The Role of Offshore Financial Centers in Regulatory Competition

The Role of Offshore Financial Centers in Regulatory Competition

Andrew P. Morriss (University of Illinois) published this paper at U Illinois Law & Economics Research Paper No. LE07-032.

Here is the Abstract:

Offshore financial centers are criticized for everything from facilitating money laundering to lax regulation. Yet these jurisdictions play an important positive role in the international legal system that is rarely recognized by providing a different type of competitor in the market for law. Offshore financial centers like the Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man exert an important discipline on democratically-constrained onshore jurisdictions by allowing firms and individuals to route around rent-seeking legislation and by innovating in the creation of legal rules to lower transactions costs.

The paper discusses examples of this including captive insurance entities and foreign finance subsidiaries. Even more importantly, offshore financial centers are well-positioned to discipline autocratic regimes, by undermining autocrats' efforts to prevent alternative centers of power from arising. Fully understanding how offshore finance centers affect the global competition among states for economic activity is crucial for addressing current policy debates over measures like the European Union's Savings Directive and the proposed U.S. Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act.

Available at SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1275390

This Blog/Web Site ("Blog") does not to provide specific legal advice, it is for educational purposes only. This Blog is made available by the international adviser, lawyer or law firm for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice.

The Blog does not constitute legal advice and is not a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed attorney in your state. Any comment posted on the Blog can be read by any Blog visitor; do not post confidential or sensitive information. Any links from another site to the Blog are beyond the control of us.

By using this blog site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and the Blog.

The Blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional adviser or lawyer in your country.

Our firm and do not convey their approval, support or any relationship to any site or organization. The use of this Blog does not implicitly or explicitly convey any warranties or representations as to the accuracy of the information contained herein.

This Blog has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy. The following discloses the information gathering and dissemination practices for this Blog.

This Blog takes your privacy very seriously. Our customers told us they want to see clear, easy-to-read information about our privacy commitments and policies. We have made our privacy policies easier to find and easier to read. And we're listening. We welcome your questions and feedback on our privacy policies, and invite you to contact us with your thoughts.

Customer Privacy Controls and Choices:
• You can review and correct your Personal Information collected by us.
• You can limit certain types of solicitation communications from AT&T, including marketing contacts made via telephone, e-mail and text messaging.
• We will provide you with notice of changes to this policy.

Our privacy commitments are fundamental to the way we do business every day. These apply to everyone who has a relationship with this Blog and visitors.
• We will protect your privacy and keep your personal information safe. We use powerful encryption and other security safeguards to protect customer data, when available.
• We will not sell your personal information to anyone, for any purpose. Period.
• We will fully disclose our privacy policies in plain language, and make our policies easily accessible to you.
• We will notify you of any revisions to our privacy policy, in advance. No surprises.
• You have choices about how this Blog uses your information for marketing purposes. Customers are in control.


This Privacy Policy identifies and describes the way This Blog uses and protects the information we collect about visitors. All use of this Blog is subject to this Privacy Policy.

Use of Location Information
• When your wireless device is on, it sends periodic signals to the nearest cell site. We use that information to provide your wireless services;
• You can use your wireless device to obtain a wide array of services based on the approximate location of the device, referred to as Location Based Services, or LBS. The information you receive in connection with your use of LBS may include advertisements related to your request and your location;

Online Activity Tracking and Advertising
• We collect information about your activity on this Blog for a number of purposes using technologies such as cookies, Web beacons, widgets and server log files.
• We and our advertising partners use that information, as well as other information they have or we may have, to help tailor the ads you see on our sites and to help make decisions about ads you see on other sites.

The Information We Collect, How We Collect It, And How We Use It

We collect different types of personal and other information based on your use of our products and services and our business relationship with you. Some examples include:
• Contact Information that allows us to communicate with you -- including your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address;
• Equipment, Performance, Site Usage, Viewing and other Technical Information about your use of our network, services, products or Web sites.

We collect information in 2 primary ways:
• You give it to us when you register to provide comments;
• We collect it automatically when you visit our Blog.

We use the information we collect in a variety of ways, including to:
• Provide you with the best visitor experience possible;
• Deliver customized content that may be of interest to you;
• Address network integrity and security issues;
• Investigate, prevent or take action regarding illegal activities, violations of our Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policies; and
• For local directory and directory assistance purposes.

Aggregate or Anonymous Information:

We may share aggregate or anonymous information in various formats with trusted entities’ only for purposes such as:
• Our knowledge, and offer of information that may be of interest to you;
• Universities, laboratories and other entities that conduct scientific research; and
• Media research companies for general information only.

More information:

http://www.jpa-iac.com/en/
http://www.braxton-co.com/en/
http://www.tax-international.com
http://www.braxton-group.com

España: impuestos si se prorroga la hipoteca

"Prorrogar la hipoteca exige acudir a Hacienda", articulo publicado el 22-09-2008 , por B. A. en Expansion.com:

La ampliación del plazo del préstamo hipotecario,aunque esté exenta de AJD, debe pasar por Tributos antes de acceder al Registro.

En los últimos meses se han introducido importantes modificaciones en el Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales y Actos Jurídicos Documentados, concretamente en lo referente a préstamos hipotecarios.

Por un lado, la Ley 41/2007, de 7 de diciembre declaró exentas de la modalidad gradual de Actos Jurídicos Documentados las escrituras públicas de novación modificativa de préstamos hipotecarios. Por otro, el Real Decreto-Ley que aprobó el Gobierno en abril sobre medidas de impulso a la actividad económica estableció que las escrituras públicas de ampliación del plazo de préstamos con garantía hipotecaria concedidos para la adquisición, construcción y rehabilitación de vivienda habitual realizadas en el periodo de dos años a contar desde su entrada en vigor se extenderían en papel común, es decir, no estarían sujetas a la cuota fija de este impuesto.

Todas estas modificaciones inducen a pensar, como hizo el Colegio de Registradores en una reciente consulta a la Dirección General de Tributos (DGT), que el gravamen fiscal sobre las operaciones de ampliación de plazo de los préstamos hipotecarios destinados a vivienda habitual para el periodo de dos años mencionado ha desaparecido.

Sin embargo, esta Dirección General entiende que a pesar de todo ello, antes de llevar la escritura al Registro de la Propiedad, ésta debe pasar por la oficina liquidadora de la Agencia Tributaria correspondiente, para que examine la procedencia o no de la exención.

El artículo 54.2 de la Ley exime de esta obligación, única y exclusivamente respecto de las copias o escrituras que no tengan por objeto cantidad o cosa evaluable, así como los testimonios notariales de toda clase. Según el artículo 32.3 de la Ley, se entiende que un acto es de objeto no evaluable "cuando durante toda su vigencia, incluso en el momento de su extinción, no pueda determinarse la cuantía de la base imponible de la cuota.

Esta base imponible está constituida por el importe de la obligación o capital garantizado ?los intereses, indemnizaciones, penas por incumplimiento u otros conceptos similares, incluidos?. Si se concierta una ampliación del préstamo hipotecario, Tributos distingue entre si se modifica o no la base imponible. En el segundo caso, efectivamente la operación no tendrá cantidad o cosa evaluable.

Ahora bien, lo "habitual", según la Dirección General, es que la ampliación del plazo conlleve, en general, el devengo de nuevos intereses y, en consecuencia, una modificación de la suma total garantizada. En ese caso, la consulta establece que la escritura pública tendrá como contenido evaluable "el correspondiente a la modificación de la suma total garantizada, que no ha tributado previamente".

En consecuencia, a pesar de la voluntad administrativa de agilizar la tramitación de estos documentos que se deriva de las últimas reformas del impuesto, Tributos establece la necesidad de presentar en la oficina liquidadora de Hacienda las escrituras que documentan la ampliación de plazo del préstamo hipotecario, con independencia de que estuvieran exentas o no sujetas al impuesto. (DGT 14/07/2008 ).

España: las aportaciones de socios tributan

"Las autonomías aumentarán los impuestos a las empresas", articulo publicado el 17-09-2008 , por C. Cuesta/ D. Gracia en Expansion.com:

Las aportaciones que realicen los socios de un grupo, incluso las que no se destinen a reponer pérdidas, pagarán Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales. La inspección de estas operaciones pasa a manos de las comunidades.

El paquete de medidas anticrisis que lanzó el Gobierno a principio de verano, y que aún deberá esperar hasta finalizar el año para entrar en vigor, parece haberse centrado en algunas materias un tanto alejadas del frenazo económico.

Al margen de la tardanza en la tramitación, el texto definitivo trasladado a las Cortes ha recogido un incremento del ámbito de aplicación de los impuestos autonómicos sobre las empresas. Algo que suena más a cesión de recursos a las arcas territoriales que a incentivos empresariales para solventar el fuerte impacto económico que atraviesa España y el resto de economías.

El cambio, en concreto, aparece recogido en el artículo 7.3 del proyecto, donde se modifica la normativa del Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales y Actos Jurídicos Documentados (ITP y AJD). El retoque es de apariencia técnica y, de hecho, no ha sido comentada oficialmente en los avances del plan que ha realizado en repetidas ocasiones el Ejecutivo.

El cambio supone que las aportaciones que realicen los socios a las compañías del grupo ?a partir de la entrada en vigor del texto? deberán tributar por la vertiente empresarial del ITP, el impuesto conocido como Operaciones Societarias y cuyo tipo es del 1% de la cuantía traspasada.

Hasta ahora, este tipo de aportaciones pagaba este impuesto sólo si se destinaban a reponer pérdidas de las compañías. Ahora se aplicará siempre con una única salvedad, que el traspaso de dinero amplíe el capital social, algo que no será recibido por las empresas como un gran alivio puesto que en ese supuesto ya actualmente se está exigiendo el pago fiscal.

Momentos de apuros

El Gobierno, sin embargo, es consciente de que este peaje puede poner en apuros a las transacciones entre compañías que se realizan, con especial intensidad, en situaciones de crisis. Los expertos consultados por EXPANSIÓN destacan que las inyecciones de dinero entre filiales con el fin de ayudar suelen sobrepasar las pérdidas, “puesto que de lo que se trata es de relanzar los negocios y evitar precisamente que vuelvan a situarse en pérdidas”.

Por ello, ha decidido modificar el Impuesto de Sociedades. Actualmente, las aportaciones destinadas a filiales que no sean para compensar pérdidas pagan por este tributo (con un tipo del 30%). Eso sí, ese porcentaje del 30% se paga sobre los beneficios finales de la empresa, por lo que si al final del ejercicio el volumen de gastos cubre ese traspaso y la empresa cierra sin beneficios, lo cierto es que Hacienda no cobra.

Los asesores no ocultan su temor a un incremento de la presión fiscal por este motivo. Hasta ahora, pagaban posiblemente menos y, además, los inspectores que lo controlaban eran los de la Agencia Estatal de la Administración Tributaria, más acostumbrados a las operaciones empresariales.

Ahora se aplicará, independientemente de los beneficios o pérdidas de la empresa y, además, se encargarán de exigirlo unos inspectores autonómicos recién introducidos en este tipo de valoraciones. La mala salud de las finanzas regionales, golpeadas por la caída de sus impuestos ?muy ligados hasta ahora a la construcción y al consumo? termina de atemorizar a las empresas y asesores.

El maquillaje técnico del Impuesto de Transmisiones Patrimoniales supone, en la práctica, una nueva cesión competencial para las comunidades autónomas, que pasarán a controlar con lupa este tipo de operaciones societarias.

A pesar de las críticas que el ministro de Economía, Pedro Solbes, ha recibido por su falta de concreción a la hora de definir el nuevo modelo de financiación de las comunidades, el vicepresidente parece que ya ha comenzado a diseñar el nuevo marco de reparto de fondos antes de sentarse a debatir con todos los consejeros de Hacienda.

Compensación

Entre otras cosas, el Ejecutivo se ha comprometido a compensar a las comunidades autónomas por la supresión de tributos cedidos como el de Patrimonio, o por medidas de gran calado financiero como la Ley de Dependencia.

Curiosamente, Cataluña, Madrid, Andalucía y Valencia son las cuatro autonomías que más recaudan por ITP ?más del 10% de sus ingresos totales?. Es decir, las cuatro que por su peso económico en España tendrán también más capacidad de inspeccionar las aportaciones entre empresas de un mismo grupo.

Tras el agrio debate del verano en torno a la reforma financiera, Solbes argumenta ahora que todo “ha vuelto a la casilla cero”, después de haber defendido a capa y espada sus “bases para la negociación”. Hacienda volverá a escuchar una por una las peticiones autonómicas. Aunque, de momento, ya ha cedido un nuevo campo fiscal con clara repercusión para las empresas.

International Tax-Shelter Plot Thickens; Mogul Sues UBS

International Tax-Shelter Plot Thickens; Mogul Sues UBS
Posted by Dan Slater on September 17, 2008

"Back in May, the Feds unsealed an indictment against a former UBS banker, Bradley Birkenfeld, for allegedly helping one of the world’s richest men, Igor Olenicoff, evade taxes on $200 million held in Swiss and Liechtenstein bank accounts. When Birkenfeld pleaded guilty, a month later, he explained that he participated the alleged scheme to help Olenicoff evade taxes. “I was employed by UBS,” said Birkenfeld, “I was incentivized to do this business.”

Yesterday, the UBS-Olenicoff plot thickened, when Olenicoff, a billionaire property developer, sued UBS and nearly a dozen current and former executives of the bank in federal court in Santa Ana, Calif. Here’s the NYT report.

The suit reportedly accuses UBS, a small Swiss firm, and two private firms based in Liechtenstein and their employees of luring Olenicoff into becoming a client and a participant in a deceptive investment scheme intended to cheat the IRS of millions in taxes. The suit also contends that Birkenfeld, the former UBS banker, received a large settlement from UBS after complaining that it had encouraged its private bankers to violate U.S. tax laws.

The suit claims that UBS turned over Olenicoff’s name to the IRS, a move that would have been surprising for a Swiss bank that follows a centuries-old tradition of banking secrecy. Olenicoff is accusing the defendants of fraud and breach of fiduciary duty, among other things.
UBS said it had not seen the complaint and thus could not comment upon it.
In December, notes the Times, Olenicoff pleaded guilty to criminal charges of tax evasion and lying on his tax returns, all in connection with his offshore private banking accounts. He agreed to pay $52 million in back taxes.

This Blog/Web Site ("Blog") does not to provide specific legal advice, it is for educational purposes only. This Blog is made available by the international adviser, lawyer or law firm for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice.

The Blog does not constitute legal advice and is not a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed attorney in your state. Any comment posted on the Blog can be read by any Blog visitor; do not post confidential or sensitive information. Any links from another site to the Blog are beyond the control of us.

By using this blog site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and the Blog.

The Blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional adviser or lawyer in your country.

Our firm and do not convey their approval, support or any relationship to any site or organization. The use of this Blog does not implicitly or explicitly convey any warranties or representations as to the accuracy of the information contained herein.

This Blog has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy. The following discloses the information gathering and dissemination practices for this Blog.

This Blog takes your privacy very seriously. Our customers told us they want to see clear, easy-to-read information about our privacy commitments and policies. We have made our privacy policies easier to find and easier to read. And we're listening. We welcome your questions and feedback on our privacy policies, and invite you to contact us with your thoughts.

Customer Privacy Controls and Choices:
• You can review and correct your Personal Information collected by us.
• You can limit certain types of solicitation communications from AT&T, including marketing contacts made via telephone, e-mail and text messaging.
• We will provide you with notice of changes to this policy.

Our privacy commitments are fundamental to the way we do business every day. These apply to everyone who has a relationship with this Blog and visitors.
• We will protect your privacy and keep your personal information safe. We use powerful encryption and other security safeguards to protect customer data, when available.
• We will not sell your personal information to anyone, for any purpose. Period.
• We will fully disclose our privacy policies in plain language, and make our policies easily accessible to you.
• We will notify you of any revisions to our privacy policy, in advance. No surprises.
• You have choices about how this Blog uses your information for marketing purposes. Customers are in control.


This Privacy Policy identifies and describes the way This Blog uses and protects the information we collect about visitors. All use of this Blog is subject to this Privacy Policy.

Use of Location Information
• When your wireless device is on, it sends periodic signals to the nearest cell site. We use that information to provide your wireless services;
• You can use your wireless device to obtain a wide array of services based on the approximate location of the device, referred to as Location Based Services, or LBS. The information you receive in connection with your use of LBS may include advertisements related to your request and your location;

Online Activity Tracking and Advertising
• We collect information about your activity on this Blog for a number of purposes using technologies such as cookies, Web beacons, widgets and server log files.
• We and our advertising partners use that information, as well as other information they have or we may have, to help tailor the ads you see on our sites and to help make decisions about ads you see on other sites.

The Information We Collect, How We Collect It, And How We Use It

We collect different types of personal and other information based on your use of our products and services and our business relationship with you. Some examples include:
• Contact Information that allows us to communicate with you -- including your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address;
• Equipment, Performance, Site Usage, Viewing and other Technical Information about your use of our network, services, products or Web sites.

We collect information in 2 primary ways:
• You give it to us when you register to provide comments;
• We collect it automatically when you visit our Blog.

We use the information we collect in a variety of ways, including to:
• Provide you with the best visitor experience possible;
• Deliver customized content that may be of interest to you;
• Address network integrity and security issues;
• Investigate, prevent or take action regarding illegal activities, violations of our Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policies; and
• For local directory and directory assistance purposes.

Aggregate or Anonymous Information:

We may share aggregate or anonymous information in various formats with trusted entities’ only for purposes such as:
• Our knowledge, and offer of information that may be of interest to you;
• Universities, laboratories and other entities that conduct scientific research; and
• Media research companies for general information only.

More information:

http://www.jpa-iac.com/en/
http://www.braxton-co.com/en/
http://www.tax-international.com
http://www.braxton-group.com

Using tax to lure business away from London

"London rivals 'cherry picking' business"
An article published by Vanessa Houlder in Financial Times on September 10 2008

London's rivals are using tax to lure business away from the City, a leading City policymaker has warned.

Stuart Fraser, chairman of policy at the City of London Corporation, said the government must fight back by tackling the uncertainty and complexity of Britain's tax regime.

He warned that rival jurisdictions were "cherry picking" London's most lucrative activities. He cited Switzerland's attempt to attract wealth managers and hedge funds and a move by Paris to attract private equity firms. "They are very keen on taking us on. What they want is our business". He called for greater clarity and predictability in the UK tax system. "People need certainty. They want to be confident that if they stay here the system will not change."

His comments follow recent decisions by Krom River, a London hedge fund to move to Zug in Switzerland and five large companies to shift their holding companies to Ireland or Luxembourg. Mr Fraser said the corporate moves were symptomatic of the dissatisfaction with the tax system, although the establishment of "brass plate" operations abroad did not pose an immediate threat to jobs or the City.

The UK still attracts the largest number of headquarter functions of any European country, but its share fell from over 40 per cent to 30 per cent last year, the lowest figure yet recorded by Oxford Intelligence, which compiles data for Ernst & Young's European Investment Monitor. Peter Lemagnen, director, said the relocation trend primarily affected larger companies where there was scope for significant tax savings.

Some advisers warned that a continued exodus of holding companies from Britain would damage the City.

Peter Wyman, global head of policy and regulation at PWC, the professional services firm, said that shareholder pressure for tax savings meant that "a slow trickle is likely to become a faster trickle if not a flood". He said the likely impact of more relocations was "a mixed picture, conceivably over time a big loss". "Undoubtedly, if you move your headquarters somewhere other than London you are likely to get an increased amount of advice from where you are now based."

Chris Morgan, an international tax partner at KPMG, the professional services firm, said it was inevitable that over time financial services would move to the country where the company was managed and controlled. "I think they should be incredibly worried about it."

James Bullock, a partner at McGrigors, the law firm, said that if the trend for headquarter relocations continued, the City was likely to lose out. "It is all about key relationships. If board and strategic directors are in Switzerland, the partners [of accountancy and law firms] will want to be there too."

The Irish government has already told companies considering relocations it wants to see "real substance" in its investment, rather than merely "brass plate" operations.

This Blog/Web Site ("Blog") does not to provide specific legal advice, it is for educational purposes only. This Blog is made available by the international adviser, lawyer or law firm for educational purposes only as well as to give you general information and a general understanding of the law, not to provide specific legal advice.

The Blog does not constitute legal advice and is not a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed attorney in your state. Any comment posted on the Blog can be read by any Blog visitor; do not post confidential or sensitive information. Any links from another site to the Blog are beyond the control of us.

By using this blog site you understand that there is no attorney client relationship between you and the Blog.

The Blog should not be used as a substitute for competent legal advice from a licensed professional adviser or lawyer in your country.

Our firm and do not convey their approval, support or any relationship to any site or organization. The use of this Blog does not implicitly or explicitly convey any warranties or representations as to the accuracy of the information contained herein.

This Blog has created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our firm commitment to privacy. The following discloses the information gathering and dissemination practices for this Blog.

This Blog takes your privacy very seriously. Our customers told us they want to see clear, easy-to-read information about our privacy commitments and policies. We have made our privacy policies easier to find and easier to read. And we're listening. We welcome your questions and feedback on our privacy policies, and invite you to contact us with your thoughts.

Customer Privacy Controls and Choices:
• You can review and correct your Personal Information collected by us.
• You can limit certain types of solicitation communications from AT&T, including marketing contacts made via telephone, e-mail and text messaging.
• We will provide you with notice of changes to this policy.

Our privacy commitments are fundamental to the way we do business every day. These apply to everyone who has a relationship with this Blog and visitors.
• We will protect your privacy and keep your personal information safe. We use powerful encryption and other security safeguards to protect customer data, when available.
• We will not sell your personal information to anyone, for any purpose. Period.
• We will fully disclose our privacy policies in plain language, and make our policies easily accessible to you.
• We will notify you of any revisions to our privacy policy, in advance. No surprises.
• You have choices about how this Blog uses your information for marketing purposes. Customers are in control.


This Privacy Policy identifies and describes the way This Blog uses and protects the information we collect about visitors. All use of this Blog is subject to this Privacy Policy.

Use of Location Information
• When your wireless device is on, it sends periodic signals to the nearest cell site. We use that information to provide your wireless services;
• You can use your wireless device to obtain a wide array of services based on the approximate location of the device, referred to as Location Based Services, or LBS. The information you receive in connection with your use of LBS may include advertisements related to your request and your location;

Online Activity Tracking and Advertising
• We collect information about your activity on this Blog for a number of purposes using technologies such as cookies, Web beacons, widgets and server log files.
• We and our advertising partners use that information, as well as other information they have or we may have, to help tailor the ads you see on our sites and to help make decisions about ads you see on other sites.

The Information We Collect, How We Collect It, And How We Use It

We collect different types of personal and other information based on your use of our products and services and our business relationship with you. Some examples include:
• Contact Information that allows us to communicate with you -- including your name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address;
• Equipment, Performance, Site Usage, Viewing and other Technical Information about your use of our network, services, products or Web sites.

We collect information in 2 primary ways:
• You give it to us when you register to provide comments;
• We collect it automatically when you visit our Blog.

We use the information we collect in a variety of ways, including to:
• Provide you with the best visitor experience possible;
• Deliver customized content that may be of interest to you;
• Address network integrity and security issues;
• Investigate, prevent or take action regarding illegal activities, violations of our Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policies; and
• For local directory and directory assistance purposes.

Aggregate or Anonymous Information:

We may share aggregate or anonymous information in various formats with trusted entities’ only for purposes such as:
• Our knowledge, and offer of information that may be of interest to you;
• Universities, laboratories and other entities that conduct scientific research; and
• Media research companies for general information only.

More information:

http://www.jpa-iac.com/en/
http://www.braxton-co.com/en/
http://www.tax-international.com
http://www.braxton-group.com