ARIPO Developments: Amended Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs The African Regional Intellectual Property Organization’s (“ARIPO’s”) amended Harare Protocol on Patents and Industrial Designs (the “Protocol”), came into effect on 1 January 2017 and includes some important changes ...
Does a change of the terms of a share constitute a new “date of issue” for purposes of section 8E of the Income Tax Act? In terms of section 8E of the South African Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “Act”), dividends received by or accrued to a person in respect of certain shares and “equity instruments”, as defined, must be deemed in relation to that person to be an amount of income if that share or equity instrument constitutes a “hybrid equity instru
Final changes to the Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme On 26 October 2016, the South African Minister of Finance tabled the Rates and Monetary Amounts and Amendment of Revenue Laws Bill, Bill 19 of 2016, in Parliament when he introduced the so-called “Mini Budget”. This Bill contains the legislation regulating the Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (“SVDP”), which commenced on 1 October 2016 and was to end on 30 June 2017 ...
Introduction of Section 7C to The Income Tax Act and its Effect on Estate Planning Section 25B(1) of the Income Tax Act provides that any amount received by or accrued to or in favour of any person during any year of assessment in his/her capacity as a trustee of a trust, to the extent to which such amount has been received for the immediate or future benefit any ascertained beneficiary who has a vested interest to that amount during that year, this shall be deemed to be an amount that
SARS Interpretation Note 94 – contingent liabilities assumed in the acquisition of a going concern Importantly, SARS’ application of the latter distinction appears to follow the reasoning put forward by the Privy Council in Commissioner of Inland Revenue v New Zealand Forest Research Institute Ltd, wherein it was held that expenditure incurred in respect of provisions taken over was incurred as part of the purchase price, which was capital in nature and therefore not deductib
The Mauritian Limited Liability Partnerships Act, 2016 – what you need to knowDo LLPs have independent legal personality? The Mauritian Limited Liability Partnerships Act, 2016 (the “Act”) came into force on 3 January 2017, and provides for the establishment of limited liability partnership (“LLP”) structures in Mauritius. The LLP is a welcome and awaited addition to the various types of vehicles that can be created in Mauritius ...
As small and medium-sized businesses grow and expand, it is common for them to do business outside their home state; sometimes through the internet and other times by having “boots on the ground.” For example, having employees travel to other states to promote sales, providing assistance to customers, attending trade shows, and engaging in other business activities ...
In its most important constitutional judgment ever, the UK Supreme Court has this morning confirmed that the UK Parliament in Westminster, rather than the British Government, must decide on the UK’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU). The Court has in this respect upheld the decision of the High Court as reported in our “Brexit Update ...
At the end of 2016 the Serbian Parliament adopted changes to Serbian tax laws, introducing a number of important changes in the area of VAT, excise duties and general tax procedures. Amendments to the laws governing these areas were adopted at the very end of 2016 – on the 28th of December 2016 ...
The election of Mr. Donald J. Trump as President of the United States has resulted in much consideration by corporates of existing strategies with respect to Iran. Mr. Trump’s lack of experience in public office and some of his election campaign statements continue to cause anxiety. Will Mr ...
Under the wording of Art. 22 of the Business Freedom Act of 2 July 2004 in force until the end of 2016, in Poland a business making or accepting a payment worth in each instance over EUR 15,000 is required to route the payment through a bank account. The law imposes certain consequences for failure to comply with this requirement, primarily under the Foreign Exchange Law of 27 July 2002 and the Act on Combating Money Laundering and Financing of Terrorism of 16 November 2000 ...
On 23 November 2016, the Serbian Parliament adopted amendments to the Criminal Code. Changes made include, among other, criminal offence of tax avoidance. Prosecution of tax avoidance was a matter of much controversy in the recent practice, and some of the changes made by the latest amendments are aimed to address these controversies. Though generally welcome, the scope of changes made are unlikely to bring significant improvements in the prosecution of tax avoidance ...
As part of its continuing efforts to develop legislation regarding the taxation of non-Israeli persons providing digital services in Israel, the Israel Tax Authority recently published a proposed amendment to the Value Added Tax Law (the “Proposed Amendment”) ...
U.S. taxpayers with unreported foreign accounts or assets are in an increasingly precarious position. The IRS has repeatedly announced that it is devoting resources to finding and penalizing taxpayers who do not disclose such offshore accounts and assets. In addition, many U.S. taxpayers, both domestic and international, are facing intense pressure from foreign banks to disclose their U.S. taxpayer status or close their accounts ...
Effective January 1, 2017, new rules will govern the taxation of mutual fund corporations structured as ?switch funds?. Investors switching between funds will no longer be able to do so without incurring taxable capital gains. This article summarizes the impact of such changes. Description of "switch funds" under the current regime In Canada, most mutual funds are structured as trusts and some are structured as corporations (referred to as ?corporate class funds?) ...
Introduction In the context of trusts situated in foreign participating jurisdictions, the Common Reporting Standards (“CRS”) require the trustees to identify the settlor, beneficiaries and other natural persons exercising ultimate effective control (including through a chain of ownership) and report the necessary financial information in respect of those persons to the relevant foreign revenue authority ...
The 2017 Law on Financial Management has yet to be formally enacted in Cambodia however its content has already been disseminated among most tax professionals and the press so with that in mind we have put together what we believe are the salient points of the draft Law on Financial Management (“the Draft Law”) for your reference. The Draft Law has been rubber stamped by the Council of Ministers and when enacted the changes should take effect from 1 January 2017 ...
Trade mark law may be contained in statutes, but judges are the ones who interpret the statutes. Judges are also the ones who eventually decide whether one trade mark is confusingly similar to another. It is these factors that make the “Question the Trade Mark Judges” event that recently took place at University College London so fascinating for anyone interested in trade marks ...
In the case of Claremont Library Development Company (Pty) Ltd v The Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service, the Tax Court recently considered the question of whether crediting a loan account constitutes “payment” of full consideration for purposes of the Value-Added Tax Act, No 89 of 1991 (the “VAT Act”) ...
Section 103(2) of the Income Tax Act, 58 of 1962 empowers the Commissioner (the “Commissioner”) for the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) to disallow the setting off of an assessed loss or balance of an assessed loss against the company’s income if the relevant requirements are met ...
Maxim Alekseyev, ALRUD Senior Partner, and Kira Egorova, ALRUD Of Counsel, prepared an article for Trusts&Estates journal “Family Offices in Russia”. Trust&Estates is one of the most reputable journals for wealth management professionals serving the needs of high-net-worth clients and their families ...
The Serbian Minister of Finance issued the Rulebook on the Manner and Procedure of Delivering and the Content of the Tax Administration's Notification on Commencement or Finalization of Tax Audit ("Rulebook"). Under the Rulebook, the Tax Administration ("TA") will start to deliver notifications on initiated tax audits of the legal entities and entrepreneurs to the Business Registers Agency ("BRA"). Notifications will be delivered once a day ...
Over the summer, several European blue chips, certain Fortune 500s and major Asian corporates accelerated their entry strategy for Iran. Some are investing in Iran pursuant to the Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Act 2002 (“FIPPA”), which, amongst other things, provides a sovereign guarantee from the Iranian government ...
