Revisions to Companies Act (Cap.50) of Singapore – New requirements with effect from 31 March 2017
Service providers who used to face grouses or challenges when asked for details on companies’ shareholders and ultimate beneficial owners would now have an easily understandable and frequently-quoted legislation to point to when asking for details on controllers and nominee directors. The Companies (Amendment) Bill was passed by Parliament on 10 March 2017, and subsequently […]
New Zealand Tightens Foreign Trust Disclosure Rules
The New Zealand Parliament has passed the Taxation (Business Tax, Exchange of Information, and Remedial Matters) Bill which introduces trust reform measures. The Bill was passed on 14 February 2017 and is now awaiting Royal Assent. The Bill introduces new disclosure requirements for foreign trusts and requires trustees to register their foreign trust with tax […]
Thailand: Inheritance tax takes effect in January
Thailand’s new inheritance tax and gift tax laws have been published in the official Royal Gazette and will take effect on 31 January. The deceased’s descendants will pay 5 per cent on legacies above THB100 million (USD2.84 million) and gifts above THB20 million. Other beneficiaries will pay 10 per cent on legacies above THB100 million and 5 per […]
Hong Kong releases consultation on automatic exchange of tax information
The Hong Kong government has released a consultation paper setting out detailed plans for automatic exchange of bank account information under the OECD international standard. Previously Hong Kong has only disclosed this information upon request from treaty partners, and the information exchange now planned does not go as far as the multilateral disclosure specified by […]
Split-up Trusts
On 17 July 2014, Hong Kong’s highest court – the Court of Final Appeal – handed down its judgment in the appeal case of Kan Lai Kwan v Poon Lok To Otto and HSBC International Trustee Limited (Poon).1 In a closely reasoned judgment dealing with several issues arising on final appeal from an application for financial […]
France to tax resident property companies
From 1 January 2016, France will impose a 33 per cent capital gains tax charge on German- and Luxembourg-resident shareholders of property companies whose main investments are located in France. Previously, capital gains made by such investments have been exempt from French capital gains tax (CGT). However, the relevant double-taxation tax treaties have now been […]
Russian Parliament passes offshore amnesty law
Russia’s Parliament (Duma) has approved a government-proposed voluntary procedure allowing taxpayers to regularise previously undeclared offshore assets without risk of prosecution – albeit with ‘some exceptions’. The draft law was announced by Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev on 26 March. Addressing the Federal Assembly, he reportedly noted that business development in Russia ‘has not always […]