Artificial intelligence technologies are extremely promising in healthcare.1 By examining, cross-referencing and comparing a phenomenal amount of data.2 AI lets researchers work more quickly at a lower cost3 and facilitates doctors’ decision-making with regard to diagnosis, treatment and choice of prescription. The integration of AI into the healthcare field can take various forms:4 Management of electronic medical records (e.g ...
Earlier this year the U.S. Supreme Court released its much-anticipated opinion inSouth Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., in which it held that physical presence within a State is no longer a prerequisite to the imposition of liability on out-of-state sellers to collect and remit sales taxes. In doing so, the Court overruled two of its own earlier cases—National Bellas Hess, Inc. v. Department of Revenue of IllinoisandQuill Corp. v. North Dakota ...
On June 21, 2018, the United States Supreme Court, in South Dakota v. Wayfair, Inc., held that a state can now require companies not physically present in that state to collect tax on internet sales made to its residents. The explosive growth of e-commerce combined with the states’ eroding tax base convinced the Supreme Court to turn back a half century of jurisprudence ...
This week, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued final 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 group or association to provide health coverage for their employees ...
On June 5, I wrote about the suspension of the California End of Life Option Act (“EOLOA”) in the wake of Ahn v. Hestrin and several related court proceedings in May. On Friday, June 15, the Fourth District Court of Appeal determined that the EOLOA will in fact remain enforceable pending further proceedings. Thus, eligible Californians who have requested end-of-life drugs in accordance with the EOLOA may continue with the process described in that law ...
COMOROS: Treaty with United Arab Emirates enters into forceThe income tax treaty between the Comoros Islands and the United Arab Emirates, recently entered into force. GHANA: VAT withholding agents appointed In an attempt to improve value-added tax (“VAT”) compliance, the Ghana Revenue Authority (“GRA”) announced the appointment of identified VAT withholding agents per industry on 17 May 2018 ...
Section 9D of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “Act”) is aimed at South African residents who directly or indirectly hold more than 50% of the total participation (broadly speaking shares) or voting rights in a foreign company. A foreign company in this context is classified as a controlled foreign company (“CFC”) ...
Many countries have become more focused on combating tax avoidance. As such, transfer pricing compliance has become much more burdensome due to substantial documentation requirements and multiple filing deadlines. Multinationals (“MNEs”) have to take action to control their transfer pricing risks, but the cost of doing so could substantially increase ...
In 2016, West Virginia had the highest death rate in the country from drug overdoses—primarily caused by opioids—at 52.0 for every 100,000 people.[1] The state was on track to exceed that number in 2017.[2] Seeking to enact policies that not only curb but reverse this upward trend, the West Virginia Legislature introduced a number of bills during the 2018 Regular Legislative Session that sought to address this disturbing epidemic. One of these, S.B ...
A New Development on the Subject (Update as of June 15th) Click Here to Read » A flurry of rulings during the last two weeks of May has generated enormous confusion regarding the status of California's two-year-old End of Life Option Act ("EOLOA"), the law that allows a terminally ill adult with a six-month prognosis to obtain aid-in-dying drugs from a physician, subject to numerous safeguards ...
Introduction I have been asked to speak on the Base Erosion Profit Sharing of the OECD, or better know as BEPS. This is a new acronym that, similar to CRS and the harmful tax initiative program, is geared at a multilateral approach to the application of uniform tax rules and standards. Unlike the CRS and the harmful tax practices initiatives of the past, BEPS has a focus not necessarily on the private client, but on the multinational commercial organization ...
Healthcare Hazards Involving Medical Records During Bankruptcy Companies in the healthcare industry face many unique challenges when undergoing a bankruptcy, including challenges arising due to the federal and state law framework governing the use and disclosure of medical information. In February 2018, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it had reached a settlement with the receiver appointed to liquidate the assets of Filefax, Inc ...
On January 31, 2018, Finance Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez issued RR No. 7-2018 which restored the provision on Notice of Informal Conference as a due process requirement in the issuance of a deficiency tax assessment. RR No. 7- 2018 was published in the Manila Bulletin on February 1, 2018 and took effect on February 16, 2018 ...
Earlier this year, Department of Finance (“DOF”) Secretary Carlos G. Dominguez issued RR No. 6-2018 which revoked RR No. 12-2013 and reinstated Section 2.58.5 of RR No. 2-1998, as amended by RR Nos. 14-2002 and 17-2003. Section 2.58.5 of RR No. 2-1998 implements the requirement of withholding of income tax for deductibility of expenses. RR No. 6-2018 was published in the Manila Bulletin on January 23, 2018 and took effect on February 7, 2018. Prior to its amendment by RR No ...
The manufacturer of a product generally has a duty to warn the end-consumer of any serious risks associated with that product. In the context of prescription drugs and medical devices, however, the “learned intermediary” doctrine holds that the manufacturer need not warn the end-consumer (i.e., patient). Instead, the manufacturer discharges its obligations by warning the prescribing physician ...
“Belarus will become the first government in the world that opens wide opportunities for the use of blockchain technology”, said in a statement on the official website of the President of Belarus. Alexander Lukashenko, who signed the new law of the land, believes that his county “has every chance of becoming a regional center in this area.” The Presidential Decree of the Republic of Belarus No ...
Speaking of compliance with tax obligations comes to our mind the duty to pay taxes (noun) as the Tax on the Transfer of Goods and Provision of Services (VAT) or Income Tax (ISR), which undoubtedly It is true; but equally certain it is that with the payment obligation exists another set of obligations formal or adjective. In this dual context of formal and substantive tax obligations, is of great relevance filing tax returns ...
During the height of the #MeToo movement and in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal, Congress enacted a sweeping tax reform bill containing a provision intended to penalize businesses who settle claims involving sexual harassment or sexual abuse if they include nondisclosure agreements as part of a settlement. As with many rushed pieces of legislation, legal commentators have more questions than answers about the practical effect of this tax amendment ...
The South African Taxation Laws Amendment Act, 2017 was signed into law on 18 December 2017 and made some notable changes to the tax regime. In this article, we deal specifically with the amended section 36 of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “Act”) by the insertion of subsection 36(7EA) of the Act ...
In the case of White Sapphire Ltd/Crane Bank Ltd vs the Commissioner General of the Uganda Revenue Authority (“URA”), the Ugandan High Court considered the notoriously controversial anti-avoidance provisions, in terms of which the benefits of a double tax agreement (“DTA”) concluded by Uganda would not be available where at least 50% of the underlying ownership of the resident of the other contracting state is not held by individuals resident in such other contr
Over the past few years, the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) appears to have created a new category of doubtful debts allowances which they have termed a “specific” doubtful debts allowance, as distinct from the “ordinary” doubtful debts allowance to which a taxpayer is entitled under section 11(j) of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “Act”) in the ordinary course in respect of its doubtful debts ...
Issuers, borrowers and banks should be cautious when making, waiving or delaying interest rate increases to tax-exempt obligations (bonds) resulting from the reduction in corporate marginal tax rates following the December 2017 Tax Act (the Tax Act) because the tax exemption on the interest could be jeopardized unless certain steps are taken. Issuers and borrowers may be contacted by banks that have purchased their bonds to discuss an increase in the interest rate on those bonds ...
On March 13, 2018, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced that it will immediately "ramp down" its Offshore Voluntary Disclosure Program (OVDP). The IRS is closing the OVDP on September 28, 2018. Taxpayers with unreported foreign accounts or assets should be aware of the implications of such a change and consider the benefits of disclosure through the OVDP while it remains available ...
More than two and a half years after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced that it was re-evaluating its regulatory framework for homeopathic products, the FDA released its Draft Guidance on Drug Products Labeled as Homeopathic. The Draft Guidance summarizes the FDA’s current enforcement perspective on homeopathic products and provides a list of the FDA’s enforcement priorities ...
