On 7 February 2018, a new specialist International Chamber within the Paris Court of Appeal was launched by the French Ministry of Justice together with the Paris Bar Association. The chamber is intended to deal with international commercial matters governed by French as well as foreign law, and the use of English as well as certain common law procedures will be permitted ...
The #MeToo and #TimesUp movements have created a national dialogue about the prevalence of sexual harassment in the workplace, and legislators are responding with new legislation aimed at preventing the secret settlement or arbitration of claims ...
On Wednesday, February 21, 2018, the United States Supreme Court adopted a narrow definition of “whistleblower” in retaliation cases arising under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd Frank), concluding the anti-retaliation provisions of Dodd-Frank only apply to employees who report claims of wrongdoing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), not to employees who report internally. In Digital Realty Trust, Inc. v ...
Neutrality is a basic concept in tax policy which establishes that a tax system should not interfere in the decision-making process, so that the decision should be taken based on its economic merits and not in its tax implications. Of course, this is not an absolute principle because it is understood that absolute neutrality is impossible to achieve ...
1.1 What type of legal system has your jurisdiction got? Are there any rules that govern civil procedure in your jurisdiction? The Philippine legal system is primarily a civil law system, although it may be considered a mixed regime consisting of both civil andcommon law traditions. Civil procedure is governed primarily bythe 1997 Rules of Civil Procedure, or Rules 1 to 71 of the Rules of Court (“ROC”), and various issuances promulgated by the Supreme Court. 1 ...
On December 22, 2017, the president signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Act). Effective Jan. 1, 2018, the Act represents the first major overhaul of the Internal Revenue Code in over 30 years ...
New Amendments to Serbian Tax Laws Views Karanović & Nikolić At the end of 2017, the Serbian Parliament passed amendments to Serbian tax laws, including the Law on Personal Income Tax (PIT Law), the Law on Contributions on Mandatory Social Insurance (CMSI Law), the Law on Corporate Income Tax (CIT Law), and the Law on Value Added Tax (VAT Law). These amendments introduce tax relief for salaries paid to employees in newly incorporated legal entities ...
Since 1 January 2013, section 19 of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “Act”) and paragraph 12A of the Eighth Schedule to the Act (the “Eighth Schedule”) have determined the tax implications where a debt owing by a taxpayer is cancelled, waived, forgiven or discharged for no consideration (or for consideration that is less than the amount of the debt) ...
2017 has seen immense changes to employment law throughout Europe, and the coming year looks to bring more of the same. The 2018 edition of our annual Employment Law Update aims to assist organisations with a pan-European presence in keeping up to date withchanges to legislation and best practice ...
The recent decision of the Labour Court in National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa obo members and Aveng Trident Steel (A division of Aveng Africa (Pty) Ltd) may provide some cheer to employers facing the challenges of restructuring their workforce in difficult economic times. Since 2014, the employer in this matter has faced strong economic headwinds caused by a downturn in sales and increased costs ...
Under the Affordable Care Act (“ACA”), large employers (generally those with 50 or more full-time employees or full-time equivalents) must report annually to the IRS information about the health coverage offered to their full-time employees during the prior year using IRS Form 1095-C. The IRS uses the forms to assess whether an employer "shared responsibility" penalty applies. Employers also must provide copies of the forms to their full-time employees ...
In recent months the Serbian Parliament passed amendments to Serbian tax laws, including the Law on Personal Income Tax (PIT Law), the Law on Contributions on Mandatory Social Insurance (CMSI Law), the Law on Corporate Income Tax (CIT Law), and the Law on Value Added Tax (VAT Law). These amendments introduce tax relief for salaries paid to employees in newly incorporated legal entities ...
This is a reminder to all corporations whose employees or former employees exercised an incentive stock option or made a purchase under the corporation's employee stock purchase plan (ESPP) in 2017 ...
The 2017 tax reform act referred to as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (Act) was signed into law Dec. 22, 2017. The law affects executive compensation and employee benefits in several ways. This alert provides a brief overview of some of the changes. Executive Compensation New private company deferral opportunity for qualified stock awards. The Act contains new Internal Revenue Code Section 83(i), which provides a deferral opportunity for non-executive employees of privately held companies ...
In case you have been in a coma, major tax changes to the Internal Revenue Code were passed in December 2017. See Pub. L. 115-97 (115th Cong., 1st Sess.). Those changes make it much more attractive (from a tax perspective) to arrange one’s affairs like a business owner. Broadly speaking, the new tax law changed the landscape so that many business owners will now benefit from dramatically lower tax rates (e.g., the corporate rate has not been this low since 1939) ...
The UAE Ministry of Finance released Cabinet decision No. 59 specifying all Designated Zones be effective the begining of 2018 for the purposes of implementing the Designated Zone provisions in Federal Decree Law No 8 on Value Added Tax. The Cabinet has the authority to amend the list of Designated Zones as required ...
A new requirement will be introduced shortly that will affect all applications for employment visas. At the start of 2018, a Good Conduct and Behavior Certificate must be submitted along with the other supporting documents when an employer seeks to sponsor a residence visa for a new employee who is not a UAE national. It appears that the requirement will apply throughout the UAE, including the nation’s many free zones ...
On January 8, 2018, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit issued itsen bancdecision inWi-Fi One, LLC v. Broadcom Corp., Appeal 2015-1944 (Fed. Cir. Jan. 8, 2018) (en banc) holding that Patent Trial and Appeal Board (“PTAB”) time-bar determinations under 35 U.S.C. § 315(b) in aninter partesreview (“IPR”) proceeding are appealable. Theen bancdecision overrules a panel’s earlier decision inAchates Reference Publishing Inc. v. Apple Inc.803 F ...
The tax reform bill passed by Congress at the end of 2017 significantly reduces the number of taxpayers whose families will pay gift tax or estate tax, but it comes with an “expiration date” of December 31, 2025. Prior to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the Act), an individual could transfer up to $5,490,000 ($10,980,000 for a married couple) without paying estate, gift, or generation-skipping transfer (GST) taxes ...
Last week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued proposed 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 association to provide health coverage for their employees ...
Why is April 2, 2018 Important? April 2, 2018 is the first day on which U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will accept H-1B specialty worker petitions for the next fiscal year beginning October 1, 2018 ...
Have we reached the tipping point in the fight against sexual harassment in the workplace? In late August 2017, Hurricane Harvey struck the Caribbean and the United States, causing unprecedented devastation and destruction. Less thantwo months later, a very different “Hurricane Harvey” followed, one that precipitated a renewed global consciousness over issues of sexual harassment ...
As part of a now-infamous 1972 monologue, comedian George Carlin listed the “Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television,” colorfully repeating each throughout his routine. While many of those words remain unacceptable for the airwaves, they may now be suitable for federal trademark registration, thanks to a recent decision from the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals ...
