This article looks at what ESG means, what we really mean when we talk about ‘ESG lending’, and the types of ESG lending available. When people talk about ‘ESG Lending’ they’re often talking about sustainable lending - encompassing social loans, green loans and sustainability linked loans. Potentially available to all businesses, now is a great time to get familiar with these types of products, as well as the corresponding jargon ...
In its most recent issue, For The Defense published an article by Dinsmore partner Richik Sarkar’s called "The Amicus Brief: An Efficient And Elegant Public Policy Tool." The article examines how, when properly employed, an amicus brief can be the best tool to effect lasting change for the benefit of the amicus and similar parties, industries, and legal interests. An excerpt is below ...
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% ...
On March 31, 2021, the Biden Administration released a Fact Sheet for its proposed American Jobs Plan (the “AJP”). The full text of the AJP can be found here. Although the AJP is primarily a proposal for rebuilding our country’s infrastructure, positioning the U.S. to compete with China and creating millions of jobs, it also proposes important corporate tax changes necessary to fund the AJP ...
On March 25, 2020, Governor Jim Justice signed into law House Bill 4497, which shall be known as The Alex Miller Law. The Alex Miller Law will take effect June 5, 2020, but the mandated requirements do not take effect until the 2021-2022 school year. Alex Miller, was a Roane County football player who collapsed and died during a high school football game. The Alex Miller Law (W. Va. Code 18-5-25c) requires defibrillators (AED devices) at certain events by the 2021-2022 school year ...
The Chancellor announced the first eight Freeport locations: Solent, East Midlands Airport, Felixstowe & Harwich, Humber, Liverpool City Region, Plymouth and South Devon, Teesside and Thames ...
The action of unjustified enrichment, also known as the actio de in rem verso, dates back to Roman Law and despite the fact that it was formally included in the Maltese Civil Code in 2007 by means of Article 1028A, it has always been accepted by the Maltese Courts. The notions of equity and fairness serve as the foundation of this action. One should be compensated for the benefit gained by an individual without a just cause to the detriment of the former ...
In 2023, the U.S. Court of Federal Claims and the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued five bid protest decisions worthy of note: CACI -Federal v. U.S. Matter of Guidehouse Matter of Kupono Government Services LLC Myriddian LLC U.S. SH Synergy LLC U.S. This article provides summaries and discusses how these cases might shape future bid protests. 1. CACI The Facts In CACI, the protester in the U.S ...
The 2020 Investment Priorities Plan (2020 IPP) has been promulgated by the Philippine President under Memorandum Order No. 50 dated November 18, 2020 (https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2020/11nov/20201118-MO-50-RRD.pdf), and it became effective on December 6, 2020. The IPP is issued pursuant to the Omnibus Investments Code of 1987 (Executive Order No. 226), as amended (Omnibus Investments Code) ...
The 2019 regular session of the West Virginia Legislature concluded on March 9. During the 60-day session, a total of 1,823 bills were introduced, with only 294 completing the process and actually being presented to Governor Jim Justice. By the midnight deadline on March 27, Governor Justice vetoed 30 bills, let one become law without his signature, and approved the rest ...
Over the past few years, the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) appears to have created a new category of doubtful debts allowances which they have termed a “specific” doubtful debts allowance, as distinct from the “ordinary” doubtful debts allowance to which a taxpayer is entitled under section 11(j) of the Income Tax Act, 1962 (the “Act”) in the ordinary course in respect of its doubtful debts ...
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Board on 11 June 2021 approved new rules prohibiting the trading on national exchange platforms of utility tokens and certain types of ‘novelty’ cryptocurrencies such as DogeCoin, SafeMoon or MonaCoin. The Securities and Exchange Commission’s Notification No. Kor Thor. 18/2564 Re: Rules, Conditions and Procedures for Undertaking Digital Asset Businesses (No ...
On 20 June 2022, the Personal Data Protection Committee (“PDPC”) enacted subordinate laws complementing the data protection obligations of Data Controllers and Data Processors pursuant to the Thai Personal Data Protection Act (“PDPA”). This article highlights the following notifications: Notification of the Personal Data Protection Committee Re: Criteria for Preparation and Maintenance of Records of Personal Data Processing Activities B.E ...
On 20 July and 10 August 2021, the Thai cabinet passed new resolutions granting relief measures to members of the public living in red zones in 29 provinces (including Bangkok) who have been particularly affected by government lockdown measures aimed at containing and reducing cases of COVID-19 infection. These measures notably include providing financial support to employers and employees registered with the Social Security Office (“SSO”) ...
1. LAND AND BUILDING TAX On 26th January, the Cabinet approved legislation with measures to reduce the tax on land and buildings, and land registration fees for residential housing as a means of alleviating the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 situation in Thailand. The new measures include: A 90% reduction of the land and building tax for 2021 that will be implemented through the enactment of a royal decree pursuant to Section 55 of the Land and Building Tax Act 2019 (the “Act”) ...
On 14 September 2021, the Thai cabinet passed a resolution (“Cabinet Resolution”) proposed by the Centre for Economic Situation Administration (“CESA”) to incentivize foreign investment in Thailand through the issuance of new visa, tax, and foreign land ownership incentives. The CESA particularly aims to attract high net worth foreign nationals, who wish to invest in land and buildings, and who can meet these minimum qualifications: 1 ...
Background On 23 May 2022, the latest amendment to the Public Limited Companies Act (No. 4), B.E. 2565 (2022) (the “PLC Amendment”) was published in the Government Gazette and it became effective on May 24, 2022. The PLC Amendment aims to facilitate public limited companies by allowing greater use of electronic communications in their business operations ...
Since the lifting of the strict lockdown in the first quarter of 2022 and the decrease in the number of COVID-19 cases, the Thai economy has shown signs of recovery. However, Thailand still faces a battle in bringing its economy back up to pre-pandemic levels in order to compete with its ASEAN neighbors, not to mention the world ...
Please note: The information, facts, and figures in this article are correct as of the publication date (1st April 2020). For up-to-date information and advice on this matter, please contact the author. The global COVID-19 pandemic has caused widespread instability in global markets and the resolution is not yet in sight. Thailand’s geographic and economic ties to China, where the outbreak began, initially positioned it as one of the highest-risk countries worldwide ...
This article was first published in AmCham Thailand T-AB Magazine (March 2022 Issue): https://www.amchamthailand.com/t-ab-magazine/ After nearly two decades in the making, the Personal Data Protection Act B.E. 2561 (“PDPA“) was published on May 27, 2019. Ostensibly inspired by the EU General Data Protection Regulation, the PDPA was slated to go fully effective in June 2022 following a two-year delay due to COVID-19 outbreak ...
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 ...
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 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 ...
