By Sylvia Dikmans, Rob Havenga, Paulus Merks & Alexander van der Voort Maarschalk | Houthoff On Budget Day (Prinsjesdag), traditionally the third Tuesday of September, the Dutch government proposes its Tax Plan (Belastingplan) for the coming year to parliament. The list of legislative proposals is extensive this year and is likely to have a significant impact on existing legislation. These proposals are partially due to recent developments in the EU. We have highlighted the main proposals below. Adjustments to the...

By Mathieu Legendre A small fiction (or essay) that illustrates the French roots of legal English: Let’s talk about your client.  His organization recently became a victim of espionage. As usual, you give him good direction and advise him about the procedures he must follow. You will do your best, as you have never been accused of malpractice or negligence. The suspects broke into your client’s office. It was not a force majeure, so you can accuse them of vandalism. Your client...

Tradewind today announced that Jose Roca has joined the team as Senior Vice President in the firm’s New York office. Jose will be responsible for expanding the company’s sales base and program offerings. Jose has over 20 years’ experience as a senior banking executive on the asset-based lending side along with experience providing working capital facilities for refinancing, restructurings, turnarounds and acquisitions. He joins Tradewind from People’s United Bank where he was SVP Business Development. Prior to joining People’s United...

In the "Relief Procedures for Certain Former Citizens" and accompanying FAQs, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) provides a simplified pathway for certain non-compliant U.S. citizens who expatriated after March 18, 2010, to become U.S. tax and reporting compliant. In short, under this new procedure, U.S. citizens who expatriated, were non-willful in their failure to file U.S. income or gift tax returns and associated international information returns, owed a limited amount of back taxes (not in excess of $25,000) and had...

Imagine that your company has just commenced an internal compliance investigation in response to an allegation that the company is violating various federal laws. The next day, a longtime employee with access to the company’s crucial trade secrets is seen removing duffle bags of documents. Moreover, the IT department examines his network activity and reports that he has downloaded thousands of documents onto a thumb drive. Shortly thereafter, an attorney for the employee contacts your litigation department and states that...

New College of European Commissioners announced On 10 September European Commission President-elect Ursula Von der Leyen presented her new team of Commissioners-designate, as well as a revamped structure for the institution. The key issues the Von der Leyen Commission will seek to address include changes in climate, technology and demographics. Von der Leyen was keen to address equality in the distribution of portfolios and executive Vice Presidencies – between East and West, North and South, and men and women. She has...

One of the most important pillars of the relationship between the so-called “sister republics” of Switzerland and the United States is Switzerland’s strong economic footprint in the U.S. Did you know that this year the Global Innovation Index ranked Switzerland as the champion in innovation for the ninth year in a row? Yes, both Switzerland and the U.S. top the rankings as some of the most innovative and competitive economies in the world. You might be surprised to learn...