The Ministry of Planning and Finance issued Notification 47/2018, outlining the new withholding tax (“WHT”) rules that now apply on payments to resident and non-resident taxpayers in Myanmar. This Notification is effective from earlier this year and will supersede the current WHT Notification 51/2017 that was issued last year ...
On July 11, 2018, then-U.S. Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb made a public statement about the agency’s efforts to advance the development of gene therapies.[1] Gottlieb pointed out that the FDA has approved three separate gene therapy products and the agency has issued six scientific guidance documents intended to serve as building blocks of a modern, comprehensive framework for how the FDA can advance the field of gene therapy ...
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 ...
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 ...
The Affordable Care Act ("ACA") is alive and well, despite renewed legal challenges and the elimination of the “individual mandate” beginning next year. While the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act reduced the tax penalty for individuals who don’t have health coverage to $0, effective for 2019, employers continue to be subject to penalties for failing to comply with certain ACA rules ...
According to the bill, online purchases will also be taxed Recently, the government announced the submission of the latest tax reform to the Legislative Assembly, which is called the Public Finance Enhancement Plan. This new tax package is the merging of four projects that have been floating around the Legislative Assembly for a few months now ...
In recent months a Customs Destination Certificate (CDA, in its Spanish acronym) will be required for medical devices1that do not have a sanitary registration to be imported into Chile. The CDA must be requested and obtained by the importer through the Institute of Public Health’s (ISP, id.) GICONA 2.0 electronic platform, and will require the payment of an official fee corresponding to the service code 4111027, “Customs Destination Certificate, law 18,164” ...
Out-of-State Sellers Can Now Be Required to Collect and Remit State Sales Tax Even When They Don’t Have a Physical Presence in the State In a recent 5-4 ruling, the Supreme Court, in South Dakota v. Wayfair, abandoned its physical presence standard established in National Bella Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue of Ill. and Quill Corp. v. North Dakota ...
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 ...
On June 28, 2018, Attorney General Jeff Sessions and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex M. Azar III announced the ninth year of the national health care fraud takedown. The takedown resulted in the largest government action against health care fraud, which involved more than 600 defendants from over 50 federal districts. The targeted fraud schemes accounted for more than $2 billion in false billings ...
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 ...
Artificial intelligence technologies are extremely promising in healthcare.1 By examining, cross-referencing and comparing a phenomenal amount of data.2 AI lets researchers work more quickly at a lower cost3 and facilitates doctors’ decision-making with regard to diagnosis, treatment and choice of prescription. The integration of AI into the healthcare field can take various forms:4 Management of electronic medical records (e.g ...
Earlier this year the U.S. Supreme Court released its much-anticipated opinion inSouth Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., in which it held that physical presence within a State is no longer a prerequisite to the imposition of liability on out-of-state sellers to collect and remit sales taxes. In doing so, the Court overruled two of its own earlier cases—National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue of IllinoisandQuill Corp. v. North Dakota ...
On June 21, 2018, the United States Supreme Court, in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., held that a state can now require companies not physically present in that state to collect tax on internet sales made to its residents. The explosive growth of e-commerce combined with the states’ eroding tax base convinced the Supreme Court to turn back a half century of jurisprudence ...
This week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued final rules to expand access to “Association Health Plans” for small businesses that are unaffiliated, but are in the same line of business or geographic area. An “Association Health Plan” or “AHP” is a group health plan adopted by members of an employer group or association to provide health coverage for their employees ...
On June 5, I wrote about the suspension of the California End of Life Option Act (“EOLOA”) in the wake of Ahn v. Hestrin and several related court proceedings in May. On Friday, June 15, the Fourth District Court of Appeal determined that the EOLOA will in fact remain enforceable pending further proceedings. Thus, eligible Californians who have requested end-of-life drugs in accordance with the EOLOA may continue with the process described in that law ...
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
Section 9D of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “Act”) is aimed at South African residents who directly or indirectly hold more than 50% of the total participation (broadly speaking shares) or voting rights in a foreign company. A foreign company in this context is classified as a controlled foreign company (“CFC”) ...
Many countries have become more focused on combating tax avoidance. As such, transfer pricing compliance has become much more burdensome due to substantial documentation requirements and multiple filing deadlines. Multinationals (“MNEs”) have to take action to control their transfer pricing risks, but the cost of doing so could substantially increase ...
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 2016, West Virginia had the highest death rate in the country from drug overdoses—primarily caused by opioids—at 52.0 for every 100,000 people.[1] The state was on track to exceed that number in 2017.[2] Seeking to enact policies that not only curb but reverse this upward trend, the West Virginia Legislature introduced a number of bills during the 2018 Regular Legislative Session that sought to address this disturbing epidemic. One of these, S.B ...
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 ...
