As Denmark is situated between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, the prevailing weather conditions suggest that wind power should constitute a major part of the country's total power production. While onshore wind turbines have dominated the Danish landscape for decades, offshore wind turbine parks have been erected in Danish waters in recent years ...
Article 63 of Government Regulation Number 74 of 2011 on The Procedures for Exercising Tax Rights and Fulfilling Tax Obligations (“Regulation 74/2011”) mandates the promulgation of a Minister of Finance (MOF) Regulation on the suspension of a tax crime investigation ...
On Wednesday, October 3rd., it was published in the Official Gazette the provisional suspension issued by the Constitutional Court of Section 180, 4., of Decree 10-2012 which abrogated the withholding exemption contained in Section 12 of Decree 80-2000 ...
B.C. Environment Minister Terry Lake and Energy, Mines and Natural Gas Minister Rich Coleman refused to issue an Environmental Assessment Certificate (“EAC”) to Pacific Booker Minerals Inc. for its proposed Morrison Copper/Gold Mine project near Smithers, at the headwaters of the Skeena River ...
Overview of the Mining Activity in Portugal: In 2010, there were 56 mines in operation across the country. In the same year, a total volume of 4,664,978 tons of mineral resources was produced and the export volume was of € 735 million[1]. These are impressive data from the Government evidencing a growing sector of activity ...
BackgroundIndustrial activities are of great importance to Europe’s financial wealth. Industrial emissions, however, cause environmental pollution and industrial emissions constitute a major part of Europe’s total emissions to air, water and soil. Consequently, there is a need for regulation of industrial operations at an EU level.In view hereof the so-called IPPC Directive (Integrated Pollution Prevention Control) was adopted in 1996 ...
Even a cursory review of relevant news stories today reveals that hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) is one of the most hotly debated subjects in the energy sector. Both environmentalists and regulators are keeping concerns about fracking at the forefront of their agendas. Since late May of this year, there have been a number of key legal developments related to the issue that merit the attention of the oil and gas industry ...
As of January 1, 2013, Quebec and California will emerge as the first two Western Climate Initiative (WCI) Partners to create a carbon market that imposes binding targets on businesses identified as major greenhouse gas (GHG) emitters ...
With two Congressional Decrees approved in February and March 2012 (“Ley Antievasión II” (Decree 4-2012), and “Ley de Actualización Tribuaria” (Decree 10-2012) respectively), Congress introduces several reforms to the Guatemalan Tax System through extensive amendments to the Tax Code (“Código Tributario”) and other tax laws. The most notorious and substantial reforms affect the VAT Law, the Tobacco Tax Law, the Tax Code, and Income Tax Law ...
Geography, History & Economy The country of Belize is located on the Caribbean coast of northern Central America. Bordered to the North by Mexico, South and West by Guatemala and East by the Caribbean Sea, Belize forms part of Central America and the Caribbean ...
Although Cyprus usually tends to be associated with company formation (in an international tax planning context), Cyprus has an efficient trust legislation in force. The latest legal reform of trusts has enhanced the appeal of Cyprus International Trust (CIT) to both professionals and high net-worth individuals.Legislation and Legal Requirements CITs used to be governed by the International Trusts Law of 1992 ...
Under what condition will an offshore trust still fall within your government’s tax net? Offshore trusts may be established and managed in many jurisdictions. In most countries personal taxation is based on residence. The question often asked is what the residency of an offshore trust established by a resident of a certain country is. In the case recently reported in Canada “Fundy settlement, Canada, 2012 SCC 14” (Tim Gestnick – The Globe and Mail Apr ...
No, it is not a nice Mediterranean dish! The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) is the newest piece of legislation from the US which should ensure and enforce the correct declaration and payment of taxes owed by US tax payers. The bill was passed in March 2010 whereupon the proposed regulations were presented on February 8th, 2012. The act should come into effect through several steps from January 1st, 2013 to January 1st, 2017 when full reporting requirements will be in force ...
There have been two important developments in British Columbia’s wind energy sector in June. The first was the release of BC Hydro’s Draft Integrated Resource Plan (Draft IRP) for public consultation. The Draft IRP recommends building new clean generation resources to ensure sufficient future capacity within the system ...
Pursuant to statutory changes enacted in its 2011 Sunset Review, the TCEQ has created a website that allows companies and persons subject to its regulations to review the agency’s proposed compliance history rating, for a 30-day period prior to that rating being made available to the public ...
In what has been described as a “sweeping victory” for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a decision on June 26, 2012 in lawsuits that challenged various aspects of the Agency’s regulatory scheme for greenhouse gases (GHGs). EPA’s challenged actions stem from a decision by the U. S. Supreme Court in 2007 in the case of Massachusetts v ...
In a previous newsletter (no. 1, April 2012) we described the Swedish government’s proposal on limitation of interest deductions. The bill was circulated for comments, which has now resulted in an amended proposal which, as a whole, follows the initial proposal. The most significant change in the amended bill concerns the reversed general exemption ...
The Supreme Court makes clear that a party that has started to clean up contamination caused by another party is also deemed to be a business operator. This gives rise to joint and several liability for the original contamination. The fact that remedial work was intended to reduce the environmental impact is of no importance. Background A company which was later incorporated into JM Värmdöstrand (“JM”) operated a casting works from the 1940s to the 1980s on a site in Oxelösund ...
If you are in the oil and gas industry and you’ve experienced the recent onslaught of enforcement actions, particularly in the Appalachian basin, by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) you may take comfort in the aphorism: “You’re not paranoid if they really are out to get you!” A simple Google search of “EPA III Enforcement” and a click on the “Natural Gas Extraction/Marcellus Shale” link at the EPA Region III website should cause any company concern ...
Contents: The Trust: An Efficient Asset Protection Tool? Amendments to the Obligations of Employers Hiring Foreign Workers – One Year Later: Are You Ready for Service Canada’s Verification? Did You Know? Trustee’s Tax Liability THE TRUST: AN EFFICIENT ASSET PROTECTION TOOL? Valérie Boucher [email protected] In the last few years, trusts have been growing in popularity among business people, including as an asset protection mechanism ...
The Registrar of Companies (ROC) has introduced an annual government licence fee of €350. The government licence fee for 2011 was payable by 31 December 2011. From 2012 onwards the government licence fee will need to be paid by 30 June of that year.Companies which are dormant and/or do not own any assets are exempt from this licence fee ...
On the 27th of February 2012, the Montenegrin Parliament enacted amendments to the Law on Corporate Income Tax, the Law on Personal Income Tax and the Law on Contributions for Mandatory Social Security Contributions. These amendments were published in the Official Gazette of Montenegro no. 14/12 dated the 7th of March 2012 and came into force that same day.I ...
On 23 February 2012, Government Regulation No. 27 of 2012 on Environmental Licenses (“GR 27/2012”) was issued to regulate AMDAL, UPL & UKL, and the contamination and destruction of the environment. GR 27/2012 is the implementing regulation for Articles 33, 41, and 56 of Law No. 32 of 2009 on Environmental Protection and Management which replaced Government Regulation No. 27 of 1999 on Environmental Impact Analysis ...
For the past two years so-called 'monster rain' has hit Copenhagen in summer. The rain has flooded large areas in Copenhagen and neighbouring towns, and caused substantial damage to properties in the flooded areas, as well as closing major radial routes into Copenhagen. This update examines the ways in which the authorities intend to prevent damage caused by monster rain in future ...
Energy security is ability of the State to choose how and under what conditions local consumers are to be provided with energy and energy resources. This ability is mainly determined by alternatives for usage of local energy sources, diversified imports, integrity of energy systems, and market-based formation of energy prices ...