Revenue legislation and administration: The Federal Constitution provides that tax shall only be levied by or under authority of federal law. This means the general body of tax law is to be found in tax statutes, supplemented by other legislative instruments such as subsidiary legislation and ministerial orders ...
Dear All,We would like to draw your attention to the following deadlines for the provision of information to the Russian tax authorities by individuals in 2016.May 4, 2016 – the final due date to submit personal income tax declaration in respect of income received in 2015 (hereinafter - the “Tax declaration”) ...
The 2016 Budget Review contained a most welcome – if cryptic – statement for venture capital companies (“VCCs”) and their investors. The statement reads as follows:“Venture capital funding for small businessesFunding remains one of the biggest challenges for small businesses. To encourage equity funders to invest in small businesses, the venture capital company regime was introduced in 2008. Currently, 31 venture capital companies are registered ...
KENYA: Amnesty granted to landlordsIn terms of the new section 123C, introduced into the Income Tax Act by Finance Act 2015 (the “Act”), the Kenya Revenue Authority (“KRA”) has granted a tax amnesty to landlords with effect from 1st January 2016.The Act provides amnesty for persons who shall willingly declare their 2014 and 2015 rent, pay the implied principal tax and file returns (original or amended) between 1 July 2015 and 30 June 2016 ...
The South African Labour Courts have, until now, not had the opportunity to consider what impact, if any, a so-called “gardening leave” provision may have on the enforceability of a restraint of trade. This issue, among others, came before the Labour Court in Johannesburg in the case ofVodacom v Godfrey Motsa and MTN Group (J74/16). Judgment was handed down by Van Niekerk J on 9 February 2016 ...
On 15 December 2015, SARS issued a draft Public Notice that sets out the additional record-keeping requirements for transfer pricing transactions.It proposes extensive and comprehensive documentation requirements that must now be kept by taxpayers with a consolidated South African turnover of R1 billion or more ...
Budget 2016 Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan did not mention the proposed carbon tax (the “tax”) in his Budget Speech delivered on 24 February 2016. Curiously, given the emotion that has surrounded the idea of the tax since 2010, when it was first formalised in a Treasury discussion paper, commentary on the implications of the Minister’s apparent omission has been muted or non-existent ...
Do hashtag trade marks need special consideration? There’s been quite a bit of discussion on the issue of hashtag trade marks of late, and there was a particularly useful article on the topic in a recent edition (1 February 2016) of the International Trademark Association (“INTA”) Bulletin. The article was entitled “Are Hashtags Capable of Trademark Protection under U.S. Law?”, and it was written by Carrie L. Kiedrowski and Charlotte K. Murphy of the firm Jones Day ...
During October 2015, as part of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (“OECD”)/G20 Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (“BEPS”) Project, the OECD issued its final report in respect of Action 7 “Preventing the artificial avoidance of permanent establishment status” (“BEPS Report”) ...
In the 2016 Budget Speech delivered on 25 February 2016, the Minister of Finance announced a special voluntary disclosure programme (“Special VDP”) to encourage taxpayers to regularise violations of tax laws and exchange control regulations. This article briefly examines the benefits of the Special VDP and why potential applicants should begin preparing to submit their application in anticipation of the 1 October 2016 commencement date ...
Chambers & Partners has published the latest edition of its guide this month, and we are pleased to announce that Karanović & Nikolić has once again been included in its list of the best legal practices in the world. The Chambers guides are the culmination of thousands of in-depth interviews conducted by the largest research team of its kind, with a globally attained credibility in objectively ranking the world's best legal practices from more than 190 countries in total ...
In a recent statement to the press, the Slovenian Minister of Economic Development and Technology, Zdravko Počivalšek, labelled the Serbian spas as great tourism potentials and 'undiscovered gems', before continuing to declare Slovenian interest for investing in them ...
On March 14, 2016 the Mexican Ministry of Economy published in Official Gazette of the Federation a decree amending the General Corporations Law (Ley General de Sociedades Mercantiles) which will allow the incorporation of Mexican simplified commercial corporations or “SAS” (sociedad por acciones simplificada) within a 24-hour time frame.To read the full alert, click here ...
Last January 14, the Communications and Transportation Ministry published the prequalification rules pertaining the international open tender number PO-009000988-N1-2015 awarding the construction of a high speed train project that will run in the route Mexico, D.F. - Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro, including the definitive executive program, construction, supply, set up and extended testing of a railway track, rolling stock, equipment, systems and other components ...
1. Introduction On 21st January 2016, the Italian Cabinet gave the green light for the “Reorganization, rationalization and simplification of Port Authorities” decree (the “Ports Decree”), which reviews a system which has been in place for over 20 years. The Ports Decree is part of the re-launch of ports and logistics in Italy promoted by the Ministry for Infrastructure and Transport (“MIT”) ...
Treaties with Luxembourg and the Republic of Korea RatifiedSerbian Parliament ratified the double tax treaty with Luxembourg which was discussed in our recently published tax alert. If Luxembourg follow suit and ratifies the treaty this year it is likely that the treaty will be applicable from 1 January 2017.Parliament also ratified the double tax treaty with the Republic of Korea, signed in January this year. The treaty is based on the standard OECD Model Tax Convention ...
Since mid-February, there has been an ongoing debate in the public sphere regarding the high profile case that found the global IT giant Apple and FBI on opposite sides of the legal spectrum. The case's background involves the 2015 San Bernardino shooting incident in USA, and the fact that one of the perpetrators was in possession of an iPhone potentially containing relevant information for the ensuing investigation ...
The Second Circuit issued an important decision recently in In re Sanofi Securities Litigation applying the Supreme Court’s landmark Omnicare decision. In Omnicare, the Supreme Court held that a statement of opinion, even if honestly believed, could be actionable if the issuer failed to disclose material facts that conflict with what a reasonable investor would, in context, expect about the issuer’s basis for the opinion ...
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (“CFPB”) recently announced a settlement with Dwolla, Inc., an online payment processor, for allegedly deceptive statements Dwolla made to consumers regarding the company’s data security practices. In the settlement, Dwolla agreed to pay a $100,000 penalty and take specific actions to improve its data security ...
On February 12, 2016, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued 18 no-action letters concerning requests to exclude proxy access shareholder proposals from proxy materials pursuant to Rule 14a-8(i)(10) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Rule 14a-8(i)(10) permits a company to exclude shareholder proposals from its proxy materials if the company has already “substantially implemented” such proposals ...
The tax team at Karanović & Nikolić participated in the 13th Edition of Doing Business 2016 – Measuring Regulatory Quality and Efficiency, a World Bank Group Flagship Report. Renowned as one of the most influential policy publications across the globe, Doing Business provides a detailed analysis on the state of health of world-wide economies ...
On 16 February 2016, the Bosnian Competition Council made a ruling in favour of the cable operator and Karanović & Nikolić's client – Telemach – in the case against HD Win, the owner of the sports channel "Arena Sport", and a subsidiary of Telekom Serbia. The authority imposed a fine against HD Win for its abuse of dominant position and ordered it to enter into agreement with Telemach in order to allow its subscribers access to Arena Sport ...
On February 16, 2016, the recently constituted Philippine Competition Commission (“PCC”), which was created under the Philippine Competition Act (Republic Act 10667 or the “PCA”), issued Memorandum Circular No ...
Karanović & Nikolić is proud to announce the promotion of new Partners and Senior Associates. The following employees have been recognised for their hard work and dedication to our values and goals, and we hope this promotion will only increase their drive and commitment in the future ...
