Gibraltar commits to eradicating tax evasion

GIBRALTAR (Government Notice) Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar is committed to continue working with the UK Government and the wider international community on a new package on tax  transparency. It will do so in a spirit of partnership with the UK, as advocated in the Overseas Territories’ White Paper. The Gibraltar Government is confident that it already has in place a robust regime for the rooting out of tax evasion, particularly through its  membership of the EU and full compliance with EU rules. It is committed to pursuing this agenda with the UK in agreement, and subject to consultation, with the finance industry in Gibraltar.>>>

Spanish tax evasion task force targets Gibraltar

(Photo: elmundo.es)

MADRID / GIBRALTAR The Spanish tax authorities (Agencia Tributaria) have created a task force aimed at stopping hundreds of millions of euros from crossing the border into Gibraltar. According to Madrid, there are still some 30,000 companies registered on the Rock - one for each member of the population, they say with irony - despite the efforts made by Government to be taken off the black list of what in Spain are called 'fiscal paradises', or tax havens. One of the concerns of the Agencia Tributaria is the number of well-heeled business people living on the Costa del Sol who daily cross the frontier with cash or bankers' drafts in millions. They evade taxes not only on cash transactions but also on other off-shore earnings - some of which is considered 'black money' or illegal gains. The task force is made up of specialists from Andalucía, Ceuta and Melilla, who will be checking on cross-border transactions, as well as financial operations on the Rock. Corporation Tax in Gibraltar is 10%, for instance, while in Spain it is 30%, which makes evasion a temptation even for legitimate business people. (A more detailed article on this subject will soon be available on SpainInformer.com)

Are you on the tax debtors' list?

Minister Cristóbal Montoro
(Photo montage: desordencreativo.com)

MADRID The Government announced recently that it is preparing a list of the worst tax evaders and debtors. The Minister for the Treasury and Public Administrations, Cristóbal Montoro, announced the draft of a measure at a plenary session of the Senate before the holidays. It is a matter of adapting present regulations and thus enabling them to publish a list of major tax evaders and those owing large amounts to the system. This, he said, was carried out in other EU countries such as the UK and Ireland. (A more detailed article on this subject will soon be available on SpainInformer.com)