Insights

What is the EU's sanctions list? How is it produced and amended? What are the implications of being listed? Aki Corsoni-Husain answers these questions in this article, originally published by ThomsonReuters©

In the fourth episode of Harneys’ Substance on Substance series, Philip Graham and Josh Mangeot discuss the option of continuing a BVI entity out of the jurisdiction (sometimes called a “re-domiciliation” or “migration”) as a response to the economic substance legislation.

Tax transparency has been a hot topic on the agenda of governments worldwide following the introduction of anti-avoidance and transparency measures within the European Union.

Following months of continuous work overseeing the development of rules on so-called “economic substance” with some of the world’s top international financial centres, including the BVI and Cayman Islands, the OECD finally published the results of its review into the impact of low or zero tax jurisdictions on the global economy, released on 23 July 2019.

On 15 May 2019, the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income was signed, in Nursultan, between the Government of Cyprus and the Government of Kazakhstan. Later, on 24 May 2019, Cyprus ratified the relevant double tax treaty it had signed with Kazakhstan.

In the third instalment of Harneys’ SOS Series, Phil Graham and Josh Mangeot examine the implications of the first reading of the BOSS (Amendment) No 2 Act, 2019 in the House of Assembly, which is the enabling legislation for bringing into force the International Tax Authority’s economic substance Code in the BVI. It is expected that the second and third reading will take place in the House as soon as possible, and will come into law shortly thereafter.