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 ...
The Budget Plan unveiled by the Quebec Government as part of the Budget Speech of last June 4 includes many initiatives to increase venture capital financing. The 2014 2015 Budget presented by the Minister of Finance, Carlos Leitão, provides for several measures to make $560 million available to finance businesses and venture capital funds, including the establishment of a $375 million fund to invest in venture capital funds ...
The D.C. Circuit issued a decision on June 27 In re: Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc. (“KBR"), a closely-watched case about whether the attorney-client privilege applies to documents relating to an internal investigation undertaken pursuant to a company’s code of business conduct ...
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has introduced a new, shorter form of the exemption application for Section 501(c)(3) status—the Form 1023-EZ. Previously, most organizations seeking federal income tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) were required to complete the full 26-page (plus attachments) Form 1023, regardless of their anticipated funding or the complexity of their activities ...
The Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) recently issued Revenue Ruling 2014-18 (the “Ruling”) allowing the deferral of compensation from offshore hedge funds through the use of stock options (“Options”) and stock-settled stock appreciation rights (“SARs”) without running afoul of Section 457A of the Internal Revenue Code (“Section 457A”) ...
The risk of corruption – bribery, money laundering – continues to be a cause of significant concern for U.S. businesses operating in the Latin America region. Effective compliance programs are clearly the first line of defense to prevent corrupt practices. But any company with any degree of global operations including Latin America is unlikely to be completely successful ...
What has made corporate stalwarts such as Maersk (shipping), Proctor & Gamble (consumer goods), LG (electronics), Caterpillar (construction equipment), CEMEX (construction materials) , Nike (sports equipment and apparel) and Heineken (breweries), just to name a few, choose to establish their headquarters in this small country with a population of merely 3 ...
Montenegro In the light of recent developments in trademark protection practices and the intensification of EU legislative harmonisation, amendments to the Law on Trademarks (“the Law”) have been adopted. Amendments to the existing Law will mainly serve to improve rules by setting, in certain cases, stricter standards, and will remove certain ambiguities that currently exist in the Law ...
The Supreme Court issued a decision on June 23rd in the closely watched case of Halliburton Co. v. Erica P. John Fund, Inc., 573 U.S. ___ (2014) (Halliburton II). A majority of the Court declined to overrule the fraud-on-the-market presumption of reliance, which makes it easier for plaintiffs in securities fraud class actions to prove reliance and obtain class certification ...
In a significant decision affecting Texas corporate law, the Texas Supreme Court decided on June 20th there is no common law claim for shareholder oppression in Texas; the court also set the standards and remedies available for oppression claims brought pursuant to the rehabilitative receiver statute in the Texas Business Organizations Code ...
On June 13, 2014, several amendments to both the General Law on Business Corporations (Ley General de Sociedades Comerciales) and the Commercial Code were published in the Official Gazette of the Federation. The reform package is aimed at reducing the cost and time required for certain corporate formalities, and also includes legislation in the areas of corporate governance, minority rights and share transfers similar to the current regulations under the Securities Act ...
CONTENT Overview of the Proposed Rules Respecting Equity CrowdfundingTrademarks in the English Language on Pubilc Signs and Posters OVERVIEW OF THE PROPOSED RULES RESPECTING EQUITY CROWDFUNDING Josianne Beaudry In 2013, the Autorité des marchés financiers (AMF) launched a consultation on equity crowdfunding, as we already discussed it in this publication last fall ...
