Latest news with #RobertAmsterdam
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Tanzanian politician's lawyers ask UN to declare his detention arbitrary
Lawyers for Tanzania's jailed opposition leader Tundu Lissu filed a complaint on Friday to the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention in a bid to ramp up international pressure for his release. Lissu, chairman of Tanzania's main opposition party and runner-up in the 2020 presidential election, was arrested last month and charged with treason, a capital offence, over comments he is alleged to have made calling on supporters to prevent national elections in October from going ahead. Tanzania's government spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. While President Samia Suluhu Hassan has won plaudits for easing political repression, she has faced questions about unexplained abductions of government critics in recent months. Hassan, who will stand for re-election in October, has said her government respects human rights and ordered an investigation into the reported abductions. Lissu's international lawyer, Robert Amsterdam, said the confidential complaint to the UN working group, which issues opinions but has no enforcement power, was part of a wider pressure campaign. The European Parliament this month adopted a resolution denouncing Lissu's arrest as politically motivated, and Amsterdam said he would petition the US State Department to impose sanctions. "Right down to prosecutors, judges, police - all the people that are involved in this false show trial had better be aware that they should protect their US assets," Amsterdam told Reuters. Read more on RFI EnglishRead also:Kenya slammed as 'rogue state' over Ugandan opposition leader kidnapKenyan politician, lawyer for Tanzania opposition leader arrestedTension high in Tanzania ahead of opposition leader's 'treason' trial
Local Spain
06-05-2025
- Business
- Local Spain
Spain slams 'insulting' claim that Beckham Law steals from foreigners
In recent months, the Spanish Tax Agency has been vilified in paid advertisements taken out in renowned newspapers in both the United Kingdom and the United States. In The Financial Times a full-page ad stated "WARNING: Spanish pickpockets operating in this area" on top of a plaque labelled 'SPANISH TAX OFFICE: EXPLOIT, PROFITEER, DISCRIMINATE'. Stateside, the giant message in The Wall Street Journal was 'Time won't be the only thing you waste when you move to Spain' with an image of a crumpled up dollar bill. In both cases, the call to action was 'if you're being exploited by the Beckham Law', 'you're not alone', 'you have rights', 'get in touch with us'. Similar ads and interview-based articles have appeared in other foreign publications, from the Daily Mail and the Daily Express, to the Irish Times and Switzerland's Le Temps and Berner Zeitung. They have even set up a website called The lawyer and law firm behind the eye-catching accusations is American-Canadian Robert Amsterdam, of Amsterdam & Partners LLP, which has offices in London and Washington DC. Writing in Sears, Robert Amsterdam argued that the Spanish authorities have "cynically weaponised a tax law whose original purpose was to attract foreign wealth" and that "high-earning foreign employees are now caught in the crosshairs of a systematic assault by the Spanish revenue authority." Amsterdam, who regularly writes in leading publications, was referring to The Beckham Law, which was first introduced in 2004 to attract talent and highly qualified workers to Spain with fiscal incentives. It was nicknamed after the footballer David Beckham as he was the first one to take advantage of it when he moved here to play for Real Madrid. It's taken several months for Spain's Hacienda tax office to respond to Amsterdam's "slanderous" accusations, no doubt because on Tuesday May 6th the international lawyer held a press conference in Madrid under the title "Hacienda vs The People: An initial report on Spain and the Beckham Law" (see here). Spanish tax authorities' counterargument is that over the last decade, nearly 37,000 taxpayers in Spain have opted for the Beckham Law tax regime, of which only 0.5 percent (less than 200 in total) have been subject to an inspection for possible non-compliance. The Beckham Law allows individuals and their family who acquire tax residency in Spain as a result of their relocation to the Spanish territory to pay Non-Resident Income Tax (IRNR in Spanish) in the tax period in which they acquire tax residency in Spain and the following five years. During this period, their tax rate in Spain on the first €600,000 of income will be lower than the rate applicable to personal income tax (IRPF in Spanish). Furthermore, unlike personal income taxpayers who pay taxes in Spain on their entire worldwide income, under this so-called special regime they don't pay taxes in Spain on income from overseas, except for employment income. According to Spain's Tax Agency, the criteria or goodwill when verifying the correct application of the Beckham Law regime has never changed, even after amendments were made to it. According to data obtained by Spanish left-leaning daily El Diario, a partner of The Guardian, of the completed inspections of the 200 foreigners who were subjected to inspection, 70 percent were resolved with a report of agreement or compliance, and only 30 percent were the subject of a complaint or appeal. Sources with knowledge of the matter told El Diario that the real reasons for Amsterdam's campaign are related to a British client who is currently in litigation with the Spanish treasury. In audits carried out by Spain's tax agency, cases have been detected in which the taxpayer goes against Beckham Law requirements by creating an artificial company in Spain without resources, which hires the person in question for work and then provides services to the foreign company, which actually carries out the activity. There are also allegedly more serious cases, where a fictitious company is directly created in Spain to apply the Beckham Law precisely the year in which a very large capital gain is received from abroad. The intention is not to pay tax in Spain since that capital gain originates abroad, but also not to pay tax in the other country either as the company is not a resident of that other state.
Telegraph
05-03-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
How Spain became a ‘tax trap' for British expats
It has long been an obvious choice for wealthy, sun-starved Britons looking to move overseas. The food, climate and coastline have enticed hundreds of thousands of expats over the last 20 years. Favourable tax breaks have only sweetened the deal. But Britain's love affair with Spain appears to be ending on bad terms. The country has become a 'tax trap' for expats who are being 'fleeced' by its authorities, one international law firm has claimed. Amsterdam & Associates LLP has launched a campaign – 'Spanish Tax Pickpockets' – to highlight the plight of foreigners who moved to Spain for financial reasons, only to find themselves subject to 'punitive tax claims'. The campaign's website states that families have been hit by 'unprompted and unexplained audits, attempted asset seizures of foreign property [and] onerous, expensive, and confusing compliance requirements'. Robert Amsterdam, partner at Amsterdam & Associates, told The Telegraph that he had been contacted by 80 victims, many of them British, whose 'lives have been ruined' by tax probes that are 'inconsistent' with European law and human rights. 'What Spain is doing to expats would embarrass a mafia don,' he added. His firm has gone as far as taking out full-page adverts in the Financial Times. At the centre of the row is the so-called 'Beckham law' – a tax break introduced in 2005 designed to attract wealthy foreigners. The legislation allows qualifying foreign workers to pay a flat 24.75pc tax rate on Spanish-sourced income up to €600,000 (£497,000) per year for a maximum of six years – far lower than the progressive tax rates of up to 47pc paid by native Spaniards. Dividends, interest and capital gains generated outside Spain are generally exempt from tax under the regime. The law earned its nickname when David Beckham became one of the first foreigners to take advantage of it after moving to Spain to play for Real Madrid. Since then, it has become popular with footloose high-earners looking to slash their tax bill. But many of these expats are now having their 'Beckham law' tax status reassessed, according to León Fernando del Canto, a tax lawyer and founder of Del Canto Chambers, which has offices in Spain and Britain. 'We are now seeing the tax office contesting the granting of the status after two or three years in the country,' he said. 'This has upset a lot of people and created insecurity, as they are no longer confident that only a certain amount of their income would be taxable.' While the tax authority has the right to contest if it believes an individual's tax status has changed, the decision to pursue a case appears 'a little bit discretionary', Mr del Canto said. The result is that foreign employees who came to Spain expecting to be protected by due process and a robust rule of law have instead been subjected to a tax inquisition that has left them 'distressed and bitterly disappointed', Mr Amsterdam said. 'It's a massive bait-and-switch. Victims are subjected to a draconian process which is an international outlier – often denied any explanation of why they are being audited and any right to challenge investigations until just before they conclude.' The 'tax trap' furore is the latest sign that wealthy foreigners are no longer welcome in Spain. Last April, the Spain's government axed its famous 'golden visa' scheme, which offers non-EU citizens residency rights in exchange for a €500,000 investment, typically in property. It is due to close on April 3 this year. And in January, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez announced plans to impose a 100pc tax on property purchases by non-residents living outside the EU, branding buyers 'speculators', who were out 'just to make money'. Mr Sánchez was tapping into Spaniards' anger at what they see as an influx of foreigners buying up homes amid an acute housing crisis. Industry experts believe foreign property buyers – including Britons – are being treated as 'scapegoats' by the Spanish government. The 'Beckham law' crackdown is made possible by ambiguous rules enforced arbitrarily to squeeze money from taxpayers, according to Mark Stücklin, founder of the website Spanish Property Insight. Over the years, he has heard 'a steady stream of horror stories' from foreigners and tax lawyers about the 'high-handed tactics' of the Spanish tax authorities. 'The problem is systemic: poorly defined tax regulations, aggressive inspectors chasing bonuses, weak oversight, and a view of wealthy foreigners as easy prey. 'It's also a postcode lottery. Catalonia, in particular, has a reputation for being high-handed, while Madrid is often seen as more reasonable.' Mr Stücklin points to 'Modelo 720' as another example of Spain's tax system working against foreigners. The declaration form for overseas assets of over £50,000 was introduced in 2012 by the Spanish tax authorities, which charges fines of up to £20,000 for non-compliance or errors. The law was sold as a tool to fight corruption, money laundering, tax evasion, and terrorism financing. In reality, according to Mr Stücklin, it resembles 'a shakedown targeting foreign expats rather than dodgy local politicians'. Like other Spanish civil servants, tax inspectors are awarded bonuses for hitting targets. In 2013, the Spanish Tax Agency (AEAT) launched a fraud crackdown, which included productivity bonuses for inspectors who increased collection rates. In 2019, the last year for which data is available, a €95m bonus pot was set aside to incentivise raising €150bn of income tax and VAT revenue. The bonus system has been criticised for encouraging arbitrary investigations and confiscations. Another part of the problem is the timid response of foreigners hit with tax demands. 'Most people do not fight back,' Mr del Canto said. 'They tell themselves it's better to pay, because they fear other income will be brought into the regime.' However, when taxpayers do challenge a decision, they tend to win. The online newspaper, El Confidencial, reported in 2021 that AEAT loses around 45pc of appeals before economic-administrative courts, and around 30pc of cases that proceed to judicial review. Overall, taxpayers win over half of all disputes. Mr del Canto believes the low success rate of convictions is evidence that many of the cases being pursued are legally tenuous. 'As a tax authority, you should not lose so many cases. It's a sign that something is wrong here.' The AEAT was approached for comment.
