If you owe enough in delinquent American federal taxes, the U.S. government can take your passport. The Internal Revenue Service certifies “seriously delinquent” tax debt to the U.S. State Department. This is an individual's unpaid, legally enforceable federal tax debt, including interest and penalties, that totals more than $55,000 (that amount is adjusted yearly for inflation). The State Department generally will not issue a passport to you after receiving certification from the IRS, denying your passport application or revoking your current passport....

Editor's Note: In the U.S. laws and regulation space, federal lawmakers continued to push the American Data Privacy and Protection Act forward, and the FTC pledged to enforce the law against the illegal use of highly sensitive data, including health data. Meanwhile, the California Privacy Protection Agency commenced official rulemaking. In U.S. litigation, courts continued to see BIPA litigation, including a claim against an educational institution and a claim against Clearview AI. In international regulation and enforcement, the European...

By the Act of 19 June 2022, Belgium transposed the Directive (EU) 2019/790 into Belgian law, hereby ushering in a number of changes. It entered into force on 1 August 2022. Member States initially had until 7 June 2021 for the transposition. The aim of the Directive is to ensure the EU to keep a leading position in the global digital economy by promoting innovation, creativity, investment and production of new content. Here are some of the key innovations of...

Yesterday, the Senate passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA) (H.R. 5376) on a party-line vote with Vice President Kamala Harris breaking the 50-50 tie on President Biden and Congressional Democrats signature domestic policy legislation focused on energy, climate, health care, and tax provisions. The House of Representatives is expected to take up and pass the IRA without changes on Friday where it will then head to President Biden for his signature. The IRA was unveiled on July 27...

In developing countries transport drives economic grown and social inclusion. Here’s how transport projects help people live better lives around the world—and fight the emissions that fuel climate change. Transport is key to development. It fosters wealth, equality and well-being and is crucial to any nation, even more so for less-developed countries. In poorer countries, where most people don’t own a car, improving public transport is essential to economic growth and good quality of life. Many developing countries often lack resources...

UPDATE: As of August 4, the Biden administration has declared monkeypox a national health emergency, on the heels of similar announcements by various states and localities as well as the World Health Organization. The latest wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has barely been contained, yet employers are now being hit with employee inquiries related to monkeypox.  As this virus spreads, states and localities are declaring emergencies while employers are struggling to determine how to respond to this new challenge, including...

This article was previously published in Securities Financial Times | Brian Ruane, CEO of BNY Mellon Government Securities Services Corporation and Clearance & Collateral Management, recently met with Justin Lawson to discuss the firm’s growing collateral business and the first phase of the new user interface for their flagship application, AccessEdge This new redesigned user interface will include enhanced inventory and trade management capabilities, and a unified portal that simplifies the client experience. BNY Mellon has invested in, and is focused...

The UK government has recently published proposals to amend UK data protection legislation with moves towards divergence from EU rules and regulation following the UK’s decision to leave the EU (“Brexit”). The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill (“DPDI Bill”) proposes to make significant changes to existing UK data protection legislation, including the UK General Data protection Regulation (“UK GDPR”) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (“DPA”). The proposals include some measures that will result in a significant divergence,...