http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hxXBmklxW-igU5eRlJV8lEOpMDYQ

OECD EXPECTS MORE FROM AUSTRIA

OECD officials have called on Austria to continue renegotiating tax treaties following its removal of the country from a “grey list” of tax havens. Austria was taken off the list earlier this week after it had renegotiated more than 12 double taxation treaties and information-exchange agreements with other countries. http://austriantimes.at/news/Business/2009-09-24/16661/OECD_expects_more_from_Austria

CAYMAN ISLANDS FEARS AS DEBTS GROW

As the G20 nations prepare for their meetings in Pittsburgh, the consequences of one of their campaigns, against offshore tax havens, is leading to a stand-off between Britain and some of its overseas territories. At around the same time as the world’s most powerful leaders gather in the US, the head of one of the world’s smallest nations, the Cayman Islands, will address his people to tell them how he intends to solve their financial worries.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8272942.stm

UBS MAY BE SUED BY CANADA ON OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS, GLOBE REPORTS

UBS AG may be sued by the Canadian government if it doesn’t provide information on Canadians who sent money offshore, the Globe and Mail reported. The Canada Revenue Agency is in the midst of talks with the bank, the Toronto-based newspaper said today, citing agency spokeswoman Caitlin Workman.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aRTnEfy_qbww

 AMENDED LEGISLATION WILL ASSIST NEVIS OFFSHORE JURISDICTION

The Nevis Reformation Party led Administration continued to develop Nevis’ Offshore Financial sector industry as several amendments to the Nevis Business Corporation Ordinance, 2009 were unanimously passed in the Nevis Island Assembly Chambers on Monday, September 14th, 2009. Premier and Minister of Finance the Hon. Joseph Parry said during the Assembly sitting that the Offshore Financial industry in Nevis was vital to the economy of the island and the Administration remained committed to maintaining the good reputation of the jurisdiction.

http://www.zizonline.com/news/?01244A7F-2219-22DB-AB48AA85AED1E9F9

NEW JERSEY BUSINESSMAN, A UBS CLIENT, PLEADS GUILTY TO TAX EVASION

A wealthy UBS private banking client who owns a building material company in New Jersey pleaded guilty on Friday to tax evasion, the latest American caught in a widening investigation into the giant Swiss bank over its offshore services. Juergen Homann, 66, of Saddle River, N.J., pleaded guilty in Federal District Court in Newark to one count of failing to file a special tax form disclosing the foreign assets.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/26/business/26ubs.html

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 ST. KITTS-NEVIS AND MONACO SIGN JOINT TAX TREATY

St. Kitts & Nevis and Monaco have signed the first in a series of planned double-taxation agreements between the small twin-island Eastern Caribbean nation and foreign countries, aimed at ensuring that its financial services sector meets international standards.

http://www.caribbeanlifenews.com/articles/2009/09/29/news/international/doc4ac24446a5ec3969395880.txt

HMRC ISSUES FRESH GUIDANCE ON LIECHTENSTEIN

HMRC has issued fresh guidance over the suitability of using the Liechtenstein Disclosure Facility (LDF) versus New Disclosure Opportunity (NDO) after complaints that a lack of clarity could lead tax consultants to give poor advice to clients. With the November 30th deadline to notify an intention to disclose offshore assets under the NDO fast approaching, tax advisers had been seeking answers on whether clients, in certain circumstances, could transfer assets to Liechtenstein to benefit from the less punitive conditions of the LDF compared to the NDO.

http://www.international-adviser.com/lwm/article/768

SINGAPORE WEALTH FUND SAYS INVESTMENTS FELL 20% IN YEAR

SINGAPORE — G.I.C., a sovereign wealth fund of Singapore, said Tuesday that its investments fell more than 20 percent in the year that ended in March, but recovered more than half that loss during the rally on financial markets since then. G.L.C., or the Government of Singapore Investment Corp., the larger of the city-state’s two wealth funds, said it had increased exposure to alternative investments like real estate and natural resources but was bearish on bonds. The fund said its managers were optimistic about emerging markets and Asia.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/30/business/global/30fund.html

FEDERAL OFFICIALS SEIZE ADDITIONAL INTERNET GAMBLING FUNDS

Recent seizures of internet gambling funds related to the payment processor Account Services do not appear to be the end of the U.S. Government’s war against the industry. This week, it was revealed that funds in six more accounts had been seized. The six accounts, according to the Baltimore City Paper, are held by Wachovia and appear under the name Forshay Enterprises. In July and August, other funds were seized in branches of Interstate Net Bank, Bank of America, and First Premier Bank belonging to Electracash and HMD.

http://www.pokernewsdaily.com/federal-officials-seize-additional-internet-gambling-funds-5207/

BNP’S EXIT SPARKS OFFSHORE EXODUS FEARS

The head of the Bahamas Financial Services Board (BFSB) is moving to allay concerns that The Bahamas will see a mass exodus of offshore banks on the heels of the pending exit of BNP Paribas. It’s a response sparked by that bank’s decision to withdraw before the end of 2010 from countries gray listed by the OECD and viewed as “tax havens”.

http://www.thenassauguardian.com/bixex/326630080022103.php

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Finance ministers of the G20 countries have given tax havens until March 2010 to tackle tax evasion, or face harsh sanctions.

Representatives of the world’s largest economies have threatened offshore centres on the OECD list of “tax havens” with sanctions, unless they increase transparency.

http://www.ifaonline.co.uk/international-investment/news/1532667/g20-sets-tax-havens-deadline

CAYMAN CRISIS ‘EXAGGERATED’, INSISTS BANK BOSS

There’s trouble in paradise but press reports that Cayman Islands could be facing near-bankruptcy have been exaggerated, says the boss of the Isle of Man-based Cayman National Bank. The global crisis and crackdown on offshore finance centres has created a financial crisis for the government of Cayman, the world’s biggest hedge-fund venue and fifth-biggest bank centre.

http://www.iomtoday.co.im/isle-of-man-business/Cayman-crisis-39exaggerated39-insists-bank.5627338.jp

EU COURT UPHOLDS ANTITRUST RULING VS CLEARSTREAM

A European court Wednesday upheld an antitrust ruling against payment clearing house Clearstream International SA for abuse of its dominant position in the market. Europe’s second-highest court, the Court of First Instance, dismissed an appeal brought against the European Commission, Europe’s antitrust regulator “in its entirety,” it said in a statement.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090909-704176.html

U.S., MONACO SIGN TAX INFORMATION SHARING AGREEMENT

The U.S. has signed a deal through which it will share tax information with Monaco, the U.S. Treasury announced Tuesday.

“We are working with countries like Monaco to ensure that the IRS has access to the information that it needs to enforce U.S. tax law,” Deputy Treasury Secretary Neil Wolin said in a statement. Under the deal, Monaco is to provide the U.S. with information including that related to bank accounts held in the country. The U.S. will be permitted to begin seeking information on both civil and criminal matters in 2010.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090908-714006.html

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UK SIGNS TAX INFO EXCHANGE PROTOCOL WITH SWITZERLAND

The U.K. government said Monday it had signed a tax information exchange protocol with Switzerland, the latest in a string of such accords in recent months. The U.K. treasury said the protocol opens the way for a “comprehensive” exchange of tax information. It will come into effect once the two countries’ parliaments approve the relevant domestic laws, the treasury and the Swiss finance ministry said.

http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20090907-706169.html

PICTET SAYS PRIVATE BANKS WILL BE SQUEEZED BY SECRECY EROSION

Ivan Pictet, senior managing partner at Pictet & Cie., Switzerland’s biggest closely held private bank, says margins will be squeezed as bank secrecy comes under attack and the industry goes through a period of transition. “Our industry has to prepare itself for a transition phase that will last between one and three years with margins under pressure and, if so, an impact on employment,” Pictet said in an interview with Bilan magazine published today.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=a9r_rZVvtBD8

CAYMAN ISLANDS SAYS COMPETITION PROMPTS UK STANCE

The UK government’s move to block loans to the Cayman Islands is designed to disadvantage a competitive rivalry in financial services at a time when the UK sector itself is under threat, said the head of the islands’ regulatory agency on Thursday.

The Cayman Islands, the Caribbean overseas territory which is domicile to the majority of the world’s hedge funds, failed to gain approval from the UK government last week to extend its borrowing to plug a government deficit of $82 million.

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSL355818020090903

PANAMA MAY SIGN TAX ACCORDS TO AVOID SANCTIONS, OFFICIAL SAYS

Panama will share tax information with at least 10 countries to prevent sanctions over banking secrecy laws, Finance Vice-Minister Frank De Lima said. The Central American nation is close to signing accords with Spain and Mexico to exchange information, De Lima said in an interview. Switzerland, Belgium and Canada are also interested in signing similar treaties, he added.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aK5UdfodrRXI

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A U.S. appeals court upheld an Internet gambling ban Tuesday, rejecting a challenge from an association of off-shore bookies that the federal prohibition was too vague and violated privacy rights. The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia rejected arguments from Interactive Media Entertainment & Gaming Association in New Jersey, which had filed the lawsuit hoping to legalize online betting in that state.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hn5vbm6vFSv42Eyqh0SRSf8bS9hQD9AEREHG0 

AUSTRIA RELAXES BANK SECRECY RULES

Austrian lawmakers have voted in favor of relaxing the country’s banking secrecy regulations. The approval during a special session of parliament Tuesday paves the way for the Alpine republic to be removed from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s “gray list” of countries not complying with international reporting norms.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/09/01/business-eu-austria-banking-secrecy_6836957.html

‘BLOOD OATH’ SEALED STANFORD DEAL, COURT IS TOLD

R. Allen Stanford’s relationship with the chief regulator of his Antigua bank was closer than most. At a meeting in 2003, they became blood brothers, cutting their wrists and mixing their blood in a “brotherhood ceremony” that Mr. Stanford’s chief financial officer said promoted an elaborate scheme to hide a multibillion-dollar fraud from American and other regulators.

http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/28/blood-oath-sealed-stanford-deal-court-is-told/

IRS CORPORATE AUDIT DIVISION WILL EXAMINE UBS TAX EVASION CASES

The U.S. Internal Revenue Service is shifting audits of wealthy Americans suspected of offshore tax evasion to an elite division that usually examines businesses as it prepares to receive data on 4,450 UBS AG Swiss bank accounts. The tax agency posted internal job listings yesterday seeking auditors to work for a newly created office within its Large and Mid-Size Business division that will be tasked with monitoring what it called the “global high-wealth industry.”

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aIwcvA9gW3dE

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Capital Conservator Offers Multi-Currency Accounts!

* 10+ Different Currencies Available: USD, GBP,

  EUR, JPY, CHF, NOK, SEK, and more!

* Adding additional currencies is easy and set-up takes less

  than one business day.

* With your paid account additional currencies are FREE!

Click below to diversify your currency risk now:

http://www.capitalconservator.com/offshore-accounts/

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LIECHTENSTEIN, GERMANY TO SIGN DEAL ON TAX EVASION

Liechtenstein has agreed to provide Germany with information on suspected tax evaders starting next year, officials said Monday.

The deal, to be signed Wednesday in Vaduz, ends a long-running dispute between Liechtenstein and its powerful northern neighbor, which has accused the tiny Alpine principality of providing Germans with a safe haven to hide their fortunes from the tax man.

http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2009/08/31/business-eu-liechtenstein-germany-tax-evasion_6832474.html

STATE REVENUE AGENTS MINE SOCIAL-NETWORKING WEB SITES TO CATCH TAX EVADERS

Tax deadbeats are finding someone actually reads their MySpace and Facebook postings: the taxman. State revenue agents have begun nabbing scofflaws by mining information posted on social-networking Web sites, from relocation announcements to professional profiles to financial boasts.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125132627009861985.html

NETHERLANDS ANTILLES, CANADA SIGN TAX TREATY

The Netherlands Antilles and Canada have signed a bilateral agreement for the exchange of information for tax purposes.

State Secretary of Finance of the Netherlands Antilles Alex Rosaria and Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, signed the agreement on Saturday in Vancouver.

http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/news-18522–11-11–.html

OFFSHORE PRIVATE BANKING MODEL IS DEAD, EXPERTS SAY

UBS’s capitulation to the U.S. tax authorities and a global crackdown on tax evasion are denting the allure for banks to shelter untaxed money, experts say. “The entire offshore banking model seems to be dead,” said Teodoro Cocca, a professor for Wealth and Asset Management at the Johannes Kepler University in Austria.

http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE58049M20090901