IFC Newslinks

HOUSE APPROVES TAX BREAKS

The House overwhelmingly approved business tax breaks worth $1.8 billion over 10 years yesterday, a key step toward forging a congressional compromise on increasing the minimum wage. The House bill also would raise revenue by closing a loophole that permits wealthy taxpayers to shift income to their children and avoid higher taxes on capital gains and dividends.
http://www.kentucky.com/mld/heraldleader/news/nation/16720154.htm

ALLIANZ RE JOINS DUBAI INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL CENTRE

Allianz Re, the reinsurance arm of the Allianz Group, has been granted a license by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to operate as an authorized firm from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). Allianz Re is a division of the Allianz Group, one of the leading insurance and financial services groups in the world.

http://www.dubaicityguide.com/geninfo/news_dtls.asp?newsid=3567

LOW LONG-TERM GAINS TAX FOR FIIS MAY CONTINUE

The government of India is set to continue the concessional long-term capital gains tax regime for foreign institutional investors investing in private placements in unlisted securities. FIIs pay a 10% long-term capital gains tax on profits from the sale of unlisted securities. Short-term capital gains are taxed at 30%. These shares are not traded on the stock exchange and hence do not attract the securities transaction tax (STT). Domestic investors, on the other hand, pay a 20% long-term capital gains tax on profits from sale of unlisted securities. The finance ministry is in favour of retaining the concessional tax rate on long-term capital gains from the sale of unlisted securities in order to lend certainty to the tax treatment of foreign institutional investors. According to official sources, the ministry has rejected the recommendation made by the task force on non-resident taxation (2003) to usher in equality in the tax treatment between residents and non-residents.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Low_long-term_gains_tax_for_FIIs_may_continue/articleshow/1635516.cms

DUBAI FINANCIAL SERVICES AUTHORITY BUSTS INTERNET FRAUD

The DFSA yesterday, obtained injunctions in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Court against Husam A. Abu-Amara and Globalstar Telecom & Technology and others, for their involvement in a fraudulent internet investment scheme. The orders obtained relate to closing down the operation of fictitious websites called the Dubai Options Exchange, the United Arab Emirates Commodity Futures Board and Cambridge Capital Trading that were claiming to offer financial services within the DIFC.

http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/UAE/209714

JERSEY ADVISERS FOUND GUILTY OF MISLEADING ADVICE

The Royal Court in Jersey has ruled clients of advisory firm Alternate Insurance Services are entitled to more than £1m in compensation after it was found the firm had provided misleading advice. On Friday the Court found in favour of the Jersey Financial Services Commission (JSFC) in 27 of the 28 cases it brought against the firm in the belief the members of the public were “recklessly misled” by their financial adviser Alternate.

http://www.ifaonline.co.uk/public/showPage.html?page=ifa2006_articleimport&tempPageName=434566

'CRUNCH TIME' FOR EU FINANCIAL SERVICES

The EU's Financial Services Action Plan (FSAP), intended "to bring greater competition and efficiency" is unlikely to work, according to Keith Boyfield, a London-based consultant writing in a Wall Street Journal article. The author lays out the main problems that the Commission intends to tackle, such as the monopoly whereby securities transactions must pass through domestic exchanges, which would enable freer trade in such shares and give "greater choice and lower fees to consumers". Moreover, the Market in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) is intended to provide greater transparency and consumer-protection standards.

http://www.euractiv.com/en/financial-services/crunch-time-eu-financial-services/article-161808

LUXEMBOURG TO INTRODUCE NEW INVESTMENT VEHICLE

The Luxembourg Parliament has adopted a law on Specialised Investment Funds (SIF), which offers a number of new features, including a broader definition of “eligible investors” to include both professional and private “well-informed” investors. The new law replaces the law of 19 July, 1991 which concerned collective investment schemes reserved for institutional investors. The SIF law offers a number of interesting new features. The new law likewise offers greater flexibility in terms of investment policy. The principle of risk spreading has been maintained, but there are no quantitative investment restrictions, given that such vehicles would be reserved for sophisticated investors.

http://www.tax-news.com/asp/story/story_open.asp?storyname=26407

OCC FINES INTERNATIONAL BANK OF MIAMI

The U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency said it issued a consent order for a civil money penalty against the International Bank of Miami and fined it $250,000 for violations of the Bank Secrecy Act (BSA). The Coral Gables-based bank has been under an OCC cease & desist order since Oct. 20, 2004, regarding issues including those the regulator cited in its new order.

http://charlotte.bizjournals.com/southflorida/stories/2007/02/12/daily50.html

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