The government has recently published a consultation document seeking views in relation to its proposals for business rate retention ("BRR") in England and options for enabling local authorities to carry out Tax Increment Financing ("TIF") within the business rates retention system. The business rates consultation may interest developers, the public sector and those involved in renewables or regeneration, particularly those considering Tax Increment Financed projects ...
The aim of the recent freedom of information (FOI) reforms was to encourage a pro-disclosure culture, and to provide additional assistance and guidance to both the applicant and agencies in processing FOI requests. However, since the commencement of those reforms, maintaining the balance between the philosophy and the practical operation of the FOI Act has presented challenges for agencies in meeting their statutory FOI obligations ...
Texas has now joined the growing ranks of states that have passed laws aimed at increasing tax collection from online retail transactions. Although Governor Rick Perry vetoed an earlier bill (H.B. 2403) providing that out-of-state retailers that have relationships with certain Texas “affiliated” entities will be deemed to be doing business in Texas for purposes of the sales and use tax, language virtually identical to that found in H.B. 2403 is included in S.B ...
As you will be aware, 1 January 2012 is the go live date for OHS harmonisation. A new OHS Act, Regulation and Codes of Practice will commence in the Commonwealth and in each State and Territory at this time. The new package of OHS legislation will be based on model legislation, so will be substantially similar in each jurisdiction. For detailed information about the state of play in relation to OHS harmonisation, see our HR&IR Update of 22 June 2011 ...
Following the introduction of the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency Bill 2011 (Bill) and the Tertiary Education Quality and Standards Agency (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2011 (Transitional Bill) into the Commonwealth Parliament (as reported in our news alert of 23 March 2011), the Senate referred the Bill and the Transitional Bill to the Senate Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Legislation Committee (Commi
1. International anti-corruption conventions To which international anti-corruption conventions is your country a signatory? Chile is a signatory to and has ratified the Inter-American Convention against Corruption, the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, and the United Nations Convention against Corruption. 2 ...
I. INVESTING EM ANGOLA TODAY: INTERNATIONAL TAX MANAGEMENT At times the interest Portuguese companies have in the Angolan market has lived alongside the fear that there are factors that discourage investment in the country. In contact with businesspeople linked to a wide variety of sectors, we have been able to witness on the one hand, demonstrations of high levels of motivation and, on the other hand, signs of scepticism as to what the virtues of investing in Angola may be ...
FOREIGN REPORTING: A COSTLY OVERSIGHT - Tax authorities have developed various means of verifying international structures. More specifically, these compliance tools take the form of information returns which target operations involving non-residents and foreign property held by certain Canadian taxpayers. Although the requirement to file these returns has been in existence for many years, taxpayers and sometimes their advisers seem to be unaware of them ...
What are the current gift tax rules and what will happen in 2013? Prior to January 1, 2011, the gift tax exemption was $1,000,000, meaning you could give away $1,000,000 over the span of your life without having to pay a gift tax. For 2011 and 2012, you can give away up to $5,000,000 without a gift tax. That is five times the amount previously allowed. If the aggregate amount of your gifts exceeds $5,000,000, the gift tax rate during 2011 and 2012 is 35% (reduced from 45% in 2009) ...
The IRS has apparently increased its focus on unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”) of tax-exempt organizations. At a conference last month, IRS officials indicated they are looking closely at UBTI in all contexts with respect to exempt organizations, including conducting a long-term study on college and university treatment of UBTI ...
With the U.S. economy not as robust as it once was, it seems that Americans are currently more interested in selling their Canadian assets, particularly recreational property, than buying Canadian assets. It is therefore useful to consider the issues that arise when a U.S. person sells Canadian real estate. The following points are relevant: The U.S ...
On May 4 2011 the Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation published on its website the draft law on transfer pricing, which includes the amendments introduced after the first reading held o February 19, 2010 ...
The interaction between the Treaty and Uruguayan tax rules Permanent establishment (Pe)1 and Fixed base for business (Fbb)2 The concept of permanent establishment3 for corporate activity, and the concept of a fixed base for business4 for independent individual workers establish the mechanism for apportionment of tax-raising powers between both countries for income of a nature defined in those countries ...
The new Immigration Bill was passed by the Indonesian Parliament on 7 April 2011. It will pass into law on the day it is signed by the President or within 30 days of its passage, whichever occurs earlier.The bill covers a range of basic matters relating to immigration, including entry to and exit from the Indonesian territory, travel documents, visas, stay permits, etc ...
Are donations of counterfeit goods to charities socially acceptable? - Despite calls for seized counterfeit goods to be donated to charity, a number of conditions should be met in order to protect both IP rights holders and those receiving the goods Nobody would dispute that in today’s world, the social and environmental impacts of our actions must be taken into consideration whenever we make a decision ...
It currently appears that Texas may join a growing number of states that have passed laws aimed at increasing tax collection from online retail transactions. On Wednesday, April 27, 2011, the Texas House passed H.B. 2403, which provides that out-of-state retailers that have relationships with certain Texas “affiliated” entities will be deemed to be doing business in Texas for purposes of the sales and use tax. H.B. 2403 will now be sent to the Texas Senate for consideration ...
On April 4, 2011, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) issued a Final Rule implementing the prioritized examination track (“Track I”) of its new examination timing control procedures.1 Under Track I, patent applicants can accelerate examination of certain patent applications that are filed on or after May 4, 2011 ...
Contents* Major Relief for Non-Residents of Canada * A New act on Legal Publicity * Stock options Can Be advantageous, But Be Careful! * Adoption of IFRS and Recent GaaP Changes: The impact on Credit agreements MAJOR RELIEF FOR NON-RESIDENTS OF CANADAPhilippe Asselinpasselin@lavery ...
The USPTO has declared that the aftermath of the March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan constitutes an “extraordinary situation” under 37 C.F.R. §§ 1.183 and 2.146 that justifies certain measures of relief from patent regulations. While the PTO cannot declare this extraordinary situation a “postal emergency” to grant stronger relief, it has elected to recognize the difficulties of its innovation customers in the affected areas of Japan ...
* The New Act Respecting the Legal Publicity of Enterprises and Trusts * New Filing Requirements for Partnerships * Requests for Production of Documents by the Tax Authorities * Your’re Fired!: The Impact on the Exercise of Stock Options THE NEW ACT RESPECTING THE LEGAL PUBLICITY OF ENTERPRISES AND TRUSTS André Paquette apaquette@lavery ...
These days many US businesses are looking north to Canada for new markets. This paper discusses when a US business needs to worry about the Canadian tax system. The short answer comes from some of the oldest provisions in the Income Tax Act. US businesses need to worry about Canadian tax when they have a physical presence in Canada. To read this paper, click here. For more information please contact Len Glass at [email protected] or 604.631.9140 ...
Recently, the Exempt Organizations Office (“EO”) of the IRS released a list of 2011 initiatives, including international activities and compliance. The following are just a few of the items on the IRS’s radar for the coming year. Employment Tax Examinations. In 2011, the EO plans to conduct full examinations of 500 exempt organizations to determine compliance with employment tax rules as part of a project reviewing employment tax practices of both taxable and tax-exempt organizations ...
It's that time of year when municipalities send out tax accounts to their citizens. In certain cases, they may contain a very unpleasant surprise. For citizens living in municipalities whose property assessments are for the years 2010 to 2012, now is the time to do some double-checking ...
