Technology’s dark side may well be the silent threat to democracy. A year ago, Americans installed a reality TV star in the White House who doesn’t seem to let the facts get in the way of a good tweet. Trump’s shambolic management style has given America’s enemies a perceived opportunity to drive their country’s agendas ...
As technology has advanced, cyber extortion attacks have risen, and they will continue to be a major security issue for organizations. Cyber extortion can take many forms, but it typically involves cybercriminals demanding money to stop or delay their malicious activities, which include stealing sensitive data or disrupting computer services. Health care and public health sector organizations that maintain sensitive data are often targets for cyber extortion attacks ...
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) ...
In an increasingly connected world, the protection of privacy and personal data has become a key concern for legislators in a number of jurisdictions. In South Africa, an attempt to give effect to the constitutional right to privacy resulted in the Protection of Personal Information Act, 2013 (“POPI”), which was gazetted on 26 November 2013 ...
The Serbian Competition Commission (the "Commission") recently finished sector inquiries concerning quite distinct industries – raspberries and the public procurement for software and hardware. The aim behind the inquiries was to perform extensive market research and analysis in order to acquire a clearer picture of the possible antitrust issues and risks in two sectors widely perceived as strategic for the development of the Serbian economy ...
One of the many unresolved issues relating to Brexit is the issue of cross-border retailing. While there are certainly issues relating to online cross-border shopping (e.g., the imposition of VAT, additional charges for checks as well as delays caused by possible border/customs delays), there are certainly plenty of issues relating to cross-border bricks and mortar retailing as well. The border between Ireland and Northern Ireland ("NI") is a neat case study ...
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 ...
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 ...
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (the "TCJ Act") signed into law by President Trump on December 22, 2017, creates sweeping changes in the way individuals and businesses are taxed. One of the most important changes involves the taxation of pass-through entities and directly implicates the standards for qualified small businesses stock ("QSBS") under IRC section 1202 ...
On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law a sweeping tax act now known as An Act to Provide for Reconciliation Pursuant to Titles II and V of the Concurrent Resolution on the Budget for Fiscal Year 2018 (the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”). The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is effective beginning with the 2018 tax year. Over the coming weeks, we will be alerting you to changes in the tax law and planning ideas that may help to minimize your taxes ...
Coty Germany sells luxury cosmetics in Germany. It markets certain brands via a selective distribution network, i.e. through authorized distributors. Coty brought proceedings before the German courts against one of its authorized distributors, Pafümerie Akzente, in order to prohibit it from distributing Coty products via Amazon ...
At the end of the day, budgets always reflect the political climate of the country. The Chancellor is a member of a government unable to command a majority without the support of the DUP, which has lost two cabinet ministers in the last month, is subject to various manifesto commitments regarding not raising taxes, and that is facing the monumental economic uncertainty of leaving the EU in the next 18 months ...
A rash of lawsuits are being filed around the country against businesses and retailers, claiming their websites are not accessible to those with visual or hearing impairments. These lawsuits are being filed under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"). Title III of the ADA requires equal access for persons with disabilities in places of public accommodation. This is not a new provision of the ADA, but the focus on websites has been a relatively recent development ...
New rules found in Internal Revenue Code sections 6221 through 6241, as amended by the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2015, govern IRS tax audits of partnerships, limited liability companies, and other entities and arrangements classified as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The changes made by these rules will significantly impact partners in partnerships and careful attention should be paid to these rules by all partners in partnerships ...
The Bavarian Data Protection Authority ("BayLDA") has published an online test on its website that can be used by companies to determine how well they are prepared on key topics of the General Data Protection Regulation ("GDPR"). The GDPR will apply directly in the member states of the European Union with effect from May 25, 2018. This will result in significant changes to data protection law in many areas ...
