Lawyer blog - Law firm Finance Business Service: offshore registration, tax planning, legal services

Сentral database of beneficial owners of companies is created on the BVI

Published: 20.04.2018 |

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Following the introduction of a public register of persons with significant control for the British companies and LLP (from April 2016), as well as for the Scottish partnerships (since June 2017), some British dependent territories, under pressure from the UK itself, have created similar registers / databases. However, these centralized registers will be closed, and the access to data from them will be available only to the British competent authorities and only upon request. This decision has become a compromise after many years of negotiations and frictions, since the overseas territories, although partially subject to the law of Great Britain, are still self-regulatory. On the one hand, access to these closed registers / databases will enable the UK law enforcement agencies to monitor tax evasion, as well as terrorists and criminals hiding behind the anonymous companies. On the other hand, this will put an end to the requirements for the introduction of open registers of beneficiaries in the countries partially controlled by Great Britain. Among such states are the Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, the Isle of Man, Bermuda, Guernsey, Jersey, and others. As the British...

V International Tax Forum through the eyes of the experts of FBS

Published: 18.04.2018 | blog

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#Tax disputes #Taxation

The partner of Finance Business Service Yuri Krasilnikov and tax disputes specialist Rolan Bondarets attended the V International Tax Forum, which took place on April 13, 2018. In this blog, we will tell how the event was held, what issues were most actively discussed by the participants, what points were voiced by the speakers, as well as share our own thoughts. The speakers were the representatives of business, representatives of the legislative, executive and judicial branches, as well as the specialists in the field of taxation. Many interesting and topical issues for Ukraine were discussed within the Forum. At the beginning of the event, Algirdas Shemeta - the business ombudsman in Ukraine - recalled the reasons that led to the appearance of the BEPS (Base Erosion and Profit Shifting) plan and its essence. “Overoffshorization” of the world business became the catalyst of the world economic crisis of 2008-2009. This prompted the OECD to identify the main causes of the crisis, as well as to discover and develop the methods for its prevention in the future. In fact, BEPS has emerged as a protective mechanism to prevent tax evasion, which essence is that companies must be...

How to choose a foreign bank and open an account in it in 2018: will it be easy?

Published: 17.04.2018 |

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#Confidentiality #De-offshorization OECD

What is important to know when choosing a foreign bank in 2018 Recently, an increasing number of citizens, concerned about their future, the future of their family or business, face the issue whether it is possible to open an account in a foreign bank and what is required for this? Which bank to choose for this: European, offshore bank, etc.? Historically, (and sometimes it is quite justified) the trust to a foreign bank is higher than to local institutions, and obtaining, for example, a loan is possible on more favorable terms than in Ukrainian banks, moreover, many people wish to keep the confidentiality of their actual income. Regardless of whether you want to open a foreign bank account online in offshore or onshore jurisdictions, a number of aspects need to be considered and analyzed when choosing a bank. That is why the company Finance Business Service works with more than 100 banks around the world. We ask only really necessary questions in the process of selecting banks for our clients. The current situation in the banking shows that financial institutions are increasingly facing problems of unexpected loss of correspondent accounts in US dollars. In general, the US is...

Is there bank secrecy in Ukraine, and what must the citizens of Ukraine be preparing for?

Published: 13.04.2018 |

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#Ukraine

What is bank secrecy The relevance and importance of the topic of bank secrecy is hard to overestimate. The correct application of the legal rules regulating the procedure for its disclosure is necessary both for bank employees and all other persons who are aimed at gaining access to this information. At the same time, it is necessary for natural persons and legal entities to obtain information “protected” by law in order to protect their violated rights. Article 60 of the Law of Ukraine No. 2121-III of 07.12.2000 “On Banks and Banking” (as amended, hereinafter - the Law of Ukraine “On Banks and Banking”) defines bank secrecy as information on the activities and financial status of the client that has become known to the bank in the process of servicing the client and relations with him or third parties when providing services of the bank. Bank secrecy, with respect to the bank’s clients, in particular, are: information about clients’ bank accounts; transactions that were carried out in favor of or on behalf of the client, transactions carried out by him; financial and economic status of clients; client protection systems; information on the organizational and...

VAT Regime for Dividends in Cyprus

Published: 13.04.2018 |

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#Accounting #Corporate law

The Cyprus holding companies are widely used in the context of international business structuring for the optimization of the channels of incoming and outgoing investment in/from the countries that have signed an agreement with Cyprus on avoidance of double taxation. Recently, the Tax Department has published a guide to VAT accounting for holding companies, which is designed to provide clarity with respect to the circumstances under which the Cyprus holding companies can receive taxable income. Definition of taxable activities The common position and practice regarding the regime for levying VAT on dividends remain unchanged. The simple acquisition and ownership of shares in other companies by a Cypriot company does not constitute a taxable business activity in the sense of exploiting assets for income generation. The reason for this approach is that the dividends received from such ownership of shares are considered to arise solely at the expense of ownership of shares, rather than from the form of business activity carried out for the purpose of income generation. Consequently, an enterprise that simply owns shares or a similar form of a stake in another organization is not...

What has been changed in the tax legislation of Ukraine since 2018: briefly about the main

Published: 03.04.2018 |

In 2018, Ukrainian tax legislation was subject to a number of changes. Having analyzed the Law of Ukraine No. 2245-VIII “On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine and certain legislative Acts of Ukraine to ensure the balance of budget revenues in 2018”, which came into force on January 1, we decided to consolidate the most significant reforms and summarize. The issue of this blog will be dedicated to it. Overall changes Key changes in the general rules of tax law include: exclusion from the definition of “bad debt” of indebtedness of natural persons, forgiven by the creditor; introduction of a new concept of a “syndicated financial loan”; clarification of the definition of “related persons” for TP purposes; introduction of the term “new well” in order to regulate the use of preferential rent rates for the extraction of natural gas; expansion of the list of payments not considered as royalties for the transfer of the right to distribute IPI without the right for their reproduction; clarification of the definition of the weighted average retail price; introduction of the obligation for the taxpayers to ensure the storage of the documents for not less than 1,095...

What changes have been made to the system for blocking tax invoices

Published: 29.03.2018 |

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#Tax disputes #Taxation

As we noted earlier, pursuant to the Law of Ukraine No. 2245-VII of 07.12.2017 “On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine and certain legislative acts of Ukraine to ensure the balance of budget revenues in 2018”, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted Resolution No. 117 of 21.02.2018, which approved: “The procedure for suspension of registration of the tax invoice/calculation adjustment in the Unified Register of Tax Invoices”, “The organization of work of the commissions that decide to register a tax invoice/calculation adjustment in the Unified Register of Tax Invoices or refusal in such registration”, “Procedure for considering complaints against the decisions of the commissions that decide to register a tax invoice/calculation adjustment in the Unified Register of Tax Invoices or refuse to register them”. If the basic algorithm for suspending the registration of tax invoices and calculation adjustments (TI/CA) has remained almost unchanged, then the order of their “unlocking” has undergone significant changes. We will figure out what exactly has been changed, and whether this will simplify the life of the taxpayers. As before, the taxpayer will be...

Tax System of Estonia in 2018: What Has changed?

Published: 27.03.2018 |

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#Estonia #Taxation

In 2018, Estonia’s taxation system has been subjected to a number of changes. Here are the most significant of them: A considerable leap in the registration threshold as a payer of sales tax from EUR 16,000 to EUR 40,000. Reduction of the tax benefit on regularly paid dividends from 20% to 14%. For the first time, a reduced rate can be applied for dividend payments in the next year, taking into account that in 2018, the corresponding tax was levied at a rate of 20%. The benefit does not apply to the dividends received and already taxed. It also does not apply to the loans that are taxed as a hidden profit distribution. In 2019, the dividend amount will be taxed at a reduced rate, corresponding to one third of the dividends paid in the previous year. In 2020, this benefit will be applicable to the amount of dividends corresponding to one third of the dividends paid in 2019-2020, and in 2021 - to the amount equivalent to the average value of the dividends paid for the previous three years. Introduction of new obligations for commercial organizations that issue loans to their stockholder, shareholder or member. We remind you that a commercial association pays income tax from...

Implications of Brexit for Customs and VAT Rules

Published: 19.03.2018 |

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#Accounting #Tax planning

In a press release of January 29, 2018, the Council of Europe announced the second set of additional directives on the negotiations detailing the position of the EU-27 (27 EU Members without the UK) regarding the transition period with respect to Brexit. These directives give the Commission the authority to initiate discussions with the UK on the terms of Brexit and establish a transition period, no longer than until December 31, 2020. During the transition period in the UK, full and constant application of the EU legislation is provided. However, the state will no longer participate in the EU administration and the decision-making process. On January 30, 2018, the EU Commission published a document warning the companies of the key challenges in the customs and VAT that they will have to be overcome when the United Kingdom is not a Member of the EU. If no other transition period is agreed between the EU and the UK, the European Customs and VAT regulations in the UK will no longer apply from March 30, 2019, as the UK officially announced its intention to leave the EU on March 29, 2017. This document provides a brief overview of the customs and VAT implications that will arise from...

Blocking of tax invoices in a new way: how will it be?

Published: 14.03.2018 |

Tags:

#Tax disputes #Taxation

In order to fulfil the requirements of the Law of Ukraine No. 2245-VII “On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine and certain legislative Acts of Ukraine to ensure the balance of budget revenues in 2018” of 7.12.2017, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted the Resolution No. 117 of 21.02.2018 which approved: the procedure for suspending the registration of the tax invoice / calculation adjustments in the Unified Register of Tax Invoices; the operating procedure of commissions that take decisions on the registration of a tax invoice / calculation adjustments in the Unified Register of Tax Invoices or refusal of such registration; the procedure for considering complaints against decisions of commissions that take decisions on registration of a tax invoice / calculation adjustments in the Unified Register of Tax Invoices or refusal of such registration. What has been fundamentally changed? The first thing I want to note is that previously, only the business transaction that was reflected in the tax invoice was subject to monitoring. And now the monitoring of the tax invoice / calculation adjustment (hereinafter - the tax invoice) is carried out according to the following...

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