On August 1, 2014, certain amendments to the Delaware Limited Liability Company Act, 6 Del. C. §§ 18-101, et seq. (the “LLC Act”), the Delaware Revised Uniform Limited Partnership Act, 6 Del. C. §§ 17-101, et seq. (the “LP Act”), and the Delaware Revised Uniform Partnership Act, 6 Del. C. §§ 15-101, et seq. (the “GP Act”) became effective ...
Regulators around the world remain focused on the impact of cartels on business, and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) is no exception. In 2013 the ACCC received 27 approaches in relation to cartels, resulting in 13 in-depth investigations. International cooperation in this area is increasing, due significantly to the work of the International Competition Network, the global organisation of competition regulators ...
1. Introduction In July, 2014 the OECD Secretariat launched a report called “Assessment of Merger Control in Chile”. This report analyzes the Chilean merger control system, identifies its chief problems and makes recommendations in order to overcome such shortcomings. The main conclusion of the report is that the Chilean merger control regime “lacks transparency, legal certainty and predictability”1 ...
It is no hidden secret that unemployment in South Africa remains considerably high. According to the World Economic Forum Global Risk 2014 Report, structural unemployment and underemployment appears second overall in the Ten Global Risks of Highest Concern as many people in both advanced and emerging economies struggle to find jobs. The youth and minorities are especially vulnerable ...
The global financial crisis, which originated in the United States, had a major impact on the world economy and the economic recovery prospects of developed countries. As the countries with the most active economic growth in the world, BRICS countries (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) face a great challenge. They need to adjust their development strategies when facing the new challenge in order to achieve rapid and sustainable economic development ...
Yesterday, July 22, 2014, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing at which the so-called corporate inversions of U.S. multinationals were a key topic. The hearing followed U.S. Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew’s July 15 letter to congressional tax writers urging immediate legislative action to stop corporate inversions of U.S. companies. Generally, a corporate inversion is a transaction in which a U.S. multinational group with a U.S. parent corporation restructures so that the U.S ...
Foreign investors in Australian entities may be unaware that in some circumstances the Australian Taxation Office (ATO) can assess them for Australian tax on gains made from the sale of their investment. The circumstances in which tax can arise are described in this article. In addition, law changes are proposed which (amongst other matters) would, from 1 July 2016, require purchasers to withhold 10% from the purchase price and pay that to the ATO in some circumstances ...
This Need to Know Express is part of a series of newsletters which each answers one or several questions in a practical and concrete way. These bulletins have been or will be published over the next few weeks. In addition, a consolidated version of all the Need to Know Express newsletters published on this topic will be available upon request ...
A Taxpayers’ Charter setting out the rights and obligations of taxpayers in South Africa was published for the first time during 1997. That Charter contained a statement of intent insofar as taxpayers’ rights in South Africa is concerned. On 19 October 2005 the SARS Client Service Charter was released setting out the levels of service that taxpayers could expect in their dealings with the South African Revenue Service (‘SARS’) ...
Possession, as they say, is nine tenths of the law. Generally in commercial litigation where, for example, a claim for an outstanding amount is brought against a party, such party is not required to make payment to the claimant until a court has adjudicated on the matter. However, when it comes to matters of tax, the Tax Administration Act, No ...
The question of who actually owns a trade mark in an important one in South African law. That’s because the Trade Marks Act provides that a trade mark cannot be registered by a party who doesn’t have a bona fide (good faith) claim to ownership of that trade mark. It goes on to say that a trade mark cannot be registered if the application is made mala fide (in bad faith) ...
Guide to Business Ethics and Anti-CorruptionMacau lawsTransparency International (TI) rankingsMacau is not ranked on the TI CPI 2013. However, it was ranked 46 out of 183 on the TI CPI 2011.Macau is not ranked on the TI BPI 2011.International anti-corruption conventions and inter-governmental organisationsThe Central Government of the People’s Republic of China has declared that the UNCAC shall apply to Macau ...
In terms of the current Tax Court rules published under the Income Tax Act No. 58 of 1962, where the Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) did not comply with the prescribed time frames in respect of dispute resolution, practically, there was little that a taxpayer could do. This could change in terms of the proposed new Tax Court rules expected to come into force later this year ...
The South African Revenue Service (“SARS”) introduced a new streamlined process primarily geared towards the single registration of a taxpayer across applicable tax types. This system was implemented on 12 May 2014. Prior to this system, processes at SARS required that a taxpayer be registered at a SARS branch on several interfaces relating to each tax type ...
AFRICA TAX IN BRIEF KENYA: Chinese companies investigated by Revenue Authorities Local media reports of 30 May 2014 announce that the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) is investigating a number of Chinese companies suspected of evading tax. KRA Commissioner General John Njiraini said it is suspected that some Chinese-owned businesses are either under- or mis-declaring cargo ...
On 7th March 2014 the Supreme Court of Appeal delivered judgment in the as yet unreported case of Commissioner for the South African Revenue Service v Mobile Telephone Networks Holdings (Pty) Ltd, (966/2012) [2014] ZASCA 4 (7 March 2014) which dealt with the deductibility of audit fees incurred for a dual or mixed purpose and the apportionment thereof for tax purposes in the light of section 11(a) of the Income Tax Act 58 of 1962, as amended (‘the Act’) read with sections 23(f)
The Tax Administration Act 28 of 2011 (“Tax Administration Act”) came into effect on 1 October 2012 (save for certain provisions that are still to come into force). This important piece of legislation seeks to incorporate into one Act all those administrative provisions (except for customs and excise) that are generic to all tax Acts and that were previously duplicated across all the different tax Acts ...
It’s well known that product shapes can be registered as trade marks. The South African Trade Marks Act, for example, has a very wide definition of the term ‘mark’, and this includes words, colours, numbers, patterns, ornamentation and shape. Yet it’s also well known that product shape trade marks are difficult ...
The recent ruling of the US Trademark Trial and Appeal Board (‘the Board’) that registrations for the trade mark Redskinsare to be cancelled because they contain ‘matter that is likely to disparage’ made headlines around the world. The Board found that some 30% of Native Americans would be offended by the term, and that this qualifies as a substantial proportion of the relevant class ...
The recent South African High Court decision in the case of Howden Africa v CFW Industries is extremely interesting. Not so much for what it said (it said very little, comprising no more than two pages of ‘Written Reasons’), but for what it held. What happened here? A company had a registration for the trade mark Fumex Fans covering fire extraction fans ...
