Two recent cases and a recently-released Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Program Manager Technical Advice Memorandum have sent shockwaves through the voluntary disclosure community. All three developments give offshore account-holders something to cheer. PMTA 2018-13 In previous client alerts, we have discussed the definition of "willfulness" in the context of offshore assets and, more recently, the closing of the Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP) ...
This month, courts have been active in several of the fiduciary breach cases involving 403(b) retirement plans at private universities, including USC, Brown, New York University, the University of Pennsylvania, Duke and Northwestern. We have been closely monitoring these and other lawsuits against fiduciaries of defined contribution plans, and the lessons to be gleaned for avoiding liability ...
The Croatian Parliament adopted the new Capital Markets Act in order to align the Croatian legislation with the EU acquis. The act adjusts the Croatian legislation with the cornerstone of EU's financial markets regulation - the Directive on Markets in Financial Instruments repealing Directive 2004/39/EC and the Regulation on Markets in Financial Instruments, commonly referred to as MiFID II and MiFIR ...
Earlier this year, the government released a proposal paper: Extending Unfair Contract Terms Protections to Insurance Contracts outlining a model to extend unfair contract term (UCT) provisions to insurance contracts regulated under the Insurance Contracts Act 1984 (Cth) (IC Act) for consultation. The consultation period closes on 27 July. A high level summary of the proposed model is below ...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("TCJA") provides new exclusion and deferral benefits for investors who purchase interests in qualified opportunity funds. Much like qualified small business stock ("QSBS") under IRC sections 1202 and 1045, new IRC section 1400Z-2 allows investors to defer and, in some cases, exclude gain on the sale of assets. However, gain can be deferred under IRC section 1400Z-2 only if invested in designated low-income communities ...
The Israeli Parliament (the Knesset) recently approved (on July 18, 2018), an amendment to the Israeli Restrictive Trade Practices Law, 5748-1988 (the “Law“) regarding parallel importing (the Restrictive Trade Practices Law (Amendment 20 – Temporary Order), 5778-2018) (the “Amendment“) ...
In 2016, South African National Treasury introduced an exemption from securities transfer tax (“STT”) for listed securities that are transferred outright (as opposed to pledged) as collateral, provided that such transfers adhere to a number of conditions that were outlined in the definition of a “collateral arrangement” in the Securities Transfer Tax Act, 2007 ...
The fast-changing landscape of competition law in AfricaAt the turn of the century, only a handful of Africa’s 54 nation states had operational competition legislation and enforcement. However, in line with developments in the rest of the world, many African countries have since enacted competition legislation and established working competition authorities ...
South African tax resident individuals may consider, whether for estate planning purposes or otherwise, to advance funds to offshore trusts for investment abroad. The South African tax implications arising from the terms of the loan funding arrangement with the offshore trust should, however, also be taken into account ...
On 6 July 2018 the Government published a statement following on from Theresa May’s Cabinet meeting and Brexit debate at Chequers, the Prime Minister’s country residence. The statement outlined the Cabinet’s collective stance and the next steps to be taken in respect of the Brexit negotiations. However, many critics have already called the Chequers statement a “compromise” position and argued that the statement seems to be advocating a “soft Brexit ...
As Seen In Bank Director Cybersecurity incidents and data compromises continue to plague financial institutions on a seemingly daily basis. Without a proper response plan in place, financial institutions risk significant damage to their reputation and operations, as well as serious potential liability from regulators and class-action litigation. This guide outlines the procedures financial institutions should implement to prepare for and respond to a cybersecurity incident ...
After not disturbing the Third-Party Doctrine for more than 40 years, the Supreme Court created a significant exception to it inCarpenter v. United States. Slip Op., 16-402 (Jun. 22, 2018). Under the Third-Party Doctrine, individuals who voluntarily provide personal information to third parties are deemed to relinquish their legitimate reasonable expectation of privacy in that information ...
Should The Bahamas be at the forefront of cryptocurrency regulatory policy by implementing smart, flexible regulation that encourages the legitimate operators in the sub-sector to bloom or should we leave well enough alone?The Bahamas’ position in the landscape of the cryptocurrencies is a familiar one to many in the traditional financial services economy - they’ll know this story all too well with the growth, development, and decline of private banking: a new and exciting innovation
The business world continues to be a multinational place, with marketplaces and supply chains that cut across national borders. Global expansion efforts have also spawned a growing desire for cross-border deal making. These mergers and acquisitions, however, are easily complicated by language and cultural differences, in addition to local politics and regulatory regimes ...
The business world continues to be a multinational place, with marketplaces and supply chains that cut across national borders. Global expansion efforts have also spawned a growing desire for cross-border deal making. These mergers and acquisitions, however, are easily complicated by language and cultural differences, in addition to local politics and regulatory regimes ...
COMOROS: Treaty with United Arab Emirates enters into forceThe income tax treaty between the Comoros Islands and the United Arab Emirates, recently entered into force. GHANA: VAT withholding agents appointed In an attempt to improve value-added tax (“VAT”) compliance, the Ghana Revenue Authority (“GRA”) announced the appointment of identified VAT withholding agents per industry on 17 May 2018 ...
In 1527, two inhabitants of the Royal Burgh of Haddington lent 1800 merks to the Abbey of Melrose, to be repaid by the Abbey to their bankers, in what is understood to be the first recorded reference to bankers in Scotland. Fast-forward almost 500 years to the present day and modern banking would be unrecognisable to the burgesses of Haddington ...
Introduction I have been asked to speak on the Base Erosion Profit Sharing of the OECD, or better know as BEPS. This is a new acronym that, similar to CRS and the harmful tax initiative program, is geared at a multilateral approach to the application of uniform tax rules and standards. Unlike the CRS and the harmful tax practices initiatives of the past, BEPS has a focus not necessarily on the private client, but on the multinational commercial organization ...
The California Legislature is considering legislation that would, if enacted, prohibit public agencies that form a Joint Powers Authority (JPA) from contracting out of liability for the JPA's pension obligations. Backed by CalPERS, AB 1912 was introduced early this year partly in response to drastic CalPERS pension cuts for former employees of LA Works, a dissolved job-training JPA ...
The political dispute between Qatar and its neighbors escalated with the announcement by Qatar that it would impose a ban on goods from the four boycotting countries, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt. As we reported earlier, these four countries imposed a trade embargo on Qatar. The measures that were introduced prohibited the direct shipment of goods and the direct transport of passengers to or from Qatar and closed the land border between Qatar and Saudi Arabia ...
Not long after President Trump announced that the U.S. would impose tariffs on steel and aluminum, the Department of Commerce launched an investigation that may lead to additional duties on imported vehicles and automotive parts. Effective, the Department will now examine whether imports of vehicles and auto parts threaten U.S. national security ...
Recent changes to Rule G-34 (the Rule) of the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board (MSRB) will include an exception to the CUSIP requirements for certain direct purchase transactions with a bank or related entity (Direct Purchase Exception) ...
The Legal 500 & The In-House LawyerComparative Legal GuidePhilippines: Mergers & Acquisitions Country Author: Franco Aristotle G. Larcina, Partner, SyCip SalazarHernandez & Gatmaitan 1. What are the key rules/laws relevant to M&A and who are the key regulatory authorities? M&A activity is governed primarily by the Corporation Code of the Philippines (Batas Pambansa Blg. 68) ...
