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Industry News
21 December 2011
HONG KONG IS THE NO. 1 FINANCIAL CENTREHong Kong ranked as the number 1 financial centre out of 60 countries in The World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Financial Development Index. Hong Kong…
Read More21 December 2011
HONG KONG AS THE DIVORCE CAPITAL OF ASIA?A recent string of high profile divorce cases in Hong Kong has left no doubt that Hong Kong, like London, is fast become a divorce mecca for the sup…
Read More08 December 2011
UK TAX AVOIDANCE INITIATIVESThe Treasury Chief Secretary, Danny Alexander, announced at the Liberal Democratic conference in September that the HM Revenue and Customs ( “ HMRC…
Read More08 December 2011
SINGAPORE IMPOSES ADDITIONAL STAMP DUTYThe Singapore government has imposed an additional 10% stamp duty on foreigners and companies buying private residential property which took effect …
Read More01 December 2011
The New Social Insurance Law in China for Foreign EmployeesChina’s new Social Insurance Law (SIL) took effect on 01 July 2011 which aims to ensure foreign employees more rights to improve overall social we…
Read More30 November 2011
PHILIPPINE BUREAU OF INTERNAL REVENUE DEFERS TAX MEMOThe Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) of the Philippines has recently deferred for another year the implementation of its controversial Revenue Memor…
Read More02 November 2011
SOURCE OF AGENCY PROFITS - LI & FUNG (TRADING) LIMITED AND COMMISSIONER OF INLAND REVENUEThe judgment of the Court of First Instance in the case of Li & Fung (Trading) Limited v Commissioner of Inland Revenue was delivered by the Hon Rey…
Read More28 October 2011
Double Taxation Agreements - UpdateHong Kong has not signed any further comprehensive agreements for the avoidance of double taxation with its trading parties since June 2011. The …
Read More14 July 2011
UK Coalition Government proposes statutory test of tax residency in the UKThe Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was enacted on March 18, 2010, by the US Government as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Emplo…
Read More14 July 2011
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA)The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) was enacted on March 18, 2010, by the US Government as part of the Hiring Incentives to Restore Emplo…
Read More14 July 2011
Singapore/SpainInvesting from Spain - Use of a Singapore Holding Company On April 13, 2011, Singapore and Spain signed an agreement regarding the avoidance of dou…
Read More05 July 2011
Double Taxation Agreements - UpdateNew Treaties As of June 7 2011 Hong Kong has signed 21 comprehensive agreements for the avoidance of double taxation with its trading parties. Th…
Read More22 June 2011
UK Coalition Government proposes statutory test of tax residency in the UKThe UK Coalition Government provided good and bad news in its two consultations paper issued on 17 June 2011. The first relates to the remittance basi…
Read More24 March 2011
Hong Kong and Portugal Sign Tax PactHong Kong today (March 22) signed an agreement with Portugal for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect …
Read More06 December 2010
Hong Kong Signs Tax Treaty with SwitzerlandHong Kong today (December 6) signed an agreement with Switzerland for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with resp…
Read More01 December 2010
Hong Kong, New Zealand Sign Tax PactHong Kong today (December 1) signed an agreement with New Zealand for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with res…
Read More11 November 2010
Hong Kong Signs with Luxembourg a Protocol to the Comprehensive Agreement on Avoidance of Double TaxationOn November 11, 2010, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor K C Chan, on behalf of the HKSAR Government, signed the Pro…
Read More21 October 2010
Hong Kong / France - Comprehensive Double Taxation AgreementOn October 21, 2010(Paris time), Hong Kong signed an agreement with France for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion…
Read More15 August 2010
New Tax Treaty between New Zealand and SingaporeA new tax treaty between New Zealand and Singapore came into force on August 12, 2010. The treaty replaces the 1973 treaty between the two countries …
Read More29 July 2010
BVI - Extended Transition Dates for Investment Business LegislationOn July 29, 2010, the British Virgin Islands Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced an extension to the transition dates under the new Securiti…
Read More20 July 2010
Hong Kong Legislative Council Passes Companies (Amendment) Bill 2010Hong Kong’s Legislative Council passed the Companies (Amendment) Bill 2010 (Legal Supplement No. 3 to Gazette No. 3, Vol. 14 ) on July 7, 2010. T…
Read More24 June 2010
BVI - New Securities & Investment Business LegislationThe BVI Securities & Investment Business Act, 2010, (“SIBA”) has passed into law, effective May 17, 2010. It has replaced the BVI Mutual Funds A…
Read More22 April 2010
Concerns About New Philippines Revenue Memorandum OrderOn March 15, 2010, The Philippines’ Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) issued Revenue Memorandum Order (“RMO”) No. 26-2010 (“RMO 26-2010”) for…
Read More21 April 2010
Revised DIPN 43 clarifies the location of offshore funds for Hong Kong profits tax purposesDuring the Hong Kong budget speech delivered on March 24, 2010, Mr John Tsang announced that the Inland Revenue Department (“IRD”) has been instru…
Read More20 April 2010
New Taxation Regime for Representative Offices of Foreign Enterprises in ChinaOn February 20, 2010, the State Administration of Taxation issued the Provisional Measures for Tax Collection and Administration for Foreign-Enterpris…
Read More16 April 2010
Cayman Islands Signs Tax information Exchange Agreement with AustraliaThe Cayman Islands signed a tax information exchange agreement with Australia on April 13, 2010, during a ceremony held at the Australian Embassy in W…
Read More25 March 2010
Three More Treaties for Hong KongSince the enactment in January this year of The Inland Revenue (Amendment) Ordinance 2010, which enabled the Hong Kong Government to adopt the 2004 OE…
Read More19 March 2010
Philippine President Approves Law on Tax Information ExchangeOn March 5, 2010, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed into law Republic Act 10021, allowing the exchange of tax information pursuant t…
Read More23 February 2010
Status of residency after the Court of Appeals judgment in Gaines-Cooper v HMRCThe English Court of Appeal ruled on February 16, 2010, that the HMRC has not breached entrepreneur Robert Gaines-Cooper’s legitimate expectations i…
Read More10 February 2010
Notice 698: Challenges from the PRC Tax Authorities on the Offshore Holding Structures of China EnterprisesNotice 698 sets out the basis on which the PRC State Administration of Taxes (“SAT”) may tax a foreign company that “indirectly” transfers equ…
Read More10 February 2010
The Significance of the Foreign-Invested Partnership Enterprises for Foreign Investors into ChinaUntil recently, because of the lack of a legal framework, foreign investors have not been able to set up partnership enterprises in China, whilst dome…
Read More10 February 2010
Germany Delays Taking Action Against Users of Tax HavensGermany will hold off on imposing sanctions on companies and individuals who transfer money to tax havens. Tax havens, according to the Ministry of …
Read More18 January 2010
BVI Tax Information Exchange Agreements signed with Ireland and ChinaThe Government of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) has over many years built a reputation for being a constructive and co-operative member of the inte…
Read More04 January 2010
Chinese State Administration of Taxation Issues New Guidelines About Passive IncomeIn a previous client briefing note, we advised that from 1 October 2009, any claim of double tax treaty benefits by tax residents of tax treaty countr…
Read More17 December 2009
BVI Companies Given the Green Light to List in Hong KongOn 16 December 2009, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (“HKSE”) amended its “list of acceptable overseas jurisdictions” to allow compani…
Read More09 December 2009
Cayman Islands 2009-2010 Balanced BudgetThe Cayman Islands 2009-2010 budget is expected to create a small surplus of income as a result of cuts in expenditures in conjunction with increases …
Read More08 December 2009
Tax Exemption Scheme for Qualifying Family-owned Investment Holding Companies (FIHC) in SingaporeThe Singapore government has announced that its tax concessions to individuals are now extended to individuals who invest through a qualifying Family-…
Read More07 December 2009
Hong Kong/Vietnam Double Tax AgreementA double taxation agreement between Hong Kong and Vietnam (“the HK/Vietnam DTA”) was signed on 16 December 2008. It will apply to Hong Kong tax …
Read More15 November 2009
With the signing of it's 12th tax agreement, Singapore is the newest arrival on the OECD white listOn November 13 2009, Singapore signed an agreement with France to share tax information, allowing it to qualify for the OECD's white list of jurisdict…
Read More11 November 2009
Changes to the regulatory landscape for retail structured investment productsIn September 2009, the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong (“SFC”) sought to enhance and fine-tune the regulatory regime relating to al…
Read More11 November 2009
China issues clear and comprehensive rules on double tax treaty benefit claims by non-residentsOn 1 October 2009, Guoshuifa [2009] 124 (“Circular 124”) came into effect. Before Circular 124 was issued, different local-level tax bureaus ado…
Read More22 October 2009
Singapore set to leave the "Grey List"On the 19th October The Singapore Parliament passed the Income Tax Exchange of Information Bill. Effectively, this lifts the 'domestic interest cond…
Read More14 October 2009
Defense strategies in respect of transfer pricing audits in ChinaWith the issuance of Circular No. 363 (Strengthening the Monitoring and Investigation of Cross-Border Related Party Transactions, Guo Shui Han [2009] …
Read More07 October 2009
British Virgin and Cayman Isles ‘White Listed’In a move that places the British Virgin Islands and the Cayman Islands alongside the likes of the US and the UK in terms of their implementation of i…
Read More30 September 2009
Switzerland and US sign agreement to bolster tax information exchangeAs part of its drive to remove itself from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) ‘grey list’, Switzerland recently…
Read More30 September 2009
Liechtenstein Disclosure FacilityIntroduction The global trend towards international tax transparency gathered further momentum on 11 August 2009 following the announcement that the …
Read More30 September 2009
Seychelles IBC Act – Bearer Share AmendmentsSeychelles IBC Act - Bearer Shares AmendmentsThere have been important changes introduced by the recently enacted IBC (Amendment) Act 2009 relating to…
Read More29 July 2009
Extension of the Deductibility of Interest Incurred on Loans to Finance Capital ExpenditureUnder section 16(2)(e)(i) Inland Revenue Ordinance (“IRO”), subject to the relationship between the lender and borrower, interest incurred on fund…
Read More29 July 2009
Exchange of Information Bill Introduced into LEGCOThe adoption of the more liberal OECD 2004 Exchange of Information Article ("AOI") moved a step closer following the introduction of the Inland Revenu…
Read More25 March 2009
Hong Kong plans to introduce the new Companies BillIn response to requirements of investors and in order to modernise Hong Kong’s company law, the Hong Kong government decided to rewrite the Companie…
Read More04 February 2008
Second Protocol to the DTA signed by Hong Kong with the Mainland on 30 January 2008On 27 June 2007, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) of Hong Kong (www.ird.gov.hk) issued a new version of Departmental Interpretation & Practice Not…
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