Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

If you have opened your bank, insurance or stock account between July 2014 and August 2015, you need to submit your Know Your Customer (<a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/politics/policy/Forget-KYC-rigmarole-Soon-all-your-records-will-be-stored-in-the-central-registry/articleshow/48326774.cms">KYC</a>) details and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/small-business/finance/6-things-for-which-Aadhaar-card-is-mandatory-now/articleshow/57791987.cms">Aadhaar cards </a>by April 30. The tax department has also mandated self-certification of these documents to comply with <keyword id="4407020" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="FATCA-regulations">FATCA regulations</keyword> (Foreign Tax Compliance Act), failing to which the accounts can be blocked. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/systems-reject-matching-pan-cards-initials-with-aadhaar-database/articleshow/58042483.cms">Systems reject matching PAN cards initials with Aadhaar database</a> 
 
The accounts will become operational only after submission of required documents. The new law applies to all accounts that fall under the umbrella of FATCA regulations. 
 
As per the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/thelife/real-estate/no-clarity-about-new-protocol-forcing-US-NRIs-to-sell-off-investment-properties-in-India/articleshow/50230528.cms">FATCA </a>pact signed by India and the United States, banks and financial institutions were asked to obtain this self-certification for all individual and entity accounts that were opened between July 1, 2014 and August 31, 2015. 
 
It was in July 2015 that India and the US had signed a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/finance/keep-your-aadhaar-number-ready-while-filing-income-tax-return/articleshow/57777330.cms">tax information </a>sharing agreement under a new US law, FATCA. This was done with plans to boost efforts for automatic exchange of financial information between the two nations so that tax evaders can be caught. 
 
Also read: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Government-to-take-strict-steps-to-eradicate-black-money-menace-from-its-root/articleshow/47803178.cms">Government to take strict steps to eradicate black money menace from its root</a> 
 
(Image source SA Post)

Linking Aadhaar cards to bank accounts mandatory, says I-T department

Some US-based NRIs are under the impression that a new information-sharing protocol might bring their assets, financial details and capital market investments in India under the scanner of US tax authorities. This is the reason why many of them are considering selling their properties in India, even at discounted rates as the <keyword id="847167" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Indian-real-estate">Indian real estate</keyword> market is going through a low phase. 
 The protocol under question is called the US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (<keyword id="838871" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="100" keywordseo="FATCA">FATCA</keyword>), which was recently agreed to be implemented by both India and the US. The law aims to make sure that tax is paid on the income generated from residents’ overseas wealth. Under the agreement, both governments would be sharing information about their respective citizens that have assets in each other's countries. 
 
Even though it’s easy for the Indian government to take notice of mutual funds and bank accounts held by NRIs, identifying property held by them is not a cakewalk. 
 
However, with the new law coming in action and proper regulations being unclear to commoners, NRIs are anticipating that with time, details of their assets would be shared with US authorities automatically, which they want to avoid and are hence selling off their properties. 
 
The last decade saw many NRIs investing in Indian properties, because of the boom that the industry had seen. Many of these investments were done in coming-of-age cities, like Gurgaon. 
 
As of now, there are two schemes in the US under which NRIs can declare their wealth back home in India. In the first, there is no penalty for those who claim that they were unaware of the liability, although they have to pay the tax for income generated over the past three years. In the second scheme, however, one is required to pay back taxes for eight years, along with interest as well as a 27.5% penalty to compensate for non-compliance. 
 
<a href="http://www.dawnsandovalresidential.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/iStock_000009966323Small.jpg">Image source</a>

FATCA scaring US NRIs to sell off investment properties in India

Indians who are <keyword id="144909" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="green-card-holders">green card holders</keyword> or were always excited to have one may no longer have the benefits. 
 
Indians holding a US passport have an advantage of saving on tax, concealing assets and investing in the country. 
 
But, as India and the US have decided to exchange financial information about citizens, the joyride may end soon. 
 The government has signed a <keyword id="2580775" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="US-Foreign-Account-Tax-Compliance-Act">US Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act</keyword> (FATCA) under which people will have to declare all assets and failing to do so can attract penalties and even jail. 
 
With this move, many are thinking of giving up their American citizenship. 
 
"Until now, many Indians who were American citizens would seldom reveal their Indian income and investments in the US and vice versa. However, now when that information is shared by India in the US, it could attract a lot of penalty and even some other punitive action, this has led to many NRIs (non-resident Indians) moving back to India," Lloyd Pinto, director, Grant Thornton India, told ET. 
 
Experts say that people having green card will either have to declare assets, restructure holdings or come back to Indian citizenship. 
 
Now, sending gifts and transferring assets will no longer be easy as it will attract stamp duty and an Indian tax also. 
 
Meanwhile, if you though renouncing citizenship is easy, it ain’t. 
 
You need clearance from revenue department and address formalities. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Chasing that elusive US Green Card? It may be of no use to you after all!

New Delhi, June 15 (IANS) WhatsApp Pay is on the cards for its over 400 millions users in India but before it becomes a mainstream mode of payment and mobile-based ecommerce, banks in India are already leveraging the app in helping digitally-inactive customers adopt WhatsApp as their first digital banking channel in the social distancing times. Today, WhatsApp has become a convenient and seamless channel for customers to interact with banks, which are providing a range of banking services through the platform. Kotak Mahindra Bank was one of the first banks in the country to launch banking services on WhatsApp in 2018. The bank has served nearly 20 lakh customers on its WhatsApp Banking channel to date, with a massive 98 per cent increase in the customer base accessing WhatsApp Banking in the financial year 2020 as compared to the last financial year. "Given that the majority of our customers are familiar with the WhatsApp interface, we found that many of our digitally inactive customers have adopted WhatsApp as their first digital banking channel," Deepak Sharma, President and Chief Digital Officer, Kotak Mahindra Bank, told IANS. Take the case of HDFC Bank which is using WhatsApp Business API as one of the key channels for engaging with the customers - from one way push messages such as on-boarding communication to new customers, information on product features and benefits, payment notifications and regulatory updates. "WhatsApp also helps in two-way customer support through access to more than 8,000 FAQs on bank's products and services, quick product application links and enquiry services," informed Anjani Rathor, Chief Digital Officer at HDFC Bank. According to Abhijit Bose, Head of WhatsApp India, the Business API is helping larger firms connect with their customers at scale. "Once customers opt-in or reach out to ask a question, merchants using the API can send notifications, receipts, and provide customer support. This helps brands foster deep and meaningful relationships with their customers, which can help their companies increase sales and grow," Bose told IANS. According to Sharma, Kotak Bank is using WhatsApp Banking channel for primarily two purposes. One is to send important alerts to customers such as EMI schedules and payment reminders etc. "We also send the digital welcome kit on opening an account to a customer on WhatsApp. "Two, we offer a range of banking services and answer customer queries on WhatsApp. There are some queries that get concluded on WhatsApp itself  this includes a range of bank account and credit card-related queries," he noted. Kotak Bank has also enabled services that are initiated on WhatsApp and then get executed on its website or Kotak's mobile banking app. This includes service requests such as updating mobile number, email ids, PAN, updating FATCA (the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act) declaration, cancelling NACH mandate, activating/deactivating passbook, deregistering printed statements, applying for a loan, credit card and opening an investment account, etc. The HDFC Bank is using artificial intelligence (AI)-driven conversational banking experience through WhatsApp Banking as well. "Some of the top queries from the customers on this platform circle around enquiries on existing accounts and cards, pre-approved offers and product eligibility, interest rates on loans and deposits and EMI moratorium guidelines, to name a few," informed Rathor. According to Bose, the current lockdown has magnified the critical need for businesses to have a digital presence. "Businesses that many people were previously accustomed to visiting in person -- a bank or grocery store, for example -- are finding WhatsApp to be especially useful for providing customers with support and useful information," said Bose. (Nishant Arora can be reached at nishant.a@ians.in) --IANS na/

WhatsApp on way to become India's digital banking channel

A record number of Americans are giving up their U.S. citizenship. The Wall Street Journal <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323585604579007860126146566.html?mod=WSJ_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsSecond">reports</a> that 1,130 Americans renounced their citizenship in the second quarter of 2013, more than did so in all of 2012.
To my surprise, the list of new ex-Americans is <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2013/08/09/2013-19224/quarterly-publication-of-individuals-who-have-chosen-to-expatriate-as-required-by-section-6039g">publicly available</a>; I didn't recognize any of the names on a quick scan.
According to the Journal, the surge in expatriations seems to be driven by the upcoming implementation of the Foreign Account <keyword id="45031" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tax">Tax</keyword> Compliance Act (FATCA), a 2010 law that forces foreign financial institutions to disclose more information to the IRS about Americans' accounts and investments. Starting in 2014, foreign financial institutions will have to tell the IRS about income accruing to American clients (or businesses owned by Americans), and they'll have to withhold American income tax as appropriate.
In other words, it's going to become a lot harder to hide your income with a Swiss bank account.
The IRS can't directly tell foreign banks what data to turn over. But it has a pretty big stick—it can impose a 30% withholding tax on payments from the U.S. to foreign financial institutions unless they cooperate. As a result, many foreign banks and foreign countries have been entering into agreements with the IRS to comply with FATCA.
If you're an American living in the U.S. and your strategy for hiding income abroad isn't working anymore, you may have few options but to pay up. But if you live abroad, you have another choice available: Renounce your U.S. citizenship so you're not liable for American income tax.
That's one driver of the surge in renunciations. Another likely factor is the increase in capital gains and income tax rates in 2013, meaning that wealthy American expatriates can get a bigger tax saving by renouncing citizenship than they used to.
But a third factor is that FATCA creates compliance headaches apart from the actual tax bills it leads to. As the WSJ describes:
Some U.S. citizens say they are exasperated by a growing raft of paperwork that forces U.S. citizens living abroad to declare the minutiae of their financial holdings and other assets. That has increased the attraction of becoming a citizen in places such as Hong Kong, where the individual tax rate is capped at 15%.
"My decision was less about the actual amount of taxes I had to pay, and more about the system," said one investment banker, who renounced his U.S. citizenship and is now a Hong Kong citizen. "I'm not an ultrawealthy dude. It was the hassle with all the paperwork."
A few months ago, I attended a dinner where I sat between two Americans living abroad who complained that FATCA has made foreign banks less willing to provide American expatriates with checking accounts, credit cards and mortgages. This has been a <a href="http://www.iexpats.com/fatca-makes-us-expats-banking-outcasts/">major point of complaint</a> for organizations representing American expatriates.
FATCA also complicates matters for foreign businesses with American investors (and for Americans who want to invest in foreign businesses) since American ownership makes a business subject to FATCA reporting.
If you intend to move back to the U.S., you're probably not going to renounce your citizenship because it was hard to get a checking account, or even because you had to forego an investment opportunity. But if you're a dual citizen with weak ties to the U.S. and the law is materially interfering with your financial dealings, it might be a reason to go ahead and quit being an American.
Marie Sapirie, the legal editor at Tax Notes, even says the IRS <a href="http://taxanalysts.com/www/features.nsf/Articles/8E6965DFA3441ADF85257BAA0048E526?OpenDocument">proposed renouncing citizenship</a> as an option for an American with a complicated tax situation who had long resided abroad.
Last fall, I attended an American Swiss Foundation trip to <keyword id="103" type="COUNTRY" weightage="60" keywordseo="Switzerland">Switzerland</keyword> and FATCA was the number one hobby horse for the Swiss participants. The difficulty in evaluating the Swiss complaints is that the Swiss have a combination of good and bad reasons for hating FATCA. The law creates compliance burdens for Americans living in Switzerland and Swiss who do legitimate business with Americans. But it also undermines tax evasion strategies that are the key reason that some Americans were interested in banking in Switzerland in the first place.
Of course, every law has compliance costs, and it's not even clear that it's such a big problem if more Americans, presumably dual citizens living abroad with relatively weak ties to the U.S., are renouncing citizenship. But the benefits of FATCA may also be relatively modest: It's <a href="http://www.deloitte.com/assets/Dcom-UnitedStates/Local%20Assets/Documents/Tax/us_tax_FATCA_Executive_Summary_112812.pdf">expected to raise</a> $7.6 billion in added taxes over 10 years.
In 1999, the State Department estimated that there are between 3 and 6 million Americans living abroad; if those numbers are similar today, that means FATCA will generate about $170 in extra annual taxes per expatriate.
The revenue estimate for FATCA may prove incorrect in either direction; it's based on a guess about how much unreported foreign income will be discovered when the new reporting and withholding requirements come into effect. As the law is implemented next year, we'll start to see how much revenue actually rolls in—and whether the law is worth the compliance costs and expatriations that it causes.

Here's The Law That's Driving Record Numbers Of Americans To Renounce Their Citizenship

The much talked about <keyword id="3309646" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="panama-papers">Panama Papers</keyword> list also featured more than 500 Indians, including who’s who of the elite society. 
 
Coming down heavily on the entire episode, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=arun+jaitley&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Finance Minister Arun Jaitley</a> said Indians having unaccounted wealth will have to face dire consequences. 
 
READ ALSO: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/Panama-Papers-List-Here-are-the-names-of-powerful-Indians-who-have-hidden-assets/articleshow/51679110.cms">Panama Papers List: Here are the names of powerful Indians who have hidden assets</a> 
 
“Those who did not take advantage of the compliance window last year to declare illegal assets abroad will find such adventurism extremely costly,” said Jaitley. 
 
The minister said global initiatives to deal with the menace of unaccounted wealth abroad will be in place by 2017, and then it would become extremely difficult for individuals to hide assets. 
 
"With G20 initiatives, FATCA and bilateral transactions in place with effect from 2017, the world is going to be a far more transparent institution and therefore, this kind of an adventurism will prove to be extremely costly for those who have indulged in it," Jaitley said. 
 
READ ALSO: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/One-of-the-largest-data-leaks-in-history-reveals-how-world-leaders-and-aides-hide-their-cash/articleshow/51676270.cms">One of the largest data leaks in history reveals how world leaders and aides hide their cash</a> 
 
In his Budget 2015, Jaitley had announced a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=black+money&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">black money compliance window</a>. 
 
"I had come in for adverse comment including some of my friends here when in 2015 Budget we had announced a strong penal law against illegal assets abroad. At that stage I had said that those who committed mistakes in the past are getting last opportunity with a compliance window in place,” he said, adding some availed and some didn’t. 
 
"I think it is a stern reminder to all of us," said Jaitley. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

#PanamaPapers: Jaitley says tax adventurism will cost Indian defaulters extremely costly

In a stern message on <keyword id="6356023" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="100" keywordseo="Black-Money">black money</keyword>, <keyword id="6355261" type="POSITION" weightage="60" keywordseo="Finance-minister">Finance Minister</keyword> Arun Jaitleyhas said the government is targeting to weed out the root causes of this menace and a one-time compliance window will be announced in the next few days for those with undeclared assets abroad to come clean. 

	"The government is taking a number of steps to compress the flow of black money. The most important step...is to weed out the root causes," Jaitley said. 
 

	While a new law will come into effect from April 1, 2016, to tackle the black money menace, the government is in the process to put in place a compliance window for those with undeclared assets abroad to come clean by paying the penalty. 
 

	"The time frame of the compliance window would be announced very shortly. We are in the process of consultation (on the time frame)," Jaitley told PTI in an interview here. 
 

	Jaitley, who has held a series of meetings with businesses, investors and the government officials during his US trip, said the government has begun taking strong action on black money. 
 

	"We have got a law passed by Parliament where illegal assets and accounts kept abroad will be penalised. So I will impose a tax on that," he said. 
 

	"I am going to announce in the next few days a compliance window that within so many days, disclose the assets, pay the tax plus penalty. And if you use that compliance window, you pay the tax, penalty and get out," Jaitley said. 
 

	"But if you do not use the compliance window and thereafter if you are caught, because the world is now moving towards an automatic disclosure, you are not only going to pay a much higher level of penalty, but you also would be prosecuted," the Minister said. 
 

	Jaitley said the new law has created a fear psychosis in the mind of the tax evaders. 
 

	"The same set of people who would get up and say take action against black money would now say this is too draconian. But this is one law, which I am not going to relent neither the Prime Minister will," he said. 
 

	On domestic black money, Jaitley said the government has announced that any cash transaction over Rs 20,000 would be prohibited for property deals. 
 

	"I am also going to very shortly announce that if you pay by cash beyond a certain limit -- the limit has to be announced -- giving your PAN card is necessary," he said. 
 Jaitley said a number of delegations have met him on this issue where people have opposed this move, "as if transaction in black money is a fundamental right". "The world is changing. If you pay taxes, then it enables the government to reduce the level of taxes. India is also on the forefront of the entire <keyword id="51196" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="G-20">G-20</keyword> effort for automatic transmission of information. 

	"We would be signing the agreement with the United States FATCA for automatic sharing of transaction related to Indian citizens by the US and other countries that are going to sign FATCA. These are all very tough measures we are announcing," he said. 
 

	"The present government in India is willing to talk not only with its own businesses and investors, but is also reaching out to international investors and people of Indian origin who can be of great utility in India growth story," Jaitley said. 
 

	"Probably the eye opening experience has been in the Silicon Valley. It is an area where you see the virtues of technology being converted into commerce, where entrepreneurship is at its very best where convergence of entrepreneurship and technology has been enabled with a great Indian participation. 
 

	"It also answers the question that it pays to be innovative, pays to invest in education, it pays to invest in technology and more important that it is pays for a country to unshackle the energy of people," he added. 
 On his last day in the US, Jaitley also met the California Governor <keyword id="168520" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Jerry-Brown">Jerry Brown</keyword> and addressed an event organised by the Indian industry body CII and TiE in Palo Alto, California.

Government to take strict steps to eradicate black money menace from its root

Switzerland is still Number 1 when it comes to keeping secrets. 
 
As per the Financial Secrecy Index 2015 by Tax Justice Network (TJN), Switzerland retained its top slot, while Hong Kong was ranked second. 
 
The biennial FSI ranking is based on a combination of a country's secrecy score and a scale-weightage based on the country's share in the global market for its offshore financial services. 
 
The US climbed from sixth to third spot. 
 
It is noteworthy that Switzerland, US, Singapore and Germany figure in the top 10 list of FSI-2015 and are also top FDI investors to India. 
 
Mauritius is India's top FDI investor and has a secrecy score of 72, whereas India's second largest FDI investor, Singapore, has a lower secrecy score of 69 points. 
 Other <keyword id="1207559" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="investors-in-India">investors in India</keyword> including UK, Japan and Netherlands have an FSI rank of 15, 12 and 41, respectively. 
 
"Switzerland stays at the top of the index and for good reason: Despite what you may have heard, Swiss banking secrecy is far from dead, though it has curbed its secrecy somewhat,” stated TJN. 
 
It also stated US is more of a cause for concern than any other individual country, because of both the size of its offshore sector and also its rather recalcitrant attitude to international co-operation and reform. Though it has been a pioneer in defending itself from foreign secrecy jurisdictions, aggressively taking on the Swiss banking establishment and setting up its technically quite strong foreign account tax compliance act (FATCA), it provides little information in return to other countries. 
 
The UAE (Dubai), which is India's eleventh largest investor, has been ranked tenth in FSI-2015. 
 
Meanwhile, the average secrecy score fell from 66 to 60 when compared to FSI-2013. 
 
Liz Nelson, director at TJN, adds, "None of the reforms we've seen would have taken place without pressure from civil society and the streets. G7 and G20 leaders will do nothing unless pushed from below. So it's essential to keep up the pressure, especially on matters such as implementing public disclosure of company ownership and, crucially, of trusts." 
 
(Image: Thinkstock)

You need a country to stash away your black money, head to this country that serves as the world’s no.1 tax haven

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_left float_right"><div><div class="image on-image">Isaac Brekken / Stringer / Getty Images</div></div></div>FA Insights is a daily newsletter from Business Insider that delivers the top news and commentary for financial advisors. <a href="http://www.fa-mag.com/news/millennials-look-at-retirement-goals-differently--study-says-26362.html?section=43">Millennials approach retirement differently from previous generations</a> (FA Magazine)A new Merrill Edge report found that 41% of millennials aged 18-34 expect to retire when they hit a certain financial milestone or savings goal. On the flip side, those in older generations focus on leaving the workforce at a certain age or when they can't work anymore due to health issues, reports Karen Demasters."It has become increasingly apparent that retirement planning is not only evolving, but also has become a moving target that Americans must continuously revisit to pursue their goals and priorities," Ken Dychtwald, founder and CEO of Age Wave, told FA Magazine.<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/file-and-suspend-is-about-to-expire-2016-4">A popular Social Security collection strategy is about to expire</a> (The BlackRock Blog)File and Suspend, a Social Security collection strategy which allows the higher earner of a couple to file for Social Security retirement benefits but suspend taking them, will no longer be available to new users starting April 30.For those who "will not be 66 by April 29, 2016 - you may want to take a closer look at your retirement income strategy overall," suggests BlackRock's Rob Kron. "Social Security is just one part of a successful plan - not the entire solution. Remember that annual Social Security payments averaged $16,000 for individuals and $25,000 for couples in 2014." Anyone already using this strategy will be unaffected.<a href="http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/nn/articles/Market-Perspective">The 2 most important words to remember amid sluggish global growth</a> (Charles Schwab)"Patience and discipline. Those are the two words to commit to memory in the face of the current environment," write Liz Ann Sonders, Brad Sorensen, and Jeffrey Kleintop."A sluggish expansion and a cautious corporate environment leads us to have a neutral view on equities, which means investors should stick with their longer-term objectives and remain committed to their plan. There are glimmers of hope domestically and globally with strong U.S. job growth and U.S. and global manufacturing looking better."<a href="https://wallethub.com/edu/best-small-cities-to-start-a-business/20180/">The 20 best small cities for starting a business</a> (WalletHub)WalletHub's latest study investigates which small cities are the best for starting a business. The team looked at 1,268 small cities across the US, and based their ranking on 15 metrics, including the "average growth in number of small businesses" and "office-space affordability."The top seven best cities were Holland, MI, North Chicago, IL, Brighton, NY, Jefferson City, MO, La Vergne, TN, Inver Grove Heights, MN, and Clearfield, UT.<a href="http://www.devere-group.com/">Over a third of Americans overseas are likely to make a mistake on their tax returns or file late</a> (deVere Group)deVere Group CEO Nigel Green noted in an email correspondence with Business Insider that 35% of US citizens overseas are likely to misreport on a tax return or file late. "Overall, a small percentage of taxpayers end up with the dreaded IRS audit. However, the number of international returns that are audited is disproportionately higher.""Since the worldwide rollout of the highly controversial Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, in 2014, tax returns have become more complex, onerous and burdensome for American expats due to additional reporting requirements," he said. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/batman-v-superman-is-a-trainwreck-2016-3">'Batman v Superman' is a complete trainwreck, and director Zack Snyder is to blame</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="l5OXJhMjE6rtk-m5U6Ty5lTvna_idcyV" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Millennials approach retirement differently from their parents

<div class="image-container float_right"><div class="image"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYTjiIm4h_Q">ReasonTV / YouTube</a></div></div>FA Insights is a daily newsletter from Business Insider that delivers the top news and commentary for financial advisors.
<a href="http://www.forbes.com/sites/phildemuth/2013/08/05/the-one-question-you-must-ask-before-you-invest/">The Most Important Question Investors Can Ask Themselves</a> (Forbes) 
The most important question an investor can ask himself, according to Phil DeMuth is "what is your edge as an investor?" Unlike Warren Buffett, most of us aren't market-beating stock pickers. But by admitting this, investors can have an edges or advantage over other investors. 
Admitting this allows for 1."The low-cost edge" — Accept that you can't beat the market and become a smart indexer. "Instead of trying to beat the market, we can be the market." 2. "The kitty-management edge — We can buy-and-hold. We can rebalance every year, even when it hurts. We can harvest tax losses. We can know ourselves well enough so that we don’t overinvest and then sell in despair when the market gets kneecapped. We can hold plenty of cash so we can sleep nights." 
The bottom-line is very few of us have a real edge, instead DeMuth writes that investors should admit they don't have an edge and make that their edge. 
<a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887323906804579038702217398742.html?mod=WSJ_WealthAdviser_WhatsNews_3_3_RightBottom">Advisors Need To Help Clients Comply With FACTA</a> (The Wall Street Journal) 
The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) passed in 2010 require foreign financial institutions with U.S. clients to report their clients' earnings to the IRS, writes Paul Nixon of London-based Vestra U.S. Wealth Management in a new Wall Street Journal column. "After the announcement of FATCA, there was a knee-jerk reaction here in the U.K. for investment firms to abandon their U.S. clients for fear of the impending legislation," he writes. 
In the UK many financial institutions he points out want to or are in the process of walking away form their U.S. clients. But Nixon writes "the legislation makes sense, given the fact that there are more than six million Americans living outside the U.S. and only 600,000 were filing their taxes." Instead he thinks advisors along with accountants and lawyers should work together to make sure their clients are compliant. 
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/citi-gold-3500-2013-8">CITI: Gold $3,500</a> (King World News)
Gold trading has been fairly choppy since April. But the precious metal is now 20% off of its lows. In an interview with King World News, Citi's Tom Fitzpatrick writes that he expects gold to get to $3,500.
"Within the gold dynamic, we believe this recent correction was very similar to what the gold market witnessed from 1974 to 1976 -- as the equity markets recovered from the bear market bottom in 1974. In this instance, very recently gold went 14% below the 55-month moving average, exactly as it did back in 1976.
"After the low in gold in 1976, the equity market peaked 4 weeks later. So far, following the $1,181 low in gold, the peak in the equity markets has been 5 weeks thereafter. And as we started that historic upward movement in gold, beginning in 1976, this was also when the equity market peaked and went into a corrective phase, and that is when gold really came into its own.
"So we believe we are back into that track where gold is the hard currency of choice, and we expect for this trend to accelerate going forward. We still believe that in the next couple of years we will be looking at a gold price of around $3,500."
<a href="http://www.sec.gov/News/PressRelease/Detail/PressRelease/1370539791820#.Uh5edrzMqRs">Investment Advisors Need To Review Their Business Continuity Plans And Improve Responses After Emergencies</a> (SEC)
The SEC's Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE) has issued a risk alert on "business continuity and disaster recovery planning for investment advisers." This comes in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy and is intended for investment advisors to reassess their business continuity plans and speed up the time it takes to recover from an emergency. "The Risk Alert makes observations in the following areas: 1. Preparation for widespread disruption. 2. Planning for alternative locations. 3. Preparedness of key vendors. 4. Telecommunications services and technology. 5. Communication plans. 6. Reviewing and testing"
<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/feldstein-interest-rates-will-rise-2013-8">The Greatest Risk To Bond Investors Is That Inflation Will Rise Again</a> (Project Syndicate)<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/feldstein-interest-rates-will-rise-2013-8"></a>
Martin Feldstein has previously warned that long-term interest rates would rise and push bond prices lower causing investors to lose more in terms of value than they would gain in terms of the difference between the bonds' interest rate and the rates on short-term deposits. Now he says inflation poses the biggest threat to bond investors. 
"The greatest risk to bond holders is that inflation will rise again, pushing up the interest rate on long-term bonds. History shows that rising inflation is eventually followed by higher nominal interest rates. It may therefore be tempting to invest in inflation-indexed bonds, which adjust both principal and interest payments to offset the effects of changes in price growth. But the protection against inflation does not prevent a loss of value if real interest rates rise, depressing the value of the bonds.
"The relatively low interest rates on both short-term and long-term bonds are now causing both individual investors and institutional fund managers to assume duration risk and credit-quality risk in the hope of achieving higher returns. That was the same risk strategy that preceded the financial crisis in 2008. Investors need to recognize that reaching for yield could end very badly yet again."

Investors Should Ask Themselves One Question Before They Try To Beat The Indexes

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"></div></div></div>FA Insights is a daily newsletter from Business Insider that delivers the top news and commentary for financial advisors. <a href="http://www.investmentnews.com/article/20150612/BLOG05/150619986/majority-of-americans-flunk-social-security-quiz">Most Americans flunk the Social Security quiz</a> (Investment News)A 10-question true/false exam administered by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company shows Americans don't know a whole lot about how social security works. According to Investment News, only 28% of Americans received a passing grade on the exam, and just one in more than 1,500 scored a perfect 10. "Perhaps the greatest Social Security deficit in this country is the lack of education around the retirement benefits of the program, which presents an opportunity and responsibility to financial professionals," noted Michael R. Fanning, MassMutual's executive vice president of its U.S. insurance group. <a href="http://www.thinkadvisor.com/2015/06/10/irs-deadlines-loom-for-taxpayers-with-offshore-acc?t=legal-compliance?ref=channel-more-news">The deadlines for alerting the IRS about offshore accounts are approaching</a> (Think Advisor)Americans who are required to report their offshore assets have until June 30 to file their Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts filings. Think Advisor says this group is made up of "taxpayers with an interest in, or signature or other authority over, foreign financial accounts whose aggregate value exceeded $10,000 at any time during 2014." Additionally, expats who need to file a FATCA-related Form 8938 must do so by the June 15 deadline. This is for U.S. citizens and resident aliens who must "report any worldwide income, including income from foreign trusts and foreign bank and securities accounts."<a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-06-11/pimco-may-have-averted-fire-sale-after-gross-s-exit">Pimco likely avoided a fire-sale by selling bonds to itself</a> (Bloomberg)Pimco sold bonds to itself in order to prevent a fire-sale brought on by Bill Gross' exit from the firm. Bloomberg reports, "The firm sold about $18 billion of Total Return's assets to other Pimco funds and accounts between October and March, helping it meet more than $100 billion of redemptions that followed Gross's surprise exit." Pimco was allowed to sell securities to itself thanks to the Investment Company Act of 1940, which states allows funds in the same family can trade with one another under certain circumstances.<a href="http://www.fa-mag.com/news/municipals-should-turn-around-this-summer--experts-say-22103.html">Municipal bonds appear ready to bounce back</a> (Financial Advisor)Municipal bonds have had a rough go as of late, in part because of the debt problems of Chicago and Puerto Rico, but experts at a BlackRock roundtable discussion think things will turn around this summer. "The upside to a third down month is that the correction has created levels (higher yields and ratios) not seen in many months. We expect that this will attract both retail and non-traditional buyers back to the tax-exempt class," BlackRock noted in its latest municipal bond market update. The firm likes municipal bonds linked to state tax-backed and essential-service bonds and school districts, but says Puerto Rico and local tax-based issues are out of favor.<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/11/us-usa-economy-wealth-idUSKBN0OR27120150611">US household net worth hit a record high</a> (Reuters)US household net worth jumped by $1.6 trillion in the first quarter, hitting a record high $84.9 trillion. Approximately one-quarter of the increase was a result of the appreciation of home prices. While the report was mostly positive, the pace of household borrowing slowed to an annual rate of 2.2%, the weakest since the fourth quarter of 2014, according to Reuters. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/how-floyd-mayweather-spends-his-money-boxing-2015-4">Here's how Floyd Mayweather spends his millions</a></h3> <div> <div> <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="NiaGVpdDqdBR4NCmtjL5odLe14N1R4Hp" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div> </div> </div> </div>

Americans are clueless about social security

<div class="image-container" style="width:620px"><div class="image"></div>By Justin Sullivan/Getty Images</div>
CIVILISATION works only if those who enjoy its benefits are also prepared to pay their share of the costs. People and companies that avoid tax are therefore unpopular at the best of times, so it is not surprising that when governments and individuals everywhere are scrimping to pay their bills, attacks are mounting on <keyword id="112952" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Tax-havens">tax havens</keyword> and those who use them.
In Europe the anger has focused on big firms. Amazon and Starbucks have faced consumer boycotts for using clever accounting tricks to book profits in tax havens while reducing their bills in the countries where they do business. David Cameron has put tackling corporate tax-avoidance at the top of the G8 agenda. America has taken aim at tax-dodging individuals and the banks that help them. Congress has passed the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA), which forces foreign financial firms to disclose their American clients. Any whiff of offshore funds has become a political liability. During last year's presidential campaign Mitt Romney was excoriated by Democrats for his holdings in the Cayman Islands. Now Jack Lew, Barack Obama's nominee for treasury secretary, is under fire for once having an interest in a Cayman fund.
Getting rich people to pay their dues is an admirable ambition, but this attack is both hypocritical and misguided. It may be good populist politics, but leaders who want to make their countries work better should focus instead on cleaning up their own back yards and reforming their tax systems.
<h3>Dodgy of Delaware</h3>
The archetypal tax haven may be a palm-fringed island, but as our special report this week makes clear, there is nothing small about offshore finance. If you define a tax haven as a place that tries to attract non-resident funds by offering light regulation, low (or zero) taxation and secrecy, then the world has 50-60 such havens. These serve as domiciles for more than 2m companies and thousands of banks, funds and insurers. Nobody really knows how much money is stashed away: estimates vary from way below to way above $20 trillion.
Not all these havens are in sunny climes; indeed not all are technically offshore. Mr Obama likes to cite Ugland House, a building in the Cayman Islands that is officially home to 18,000 companies, as the epitome of a rigged system. But Ugland House is not a patch on Delaware (population 917,092), which is home to 945,000 companies, many of which are dodgy shells. Miami is a massive offshore banking centre, offering depositors from emerging markets the sort of protection from prying eyes that their home countries can no longer get away with. The City of London, which pioneered offshore currency trading in the 1950s, still specialises in helping non-residents get around the rules. British shell companies and limited-liability partnerships regularly crop up in criminal cases. London is no better than the Cayman Islands when it comes to controls against money laundering. Other European Union countries are global hubs for a different sort of tax avoidance: companies divert profits to brass-plate subsidiaries in low-tax Luxembourg, Ireland and the Netherlands.
Reform should thus focus on rich-world financial centres as well as Caribbean islands, and should distinguish between illegal activities (laundering and outright tax evasion) and legal ones (fancy accounting to avoid tax). The best weapon against illegal activities is transparency, which boils down to collecting more information and sharing it better. Thanks in large part to America's FATCA, small offshore centres are handing over more data to their clients' home countries--while America remains shamefully reluctant to share information with the Latin American countries whose citizens hold deposits in Miami. That must change. Everyone could do more to crack down on the use of nominee shareholders and directors to hide the provenance of money. And they should make sure that information about the true "beneficial" owners of companies is collected, kept up-to-date and made more readily available to investigators in cases of suspected wrongdoing. There are costs to openness, but they are outweighed by the benefits of shining light on the shady corners of finance.
<h3>Want more tax? Lower the tax rate</h3>
Transparency will also help curb the more aggressive forms of corporate tax avoidance. As Starbucks's experience has shown, companies that shift money around to minimise their tax bills endanger their reputations. The more information consumers have about such dodges, the better.
Moral pressure is not the whole answer, though: consumers get bored with campaigns, and governments should not bash companies for trying to reduce their tax bills, if they do so legally. In the end, tax systems must be reformed. Governments need to make it harder for companies to use internal ("transfer") pricing to avoid tax. Companies should be made to book activity where it actually takes place. Several federal economies, including America, already prevent companies from exploiting the differences between states' rules. An international agreement along those lines is needed.
Governments also need to lower corporate tax rates. Tapping companies is inefficient: firms pass the burden on to others. Better to tax directly those who ultimately pay--whether owners of capital, workers or consumers. Nor do corporate <keyword id="6368033" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="Taxes">taxes</keyword> raise much money: barely more than 2% of GDP (8.5% of tax revenue) in America and 2.7% in Britain. Abolishing corporate tax would create its own problems, as it would encourage rich people to turn themselves into companies. But a lower rate on a broader base, combined with vigilance by the tax authorities, would be more efficient and would probably raise more revenue: America, whose companies face one of the rich world's highest corporate-tax rates on their worldwide income, also has some of the most energetic tax-avoiders.
These reforms would not be easy. Governments that try to lower corporate tax rates will be accused of caving in to blackmailing capitalists. Financial centres and incorporation hubs, from the City of London to Delaware, will fight any attempt to tighten their rules. But if politicians really want to tax the missing $20 trillion, that's where they should start.
Click <a href="http://www.economist.com/products/subscribe/CUR22/noreg">here</a> to subscribe to The Economist

You Searched For "FATCA" and got 12 results

Linking Aadhaar cards to bank accounts mandatory, says I-T department

BI India Bureau

FATCA scaring US NRIs to sell off investment properties in India

BI India Bureau

Chasing that elusive US Green Card? It may be of no use to you after all!

BI India Bureau

WhatsApp on way to become India's digital banking channel

IANS

Here's The Law That's Driving Record Numbers Of Americans To Renounce Their Citizenship

Josh Barro

#PanamaPapers: Jaitley says tax adventurism will cost Indian defaulters extremely costly

BI India Bureau

Government to take strict steps to eradicate black money menace from its root

BI India Bureau

You need a country to stash away your black money, head to this country that serves as the world’s no.1 tax haven

BI India Bureau

Millennials approach retirement differently from their parents

Elena Holodny

Investors Should Ask Themselves One Question Before They Try To Beat The Indexes

Mamta Badkar

Americans are clueless about social security

Jonathan Garber

TAX-DODGING: It's A $20 Trillion Global Industry And It Starts Right Here

The Economist

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides