From the OECD site 22 July 2010 — The OECD Council today approved the 2010 versions of the OECD’s Model Tax Convention, the 1995 Transfer Pricing Guidelines and the 2008 Report on the Attribution of Profits to Permanent Establishments. The updates are the result of several years of work to improve these core OECD instruments in the area of international taxation.
Archive for the ‘UK Tax’ Category
2010 OECD Model Tax Convention, Transfer Pricing and updated PE definition
Monday, August 9th, 2010The Pound vs Euro for the Spanish British Expats
Sunday, June 6th, 2010There is a big debate in the British expat community in Spain about the pros and cons of having the investments in Euros versus British Pounds. As Tax Counsel I am not qualified to respond to those queries and asked Sara Perez-Frutos, the CEO of Dracon Partners in Madrid, to let me have her thoughts.
Dracon Partners EAFI is one of the less than 30 regulated Independent Financial Advisers in Spain (CNMV)
Sara and Eunjoo, a financial analyst, drafted an article for us on this topic. Please click here to download The Euro and the British Pound, good food for thought!
OECD: Average tax burden on workers’ earnings was reduced in 2009
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010As reported in the OECD page, average tax and social security burdens on employment incomes fell slightly in 24 out of 30 OECD countries last year as governments struggled to shore up faltering economies amid the worst recession in decades. But whether this trend will continue this year is uncertain given the widespread pressures on public budgets.
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Gibraltar & Spain, what’s going on?
Saturday, April 17th, 2010We are surprised, happily surprised, to see Spain signing another TIEA. This one with Bahamas signed on March 11, 2010, follows the Netherlands Antilles, Aruba, Trinidad y Tobago agreements. Please see our Taxprecision post for more information.
When coming to Gibraltar, the question brings some political issues to the table which must be put aside as a matter of urgency.
The Spanish Tax legislation clearly discriminate Gibraltar by discouraging the furtherance of trade, commerce and business with this territory of the UK and part of the EU.
There are powerful economic reasons to end this situation. Gibraltar accounts for 3% of the exports in Andalucia, compared with a 4% with Morocco, or another 4% with Mexico or US. Gibraltar is, therefore, a strategic partner of Andalucia.
I can understand that a generation of Spaniards may still have some issues coming to terms with reality. I would like to invite my fellow Spaniards to rethink their position by reviewing our 2008 posting to get to know Gibraltar and more about its OECD compliance.
There are compelling reasons for the Spanish government to speed up the signature of this TIEA and remove Gibraltar from the list of Tax Havens as per Spanish RD1080/91.
Gibraltar update on Tax Information Exchange Agreements TIEAs
Saturday, April 17th, 2010The list below contains the Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) signed by Gibraltar.
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Belgium-Gibraltar (16 December 2009)
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Iceland – Gibraltar (16 December 2009)
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Sweden – Gibraltar (16 December 2009)
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Faroes Islands – Gibraltar (20 October 2009)
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Finland – Gibraltar (20 October 2009)
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Greenland – Gibraltar (20 October 2009)
- Portugal – Gibraltar (14 October 2009)
- France – Gibraltar (22 September 2009)
- Austria – Gibraltar (17 September 2009)
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Denmark – Gibraltar (2 September 2009)
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United Kingdom – Gibraltar (27 August 2009)
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Australia – Gibraltar (25 August 2009)
- New Zealand – Gibraltar (13 August 2009)
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Germany – Gibraltar (13 August 2009)
- Ireland – Gibraltar (24 June 2009)
- USA – Gibraltar (31 March 2009)
Revised OECD-Council of Europe treaty to increase multilateral cooperation
Saturday, April 17th, 2010The OECD and the Council of Europe have agreed on an update to an international treaty that aims to help governments enforce their tax laws, as part of the worldwide drive to combat cross-border tax evasion.
The update takes the form of a protocol amending the Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters for which the two multilateral organisations are the custodians. Its effect is to align the convention to the international standard on information exchange for tax purposes by allowing for the exchange of bank information.
The Protocol will be opened for signature on the occasion of the OECD’s annual Ministerial Meeting in Paris on 27-28 May. This initiative responds to a call by G20 leaders at their April 2009 summit for proposals as to ways to help developing countries secure the benefits of the new cooperative tax environment. U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, as chair of the G20, indicated that “it would be helpful, in this regard, if an effective multilateral mechanism could be developed”.
The original convention entered into force in 1995. It currently groups 14 countries — Azerbaijan, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States, and Ukraine – with Canada, Germany and Spain having signed it but not yet ratified it. Other OECD and Council of Europe members, including some that are G20 countries, are looking at becoming parties to the convention, and it is now being opened up to other countries that are not members of either the OECD or the Council of Europe members .
This will enable developing countries to become parties to the amended convention and benefit from the new, more transparent tax-cooperation environment. The protocol provides, among other things, for exchange of information, multilateral simultaneous tax examinations, service of documents and cross-border assistance in tax collection, while respecting national sovereignty and the rights of taxpayers and ensuring extensive safeguards to protect the confidentiality of the information exchanged.
OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría and Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjørn Jagland welcomed the finalisation of the protocol by both organizations, noting that as more countries join, the benefits of the convention grow.
“Given its multilateral nature, the Convention is a unique instrument to counteract international tax avoidance and evasion,” Angel Gurría commented. “The OECD and the Council of Europe have agreed to improve international cooperation to combat tax evasion and the standards set by the convention are being updated to reflect this new consensus.”
“New provisions aim to remove obstacles to effective co-operation and exchange of information, especially those related to bank secrecy legislations,” said Thorbjørn Jagland. “The amending protocol also provides for the opening of the convention to countries that are not members of the Council of Europe or the OECD, thereby transforming it into an instrument to fight tax evasion worldwide.”
Pre Budget Report summary
Thursday, December 10th, 2009The Pre Budget report has not brought any surprises this year. Please find below a summary on the main tax measures which are being presented as reported by Ripe Chartered Accountants: (more…)
Chancellor forced to eat his words on Non Doms
Wednesday, December 9th, 2009Extracted from Grant Thornton UK (April 2009)
In an acknowledgement of the complexity of the rules that were introduced for non-domiciled (non-doms) and not ordinarily resident individuals in 2008, the Government has had to back down on its commitment not to revisit the tax rules in the current and next parliamentary term. Today’s measures include: