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Payments giant Mastercard has announced that it is working on a new set of Mastercard Crypto Credential standards with Aptos Labs, Ava Labs, Polygon and the Solana Foundation. The main goal of the initiative is to strengthen the trust of consumers, businesses and governments in this sector. "Building trust in the blockchain ecosystem is the most important step towards realizing its full potential," said Raj Damodharan, Executive Vice President of Digital Assets at Mastercard. "A new set of standards ensures that those interested in interacting in the Web3 environment meet certain standards for the activities they want to do." The Mastercard Crypto Credential aims to create a set of common standards and infrastructure that will help validate the trustworthiness of interactions between consumers and businesses using the blockchain. While Aptos Labs, Polygon, Ava Labs, and Solana will help bring the standards to app developers in their ecosystems, wallet providers Bit2Me, Lirium, Mercado Bitcoin, and Uphold will begin using new tools as part of an initial project to enable cross-border transfers between the U.S. and Latin countries America and the Caribbean. "Together we will...

During the Consensus 2023 event, agency representative Julie Ferster announced the development of new cryptocurrency taxation guidance by the US Internal Revenue Service (IRS). A ready-made document may be released within the next 12 months. Source:https://www.coindesk.com/business/2023/04/28/crypto-tax-plan-could-come-in-12-ish-months-says-irs-official/?utm_medium=referral&utm_source=rss&utm_campaign=headlines The official who leads the Digital Assets Project in the tax office believes that the authority plans to change its approach to cryptocurrencies and work more closely with the industry. However, at this stage, this is her personal opinion and not an official statement from the IRS. "We are working with all of you to get things right and develop a plan. The IRS needs to pay attention to the skills of the people we have today and those we will hire in the future [...] We need the right tools and the right people,” she emphasized. Ferster also drew attention to the expansion of the landscape of cryptoassets, and that this should be reflected in the new rules. She also invited the community to comment on a recent proposal to introduce a tax on NFTs. The US wants...

The sale, which includes long-term mortgages and securities, aims to reduce the mismatch between the bank's assets and liabilities. Source:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-25/first-republic-said-to-weigh-up-to-100-billion-in-asset-sales Potential buyers, including major US banks, could receive guarantees or preferred shares as an incentive to buy assets above market value, one source said. The day after First Republic reported earnings well below analysts' estimates, investors are fully aware of the challenges facing the bank. The lender is trying to bolster its balance sheet to avoid a FDC arrest and clear the way for a possible capital increase, the source said. The source added that the US government may need to assist in negotiations with some of the largest banks in the country to stabilize the lender while it is bailing out. This would be a much cheaper alternative than bankrupting the company. First Republic shares tumbled 23% in early New York trading on Wednesday, after falling on Tuesday halved its market value to $1.5 billion. In early March, the bank's value exceeded $22 billion. In addition to selling assets, the bank also plans to focus on loans...

In March, Italy's Council of Ministers approved a set of general principles and criteria for future reform. Source:https://internationalwealth.info/offshore-tax/v-italii-nachalas-masshtabnaja-nalogovaja-reforma/ What changes might follow? complete overhaul of classical taxes (IRES, НДС и IRPEF); reduction in the number of deductions; refusal of criminal penalties for tax evasion associated with objective reasons beyond the control of the taxpayer. The government hopes the changes will make the system more manageable and make it easier to tackle tax evasion, which cost the country €90bn in 2020, according to the latest Treasury data.. Innovations will also affect the system of taxation of individuals. The Italian government wants to establish a single range of fiscal benefits and the same tax, regardless of the category of income received: wage labor; self-employment; business; real estate; agriculture; finance; other. Interestingly, it is planned to reduce the tax on income of companies and organizations from 24% to 15%. And it will be possible to receive a benefit if legal entities within two tax periods are...

The double tax treaty between Denmark and Russia has been in force since 1996. Now the Danish government has begun consultations to end it. Such a bill was introduced in Denmark on April 20, 2023. The decision is due to the fact that Russia was blacklisted by the EU. What does it mean? The inclusion of an aggressor country on the EU "black list" immediately limits its cooperation with international financial organizations. As of January 30, 2023, there were 12 countries and territories on the EU "black list": American Samoa, Anguilla, Bahamas, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, US Virgin Islands and Vanuatu, and on February 14, 2023, the Council of the European Union updated the blacklist to include the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, the Marshall Islands and Russia. The agreement is expected to end in 2024. Tax Minister Jeppe Bruus commented: “This is contrary to the general considerations that Denmark usually pursues when concluding double tax treaties. Namely, that Denmark has an agreement with a country on the black list of EU tax havens. Therefore, after a specific assessment, the Government decided to terminate the agreement....

Recently, the EU Parliament approved the licensing of cryptocurrencies and the rules for transferring funds. Legislators voted for a new cryptocurrency licensing regime - MiCA. A separate law, known as the Funds Transfer Ordinance, has also been enacted, which requires crypto operators to identify their customers (in an attempt to stop money laundering). The vote followed debate in which lawmakers heavily supported plans to force cryptocurrency wallet providers and exchanges to seek a license to operate across the block and require issuers of stablecoins pegged to the value of other assets to maintain sufficient reserves. In a tweet, Mairead McGuinness of the European Commission called the vote "a first in the world" on cryptocurrency rules. “We protect consumers, ensure financial stability and market integrity,” McGuinness said. "The rules will start to apply from next...

At the end of March, the European Parliament adopted a draft of amendments to the EU Directive of 2003, which provides for the simplification of obtaining the status of a long-term resident of the European Union (PMP) by citizens of third countries. Source:https://internationalwealth.info/residence-permit-abroad/v-evrosojuze-hotjat-uprostit-pravila-poluchenija-pmzh-inostrancami/ What changes does the bill propose? 1. Permanent residence in EU countries can start providing after a three-year period of legal residence. 2. Persons who have the status of temporary protection will have the possibility of deeper social integration. 3. Having a long-term residency in the European Union, the immigrant will be able to move freely between EU countries. 4. Dependent children will automatically acquire residence permit in the European Union. Speeding up the procedure for obtaining permanent residence in the EU Now, in many European countries, you need to live legally in the EU for 5 years, after which you can get a permanent residence. This term can be shortened to 3 years. It is also allowed to sum up the periods of stay on a legal basis in different EU countries. Legal reasons...

The tax rebate became available not only to those who paid for education, medical insurance or contributions to the NPF, but also to those who invested in start-ups. The Ministry of Finance told in detail how you can use the discount. The mechanism of the tax rebate opens up the possibility to return a part of the paid personal income tax (PIT) in “live” money. However, some resources indicate that lawyers believe that only persons who have bought shares (other corporate rights) of Action.City residents will be able to take advantage of the tax credit to reduce taxable income in the form of dividends. When acquiring corporate rights of other legal entities that are not residents of the Action. City, there is no tax credit. The tax credit is not available for FLP, but this does not apply to those who conduct business activities and simultaneously invest or work as an employee. The income of an applicant for a discount cannot be less than the expenses for which he expects a benefit. Otherwise, the tax office may ask unpleasant questions. Thus, in order to qualify for a tax rebate based on the results of the previous year, the following conditions must be met:: Be a...

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,...