Dear Colleague,
This week:
I hope you find this update useful.
Please remember that
you can customise your mailing preferences by visiting your own
profile
page to choose
from 29 offshore tax and law subjects in order to receive just the
information you want. You can also unsubscribe completely
by following the instructions at the bottom of this page.
Kind regards,
Kate James
|
Brunei
The Islamic Sultanate of Brunei Darussalam
is close to vital sea lanes running through the South China Sea
linking the Indian and Pacific Oceans. The climate is tropical.
The capital is Bandar Seri Begawan. The country consists of two
parts physically separated by a finger of Malaysian territory. Brunei's
major natural resources are petroleum, natural gas and timber.
Brunei was a powerful state from the
16th to the 19th century, but in 1888 it became a British protectorate.
Britain retained responsibility for the state's defense and foreign
affairs until 1984, when the sultanate became fully independent.
The population was estimated at 374,577
in July, 2007. The official religion is Islamic. Malay is the official
language; English and Chinese are also spoken.
Brunei is a constitutional sultanate.
The Sultan and Prime Minister is Sir Hassnal Bolkiah (since 5 October
1967). Civil law is based on English common law; for Muslims, Islamic
Shari'a law supersedes civil law in a number of areas.
GDP at purchasing power parity was
$9.557 billion in 2006, and GDP per head at purchasing power parity
in 2005 was $25,600 - on a par with the GDP of the EU prior to enlargement.
The government runs a surplus. The currency is the Bruneian dollar;
in 2004 1 Bruneian dollar was worth 1.6902 US dollars.
In 2000, Brunei instituted a tax-privileged
International Financial Centre (BIFC) providing regimes for banking,
insurance, investment funds and trust management. Accordingly, Brunei
is a "dual jurisdiction", whereby the international legislation
offers "offshore" facilities, alongside the usual range
of "domestic" legislation drawn from that of England and
Wales. Legislation passed in 2000 introduced a number of additional
corporate forms which are available to business operations in the
International Financial Centre, including International Business
Companies, International Limited Partnerships, and International
Trusts.
In Brunei there is no personal income
tax, and there are no export, sales, payroll or manufacturing taxes.
Sole-proprietorship and partnership businesses are not subject to
income tax. The main tax for resident ('domestic') companies is
corporate tax, but this does not apply in the BIFC.
Learn
more in our full Brunei
Knowledgebase.
|
Russia
 |
WIPO
Announces Life Sciences Symposia,
by Ulrika Lomas, for
LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels
31/08/2007 |
| The World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced on
Thursday that it is organizing a series of symposia over
the coming months at its Geneva headquarters, to clarify
the intellectual property (IP) dimension in the life sciences.
[
FULL
STORY ] |
 |
Russian
Oil Billionaire Wanted For Tax Evasion, by
Tatiana Smolenskaya, Tax-News.com, Moscow 30/08/2007 |
| Russian
oil firm Russneft and its former chief executive Mikhail
Gutseriyev have been accused of major tax evasion, in
a case which has strong parallels with the Yukos affair.
[ FULL
STORY ] |
|
WIPO
Hosting Seminar On Digital Rights Management,
by Ulrika Lomas, for
LawAndTax-News.com, Brussels
29/08/2007 |
| The World
Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) announced on
Monday that it will be hosting a Seminar on Rights Management
Information at its Geneva headquarters on September 17,
2007. [
FULL
STORY ] |
Russia Features
-
RUSSIA
AND OFFSHORE - By
Amanda Banks, London
Where does foreign
investment come from? Where does all that flight capital go
to? Cyprus, Malta, Gibraltar and other favourite locations
for investment into and out of Russia.
- DOING
BUSINESS IN RUSSIA - By
Jeremy Hetherington-Gore, Moscow
In this article, we
look at a variety of issues relevant to expatriates living
and working in Russia, including immigration, residence, travel,
business practices and negotiation.
Russia Knowledge Base
- RUSSIA
CORPORATE TAXATION
- RUSSIA
FORMS OF COMPANY
- RUSSIA
DOUBLE TAX TREATIES
|
Learn
more in our full Russia
Knowledgebase.
The knowledgebase includes Russian translations.
|
|
Tax-News.com
Headlines
Low-Tax Countries Lead The World,
by Jeremy Hetherington-Gore,
Tax-News.com, London
Thursday, September 06, 2007 |
The CIA has recently
updated its list of countries ranked by Gross Domestic Product,
using figures from 2006, 2005 or 2004, with Luxembourg in the
lead, and no fewer than thirteen out of the top twenty countries
being low-tax jurisdictions.
[ FULL
STORY ] |
 |
BVI To Mount London Presentations
In October,
by Amanda Banks, Tax-News.com,
London
Thursday, September 06, 2007 |
The British Virgin
Islands International Finance Centre will be sending a delegation
to London in October to undertake a series of presentations
updating executives involved in the trusts and corporate business
sector on the the growth of the BVIs' trusts and corporate business
industries, their regulatory environment and current trends
and opportunities in offshore finance.
[ FULL
STORY ] |
 |
India And Australia To Explore
Free Trade Agreement,
by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com,
Hong Kong
Thursday, September 06, 2007 |
India and Australia
have agreed to undertake a joint feasibility study into the
benefits of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries.
[ FULL
STORY ] |
 |
|
E-Commerce
Report
| E-commerce raises
many new issues for governments, tax authorities, legislators
and the courts, and of these by far the most challenging is
the question of taxation. The growth of offshore e-commerce
adds an extra layer of difficulty.
As a general proposition, almost
any business involved in e-commerce can gain from moving partly
or wholly offshore, not just on a fiscal level but also through
increased flexibility. The tax benefits are primarily through
reduced corporation tax, but some types of offshore e-commerce
transaction also escape sales taxes.
This report analyses the offshore
jurisdictions that have led the way in offering professional
e-commerce regimes for international business, with a particular
focus on e-gaming.
PART I: The
Taxation and Regulation of Offshore E-Commerce
- Introduction
- United States Sales Tax
- Value Added Tax
- Corporation Tax
- The Regulation Of Offshore
E-Commerce
- Regulation In Specific Areas
And Countries
PART II: Offshore
E-Commerce Infrastructure and Facilities: What's Needed? .
. . and . . . What Is There In The Jurisdictions?
SECTION 1 -
OVERVIEW OF SERVICES
SECTION 2 - JURISDICTIONS - ANGUILLA to CYPRUS
SECTION 3 - JURISDICTIONS - DUBAI to IRELAND
SECTION 4 - JURISDICTIONS - ISLE OF MAN to
MALTA
SECTION 3 - MAURITIUS to TURKS & CAICOS
ISLANDS
Includes Information on:
- ISPs and Hosting
- Customer/Partner Communication
and Management Systems
- Offshore Company Formation
- Accounting Services
- Financial Services
- Legal Services
Review of Facilities in the following
Jurisdictions:
Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda,
Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands,
Cayman Islands, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Dubai, Gibraltar,
Granada, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Ireland, Isle of Man, Jersey,
Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madeira, Malta, Mauritius, Monaco,
Netherlands Antilles, Panama, Seychelles, Switzerland and Turks
& Caicos Islands.
The full report is available
in two formats:
Single purchase report
| Intelligence service
E-Gaming Report
The On-Line Gaming survey reviews
the current state of the offshore betting and gaming sector,
covering the key offshore and onshore countries which have
figured prominently in its development.
Internet gambling generated $10
billion in revenue worldwide in 2005. Roughly 1,400 sites
are operated by 250 companies, situated in several dozen countries
where Internet gambling is either not regulated or is explicitly
licensed.
America is course far from being
the only country to impose extensive controls on betting and
gaming: they are tightly controlled if not banned outright
in many countries, and where they are permitted they are often
heavily taxed. Therefore the exodus of gambling firms to offshore
continues apace. By now, large parts of the betting and gaming
industry have moved offshore, and the sector's turnover has
been expanding rapidly as previously unsatisfied demand has
responded to new freedoms. However, repressive US legislation
in 2006 has thrown a shadow across a previously booming sector.
The full report is available
in two formats:
Single purchase report
| Intelligence service
|
|
|