Credit to: Tax Evasion News : Things to consider about owning U.S. property

(Special) – Winter brings with it the dream of many Canadian snowbirds of owning a piece of property in the sunny south. With the recent rebound in the U.S. housing market and a decline in the value of the Canadian dollar, however, buying vacation property south of the border may not be quite as appealing as it was a couple of years ago.

“If you are just looking for a property deal you are probably too late as the housing market has already rebounded and the Canadian dollar has dropped against the U.S. greenback,” says Cleo Hamel, a senior tax specialist with American Expat Taxes. “Before you begin you should ask yourself some important questions, because how you answer them could well determine whether this is the right decision for you.”

One of the first issues to consider is how you’re going to finance your purchase. As a foreign investor, if you don’t have the full down payment for the property you may have to qualify for a mortgage, which can be difficult.

The mortgage lender is likely going to look at your credit history and sometimes will ask for up to six months of mortgage payments up front. “You may need to make a larger down payment than expected because you have no credit history in the U.S.,” Hamel says.

Canadians cannot get a Canadian mortgage for a property in another country. However, if you already own property in Canada with enough equity, you could refinance it here and use the money to buy in Florida.

In the end, the best and maybe cheapest way to finance your purchase might be to borrow the money in Canada and buy the property in Florida outright.

Whether you are interested in purchasing property in the U.S. as a vacation home or strictly as an investment, there are many things to consider - property management if you are to be an
absentee landlord, residency rules, differences in mortgage financing and how interest is charged, income tax implications, estate tax implications, and the list goes on.
This is not as simple as buying a property and making decorating decisions.

Credit to: Tax News : Developed countries erode BEPS Action Plan on Digital Economy

“BEPS is a concern in the context of the digital economy. The actions will help address these concerns. However, there are specificities that need to be taken into consideration.
This will require a thorough analysis of the different business models, the ever-changing business landscape and a better understanding of the generation of value in this sector.
Moreover, indirect tax aspects should also be considered. Drawing on the other actions included in this plan, a dedicated task force on the digital economy will be established.”

hhhhmmm this is really something.

Credit to: Tax News : Americans in Asia could lose their passports for unpaid taxes

The eight million Americans living overseas, including In Hong Kong and the rest of Asia, should “ensure their financial affairs are in order and compliant” before the New Year, or face having their passports revoked, warns the boss of one of the world’s largest independent financial advisory organizations.

Nigel Green, founder and CEO of deVere Group, which has 80,000 mainly expatriate clients globally, is speaking out after it has been reported that Congress is preparing to bring in a law to take passports from Americans who owe tax. It is likely to pass into law in December and come into effect on January 1.

Watch out guys  

Credit to: Corruption News : Tax system slow to adapt to digital economy’s rise

LOST REVENUE:A lack of regulations on taxing cross-border Web-based content and services providers puts their local peers at a disadvantage, Ernst & Young said

The nation’s tax system is relatively behind developed markets in adapting to the proliferation of the digital economy, which has resulted in lost revenues for the government as the sector grows, consulting firm Ernst & Young said yesterday.

The audit services giant said that while China’s Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (阿里巴巴), which recorded sales of US$9.32 billion during last year’s Nov. 11 “Singles Day” promotions, has set an example for the rapid development of e-commerce, the digital economy encompasses many other less straightforward business models than purchasing goods online, which pose challenges for tax authorities worldwide.

Hope they will not come after Bitcoin companies.

Credit to: Corruption News : Bitcoin Not Useful for Terrorists, Already Regulated Appropriately

In the aftermath of the Paris attack on November 13, the European Union (EU) is looking to crack down on bitcoin with the hope
of preventing the financing of future attacks. Regulators and advocacy groups agree, though, that kneejerk regulation is not what is needed; rather, it’s an increase in education.

“There’s nothing wrong with Bitcoin, it just means it’s another part of our financial system,” said Dana Syracuse, managing director and a member in the
Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Regulatory Compliance Practice at K2 Intelligence, in an interview with Bitcoin Magazine.

Your thoughts guys?

Credit to: Tax News : Could American expats lose their passports on January 1, 2016?

Proposed measure would allow US to revoke passport if individual has over $50,000 unpaid taxes

The 8 million Americans living overseas should “ensure their financial affairs are in order and compliant” before the New Year, or face having their passports revoked, warns a financial advisory organisation.

The company – deVere Group, which has 80,000 mainly expatriate clients globally – said this after it was reported that the US Congress is preparing to bring in a law to take passports from Americans who owe tax. It is likely to pass into law in December and come into effect on January 1.

hhhmmmm they are getting serious...

Credit to: Tax News : Sharper tax focus on small businesses, cash economy

THE South African Revenue Service (SARS) is planning to pay more attention to ensuring that medium and smaller companies, and those in the “cash economy”, pay their taxes. This comes after several years in which the focus has been mainly on tackling non-compliance in the large business sector.

SARS group executive Randall Carolissen said the revenue service would shift some of its attention to the cash-based economy and medium and small companies because “we have seen considerable churn in that segment in the levels of compliance and the levels of payment, and we have seen some inexplicable behaviour”.

SARS is busy with a range of initiatives to close gaps in the tax system, particularly the base erosion and profit shifting initiative that tax authorities are pursuing globally. However, PWC director Kyle Mandy said although there was still a significant “tax gap”, the base erosion and profit shifting was not where the tax gap is — rather it is with small and medium-sized businesses and the cash economy.

hhhmm Your thoughts guys?

Credit to: Tax News : Thousands of expat Americans renouncing citizenship to avoid new tax laws

As the start of FATCA looms, Americans living permanently overseas are rushing to renounce their US citizenship.
The IRS’s five-year campaign to uncover undeclared, taxable assets held by US expats is having an unexpected result,
as many middle-income Americans living abroad are deciding to hand in their citizenships. Those who renounce are due for unpaid
taxes in the two previous years, but most are more concerned about the effects of drastically rising taxation on themselves and their
families in the future.
Immigration law attorneys believe the increase in numbers of renouncees is being caused by anticipated future changes as well as
the problems of banking overseas once FATCA kicks in. A good number of overseas banks are now withdrawing existing banking services
from US expats and refusing to take on new accounts due to the demands of FATCA reporting.

Ow... The people are getting wiser 

Credit to: Tax Avoidance News : New transfer pricing rules to be less taxing

The declining trend in the income tax department’s estimates of alleged income suppression by multinational companies would get buttressed, thanks to the new set of transfer pricing (TP) rules issued earlier this week.

Currently, transfer pricing adjustments become necessary when the transaction price with related parties abroad reported by a company varies from the arm’s length price or a benchmark industry standard beyond a specified limit (+/-3%). As per the new rule, however, if the price being audited falls between 35th and 65th percentile of the data set, it would be considered as arm’s length price and so no TP adjustments would be needed.

This is just a good news.

Credit to: Tax Evasion News : Ending Corporate Tax Evasion – Impact On Bitcoin Companies?

Bitcoin companies have been facing a lot of scrutiny in recent years in terms of taxation and potential tax evasion. Despite dealing in a digital currency that is far more transparent than any fiat currency ever will be, These decisions – to be approved at the G20 meeting in Lima later today – may very well influence Bitcoin companies once again.

While it is understandable that government and tax authorities want to prevent tax evasion by Bitcoin companies, these startups are facing an uphill legal battle already. Regulation and legislation requires companies to get specific licenses – depending on which countries or regions they operate in. If they are even scrutinized even further in terms of tax evasion, there will be no money or time left to further develop Bitcoin and blockchain technology. However, none of these companies should even attempt to commit tax evasion either.

Your thoughts guys?

Credit to: Tax Avoidance News : IRS updates guidance on US-Canada DTA

The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has released a revised October 2015 version of its Publication 597, which provides information on the United States-Canada double taxation agreement (DTA), reports Tax News.

A number of DTA provisions that most often apply to US citizens or residents who may be liable for Canadian tax are discussed in the publication. However, as DTA provisions are generally reciprocal, it is noted that Canadian residents who receive income from the United States may also refer to it to see whether a treaty provision affects their US tax liability.

The publication, for example, looks at the position of dual-resident taxpayers who are Canadian residents, and those who are not; income tax credits; the treatment of income from self-employment and permanent establishment rules; pensions, annuities, and social security; investment income from Canadian sources, including dividends, interest, royalties, and capital gains from the sale of property; and the taxation of charitable contributions.

Hope this will be the answer for all the issues for dual citizens of US-Canada.

Credit to: Tax Evasion News : Cities and regions express their views on the sharing economy, the Trade in Serv

On 29 September, the Commission for Economic Policy (ECON) of the EU Committee of the Regions (CoR) held an external meeting in Gelsenkirchen,
Germany, at the invitation of Markus Töns (DE/PES), member of the North Rhine-Westphalia Regional Parliament. On the agenda was the adoption
of the draft opinions on the sharing economy, which includes businesses like Uber and Airbnb, on the local and regional dimension of the Trade in
Services Agreement (TiSA) and on proposals for a fair and efficient corporate tax system.

What are your thoughts guys about the sharing economy?

Credit to: Tax News : The Changing Face of Luxembourg Finance

“Luxembourg is famous for two things: its steel industry and its rose cultivation industry”.

This quote from an Italian guidebook of the 1930s was uttered by Luxembourg’s Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna at the annual conference of the Luxembourg Directors’ Association on 17 June 2015[1].

The economic outlook of the tiny Grand-Duchy is quite different 80 years later. According to the latest OECD Economic Survey, 27 per cent of the value added in the Luxembourg economy is represented by the financial sector, compared to 10.5 per cent in Switzerland and 8.25 per cent in the UK. In the opinion of the OECD Secretary General Angel Gurría the Luxembourg financial sector “may have reached a size where its contribution to GDP growth might fade, and high dependence on one sector poses medium term risks”[2].

Your your thoughts guys?

Credit to: Tax News : Bitcoin Set To Be A ‘Global Currency’ In Australia

A new inquiry from the Australian government is looking to change current tax codes for Bitcoin in Australia. The initiative seeks to establish similar progressive standards in nations like the UK, Canada and Singapore, where Bitcoin is considered money.

Over the past year, bitcoin has become an increasingly popular commodity in Australia.

It is attracting business to the nation, and bitcoin ownership in Australia is among the world’s highest per capita, with 7 percent of the world’s bitcoin circulation running through the nation.

I just read this news, never thought that the
impact of Bitcoin in Australia will be this big.

Credit to : Tax Avoidance News : PayPal Pulls Out of Puerto Rico; Huge Opening for Bitcoin

The original online payment platform, PayPal, has decided to leave the populous island of Puerto Rico next month. The commonwealth has imposed a 2 percent take on any money transmission, forcing Paypal’s hand. So what does this mean for those who need to send money from Puerto Rico?

Puerto Rico Begins Capital Controls

When a country’s economy or currency is struggling or on the brink of collapse, the citizens start to move money out of the nation to protect their savings from the devaluation. Nine times out of ten, the economic downturn is caused by poor governance and economic policy, not the citizens. Therefore, the people would rather invest their money in appreciating assets, not poor leadership and economic decline.

I can't help but wonder how long til the regulators decide this new policy disparately impacts minorities
(hispanic) and fines them into oblivion?

Hi guys,

Edward here

I dont know if this is the right forum to introduce my self.
Sorry in advance if this is the wrong forum.

I'm new to bitcoin but already in a decade in investments

Hope to learn more about bitcoin here

have a fun day all.

Edward