In light of the growing role of Alternative Investment Funds (AIFs) as financial intermediaries and further developments in the market since the AIFMD came into force in 2011, the EU Commission has published a proposal for targeted amendments to the AIFMD that acknowledges the directive's role as a significant pillar of the Capital Markets Union (CMU). While fine-tuning the AIFMD framework, the EU Commission is simultaneously proposing a degree of harmonisation with the UCITS framework. Earlier today, the EU Commission...

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We are eagerly awaiting to see how the UK Government’s latest immigration reform to reflect the global nature of business pans out. The Global Business Mobility visa is set to commence in Spring 2022 and will provide more new solutions for overseas firms moving staff to the UK. Who should apply for a Global Business Mobility visa? Global Business Mobility visas should prove helpful for overseas firms establishing a UK footprint or transferring trainees, senior and specialist staff to the UK to...

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Data modeling consists of creating a model with structures enabling the use and retrieval of information. It may sound complex, but it’s not. Follow along to understand better what data modeling is and how it works! You’ve probably heard about the “Information Age” or the “Digital Age.” All of these buzzwords are essentially talking about the same thing, but it’s already become commonplace and a thing of the past. The new age we are in now is bringing about different...

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After more than 20 years of negotiations, Belgium and France have recently signed a new double tax treaty (new treaty). The new treaty is more in line with the latest OECD standards for double tax treaties and thus includes the modifications introduced by the Multilateral Instrument (MLI). The novelties/features in terms of content are numerous. We will discuss below the main features of the new treaty and will come back in more detail on some provisions in our upcoming newsletters. The...

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When submitted a request for a preliminary ruling, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is expect to answer questions – not raise too many new ones. Unfortunately, a judgment on online advertising of 25 November 2021 appears to miss the mark in this respect. The StWL v. eprimo case concerns the question of spam (unsolicited commercial communications) and how far the rules extend. On a free ad-supported e-mail service, users were shown adverts to support the service financially (a paying...

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Built-in security features make it challenging for forensic investigators to confirm the presence of spyware in smartphones. A new technique speeds up the process. Spyware isn't always nefarious. When employed by law enforcement and legitimate intelligence agencies, it can be used to impede threats from cyber actors or terrorist organizations by turning a device into a covert surveillance tool to monitor activity. In the wrong hands, however, spyware can undermine data security for individuals, corporate leaders and government officials by hacking...

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Part One The long-awaited infrastructure proposal was approved by Congress late last week and has been signed into law by President Joe Biden. As part of the President’s mission to “build back better,” the proposal is a considerable investment in the country’s infrastructure. And while not as large as once envisioned — originally, it was $3.5 trillion — it is still a substantial amount at $1.2 trillion. Funding for the Infrastructure Bill will come from a few sources. Following are some of...

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COP26 has once again placed the United States front and center regarding the global focus to reduce emissions. As of today, the United States remains the second largest emitter of CO2 and the largest of the populous countries on a per capita basis. That being said, emissions in the United States have come down significantly, in total and even more so per capita, over the last few years and global warming has now become a major topic of public...

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This month’s newsletter provides an overview of recent changes in Canadian and American immigration including all measures directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here are the most recent news since the beginning of the pandemic and travel restrictions as of November 23, 2021 Canadians exempt from PCR testing for travel of less than 72 hours as of November 30 Canadians travelling outside the country by air or land for less than 72 hours will be exempt from having to present a negative...

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Significant amendments to the Harmonized Tariff Schedules of the United States (HTSUS) will take effect on January 1, 2022.  These changes implement a major revision to the Harmonized System (HS) nomenclature adopted by the World Customs Organization (WCO) known as “HS 2022.”  A complete list of all the HS 2022 amendments published by the WCO is available here.  Proposed changes to the HTSUS are set forth in USITC Pub. 5171 available here.  The final version of the changes to the HTSUS...

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