News
Insights: Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act Spotlights Anti-Money Laundering and Corporate Transparency
By Bruce Zagaris
printBy Bruce Zagaris On March 1, 2009, the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act (S. 506 and H.R. 1265) was introduced in Congress. The bill has significant provisions on corporate transparency and anti-money laundering (AML) and hence has importance for practitioners and professionals involved in international compliance policies. The Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act (STHAA) provides new enforcement tools to close the loss of revenue through the use of foreign tax havens. The bill includes new legal presumptions to overcome offshore secrecy barriers, special measures to combat those who impede U.S. tax enforcement, provisions that treat offshore corporations as domestic corporations...
TO READ THE FULL STORY
Related News
A legislative proposal that would empower the IRS to assign Employee Identification Numbers to all American corporations is drawing congressional support, U.S. officials said Tuesday.
Thirty-four nations disclosed a finalized model plan Monday to regularly share financial data for tax enforcement purposes as part of a broader crackdown on tax dodgers and offshore jurisdictions.
An influential Senate subcommittee will hear testimony on tax evasion through offshore banks, Switzerland agrees to follow automatic data exchange standards and more, in this week's news roundup.
The U.S. Justice Department seizes digital funds tied to an Internet black market, Republicans line up behind effort to fight FATCA and more, in this week's news roundup.
China prohibits the trading of bitcoins by financial institutions over money laundering concerns, the U.K. closes 100 suspicious Bank of Cyprus accounts, and more, in this week's news roundup.
Financial trade groups are asking the U.S. Treasury Department for more time to comply with intergovernmental agreements intended to shine a light on bank accounts held by American tax dodgers.
A Geneva court's ruling clearing the way for bankers to know whether their employers have identified them to American investigators threatens to complicate a negotiated U.S.-Swiss tax deal, say sources.
Swiss financial institutions will likely exploit gaps in a bilateral agreement between the United States and Switzerland to preserve bank secrecy for their clients, says the bestselling author of a book on money laundering.
An expected pitch Friday by Switzerland's executive branch to clear the way for banks to share data with the United States is likely to face stiff domestic challenges, say Swiss attorneys.
A plan to require member-states of the European Union to automatically exchange tax-related data in an effort to boost government revenues is likely to face political and logistical challenges.
The indictment of a now-defunct Swiss financial institution and threatened charges against the country's largest publicly-owned bank fueled Switzerland's decision last month to seek a broad data-sharing agreement with American officials.
A plan approved Wednesday by Argentine lawmakers to entice tax dodgers to repatriate their assets will also motivate international bankers to ask questions of their counterparts in the country.
The chairman of the U.S. Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will reintroduce a measure that would require company formation agents to record beneficial ownership data, a government official said Tuesday.
Two U.S. lawmakers and a coalition of small businesses called Tuesday for stricter requirements on collecting beneficial ownership data as part of an effort to clamp down on corporate tax avoidance.
Delaware, one of the smallest and least populated states in the United States, ranks as the most secretive jurisdiction in the world for financial transactions, a London-based advocacy group said Monday.
A stalled economy and expanding compliance requirements are prompting many financial institutions to seek innovative ways to improve their compliance functions. One approach a growing number of financial institutions are considering is combining their anti-money laundering and fraud units.
The Obama administration's plans to curb foreign institutions from aiding U.S. tax evaders is short on details, but could block U.S. citizens and residents' access to foreign banks and put a new compliance burden on U.S. institutions, say some tax professionals.
The White House called on lawmakers Monday to draft legislation that would curb the use of offshore tax havens by financial institutions that do business in the United States.
Plans by the Group of 20 to put an end to tax haven abuse could take up to ten years to implement, and will face political challenges, say international tax experts.
If AML training is to be embraced in your organization, employees must take ownership of it, Patrick Fogerty of the Union Bank of California writes. The most effective way to do that is to have the business units of your enterprise create and maintain their own training programs.