Today's judgment from the European Court of Justice ("ECJ") in the case Commission v CK Telecoms (C-376/20 P) provides insight into how the EU merger control provisions should be assessed in consolidated markets, such as telecommunications. Understanding the judgment may be relevant for consolidation plans in many industries with tendencies towards oligopoly ...
Today (16 July 2020), the ECJ handed down its long-awaited judgment on the validity of Standard Contractual Clauses in international data transfers (ECJ, judgment of 16 July 2020, case C-311/18). In a surprise move the Court of Justice declared the EU Commission's adequacy decision on the Privacy Shield - the agreement that allows data transfers to certain companies in the USA - to be invalid. On the other hand it confirmed the validity of the Standard Contractual Clauses ...
E-commerce can take different forms, but for the purposes of this article, we will refer to e-commerce where the contract of sale or of supply of services is concluded by electronic means ...
The UAE has introduced Cabinet Resolution 31 of 2019 (as amended) (the Economic Substance Regulations) which apply to UAE onshore and free zone entities that undertake, and earn an income from, any of the Relevant Activities (listed below): Banking Business Insurance Business Investment Fund Management Business Shipping Business Holding Company Business Lease-Finance Business Distribution & Service Centre Business Headquarters Business Intellectual Property Business The Re
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Most of our clients are aware that Congress dramatically increased the individual gift tax exemption from $1,000,000 to $5,120,000 in 2012, and that the exemption is scheduled to revert to $1,000,000 on January 1, 2013 unless Congress takes some action. If this reduction in the gift tax exemption occurs, clients may lose an opportunity to remove a substantial amount of assets from their estates, and, with it, the opportunity to reduce estate taxes payable by their children ...
In two recent decisions, the Tax Court issued rulings that could impact the effectiveness of family limited partnerships in estate planning. For the first time, the Tax Court held that assets of a limited partnership could be taxed as part of the estate of a decedent who held only a limited partnership interest ...
How can investors, developers and the public sector find value in an ever-changing environment? This was the big central question forming the basis for EG’s recent Scottish Cities Live event, of which Shoosmiths was a sponsor ...
Advance payment can be understood as: “… the payment made before the occurrence of the generating event that constitutes the future and uncertain event on which the legal force of the obligation depends” (Giulani Fonrouge and Susana Navarrine in “Procedimiento Tributario”, Editorial de Palma, page 159) ...
Private sector, investors and experts agree that the Government of El Salvador has to improve the business climate to attract more national and foreign investment that would contribute to increase the Gross Domestic Product and improve in this way the living conditions of the population ...
Since the current Electronic Communications Code was introduced in 2017, swathes of it have come under the judicial microscope and even resulted in impending legislative updates. Until now, there has been no scrutiny of the process under which telecommunications apparatus is to be removed following termination of the underlying agreement ...
The debt collection restrictions and requirements in the FDCPA, which was enacted in 1977, have failed to keep up with or even contemplate modern technologies. In particular, as methods and forms of communication have evolved, the industry has had little guidance on how it can utilize newer communication channels such as emails, text messages, or social media. In many cases, the industry has had to grapple with different and often conflicting court interpretations ...
On 22 March 2016, the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation (“OECD”) released a standardised electronic format to facilitate the consistent and uniform preparation, filing and exchange of Country-by-Country (“CbC”) reports. The CbC reports will be transmitted between revenue authorities in accordance with the Extensible Markup Language Schema (“XML Schema”),which is a data structure for electronically holding and transmitting information ...
The e-signature is a tremendously useful tool to aid in the operational continuity of companies that, in the face of the restrictions to freedom of movement resulting from the expansion of Covid-19, need to digitalize their processes, including the way in which they render their consent to contracting long distance ...
Email services can usually not be qualified as telecommunications services. These were the decisions of both the European Court of Justice (ECJ, judgment of June 13, 2019 – C-193/18) and the Higher Administrative Court of Münster (OVG Münster, judgment of February 5, 2020 – 13 A 17/16) in two recent judgments ...
A website operator who has embedded a Facebook “like” button on its website qualifies as a “joint controller” together with Facebook and so can be held liable for the collection and transmission of data from the operator’s website visitors to Facebook. Background Fashion ID is a German online clothing retailer. Its website contained the famous Facebook ‘Like’-button ...
In terms of paragraph 2(1) of the Fourth Schedule to the Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “Act”), every employer, who is a resident of South Africa, or representative employer in the case of any employer who is not a resident, (whether or not registered as an employer under paragraph 15) who pays or is liable to pay any amount by way of remuneration to any employee shall, unless the Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) has granted authority
Most employers are aware that a travel allowance may be granted to an employee where it is anticipated that the employee will be required to undertake business travel by virtue of the duties of his/her employment and that a travel allowance should not be merely used as a mechanism to reduce an employee’s employees’ tax (“PAYE”) liability ...
It is no hidden secret that unemployment in South Africa remains considerably high. According to the World Economic Forum Global Risk 2014 Report, structural unemployment and underemployment appears second overall in the Ten Global Risks of Highest Concern as many people in both advanced and emerging economies struggle to find jobs. The youth and minorities are especially vulnerable ...
Although Oregon’s 2021 legislative session turned out to be relatively quiet from a tax perspective, we did experience some changes to Oregon’s Corporate Activity Tax (“CAT”). Those changes were primarily in the form of SB 164. The enactment of SB 164 ushers in the following CAT changes. Fiscal Year Filings ...
Although Oregon’s 2021 legislative session turned out to be relatively quiet from a tax perspective, we did experience some changes to Oregon’s Corporate Activity Tax (“CAT”). Those changes were primarily in the form of SB 164. The enactment of SB 164 ushers in the following CAT changes. Fiscal Year Filings ...
The Brazilian Federal Government recently published Medida Provisória No. 863/2018 ("MP 863/18"), a new rule that amends Federal Law No. 7,565, of December 19, 1986 (Brazilian Aviation Code) and lifts the existing restrictions to foreign capital shareholding in Brazilian air transportation companies. As a result, foreign investors are from now on able to hold up to one hundred percent (100%) of the voting capital of Brazilian airlines ...
