Emphasising the importance of the shift to green trends and sustainable development has become something of a global custom in recent years, although mostly through being associated with the production of green energy and its consequential distribution. However, an often overlooked aspect in this regard has been the need for labour force that arises from the development of the so-called "green economy" ...
Using muti or traditional preparations to intimidate, scare or threaten a colleague constitutes misconduct and employers have the right to “remove such purveyors of darkness from their environment”.This was the outcome of recent arbitration proceedings before the National Bargaining Council for the Sugar Manufacturing and Refining Industry in the case of NASARIEU obo Mngomezulu v Tongaat Hulett Sugar Limited (Darnall) (case no. NBCS5-15, 15 June 2016) ...
On May 10, 2016, the Québec Court of Appeal1 confirmed a Superior Court decision allowing an application for authorization of treatment and placement to a patient. The application had been brought by the Douglas Mental Health University Institute, commonly known as the Douglas, or the Douglas hospital ...
In a unanimous decision rendered on May 16, 2016,1 the Québec Court of Appeal confirmed that the delivery of ophthalmic lenses purchased online from suppliers who are not members of the Ordre des optométristes (Order of Optometrists) (?Order?), or the Ordre des opticiens d?ordonnances (Order of Dispensing Opticians), does not violate the Optometry Act 2(?OA?) or, by necessary extension, the Dispensing Opticians Act ...
We would like to inform you that the draft Federal Law № 1015753-6 “On Amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences of the Russian Federation (hereinafter - the “Administrative Code”) for prevention of illegal engagement of foreign nationals to work on construction projects” (hereinafter - the “Draft Law”) is currently under consideration by the State Duma at the first reading ...
What is BEPS?Much has been said in both professional and commercial circles on the imminent introduction in Hong Kong of the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) regime for the automatic exchange of tax information between participating jurisdictions. There is, however, a much lesser awareness of the commitments undertaken by the Government to the new Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) standard to combat base erosion and profits shifting (BEPS) ...
On 20 June 2016, the South African National Treasury published draft Carbon Offsets Regulations (“draft regulations”), intended as a component of the proposed carbon tax. The draft regulations mark the next step in the process of bringing the carbon tax into operation by early 2017 ...
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”)/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) Project identified 15 actions based on the following three key themes, being: · the introduction of coherence in the domestic rules that affect cross-border activities; · the reinforcement of substance requirements in the existing international standards; and · the improvement of transparency and certainty ...
It is the long-standing practice of traders and service providers to grant customers extended payment terms for the goods or services they supply as a means to enhance turnover. Where the credit provided is interest-free, the question that arises is whether the provision of such credit impacts on the entitlement of the supplier to claim input tax for value added tax (“VAT”) purposes ...
Significant international sport and cultural events like Euro 2016 may, in some cases, result in conflict between employers and even the most disciplined and professional employees. So what is it like for employers? Obviously, football euphoria cannot stay outside the work place: plenty of discussions on victories and defeats of national teams during working hours, applications to work from home or leave, watching broadcasts on corporate devices and so on ...
The June 2016 issue of the International Financial Law Review (IFLR) included an international briefing article entitled “Employees in corporate reorganisations.” The article was contributed by SyCipLaw partner Ronald Mark C. Lleno and senior associate Easter Princess U. Castro.Read the article online at the IFLR website ...
One may say that Russian migration procedures are overly complicated but is it really so, especially for foreign nationals falling into the category of highly qualified specialists (the HQS)? In reality, the procedure is not so complicated. Its main peculiarity is that it is quite formalistic and requires attention to details of both the employer and the employee. Under the general rule, a foreign national planning to work in Russia shall have a work permit and work visa ...
One of the innovations introduced by the Companies Act, 71 of 2008 (“Companies Act”) is the mechanism of business rescue proceedings in South Africa. In particular, chapter 6 of the Companies Act was inserted to “provide for the efficient rescue and recovery of financially distressed companies, in a manner that balances the rights and interests of all relevant stakeholders” (see section 7(k)) ...
As the overall level of convergence between industries in the business world keeps increasing, it is only logical for the related legal aspects to follow suit every step of the way ...
The Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 (DTSA) - arguably the most significant change to U.S. intellectual property laws in the past decade - was signed into law by President Obama on May 11, 2016. The DTSA creates a federal, civil remedy for misappropriation of a trade secret that is related to a product or service used in, or intended for use in, interstate or foreign commerce ...
The judgment of the Supreme Court of Appeal (“SCA”), which established certain guidelines and principles regarding the claiming of input tax for value added tax (“VAT”) purposes in the Commissioner for South African Revenue Services v De Beers Consolidated Mines Ltd (503/11) (1 June 2012) case may have far-reaching consequences for the private equity and venture capital industry ...
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE CONGO (DRC): Refund of input VAT credit suspendedIn terms of the DRC value added tax (“VAT”) legislation, export businesses, companies ceasing their activities, oil and mining companies (during the exploration phase) and companies making significant investments are entitled to request input VAT credit refunds ...
In terms of the South African controlled foreign company ("CFC") legislation contained in section 9D of the Income Tax Act, 58 of 1962 (the "Act"), where South African residents directly or indirectly hold more than 50% of the total participation rights (essentially, the right to participate in the benefits of the rights attaching to a share) in a foreign company, a proportional amount of the “net income” of that foreign company (as a CFC) will be included in the income of those residents ...
Is the current international tax focus on base erosion and profit shifting (“BEPS”) relevant for tax-exempt pension funds? In particular, should the trustees and/or administrators of pension funds take note of the finalisation by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”) of the 15 point action plan to address BEPS? Both of these questions should be answered “yes” by South African pension funds that invest outside of the country ...
With tax litigation becoming more prevalent in recent years, taxpayers are now faced with new issues.One such issue is: when and to what extent will documents bearing an electronic signature be acceptable under the relevant tax legislation?In this regard, section 255(2) of the Tax Administration Act No ...
On 15 April 2016, the Minister of Mineral Resources published the draft Reviewed Broad Based Black-Economic Empowerment Charter for the South African Mining and Minerals Industry 2016 (“the draft reviewed Mining Charter”) for public comment, addressing among other issues, the targets to be met by the mining industry in respect of the housing and living conditions of mine workers ...
There’s no longer a basis to speculate or read or ignore the rumors. The Department of Labor (DOL) has finalized its changes to the regulations governing who may be exempt from being paid overtime. The changes will still be dramatic in terms of the number of employees impacted, but employers’ worst fears as to what they might contain did not quite materialize. Last Summer’s Proposed Regulations Early last summer, the DOL published its proposed changes to the overtime regulations ...
