Summary In this case certain E&Y entities based in London were ordered to pay USD10.8 million for loss of earnings to a whistleblowing former auditor employed by an E&Y entity that was not based in the UK and not party to the proceedings. Th...

On 1 May, the FCA issued two sets of draft guidance which will be important reading for all firms involved in insurance arrangements and particularly insurers, intermediaries and premium finance lenders. As it considers that the delay involved in co...

As part of the State opening of Parliament, the Queen today set out the government’s plans for legislation over the course of the new parliamentary session.  Disappointingly, however, the Queen’s Speech contained...

By Tim Brown and Wiwat Peerapatanapokin HONOLULU (September 17, 2019)—In 2018, roughly 6 million people were living with HIV in Asia and the Pacific, and 310,000 were newly infected, according to UNAIDS estimates. Despite these troubling numbers, financial support for the fight against AIDS is stagnant, and international resources for HIV programs in the region are declining. Given the continued HIV infection levels and limited funds for halting the epidemic, it is more important than ever for prevention efforts to achieve maximum impact with the resources available. This means that programs need to target the key populations most at risk of contracting HIV. In Asia, these key populations are female sex workers and their clients, people who inject drugs, and men who have sex with men....

This is a summary only. Click the title for the full article, or visit www.EastWestCenter.org/Research-Wire for more.

By East-West Center HONOLULU (October 4, 2019)—President Donald Trump first laid out a vision for a “free and open Indo-Pacific” at the November 2017 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit in Vietnam. From the start, statements describing the emerging US Indo-Pacific strategy have recognized the central role of Southeast Asia. The US approach to the Indo-Pacific focuses on three vital areas: enhancing shared prosperity, championing good governance and civil society, and ensuring a peaceful and secure regional order. Two recent visitors to the East-West Center described the potential role of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the US Indo-Pacific strategy and spelled out several steps that the United States needs to take to strengthen US-ASEAN...

This is a summary only. Click the title for the full article, or visit www.EastWestCenter.org/Research-Wire for more.

A close look at the evidence suggests that China has not been engaged in “debt-trap diplomacy” in the Pacific, at least not so far. Nonetheless, if future Chinese lending continues on a business-as-usual basis, serious problems of debt sustainability will arise, and concerns about quality and corruption are valid. By Jonathan Pryke HONOLULU (March 2, 2020)—In an atmosphere of heightened geostrategic competition, China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has raised questions about the risk of debt problems in less-developed countries. Such risks are especially worrying for the small and fragile economies of the Pacific.

This is a summary only. Click the title for the full article, or visit www.EastWestCenter.org/Research-Wire for more.

By East-West Center HONOLULU (March 27, 2020)—Population aging is affecting countries all across Asia. This ongoing demographic transition will leave many of the region’s economies increasingly dependent on an aging, and eventually a shrinking, workforce. Economists disagree, however, on whether population aging will necessarily lead to a slowdown in economic growth.

This is a summary only. Click the title for the full article, or visit www.EastWestCenter.org/Research-Wire for more.

By Boy Lüthje HONOLULU (6 April 2020)—The development of electric and self-driving vehicles is bringing on a massive restructuring of the global automotive industry. Emerging forms of new and shared mobility undermine the very model of private car ownership that has underpinned the automotive industry since the days of Henry Ford.

This is a summary only. Click the title for the full article, or visit www.EastWestCenter.org/Research-Wire for more.

  1. Brexit Implications for Social Security Contributions 1.1 If the UK leaves the EU there may be social security implications for UK employers who have employees working in the EU, EEA or Switzerland. If there is a no deal Brexit then action...

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    With the deadline for individuals (who are not provisional taxpayers) fast approaching for submitting their tax returns, a question that is worth asking is whether full disclosure has been made in the relevant tax return. A taxpayer ha...

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  Summary On 1 November HMRC published its much anticipated guidance on the taxation of cryptoassets for businesses. The guidance sets out HMRC’s view on the taxation of transactions involving cryptoasset exchange tokens (such as Bitcoin)...

  What’s new? On 20 December 2019, HMRC published an updated version of its guidance on the taxation of cryptoassets for individuals. The guidance was updated to include a new section in respect of the location (situs) of exchange tokens ...

Introduction On 31 January 2020, the OECD issued a further update on its work on the taxation of the digital economy. The catchily titled “Statement by the OECD/G20 Inclusive Framework on BEPS on the Two-Pillar Approach to Address the Tax Chal...

On 18 February 2020, the Council of the EU added the Cayman Islands, along with Palau, Panama and Seychelles to its list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes. These territories join eight other jurisdictions (namely, Fiji, Oman, Samoa,...

  German Finance Ministry Offers Protective Shield and Other Special Tax MeasuresMarch 13, 2020 The German Finance Ministry announced an unlimited protective shield for all companies in Germany. Pro...

The UK government announced at the March Budget that they intend to introduce a requirement for large businesses to notify HMRC where they adopt an “uncertain tax treatment”.  The proposal is designed to improve HMRC’s ability...

Corona tax deferrals in the light of the applicable law Since the publication of the guideline from the German Federal Ministry of Finance ("Bundesfinanzministerium", BMF) published 19 March 2020 (cf. our ...

In order to help in the fight against COVID-19, the European Commission has adopted a Decision, addressed to the Member States, which allows for tax authorities across Europe to offer import tax reliefs to importers of personal protective equipment ...

No support in the Corona crisis... The measures already initiated by the German Federal Government and the EU Commission to support and secure liquidity in the Corona crisis are focused on the industries directly affected by Corona/ COVID 19. They ...

Tax relief for volunteers and donations in the Corona crisis The Corona crisis poses enormous challenges for the whole society. In order to mitigate the spread of the pandemic, a wave of helpfulness and solidarity has been raised to assist the fello...

German-Luxembourg cross-border commuters Luxembourg and Germany have concluded a mutual agreement (Verständigungsvereinbarung) for Covid 19 related home office activities (für Corona bedingte Home Office Tätigkeiten) on 3 April 2020,...

What you need to know As part of the response to COVID-19 the Government has delayed the introduction of the new IR35 rules (which extend the current IR35 rules that apply to public sector bodies to medium and large private sector organisations) unt...

In line with the Federal Ministry of Finance's press release dated 3 April 2020, Germany and Austria have concluded a mutual agreement for Covid 19-related home office activities on 15 April 2020, which relates to the application of the Double Tax ...

Relief through extension of filing deadlines for employers in the Corona crisis In a letter dated 23 April 2020, the Federal Ministry of Finance has provided tax relief by extending the filing deadlines for preliminary wage tax returns (Lohnsteuer-A...

Retroactive reduction of advance tax payments for 2019 ... Due to the coronavirus crisis, many taxpayers can expect their income to collapse considerably in 2020, leading to losses that can be offset against tax payments. Such losses can be off...

Summary The UK Government has recently announced the zero-rating for supplies of PPE equipment and E-Publications from 1 May 2020.  E-Publications means electronically supplied books, brochures, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines, journals a...

This edition of our quarterly labour law update contains the following content: News number of days lost to strikes in 2007, the highest in five years trade union membership falls in 2007 <...

This edition of our quarterly labour law update contains the following content: News ACAS consults over amended time–off Code of Practice Redundancy and key labour law pointers The outlook for industrial unrest Last minute t...

This edition of our quarterly labour law update contains the following content: News UK workers continue to protest over the use of foreign labour Possible increase in statutory redundancy pay Employees t...

Welcome to our quarterly labour law update. This edition contains the following content: News Continuing decline in trade union membership: the latest government statistics New Regulations to be introduced to prevent blacklisting ...

Welcome to our quarterly labour law update. This edition contains the following content: News A record rise in tribunal protective award claims Gordon Brown makes agency...

Welcome to our quarterly labour law update. This edit...

On Monday, the Home Secretary, Theresa May, launched the consultation document for the proposed permanent annual limit on non-EU economic migration. At the same time, details of a temporary limit to operate in the interim period until April 2011 wer...

Welcome to our quarterly labour law update. This edition contains the following content: News RMT to challenge trade union laws  Decline in trade union membership continues  Government review of employment law to include European work...

Welcome to our quarterly labour law update. This edition contains the following content: News Agency regulations under review by coalition The threat of strikes and the law Unite leadership race Recent UK labour case law Worrall and othe...

Len McCluskey has been elected leader of the UK's biggest trade union, Unite. It was a comfortable victory, polling 101,000 votes ahead of second-placed Jerry Hicks, who had 52,000 votes. However, he is short of an overwhelming endorsement, given an...

The law relating to industrial action is complicated and many aspects are unclear, mainly because of conflicting court decisions, complex statutory rules or because of the absence of judicial interpretation. In particular, uncertainty exists over th...

The law relating to industrial action is complicated and many aspects are unclear, mainly because of conflicting court decisions, complex statutory rules or because of the absence of judicial interpretation. In particular, uncertainty exists over th...

Introduction

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