After weeks of headlines dominated by Equifax’s cyber breach affecting 143 million consumers and the breach of the SEC’s own EDGAR system, the SEC recently announced the creation of (i) a Cyber Unit to target cyber-related misconduct and (ii) a Retail Strategy Task Force to strengthen its protection of retail investors ...
The UAE has issued substantive law on Value Added Tax (VAT) and Excise Tax. Federal decree law No.8 of 2017 deals with VAT. The imposition of VAT will commence in the UAE from 1 January 2018 at a rate of 5%. The VAT law provides a framework for implementation of VAT in the UAE ...
On June 30, 2017, Governor Kasich signed the workers’ compensation budget bill. House Bill 27, which funds the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation, also made several important changes significant to Ohio employers. The changes are effective September 29, 2017. The most impactful portions of House Bill 27 involve a modification in the injury statute of limitations for filing a claim, reducing the filing from two years of the date of injury to one year ...
The Israeli Tax Authority ("ITA"), published a list of instances whereby transfer of funds, through banking corporations, to foreign residents will be exempt from tax withholding ...
The District Court for the Southern District of New York recently rejected the notion of a “holistic” approach to materiality, instead zeroing in on the government’s continued payment of claims despite knowledge of non-compliances as proof positive those non-compliances were not material. In United States ex rel. Kolchinsky v. Moody’s Corp ...
On Friday, September 22, 2017, the Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (OCR) officially withdrew two guidance documents issued under the Obama administration regarding implementation of Title IX on school campuses. In place of these guidance documents, the OCR issued new interim guidance documents regarding how schools should handle sexual assaults. The OCR indicated official guidance and directives will be issued after a formal notice and comment period ...
Following the Luxembourg case C-274/15, the series of cases relating to the scope of the cost-sharing VAT exemption also referred to as “Independent Group of Persons” (“IGP”) continues with the release today of three judgements by the Court of Justice of the EU (“CJUE”): Aviva (C-605/15), DNB Banka (C-326/15) and European Commission v Federal Republic of Germany (C-616/15) ...
In line with the state policy set out in the Philippines Constitution to recognise the indispensable role of the private sector in national growth, encourage private enterprise and provide incentives to attract needed investment, the Philippine government has long resorted to public-private partnerships (PPPs) to address problems of national interest ...
In terms of the South African Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “Act”), distributions received by or accrued to a shareholder of a company may constitute either a dividend or a return of capital – each of which would give rise to different tax implications for the shareholder or company concerned ...
In the 2017 South African Budget speech, the Minister of Finance raised government’s concern that the current Controlled Foreign Company (“CFC”) rules do not capture foreign companies held by interposed trusts or foundations, and it was announced that countermeasures for the treatment of foreign companies held by trusts or foundations will be considered ...
The Second Circuit Court of Appeals recently granted a petition for interlocutory review to decide whether a violation of the FCA’s first-to-file rule can be cured by filing an amended pleading. Both the D.C. Circuit and Fourth Circuit1 recently addressed this issue, concluding that the plain language of the first-to-file rule precludes amending around the rule ...
Yesterday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos addressed the public regarding a controversial and difficult issue – Title IX. In her statements, she announced the new administration will change the way colleges and universities handle incidents of sexual assault on campus ...
In its flagship report entitled Global Economic Prospects released in January, the World Bank observed: “The Philippines is particularly weak with regard to transport and trade-related infrastructure … with particularly low rankings for the quality of its seaports and airports. About one-quarter of the population remains without electricity.” Yet growth in the Philippines is projected to accelerate to 6 ...
After getting the knowledge of GPA Model and PPP Model, the bidders need to know how to make preparation during the pre-bid stage. Following are the responses to some most frequently asked questions regarding bidding qualifications, based on which the foreign bidders can make its preparation plan ...
On August 28, 2017, the California Supreme Court issued a 5-2 split decision in California Cannabis Coalition v. City of Upland, S234148. The Court held that a revenue measure proposed by citizen initiative is not “imposed by local government," and does not trigger the procedural limitations of Article XIII C of the California Constitution,[1] as a result ...
Position of Russian Federal Tax Authorities in respect of currency control regulation August 29, 2017 Dear Ladies and Gentlemen, This is to inform you that Federal Tax Authority of the Russian Federation published the Letter no. 3-H-3-17/5523@ dated July 16, 2017, in respect of the position regarding legitimacy of transactions of Russian residents on their foreign bank accounts which were not declared to the local tax authorities (the “Letter”) ...
On 27 August 2017, the United Arab Emirates (the "UAE") published the text of its domestic Value Added Tax (the "VAT") Law, shortly after releasing the text of its Excise Tax Law last week, and the Federal Tax Procedures Law earlier this month. It will be followed by implementing regulations, which will provide more detail on application of the VAT Law.The UAE Government is still planning to introduce VAT on 1 January 2018 ...
It is rare that FCA defendants have their legal defenses paid for, and rarer still that DOJ must bear the expense. In United States ex rel. Wall v. Circle C Construction, the Sixth Circuit held that the government must pay roughly $500,000 in legal fees and expenses the defendant incurred as a result of the government’s unreasonable litigating position ...
SyCipLaw Partners Imelda A. Manguiat and Carina C. Laforteza, Senior Associate Bhong Paulo A. Macasaet, and Associate Maricar G. Ramos contributed the Philippine chapter of Getting the Deal Through: Aviation Finance & Leasing 2017. The chapter addressed pivotal questions about air law and aviation financing and leasing. The scope and rules and regulations of owning, leasing, securing, financing and operating an aircraft were also discussed ...
New Way of Claiming Damages for Competition Law Infringements in Croatia News Karanović & Nikolić On the 22nd of July, 2017, the Law on Actions for Damages for Competition Law Infringements came into force in Croatia (the "Law"), implementing the EU Damages Directive ...
On 19 July 2017, the South African National Treasury released the 2017 Draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (“draft TLAB”) for public comment. One of the proposals contained in the draft TLAB is the deletion of the exemption for foreign employment income contained in section 10(1)(o)(ii) of the Income Tax Act, 1962 with effect from 1 March 2019 ...
The first draft Taxation Laws Amendment Bill, 2017 (the “2017 TLAB”) was released on 19 July 2017 for public comment (due by 18 August 2017).Among other things, it is proposed that the current section 22B of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “Act”) and paragraph 43A of the Eight Schedule to the Act, be substituted with a new section 22B and paragraph 43A ...
South Africans who think that their tax burden is going to decrease because country-by-country (“CbC”) reporting does not apply to their company should think again!In addition to the recently released draft notice requiring the submission of CbC reports, master file and local file returns, the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) has recently issued the External Business Requirements Specification (“BRS”) document, setting out CbC and Financial Data
The window period for South African residents to regularise their unauthorised foreign assets under the Special Voluntary Disclosure Programme (“SVDP”) closes on 31 August 2017. The current SVDP is the latest in a series of such opportunities offered by the Financial Surveillance Department of the South African Reserve Bank (“SARB”), beginning with the 2003 exchange control amnesty ...
BOTSWANA: Amending protocol to treaty with France signedOn 27 July 2017, Botswana and France signed an amending protocol to the Botswana/France Income Tax Treaty, 1999 in Gaborone. CAMEROON: VAT refund procedure available onlineThe Cameroonian Minister of Finance issued a communiqué on 14 June 2017, announcing that the value-added tax (“VAT”) refund procedure has been simplified and is available online as from 3 July 2017 for enterprises registered with the Large Tax Unit ...
