Think you had a bad day at the office, well just imagine the week the Captain of The Ever Given has had! But hey, sometimes we just have to laugh otherwise we’ll cry, and this meme .gif we found on Reddit.com definitely does the trick! We promise it’s worth a watch. Watch on Reddit here But, back to the real news… With the backlog of vessels in one of the world’s busiest waterways, a range of new blocktrain and LCL services between...

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After hours of discussion on how best to redistribute an extra load of 10 million doses of the BioNTech/Pfizer vaccine, following criticism of some national leaders in past weeks, the EU Heads of State and Government agreed to pass the measure down to ambassador-level for a decision. The debate followed Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz’s recent “surprise” at “discovering” that Austria had received less than its technically allocated share of vaccines. According to him, this was due to what he described...

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As the pandemic recedes in many places, some employers have announced plans to extend their work-from-home policies indefinitely. Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Twitter and Facebook are among the growing list of major corporations to embrace the shift and acknowledge the benefits of remote work. Not only is there evidence that employees prefer the flexibility of working from home, but there are also significant benefits for employers. According to a Global Workplace Analytics survey, businesses can save roughly $11,000 a year for each employee who works remotely just...

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Key insights The ERC is now available to eligible employers for all four quarters in 2021. Recovery start-up businesses can qualify for up to $50,000 per quarter. For severely distressed employers, the 500-employee limitation does not apply. The ARP provides clarity on what credits may not overlap with the ERC. The American Rescue Plan (ARP), signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021, gave some clarity and additional relief to organizations seeking to claim the employee retention credit...

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The global pandemic has dramatically affected people, governments and businesses during the past year. Is it the right time to sell? The global pandemic has dramatically affected people, governments and businesses during the past year. Many companies have had to navigate a very dynamic and volatile environment, which has included employee and customer health concerns, rapid changes in product and service demand, and supply chain disruptions, among other items. Businesses that were contemplating M&A processes have had to carefully reassess...

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On 22 March 2021, the Council of the EU amended the directive on administrative cooperation (through the so-called “DAC7”) to expand reporting obligations and exchange of information to cover sales through digital platforms. These rules would apply from 2023. In addition, DAC7 amends the actual exchange of information and cooperation between EU member states, focusing on joint actions and joint audits. These rules would apply from 2024. 1. New Reporting obligation for digital platforms Digital platform operators with nexus in the EU...

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On Friday 5 March 2021, the Dutch Ministry of Finance (the "Ministry") organised a Tax Governance Code webinar. The webinar was held following the release of an essay bundle, Tax governance, social responsibility, and ethics. Time for a tax code? (the "essay bundle"), by the Ministry in December 2020. While the essay bundle is a local Dutch initiative, it can be seen as a continuation of the ongoing international tax reform which started with the OECD's BEPS Project in 2013. In this News...

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