New biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements are set to be enforced in November 2023, giving developers and the wider real estate industry less than 12 months to prepare. The legislation will require all new developments in England, bar a few exceptions, to deliver at least 10 per cent BNG – impacting commercial and residential developers. The requirements form part of the Environment Act 2021, which received Royal Assent in November 2021 ...
Companies face the loss of a major tax break on research and experimental ("R&E") costs for 2022, absent Congressional action. Since 1954, Internal Revenue Code section 174 has allowed taxpayers to immediately deduct R&E costs. Effective January 1, 2022, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 ("TCJA") amended section 174 to eliminate the deduction of R&E costs. Instead, costs for R&E activities in the U.S ...
In a Pre-Budget Report (PBR) announced to Parliament last week, the Government has set out its priorities for next year's budget. These include proposals to increase revenues via significant changes to the current employment tax regime. Perhaps the most headline-grabbing aspect of these potential reforms is the proposal to increase the employer portion of payroll tax for exempted companies, from 10.25% to 10.75% ...
On December 1, 2022, the United States Department of Defense, General Service Administration, and National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) issued a final rule amending the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) to implement a section of the 2016 National Defense Authorization Act. The previous FAR 1 ...
What is ATAD III? In December 2021, the European Commission (“EC”) published its proposed Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (known as “ATAD III”). ATAD III is intended to discourage the misuse of shell companies within the European Union (“EU”). The Directive is aimed at EU-resident entities which claim benefits under double taxation treaties and other EU Directives, but which lack a minimum level of economic substance ...
Just weeks after the “implosion” of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, credit services provider BlockFi filed for Chapter 11 protection with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, indicating that it is burdened with billions of dollars of estimated liabilities and more than 100,000 creditors ...
In Commissioner of Internal Revenue v Ruben U Yu,(1) the Court of Tax Appeals (CTA) en banc clarified that the 180-day period referred to in section 228 of the Tax Code, as amended, applies only to the period within which the Commissioner of Internal Revenue (CIR), or their duly authorised representative, may act on a protest against a tax assessment ...
Due to the covid-19 pandemic, registered business enterprises (RBEs) in the information technology-business process management (IT-BPM) sector have adopted work from home (WFH) arrangements to continue business operations. Now that movement restrictions have been relaxed, a balance must be struck between the requirement for RBEs to operate within economic zones and the clamour of RBEs to continue hybrid work arrangements while maintaining their fiscal incentives ...
The Mayhew Review - Future-Proofing Retirement Living, issued in November 2022, has the premise that the UK is failing to adapt to the impacts of an ageing population. Mayhew bills this as both a housing issue (in the wider Living sector sense) and a care issue ...
The ICO Children’s Code was introduced in September 2020 by the UK data regulator. One year on from the 12-month implementation period, we are asking what is the Code's impact, and does it go far enough to protect children's privacy online? Why a Children’s Code One critical concern is that the internet was not designed with children in mind: yet UNICEF estimates that one in three internet users are children ...
With preliminary hearings now underway for Modules 1 and 2 of the COVID-19 Public Inquiry (‘the Inquiry’), its approach to expert evidence is emerging as an important issue for Core Participants (‘CPs’) ...
On 1 January 2023, the BVI Business Companies Act, 2004 will be amended by the: (1) BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Act, 2022; and (2) the BVI Business Companies (Amendment) Regulations, 2022 (together the “Amendments”). The Amendments will impact all companies incorporated or registered in the BVI (“Companies”) ...
The EU revenue cap which limits certain electricity generators' revenues has raised many questions within the energy sector. In Finland, the revenue cap will likely be implemented in the form of a temporary windfall tax which would apply to profits made in 2023. Our energy team's associate Nelli Rönkkö has summarised the key points regarding the implementation of the EU revenue cap in Finland ...
The SEC has published its final rule for the recovery of erroneously awarded compensation (“final rule”) ...
December 6, 2022 By: Alexander Davis and Manuel Fishman In March 2020, the voters of San Francisco approved Proposition D, also known as the Commercial Vacancy Tax. The ordinance applies to ground floor, street-facing, commercial properties within any of the 32 districts listed in Section 201 of the Planning Code (which the regulation defines as “Taxable Commercial Space”) ...
The American Bar Association (ABA) has issued its second formal opinion concerning Model Rule 4.2 in as many months. The so-called “no-contact rule” prohibits a lawyer from having contact with a represented party about the subject of the representation. The Rule does not, however, account for the “reply all” function in email communications ...
As applications for Module 3 Core Participant (CP) status drew to a close on 5 December 2022, the Inquiry team have announced two key dates, as we continue to monitor progress of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry. No timescales have been given as to when applicants will be informed of the outcome of their CP applications, with the only information provided being that the Inquiry Chair (Baroness Heather Hallett) will be reviewing and determining in 'due course' ...
Treehouse Avatar LLC v. Valve Corp., Appeal No. 2022-1171 (Fed. Cir. Nov. 30, 2022) In the only precedential patent opinion issued by the Federal Circuit this week, the Court affirmed a district court’s summary judgment ruling that appellee Valve Corporation’s popular “Dota 2” and “Team Fortress 2” online videogames did not infringe Treehouse Avatar’s U.S. Patent No ...
Earlier this year, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance gave its reasons for its decision in the matter of Re WSY.* As is becoming increasingly common, this case involved the issue of how to deal with the assets of someone who had lost capacity, what is known in Hong Kong as a mentally incapable person, or MIP. One of the issues was whether to make provision for religious charities from the MIP's assets. In this instance the relevant MIP was known in the proceedings as WSY ...
December 2, 2022 By: Anna G. Thomas To increase transparency regarding payments to physicians by drug and medical device companies, Governor Newsom signed AB 1278, which imposes certain additional disclosure obligations on physicians. Beginning on January 1, 2023, physicians will be required to comply with new patient notice and posting requirements. Notice to Patients Under this law, physicians must provide to patients an Open Payments database notice ...
Initially published by Thomson Reuters [23 November 2022], Shoosmiths partner Sam Tyfield comments on the implications of the recent call for regulation by cryptocurrency firms. Cryptocurrency firms and lobbyists have reacted to the collapse and bankruptcy of FTX by calling for regulation. When unpacked, however, their pleas to be regulated reveal an industry wanting regulation on its own terms while unwilling to face home truths about its faults and efficacy ...
The Malta Business Registry has published a notice informing the public of a key change to its online website company register portal. Access by the general public to the beneficial ownership details of companies registered with the Malta Business Registry has been removed following a judgement of the Court of Justice of the European Union ...
There’s a common quip in Washington that federal employees leaving their jobs to work in the private sector are “going to the Dark Side.” However, what is not so funny for federal contractors and former executive branch employees is when the application process for — or the performance of work at — the new job runs afoul of ethics laws and regulations. For example, Oracle America Inc ...
In a circular dated the 15th of November 2022, the Malta Financial Services Authority (“MFSA”) confirmed that electronic signatures which are done with a ‘qualified electronic signature’ shall be accepted by the MFSA ...
