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Summary of the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act

Moh1

Corporate Services
Jan 28, 2009
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Think it is really interesting reading, also since it looks like facts and not roumours ;)


TITLE I – Deterring the Use of Offshore Secrecy Jurisdictions for Tax Evasion


Establish presumptions for entities and transactions in Offshore Secrecy Jurisdictions. (§101)


Establishes rebuttable evidentiary presumptions in tax and securities legal proceedings for non publicly-traded entities located in Offshore Secrecy Jurisdictions. The presumptions are as follows:


Control – In a tax proceeding, if a U.S. person (other than a publicly-traded corporation) directly or indirectly formed, transferred assets to, was a beneficiary of, had a beneficial interest in, or received assets from an Offshore Secrecy Jurisdiction entity (other than a publicly-traded corporation), it will be presumed that the person exercised control over the entity.


Transfers of income – In a tax proceeding, any amount or thing of value –


a) transferred to a U.S. person (other than a publicly-traded corporation) directly or indirectly from an account or entity in an Offshore Secrecy Jurisdiction, or


b) transferred from such a U.S. person directly or indirectly to an account or entity in an Offshore Secrecy Jurisdiction, will be presumed to represent previously unreported income to the U.S. person in the year of transfer.


Beneficial ownership – In a proceeding to enforce securities law, if a U.S. person (other than a publicly-traded corporation) formed, transferred assets to, was a beneficiary of, had a beneficiary interest in, or received assets from an Offshore Secrecy Jurisdiction entity (other than a publicly-traded corporation), it will be presumed that the person beneficially owned and exercised control over such entity, regardless of the nominal ownership.

Determine “Offshore Secrecy Jurisdictions.” (§101)
Provides initial list of 34 Offshore Secrecy Jurisdictions, while giving Treasury Secretary discretion to add or subtract from the list using certain criteria. Initial list of jurisdictions was taken from IRS court filings identifying them as probable locations for U.S. tax evasion:


Anguilla Cook Islands Jersey St. Kitts and Nevis


Antigua and Barbuda Costa Rica Latvia St. Lucia


Aruba Cyprus Liechtenstein St. Vincent & the Grenadines


Bahamas Dominica Luxembourg Singapore


Barbados Gibraltar Malta Switzerland


Belize Grenada Nauru Turks and Caicos


Bermuda Guernsey/Sark/Alderney Netherlands Antilles Vanuatu


British Virgin Islands Hong Kong Panama


Cayman Islands Isle of Man Samoa


Directs Treasury Secretary to list jurisdictions with secrecy laws or practices that unreasonably restrict U.S. tax authorities from obtaining needed information, unless the jurisdiction has information exchange practices that effectively overcome those secrecy barriers.
 

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