Things To Think About This Proxy Season Prior to Drafting Update director and officer questionnaires, including “independence” criteria for directors Most public companies follow the “best practice” of having all directors and executive officers complete a standard form of questionnaire each year to verify the accuracy of information about the person that is reported in the 10-K Report and proxy statement ...
The implementing rules and regulations of Republic Act No. 6957 as amended, or the BOT Law, have been revised to increase incentives, minimize government regulations, allow reasonable returns on investments, share risks between the government and the project proponent, and assure transparency and competitiveness in the bidding and award of projects ...
Recently, in 2005, the Portuguese tax system streamlined its rules for the taxation of dividends, by harmonising rates which previously varied in accordance to the nature of the recipient of the dividends. This, along with the introduction of some provisions aimed at dealing with schemes that used exempt entities to evade tax, helped to turn the taxation of dividends more coherent and simple ...
In April last year, companies were given greater flexibility in protecting their directors against certain liabilities as a result of changes to the law. The changes recognised increasing concern over directors' exposure to liability arising from legal proceedings brought by third parties. The Companies Actprohibits a company from exempting directors in respect of liability if negligent, in default or in breach of duty or trust ...
What will the impact be when the Scottish Parliament Finance Committee reports on Accountability and Governance asks Kelly Harris The Finance Committee of the Scottish Parliament has been conducting an inquiry into Accountability and Governance in Scotland, looking at the proliferation of Commissioners and Ombudsmen established since devolution. The impetus behind the inquiry was the growing concern that money might be being wasted as a result of overlapping functions and responsibilities ...
The effects of the singular interpretation of the EC Treaty that the Court of Justice has been reinforcing for many years whilst assessing the compatibility of income tax legislation of the Member States with that Treaty, are now beginning to be felt, and to a considerable degree, here in Portugal ...
Last March 15th was published Decree Law nr. 52/2006 implementing Directive 2003/6/CE, of the European Parliament and the Council, dated January 28th, on insider dealing and market manipulation, and Directive 2003/71/CE, of the European Parliament and the Council, dated November 4th, on the prospectus to be published when securities are offered to the public or admitted to trading and amending Directive 2001/34/CE ...
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced in June that it was considering launching an investigation into the UK airports market "with a view to establishing if the current market structure works well for consumers". This raised a number of eyebrows in the City, as the European Commission had only just cleared Ferrovial's bid for BAA, confirming that the market (at least for ground-handling services) "is broadly perceived as well-functioning by airlines" ...
Patent Opinion Letters: Privilege Waivers after Knorr Knorr-Bremse: The Federal Circuit Changes the Role of Options of Counsel in Patent Cases In September 2004, the en banc opinion of the Federal Circuit Court in Knorr- Bremse System Fuer Nutzfahrzeuge Bmbh v. Dana Corp ...
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) announced in June that it was considering launching an investigation into the UK airports market "with a view to establishing if the current market structure works well for consumers". This raised a number of eyebrows in the City, as the European Commission had only just cleared Ferrovial's bid for BAA, confirming that the market (at least for ground-handling services) "is broadly perceived as well-functioning by airlines" ...
There is an argument that in certain circumstances greater prudence is now required from members dividends following the Court of Appeal case It's a Wrap (UK) Ltd (In Liquidation) v (1) Barbara Gula and (2) Anthony Gula [2006] EWCA Civ 544, which reverses an earlier High Court decision. The case involved an insolvent company which had claimed repayment of dividends unlawfully paid to the defendants who were the only members and directors of the company ...
State Aid is something of a European hot potato as the European Commission is currently in the process of reforming the rules surrounding State Aid. This reform process is the key priority for Robert Hankin, head of the Regional Aid Unit at the European Commission. State Aid involves support given by a member state to businesses, in the form of subsidies or tax breaks for example, and has a wide-ranging impact throughout Europe ...
• Directors of NPOs are subject to substantially the same duties and liabilities as directors of for-rofit companies • Being a director of an NPO is not merely an honorary role • The corporate governance rules recommended for or imposed on reporting issuers are examples of best practices for NPOs; however, like for small businesses, they should be adapted, depending on the situation, to avoid unduly complicating the NPO’s processes • Special attention should be paid to certain differenc
Following the amendments to the Inland Revenue Ordinance earlier this year, the Inland Revenue Department ("IRD") issued its Departmental Interpretation and Practice Notes ("DIPN") No. 43 on 6 September 2006. Whilst the Inland Revenue Ordinance ("IRO") laid down the legal foundation in respect of the Hong Kong profits tax exemption for unauthorised funds, DIPN 43 provides some practical guidance on the application of the exemption ...
There has been a great deal of interest generated by the Bankruptcy and Diligence etc (Scotland) Bill on its passage through the Scottish Parliament ...
The funding of emerging oil & gas companies is less straightforward than other start-ups due to the inherent risks associated with drilling for oil and taking any successful drilling programmes from exploration stage through to the production of oil & gas. Debt finance, essentially borrowing from banks, is usually dependent upon a guaranteed revenue, so is normally only a funding option once production has commenced ...
The revelations of the intercepted phone messages from Prince Harry and Prince William earlier this year are a reminder of how vulnerable personal data can be. Proposed changes to the law will mean that those who hold confidential personal information must be even more vigilant about what they do with that data. Most businesses will be familiar with the Data Protection legislation but it is important not to be complacent ...
Respondents to Dykema's 2006 M&A survey generally maintain a positive outlook on the future of the U.S. mergers and acquisitions market. Responses were received from both company executives and their outside advisors. Survey respondents are looking toward strategic buyers as an increased presence in the coming year, but also forecast significant involvement by financial and foreign buyers ...
The Finance Committee at Holyrood published its long awaited Report into Accountability and Governance last month. Its conclusions, and especially its strong criticism of the current structure of independent bodies in Scotland, have raised a few eyebrows among those with an interest in public administration. The Report follows a lengthy inquiry which began in March this year, looking into the growth of independent regulatory and investigatory bodies in Scotland since devolution ...
Long before the creation of limited liability companies, the best practice for companies or individuals that operated multiple distinct businesses or held multiple significant assets, such as real estate, was to segregate each distinct business or asset into a separate entity so that the liabilities of one of the businesses or assets would not affect the other businesses or assets ...
The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Bill was introduced to Parliament on 20 July 2006. Westminster and the Scottish Executive have agreed corporate liability for death is a health and safety matter reserved to Westminster and therefore a UK wide Act is required. The Bill makes provision for a new offence to be called corporate manslaughter in England and Wales and corporate homicide in Scotland ...
Under the Companies Act a company is prohibited (subject to certain exceptions) from making loans to its directors. A recent case highlighted the dangers to a director who is aware that his company has made loans in breach of that prohibition. The case involved a father and son who were the directors of a company. Over time, the father had become less involved in the day-to-day management of the company in question ...
Bolivia has just culminated the step that will have the greatest impact in the process of creating a new constitution for Bolivia. On Sunday July 2, Bolivia elected the constituents to the assembly that will be in charge with providing structure and substance to the new constitutional norm ...
The article was first published in Invest Romania, November 2006 issue.The Bill for amending Company Law no. 31/1990 as subsequently modified,supplemented and republished (the “Company Law Bill”) was approved by the Senate on 30August 2006 and is currently at the Chamber of Deputies commissions undergoing a fast-trackapproval process ...
