Tag Archives: tsi
The Top Tax Havens
Tina Samuels shares the top tax havens across the globe 5 AUG 2013 By: Tina Samuels A tax haven is a location that offers taxes breaks or lower taxes in that area. It can either be a state, territory or country, with most being offshore locations, but a few in the United States as well. There are many benefits to putting your money in a bank located in a tax haven, which investors and corporations have done repeatedly. In the past, they were somewhat of a mystery, where corporations wanted to keep it unknown so the government wouldn’t be aware of it. However in recent years, the exact locations of tax havens, like the Cayman Islands, Nevada and Monaco, have been very well known. There are even major corporations in tax havens, such as Apple, Microsoft, Bank of America, Cisco and many more. OECD Rules for Tax Havens The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is in charge of defining tax havens. They base their distinctions on three main factors: the amount of taxes, protecting financial information and not having transparency. The Amount of Taxes This factor is for countries or states that either don’t have taxes or very minimal taxes, also known as nominal taxes. It often includes lack of personal income, gift, inheritance or capital gains taxes. Protecting Financial Information The location must also offer protection of the investor’s personal financial information, to be identified as a tax haven. They will have some sort of practice or law that keeps their financial information safe, not be shared with outside governments or authorities . No Transparency The final factor for tax havens is to have a lack of transparency. This is transparency in legal, administrative or legislative provisions. The OECD wants to be sure the nation has laws that are applied consistently for everyone and that foreign tax authorities have no say in the matter. Here is a list of the top 10 tax havens in the world, according to Daily Intel. Each of them has their own benefits and drawbacks. Switzerland Switzerland is one of the most well known tax havens in the world, known as a “neutral” country. But since they are known for their tax haven status, they are also a bigger target. Austria Although Austria signed an agreement in 2009 to get removed from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s list resulting in sharing banking information, they still have a place on the list. Austria doesn’t have inheritance tax, and they provide tax breaks for citizens. Singapore Singapore is rising quickly in popularity as a tax haven, even drawing the attention of co-founder of Facebook, Eduardo Saverin. There is no capital gains tax in Singapore, which is one of the reasons it has become such a popular location. British Virgin Islands The British Virgin Islands have no inheritance tax, capital gains tax, sales tax or gift tax, making them one of the most popular tax havens. Unfortunately this also means the government is aware of their existence, putting investors at risk. Monaco Monaco has strict laws in relation to tax evasion, but if you can connect with a bank there, you have multiple perks. Any investor wanting to avoid tax and get into a tax haven will find benefits to choosing Monaco. Cayman Islands Hedge funders are particularly fond of putting their money in the Cayman Island, which is why the name is used so often in movies and television shows. Celebrities, investors and even politicians like Mitt Romney choose the Cayman Islands as their go-to tax haven. United States Not all tax havens are located outside the U.S., in fact two states have tax havens in the U.S.: Delaware and Nevada. Delaware is the local corporate tax haven and hold more than 50 percent of corporation funds in the U.S. that are incorporated in Delaware. Companies like Bank of America and apple that have addresses in Delaware, take full advantage. In Nevada, there are no personal income taxes and is another great place in the U.S. for tax breaks. Tax havens are a safe alternative to paying high taxes in the U.S., U.K. or other countries where they are known for their rising taxes and strict regulations. It is something for investors, individuals, and corporations to explore. Continue reading
Evolution of the UAE passport
Evolution of the UAE passport Mustafa Al Zarooni / 23 August 2013 While history could be “the biography of great men”, as Thomas Carlyle wrote, we encounter it through collections of yellow-tinged papers and photographs and artefacts. Museums, which display these archives, are the house of history. They tell the tales of nations, people, their rulers, customs, beliefs and turning points. Al Dana Museum at the General Directorate of Naturalisation and Foreigners Affairs in Dubai is one such house of history. It has a good collection of important documents which young Emiratis must see to understand their country’s past. The collection includes travel documents and passports of the once Trucial States with each emirate having its own separate passport before the UAE Federation came into being 42 years ago. Colonel Ali Ghanim Al Mirri, Advisor for Naturalisation Affairs to the Director of the General Department of Residency and Foreigners Affairs, said, “The department looks forward to collecting more documents from Emiratis to enrich the museum, and show the people the history of their homeland, and the events it had witnessed. Boosting awareness about their history will help instil a sense of patriotic identity deeply in the hearts and minds of the young.” The collection includes a free pass document issued in 1966; a passport issued in 1973; temporary passports; change of the family book (citizenship document) from just a paper to a booklet; and passports in which the holders’ photographs were not shown as at that time privacy was strongly followed by the society. The other items showcased include passports — in fact, the travel documents — of all seven emirates before the establishment of the Federation. Over the years “There were no passports before the establishment of the state, and most likely only a travel document was issued,” said Colonel Al Mirri. “People travelled to GCC countries, east Asia and some African coasts for trade.” The travel document was usually issued by the Customs Office at the Ruler’s Court of each emirate. “Since the inception of the UAE Federation on December 2, 1971, and with the country going a long way towards modernity, passports were issued, and the nationals submitted their previous travel documents. Committees with members from reliable families with good reputation and well-known persons in each and every nook and corner of the country were formed. The members of those panels who knew every person in their respective regions were authorised to approve or reject the applications for passports those days,” he recalled. “In the early 1980s, a family book used to be issued to each family. The document was just a piece of paper. Its character and look changed many times, and at all times it looked like a passport but of brown colour.” “Then, the ordinary passports were of black colour and was renewed once every two years. Later, the colour changed to blue and the passport had to be renewed every five years.” There were five types of passports then — ordinary, special, diplomatic and temporary. The rules and procedures have changed. All indigenous and well-known UAE citizens are issued passports now and the process of granting the passport at present is different, as there are investigation committees and other procedures required before issuing the document. Colonel Al Mirri urged Emiratis who have such old and important documents to submit them to the museum so that everyone will benefit from viewing them. Thus, the museum would also expand and the public would benefit a lot in terms of understanding the history and evolution of the country as well as the naturalisation department. The museum is open to the public throughout the year. The naturalisations departments across the county had shown good cooperation by providing the documents in their possession to the Dubai directorate to be showcased at the museum, he added. Colonel Ahmed Mohammed Al Mohairi, Director of the Naturalisation Department at the directorate, said the progress the UAE had seen over the last 40 years might not have been achieved without the intimate relationship between the leadership and the people, and without the sincerity of the leadership and its keenness on mobilising all resources for the convenience and welfare of the people. Echoing the words of Colonel Al Mirri, he said it was necessary to document the history of the country, especially the pre-era of the Union, the early beginnings and the rapid development the UAE had seen after in a record short time. New passports The present biometric passports bear the same information saved on the Emirates identity card making it easy to use anywhere and they are safer. The passports are printed in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. The printing of the UAE passport does not take more than a working day, and the document is delivered after a couple of hours if there is no overcrowding. “However, the passport renewal section sees pressure and overcrowding during the holiday and travel season,” he said. Manner of writing names Recently, a uniform way of writing the names of Emirati families has been adopted. The move was taken after some applicants faced some problems as their documents were being processed and issued in the old way. The department has addressed these issues. On the possibility of changing the family name or add a new name, certain rules and processes are being followed. Put a new family name or changing it is not allowed other than in some cases — that too only in the presence of the most senior and reliable member of the clan to which an applicant wants or claims to belong. That member has to acknowledge that he is a witness and that the applicant is one of his relatives and bears the same name of the clan. “Emirati woman does not follow the name of her husband or his clan, but she rather keeps the name of her clan or family,” he said. In the past, some people refrained from putting their photographs on the passports, and would, instead, write “refused”, especially veiled women. Some others allowed their photographs to be pasted on the passports but featuring only veiled faces or covering part of their faces. – malzarooni@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
UN chief calls for swift probe of attack in Syria
UN chief calls for swift probe of attack in Syria (AP) / 23 August 2013 Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday called on the Syrian government to allow a UN team now in Damascus to swiftly investigate an alleged chemical weapon attack outside the capital that killed at least 100 people. UN deputy spokesman Eduardo del Buey said Ban remains “deeply troubled” by the alleged attack on the eastern suburbs of Damascus on Wednesday and believe it needs to be investigated “without delay.” Syrian anti-government activists accused President Bashar Assad’s regime of carrying out an attack using toxic gas and have reported death tolls ranging from 136 to 1,300. Even the lowest figure would make it the deadliest alleged chemical attack in Syria’s 2 1/2-year civil war. The government has denied that it used chemical weapons, calling the allegations “absolutely baseless.” Del Buey said the secretary-general “takes positive note” of the UN Security Council meeting on Wednesday that backed his initial call for “a thorough, impartial and prompt investigation.” He said the secretary-general has been in touch with world leaders since Wednesday and is sending UN disarmament chief Angela Kane to Damascus to press for a UN investigation. Under the terms of an agreement with Syria negotiated by Kane and chief weapons inspector Ake Sellstrom in July, the UN team can investigate three previous incidents of alleged chemical weapons use. A new agreement would need to be negotiated for the 20-member team to be able to go to the Damascus suburb of Ghouta. The UN team is scheduled to investigate an alleged chemical weapons attack that happened March 19 on the village of Khan Al Assal outside the city of Aleppo, which was captured by the rebels last month. The government and rebels blame each other for the attack. The sites of the two other incidents to be investigated are being kept secret for security reasons. More than 35 countries signed a letter to the secretary-general Wednesday requesting the UN experts to launch “an urgent investigation … as expeditiously as possible” into Wednesday’s incident as well. Del Buey said the secretary-general is sending a formal request to the Syrian government to grant permission and access to the Ghouta area to the UN chemical weapons experts. “He expects to receive a positive response without delay,” del Buey said. UN Deputy Secretary-General Jan Eliasson, who briefed the Security Council on Wednesday, expressed hope that the Syrian government will give the team access to the site as soon as possible, though he cautioned that because of fighting “the security situation right now does not allow such access.” “This represents, no matter what conclusions are, a serious escalation with grave humanitarian consequences and human consequences,” Eliasson stressed. The secretary-general reiterated his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities so that humanitarian assistance can be urgently delivered to the area of the latest incident, del Buey said. Continue reading
