May 1, 2020 | UPDATED May 15, 2020 With almost 600,000 Europeans infected with COVID-19, entire economies under lockdown, and borders in the EU’s coveted passport-free Schengen Area closed since mid-March, leaders in the EU institutions and national governments have spent the past months in crisis mode to mitigate the socio-economic impacts of the crisis. Within just a few weeks, the need to effectively and forcefully respond to the seemingly ever-escalating crisis has led to political leaders, across the continent, putting...

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• COVID-19 has left visitors to other countries indefinitely stranded and potentially subject to another nation’s taxes. • Most countries determine the tax residence status of visitors based on the number of days spent in the country. • The U.S. issued guidance offering relief to visitors who must extend their stay in the country as a result of travel disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. • While some countries have issued guidance addressing the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on tax residency determinations, several...

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April 30, 2020 | The start of phase 2 As the contagion rate and death toll caused by the Covid-19 emergency (“Covid-19”) continues to decrease, on 26 April 2020 the Prime Minister announced in a press conference the measures adopted to ease the lockdown during the so-called “phase 2”. The new measures are reflected in the Prime Minister Decree dated 26 April 20201 (the “26 April 2020 Decree”). During the press conference, the Prime Minister explained that the reopening and resumption of...

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April 30, 2020 | On 3 April 2020, the OECD Secretariat issued its analysis on tax treaties and the impact of the COVID-19 crisis. The guidance deals with (a) concerns related to the corporate residence status (place of effective management); (b) concerns related to the creation of Permanent Establishments; (c) concerns related to cross-border workers, and (d) concerns related to the residence status of individuals. In this special edition we focus on the issue of cross-border commuting and the residence...

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April 22, 2020 | One opportunity to address the socioeconomic consequences of the spread of COVID-19 is presented by the possibility of allocating part of the direct and indirect European funds allocated in the 2014–2020 programming cycle for this purpose. However, there is debate on the best way to implement the restructuring of existing programs, in particular the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the European Social Fund (ESF), and the Cohesion Fund. Although the measures adopted (and in the process...

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April 28, 2020 | The Congress passed the Paycheck Protection Program and Health Care Enhancement Act, sometimes known as “Stimulus 3.5.” Here are highlights of this law’s impact on the Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans: • More money. The law adds $310 billion in additional guaranty authority to SBA. Based on SBA’s previous loan approvals of 1.6 million PPP loans, this should allow approval of an additional 1.5 million PPP loans. • More lenders. In addition to regulated banks, the bill...

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April 24, 2020 | All of us have spent the last several weeks focused on the health and well-being of our teams and companies, and, in some cases, even survival. Now, the industry stands at an unparalleled juncture. Retail is facing more change, uncertainty, risk, and—if you can allow yourself to imagine it—reward than it has in memorable history. There are innumerable predictions in the market about when the shelter-in-place recommendations will end and how the consumer is likely to respond....

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April 27, 2020 | Although we all hope for a quick return to stability, the current environment raises the possibility of an increase in down-round financings—private company financings in which the company has a reduced valuation from its prior financing round. In recent weeks, we have observed pressure on valuations and the emergence of more onerous, less company-friendly terms in several, though certainly not all, financing rounds. Down rounds raise a number of delicate and important issues for companies and...

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The President signed a new Coronavirus stimulus package that adds $484 billion more in relief for small businesses, hospitals and medical testing. Included in the package is an additional $310 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), which ran out of small business loan funds on April 16. $60 billion of these funds will be earmarked for small banks and credit unions in an effort to reach small underserved businesses that do not have established banking relationships. The package also allocates $60 billion for the Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL) and...

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April 23, 2020 | On April 22, 2020, the White House issued a Proclamation Suspending Entry of Immigrants Who Present Risk to the U.S. Labor Market During the Economic Recovery Following the COVID-19 Outbreak, which bars certain foreign nationals from entering the United States as immigrants unless they have alternative travel documents. The proclamation has an effective date of April 23, 2020 (11:59 p.m.). The suspension and limitation on individuals seeking entry as immigrants, pursuant to section 1 of the proclamation, will apply...

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