SyCipLaw's Tax Department has prepared an international edition of its Tax Issues and Practical Solutions (T.I.P.S.) for the third quarter of 2023. Please read the full texthereor via thislink. The SyCipLaw T.I.P.S - International Edition covers the following tax issues: 1 ...
SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan (SyCipLaw) senior partner Carina "Caren" Laforteza and special counsel Catherina "Kate" Fernandez discuss the taxation of AI in light of recent developments concerning the concept of situs of taxation as interpreted by the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), the local tax authority in the Philippines ...
The digital transformation experienced over the last number of years has resulted in unprecedented global economic and societal changes. This has resulted in global debates around international tax and the digital economy and whether the existing international tax rules, developed in a “brick-and-mortar” economic environment more than a century ago, remain appropriate for the modern global economy ...
Some unexpected changes have highlighted the introduction of new employee share scheme legislation, which received Royal Assent on 14 December 2009. Companies will need to give the legislation close consideration given the impact it will have on employee equity plans, particularly the drafting of plan rules and offer documents ...
Dear valued clients, colleagues and friends, In the recent case of Lam Ah Company Sdn Bhd (“taxpayer”) v Director General of Customs and Excise, the taxpayer succeeded in its judicial review application challenging Customs’ refusal to give effect to the exemption under section 155 of the Goods and Services Tax Act 2014, which exempted, among others, taxable supplies of goods or services made within a “designated area” (i.e ...
On May 11, 2021, the Cabinet resolved that the proposed amendments of the Public Limited Companies Act, B.E. 2535 (1992) (the “PLCA”) be made, mainly due to technological advancements that allow certain corporate administrative procedures to now be conducted by electronic means. For ease of reference, the table below highlights the proposed amendments against the existing corresponding provisions under the PLCA. No. Topic Current Provision Proposed Amendment 1 ...
Introduction The Joint Committee of Parliament (“Committee”) appointed to review the draft Personal Data Protection Bill submitted its report to Parliament on December 16, 2021. The report also includes a revised draft Bill which has now been renamed as the Data Protection Bill, 2021 (“Bill”). As there is less than a week left of the winter session of Parliament, it is very unlikely the Bill will be passed by Parliament in 2021 ...
On June 23, 2021, the Department of Telecom (“DoT”) released revised regulations relating to Other Service Providers (“OSP”) replacing the previous OSP regulations that were issued last year. This client update provides a summary of key issues that have been addressed by the new regulations. SUMMARY OF NEW OSP REGULATIONS Effective Date. The regulations are stated to come into force immediately ...
2009 Prediction: Further penetration of Software as a Service (SaaS) Australia will see a proliferation of businesses adopting SaaS in 2009. With no hardware, maintenance or upfront capital costs, SaaS will be seen as ideal for companies looking to control their costs in an uncertain economic environment. Some analysts predict that the global SaaS industry may be worth as much as A$10.7 billion during 2009 ...
Data Privacy Act of 2012 The Data Privacy Act (Republic Act No. 10173) seeks to protect the confidentiality of “personal information.” The latter is defined as “any information whether recorded in material form or not, from which the identity of an individual is apparent or can be reasonably and directly ascertained by the entity holding the information, or when put together with other information would directly and certainly identify an individual ...
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the telecommunications business has not grown as substantially as anticipated. However, based on a forecast of the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (the “NBTC”), the business should have an opportunity to grow in the near future ...
In a March 2013 briefing* for business process outsourcing industry stakeholders, participants identified a number of risk factors for Philippine BPOs. On top of the list were talent retention and development, as well as the relative strength of the local currency that was viewed as exacerbating the issue of rising operating costs. Meanwhile, among priority “ecosystem” concerns were investment incentives and the legal and regulatory framework ...
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when hospitals have increasingly experienced a shortage of beds and medical staff to take care of patients, telepharmacy has emerged as one of the most effective ways to reduce the number of people visiting not only the hospitals themselves but also pharmacies and health clinics. Telepharmacy is the provision of pharmaceutical care to patients remotely by registered pharmacists and pharmacies using telecommunications ...
1 The regulator The Insurance Commission is the insurance regulator. It is a government agency under the Department of Finance. The Commission supervises and regulates the operations of insurance and reinsurance corporations, which need to be authorised ...
I. IntroductionIt has been over 4 years since the Constitutional Court’s ruling on 26 October 2004 which declared that Article 158 and other relevant articles of the Manpower Law in relation to serious misconduct were against the Indonesia Constitution and therefore were not legally binding. The legal effect of the ruling was that an employer cannot immediately terminate an employee for serious misconduct ...
According to Thai labour laws, an employer is empowered to terminate an employee’s employment at its will, except for members of the Employee Committee which requires a court order for dismissal. However, the consequences of dismissal with and without statutory causes under the Labour Protection Act B.E. 2541 (the “Labour Protection Act”) will be different in terms of the statutory payments for which the employer is legally required to pay the employee ...
The “right to be forgotten” (“RTBF”) has been central to the global debate over the balance between individual privacy and freedom of information and of the media in recent years. Such right has been affirmed by the European Court of Justice in a milestone case in 2014, as well as later in the UK, although its application in other countries remains uncertain ...
Article by Anne Coulon, Regional Legal Adviser of DFDL A new specialised arbitration institution, the Thailand Court of Arbitration for Sport (“TCAS”), was set up in early October 2022 in Thailand. The creation of the TCAS was initiated by the Thailand Arbitration Center (“THAC”) in cooperation with the Sports Authority of Thailand (“SAT”) to provide services for the settlement of sports-related disputes through arbitration and mediation ...
On Tuesday 25 May 2021 at its regular weekly meeting, the Thai Cabinet approved the Department of Land Transport’s draft Ministerial Regulation (“Regulation”) that will open the way for ride-hailing companies to register for an operating license. This will allow drivers to register their personal vehicles (with a maximum capacity of seven people) as taxis to be used with such ride-hailing applications ...
The Thai cabinet has recently approved the draft Royal Decree issued under the Revenue Code regarding income tax exemption on investment in Thai startups (the “Draft Royal Decree”), in cases where the funding for the startups is provided directly or indirectly through Venture Capital (VC), Corporate Venture Capital (CVC), or private equity trust (PE Trust). This Draft Royal Decree aims to unlock capital gains tax on investment in startups under the Royal Decree No ...
On 23 November 2021 The Thai Cabinet passed a resolution permitting the amendment of Ministerial Regulation No. 13 (the “Regulation”) under the Exchange Control Act (1942) which relaxes a lot of the rules on cross-border transactions, online activities and e-commerce matters. The amendments, among other things, includes: Allowing permitted persons (business operators) to accept foreign currency via sources other than bank notes (i.e ...
On September 14, 2022, the Parliament approved the draft of the Act Amending the Thai Civil and Commercial Code (the “Amendment Act”) covering Title XXII on Partnerships and Limited Companies. Under this Amendment Act, a new M&A scheme and amended corporate governance requirements have been introduced for limited companies ...
On Tuesday 19 April, at its weekly cabinet meeting, the Thai Government approved the Finance Ministry’s request for an additional THB 3.04 billion in funding for its Rao Chana (‘We Win’) stimulus program and extended its duration by one more month until 30 June 2021. This program initially allocated with THB 210.20 billion in funding was launched earlier this year with the intention of providing one-off handouts of THB 7,000 to eligible applicants covering roughly 31 ...
In the midst of a new wave of COVID-19 infections, the Cabinet of Thailand approved the draft of a new regulation on March 1, 2022, referred as the Draft Announcement of the Eastern Economic Corridor Policy Committee (“EEPC”) Re: Incentives for Business Operator in the Promotion Zone for Specific Industries B.E … ...
According to an anonymous source, a ‘Centre for Economic Situation Administration’ (“CESA”) meeting chaired by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha was held on Friday 4 June that approved (in-principle) a set of proposed stimulus measures aimed at encouraging wealthy expatriates to Thailand ...
