The Toy Association joined an intimate dinner conversation on September 24, arranged by the European-American Chamber of Commerce New York featuring Pierre Moscovici, the European commissioner for economic & financial affairs, taxation & customs. Commissioner Moscovici provided insights about the achievements of the outgoing EU Commission and reflected on key priorities under the next mandate in terms of the Economic and Monetary Union deepening, fiscal policy, structural reforms, and corporate taxation. The Toy Association’s president & chief executive, Steve Pasierb, attended as...

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"We all have to accelerate our efforts. Reduce our emissions, increase our carbon sinks. We cannot afford to wait for others to move first. The climate crisis calls for leaders, not just followers." - President Niinistö on Twitter On Monday, 23rd September, President Sauli  Niinistö spoke at the Climate Action Summit, hosted by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. On Tuesday, 24th September, President Niinistö delivered Finland’s National Statement at the Opening of the General Debate of the UN General Assembly.On Wednesday, 2nd October 2019, President Niinistö will meet...

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Why should a Benelux law firm have an office in New York? For NYC-based partners Elizabeth van Schilfgaarde and Jad Nader this question is a no-brainer: “Twenty percent of the firm's turnover originates in the United States. New York City is an ideal location for promoting the firm, and having an office here allows us to connect in person with our US clients.” NautaDutilh's New York office at 1 Rockefeller Plaza is relatively small compared to those in the Benelux:...

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By Steve T. Ball | Holland & Knight The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) on Sept. 24, 2019, issued its final overtime rule as it relates to the salary amount that employees must be paid in order to meet the salary basis requirements for exemption from overtime pay. (See Holland & Knight's previous alert, "Be Prepared for New Federal Overtime Rule Regarding Salary," Sept. 12, 2019.) Through the end of 2019, most white-collar exempt employees must be paid at least $455 per...

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Key Events This Week Supreme Court rules on Boris Johnson’s suspension of Parliament The Supreme Court has unanimously ruled that Boris Johnson’s prorogation of parliament was unlawful. The court ruled that the decision itself to prorogue parliament was unlawful as it had “the effect of frustrating or preventing the ability of parliament to carry out its constitutional functions without reasonable justification.” Notably, the court also asserted that the decision by the Privy Council to ask the Queen to suspend parliament was...

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By Joanna Massey, President & CEO, JDMA Inc. With millennials expected to comprise at least half of the workforce by 2020, and Gen Z becoming an ever-larger percentage of employees every year, the key to ensuring inter-generational corporate harmony is education. Senior executives, who mostly comprise the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers and Gen X, must firmly grasp that there are now more of them than there are of us. So, it will not work for a successful business today—much less in...

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By Greetje van Heezik, Paulus Merks, Lorenzo Fiorilli, Rezan Ökten | Houthoff  On 24 September, the General Court of the European Union (General Court) issued two landmark judgments following appeals against the decisions of the European Commission (Commission) in the Fiat and Starbucks cases. In these cases, the Commission had found that Luxembourg and the Netherlands had granted unlawful State aid to Fiat and Starbucks respectively, through a number of tax rulings that artificially reduced the amount both multinational groups...

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Kotkamills is a Finnish company that makes plastic-free and recyclable food service products. They create products through renewable resources that prioritizes both the environment and consumers.   Why We're Celebrating:  They won the Starbucks and McDonalds-organized 2019 Next Gen Cup Challenge, an award given to the to-go cup that best addresses the concerns of food packaging waste. They were also the recipients of a 2019 Worldstar Packaging Award.    What makes Kotkamills so exciting? The Kotkamills cup is plastic free, biodegradable, and easily recyclable.  The cups and to-go containers that...

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