A client of the Swiss bank UBS has won an appeal against handing over data to US tax authorities. A court ruled that failure to fill in a tax form did not constitute fraudulent behaviour, even if large sums of money were involved. The test case challenges a deal made between Switzerland and the US, in which the Swiss agreed to hand over details of suspected tax avoiders. Read rest of article here |
Germany’s new and highly controversial law against tax evasion has virtually been overridden by events: the Finance Ministry has revealed that it is simply unable to identify any jurisdiction that fulfils the conditions required for its application.
The law, containing severe sanctions for anyone with links to so-called “tax havens,” was adopted by the previous grand coalition government, and entered into force in Germany at the end of September last year.
Since then, finance officials have been unable to apply the law, as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) “black list” of countries deemed uncooperative in tax matters simply no longer exists. The law therefore remains merely a threat – for the time being at least.
Read the full article on www.taxnews.com German Law Against Tax Evasion Proves Futile.
The UK government has confirmed that just 10,000 individuals used its latest offshore tax amnesty known as the New Disclosure Opportunity, which expired on January 4.
Tax experts had been predicting a low-take up by offshore account holders of the new scheme, but considering that Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling was hoping that the NDO would raise GBP1bn in additional tax revenues, the government must be disappointed by the response.
PricewaterhouseCoopers predicted recently that HM Revenue and Customs would collect about GBP135m in back taxes, interest and penalties from the scheme, which capped penalties at 10% for most disclosures, based on 13,000 voluntary declarations.
Blasting offshore tax evasion as “morally unacceptable”, Treasury Minister Stephen Timms warned those who insist on hiding assets offshore that HMRC has data on customers of more than 300 banks, and those found not to have made a disclosure will face penalties of up to 100% in future if collared by the tax man.
“Hiding money in offshore accounts to evade tax is economically and morally unacceptable. It robs public services of funding and places an unfair burden on the honest majority of taxpayers,” Timms remarked.
“Some people will still be tempted, and that is why the government will bring forward measures during 2010 to build on the significant progress made both in the UK and globally during 2009 in closing down offshore tax evasion for good,” he added.
Read the full article on taxnews.com UK Declares War On Offshore Tax Evasion.
Kitzbühel is again starting the year with an action-packed snow show: preparations for the 8th Valartis Group Snow Arena Polo World Cup are gathering speed. The Polo horses will spend 3 days galloping around the Münichauer Wiese showground just outside of Kitzbühel.
Enjoy free entry to this exclusive world class event from 15 to 17 January 2010 & for sure you will find members of the Praetorian Guard in the VIP area sipping champagne, and enjoying the event and one of the real Gentlemen’s sports, Polo.
The event will officially open on the Thursday. The ‘Polo Parade’ will take place from 17:00 in the centre of Kitzbühel with the official presentation of the teams and sponsors. The participants will be taken through the city centre in horse-drawn carriages and on to the stage at the ‘Hotel zur Tenne’.
Then it’s all about sport from Friday to Sunday. In the morning, the action-packed games begin at the Münichauer Wiese in Reith bei Kitzbühel. Guests and locals are invited to come and learn about this sport, enjoying free entry to the event.
Polo is a team sport with 4 players per team on horse-back. The aim is to use a long wooden stick to hit a 7-8 cm ball weighing 130 grams into their opponent’s goal. Each player wears a polo helmet and face mask for protection and changes between several horses during the game so as not to overtire the animals. Polo has caused a stir in the German-speaking countries through the participation of royal players such as Prince Charles. It is not without good reason that polo is known as the ‘game of kings’.
Polo dates back to Ancient Persia in around 600 BC. It then spread to Arabia and India during the Islamic expansion. English cavalier officers stationed in India then brought polo to Great Britain in the 19th century and then to South America.
Valartis World Cup Polo Kitzbuhel
http://www.kitzbuehelpolo.com/
Tax amnesty! Voluntary hanging!
Offshore Accounts Holders Shun UK Amnesty, by Robert Lee, Tax-News.com, London
Last updated 20 minutes ago | Wednesday, January 06, 2010
Tax experts are predicting that the UK’s latest amnesty on offshore bank accounts, known as the New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO), will have attracted a relatively low take-up, despite the government’s warnings that there are few places to hide for those determined to keep their money out of the clutches of the tax man.
The deadline for individuals to notify HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) about previously undisclosed offshore accounts passed at midnight on January 4 meaning those that failed to disclose now face investigations and penalties of up to 100%. However, in spite of the prospect of financial and criminal penalties, PricewaterhouseCoopers predicts that only 13,000 individuals took the opportunity to register under the NDO scheme - well under half the number who took advantage of a similar amnesty in 2007.
“In 2007 around 40,000 people registered under the Offshore Disclosure Facility and HMRC raised approximately GBP400m. We predict that around a third of that number have come forward this time under the New Disclosure Opportunity and that HMRC is likely to collect around GBP135m,” commented Stephen Camm, tax partner at PwC.
Under the NDO, people making a complete and accurate disclosure of their untaxed offshore liabilities between September 1, 2009 and March 12, 2010 will have any penalty capped at 10%, or 20% if they failed to take up a written offer of a capped penalty under HMRC’s 2007 Offshore Disclosure Facility.
Poor advertising of the NDO by HMRC has been cited by some as a reason why there was relatively little interest in the scheme. However, the more favourable terms of a parallel offshore amnesty targeting those with financial arrangements in Liechtenstein, known as the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF) is thought to be a major reason why offshore account holders have largely shunned the NDO.
John Cassidy, Tax Investigations Partner at PKF Accountants & business advisers observed: “Individuals registered to use the NDO will have to come clean about undeclared income over the last 20 years. However, if the LDF route is used it is a much shorter period of around 10 years. Because the difference in the number of years involved is so stark, the tax – and interest - saved can be significant.”
The LDF, the result of an agreement between the UK and Liechtenstein last summer, also caps penalties at 10% and allows account holders to make a full disclosure of their financial arrangements in the Principality until March 31, 2015. It is also still possible to register for the LDF, and those who have already registered for the NDO can also transfer to the Liechtenstein scheme, Cassidy noted.
PKF points out that if an individual had GBP1m of clean funds deposited overseas at the start of the tax year 1990/91 and it earned interest at a steady 5%, the tax and interest and penalty charges owed to HMRC under the NDO would be around GBP967,000, whereas under the LDF they would be just GBP493,000 - a saving of GBP473,000. Additional savings could be made if the original capital in the account has not been taxed or inheritance tax is outstanding.
Moreover, Cassidy remarked that it was an “absolute myth” that a Liechtenstein bank account is needed in order to benefit from the LDF.
“An interest in relevant property in Liechtenstein can be acquired now and the benefits of the LDF obtained. There are, of course, other variables to properly consider for each individual before determining whether the LDF is viable but, in the right circumstances, the potential savings are significant,” he concluded.{{desc}}
Bugatti launched in Dubai on the 15th of December 2009 its Centenary celebration with three tailor made cars, especially developed for its discerning clientele in the Middle East: the Veyron “Sang d’Argent”, the Grand Sport “Soleil de Nuit” and the Veyron “Nocturne”, limited to five cars only.
The Veyron “Nocturne” strikes with an extraordinary partition of surfaces never used so far, giving the car a new dimension of lateral length. Bugatti is experimenting with galvanized side windows continuing the line of the polished aluminium upper body parts to the rear of the car and contrast vividly with the uni black of the side- and door-panels and the roof. Added to that is the hood, also covered in polished aluminium which emphasizes this impression of elegant length. Special polished custom rims at the exterior and a futuristic interior dominated by a black nanocoated magnesium dashboard and a centre console in galvanized Platinum complete this unique combination of individualized modern design. This mini series has been especially developed for the Middle East Market honouring its importance and its strong partners in the area - Al Habtoor Motors, UAE, Al Zayani Trading Co., Kuwait, Al Ghassan Motors, Saudi Arabia and Dana Motors, Quatar.
The two-tone-scheme of the Centenary Villa d’Este cars were at the origin of the “Sang d’Argent”, a one-off Veyron version built exclusively for the Middle East. But the country coded coloured parts of the car have now been changed to a subtle silver metallic which discreetly flows into the lines of the polished aluminium parts - doors and front wings - thus enhancing the “silver theme” of this car; yet another unique Bugatti creation celebrating the 100th anniversary of the brand. The “Sang d’Argent” has the Grand Sport rims, they complete together with the air intakes
on the roof the overall silver appearance. Through the windows shines a differentiating Havanna interior with quilting pattern on seats and saddle and other very personalized items emphasizing the unique features of this very special Bugatti.
The “Soleil de Nuit” - Sun of the Night - is another stunning example of how a modern interpretation of Bugatti’s core values “Art, Forme, Technique”: A very unusual colour/material split characterizes the “Soleil de Nuit”, the second Middle East one-off model created for the Dubai Motor Show. The horizontal split in the lower part of the car - a synthesis of polished Aluminium, painted Black Blue Metallic enriched by mirror shine meshes - softens the lines of this Grand Sport and gives the body a new touch of sportiness. Blue Metallic in the upper body parts and also in the inner side of the (”Sang Noir”) rims, the outer side of which are in diamond cut, underline the exquisite appearance of this dramatic looking car. A strong burnt orange interior crowns the attractiveness of this impressive “Soleil de Nuit”.
The cars will be available for delivery in the first quarter of 2010. Their prices range from 1.65 Mio Euro for the five car series of the “Nocturne” to 1.45 Mio Euro for the “Sang d’Argent” and 1.55 Mio for the “Soleil de Nuit”, the Veyron and Grand Sport one-off models. All these models are a visible proof of how creativeness and inspiration can be successfully driven to new limits. Bugatti’s constant strive for new technology, more power with less weight, more innovative design aiming for improved speed, easier handling and more inspiring elegance has become legendary. Bugatti’s sophisticated individualization and personalization program has opened new opportunities for the creative and discerning customers found in the Middle East. New materials have widened the range of personalized options and have led to combinations and applications of different varieties of high tech elements never seen before. Thus Bugatti chose the Dubai Motor Show to present these new combinations the first and only time to a broader public.
Monaco is the world’s most densely populated country, with a current population of just over 32,000. Only a fifth of these are native Monegasques and a select few newcomers are taken on each year.
The land reclamation will be made fiendishly complex by the eco-conscious Prince, as he has insisted the entire extension should be built on stilts like an oil rig in order not to disrupt the marine life
Read the full article here from the telegraph
The Iron Key full suite of features, built to protect
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1 December 2009, 6:30pm
Christie’s, The Ryder Street Room 8
8 King Street St. James’s, LondonMore information
We are delighted to announce an exceptional master class featuring eight outstanding vintages from the iconic Château Pichon-Longueville, Lalande; rated by Robert Parker as “One of Pauillac’s most consistently brilliant wines.” The tutored tasting will be conducted by their immensely talented wine-maker, Thomas Dô Chi Nam. This exclusive event will take place at Christie’s on Tuesday, 1 December 2009 at 6:30pm. A wide range of Pichon-Lalande wines direct from their reserve cellars will also feature in our Fine and Rare Wines sale on 10 December 2009.
The vintages to be tasted are: Pichon-Lalande 1991, Pichon-Lalande 1996, Pichon-Lalande 1998, Pichon-Lalande 2001, Pichon-Lalande 2002, Pichon-Lalande 2003, Pichon-Lalande 2004, and Pichon-Lalande 2005.
Contact:
Noah May
Tel: +44 (0)20 7752 3314
nmay@christies.com
Nov. 25 (FT) - Fiscal stimulus was the economic tool, so long disparaged by the policymaking community, that came into its own during the economic crisis, playing its part alongside monetary easing and bank bail-outs in warding off a depression.
But the result of fiscal stimulus in almost every Group of 20 economy has been the rise of deficits to levels never seen in peacetime, debt so high there is not the ammunition to fight another economic war and a bill to clean up the mess that will be felt by taxpayers for a generation to come.
The latest estimates from the International Monetary Fund show that advanced countries’ deficits averaged 1.9 per cent of national income before the financial crisis started in 2007. This year they are expected to hit 9.7 per cent, followed by 8.7 per cent in 2010.
Public sector gross debt is expected to explode from an average across advanced economies of 78 per cent of national income in 2007 to 118 per cent in 2014.
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The problem for advanced economies is that plans for a great fiscal consolidation are needed at the same time as they are expected to cope with the retirement of the postwar “baby boomer” generation.
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The UK has records on government borrowing and debt stretching back to 1691. The expected 50 percentage point rise in the debt-to-national-income ratio is similar in proportion to that experienced during the many wars Britain fought in the 18th century and is the biggest peacetime explosion of government liabilities.
In cash terms, the government expects to borrow more in 2009 and 2010 than the entire borrowing of centuries of British governments between 1692 and 1997.
The pressure mounted this week when Mervyn King, the Bank of England governor, reiterated his view that official plans to reduce the deficit by half over the next four years were insufficient and not credible.
Instead, he called for “something where a really significant reduction in deficits to eliminate a large part of the structural deficit should take place over the lifetime of a parliament”.
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Whatever happens, people in Britain will have to get used to paying much more for their public services and receiving much less.
Read full story here.
