Links Nov 8

Swiss to Expand Team Helping Track Foreign Tax Cheats Reuters
Oct 31 - "Swiss tax authorities are to hire more staff to deal with a flood of requests for information from countries trying to track down tax cheats using Swiss bank accounts."

U.S.: A bill to end secrecy surrounding shell companies The Hill
Nov 1 - "A bipartisan Senate bill, the Incorporation Transparency and Law Enforcement Assistance Act, and a companion House bill, would help end the secrecy surrounding shell companies ... while critics often point blame at the corporate secrecy provided by places like the British Virgin Islands, Panama, and Lichtenstein, weak laws in many U.S. states make the U.S. an attractive place to establish anonymous shell companies."

Brazil: Petrobras faces $2.4 bln decade-old tax debt after court ruling Reuters
Nov 5 - "Petrobras, miner Vale SA, and other Brazilian multinationals have been fighting what they consider to be double taxation of their activities by Brazilian authorities. Officials allege that some companies improperly move business offshore to avoid taxes in Brazil."

Indian Tribunal Reaches Key Transfer Pricing Decision Tax-News
Nov 8 - "An Income Tax Appellate Tribunal in Ahmedabad, India, has ruled that the Income Tax Department does not need to demonstrate a tax avoidance motive by an enterprise in order to implement transfer pricing provisions, although it is permissible for an enterprise to offer discounts for bulk purchases when trading with an associated business if it offers the same discount to other buyers."

Pakistan: Notices issued to over 20 cricketers for tax evasion Dawn
Nov 2 -  "The income tax department has issued notices to over 20 cricketers who were found to have evaded taxes over the past two years. More than Rs100 million is expected to be recovered from them in back taxes. This is the first time that notices have been issued to cricket celebrities who will be grilled about tax liabilities." Hat tip: Offshore Watch

European Parliament: procurement policies and illicit flows vital to policy coherence for development Eurodad
Nov 2 - "The resolution explicitly mentions the negative impact of illicit financial flows in mobilising domestic resources in developing countries and consequently in promoting sustainable development policies. At the same time, the resolution supports Eurodad’s call for greater financial transparency, arguing that “it is essential for supporting revenue mobilisation and combating tax evasion.”

U.S. Election Fallout: Will Tech Cash Piles Remain Trapped Overseas? Forbes
Nov 7 - "One potential side-effect of Tuesday’s impressive win for Barack Obama and the Democratic Party could be to crush tech sector hopes for a cash repatriation holiday. Some large tech companies – in particular Apple, Microsoft and Cisco – are sitting on mountains of cash generated and stashed in low tax jurisdictions outside the United States."

See also:Apple paid only 1.9 pct tax on earnings outside US Boston Globe
Nov 5 - "Like other big companies, Apple leaves cash overseas. If it brought it home to the U.S., it would have to pay U.S. corporate taxes on the money. The cash that Apple has left overseas as of Sept. 29 has mounted to a stunning $82.6 billion, up from $74 billion as of June 30."

FATCA Burdens Worry Caribbean Economies Tax-News
Nov 8 - "Many in the region believe that developed nations are trading fiscal compliance for continuing aid."

Banks Need a Culture Shock Huffington Post
Nov 1 - "In the world of high finance, instilling a culture of integrity is not an easy sell, but it is a necessary one. As we have seen over the past years, too much is at stake."

Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit Steps Down, Is Well Paid For . . . What Exactly? Rolling Stone
Oct 16 - Matt Taibbi comments on a piece by Bloomberg on the compensation package for departing CEO Vikram Pandit.

What exactly is the City of London police? Treasure Islands
Nov 7 - " ... is it any wonder that the banks can get away with so much when they effectively control their own policing?"