The Tax Court of Canada (the “Court”) recently upheld the deductibility of carrying charges incurred in connection with an issuance of shares. In so doing, the court upheld the tax benefits arising from a common financing practice. In addition, the Court reiterated the principle in tax matters according to which, save in exceptional cases, the legal relationships established by one or more taxpayers must be respected ...
Key Points Governor Newsom signed a new law establishing Brown Act rules for social media communications. Members of a legislative body may communicate on social media without fear of creating a serial meeting in violation of the Brown Act. Members of a legislative body may not respond directly on social media to other members of the same legislative body. On Sept.18, 2020, Governor Newson signed Assembly Bill (AB) 992 into law ...
Law 50/2020 of 25 August transposed into Portuguese national law Directive (EU) 2017/828 of the European Parliament and the Council of 17 May 2017 as regards the encouragement of long-term shareholder engagement. This directive is known as the Shareholder Rights Directive II and it amends the previous Directive 2007/36/EC of the European Parliament and the Council of 11 July 2007 ...
I. Portuguese Competition Authority Portuguese Competition Authority publishes final version of its analysis of loyalty policies in telecommunication contracts In April 2020, the Portuguese Competition Authority (PCA) published the final version of its report on "Loyalty policies in telecommunication services" ...
A company’s need for substantial amounts of capital is intensified when looking to grow quickly, or develop an innovative product that will disrupt the market in a meaningful way. This is true to any company, and is especially true to innovative and disruptive startups, which aim at creating new markets, revolutionizing existing ones and prevailing over traditional market participants ...
THE LAW OF 23 SEPTEMBER 2020 REGARDING MEASURES GOVERNING HOW COMPANIES AND OTHER LEGAL ENTITIES ARE PERMITTED TO HOLD MEETINGS HAS BEEN PUBLISHED IN THE LUXEMBOURG OFFICIAL JOURNAL. This law enables companies and other legal entities (such as ASBLs) to hold general meetings and other meetings of the company’s corporate bodies without the need for physical attendance, even where this is not provided for in the company’s articles of association ...
On September 6th, 2020, “Rules for the Consideration and Resolution of Administrative Disputes by the Federal Service for Intellectual Property”, approved by the order of the Russian Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Economic Development (“Rules”) came into force. The Rules were developed jointly with the Federal Service for Intellectual Property (Rospatent) ...
On 13 August 2020, the Ruler of Dubai issued Law 9 of 2020 to regulate family ownership of common property in the Emirate of Dubai (the Law). The Law aims to establish a legal framework for family ownership of common property in Dubai and to facilitate its transmission among successive generations. This concept of undivided family assets introduced by the Law also exists in other jurisdictions. There are many family run businesses in Dubai ...
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has adopted several significant amendments affecting disclosure requirements under Items 101, 103 and 105 of Regulation S-K and also expanded the definitions of “Accredited Investor” and “Qualified Institutional Buyer” under Rule 501(a) and Rule 144A, respectively. As SEC Chairman, Jay Clayton, announced in the press release, Items 101, 103 and 105 have not undergone significant revisions in over 30 years ...
BUSINESS STABILIZATION AND RESTRUCTURING ACT (STARUG) On 18 September 2020, the German Federal Department of Justice published a first draft bill for the implementation of the EU Directive 2019/1023 on preventive restructuring frameworks of 20 June 2019 (the „Draft Bill“) ...
The issue is not foreign talent but transparency in the process. DBS was last week named world’s best bank – the third consecutive year it has received such accolade. It was thus more than a little ironic that in the same week, its chief executive Piyush Gupta was cited by a Non-constituency Member of Parliament (NCMP) as a disappointing example of a non “home-grown” CEO. Mr Gupta has been a Singapore citizen since 2009 and has helmed DBS for more than a decade ...
Afridi & Angell was pleased to have advised Dubai Tourism on the testamentary and inheritance framework in Dubai in the process leading up to the much-welcomed announcement of the ‘Retire in Dubai’ programme. The announcement, made on Wednesday 2 September 2020 offers resident expatriates and foreigners aged 55 and above an opportunity to retire in the Emirate. As part of the programme, eligible applicants will be provided a Retirement Visa, renewable every five years ...
Businesses that open their doors to customers, guests, and other visitors during the pandemic must be vigilant, not only to keep their premises safe to those who enter, but also to avoid lawsuits by individuals who claim they contracted COVID-19 on business premises ...
In early September, the Department of Justice issued additional guidance that the Commercial Litigation Branch can consider when settling cases for less than the full amount of the claim based on the defendant’s inability to pay. Under its statutory authority, the Civil Division has the ability to settle claims for less when an entity offers the maximum amount that it is able to pay and the federal government is acting as plaintiff ...
There a number of reasons why Hong Kong banks freeze a customer’s bank account but this article is limited to exploring why Hong Kong banks may be required to do so for money laundering reasons. The money laundering offence in Hong Kong law The offence of “money laundering” is prosecuted in Hong Kong under section 25(1) of the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance, Cap. 455 (“OSCO”) ...
For the last several months, local and national economies have struggled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. To mitigate the downturn, the federal government reduced interest rates to near zero. This reduced rate has created a unique estate planning opportunity for individuals who hold assets they expect will appreciate, who wish to make lifetime gifts to their lineal descendants, and who wish to make such gifts without incurring annual or lifetime gift tax liability ...
In the recent case of Re Shum Tung Lam formerly known as Shum Wan Man [2020] HKCFI 1720, the Court of First Instance was asked to clarify the requirements under section 30A(6) of the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap. 6) (BO) which governs objections made by creditors or trustees to the automatic discharge of a bankrupt from bankruptcy ...
Under section 327 of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32), the Court can exercise its discretion to wind up a foreign-incorporated company. A recent case reaffirms the three core requirements necessary to enable the court to exercise that discretion ...
DIFC entities have until 1 October 2020 to ensure that their data processing activities are compliant with the new Data Protection Law (DIFC Law 5 of 2020) (the DP Law). Who is subject to the DP Law? • DIFC entities.• Non-DIFC entities that regularly engage with DIFC entities as part of a “stable arrangement”, which involve data being processed in the DIFC and/or transferred out of the DIFC. Practical Guidance 1. Maintain a record of Personal Data. 2 ...
By: Joshua M. Robbins, Michael C. Flynn, and Robert S. Gillison The past decade has taught lenders much about regulatory enforcement risk. In the fallout of the 2008 financial crisis and collapse of the housing and related markets, the Department of Justice and other agencies aggressively stepped up investigations of lenders seen as complicit in the misconduct of borrowers and others ...
On Saturday, September 12, 2020, the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) updated a marijuana industry frequently asked questions (“FAQ”) page that provides relief to state-legal cannabis businesses. The FAQ announces that state-legal cannabis businesses can reduce their gross receipts by using an alternative accounting method under Section 471 of the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) ...
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many hospitality professionals and their clients to confront bankruptcy, insolvency, and loan workout issues for the first time since the Great Recession. Chapter 11 presents a host of unique issues for hotels and other hospitality businesses ...
The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced Friday Friday that it had revised the Families First Response Act (FFCRA) in response to a recent ruling by a federal court in New York. The new regulations are effective September 16 and represent a significant change for healthcare entities who previously (and correctly) used “blanket” denials of FFCRA requests for all of their employees ...
On 12 September 2020, the UAE Ministry of Health and Prevention (MoHAP) reported 1007 new COVID-19 cases in the UAE. With the number of cases rising both within the UAE and in most other countries, the UAE government has reiterated the importance of adhering to preventive guidelines and has further placed safeguards, particularly in Abu Dhabi, to ensure that those traveling to the UAE are confined to prevent the transmission of the virus ...
