Links Sep 7

India Panel Suggests Tax Evasion Rule Be Deferred by Three Years NASDAQ
Sep 6 - "An expert panel appointed by India's government has recommended that the implementation of a much-debated rule introduced to fight tax evasion - GAAR - be deferred by three years."

Philippines: DOJ forms panel to probe Corona tax evasion raps ABS CBN News
Sep 7 - On a Department of Justice investigation into tax evasion charges filed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) against former Chief Justice Renato Corona and family members.

Argentina tightens grip on credit card purchases to stem capital flight and tax evasion Washington Post
Aug 31 - "Argentina just made it more expensive for its people to use credit cards outside the country, and more dangerous for cardholders who aren’t paying all the taxes they should."

Tax officials looking into 30 Argentine transfers of football players Fox Sports
Aug 24 - "Money laundering tricks range from basic to complex and sophisticated ... including cash, international transfers, shell companies, and the illegal use of non-banking professionals to move money. In particular, selling rights to a player or team's image for undeclared amounts was being increasingly used to evade taxes."

Guatemala to strengthen fiscal management with IDB financing The Guatemala Times
6 Sep - "Guatemala will receive $237.2 million in financing from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to consolidate fiscal management and sustainability by supporting reforms that will help increase tax revenues, strengthen tax administration, and regulate national and municipal debt."

French and Swiss to re-discuss tax agreement swissinfo
Sep 6 - "France has so far rejected the idea of a bilateral accord with the Swiss concerning tax evasion, preferring an automatic data exchange as also demanded by the European Union. The accord suggested by the Swiss Bankers Association would allow French residents who are account holders to remain anonymous."

Credit Suisse denies Swiss help Germans dodge tax pact Reuters
Sep 3 - "German media have accused Swiss banks of telling German clients to shift money to Singapore, Asia's prominent finance centre, to avoid detection and taxation of their assets."

Greece Steps Up Tax Evasion Crackdown With Asset Freezes Bloomberg
Sep 7 - "The Greek finance ministry’s economic crimes unit has frozen bank accounts, shares and properties in 121 tax evasion cases ... “Tolerance of tax evaders, no matter how high up they are, is over,” Finance Minister Yannis Stournaras said."

Italy: Government in 'war of civilisation' against tax evasion Gazetta Del Sud
Sep 7 - "Premier Mario Monti said: "We have launched a war of civilisation against tax evasion and other things that it would be reductive to consider solely as economic or financial, but which undermine trust in those near and far and in the State."

What the Italians can teach us about tax avoidance The Independent
Aug 19 - Some great commentary on "The Monti recipe."

Tax planning? Or tax cheating? Los Angeles Times
Sep 7 - "Laws that encourage corporate tax havens are bad for America ... compounding the race to the bottom, Mitt Romney has stepped forward to congratulate corporate tax cheats." See Nick Shaxson's Vanity Fair piece on Mitt Romney here.

Lauryn Hill Turns Down Oprah Interview While Facing More Tax Issues Huffington Post
Aug 21 - The piece includes a slideshow report on "Celebrity tax evaders".

Evolving global system of financial scrutiny and taxation Business Recorder
Sep 6 - A useful overview. Comments on challenges to political will, and international co-ordination.