On October 15, 2012, Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC filed suit in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on behalf of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (“IPAA”) and six other state-level oil and gas associations (PA, WV, OH, KY, IL, IN), (referred to herein as “the Associations”) challenging the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) New Source Performance Standards (“NSPS”) promulgated for the oil and natural gas industry on August 16, 2012 ...
In Martin v. Hamblet, decided November 21, 2012, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals determined that a surface owner may not appeal issuance of a well work permit by the Department of Environmental Protection for a shallow well targeting the Marcellus formation with a horizontal leg into the Marcellus ...
The new regulation of the Polish Minister of Economy on electricity and heat generated from renewable sources of energy goes into effect at the beginning of 2013. The new regulation will increase the share of renewables in the production of electricity and heat ...
You are general counsel of a publicly traded medical device company that has begun the diligence process on your company’s target, a publicly held x-ray and CT scan component manufacturer. The target is a Delaware corporation based in California, with additional manufacturing facilities in Utah and Kentucky; within the past three years, it has sold two mothballed manufacturing facilities ...
Half a billion people living in Sub-Saharan Africa lack access to electricity. Ryan Ketchum a partner in Hunton & Williams’ Energy and Infrastructure practice, explains how Uganda and Rwanda are working to turn themselves into places where electricity investors want to be. Uganda Uganda provides a compelling example. For several years it has suffered from a shortage of generationcapacity ...
The 2013 Federal Revenue Law was published yesterday and its Transitional Article 3 includes an amnesty covering payment of federal taxes and related government charges, as follows: a) 80% forgiveness of tax assessment consisting of federal taxes, antidumping duties, and fines for failure to comply with federal tax obligations, other than payment obligations, arising prior to January 1, 2007 ...
On Oct. 22, 2012, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the Bureau of Land Management and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) violated the Endangered Species Act (ESA) by granting a right of way for the Ruby Pipeline project. Center for Biological Diversity v. Bureau of Land Management, No. 10-72356 (9th Cir. Oct. 22, 2012) ...
The Australian Food and Grocery Council (AFGC) recently released its Sustainability Commitment report for 2010-11 (Report). The Report sets out the AFCG's key objectives and efficiency targets, described as its 'Sustainability Commitment', for improving sustainability in the food & beverage and grocery industry ...
Grid Code amended In December of last year, the Serbian Transmission System Operator amended the Grid Code. These amendments did not substantially change the code, but did introduce changes in: - technical conditions for connecting to the grid, including specific conditions for connecting generating units, and - access to the grid. The amendments are published in the Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia no. 02/12 ...
If you have ever had a project on land on which wetlands or other “waters of the U.S.” were present, you know that project was more expensive because of the costs of permitting and mitigation for wetland losses, or the presence of wetlands may have resulted in abandonment or significant revision of the project to minimize losses of wetlands or other waters of the U.S. In their prior two “waters of the U.S.” decisions, Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook Cty. v. Army Corps of Engineers, 531 U ...
On January 1, 2013, the Senate and the House of Representatives passed the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (the "Act") to avert the "fiscal cliff." The Act includes a number of extensions and modifications relating to energy tax provisions ...
The so-named “American Taxpayer Relief Act,” now signed by the President after having been passed in the wee hours by the Senate on January 1, 2013, and later that day by the House, may pull the country back from a self-created fiscal/political ditch, but leaves the country at the edge of a fiscal cliff with spending cut issues, debt ceiling issues and undoubtedly more tax issues to be dealt with before March 1, 2013. Overview ...
This is an important year on the taxation front. New rules restrict interest deductions and increase the transfer tax related to the sale of shares in housing and real estate. Additionally, two tax incentives support research and development activities, as well as innovation and growth. Restriction on interest deductionThe Finnish legislature has restricted interest deductions applied in taxation starting in the 2014 taxation year ...
After all of the sand had run out of the hourglass, Congress finally passed (and the President signed) a compromise tax bill to avoid very substantial income tax increases on taxpayers with income under $400,000 ($450,000 for joint filers). The good news for our estate planning clients is the “permanent” extension of the current estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions, and a slight increase in the tax rate from 35% to 40% ...
In re: Signal Mountain Cement Company – Assessment Appeals Commission Upholds Assessor’s Use of “Value in Use” Methodology for Standard Valuation of Tangible Personal Property in Tennessee but Affirms Taxpayer Use of “Fair Market Value in Exchange” Methodology in Nonstandard Valuations ...
On January 7, 2013 there was published in the Federal Official Gazette a Ruling where by the Energy Regulatory Commission makes an invitation to bid under the open international tender LIC-GAS-019-2012 covering the first permit for natural gas distribution in the western geographical area, formed by the municipalities of Sayula, Tuxpan and Zapotlán el Grande, in the state of Jalisco, and the municipalities of Amería, Colima, Manzanillo, Tecomán and Villa de Alvarez, in the state o
Key principles approved by the Polish Council of Ministers - On 16 October 2012, the Polish Council of Ministers approved key assumptions for the long-awaited shale gas production and taxation legislation. The assumptions, which impact both conventional and unconventional oil and gas production, have in particular, been awaited by the developing shale gas sector and investors interested in joining this brand new market. ...
On December 27th, 2012, the Court of Appeal for Yukon released its decision in Ross River Dena Council v. Government of Yukon, 2012 YKCA 14. The case dealt with the Yukon Government’s duty to consult with First Nations when allowing mineral claims to be recorded on land with asserted Aboriginal rights and title claims. The case arose as a result of the “open entry” claim staking system and in particular, as a result of the Yukon Quartz Mining Act, S.Y. 2003, s. 14 (the Act) ...
On December 5, 2012, EPA issued revised enforcement guidance to assist agency personnel in exercising enforcement discretion regarding the treatment of tenants under Superfund’s bona fide prospective purchaser (BFPP) defense. (See here.) The revised guidance supersedes guidance the agency had issued on January 14, 2009 and expands some of the protections ...
On January 14, 2013 the United States and Spain signed a new protocol (the “Protocol”) amending the existing income tax treaty between the United States and Spain that was signed on February 22, 1990 (the “Treaty”). The Protocol modernizes the Treaty to conform with the existing treaty policies of both the United States and Spain. Key provisions of the Protocol include: Exclusive residence-state taxation (i.e ...
Total Maximum Daily Loads, or TMDLs, serve a profoundly important function under the federal Clean Water Act. They provide regulators with a systematic and comprehensive mechanism for identifying all sources and causes of water quality impairment, and then calculating the reductions needed to address the impairment in an equitable manner. But for TMDLs to be effective, they must be derived in a legally and technically defensible manner ...
1. Interest on Equity and Dividends: the Brazilian Perspective Brazilian companies have two main instruments for remunerating shareholders for the capital invested in companies: dividends and interest on net equity (“Juros sobre o capital própio”, referred to as “IoNE” in this article). Both instruments can be used at the same time, but their tax treatment will depend on the particular characteristics of each case ...
The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Memorandum Circular No. 1, s. 2013 dated 7 January 2013, requiring the incorporation of the tax identification number (TIN) of foreign investors in all forms papers and documents filed with the SEC ...
Acquiring investment property This alert is intended to highlight certain VAT issues relating to the purchase and management of property which is subject to a lease(s). In general VAT should not be chargeable on the sale of such property. Depending on the circumstances this VAT free treatment is based on exemption from VAT and/or “transfer of business” relief applying. VAT free treatment does not apply in all situations but exceptions are few ...
