Valsen Corporate

St. Kitts and Nevis Signs Visa Waiver Agreement with Russian Federation

St. Kitts Nevis took a significant and historic step forward on 21 September 2017 when Foreign Minister Mark Brantley signed a VISA waiver agreement with the Russian Federation’s Foreign Minister H.E. Serguey Lavrov during the annual UN General Assembly in New York, USA. This VISA waiver  agreement now allows citizens of St. Kitts and Nevis and Russian citizens […]

Trump signs new order to widen North Korea sanctions

The US treasury has been authorized to target firms and financial institutions conducting business with North Korea. The president also said China’s Central Bank had instructed other Chinese banks to stop doing business with Pyongyang. It comes less than two weeks after the UN approved new sanctions against the country over its latest nuclear test. […]

Saudi Arabia Builds Sand Cities in a bid to Move beyond Oil

The Kingdom is turning to the desert for new revenue streams by creating sand cities as big as some countries. After relying on oil to fuel its economy for more than half a century, Saudi Arabia is turning to its other abundant natural resource to take it beyond the oil age – desert. The kingdom […]

Uber London loses licence to operate

Uber will not be issued a new private hire licence, Transport for London (TfL) has said. TfL concluded the ride-hailing app firm was not fit and proper to hold a London private hire operator licence. It said it took the decision on the grounds of “public safety and security implications”. Confirming it would appeal against […]

Protocol Amending the Mexico-Belgium Tax Treaty Published

On August 17, 2017, the Protocol amending the Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fraud and Fiscal Evasion (“Tax Treaty”) between Belgium and Mexico was published in Mexico’s Official Journal of the Federation (Belgium publication pending). The Tax Treaty became effective in Belgium on August 19, 2017, and in Mexico […]

Facebook to share Russia-linked political adverts with investigators

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg says his company will share 3,000 Russia-linked political adverts with US investigators. He also pledged to make political advertising more transparent on his network in future. “We will work with others to create a new standard for transparency for online political ads,” he said in a live address on his Facebook […]

Brexit: Theresa May ‘to offer 20bn euros transitional deal’

Theresa May is set to propose a transitional deal with the EU of up to two years.The PM is also expected to make an “open and generous” offer, potentially worth 20bn euros over the two years. It would mean the EU does not have to unpick its current budget – so no other EU member […]

China’s credit rating downgraded by S&P

China’s credit rating has been downgraded by Standard & Poor’s (S&P) because of worries over the rapid buildup of debt in the country. S&P cut China’s rating by one notch from AA- to A+, saying its debts had raised “economic and financial risks“. The International Monetary Fund warned in August that China’s credit growth was on a […]

Estonian Presidency to Present the Boldest Plan to Date against Tax Avoidance

The EU 28 financial ministers are set to discuss taxation of multinational digital platforms in Tallin on September 15-16, Reuters reports. Companies such as Amazon and Google have designed tax plans that reduce their tax liability in countries they operate. The proposal put forward by the Estonian Presidency proposes to shift the tax burden from […]

Denmark plans to cut world’s highest taxes to ease worker shortage

Denmark thinks it has found a way to prevent a worker shortage from damaging its economy. The proposed solution for worker shortage? Tax cuts. The world’s most taxed country is planning on sweeping cuts to levies on cars and pensions that are designed to encourage people to work more. Denmark has the highest tax to […]