How to Make Yourself Invisible to the Tax Inspector?

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

How to Make Yourself Invisible to the Tax Inspector? How to make yourself invisible to the tax inspector? Iven De Hoon Edition 2016! Daan Desloover The year 2030 .............................................................................................................. 4 Don’t feed the monster! ............................................................................................. 5 The myth of social engineering ................................................................................... 6 Is there such a thing as a governmental diet? .............................................................. 7 Don’t blame yourself, blame the government! .............................................................10 Fiscal competition is our only hope .............................................................................10 OECD: more than scandalous.....................................................................................11 The banking secrecy? ...................................................................................................13 Long live the banking secrecy! ...................................................................................13 The origin of the banking secrecy ...............................................................................14 What about all these agreements? .............................................................................17 So, what’s the current situation? ................................................................................22 What to expect in the future? ....................................................................................22 Lebanon...................................................................................................................23 Panama ...................................................................................................................23 Hong Kong and Singapore .........................................................................................24 Other hits.................................................................................................................24 And otherwise your own bank... .................................................................................25 Banking secrecy isn’t for cowboys! .............................................................................25 Managing an existing fortune discreetly .........................................................................27 Why should I create a discreet structure for an existing fortune? ..................................27 Luxembourg SPF.......................................................................................................28 The Curaçao Private Foundation: something for you? ...................................................32 The Panamanian Private Interest Foundation ..............................................................37 The trust... and which jurisdiction? .............................................................................44 1 Beating the game by understanding the rules .................................................................49 No pain, no gain .......................................................................................................49 A rectification to begin with .......................................................................................50 Each country acts ‘like a boss’ ....................................................................................51 Countries MAY tax income in 2 ways ..........................................................................52 Residents versus non-residents ..................................................................................54 International double taxation .....................................................................................57 Avoiding to be ripped off twice...................................................................................59 Europe and its EU law: Plenty of opportunities ............................................................61 Low-tax jurisdictions.....................................................................................................62 The disappearing taxpayer ........................................................................................62 What not to do! ........................................................................................................64 Offshore centres .......................................................................................................64 Don’t compare apples and oranges.............................................................................66 A complex world .......................................................................................................72 How to become a tax haven? Image is important…......................................................72 Balancing between right and wrong............................................................................73 The discreet businessman .............................................................................................74 Bring that wizard inside you to life .............................................................................74 You invented something ............................................................................................82 Hybrid companies .....................................................................................................84 Discreet spots...........................................................................................................89 Bearer shares ...........................................................................................................89 Otherwise, choose a nominee shareholder?.................................................................90 You have an online store ...........................................................................................91 Sailor Ahoy!..............................................................................................................95 The ultimate advice? Pack your bags! ............................................................................99 2 Andorra: nicely high in the Pyrenees ..........................................................................99 Switzerland: still full of certainty............................................................................... 106 Fashionable Monaco ................................................................................................ 115 Go into hiding in Belize ............................................................................................ 118 Let’s go all together to Curaçao................................................................................ 124 Costa Rica .............................................................................................................. 126 The United Arab Emirates (the UAE) ......................................................................... 131 Do it in Prague ....................................................................................................... 134 Malta for culture-holics ............................................................................................ 135 Malaysia, also your second home? ............................................................................ 142 Panama ................................................................................................................. 147 Isle of Man ............................................................................................................. 153 Hong Kong and Singapore ....................................................................................... 155 Wet dreams ........................................................................................................... 155 Freedom Ship ......................................................................................................... 156 International entrepreneurs in international waters .................................................... 156 Time for some joking... ........................................................................................... 157 Some mobile devices and a number of credit cards .................................................... 158 Citizenship ................................................................................................................. 160 3 The year 2030 After an unnerving day at the office and too many hours of biting my nails while stuck in a traffic jam, I finally sit with a glass of excellent Médoc and think about the day’s activities. I’m already trying to mentally prepare and even reload for tomorrow. I must confess I can’t refrain from checking the messages that make my phone beep. I quickly send a short reply to one message, the last one of this never-ending day. More asleep than awake, I skip a TV commercial and watch today’s news bulletin. While the images of another suicide attack in Iraq hardly reach my retina, somebody is persistently ringing my doorbell. I don’t know what’s happening, so I jump from my comfortable couch. My limbs are stiff and I rub the sleep from my eyes. Who is ringing? One look at my watch tells me it’s already 11 p.m. Distracted by the unknown person standing outside, I rush downstairs and open the door without hesitation. Two men in suits stand there looking at me. The older of the two stares at me with a severe and angry look. He asks, “Sir, what does this mean?” “Did I do something wrong?” I try to sound innocent with my reply.
Recommended publications
  • State Cigarette Excise Taxes: Implications for Revenue and Tax Evasion
    May 2003 State Cigarette Excise Taxes: Implications for Revenue and Tax Evasion Final Report Prepared for Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium Emory University, Rollins School of Public Health 1518 Clifton Road, NE Atlanta, GA 30322 Prepared by Matthew C. Farrelly Christian T. Nimsch Joshua James RTI International Health, Social, and Economics Research Research Triangle Park, NC 27709 RTI Project Number 08742.000 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY State cigarette excise taxes have long been used to raise revenue, curb smoking, and fund tobacco prevention and smoking cessation programs. Recently, there has been a dramatic increase in the average level of taxes and the number of states increasing their tax rates. To better inform the debate over excise tax increases and their impact on revenue and tax evasion, we examine the impact of tax increases on cigarette sales and revenue from recent state experiences. The following is a summary of the key findings: Z Increasing state cigarette tax rates reduces smoking levels, especially among youth. Z States that do not increase their tobacco tax rates lose tobacco tax revenue over time because of inflation and ongoing smoking declines. Z States that significantly increase their tobacco tax rates gain tobacco tax revenue, despite related consumption declines, tax avoidance, and smuggling. Z Although cigarette tax avoidance and smuggling increase somewhat after cigarette tax increases, they do not cause state revenues to decline but only reduce the size of the states’ revenue gains from the tax increases. Z Cigarette sales typically decline sharply immediately after a cigarette tax increase and then rise again to settle on a new sales level lower than the sales level before the increase.
    [Show full text]
  • Transfer Pricing As a Vehicle in Corporate Tax Avoidance
    The Journal of Applied Business Research – January/February 2017 Volume 33, Number 1 Transfer Pricing As A Vehicle In Corporate Tax Avoidance Joel Barker, Borough of Manhattan Community College, USA Kwadwo Asare, Bryant University, USA Sharon Brickman, Borough of Manhattan Community College, USA ABSTRACT Using transfer pricing, U.S. Corporations are able to transfer revenues to foreign affiliates with lower corporate tax rates. The Internal Revenue Code requires intercompany transactions to comply with the “Arm’s Length Principle” in order to prevent tax avoidance. We describe and use elaborate examples to explain how U.S. companies exploit flexibility in the tax code to employ transfer pricing and related tax reduction and avoidance methods. We discuss recent responses by regulatory bodies. Keywords: Transfer Pricing; Tax avoidance; Inversion; Tax Evasion; Arm’s Length Principle; R & D for Intangible Assets; Cost Sharing Agreements; Double Irish; Profit Shifting INTRODUCTION ver the last decade U.S. corporations have been increasing their use of Corporate Inversions. In an inversion, corporations move their domestic corporations to foreign jurisdictions in order to be eligible O for much lower corporate tax rates. Furthermore, inversions allow U.S. corporations that have accumulated billions of dollars overseas through transfer pricing to access those funds tax free. With an inversion a U.S. corporation becomes a foreign corporation and would not have to pay tax to the U.S. government to access the funds accumulated abroad as the funds no longer have to be repatriated to be spent. Corporations continue to avoid taxation through Transfer Pricing. This article explains transfer pricing and discusses some of the tax issues that transfer pricing pose including recommendations and proposed legislation to mitigate the practice.
    [Show full text]
  • Tax Haven Networks and the Role of the Big 4 Accountancy Firms
    -RXUQDORI:RUOG%XVLQHVV[[[ [[[[ [[[²[[[ Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Journal of World Business journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/jwb Tax haven networks and the role of the Big 4 accountancy firms Chris Jonesa,⁎, Yama Temouria,c, Alex Cobhamb a Economics & Strategy Group, Aston Business School, Aston University, Birmingham B4 7ET, UK b Tax Justice Network, Oxford, UK c Faculty of Business, University of Wollongong Dubai, UAE ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Keywords: This paper investigates the association between the Big 4 accountancy firms and the extent to which multi- Tax havens national enterprises build, manage and maintain their networks of tax haven subsidiaries. We extend inter- Varieties of capitalism nalisation theory and derive a number of hypotheses that are tested using count models on firm-level data. Our Corporate taxation key findings demonstrate that there is a strong correlation and causal link between the size of an MNE’s tax Poisson regression haven network and their use of the Big 4. We therefore argue that public policy related to the role of auditors can Big 4 accountancy firms have a significant impact on the tax avoidance behaviour of MNEs. 1. Introduction 2014 which has provided a number of clear insights. These documents showed that PwC assisted MNEs to obtain at least 548 legal but secret Given the impact that the recent financial crisis of 2008 has had on tax rulings in Luxembourg from 2002 to 2010. The rulings allowed the public finances of developed economies, the use of tax avoidance MNEs to channel hundreds of billions of dollars through Luxembourg, measures by multinational enterprises (MNEs) has come under in- arising from economic activities that took place in other jurisdictions creasing scrutiny from various governments and civil society organi- and with effective tax rates so low that they saved billions of dollars in sations across the world.
    [Show full text]
  • Filing # 105742773 E-Filed 04/01/2020 03:21:58 PM
    Filing # 105742773 E-Filed 04/01/2020 03:21:58 PM IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF THE 15TH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT IN AND FOR PALM BEACH COUNTY, FLORIDA CASE NO.: Division: BRADLEY C. BIRKENFELD, Plaintiff, v. LEONARD A. LAUDER; and, KEVIN M. COSTNER, Defendants. ________________________________ / COMPLAINT Comes now Plaintiff, Bradley C. Birkenfeld (”BIRKENFELD”), through his undersigned attorneys, and hereby files this Complaint against Defendants Leonard A. Lauder (“LAUDER”) and Kevin M. Costner (“COSTNER”) for fraud, negligent misrepresentation and intentional interference with advantageous or business relationship, all arising from publication of Plaintiff’s book, Lucifer’s Banker: The Untold Story of How I Destroyed Swiss Bank Secrecy (“Lucifer’s Banker”), published by Greenleaf Book Group Press (“Greenleaf”). Plaintiff alleges as follows: I. PARTIES 1. Plaintiff BIRKENFELD is a native-born United States citizen currently residing in Malta. BIRKENFELD is not a citizen of Malta and has no residence in the United States. 2. Defendant LAUDER resides in Palm Beach, Florida at his oceanfront mansion located at 26 South Ocean Boulevard, Palm Beach, Florida and at his New York City apartment. Defendant LAUDER is chairman emeritus of Estée Lauder, the world’s third-largest maker of cosmetics and fragrances. Defendant LAUDER stepped down as CEO of Estée Lauder in 1999. According to public reports, Defendant LAUDER’s net worth exceeds $15.9 billion. Defendant LAUDER’s Page 1 of 31 private banker at UBS bank (f/k/a Union Bank of Switzerland) was Christian Bovay in Geneva, Switzerland. Defendant LAUDER is a marquee name. 3. Defendant COSTNER resides in Santa Barbara, California. Defendant COSTNER is an American actor, director, producer, and musician.
    [Show full text]
  • Download Article (PDF)
    5th International Conference on Accounting, Auditing, and Taxation (ICAAT 2016) TAX TRANSPARENCY – AN ANALYSIS OF THE LUXLEAKS FIRMS Johannes Manthey University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany Dirk Kiesewetter University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany Abstract This paper finds that the firms involved in the Luxembourg Leaks (‘LuxLeaks’) scandal are less transparent measured by the engagement in earnings management, analyst coverage, analyst accuracy, accounting standards and auditor choice. The analysis is based on the LuxLeaks sample and compared to a control group of large multinational companies. The panel dataset covers the years from 2001 to 2015 and comprises 19,109 observations. The LuxLeaks firms appear to engage in higher levels of discretionary earnings management measured by the variability of net income to cash flows from operations and the correlation between cash flows from operations and accruals. The LuxLeaks sample shows a lower analyst coverage, lower willingness to switch to IFRS and a lower Big4 auditor rate. The difference in difference design supports these findings regarding earnings management and the analyst coverage. The analysis concludes that the LuxLeaks firms are less transparent and infers a relation between corporate transparency and the engagement in tax avoidance. The paper aims to establish the relationship between tax avoidance and transparency in order to give guidance for future policy. The research highlights the complex causes and effects of tax management and supports a cost benefit analysis of future tax regulation. Keywords: Tax Avoidance, Transparency, Earnings Management JEL Classification: H20, H25, H26 1. Introduction The Luxembourg Leaks (’LuxLeaks’) scandal made public some of the tax strategies used by multinational companies.
    [Show full text]
  • Privacy and Common Law Names: Sand in the Gears of Identification
    PRIVACY AND COMMON LAW NAMES: SAND IN THE GEARS OF IDENTIFICATION Adam Candeub* Abstract During the last two decades, law and regulation have expanded to require real name identification in virtually every aspect of life—from online purchases to healthcare. This slow, subtle transformation has rendered a de facto nullity the Constitution’s anonymity protection against compelled identity disclosure. This evolution also has rendered impracticable the traditional, but mostly forgotten, common law rights to use whatever name one wishes—the de facto right to pseudonymity. This common law right facilitates anonymity, which, in turn, facilitates privacy. This Article argues that the continued vitality of common law name rights, particularly in light of recent First Amendment jurisprudence, establishes a right to pseudonymity. This right includes, in certain circumstances, the ability to demand a government-issued identification under a common law pseudonym. This ability would allow individuals to frustrate regulatory identification regimes and regain some privacy. Beyond these practical implications, this Article, employing the classic property–liability distinction, demonstrates how name governance changed from the common law liability regime to a government-owned property regime. This shift reflects an important, and hitherto unrecognized, transformation in the legal relationship between the state and citizen. * Professor and Director, Intellectual Property, Information, and Communications Law Program. I wish to thank Jim Harper for his many helpful suggestions. Pro Julia facio omnes. 467 468 FLORIDA LAW REVIEW [Vol. 68 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................... 468 I. PSEUDONYMITY, MANDATORY IDENTIFICATION, AND THE FIRST AMENDMENT ................................................................ 473 II. HOW THE COMMON LAW NAME DIED .................................... 481 A. The Common Law Name, National Registries, and the Unique American System of Identification ..................................
    [Show full text]
  • FINANCE Offshore Finance.Pdf
    This page intentionally left blank OFFSHORE FINANCE It is estimated that up to 60 per cent of the world’s money may be located oVshore, where half of all financial transactions are said to take place. Meanwhile, there is a perception that secrecy about oVshore is encouraged to obfuscate tax evasion and money laundering. Depending upon the criteria used to identify them, there are between forty and eighty oVshore finance centres spread around the world. The tax rules that apply in these jurisdictions are determined by the jurisdictions themselves and often are more benign than comparative rules that apply in the larger financial centres globally. This gives rise to potential for the development of tax mitigation strategies. McCann provides a detailed analysis of the global oVshore environment, outlining the extent of the information available and how that information might be used in assessing the quality of individual jurisdictions, as well as examining whether some of the perceptions about ‘OVshore’ are valid. He analyses the ongoing work of what have become known as the ‘standard setters’ – including the Financial Stability Forum, the Financial Action Task Force, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The book also oVers some suggestions as to what the future might hold for oVshore finance. HILTON Mc CANN was the Acting Chief Executive of the Financial Services Commission, Mauritius. He has held senior positions in the respective regulatory authorities in the Isle of Man, Malta and Mauritius. Having trained as a banker, he began his regulatory career supervising banks in the Isle of Man.
    [Show full text]
  • Tax Heavens: Methods and Tactics for Corporate Profit Shifting
    Tax Heavens: Methods and Tactics for Corporate Profit Shifting By Mark Holtzblatt, Eva K. Jermakowicz and Barry J. Epstein MARK HOLTZBLATT, Ph.D., CPA, is an Associate Professor of Accounting at Cleveland State University in the Monte Ahuja College of Business, teaching In- ternational Accounting and Taxation at the graduate and undergraduate levels. axes paid to governments are among the most significant costs incurred by businesses and individuals. Tax planning evaluates various tax strategies in Torder to determine how to conduct business (and personal transactions) in ways that will reduce or eliminate taxes paid to various governments, with the objective, in the case of multinational corporations, of minimizing the aggregate of taxes paid worldwide. Well-managed entities appropriately attempt to minimize the taxes they pay while making sure they are in full compliance with applicable tax laws. This process—the legitimate lessening of income tax expense—is often EVA K. JERMAKOWICZ, Ph.D., CPA, is a referred to as tax avoidance, thus distinguishing it from tax evasion, which is illegal. Professor of Accounting and Chair of the Although to some listeners’ ears the term tax avoidance may sound pejorative, Accounting Department at Tennessee the practice is fully consistent with the valid, even paramount, goal of financial State University. management, which is to maximize returns to businesses’ ownership interests. Indeed, to do otherwise would represent nonfeasance in office by corporate managers and board members. Multinational corporations make several important decisions in which taxation is a very important factor, such as where to locate a foreign operation, what legal form the operations should assume and how the operations are to be financed.
    [Show full text]
  • Relationship Between Tax and Price and Global Evidence
    Relationship between tax and price and global evidence Introduction Taxes on tobacco products are often a significant component of the prices paid by consumers of these products, adding over and above the production and distribution costs and the profits made by those engaged in tobacco product manufacturing and distribution. The relationship between tax and price is complex. Even though tax increase is meant to raise the price of the product, it may not necessarily be fully passed into price increase due to interference by the industry driven by their profit motive. The industry is able to control the price to certain extent by maneuvering the producer price and also the trade margin through transfer pricing. This presentation is devoted to the structure of taxes on tobacco products, in particular of excise taxes. Outline Tax as a component of retail price Types of taxes—excise tax, import duty, VAT, other taxes Basic structures of tobacco excise taxes Types of tobacco excise systems Tax base under ad valorem excise tax system Comparison of ad valorem and specific excise regimes Uniform and tiered excise tax rates Tax as a component of retail price Domestic product Imported product VAT VAT Import duty Total tax Total tax Excise tax Excise tax Wholesale price Retail Retail price Retail & retail margin Wholesale Producer Producer & retail margin Industry profit Importer's profit price CIF value Cost of production Excise tax, import duty, VAT and other taxes as % of retail price of the most sold cigarettes brand, 2012 Total tax
    [Show full text]
  • The History, Evolution and Future of Tax Havens
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Repositori Institucional de la Universitat Jaume I THE HISTORY, EVOLUTION AND FUTURE OF TAX HAVENS NÁYADE GUERRERO GÓMEZ [email protected] 2016/2017 TUTOR: GREGORI DOLZ BENLLIURE TITULACIÓN: FINANZAS Y CONTABILIDAD THE HYSTORY, EVOLUTION AND FUTURE OF TAX HAVENS INDEX: 1. Summary. .3 2. Introduction. 4 3. Historic evolution. .6 3.1. Why did they appear? 3.2. Problems with tax havens 4. Concepts and definitions. .10 4.1. User classification 5. Tax havens‘ basic characteristics. 13 5.1. Characteristics 5.2. Factors to consider when choosing a tax haven 5.3. Role in global economy 6. Efforts to eradicate them and Why do they still exist? . 19 7. Conclusion. .24 8. Bibliography. .26 2 THE HYSTORY, EVOLUTION AND FUTURE OF TAX HAVENS 1. SUMMARY Since the very early 20th century tax havens have played a very important role in global economy. Corporations and individuals have always seeked their services in order to avoid tax. Tax havens as such have always existed but it has been in the last century when they have developed a more financial approach to the services they provide. Offshore banking, secrecy, neutral taxation and ease of investment is amongst them. The purpose of this paper is to analyse and focus on the history of tax havens, its characteristics and how they have been able to become so powerful and influential in today‘s world. As much as there have been efforts to eradicate them, external support and backing has allowed them to keep expanding and keep performing their services.
    [Show full text]
  • The Relationship Between MNE Tax Haven Use and FDI Into Developing Economies Characterized by Capital Flight
    1 The relationship between MNE tax haven use and FDI into developing economies characterized by capital flight By Ali Ahmed, Chris Jones and Yama Temouri* The use of tax havens by multinationals is a pervasive activity in international business. However, we know little about the complementary relationship between tax haven use and foreign direct investment (FDI) in the developing world. Drawing on internalization theory, we develop a conceptual framework that explores this relationship and allows us to contribute to the literature on the determinants of tax haven use by developed-country multinationals. Using a large, firm-level data set, we test the model and find a strong positive association between tax haven use and FDI into countries characterized by low economic development and extreme levels of capital flight. This paper contributes to the literature by adding an important dimension to our understanding of the motives for which MNEs invest in tax havens and has important policy implications at both the domestic and the international level. Keywords: capital flight, economic development, institutions, tax havens, wealth extraction 1. Introduction Multinational enterprises (MNEs) from the developed world own different types of subsidiaries in increasingly complex networks across the globe. Some of the foreign host locations are characterized by light-touch regulation and secrecy, as well as low tax rates on financial capital. These so-called tax havens have received widespread media attention in recent years. In this paper, we explore the relationship between tax haven use and foreign direct investment (FDI) in developing countries, which are often characterized by weak institutions, market imperfections and a propensity for significant capital flight.
    [Show full text]
  • Financial Transaction Tax: a Discussion Paper on Fiscal and Economic
    Financial transaction tax: A discussion paper on fiscal and economic implications June 2013 The political debate surrounding the financial transaction tax has become fixated on the simplistic common denominator: collecting money, penalising banks, assuaging the markets and establishing justice. These winsome and appealing demands currently enjoy broad support in Germany. With public approval at 82% according to the European Commission's Eurobarometer survey, positive sentiment is highest in Germany ahead of both France and Greece, where approval is at 75%. And so it appears that the political common denominator has been found! However, from a macroeconomic perspective the crux is whether it would ultimately be possible to satisfy regulatory and fiscal demands by introducing the financial transaction tax. Doubts are not unwarranted in this regard. Is the financial transaction tax capable of fulfilling the necessary functions of financing, distribution and steering? Although the specific embodiment of the financial transaction tax remains nebulous for the time being, if one takes a long-term, holistic view, the direct and indirect costs of introducing such a tax appear to outweigh the benefits. The following observations summarise the manifest flaws in the concept, as well as the financial and real economic ramifications of those flaws, which have not been given sufficient consideration. In June 2012, the German federal government and the opposition published a green paper, in which they promised "to assess the impact the tax would have on pension assets, retail investors and the real economy, and to avoid negative consequences".1 It is becoming clear that this promise is untenable. In fact, a financial transaction tax is incapable of sensibly and expediently fulfilling any of the three necessary functions of a tax: financing, distribution and steering.
    [Show full text]