By Loyens & Loeff Today, 4 October 2017, the EU Commission set out a process to come to a new VAT regime for cross-border trade expected to enter into force in 2022. The cornerstone of the proposal is the ‘destination’-principle  according to which  transactions will be taxed with VAT in the Member State of destination rather than in the Member State of the supplier or origin. To improve the functioning of the current system, the Commission has announced some ‘quick fixes’...

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By the Delegation of the Basque Country to the United States The Learning Tour 2017 initiative, promoted by the Basque Government, aimed to showcase the most outstanding and remarkable aspects of the Basque Country and to promote the Basque sustainable development model. The delegation was made up of a group of seven US institutional, economic, and academic representatives, who were accompanied by the General Secretary for External Action, Marian Elorza, the Director of Foreign Affairs, Leyre Madariaga, and the Basque Country's Delegate to...

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By Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati On October 3, 2017, the High Court of Ireland issued its decision in Data Protection Commissioner vs Facebook and Schrems1 concerning the validity of the EU Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs)—a mechanism used by a very large number of companies to transfer personal data outside of the European Union. The Irish High Court referred this question to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). This is the second time that the CJEU has been...

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By Nauta Dutilh Corporate News NautaDutilh expands its New York office with a Luxembourg desk headed by Jad Nader, who recently has been named local partner. The firm's New York satellite team advises US clients on Dutch, Belgian, and Luxembourg law, particularly in regard to cross-border banking and finance and corporate M&A transactions. The arrival of a Luxembourg partner will increase the firm's capacity to handle Dutch and Luxembourg matters locally. "We are excited to be able to offer our US...

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By Maria Fernanda Gandarez (New York City), Matthew Kolodziej (New York City), Rajula Sati (New York City) | Ogletree Deakins The U.S. Department of State (DOS) has issued new guidance establishing a presumption of willful misrepresentation when a foreign national, within 90 days of entry into the United States, engages in conduct that violates the terms of his or her nonimmigrant status. The individual will be presumed to have misrepresented his or her intent to comply with the terms of his...

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By Vulcan Consulting GERMANY   Merkel secures fourth term but difficult coalition awaits Last Sunday’s federal elections in Germany provided expected results as Chancellor Angela Merkel retained her position as leader of the largest party for a fourth straight term. However, the outcome left Ms. Merkel with an challenging parliamentary scenario as she negotiates to secure a working government majority.   The country’s two major parties, the conservative Christian Democratic Union-Christian Social Union (CDU-CSU) bloc to which the chancellor...

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By Dr Mansur Pour Rafsendjani, Partner, Noerr Munich | Noerr LLP On 12 September 2017 the European Parliament passed a resolution on the functioning of franchising in retail (2016/2244(INI)). In the resolution, the European Parliament takes the view that franchising regulation should be harmonised across Europe. Content of the European Parliament resolution The Parliament states that many Member States have enacted legislation, but that this is inconsistent and its focus has often been only on certain aspects, such as imposing disclosure obligations...

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By Andrew C. Collins | Managing Partner | Drew.Collinsbbgfx.com |513.386.8541 | Bannockburn Global Forex It was an eventful weekend in the world of politics with both Germany and New Zealand holding elections, British Prime Minister Theresa May outlining her latest Brexit implementation plan, and Japanese PM Abe hinting at holding snap elections later this year.  Let's briefly cover each. Angela Merkel won a fourth term in the German election but her party performed more poorly than expected, winning a declining share of seats.  Both the...

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By Vulcan Consulting EUROPEAN UNION Collection of EU states back new plan to tax digital giants Finance ministers from ten EU countries have signed a letter, pledging to throw their weight behind a new initiative to begin taxing the digital revenues of the major internet players such as Google, Amazon and Facebook. Triggered initially by France, the tax plan has gathered support from a significant cohort of additional EU states such as Germany, Spain, Italy, Portugal and several others. Such internet giants have...

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American Views New York State– FIBER OPTIC CABLE---IS IT REAL PROPERTY? The majority of jurisdictions the United States have some form of tax on what is known as tangible personal property. The definition of personal property for tax purposes in the US covers a broad range, including anything from motor vehicles and boats to items such as office computer and telephone systems, and even office carpeting and furniture. It is in those jurisdictions that do not levy a personal property tax that the greatest...

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