Shareholder participation at the AGMs of large companies is notoriously low – just 0.3 per cent in 2009, according to Chartered Secretaries Australia. So it is not surprising to see repeated calls in the media for listed companies to introduce online participation at AGMs. This would allow shareholders to take part in meetings in their offices or homes via the internet, enabling them to follow the proceedings, submit questions and, of course, vote ...
The delivery of electronic board papers on iPads is becoming increasingly popular, particularly for non-executive directors. At board meetings, some directors may bring only an iPad, on which all their board papers are stored ...
A new Regulation of the Minister of Law and Human Rights No. M.HH-01. AH.01.01 of 2011 on the Application Procedures for Validating a Legal Entity and Approving Amendments to the Articles of Association and the Notification Procedures for Amendments to the Articles of Association and Changes to Company Data (the “MOLHR Regulation”) was issued on 1st April 2011 ...
The Minister of Forestry has issued Regulation No. P.18/Menhut-II/2011 on Guidelines for Borrow-to-Use Permits for Forest Areas (“MOF Regulation”), which replaces and repeals Minister of Forestry Regulation Number P.43/Menhut-II/2008. This new MOF Regulation is the implementing regulation of Government Regulation No. 24 of 2010 on Forest Area Utilization ...
The Ministry of Health recently issued Minister of Health Regulation No. 1148/Menkes/Per/VI/2011 on Pharmaceutical Wholesalers, which replaces and repeals two earlier decrees. The new regulation is aimed at protecting the public from dangerous drugs and drugs materials as well as improving previous regulations on pharmaceutical drugs ...
Contents To Include: i) Engaging in Activities as a Dealer or Adviser: Am I Required to Register? ii) A Corporation’s Unanimous Shareholder A greement Now Available to its Creditors iii) Invoices of Convenience and Accommodation iv) The Importance of Written Contracts Respecting Intellectual Property or the Art of Leaving Traces ENGAGING IN ACTIVITIES AS A DEALER OR ADVISER: AM I REQUIRED TO REGISTER?Josianne Beaudry jbeaudry@lavery ...
In late August, Hurricane/Tropical Storm Irene ripped through much of the East Coast leaving a wake of storm and flood damage. Parts of North Carolina, Maryland, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont and Puerto Rico have been declared federal disaster areas by the president. The specific counties of each state and territory that have been declared federal disaster areas are available here ...
On September 13, 2011, the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) unanimously approved a final rule implementing Section 165(d) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Rule”) ...
This paper reviews judgments dealing with contract law issues relevant to commercial lawyers and business leaders. This paper also considers private international law conventions and treaties that are en route to domestic implementation, and are therefore relevant to commercial practice ...
These days the Ministry of Taxation is leading a crusade against Danish companies that have omitted to withhold tax at source in connection with the payment of dividend or interest to intermediary holding companies abroad. It is claimed that the companies are liable for the tax that has not been withheld ...
As part of the implementation or reorganization of a business structure, the integration of a trust as a shareholder of an incorporated family business can prove to be an interesting tax and estate-planning tool. This holding vehicle is being used more and more in Quebec.INTEGRATING A TRUST AS A SHAREHOLDER OF YOUR FAMILY BUSINESSDIANA DARILUS ddarilus@lavery ...
Entity classification refers to a set of rules used in the U.S. tax system to classify entities for the purposes of the Internal Revenue Code. Once classified, the entity will either be subject to the Code rules for corporations or the Code rules for partnerships. The Canadian tax system, on the other hand, does not have entity classification rules. Instead, the Canadian tax system simply categorizes entities for tax purposes based on their classification under commercial law ...
Although the currently effective Hungarian Civil Code does not name a call option as security, it does not prohibit the use of a call option as security either. The first question this raises, therefore, is whether Hungarian law permits the use of a call option as security? Naturally, this then creates more questions ...
You’re the general counsel of a public company and you find out that one of your company’s stockholders intends to wage a proxy contest. Your board of directors and CEO are going to want some answers right away. How prepared are you and how do you respond? The average annual number of proxy contests has nearly doubled from 60 in 2001-2005 to 112 in 2006-2010. In 2009, activist shareholders were able to successfully gain board seats approximately 43 percent of the time ...
Panama’s current administration began its tax reforms with Law 49 of September 17, 2009 (Law 49/2009), that was followed by Law 69 of November 6, 2009 (Law 69/2009), Law 8 of March 15, 2010 (Law 8/2010), Law 33 of June 30, 2010 (Law 33/2010), and finally Law 31 of April 5, 2011 (Law 31 / 2011). All were implemented through formal laws and complemented with subsequent reforms in related executive decrees ...
After a public consultation phase initiated at the end of 2010, the Portuguese Competition Authority (“PCA”) made available, at the end of July 2011, the final version of its “Guidelines on the Adoption of Remedies in the Control of Concentrations” (“Guidelines”). As clarified by the PCA, the Guidelines are “a set of de indications pertaining to the selection, design, execution and monitoring of remedies, within the procedure of previous control of concentrations between undertakings” ...
The IRS has today released proposed amendments to the Code Section 892 regulations. Code Section 892 is the provision within the Internal Revenue Code that exempts foreign sovereigns from taxation in respect of investment income earned in the U.S. The primary amendments are described below. 1 ...
Rejection of a contract in bankruptcy may not always accomplish a debtor’s goal to shed ongoing contractual obligations and liabilities, especially when dealing with employee benefit plans. On October 13, 2011, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals highlighted this issue in its opinion in Evans v. Sterling Chemicals, Inc ...
Order in Council no. 292/2011, published on 8 November, updated the list of countries, territories and regions with clearly more favourable privileged tax regimes ( known as ‘tax havens’) appearing in the earlier Order in Council no. 150/2004 of 13 February. It also excluded from the list two countries that are members of the European Union (EU): Cyprus and Luxembourg ...
On October 28, 2011, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia issued an opinion in the Chapter 15 case of Qimonda AG (“Qimonda”).1 The bankruptcy court held that the application of § 365(n) to executory licenses to U.S. patents was required to sufficiently protect the interests of U.S ...
The United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently held that a complaint does not need to meet the heightened pleading standards for fraud claims in order to satisfy the first-to-file rule under the False Claims Act (“FCA”). The first-to-file rule provides that, once a private plaintiff brings suit under the FCA, no one other than the government may intervene or bring a related suit “based on the facts underlying the pending action.” 31 U.S.C. § 3730(b)(5) ...
The IRS has today released proposed amendments to the Code Section 892 regulations. Code Section 892 is the provision within the Internal Revenue Code that exempts foreign sovereigns from taxation in respect of investment income earned in the U.S. The primary amendments are described below. 1 ...
The Congressional Super Committee (the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction) continues to meet in Washington, D.C., with the goal of reducing the country’s deficit through program cuts and revenue increases. There have been several unsubstantiated rumors regarding proposed changes to the estate and gift tax laws. One online rumor sparked particular interest even though no source was mentioned ...
Taxpayers subject to Tennessee ad valorem taxation should take note of the recent Initial Decision and Order by the Tennessee Board of Equalization in In re: Signal Mountain Cement Company (Hamilton County, Tax Years 2008-2011). The Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) rejected both the “value in use” methodology as well as the use of federal capitalization principles in valuing tangible personal property ...
You are the general counsel of a public company and your company is entering into a transaction to be acquired by another company. Your board and your stockholders want you to make sure the transaction is consummated but they also want you to make sure the company gets the best deal for its stockholders. The acquiror is also going to demand a certain level of deal security ...
