On 21 May 2021, Hong Kong’s Financial Services and Treasury Bureau (FSTB) issued its consultation conclusions (Conclusions) on the proposed licensing regime for virtual asset services providers (VASPs). The Conclusions follow publication of the FSTB’s consultation paper of 3 November 2020 (Proposal). For details of the Proposal, please refer to our article of 24 November 2020 ...
New SCCs are hot off the (virtual) press. Now's the time to plan, implement the changes in them and, most importantly of course, keep your data flowing. Who hasn’t during a power cut, out of habit, entered a room and tried to flick on the lights? There’s a tiny delay before you remember there’s no power and you reprimand yourself for being so foolish. Too often, we only notice the electricity that powers our lives when it’s not there ...
On Friday, May 30, 2021, the U.S. Department of Treasury released its “General Explanations of the Administration’s Fiscal Year 2022 Revenue Proposals” (the “Green Book”). The Green Book, a copy of which is locatedhere, provides detailed descriptions of the Biden Administration’s legislative tax proposals, which the White House formally announced on May 28, 2021, when it released its fiscal year 2022 Budget proposals ...
When the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPIA”) comes into effect fully from 1 July 2021, there are some areas of possible dispute that could arise between employers and employees, including the monitoring of employee emails. In a recent Constitutional Court judgment in Turkey, the personal data protection rights of an employee were considered, and could provide some guidance as to how a similar situation may be handled in a South African context ...
The South African President has signed the Cybercrimes Bill into law, which means it is now an Act of Parliament. The date on which the Cybercrimes Act, 2020 comes into force is yet to be announced, but there are a few key things to note: The majority of the offences created by the Cybercrimes Act relate to data, messages, computers, and networks involving hacking, the unlawful interception of data, ransomware attacks, cyber forgery and uttering, and cyber extortion ...
Fast becoming the Monaco of the East, Singapore is luring global UHNWIs to set up family offices here due to its wealth-friendly tax and regulatory regime, and its position at the global economic growth epicentre. Sergey Brin (net worth: US$104 billion). Google’s co-founder and the world’s ninth-richest person set up a branch of his single family office (SFO), Bayshore Global Management, in Singapore to manage his local assets late last year ...
Charitable giving is a way for businesses and individuals to save on taxes while supporting the causes that align with their values. At Schwabe, we can help clients to plan charitable gifts and make sure that their charitable giving works holistically with the plan they have created for the distribution of their entire estate. This article will cover common questions associated with charitable giving ...
POLITICAL AGREEMENT WITH THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT ON THE PROPOSED DIRECTIVE ON THE DISCLOSURE OF INCOME TAX INFORMATION BY CERTAIN UNDERTAKINGS AND BRANCHES _____________________________________ On 1 June 2021, the Council of the European Union (the “Council”) reached a political agreement with the European Parliament on the proposed directive on the disclosure of income tax information by certain undertakings and branches, commonly referred to as the public country-by-count
1. What are the rules on the exclusion of land in the computation of the PhP100 million threshold on total assets in order to qualify for the reduced corporate income tax rate of 20% under the CREATE Law? The Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) has issued Revenue Memorandum Circular No. 62-2021 dated April 30, 2021 (RMC No. 62-2021) to clarify certain provisions of Revenue Regulations No. 5-2021 relative to corporate income taxation under Republic Act No ...
2021 has continued to see steady activity with respect to acquisitions and re-structuring of businesses in the Cambodian market. There are a number of factors at the forefront of this activity, not least the pending capital gains tax implementation date of 1 January 2022, bargain hunting of distressed assets, and internal re-structuring of multi-national organizations, to name a few ...
On 21 April 2021, the European Commission (EC) published a proposal (Proposed Regulations) which is described as the “first-ever legal framework on [Artificial Intelligence]”, aiming to turn Europe into the global hub for trustworthy Artificial Intelligence (AI). The Proposed Regulations are of general interest because they constitute a first attempt to “regulate” AI properly and, if implemented, may become influential worldwide ...
On May 28, the Treasury Department released the General Explanations of the Administration's Fiscal Year 2022 Revenue Proposals, known as the "Green Book," detailing the Biden administration's proposed changes to the Internal Revenue Code (IRC). For startup founders and early investors, the Green Book provides welcome relief ...
Financial ServicesBank Negara Malaysia seeks feedback on Alternative Reference Rate and Strategic Direction on KLIBOR and KLIRROn 19 May 2021, Bank Negara Malaysia invited written feedback by 18 June 2021 on its Alternative Reference Rate and Strategic Direction on the Kuala Lumpur Interbank Offered Rate (“KLIBOR”) and the Kuala Lumpur Islamic Reference Rate (“KLIRR”) for the Malaysian Financial Markets discussion paper ...
The digital transformation experienced over the last number of years has resulted in unprecedented global economic and societal changes. This has resulted in global debates around international tax and the digital economy and whether the existing international tax rules, developed in a “brick-and-mortar” economic environment more than a century ago, remain appropriate for the modern global economy ...
Electronic registration The Norwegian Maritime Authority («NMA«) has developed a new system for electronic ship registration and has proposed certain amendments to the Norwegian Maritime Code and appurtenant regulations. The amendments are currently circulated in a memo subject to public hearing ...
The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) recently discussed possible approaches to establishing an interoperating central bank digital currencies (CBDC) arrangement as the future of cross-border payments. Although not an “official” definition, CBDC generally refers to a new form of digital currency issued by a central bank, denominated in an existing unit of account operating as a store of value and a medium of exchange ...
Tech London Advocates (TLA) Scale Up Group hosted a virtual event with expert speakers, UK Tech on the World Stage, as a partner event for Scaleup Week: The Business Plan held on 18-20 May 2021. A panel of international tech leaders shared insights and opinions regarding UK technology on the world stage, exploring the growth of UK digital businesses and what it takes for them to expand into overseas markets ...
On May 19, 2021, Superintendent Resolution Nº 045-2021-SMV/02 was published, apdopting the Regulation of the Financial Participative Financing Activity and its Management Companies (the “Regulation“), which clarifies the provisions of Emergency Decree Nº 013-2020 – Emergency Decree that Promotes the Financing of MSMEs, Entrepreneurships and Startups ...
On 3 May 2021, the EU Member states approved “dried yellow mealworms” as a novel food under EU Regulation 2015/2283. According to the applicant, mealworms can be used in a broad range of food products, such as bread, cookies, or pasta. A Commission implementing regulation will follow soon, which marks the final step and formally authorises the novel food. Mealworms are the first insect species to secure clearance as a novel food but more are likely to follow ...
Secretary of Commerce Resolution No. 485/2021, published in the Official Gazette on May 12th, 2021, regulates subsection C) of Article 7 of Law of Supermarket Shelves No. 27,545 [1], which establishes that the cheapest products per unit of measure must be situated at an equidistant height between the first and last shelf. The Resolution establishes that the value to be considered is the lowest in the price list offered to the consumer on a “non-transitory basis”, i.e ...
The Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on markets in cryptoassets, which amends Directive (EU) 2019/1937, ("Regulation on Markets in Crypto-assets", or the "MiCA Regulation" for short) was published on 24 September 20201. The Proposal is part of the Digital Finance Package adopted on the same date by the European Commission as part of the Digital Finance Strategy for the EU financial sector2 ...
As cryptocurrency and digital assets enter mainstream markets, the business world will have to come to grips with the nature of this new asset class. Silk Road was an Internet black market (known as the Dark Web) notorious for trading contraband, including illicit drugs. These transactions are anonymous, being settled in Bitcoin, a cryptocurrency that bypasses traditional payment modes that allow authorities to identify parties ...
In Markit Systems (Pty) Limited v Fulcrum Group (Pty) Limited, the Gauteng Local Division of the High Court held that the customer was within its rights to cancel an agreement it had with a service provider because the parties had not been able to agree on the scope and details to be included in the schedule to the agreement ...
Robo-Advisors (sometimes spelt as Robo-Advisers) are digital investment advisory platforms that provide automated, algorithm-driven financial planning services with little to no human supervision. In this article our Oluwapelumi Omoniyi takes a cursory look at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s new rules on Robo-Advisors and highlights the rationale behind the move to regulate Robo-Advisors ...
