tax treaties

The finance ministry may drop a provision in the draft direct taxes code that allows local tax laws to override India’s tax treaties with other countries, as it looks to avoid uncertainties over existing bilateral tax arrangements. The finance ministry has formed a special task force within the Central Board of Direct Taxes to rework the draft, which is expected to be made public next month. Full Article

Income Tax authorities are planning to broaden the tax base, seek greater exchange of information under the tax treaties and provide better services to tax payers by 2020 when the direct tax reforms would be firmly in place. The apex direct tax body, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), has formed seven committees comprising senior revenue officials to come out with a draft Vision 2020 document that would delineate ways to increase tax collections in a non-intrusive man.. Full Article

Conflicting decisions of the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (the Tribunal) concerning similar payments in the case of Asia Satellite Telecommunications Co. Ltd. v. DCIT [2003] 85 ITD 478 (Delhi ITAT) and DCIT v. Pan AmSat International Systems Inc. [2006] 9 SOT 100 (Delhi ITAT) led to the constitution of the Special Bench of the Delhi Tribunal. It was held that payments made by telecasting companies to satellite companies for telecommunication or broadcasting constitutes .. Full Article

As reported by us earlier The government is planning to comprehensively revise tax treaties with as many as 25 nations, including Switzerland and Mauritius, and re-negotiate with 51 others, to trace black money. The government plans a comprehensive revision of the existing tax treaties with 25 countries, including the Swiss Confederation, Mauritius, Malaysia, Norway and the Netherlands among others. Full Article

This tax treaty controversy is snowballing. First it was just the India Mauritius Double Tax Avoidance Treaty that was under a shadow and has been that way for a couple of years then the proposed Direct Tax Code released in August this year proposed a Treaty of Override Clause. Tax experts and India Inc are up in arms because if the code becomes the law, that law would override any existing treaty and its provisions, creating confusion and uncertainty for tax payers. And.. Full Article

Income tax officials from India could be posted in the tax haven nations to collect information about tax evasion from these countries; if a proposal made by a committee set up to investigate abuse of tax treaties goes through. Full Article

It is indeed heartening to note that the tax rates applicable to non-resident corporates are sought to be brought at par with the domestic companies, to be taxed at the rate of 25 per cent. However, correspondingly, the concept of the branch profit tax is proposed to be introduced (which appears to be somewhat akin [...] Full Article

In India, the law is settled that tax avoidance is legal and evasion is not. A taxpayer may create a device to arrange his commercial affairs to minimise his tax liability and its acceptance is based on operation of law. While revenue authorities are entitled to decipher the true meaning of a transaction, they cannot [...] Full Article