Following a series of controversies surrounding the amount of tax major tech companies like Amazon, Apple, eBay, Facebook, and Google pay, the UK has announced that it will be reviewing how these companies are taxed.
The Paradise Papers are a collection of documents leaked by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists that sheds light on offshore tax structures. These documents follow on the heels of the Panama Papers.
Colombian singer Shakira recently handed over a staggering $25 million to settle a tax debt with the Spanish government. Shakira – whose full name is Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll – has been embroiled in a tax dispute with the Spanish government since last year.
Apple has long sparked criticism for its deference of tax payments of foreign earnings, facing allegations of hoarding its cash overseas to dodge tax responsibilities. In total, the company is estimated to hold a staggering 94 percent of its total cash holdings of around $294 billion outside of the U.S.
Jurisdictions around the world are increasingly making moves to tax gains made from cryptocurrency transactions – just like they would tax capital gains made from selling property at a profit or trading gold.
The small Sicilian town of Castelvetrano has recently set a new record for the biggest municipal debt in the country after an accounting review conducted by the country’s Interior Ministry found a staggering €42 million missing from municipal coffers.
Bitcoin essentially had its coming out party in 2017. Once an obscure digital currency known only to techies, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are becoming increasingly mainstream.
The European Union announced its plans to launch a tax avoidance probe into prominent furniture retailer Ikea late last year. The move is part of Brussel’s aggressive crackdown on corporate tax avoidance throughout Europe.
At a UN speech in December, the leader of the UK Labour party called on governments across the world to tackle tax evasion.
Unlike corporations, which distribute profits to shareholders via dividends, pass through businesses’ profits go right to their owners, essentially “passing through” the books of the business.