A new anti-money laundering and counter terrorism financing (“AML-CFT”) package was published by the European Commission on Tuesday 20 July 2021. Link to package here This package aims to further enhance the existing EU AML-CFT framework by taking into account new and emerging challenges linked to technological innovation (including virtual currencies, more integrated financial flows in the Single Market and the global nature of terrorist organisations). It also aims to harmonise this framework. The package is composed of the following legislative...

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Introduction No-poach and wage-fixing agreements - arrangements between companies seeking to prevent or limit the hiring of each other’s employees, or to suppress the wages and/or benefits of their respective current employees are not only currently under the spotlight in the US, but have also been subject to scrutiny by antitrust authorities in the European Union (EU), albeit to a more limited degree. These antitrust infringement decisions have mostly been taken by EU Member State national competition authorities (NCAs), rather...

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Seven takeaways for businesses considering data transfers and the use of new SCCs The European Commission's new Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) provide welcome certainty for businesses transferring personal data to countries outside the European Economic Area (EEA). But they come at the cost of extra compliance burdens for those already dealing with the fallout of the Schrems II ruling of July 2020, increased regulatory activity within the EU, and a UK position which remains fluid, despite the Commission's recent UK adequacy decision. In...

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As previously discussed, the Biden Administration’s American Families Plan includes a proposal to partially repeal deferred gains from Section 1031 exchanges. The proposal would implement a limit on gains eligible to be deferred to $500,000 per taxpayer (or $1 million for married individuals filing a joint return) for each year for real property exchanges that are like kind. Any gains from like-kind exchanges in excess of these thresholds would be recognized by the taxpayer in the year of sale. The...

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On June 29th, an auction for NFTs connected to famous Hot Wheels cars was concluded.  I own an example of “Twin Mill,” and I have seen the life-sized replica at the SEMA Trade Show in Las Vegas.  So I was intrigued. However, I wasn’t surprised to learn that the NFT auction did not convey an example of Twin Mill.  Rather, it conveyed unique ownership rights that corresponded to a piece of digital artwork. In another auction, Barrett-Jackson auctioned off NFTs that relate...

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On June 4, the European Commission (Commission) adopted new standard contractual clauses (SCCs) for the transfer of personal data to third countries. SCCs have long been an important tool for EU data transfers, as one of only a handful of mechanisms available to legitimize personal data transfers made to countries outside the European Union (EU). This importance increased in July 2020 when the EU Court of Justice (CJEU) issued its decision in Data Protection Commission v. Facebook Ireland, Max Schrems (Schrems...

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This week's special newsletter provides an overview of notable changes in Canadian immigration including all measures directly related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Here is the latest news as of July 19, 2021. The Canadian border will open to vaccinated Americans as of August 9. Following Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's July 19 announcement, travelers who reside in the United States and are United States citizens or permanent residents of the United States. They must be fully immunized and have received the...

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On July 14, 2021, the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) published in the Federal Register (86 Fed. Reg. 37022-35) its final rule for “Made in USA” and other unqualified U.S.-origin claims (“unqualified U.S.-origin claims”) on product labels. The final rule is effective on August 13, 2021. The final rule codifies a longstanding FTC policy and practice that a product or service with an unqualified U.S.-origin claim, whether express or implied, on its label cannot contain more than a de minimis amount of foreign origin. The final rule...

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What Is An NFT? How Do NFTs Work? Binance, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world, advertised that it would release its own Non-Fungible Token (NFT) market on June 24, following the steps of other major players in the industry, such as Gemini. Like cryptocurrencies, NFTs are digital assets that register an immutable transaction on a blockchain. The majority of NFTs are currently operated on the Ethereum open-source, decentralized platform. However, unlike a cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin, an NFT is unique and...

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