The Report of the Financial Services Ombudsman (FSO) was issued earlier this year. As always, it contains interesting insights on trends and outcomes in FSO complaints. Complaints Received The FSO received 4,538 eligible complaints in 2017, broadly similar to the number in 2016. The FSO closed 3867 complaints during 2017 compared to 4,323 in 2016 ...
On January 3, 2018, San Francisco’s State Senator Scott Wiener introduced a bill (SB 827) that would all but abolish the city’s famously strict land use controls—and those of virtually all California’s urban neighborhoods. It is considered the most radical of all the pro-housing legislation introduced during the last year in California ...
During the height of the #MeToo movement and in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, Congress enacted a sweeping tax reform bill containing a provision intended to penalize businesses who settle claims involving sexual harassment or sexual abuse if they include nondisclosure agreements as part of a settlement. As with many rushed pieces of legislation, legal commentators have more questions than answers about the practical effect of this tax amendment ...
H.B. 4270 Passed - March 10, 2018 Signed by Governor - March 27, 2018 Effective - June 8, 2018 The Information Reporting and Payments to Owners bill (H.B. 4270) is a companion bill to the Cotenancy Modernization bill ...
The Finance (No 2) Act 2017(“FA”) received royal assent on 27 December 2017 and was introduced to amend theIncome Tax Act 1967, the Real Property Gains Tax Act 1976 (“RPGTA”), the Goods and Services Tax Act 2014and the Finance Act 2013. This article will discuss the amendments to the RPGTA as provided in sections 16, 17 and 18 of the FA. The amendments to the RPGTA came into operation on 1 January 2018 ...
The 2018 West Virginia legislative session was a busy one regarding consumer finance law. Legislators focused on the West Virginia Consumer Credit and Protection Act and the West Virginia Safe Mortgage Licensing Act. The West Virginia Legislature passed at least three bills this past session that affect consumers or financial transactions ...
The South African Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2017 was signed into law on 18 December 2017 and made some notable changes to the tax regime. In this article, we deal specifically with the amended section 36 of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “Act”) by the insertion of subsection 36(7EA) of the Act ...
In the case of White Sapphire Ltd/Crane Bank Ltd vs the Commissioner General of the Uganda Revenue Authority (“URA”), the Ugandan High Court considered the notoriously controversial anti-avoidance provisions, in terms of which the benefits of a double tax agreement (“DTA”) concluded by Uganda would not be available where at least 50% of the underlying ownership of the resident of the other contracting state is not held by individuals resident in such other contr
Over the past few years, the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) appears to have created a new category of doubtful debts allowances which they have termed a “specific” doubtful debts allowance, as distinct from the “ordinary” doubtful debts allowance to which a taxpayer is entitled under section 11(j) of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “Act”) in the ordinary course in respect of its doubtful debts ...
Issuers, borrowers and banks should be cautious when making, waiving or delaying interest rate increases to tax-exempt obligations (bonds) resulting from the reduction in corporate marginal tax rates following the December 2017 Tax Act (the Tax Act) because the tax exemption on the interest could be jeopardized unless certain steps are taken. Issuers and borrowers may be contacted by banks that have purchased their bonds to discuss an increase in the interest rate on those bonds ...
On March 13, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it will immediately "ramp down" its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP). The IRS is closing the OVDP on September 28, 2018. Taxpayers with unreported foreign accounts or assets should be aware of the implications of such a change and consider the benefits of disclosure through the OVDP while it remains available ...
Following an extensive consultation process over a two-year period with relevant stakeholders in the project finance market, the South African Registrar of Securities Services (the “Registrar”) has announced that the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (“JSE”) Debt Listings Requirements (“DLRs”) have been amended with effect from 1 March 2018 to include a new section 10, which will now specifically cater for so-called “project bonds” ...
On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which amended certain provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. Bank boards and management teams should take time to familiarize themselves with these changes, as several amendments to the Code relate to the payment of executive compensation. For corporate executives and compensation committees, the change to the Code that has garnered the most attention concerns an amendment to Code Section 162(m) ...
Congress recently enacted comprehensive tax reform (the “Act”). This memorandum highlights some of the provisions of the Act that are particularly relevant to U.S. multinational groups, with a focus on the provisions relating to income associated with intangible property, as defined for applicable U.S. federal income tax purposes. New Corporate Tax Rate The Act significantly changes the U.S ...
As the Commission for the Financial Market (the “Commission”) came into full force this January (read previous news alert here), the regulation of the Chilean financial market took a step forward in terms of institutionalism and modernization. In this context, one of the changes introduced by Law No. 21,000 (the “Law”), that created the Commission, is the self-regulation of entities in the financial market ...
As described in our earlier client alerts, since 1993, a central tenet in the structure of senior real estate lending documentation is the prevention of what is commonly referred to as “cram down ...
The South African tax provisions applicable to real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) were introduced by way of the insertion of section 25BB of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “Act”), as well as consequential insertions in various sections of the Act during 2013. These provisions relating to REITs have been subject to various changes and refinements over time in order to resolve various issues and legislative anomalies ...
The recent decision of the Ugandan Court of Appeal to uphold a 12-year custodial sentence against a former managing director of the National Social Security Fund (“NSSF”) has sparked much debate among finance and legal professionals. Speculation is rife on the impact the decision will have on fund managers (falling within the scope of the Anti-Corruption Act, 2009), as they trade on the secondary bond market ...
Surviving the transition to a 15% VAT rate The South African Minister of Finance, Malusi Gigaba, tabled the 2018/19 Budget in Parliament on Wednesday, 21 February 2018. Government announced a lower than predicted 1% increase in the value-added tax (“VAT”) rate from the current 14% to 15% with effect from 1 April 2018 ...
With collective sales on the rise again, it is timely to examine factors that challenge such deals in the current cycle. It was a saga worthy of a soap opera. In 2007, Horizon Towers was on the verge of breaking the then en bloc price record when, over a period of more than two years and several flip-flopping court and Strata Titles Board (STB) decisions, minority owners eventually blocked the transaction ...
Insolvency that stems from the obligations assumed by a joint venture may concern any of the associates. Such proceeding, especially when it has an international dimension, requires a broader perspective on some of the requirements set forth by law with respect to the initiation and application of the proceeding. Through its effects on the debtor, creditors and on the socioeconomic environment in general, insolvency is more than a mere legal procedure ...
On February 27, 2018, the Supreme Court resolved a split between the Second, Third, Sixth, Eighth, and Tenth Circuit, and the Seventh and Eleventh Circuit in its ruling inMerit Management Group, L.P. v. FTI Consulting, Inc. (“Merit Management”)583 U. S. ____ (U.S. Feb. 27, 2018) ...
With the Paradise papers leak in 2017 and the infamous Panama papers leak the year before, it has become increasingly more important to choose the right destination for offshore investment. It will require careful consideration, planning and skilful professional advice. It will also no doubt require a jurisdiction with a politically and economically stable environment, sound legislation, low tax (or zero tax), a solid banking framework and a discreet environment ...
