tax evasion of investors conducting trade between the two countries. The treaty also aims to encourage trade and investment between Canada and Hong Kong by removing tax barriers. The earliest the treaty is likely to be ratified by the Hong Kong legislature is 2013, meaning...

NEWS 2020

By Tendai Musakwa Chinese with Russia-based firms can now enjoy a zero percent tax rate on their investments in Cyprus.The Russian government published an order in its official gazette on October 31 removing Cyprus from the Russian blacklist of non-cooperative "tax havens," effective January 1, 2013. As a result of the removal of Cyprus from the blacklist, dividends' received by Russia-incorporated companies from their Cypriot subsidiaries will be eligible for a zero tax rate starting next year. Chinese investors use Russia as a platform to invest in other countries because of favorable tax policies, including a zero rate profits tax...

NEWS 2020

By Baron Laudermilk Singapore Ministry of Finance has reported on the suggestions it received during public consultation on the draft Stamp Duties (Amendment) Bill 2012, which ended on October 10, 2012. The new legislation will bring into effect the enhancement of the stamp duty concession under the Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) Scheme announced in the 2012 Budget, as well as changes coming from the regulator review of the stamp duty tax system to improve legislative clarity or stamp duty administration. The tax changes are coming out of the 2012 budget expands stamp duty relief to acquisitions carried out through multiple tiers...

NEWS 2020

By Baron Laudermilk Liechtenstein, a famous offshore financial hub known for its low taxes on companies and high net worth individuals, will be raising taxes as the government and banking associations have already agreed upon this. Liechtenstein Prime Minister, Flaus Tschutsher, recently held talks with the Principality banking associations and government officials about focusing on raising additional expenditure and revenue based measures needed to reduce the deficit by CHF 52m ($55m) by the end of 2016. According to some of Liechtenstein government officials, despite the fact that the associations underlined the need for further savings measures to be studied before...

NEWS 2020

By Baron Laudermilk The Guernsey Financial Services Commission recently announced that it is in the process of revising the rules and regulations over anti-money laundering (AML) standards for financial institutions and for businesses such as law firms, accountants, and estate agents. These important changes will strengthen the island reputation as it continues to apply rules and regulations that are on par with international standards. According to the latest updates, there are four main changes that we are expected to see from the Commission. There will be an adoption of a more sophisticated approach for firms in profiling the risk of...

NEWS 2020

Asia Outbound successfully held the 2012 Asia Outbound Summit at Shanghai Pudong Shangri-La Hotel on October 24 and 25. The Summit has attracted the largest number of participants in the history of Asia Outbound Summit Series About 650 delegates from Asia, Europe and the Americas participated in the event. Similar to the previous summits, delegates to the event came from companies and institutions in the banking, legal, consulting, accounting and auditing, governmental units, asset management and financial services sectors. They were engaged in a lively discussion on the summit theme: inancial Elite: China Emerging Wealth Management and Tax Planning.  During...

NEWS 2020

By Jason Gorringe 17 December 2012. Jersey and Guernsey have released a joint statement indicating that they will not sign an enhanced Tax Information Exchange Agreement with British authorities unless the UK's proposed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)-style initiative targets global adoption. The statement comes following an announcement from the other Crown Dependency, the Isle of Man that it has agreed with the UK to sign an agreement that would provide for automatic information exchange in relation to deposits from UK taxpayers held by the island's financial institutions. For the time being, Jersey and Guernsey would continue to share...

NEWS 2020