News

On 5 December 2013 Double taxation agreement between the Governments of Hong Kong and Guernsey entered into force.

On 15 November 2013 Belarusian parliament ratified Double taxation agreement (DTA) between the Governments of Belarus and Singapore.

The DTA provides for lower withholding tax rates for dividends, interest and royalties than the rates under national Belarusian taxation legislation.

Six Swiss banks - Bank Coop, Migros Bank, Linth Bank; Valiant Holding; Vontobel Holding AG; and Berner Kantonalbank - have announced their participation in the US program (see below), under which they may avoid criminal prosecutions in return for supplying the US Department of Justice with client information, plus financial penalties of up to 50% of assets they managed on behalf of US citizens. 

On 11 December 2013 European Parliament approved legislative initiative to oblige EU countries by 2017 to collect and automatically share data on income from employment, directors' fees, life insurance, pensions and property, as well as on other income, including that from dividends, capital gains and bank account balances.

This European Parliament’s proposal for a Council directive is advisory in nature.

Today, on 12 December 2013, the 20th anniversary of the Russian Constitution, Vladimir Putin delivered the annual Presidential Address to the Federal Assembly. 

The Autumn Statement 2013 was made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne on Thursday 5 December. The statement provides an update on the government’s plans for the economy based on the latest forecasts from the Office for Budget Responsibility.

On 29 November 2013 the Swiss Federal Council has instructed the Swiss Federal Department of Finance to submit a proposal on the next steps for enhanced due diligence requirements to prevent banks and other financial intermediaries the acceptance of untaxed assets in the Confederation.

On 29 November 2013, the U.S.A. and the Cayman Islands signed an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) on the basis of a Model I template, in order to improve international tax compliance and to implement the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA).

An arrangement comprising of an exchange of letters amending the 2008 Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with the British Virgin Islands was signed on 28 November 2013 to permit automatic and spontaneous exchange of information. At the same time an agreement was also signed to improve international tax compliance which sets out the precise details of the information which will be automatically exchanged.

The intergovernmental agreement between Great Britain and Gibraltar on the automatic disclosure of tax information was signed on the 21 November 2013.

The key feature of this agreement is its non-reciprocity which means UK financial institutions will not have further reporting obligations under the terms of this agreement.

The text of the new agreement is available on the HM Revenue & Customs website.