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Lawyer's Blogs

Which countries get into the offshore list?

Published:   18.05.2018 | blog

As a result of widespread use of offshore schemes in business, many countries of the world have faced a serious problem: huge capital began to pass around the state budget. In order to protect the economic system, the states make up the lists of offshore jurisdictions - the so-called “black lists” of offshores. The countries and territories included in this list are subject to close monitoring and a special system of taxation. As a rule, they are characterized by the availability of fixed tax benefits for non-resident companies up to the complete exemption from taxation of all profits, a high level of confidentiality of information with respect to business owners, the lack of requirements for the submission of accounting and financial reporting, as well as insufficient cooperation with other countries in relation to exchange of information. The lists of offshores of different countries are different, but they often include a “traditional” block of countries, generally accepted for all state lists. Among such countries are: Dominica, Panama, Seychelles, Belize and others. The Ukrainian current legislation has two lists of unreliable states: The list of offshore zones...

The Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive Has Been Adopted

Published:   17.05.2018 | blog

After the approval of the agreed text by the Parliament on April 19, 2018, the European Council adopted a Directive on 14 May, 2018, regulating the European rules aimed at preventing money laundering and terrorism funding. These rules are the fifth in a series and the latest update of the European Anti-Money Laundering Directive, for which they have received the name 5AMLD. 5AMLD is aimed at improving the security in Europe by stopping the financing of criminal activities without preventing the normal functioning of payment systems. It is partly a response to the terrorist attacks in Europe in 2016 and introduces such major changes into the directive 2015/849: verification of the client for virtual currencies; public access to information about the real owners of companies; strengthening of transaction checks with the participation of third countries with a high level of risk; cooperation between financial intelligence units; reduction of the threshold for identification of owners of prepaid cards from 250 to 150 Euro; extension of the Directive to all tax advisers, agents, dealers, as well as suppliers of electronic wallets and cryptocurrency service...

Tax planning: optimization, minimization and avoidance of taxes

Published:   16.05.2018 | blog

Taking into account an extremely unstable tax legislation of Ukraine, more and more business owners are thinking about tax planning for their enterprise or holding. Tax planning is the process of choosing the most optimal form of taxation and reducing the tax burden on business by using certain methods. Methods of tax planning for business The methods or ways by which tax planning is implemented can be conditionally divided into: tax optimization; tax minimization; tax avoidance. The main principle of these methods is that they should not go beyond the legal field, that is, their implementation is carried out exclusively within the framework of the current legislation. However, not everyone can clearly see the line between the tax optimization, tax minimization, tax avoidance and tax evasion. Many people, implementing tax planning, are guided precisely by the tax avoidance, which has a very fine line with such a concept as tax evasion. And this, in turn, often leads to problems with fiscal authorities and in some cases ends with additional charges, fines, and sometimes criminal cases. It should be noted that tax planning is widely used throughout the world by both...

Offshore for Trading Activities: Is It Necessary

Published:   16.05.2018 | blog

Until recently, offshore companies have been actively used by the Ukrainian entrepreneurs in international trade to reduce the tax burden and keep business confidentiality. We will consider in this blog whether the situation has changed in the conditions of global deoffshorization, and in particular, tightening of the Ukrainian legislation. The field of trade has always been the simplest and most popular for offshore applications. One of the main goals of using offshore schemes in export-import transactions was to regulate the customs value of the goods, and, accordingly, the company’s trading profits. Offshore companies in such schemes were used as intermediaries between the seller and the buyer for the understatement of the value of goods during the export and overstatement - upon import. However, the process of deoffshorization has reached our country. The provisions for the control of transfer pricing started working in the Ukrainian legislation. The Cabinet of Ministers has approved and periodically reviews the list of the countries with preferential taxation (it includes both classic offshores and jurisdictions, the income tax rate for the companies which have 5 or more...

“Point of No Return” in the Legal Regulation of Cryptocurrency in Ukraine

Published:   11.05.2018 | blog

On May 7, the 43rd Annual Conference of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) began its work in Budapest. The head of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission Timur Khromaev represent Ukraine at the conference. During the work of the relevant committees and regulatory seminars, Timur Khromaev pointed out that the regulator is in favor of making a decision to recognize cryptocurrency as a financial instrument. The official believes that Ukraine has already passed the “point of no return” regarding this issue and it is time for its consideration by the financial regulator of the country. It is expected that Ukraine’s securities regulator will raise the issue of the status of the cryptocurrency at the next meeting of the Financial Stability Board in Kyiv. The head of the National Securities and Stock Market Commission of Ukraine believes that digital currencies should be recognized as financial instruments. Such a solution will allow legalizing crypto units in the country, although not in all their possible functions. “I think it will be very timely to consider the recognition of some crypto units as financial instruments during the...

Authorized Capital of LLC: What You Need to Know

Published:   11.05.2018 | blog

Finance Business Service reminds that on 17.06.2018 the Law of Ukraine “On Limited Liability Companies” will come into force. Thus, there will be significant changes in the near future regarding the most widespread organizational and legal forms of a business entity, a limited liability company. That is, will the creation of a company, the formation of the authorized capital, the inclusion and exclusion of members of the company, management of the company, etc., take place under the new rules? In any case, the creation of a company can not be carried out without the formation of the authorized capital. The experts of Finance Business Service were analyzing the innovations in the formation of the authorized capital. As you know, the authorized capital of a limited liability company consists of contribution from its participants. The size of the authorized capital of a company will consist of the nominal value of the shares of its participants, expressed in the national currency of Ukraine and may be further determined in percentage. There are no innovations in relation to the minimum size of the authorized capital. That is, the issue of establishment of the minimum and maximum...

How the rules for LP of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will change

Published:   08.05.2018 | blog

Essence of the scandal On April 29, a publication on the use of thousands of SLP in criminal activities appeared in the British newspaper The Times. According to the British officials, SLP was used through shills in complex schemes for money laundering. In particular, by means of the scheme, including more than 100 Scottish Limited Partnerships, about 58 billion pounds sterling, accumulated illegally, was withdrawn from Russia. More than 20 SLP was used in a fraudulent scheme, by means of which about 742 billion pounds sterling was withdrawn from Moldova. There is also a link between SLP and organized criminal groups from Eastern Europe for the purpose of conducting weapon delivery deals. All this became a reason for the announcement of the beginning of struggle against fictitious companies by Britain. And on the next day, April 30, a consultative document was posted on the official website of the British government with a number of proposals on reforming the legislation on limited partnerships to reduce the risks of their use in criminal schemes. Importance of Limited Partnerships It is worth noting that a Limited Partnership (LP), including its Scottish form, continues to...

Vehicles as an investment from a non-resident

Published:   02.05.2018 | blog

Recently, the Internet is full of information that 2018 is the latest year when it is possible to purchase a vehicle that has been used for “preferential excise tax”. As it is known, from 01.08.2016, the Law of Ukraine of May 31, No. 1389-19 on the stimulation and development of the market of second-hand vehicles, came into force. This law is valid until December 31, 2018 and provides for a significant reduction in excise tax rates for the import of used cars, subject to special conditions and restrictions. We, in turn, are talking about the acquisition of a non-used and completely new car, using a ready-made business tool - a non-resident company. The starting point of our acquisition is, in fact, the choice of a vehicle. In this case, the higher the cost of the car (its class), the more significant the saving will be. So, in stages: Choice of a vehicle. There are many online resources where you can have a great time choosing a vehicle. As an example, here is www.lexus.com. On this site, you can easily find the model you are interested in and choose the equipment that suits your needs. Perhaps, it will be necessary to enter the so-called postal code to search for the...

The EU Financial Market after Changes in Legislation: Will It Become More Transparent and Stable?

Published:   28.04.2018 | blog

The newspaper “Journal du Dimanche” previously published information about the intentions of the French President Francois Hollande to hold a meeting with the leaders of Germany, Spain and Italy on March 6 in Versailles, dedicated to the future of the European Union. This mini-summit, among other things, should have to demonstrate the unity of the leaders of the four major European powers of the euro zone in the face of the many threats and crises that the EU is currently facing. The agenda also included the study of the issues “related to ensuring the strengthening of the development of the European Union”. On March 6, the government supported the changes to the Law on the Financial Instruments Market, the Law on Alternative Investment Funds and their Managers, as well as the Audit Services Act. What is the ultimate goal of these changes? They should make the EU financial market more transparent and stable, reduce systematic risks, protect depositors, and ensure the effectiveness of financial markets and reduce the costs of their participants. The changes in the laws have been designed to adopt the Directive of the European Parliament and the Council on the markets of...

iForum – 2018: how it was

Published:   27.04.2018 | blog

On April 25, 2018 the Ukrainian forum of Internet activists was held in Kyiv. iForum is the nine main directions with thematic performances that take place simultaneously in several halls. After the official opening on the main stage, the reports continue throughout the day, without interruption. This year the following directions were presented in the program: internet business; startups; advertising and promotion; Internet technologies; future educational technologies; innovations; Blockchain, Digital Fun, CRM. Due to the fact that the emergence of the new startups on the ICO on the Ukrainian market is very topical today, the representatives of the Finance Business Service have chosen the Blockchain direction. The first performance in the Blockchain direction was the report of the representative of the Swiss office of KPMG Andre Gudel. The report referred to the publication of the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) of the principles of application of the legislation when considering the requests from the organizers of the ICO. Unfortunately, it is not new information on the regulation of cryptocurrency in Switzerland, but,...