Recent News

On April 1, 2023, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) announced changes in the filing of income tax returns. The innovation was called "the beginning of a new era" - although this kind of wording is uncharacteristic for the department. Source:https://internationalwealth.info/offshore-tax/izmenenija-v-pravilah-podachi-nalogovyh-deklaracij-v-gonkonge/ The main point on which the IRD is betting is to significantly expand the possibilities of electronic submission of documents and for Hong Kong this is a big step forward. A course on digitalization of all organizational processes related to taxation was also officially announced. Many analysts are inclined to believe that this initiative is a successful and timely attempt to smooth out dissatisfaction in the business environment caused by the partial rejection of the territorial principle of taxation. The main innovation is the launch of extended services, which actually introduce the option of electronic filing of income tax returns. It is planned to make the tax field more digital and improve the efficiency of Hong Kong's fiscal policy by significantly reducing the risk of errors when preparing and submitting returns. Thus,...

In late March, French prosecutors raided five of the largest banking institutions, including Société Générale and BNP Paribas, as well as the Paris offices of HSBC Holdings, Natixis and units of BNP Exane. Source:https://internationalwealth.info/news-of-the-offshore/francija-prokuratura-provodit-obyski-krupnejshih-bankov/ An investigation is underway to find out whether these banks are indeed involved in a series of tax evasion operations. They are suspected of using a "cum/cum trading" or "cum/ex trading" scam. The history of investigations began in Germany in 2018 and spread to other countries, including USA, Great Britain, Denmark, Belgium, Austria. A common feature of cum/ex schemes is that the parties agree to buy shares before the dividend is registered. But the settlement according to the agreement takes place already after the announcement of the amount of dividends, so the share is delivered without this income. So, you can file multiple capital gains tax returns but pay the tax once. Tax authorities collect tax on dividends once, but refund it twice, paying amounts equivalent to this tax. Probably, the size of the fraud is estimated at 55.2 billion euros (in...

On 31 March 2023, the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS) issued an updated anti-avoidance guide to the Corporate and Personal Income Tax Supplement. The IRAS e-Tax Guide should improve the legislation, simplify the control procedure and provide the IRAS with more effective tools to combat tax evasion. The main objectives of the second version of the manual: presentation of the general concept of CIT (Comptroller of Income Tax); assisting Singapore taxpayers in identifying questionable transactions; description of cases of application of additional tax obligations, as well as options for exemption from it. Options for aggressive tax optimization in Singapore by classificationIRAS/CIT: circular flow; круговий рух коштів (round-tripping of funds); conduit entity; assignment of debt; registration of several legal entities in order to obtain illegal tax advantages; the income received during the conduct of business corresponds to economic reality. How exactly the new version of the guide is applied in practice has not yet been tested. Necessary changes and additions will be made to the text as...

This week, the IMF warned of "vulnerabilities" among so-called non-banking financial institutions, saying that global financial stability could depend on their resilience. The Bank of England drew attention to this problem last month. Source: Global investors polled by Bank of America pointed to a group of US non-banks as the most likely source of the credit crunch. What are non-banks and how risky are they? These are financial firms other than banks that provide all types of financial services, including lending to households and businesses. Non-banks range from pension funds and insurance companies to high-risk mutual funds and hedge funds. Non-banking assets account for almost half of all global financial assets. After the crisis, interest rates reached their lowest level, when many depositors and investors turned to non-banks in search of higher profits. As regulators imposed more and more restrictions on bank lending, certain types of borrowers, such as riskier consumers, increasingly turned to nonbanks for funding. Non-banks that provide loans are known as "shadow banks", although the term is often used inaccurately to refer to all non-banks. Shadow banks...

If you send money to Ukraine, we have important news for you. Paysera is partnering with Ukraine's largest bank, PrivatBank, to make sending money even easier and more convenient. Thanks to this new partnership, Paysera customers can now transfer money directly to any Ukrainian bank account, or even better, to a PrivatBank card! You can do it in just a few minutes - up to 10 minutes to be exact. Sounds better than 2 business days, doesn't it? Here are some key details you should know about this service: the transfer takes up to 10 minutes. You can only send money in euros, and the recipient can receive it in euros or Ukrainian hryvnias. The fee is 1.5% of the transfer amount. This service is available for private clients only. The service has already been implemented; you just need to follow a few simple steps: log in to your Paysera account in the Money Transfer menu, select PrivatBank Transfer, enter the transfer details and the recipient. When entering the recipient's account number, specify the IBAN of the card account or the IBAN of the current account, depending on the type of transfer you want to make. Paysera is a Lithuanian payment system that is a leader among...

Deutsche WertpapierService Bank AG (dwpbank), провідний німецький постачальник послуг з цінних паперів, провів успішний запуск платформи «wpNex» для цифрових активів, а також провів пілотні транзакції з криптоактивами для роздрібних клієнтів. Source:https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/valantic-fsa-partners-with-dwpbank-on-digital-assets-platform-launch/ Платформа, розроблена спільно з Valantic FSA, забезпечує основну технологію автоматизації та інтеграції. Запуск wpNex дозволяє 1200 банкам і ощадним банкам у Німеччині розвивати можливості торгівлі цифровими активами для себе та своїх клієнтів. Першим компонентом платформи wpNex є пропозиція для торгівлі криптовалютами. wpNex буде поступово розширюватися, щоб банки та ощадні...

On April 1, Ukraine introduced a new law on e-residency, which allows foreigners, in particular IT specialists, to become entrepreneurs in Ukraine and pay taxes to the state budget. Source:https://thedigital.gov.ua/news/pershi-v-skhidniy-evropi-v-ukraini-pochav-diyati-zakon-pro-e-rezidentstvo-shcho-dozvolit-inozemtsyam-vesti-biznes-ta-splachuvati-podatki-onlayn News were announced by the Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine. The Ministry of Digital Transformation of Ukraine, in cooperation with the National Bank of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Security Service of Ukraine and the State Tax Service, are working on a regulatory framework that will allow the project to be launched at full capacity. The government also approved a service that will allow foreigners to apply for e-resident status. After successful testing, the government plans to attract about 1,000 e-residents and obtain permission from the National Bank of Ukraine, which will allow the project to be fully launched. It is possible for e-residents to transfer funds to their own account abroad in foreign currency. A nice bonus of the...

On March 20, the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine supported in the second reading and in general the draft Law of Ukraine "On Amendments to the Tax Code of Ukraine on the Implementation of the International Standard for the Automatic Exchange of Information on Financial Accounts" Source:https://itd.rada.gov.ua/billInfo/Bills/CardByRn?regNum=8131&conv=9 The draft law is designed to ensure that Ukraine implements the OECD-approved General Standard on Reporting and Due Diligence on Financial Accounts. The implementation of the CRS Standard into national legislation is a prerequisite for Ukraine's accession to the international system of information exchange under the Multilateral Agreement of Competent Authorities on the Automatic Exchange of Information on Financial Accounts, which Ukraine, represented by the State Tax Service, joined in August 2022. In particular, the main provisions of the draft law establish the functions and rights of regulatory authorities to ensure that the information required for the exchange is obtained in accordance with the CRS Standard requirements for financial agents to apply the rules of the CRS Standard when conducting due diligence on...