On March 23, 2023, the European Commission published a proposal for a Directive on substantiation and communication of explicit environmental claims ("Green Claims Directive"). This proposal aims to tackle so-called greenwashing claims by regulating how companies communicate and substantiate voluntary environmental claims. Scope The proposal will regulate voluntary environmental claims and environmental labeling provided by traders in business-to-consumer commercial practices. The notion of "environmental claims" is broadly defined and covers any message or representation, including text, pictorial, graphic or symbolic representation, in...

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An unintended consequence of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed during the Trump Presidency is that far more tax filers are now required to file Form 5471; this includes nearly all of TABS’s clients with overseas parents. The Internal Revenue Code previously only required a U.S. taxpayer who owned a certain portion of a controlled foreign corporation (“CFC”) to file Form 5471 – the form’s title is Information Return of U.S. Person with Respect to Certain Foreign Corporations. This was...

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After years of debate, discussion and indecision over income gaps, some states have proposed laws to tax the uber-rich even as President Biden calls for the same. Is America ready to cross this major threshold of taxation? The U.S. may or may not eventually tax the wealthy – but some states aren’t waiting to see. Wealth tax proposals have been put forward – with varying success, observers say – in California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New York and Washington. Other states...

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Environmental, social and governance (ESG) concerns and how companies respond to them continue to generate scrutiny from a large number of stakeholders. Last year, in our ESG in Silicon Valley: A Look at the ESG Disclosure Practices of the SV 150 we examined how technology and life sciences companies were responding to the growing interest in ESG and related disclosure by looking at the voluntary ESG reporting practices of the companies included in the 2022 Fenwick-Bloomberg Law SV 150...

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BNY Mellon today was named to Fortune’s inaugural “America’s Most Innovative Companies” list. The firm ranks in the top half of 300 honorees that were selected out of 15,000 eligible companies, based on criteria including innovation in products, processes and culture. "I’m proud to see America’s oldest bank named one of America’s Most Innovative Companies by Fortune," said CEO Robin Vince. "We have a long history as a financial industry pioneer. In the past decade alone, we were the first...

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Whether you are an online-only retailer or have many stores, your digital presence is likely your single largest entry point to your brand. In-person human interactions remain important, but our constant connection to our devices has forever changed how we discover, research, buy, and use products and services. However, this constant chase for new customers and individual transactions can be draining on profits as customer acquisition costs are at all-time highs. At the same time, policies and customer expectations continue...

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Today, 30 March 2023, the European Parliament adopted the legislative proposal of the European Commission to strengthen the application of the principle of equal pay for equal work or work of equal value between men and women through pay transparency and enforcement mechanisms (the Pay Transparency Directive). The Pay Transparency Directive has some important consequences for employers as well as employees, which we have described in more detail below. Background The right to equal pay between women and men for equal...

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Like many accountants, I love Excel. However, there are times when Excel is not always the best tool to get the job done. Here are some indications that it may be time to get out of Excel: The Excel workbooks have become complex & unwieldly to maintain, creating risk of errors in formulas and data. Excel is being used as a collaborative tool, such as in the budget process or consolidated reporting. Excel is doing the job one of...

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As part of the European Commission’s ‘Fit for 55’ package, a proposal to revise the 2014 directive on alternative fuels infrastructure and turn it into a regulation was subject to interinstitutional negotiations since November 2022. On 28 March, the Council and the European Parliament have found a provisional political agreement to deploy more recharging and refuelling stations for alternative fuels in the EU. The Commission issued its proposal in July 2021. Overall, the proposal’s goal is to tackle interoperability and...

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Hiring a new employee can be exciting and stressful for both the employer and the employee. This initial period it is important to onboard which means make sure that the new employee transitions easily into the company and the employer can assess if this is going to be a good match. One of the best ideas when it comes to onboarding effectively is to have someone else who recently onboarded to assist the new hire. This will help eliminate a...

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