In Lebanon, we still have bank secrecy laws, yet the issue is that CRS undermines that secrecy. As a result, there was a lot of debate about the adoption of CRS, but it was eventually implemented, alongside several laws around access to public information. If we hadn’t done this, the country would have been blacklisted […]
I was saying earlier that there was a huge long debate between the tax authorities and the Lebanese Central Bank about access to personal bank account information. Any request is processed by the Ministry of Finance before going to the central bank. So far all the financial institutions have taken steps, starting with staff training […]
When it comes to Lebanon, CRS and tax issues are a tricky subject. Many people have foreign passports and there is a huge diaspora going back and forth with interests in foreign countries. A lot of people don’t realise the impact CRS will have and that is mostly due to lack of knowledge and tax […]
We have no cases yet because Lebanon is yet to start with the CRS process, but CRS issues have been repeatedly brought up in client meetings with regard to how best to be compliant and deal with issues of anonymity. When it comes to establishing companies, anonymity is something clients can’t have any more in […]
To be practical about it, whenever there is a group of people who want to find a way to avoid something, they usually can get around it. People should comply, but many will still use contracts and assets to hide money. That is at their own risk, since they are responsible for not being compliant. […]
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Due to high demand and much anticipation, the American University of Beirut – REP CEC and Abousleiman & Co. proudly announce that the Tax Diploma Program (TDP) now consists of both a certificate and diploma program to better suit participants’ preferences. This program aims to educate participants on the Lebanese tax legislation and raise collective awareness among tax payers so they may be […]
Wissam Abousleiman of Abousleiman & Co and Claudia Caluori of Eptalex | MEG Legal Services recently hosted a seminar in Dubai on December 4, addressing businesses’ concerns on the legal aspects of VAT obligations as well as the proper accounting procedures and technical steps to be compliant with the new challenges VAT will likely pose. […]
What advice have you provided to clients considering giving up their US citizenship? Most clients with US citizenship had never declared and so we used the streamlined process to get them back on track and report their income tax declarations to US authorities. To date none of the dozens we have worked with had any […]
Most clients with US citizenship had never declared and so we used the streamlined process to get them back on track and report their income tax declara- tions to US authorities. To date none of the dozens we have worked with had any interest in renouncing citizenship, as it is of great importance for Lebanese […]
CRS should technically come into effect in Lebanon in January 2017, with reporting to start in 2018. This follows the legislation passed by parliament last Sep- tember after many months of political deadlock. The relevant legislation was passed to avoid being black- listed by the OECD, however the method of implementa- tion is still under […]
It is said that there are more Lebanese outside Lebanon then there are in Lebanon, so it comes as no surprise that Lebanon has more than 30 tax treaties, especially when the country’s diaspora is highly engaged in holding assets, investing in their homeland and sending savings back to family members. Lebanon has always been […]