QUESTION: I own some residential properties with my wife and I would like to give her some of the income as she no longer works. Can I do this?ANSWER: There are a few quirks married couples and civil partners with joint assets need to be aware of when it comes to the way any income arising on those assets is divided between them for income tax purposes.The basic rule which applies as long as the couple are married or in a civil partnership and living together, is that income from property held in both their names is split equally between them for income tax purposes. This applies regardless of whether they are actually entitled to benefit equally from the property. Such jointly held property might include land and buildings, savings accounts, certain shareholdings and intellectual property.There are some exceptions to this rule including income from partnerships; income from furnished holiday lets, whether in the UK or overseas; income from jointly held shares in a close company; or … [Read more...] about What’s yours is mine – taxing jointly held assets
Beneficial ownership rule
All corporations required to disclose beneficial owners
All corporations required to disclose beneficial ownersAll corporations are now required to disclose their ultimate beneficial owners. This requirement is no longer limited to publicly-listed corporations. In Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Memorandum Circular No. 17, Series of 2018, SEC has required all SEC-registered domestic corporations, both stock and non-stock, to disclose their “beneficial owners” in their respective General Information Sheets (GIS) effective January 1, 2019. The SEC has revised the GIS form or template to include such information. The memorandum was issued pursuant to the SEC’s mandate to assist in the implementation of Republic Act No. 9160, or the “Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2001, as amended (AMLA), more specifically the Anti-Money Laundering Council Regulatory Issuance A, B, and C, No. 3, Series of 2018 (issued on Nov. 23, 2018) which outlines the Guidelines in Identifying Beneficial Ownership (the AMLC Guidelines). … [Read more...] about All corporations required to disclose beneficial owners
Is My Brokerage Account Insured?
Dayana Yochim, NerdWallet Published 1:10 pm CST, Tuesday, January 15, 2019 This article was first published on NerdWallet.com. Your bank account balances are insured by the FDIC. Assets in your brokerage are also protected, but by a different entity — the nonprofit Securities Investor Protection Corporation, or SIPC. In the unlikely event your broker or robo-advisor financially fails — and also fails to move your money to another protected firm — and investors’ assets are missing or at risk, the SIPC will step in to make you whole by providing up to $500,000 in coverage. Here are the basics of brokerage account insurance, including what it does and doesn’t cover. SIPC insurance rules SIPC coverage provides … Up to $500,000 in total coverage per customer for lost or missing assets of cash and/or securities from a customer’s accounts held at the institution. Up to $250,000 of that total can be applied to protect cash within a … [Read more...] about Is My Brokerage Account Insured?
Argentina set to join global mining transparency initiative
OSLO (Reuters) - Resource-rich Argentina is expected to join the international transparency standard for managing oil, gas and mineral resources, the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) said on Monday, which could make it more attractive for investors. The global initiative, launched by former prime minister Tony Blair in 2002, requires member countries to disclose how they allocate licences and how much they receive from the companies in tax, royalties and other contributions. In its latest push for transparency, the EITI has set a requirement to disclose beneficial ownership of extractive companies to reduce tax avoidance. "We are foreseeing that Argentina can come close to applying to become a member," EITI's Chairman and Sweden's former prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt told journalists in Oslo. The application to join the EITI, which could provide investors with more security, could come by EITI's global conference in Paris in June, EITI's Executive Director Mark … [Read more...] about Argentina set to join global mining transparency initiative
Listed companies public only in name
Emeterio Sd. Perez As of July 13, 2018, Ayala Corp. (AC) had 621.817 million outstanding common shares. As the holder of 296.626 million AC common shares, or 47.703 percent, Mermac Inc. is supposed to be the majority stockholder. The public ownership report (POR) as of said cut-off date tells a different story. Public stockholders own 321.104 million AC common shares or 51.64 percent. This ownership should have made them the more dominant members of AC’s seven-person board. Instead, Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala and his younger brother Fernando, who combine for indirect ownership of 0.10 percent, rule the board.The older Zobel is chairman and chief executive officer while Fernando is vice chairman and, at the same time, president and chief operating officer. Of the seven directors, three are independent, who may not be as independent at all as portrayed. Are they in AC’s board to represent the public? Of course not.The same may be true with other listed companies such as … [Read more...] about Listed companies public only in name