Loyens & Loeff -  On 13 March 2018, the Council of the European Union reached political agreement on a Council Directive (“Directive”) introducing mandatory disclosure rules for intermediaries such as lawyers, accountants and tax advisers. Intermediaries must report potentially aggressive tax planning arrangements with a cross-border dimension as well as arrangements designed to circumvent reporting requirements like CRS and UBO reporting. EU Member States’ tax authorities will exchange the information automatically within the EU through a centralized database. The reporting obligation...

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Littler - On March 6, 2018, the U.S Department of Labor's Wage and Hour Division announced its new Payroll Audit Independent Determination (PAID) program. Initially being rolled out as a six-month pilot program, PAID provides employers with a unique opportunity—and indeed, motivation—to proactively address potential wage and hour underpayments under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) while simultaneously helping to protect themselves against litigation threats from the DOL and individual employees. While the details of the PAID program are yet...

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Philips Lighting - Philips Lighting (Euronext: LIGHT), the world leader in lighting, today announced two new innovations, the Philips TrueForce LED Road and the Philips CorePro LEDtube Universal T8. Philips TrueForce LED Road is the world's first 'plug and play' replacement SON-T LED lamp for street lighting, making it easy to upgrade existing installations to LED without having to replace the luminaire. The Philips CorePro LEDtube Universal T8 is a breakthrough range of affordable tubes for trade customers, making tube...

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Richards Kibbe & Orbe - As U.S. economic sanctions have tightened, sanctioned countries, entities and individuals are engaging in increasingly sophisticated practices to evade their impact.  Recent reports in the media and by U.S. regulators have described complicated sanctions evasion schemes involving false documentation, front companies and other deceptive trade practices which appear to have succeeded in luring otherwise innocent U.S. parties into prohibited transactions.  In this alert, RK&O attorneys Michael D. Mann and Jamie A. Schafer review recent developments and OFAC's...

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by Len Adams, ACG Resources/Adams Consulting Group, LLC There has been great hype recently about artificial intelligence and its application to the recruitment process. Much has been written about the potential for the recruitment function to be replaced by AI. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being touted as the wave of the future, allowing HR and hiring managers to quickly narrow down their received resumes to just a few qualified candidates based on AI “learning” what their hiring criteria and jobs require. While...

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BDO USA - A return of volatility to the stock market, executive misconduct, seemingly endless reports of cyber breaches, global economic concerns, demands for transparency, and historic changes brought about by the new tax law are just a few of the topics being discussed in corporate board rooms around the country. These issues and many more will make for an intriguing annual meeting season this spring. BDO’s Center for Corporate Governance and Financial Reporting recently reports on a variety of topics...

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TD Bank - Grants will support nonprofits focused on neighborhood revitalization, financial sustainability, and economic growth through small business development. TD Charitable Foundation, the charitable giving arm of TD Bank, America's Most Convenient Bank®, awarded more than $5.9M in grants to eighteen non-profit organizations supporting affordable housing, financial literacy/health, neighborhood revitalization, economic development, and human service needs in communities from Maine to Florida. More than forty organizations were invited by the TD Charitable Foundation to submit program proposals that demonstrate innovation, creativity and...

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Thompson Hine - As technology continues to enable us to create ways to accomplish tasks faster and more accurately, the workplace continues to become more complex and complicated for employers to navigate. The use of biometric data for security and identity verification is becoming more commonplace by the day. However, the use of biometric data also is raising a host of concerns for employers, ranging from privacy and security issues to litigation exposure. What Is Biometric Data? Biometric data is any data...

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Mason Hayes - Businesses wanting to stay relevant and ahead of the curve need to keep an eye on evolving tech trends. Advancement in technology and an evolving legal climate in 2018 will be an interesting challenge for today’s business world. Augmented Reality (AR) Currently seen in gaming applications such as Pokémon Go, AR entertainment will mature during the coming year. However, AR is also likely to impact consumer experiences in industries such as food, automotive and digital marketing. AR combines the...

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