Tax News

Swiss raid HSBC in money laundering probe

Geneva - Swiss authorities on Wednesday raided the offices of British banking giant HSBC's Swiss unit as part of a money laundering probe into the bank that has been accused of helping clients to dodge millions of dollars in taxes.

Le Monde under fire from its businessmen owners over Swissleaks

Paris - Journalists at French newspaper Le Monde reacted angrily Wednesday to criticism from two of the paper's businessmen owners over its decision to publish the names of wealthy HSBC clients who dodged tax by opening Swiss accounts.

SwissLeaks whistleblower's tale worthy of a spy novel

Paris - Herve Falciani was once just an IT worker at a big bank, but since running off with hundreds of thousands of damaging documents from banking giant HSBC he has been alternately called a hero and a thief."He is brave. We have the highest opinion of Mr.

HSBC 'SwissLeaks' leaker urges more support for whistleblowers

Geneva - The man who stole the trove of secret files that sparked a global scandal over banking giant HSBC's alleged assistance to wealthy tax dodgers called Monday for more protections for whistleblowers.

HSBC 'tax dodge' revelations are just tip of iceberg, says leaker

Geneva - The former HSBC employee who leaked sensational secret documents alleging the bank helped wealthy customers dodge millions of dollars in taxes warned Tuesday that the revelations are just the "tip of the iceberg".

France's 75% 'supertax' quietly dies with few mourners

Paris - Once a flagship policy of French President Francois Hollande, the 75-percent "supertax" on top earners limps into its final weeks this month having sparked plenty of controversy but few economic results.

EU's Juncker says no 'conflict of interest' over Luxembourg tax breaks

Brussels - European Commission head Jean-Claude Juncker said Wednesday he faced no conflict of interest in his new post over investigations into huge tax breaks agreed with top international firms when he was Luxembourg premier.

Berkeley soda pop tax gets 75% support despite Big Soda lobby

Berkeley - Berkeley, California last week became the first city in the United States to institute a tax on soda pop and other sugary beverages.

Luxembourg, Juncker under fire after global tax leaks

Brussels - EU finance ministers meet in Brussels Friday, with revelations about Luxembourg's tax breaks for big firms putting pressure on former premier Jean-Claude Juncker, the new European Commission president.

ICIJ: blowing the whistle on corporate tax schemes

Washington - The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), which on Thursday revealed a massive tax avoidance system organised by Luxembourg, is a collective of journalists spanning more than 60 countries seeking to root out cross border crime, ...

Luxembourg, Juncker under fire after global tax leaks

Brussels - Luxembourg and its former premier Jean-Claude Juncker -- now head of the European commission -- came under fire Thursday after leaked documents showed the tiny nation gave hundreds of global firms huge tax breaks.

Anger mounts in Hungary over Internet tax

Budapest - A proposed Hungarian tax on Internet usage has sparked new accusations of an anti-democratic crackdown in the EU member as tens of thousands are expected to march against the measure Sunday.

Washington's yoga community opposes 'yoga tax'

The Washington D.C. city council will be imposing a 5.75 percent sales tax on facilities that provide fitness services starting from October 1.

The cost of scientific fraud revealed

According to a new study, each science paper exposed as incorrect and which is subsequently retracted because of research misconduct costs taxpayers roughly $400,000.

Op-Ed: Shareholders push Google to pay $2 billion in taxes

At Google’s annual shareholder meeting in Mountain View hundreds of thousands of consumers around the world are joining with Google shareholders in a resolution urging the corporation to pay more than $2 billion in taxes owed around the world.

Make the most of your tax refund

If you're among the lucky folks getting money back from the feds, here are a few ways to ensure you get the biggest bang out of those bucks.

U.S. Senate panel to hold hearing on Caterpillar offshore taxes

A U.S.

Apple pays $193M tax in Australia

An investigation in Australia revealed the billions of dollars Apple has shifted in profits in an effort to minimize the company's tax.

Some big U.S. companies dodge state income taxes: Study

Some profitable U.S. corporations that avoid paying federal income taxes manage to do the same in states where they operate, said a study issued on Thursday by a tax activist group. From 2008 through 2012, ten U.S.

Largest-ever U.S. tax-fraud phone scam targets thousands: IRS watchdog

Thousands of Americans nationwide have been targeted since August by a phone scam in which fraudsters claim to be from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and demand money for unpaid taxes, said the IRS' watchdog on Thursday.

Exclusive: EU legal opinion opens door to Tobin tax on forex

Deals from the multi-trillion euro a day foreign exchange market could in principle be included in a tax on financial transactions, a legal opinion from European Union lawyers seen by Reuters said.

Germany's Gabriel wants Swiss bankers who aid evasion in court

Germany's center-left deputy chancellor hailed the jail sentence for tax evasion handed to Bayern Munich soccer boss Uli Hoeness and said the directors of Swiss banks that hide such funds should be hauled before the courts.

German court sentences Bayern boss Hoeness to jail for tax evasion

A German court convicted Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness of tax evasion on Thursday and sentenced the man who turned the soccer club into one of the world's most successful sports dynasties to 3-1/2 year...

German prosecutor demands 5-1/2 years jail for Bayern boss Hoeness

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness should be sentenced to 5-1/2 years in jail for evading millions of euros in taxes, state prosecutor Achim von Engel said on Thursday at the end of a trial against the soccer manager.

Outlook for online state sales tax fix dims in U.S. Congress

Prospects for federal action to resolve a fight over state sales taxation of online retailing faded on Wednesday in the U.S.

Italian PM announces 10 billion euros in tax cuts

Rome - New Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi on Wednesday announced ten billion euros worth of tax cuts in the first major economic announcement since he came to power last month.Renzi said ten million people earning less than 25,000 euros ($34,760) a year ...

Bayern boss Hoeness goes on trial for tax evasion

Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness, once one of Germany's most admired soccer managers, heads to court on Monday to face charges that he dodged taxes in a case that shocked the German public and spurred o...

UK court ruling may prompt more scrutiny of Amazon tax plans

Amazon's tax affairs could come under more scrutiny in Britain, tax experts said, after a judge questioned whether it really was organized in the tax efficient way it said it was.

Apple moved billions offshore to avoid Australia tax, report says

Sydney - US tech giant Apple was on Thursday accused of shifting nearly Aus$9 billion (US$8.1 billion) in untaxed profits from its Australian operations to Ireland over the past decade.An investigation by the Australian Financial Review obtained 10 years worth ...

Italy cancels 'Google tax' on web companies

Italy has dropped a planned internet tax sometimes dubbed the "Google tax", in one of the first measures enacted by the new government of Matteo Renzi, an official said on Friday.