On March 21, 2014, the Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (“Division”) of the CFTC issued a no-action relief letter (the “2014 Letter”),1 to temporarily allow entities to deal in utility operations-related swaps, as defined in the 2014 Letter, without counting such swaps towards the “sub-limit” threshold for swap dealer registration with regard to such swaps ...
The Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) has temporarily suspended the issuance of private letter rulings on master limited partnership (“MLP”) “qualifying income” under Internal Revenue Code Section 7704(d) during the pendency of an internal committee review of existing rulings in that area ...
FATCA is a United States Act that requires US persons, including individuals who live outside the United States, to report their financial accounts held outside of the US, and requires foreign financial institutions (“FFIs“) to report information regarding their US clients to the US Internal Revenue Service (“US IRS”). FATCA was meant to combat offshore tax evasion and to recoup federal tax revenues ...
The Government has announced radical changes which are likely to significantly affect the way in which people access and use their pension savings in the UK ...
The Executive Branch announced days ago the 3 main investment projects which will be promoted under the Public-Private Partnership regime in Paraguay. With the enactment in the month of March of the Regulatory Decree of the Public-Private Partnership Law (Law 5102/2013), the projects are expected to be advanced immediately ...
The new EU Procurement directive was published in the Official Journal of the EU today (28 March 2014) and will come into force on 17 April 2014. This article summarises some of the key changes from the new Directive which are likely to be of interest to both the public and private sector. The UK will have 2 years to implement the Directive but the government has suggested that it will be implemented in a shorter timescale ...
NEW CVM DECISION SIMPLIFIES TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING PRIVATE INVESTMENT IN PUBLIC EQUITY (PIPEs) At a meeting held on January 7, 2014, the majority of the Brazilian Securities and Exchange Commission (“CVM”) Board (Colegiado) accepted the appeal lodged by João Fortes Engenharia S.A., within the context of CVM Proceeding No ...
CONTENTS The 2014 Federal Budget Plan sounds the death knell for two family tax planning measures much appreciated by entrepreneurs and some professionalsThe Expert and the CourtYou signed a contract for services... with an employee? How to properly identify the relationship between the parties and what are the consequences of a wrong categorization ?Application of GAAR to a cross-border debt “clean-up” transaction: The Pièces Automobiles Lecavalier Inc ...
On 3 March 2014, the Government presented the bill ”Enhanced competition supervision” (Sw: “Förbättrad konkurrenstillsyn”) (Governmental Bill, prop. 2013/14:135) which contains several suggested changes to the Swedish Competition Act which relate, inter alia, to leniency and the possibility to suspend time limits during merger control assessments ...
A payroll tax reduction with potential savings of up to SEK 2,760,000 per annum is available from January 1st 2014 for companies conducting research and development (R&D) on a full or part time basais. According to the new rules, the payroll tax amount for the associated salaries for persons working in R&D can be reduced by 10 per cent which equates to SEK 230,000 per month on a group level (SEK 2,760,000 per annum) ...
As we indicated a few months ago, the partial reform of the intellectual property law continues its journey towards the Lower House of the Spanish Parliament. On Friday, February 14, the Cabinet approved the text of the preliminary bill, which must now get the green light from the consultative bodies and be debated in Parliament as a bill before its definitive approval. The main lines of the approved text are those we advanced in our previous post: 1 ...
As the end of another tax year approaches, now is a good time to consider your financial position and check whether you have taken full advantage of the tax reliefs and exemptions that are available. This note is intended to provide a brief guide to the opportunities that we believe may be worth considering. There are many tax-saving measures available and we detail below a number of steps that can be taken to improve your tax position, without significant effort ...
The recent case of Cooper v Bank of Scotland plc has once again highlighted the problems arising where a lender takes security over a matrimonial home to support the business debts of one of the spouses. In this case, Mrs Cooper argued that she signed the security as a result of misrepresentation by her husband. The Court agreed with this and ordered that the standard security granted by Mrs Cooper over her one half share in the Property was not enforceable ...
The recent amendments to the VAT legislation introduced by the Taxation Laws Amendment Act, No 31 of 2013, gives effect to government’s proposal that all foreign businesses supplying e-books, e-music and other digital goods and services in South Africa be required to register as South African value-added tax (“VAT”) vendors ...
On February 26, 2014, the Supreme Court held that state-law fraud class actions brought against attorneys, insurance brokers and others arising from Ponzi-scheme claims involving R. Allen Stanford could proceed. In a 7-2 decision in Chadbourne & Parke LLP v. Troice, 571 U.S ...
Following a period of consultation, the Government has confirmed that legislative changes will be made to ensure that “protected persons” will not be affected by the statutory amendment power being introduced as part of the abolition of defined benefit contracting-out ...
Moody’s Investors Service has upgraded Paraguay’s government bond rating by one notch to Ba2 from Ba3, and changed the outlook to positive from stable. According to Moody’s, the “decision to upgrade Paraguay’s rating was driven by the following factors: 1. The improving standing of Paraguay’s key fiscal metrics relative to ‘Ba’ peer medians.2. A strengthened institutional framework as a result of the legislation package that was approved last year.3 ...
For the Portuguese tax authorities to grant the status of the non-habitual tax resident, it is necessary to meet the following conditions: The applicant cannot have been taxed as tax resident in Portugal in any of the five preceding years; The applicant must be considered as a tax resident in Portugal and residence in Portugal for tax purposes may be acquired in any year, among other situations, when the taxable person ...
Most marketers and retailers know that the consumer protection laws require that their advertising claims be substantiated, truthful and not misleading. But the new year is a good time to take stock of advertising campaigns, practices and procedures to make sure they pass muster under the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC’s) latest guidance. The FTC’s recent enforcement actions provide a starting point ...
While helpful, California’s Board of Equalization has not exactly taken the most pro-renewable energy position in their new guidance on the effect of the installation of a solar power system on tax-exempt property. In what appears to be a fairly common acquisition structure, for example, a solar power company installs a solar power system that it retains ownership of, and the nonprofit provides the space for installation and then leases the system from the solar company ...
On January 13, 2014, the Food and Drug Administration ("FDA" or "the Agency") announced the availability of a much-anticipated draft guidance on its intended regulation of product promotion conducted via social media, titled Fulfilling Regulatory Requirements for Postmarketing Submissions of Interactive Promotional Media for Prescription Human and Animal Drugs and Biologics ...
Getting ready for your next compliance examination? Well, it may be time to take a fresh look at your institution’s Regulation B compliance. The Equal Credit Opportunity Act ("ECOA"), as implemented by Regulation B, is not a new concept. First adopted in 1974, Regulation B is understood by most institutions to include a focus on what information and what signatures can be obtained with respect to the family member of an applicant ...
