Search Results for: Caribbean

Thanks to the introduction of a tax incentive scheme launched by the government of Trinidad & Tobago, auto converters and dealers in the country are increasingly talking up Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) as a clean auto fuel for vehicles on the twin island Caribbean state.…

World football’s governing body FIFA – Fédération Internationale de Football Association – has claimed it is the victim following the arrests of 14 officials in Zurich on May 27, before its latest annual congress. The Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG), which made the arrests for its US counterpart, also announced it had opened its own separate case.…

Colombia’s bio-based oils and fats sector is seeing industry profits siphoned off by criminal networks thanks to a contraband smuggling boom linked to illegal armed groups, organised crime and money laundering.
Contraband smuggling in Colombia has evolved into a sophisticated criminal business worth USD6 billion a year, according to the estimates of the Colombian National Tax and Customs Directorate (DIAN – Dirección de Impuestos y Aduanas Nacionales), and has become one of the principal threats facing national industries.…

The recent moves towards loosening trade and diplomatic relations between the US and Cuba has provided a source of cautious optimism within the American auto industry.
President Barack Obama has been loosening the 54-year trade restrictions after announcing a policy u-turn on December 17 last year, but only Congress, controlled by Republicans, can actually lift the economic embargo entirely.…

Antigua-based accountant Laura Lyn, who trained as a CPA in Florida and has 20 years’ experience in finance, said accounting and auditing standards had seen much improvement in the region in recent years. Better skilled accountants, she said, were having a positive impact on the financial management standards of Caribbean public bodies and government departments generally.…

Central America’s increasing exposure to money laundering is at least being recognised by the governments on the region, who are working both individually and collectively to combat the problem.

The region has strengthened cooperation, for instance. A key initiative is the Central American Integration System (SICA), a regional political organisation which coordinates government actions for Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, Belize and the Dominican Republic regarding certain policy development and programmes, notably improving law enforcement.…

THE CATTLEMEN’S Beef Promotion and Research Board in the USA will spend USD10.5 million of its USD39 million investments planned for the fiscal year of October 1, 2014-2015 to promote beef sales in its domestic market.

The goal of this consumer information campaign is to “improve domestic preference for beef by educating consumers about things like beef safety, nutrition and health, convenience, taste and value,” the board’s communications manager Diane Henderson told globalmeatnews.com.…

International airports worldwide are working hard to install biometric border controls that they hope will speed passenger movement, while maintaining, or even enhancing security.

A key example of such new installations has been at Ireland’s biggest hub Dublin Airport, where since April 2013, travellers arriving at the 74-year old airport – which handles more than 20 million passengers per year – have had the option of passing through biometric identification gates in the airport’s immigration hall.…

THE EUROPEAN Commission has announced it will pay an additional EUR3 million to the Airport Communication Project (AIRCOP), financing its work to 2016. AIRCOP is run by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the World Customs Organisation (WCO) and Interpol, and aims to strengthen anti-narcotic detection, interdiction and intelligence capacities in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. …

Caribbean jurisdictions may be increasingly signing up to the requirements of America’s Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) but there is no great enthusiasm about it. Indeed, some bankers fear it could lead to a sharp fall in the region’s charms for investors.…