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The UK's 14 Overseas Territories must bring in publicly accessible registers concerning the beneficial ownership of legal entities or face having them imposed by the UK, following Royal Assent to the UK Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 on May 23, 2018. Under the Act the UK Government must prepare and lay before parliament a draft order no later than December 31, 2020, requiring Overseas Territories to implement public registers if they have not already done so. The draft order must set out the form the register must take, which is a register broadly equivalent to that imposed under the...

NEWS 2020

The Premier of the British Virgin Islands, Orlando Smith, says his Government has appointed legal counsel to advise on a potential challenge to the UK's move to force its Overseas Territories to set up publicly accessible registers containing information on the beneficial ownership of legal entities. Under the UK Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, enacted in late May 2018, the UK's 14 Overseas Territories are required to bring in publicly accessible registers concerning the beneficial ownership of legal entities by 2020 or face having them imposed by the UK Government. Smith said it has appointed a legal team comprising...

NEWS 2020

The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the low-tax financial hub, is proposing reforms to the regulation of companies, including imposing new beneficial ownership disclosure requirements. Four consultation papers have been released containing draft legislation as follows: new Companies Regulations, new DIFC Operating Law and Regulations and related legislation, new Ultimate Beneficial Ownership Regulations, and new Protected Cell Company Regulations and Investment Company Regulations. According to the DIFC, the new Companies Regulations sets out the legislative framework for matters affecting companies alone, while matters of a more general business regulatory nature affecting all DIFC entities will be provided for within the...

NEWS 2020

Jersey's business promotion agency, Jersey Finance, has published a new discussion paper prepared by a leading UK think-tank, which argues that international financial centers (IFCs) play a vital, positive role in the global economy. Undertaken by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA), with support from Jersey Finance, the paper, "The Benefits of Capital Mobility", examines the growing importance of IFCs in the global economy and argues they are, in reality, pioneers in the area of transparency and good governance. In particular, the paper argues that clamping down on IFCs would not raise tax revenues for larger countries but would shift...

NEWS 2020

More than 100 jurisdictions will automatically exchange financial account information in September 2018 after a significant increase in the number of countries participating in the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters, the OECD has said. Announcing the publication of a new set of bilateral exchange relationships established under the Common Reporting Standard Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA CRS), the OECD said on July 5 that the international legal network for the automatic exchange of offshore financial account information under the CRS now covers over 90 jurisdictions, with the remaining dozen set to follow suit over summer. "The network...

NEWS 2020

Cayman Premier Alden McLaughlin met with lawyers in London on Monday to discuss the territory's constitutional relationship with the UK in light of UK legislation forcing the territory to set up a publicly accessible register on the beneficial ownership of legal entities. Under the UK Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018, enacted in late May 2018, the UK is requiring its 14 Overseas Territories to bring in publicly accessible registers concerning the beneficial ownership of legal entities by 2020 or face having them imposed by the UK Government. A number of Overseas Territories, including the British Virgin Islands and Bermuda,...

NEWS 2020

Hong Kong purchasers of residential and non-residential property are now required to pay a levy of HKD350 (USD45) within 30 days after a conveyance on sale is executed. The levy is payable from July 1, 2018, and applies specifically to property conveyances. It is payable regardless of the price paid or the value of the property being transferred, to the Inland Revenue Department's Stamp Office, alongside any stamp duty due. The Inland Revenue Authority has published guidance on the new levy and has set up a dedicated webpage to explain levy collection arrangements. By Courtesy of Lowtax.net

NEWS 2020

Applications to Australia’s Significant Investor Visa (SIV) program has fallen from an average of 46 a month during the 2015/2016 fiscal year to just 13 a month between July 2017 and January this year. Driving the collapse in demand are tighter regulations and competition from European programs. In its first three years, Australia granted an average of 28 SIVs a month, a figure that peaked in fiscal year 2015/16 with an average of 46 a month. Since then, application volume has been falling steadily, reports the Guardian, and now stands at a mere 91 visas granted in the last seven months. Since launching...

NEWS 2020