Links Oct 12

Coke jilts Greece as Geneva clings to holdings swissinfo
Oct 12 - "The European Union is trying to crack down on this; the example of Coca-Cola jilting Greece for Switzerland illustrates how a boon for the Swiss economy helps spell out disaster for Greece, one of the eurozone’s weakest players. See commentary on TJN Germany blog here.

Swiss are world's wealthiest individuals swissinfo
Oct 11 - "Although average individual wealth in the country dropped by 13 per cent since last year, the Swiss remain the wealthiest people in the world, according to the annual Global Wealth Report from Credit Suisse."

Argentina Targets Monsanto in Tax-Evasion Probe NASDAQ
Oct 11 - "Afip [Argentine tax authority] has suspended several of the country's largest grain-trading firms, including Bunge Ltd. (BG), Molinos Rio de la Plata SA (MOLI.BA), Louis Dreyfus and Oleaginosa Moreno, from the registry on charges of tax evasion. In 2010, Afip accused the companies of using shell companies in neighboring countries for accounting purposes that left minimal profits on the books of their Argentine units."

New Zealand: IRD extends confession time for tax dodgers New Zealand Herald
Oct 10 - "Self-employed taxpayers who paid themselves artificially low salaries to avoid the top personal tax rate are being given an extension of time to confess all to the Inland Revenue Department and arrange to pay back-tax."

See also:
Clawback less than expected New Zealand Herald
Oct 11 - "Hundreds of taxpayers are believed to have been affected by a Supreme Court decision that found two orthopaedic surgeons - Ian Penny and Gary Hooper - had avoided income tax by paying themselves low salaries through a structure of companies and trusts."

Vodafone May Avoid $2 Billion India Tax After Report Bloomberg Businessweek
Oct 10 - More reporting on this story.  See also India: Retrospective tax: a timeline of flip-flops Business Standard "The Vodafone deal was the first among many such to have escaped the tax net. The tax department estimated it would lose about Rs 40,000 crore in revenues from other Vodafone-type deals following the apex court's decision."

U.S.: The 10 Most Corrupt Tax Loopholes The Village Voice
Oct 10 - "From 2008 to 2010, at least 30 Fortune 500 companies—including PepsiCo, Verizon, Wells Fargo, and DuPont—paid more for lobbyists than they did in taxes. They collectively spent $476 million sucking up to Congress, buying protection for tax breaks, loopholes, and special subsidies."

U.S.: Surprise! More IRS Auditing of Large Companies Results in More Taxes Paid AllGov
Oct 10 - "It might seem like common sense, but researchers have validated the assumption that cracking down on deadbeat companies by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) will result in more taxes being paid. In a paper published by Accounting Review, three academics concluded more IRS audits yields more government revenues. Hat tip: TaxProf.

U.S. Investment arms should not be used as a tax dodge, most poll respondents say Silicon Valley BizBlog
Oct 9 - "With more than $117 billion in capital under management, a low-profile Apple subsidiary called Braeburn Capital has been called the world's largest hedge fund. Yet some contend that Braeburn's purpose is less to invest Apple's cash horde and more to shield it from taxes, since investment capital is subject to less stringent tax laws and Braeburn doesn't have to file any papers with the SEC."

UK: The City has no interest in closing tax havens The Scotsman
Oct 10 - "The UK may claim it wants to stop avoidance, but its actions tell another story .."