Tax

European Union states will on Tuesday bring forward a discussion on plans for a tax havens’ blacklists after newly leaked documents revealed investments by wealthy individuals and institutions around the globe, officials said.

The subject’s inclusion on the monthly meeting’s agenda of EU finance ministers came after weekend media reports citing the "Paradise Papers", a trove of financial documents leaked mostly from Appleby, a prominent offshore law firm. EU finance ministers meeting for regular talks in Brussels will discuss tax avoidance on Tuesday after a trove of leaked documents exposed the great lengths to which the global elite will go to avert paying a fair tax.

Following a couple of weeks of public uproar after the French government said it was going to scrap a wealth tax that applies to personal assets of more than $1.5 million, Emmanuel Macron’s administration will propose a tax on luxury yachts, supercars and precious metals in France’s 2018 budget.

Macron, a former Rothschild banker, has been trying to shake off the label of “president of the rich,” but the September proposal of replacing the tax on high-end assets such as jewellery with just a real estate tax didn’t help his cause.

Warren Buffett has attacked US President Donald Trump’s plan to slash taxes for companies as well America’s richest individuals.

“We have a lot of businesses… I don’t think any of them are non-competitive in the world because of the corporate tax rate,” billionaire investor Mr Buffett told CNBC, on Tuesday.

Finlantern’s Fiscal Forum, at its fourth edition, once again created an environment where enterpreneurs and investors were able to meet new potential clients, and in general create networking opportunities, but also learn the benefits of internationalization, and meet tax advisors.

President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that taxes on rich Americans might rise, as he pursues a tax code overhaul and reaches out to both Democrats and Republicans in a push to win support for a plan still far from complete.

Trump met with the two top congressional Democrats over dinner at the White House in a search for common ground that could make it easier to get a tax-cut package through Congress.

The finance ministers of France, Germany, Italy and Spain have written a joint letter to the European Union’s presidency and Commission calling for taxes on tech giants’ revenues, not just their profits. The four nations want the Commission to produce an "equalization tax" that would make companies pay the equivalent of the corporate tax in the countries where they earn revenue.

France is leading a push to clamp down on the taxation of such companies, but has found support from other countries also frustrated at the low tax they receive under current international rules.

Beginning January 2018, Chiasso, Switzerland will allow its citizens to pay taxes in Bitcoin, following the lead of Zug. This news came on Thursday thanks to an executive note published by the municipality of Chiasso. The city likely aims to surpass its rival Zug, also known as the CryptoValley, by accepting Bitcoin as a method of payments for taxes for a value of up to 250 CHF, versus the 200 CHF limit imposed by Zug.

Tax authorities in France are reportedly seeking €600m in taxes from the local subsidiary of software giant Microsoft. The company paid €32.2 million in corporate tax in France last year, and billed French customers from its operation in Ireland, where business tax rates are considerably lower, the weekly L’Express reported on Wednesday.