Chapter News, News

New Regulation Of Italian Communication Authority On Copyright Enforcement

Last December 12, 2013 the Italian Communication Authority (AGCOM) approved a new regulation on online copyright enforcement that will enter into force on March 31, 2014. The new regulatory framework is a first-of-its-kind for Italy or the EU. Such new rules may potentially affecting all companies with a digital presence: not only ISPs and social media, but also companies hosting forums, newsgroups or any kind of user-generated content. According to such rules, AGCOM may order access or hosting providers to remove “digital...

Read more

Chapter News, News

Austria News: Among the Top Three Competitive Nations in the Eurozone

The German insurance company Allianz positively rated Austria’s economic competitiveness in a current study on the eurozone economies. The study evaluated overall balance, taking account of the labor market, public finances, debt, wealth and competitiveness. Austria was ranked third among 17 eurozone countries, outperformed only by Germany and Estonia. Austria was one of the few core countries in the eurozone which managed to improve its overall standing since 2012. Austrian Government program strengthens business location The agenda of the new Austrian...

Read more

Member News, News

Investment Funds AML Sectoral Guidelines Agreed with Central Bank

On 18 December 2013, the Irish Funds Industry Association (the “IFIA”) released Investment Funds Sectoral Guidelines on the prevention of the use of the financial system for the purpose of money laundering and terrorist financing (the “Sectoral Guidelines”). The release of the Sectoral Guidelines follows extensive engagement between the IFIA and the Central Bank of Ireland (the “Central Bank”) in order to develop a standard that the Central Bank can use in determining that an investment fund has adequate measures...

Read more

Member News, News

UK Holding Company Popularity

With recent changes in international tax planning and the need to look further afield when deciding the most suitable jurisdiction for structuring purposes, the UK has positioned itself as an important centre to consider. In addition to having a good international reputation, political stability and being a member of the EU, the UK can offer the following potential advantages: • A wide tax treaty network - over 100 double taxation treaties. • The tax treaty network enables dividends from many countries...

Read more

Chapter News, News

EU-US Trade Talks Should Top Our 2014 To-Do List

Op-ed  by EU Ambassador Vale de Almeida - Published EU Delegation Website and Huffington Post Negotiators from the European Union and United States are taking a well-deserved break after wrapping up the latest round of our Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks in Washington today. We have been engaging our American counterparts on everything from tariffs on chocolate to car safety standards in talks this week. And we have been hard at work ever since President Barack Obama announced the...

Read more

Member News, News

Pepper Hamilton Client Alert: Observation 1.1 on the Volcker Rule: Community Banks – Size Does Matter

Monday, December 23, 2013 -- This is the second in Pepper’s series of client alerts dealing with specific effects of the ‘Volcker Rule’ on various market segments. On December 10, 2013, after more than three years of intensive development, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) adopted final regulations implementing the...

Read more

Member News, News

Brief Overview on the New Italian Crowdfunding Regulation

1.       Introduction Crowdfunding is an innovative instrument to finance projects by using on-line portals as an alternative to traditional forms of financing. The public can support projects with a social purpose, as well as new entrepreneurial initiatives, by paying their contributions through on-line portals which usually operate as platforms for donation-based or social lending, or through reward based crowdfunding, depending on whether the contribution is made as a donation or loan between private individuals, or whether a reward is provided...

Read more

Member News, News

M&A in 2014: Luxury Brands on Sale or Seeking for Financial Partners

The last quarter of 2013 saw a substantial M&A activity in the luxury and premium branded goods industry. According to the news circulating in the sector, many multinational brands as well as smaller brands are seeking for strategic financial partners that may help the brand to expand and support their business in the globalization era. This interest of luxury companies in the collection of investment made by financial partners are aimed at collecting funds that may assist them in complex...

Read more

Member News, News

New Substance Requirements Tackles Tax Avoidance Schemes

The Netherlands offers a solid combination of a stable economy, a reliable tax regime and a sophisticated, internationally oriented infrastructure. In addition, the Dutch economy is noted for its stable industrial relations and plays an important role as a European transportation hub. The Dutch government strongly supports that the legal and economic environment remains attractive for multinational companies to locate their (regional) headquarters in the Netherlands. On 30 August 2013, the Dutch minister of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation and...

Read more

Chapter News, News

EU Council Agrees to General Approach on Single Resolution Mechanism

The European Council today set out its position on the establishment of a single resolution board and a single fund for the resolution of banks. It called on the presidency to start negotiations with the European Parliament with the aim of agreeing the regulation on the single resolution mechanism (SRM) at first reading before the end of the Parliament's current legislature (May 2014). The compromise reached within the Council consists of a draft regulation on the single resolution mechanism, and a...

Read more