Fiscal & Legal

At the end of February 2018, all the major European banks published information on the impact of the implementation of the new standard IFRS 9. IFRS 9 introduces numerous changes […]

Switzerland and the United States are the biggest promoters of financial secrecy according to an index published today by the Tax Justice Network (TJN). The index ranks countries based on their level of secrecy and the percentage of financial services provided to non-residents.

The US Justice Department and the country’s derivatives regulator said on Monday they had filed civil and criminal charges against three European banks, which paid $46.6 million to settle the cases, and eight individuals for alleged manipulation in US futures and commodities market.

The Transfer Pricing and CbCR platforms provide an important tool for the rapid, online identification and comparison of regulations in 49 countries. The continuously expanding databases provide stakeholders with up-to-date information about transfer pricing in 47 countries and CbCR requirements in 49 countries, ranging from Argentina to Thailand, including Malta and most European states.

The Council of the European Union announced Tuesday that the EU has amended its blacklist of jurisdictions that it deems uncooperative in tax matters, removing eight jurisdictions from that list.

EU finance ministers removed eight ‘entities’ – countries and territories – from the tax havens blacklist, while ruling out more transparency or sanctions.

HSBC has agreed to pay just over $100m in penalties to settle a US Department of Justice probe into currency rigging. The payment comprises of $38.4m in restitution and a $63.1m fine, with the latter reflecting a 15pc reduction "in recognition of HSBC’s cooperation during the investigation and its extensive remediation".

Apple said on Wednesday it would make a one-time payment of $38bn to repatriate some of its vast overseas cash holdings, one of the largest corporate spending plans announced since the passage of a tax cut signed by U.S. President Donald Trump.

The company, which has faced international criticism for its tax evasion policies, also said it would spend $30bn in the US over the next five years, creating 20,000 new jobs.

Pakistan and Switzerland will begin exchanging information from the current month under the Convention on Avoidance of Double Taxation (ADT), as the Senate Standing Committee on Finance was informed. However, they said information exchange would only be applicable on future cases.