We previously provided an update regarding the enactment of a capital gains tax (the “Tax”) in the State of Washington (read about it here). In that article, we noted the Tax was subject to at least one lawsuit in Washington. That lawsuit resulted in the trial court striking down the Tax, which caused an appeal to the Washington State Supreme Court (the “Court”) ...
Paul Carney and Craig Thomas explore the impact of the Chancellor's 2023 Spring Budget on the taxation of pensions in the UK. The Chancellor’s budget statement on 15 March caused many to be surprised and some to be perplexed ...
On 19 March 2023, the Labour Protection Act (No. 8) B.E. 2566 (2023) was published in the Royal Gazette, effectively amending the Thai Labour Protection Act B.E 2541 of 1998 (“LPA”) by adding Section 23/1 to provide the requirements for work-from-home or remote working arrangement ...
Ensuring the safety and security of funds is a top priority for financial institutions worldwide. To this end, the South African Government has put in place various regulations to guide the operations of financial institutions. We have written several articles on the recent changes to the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, 2001 (“FICA”) and the regulations promulgated under FICA ...
Cyber criminals have developed new ransomware techniques to improve the efficiency and profitability of their attacks. These include targeting large and high-value entities such as governments and the health care sector (also known as “big game hunting”), and the selling of user-friendly ransomware software kits (also known as ransomware as a service) ...
The South African Government's new Preferential Procurement Regulations, 2022 (“2022 Regulations”) have created uncertainty about how organs of state will identify "specific goals" in their procurement processes. While the regulations do not specifically require the consideration of B-BBEE, organs of state can still use it as a factor in preference point scoring, along with or instead of other goals like employment equity, green procurement, and local content and production ...
The purpose of section 197 of South Africa’s Labour Relations Act, 1995 (“LRA”) is to protect and maintain employment in circumstances where a transfer of business takes place. In terms of section 197 and section 197B(1)(b), a “transfer” means the transfer of a business by one employer (the old employer) to another employer (the new employer) as a going concern ...
Originally published in West Virginia Banker With plaintiff attorneys seeing potential large dollar settlements and verdicts, along with increased regulatory scrutiny, banks need to review their overdraft practices. As noted by the American Bankers Association, banks resolve most customer inquiries and disputes informally, with a phone call or through digital channels. Banks are incentivized in today’s hyper-competitive marketplace to do so to maintain customer satisfaction ...
Debtors hoping to discharge their obligations in bankruptcy may find a new hurdle based on the US Supreme Court’s Feb. 22 ruling. Relying on the plain language of the Bankruptcy Code, and Congress’s use of passive voice, the Supreme Court held that funds obtained through fraud, regardless of who committed such fraud, are not dischargeable through bankruptcy ...
In late December of 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023 (“the Act”). The Act contains a new privacy law called the Providing Urgent Maternal Protections for Nursing Mothers Act, known as the PUMP Act ...
Recent controversy arose after Gary Lineker criticised the Government’s immigration policy on Twitter causing the BBC to announce that he would step back from hosting Match of the Day until a clear position on his use of social media could be agreed. The decision saw presenters and pundits boycotting BBC football programmes in solidarity and in support of freedom of speech, plunging the BBC’s sport service into chaos ...
Apple Inc. v. Vidal, Appeal No. 2022-1249 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 13, 2023) In our Case of the Week, the Federal Circuit allowed Apple’s challenge to the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (“PTAB”) Fintiv rules to proceed, at least on limited grounds regarding whether in promulgating the guidelines the USPTO failed to follow notice-and-comment rulemaking requirements under the Administrative Procedures Act ...
In a decision that will significantly impact Ohio employers, the Tenth District Court of Appeals has ruled that workers’ compensation claimants are entitled to temporary total disability benefits even if terminated for cause. In State ex rel. Autozone Stores, Inc. v. Industrial Commission, 2023-Ohio-633, the Tenth District issued Ohio’s first appellate review of R.C. 4123.56(F), which went into effect in 2020. R.C. 4123 ...
“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Benjamin Franklin For tax advisors, CFOs, and finance personnel throughout Cambodia, the last few weeks of March are typically extra stressful due to the 31 March deadline for filing annual Tax on Income (TOI) declarations with the General Department of Taxation (GDT). Cambodia’s tax system operates on the principle of self-assessment, meaning taxpayers declare and pay taxes based on their reading of tax regulations ...
On February 17, 2023, the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) announced rules related to the registration-based stock issuance system, marking a full transition to the "registration-based" era, 33 years after the establishment of China's capital markets ...
Following on from the recent announcements regarding the India Young Professionals Scheme (India Young Professionals Scheme visa (shoosmiths.co.uk), the Home Office released (rather unexpectedly) changes to the immigration rules from 9 March 2023 ...
Many construction contracts used in the industry include clauses mandating that any disputes be decided by binding arbitration rather than a jury or bench trial. The standard AIA forms provide the parties with the option of court or arbitration. Trial courts, overwhelmed by a flood of cases and supported with strong caselaw and statutory precedent, regularly enforce arbitration clauses ...
Following a wave of recent prosecutions in relation to cash fraudulently obtained through the various Covid-19 support schemes, we consider the criminal and civil ramifications on a legitimate business which has received cash from someone who has been prosecuted and offer some helpful tips to reduce the risk of your business inadvertently laundering the proceeds of crime ...
More and more employers are introducing paid fertility leave and a fertility leave policy to their workforce. For employers considering doing something similar, we explain the requirements for fertility leave and points to ponder when preparing a policy. Are employers required to provide time off for fertility treatment? There is no statutory right to provide staff with time off (paid or otherwise) for fertility or related treatment ...
The UK Budget announcement on 15 March 2023 is foreseen to include the creation of 12 low tax zones. It is understood these will work in tandem with the 10 freeports the creation of which has already been announced (further free ports are foreseen to be created). Low tax zones and free ports are examples of special economic zones (SEZ). A business that establishes in a SEZ receives benefits, such as lower taxes, subsidies, government resources, pre-built relevant infrastructure et al ...
Regents of the University of Minnesota v. Gilead Sciences, Inc., Appeal No. 21-2168 (Fed. Cir. Mar. 6, 2023) The Federal Circuit’s only precedential patent opinion this week focuses on the written description requirement in the context of an anticipation analysis in the chemical arts. Specifically, it concerns whether disclosures in asserted prior art were sufficient to disclose a claimed molecular structure ...
On January 19, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published its proposed rule barring most non-compete agreements that would apply to employees. We previously summarized the proposed rule here and here. The original deadline for comments on the proposed rule was March 20. On March 6, the FTC announced it is extending the deadline to submit comments to April 19. As of March 9, a total of 16,965 comments (8,848 electronically) have been received on the proposed rule ...
Watch the webinar video and study the key takeaway points from our latest seminar focused on organisational design programmes. Our 2023 webinar programme is focused on supporting HR teams to improve the effectiveness and productivity of the organisations they work for, equipping them to best handle key issues and improve their business through reducing their risk, developing their talent and future proofing their organisation #HRImprove ...
Compliance related themes have become a widely discussed and increasingly important topic for corporates around the world. Increased ESG requirements and awareness have made companies rethink what responsible corporate everyday life looks like. At the same time corporate crimes and, for example, cyber-attacks and data breaches are ever increasing and may lead to detrimental consequences on business ...
The proposal for the temporary Windfall Tax Act for enterprises operating in the electricity and fossil fuel sectors was approved by the Finnish Parliament on 27 February 2023 in an amended form. An overview of the Government's proposal can be found in our previous article on the subject. The Windfall Tax Act will be applied retroactively to the tax assessment of tax year 2023 ...
