January 30, 2024

Unravelling of the Matryoshka Doll – Impact of the C.T.A. on entities having nexus to the U.S.

January 30, 2024/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

Aimed at curbing money laundering, terrorism financing, and other nefarious activity, Congress enacted the Corporate Transparency Act (“C.T.A.”) on January 1, 2021. However, the C.T.A. became fully effective from January 1, 2024. It now requires certain domestic and foreign entities to disclose to the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”), a division of the U.S. Treasury Department, the identity of their beneficial owners and control persons. A failure to do so can attract heavy penalties. The targets of the C.T.A. are much like Matryoshka dolls, having many layers between what appears on the surface and what exists at the heart. Neha Rastogi and Stanley C. Ruchelman guide the reader through the in’s and out’s of what is likely the most invasive legislation enacted by Congress.

January 30, 2022

A C.T.A. of the C.T.A. – A Closer Targeted Analysis of the Corporate Transparency Act

January 30, 2022/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

The C.T.A. was enacted on Jan. 1, 2021, ad to shed light on the beneficial owners of certain entities by requiring those entities to report information on their beneficial owners and other individuals known as company applicants. Many think of it as “Son of F.B.A.R.,” but its application is much wider and is focused on small companies. FinCEN published proposed regulations on December 27, 2021, which are intended to answer questions left open in the legislation. What companies must report? What companies are exempt? Who is a control person? What are the penalties for noncompliance? Andreas Apostolides, Nina Krauthamer, and Wooyoung Lee explain all. Those who ignore the obligations to report do so at their peril.

January 24, 2021

What is the Corporate Transparency Act and What Does it Mean for Business and Incorporators?

January 24, 2021/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

The Corporate Transparency Act (“C.T.A.”) was signed into law during the waning days of the Trump Administration. When effective, the C.T.A. will require businesses to disclose Beneficial Owner information to FinCEN at the time of company formation and when material changes are made in a subsequent year. Roxana Diaz, Corporate Administrator in the Miami Office of Corpag Registered Agents (USA), Inc., answers the eleven most important questions that affect persons incorporating a business and the professionals providing advice or assistance in the incorporation process.

January 24, 2021

French Treatment of Foreign Trusts

January 24, 2021/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

The French Trust Register was introduced in December 2013 by a law enacted to stop tax fraud and serious economic and financial crimes. In October 2016, the French Constitutional Court ruled that public access to the Trust Register was unconstitutional. In the period since that decision, French authorities have issued two rulings allowing a broad class of persons to gain access to trust data. including tax officers, customs officials, professionals having compliance duties to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, journalists, and N.G.O.’s. Dimitar Hadjiveltchev, Partner, Adea Meidani, Counsel, and Loïc Soubeyran-Viotto, Associate, all of CMS Francis Lefebvre Avocats in Paris, address recent events regarding French tax treatment of foreign trusts and beneficiaries. They begin with the trust register – who must report, what must be reported and who have access – and move on to explain the myriad of taxes that may be imposed on trusts, settlors, and beneficiaries including income tax on distributions, inheritance and gift taxes, and real estate wealth tax.

May 23, 2017

Insights Vol. 4 No. 5: Updates & Other Tidbits

May 23, 2017/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

This month, Astrid Champion and Nina Krauthamer look briefly at several timely issues, including (i) a novel claim of treaty residence in Ireland by a nonresident Irish domiciled individual subject to the domicile levy under Irish law and (ii) the introduction of a beneficial ownership register regime in the Cayman Islands regarding certain Cayman Islands corporations.

May 23, 2016

Insights Vol. 3. No. 5: B.E.P.S. Around The World

May 23, 2016/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

Kenneth Lobo and Stanley C. Ruchelman look at recent happenings in the world of B.E.P.S. Items covered include (i) recent decisions of the Canada Revenue Agency regarding tax rulings that will be exchanged automatically with other countries, (ii) I.R.S. consideration of accepting early CbC reports from U.S.-based groups, (iii) multilateral procedures to deal with the expected flood of mutual agreement requests arising from double taxation claims when B.E.P.S.-generated taxation claims begin to appear, and (iv) the emerging need for B.E.P.S. compliance officers in multinational groups.

May 23, 2016

On the Blacklist – Is Delaware a Tax Haven?

May 23, 2016/ Ruchelman P.L.L.C.

One of the fallouts of the Panama Papers is a European call for a blacklist of countries that fail to meet the O.E.C.D. C.R.S. standards. The European Parliament and several E.U. Member States contend that if the U.S. should be declared a tax haven and added to the European Commission’s new blacklist if it does not implement the C.R.S. and B.E.P.S. Project recommendations. Are these contentions based on fact or on political agenda? Christine Long and Beate Erwin explain a trend that that is inching towards an outright trade war.

February 15, 2015

Deoffshorization in Russia: C.F.C. Legislation Comes into Effect

February 15, 2015/ Web Admin

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Federal law No. 376 of November 24, 2014, On Amendments to Part One and Part Two of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation (concerning the taxation of controlled foreign companies and foreign organizations), and commonly referred to as the “C.F.C. Law,” came into force on January 1, 2015. It marks the beginning of deoffshorization of the Russian economy and introduces entirely new tax rules for Russian businesses having affiliates based outside Russia.

The C.F.C. Law introduces the following three new legal concepts, previously nonexistent in Russian tax legislation:

Controlled foreign company (“C.F.C.”),
Russian tax residence for foreign companies, and
Beneficial owner of income.

The C.F.C. Law establishes the obligation of taxpayers to notify the tax authorities of their participation in foreign entities. It also establishes rules for computing and taxing C.F.C. profit and share transactions of companies that own real estate in Russia. It provides for recognition of foreign non-corporate structures (such as trusts, private foundations, partnerships, etc.) as separate taxpayers.

Following the O.E.C.D. lead in the B.E.P.S. proposals, these amendments have two broad goals: (i) they ensure business transparency and (ii) they combat the use of low-tax jurisdictions to obtain unjustified tax benefits.