A consultation document, ‘Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes’ (the consultation document), has beenpublished in respect of proposed changes to the disclosure of tax avoidance schemes (DOTAS) regime, which are largely aimed at improving compliance and widening the scope of the types of transactions that are disclosable. It is clear that HMRC consider this legislation to …
On Friday 27 November 2009 the new European Commission, which will begin its mandate early in 2010, was announced by Commission President José Barroso. This announcement followed a week after the appointment of Herman Van Rompuy and Catherine Ashton as the President of the European Council and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign …
In this month’s corporate tax article, we have considered some of the proposed international tax measures introduced inthe Pre-Budget Report (PBR 2009). The headline-grabbing measures of the PBR 2009, such as the bank bonus tax or the increases in national insurance contributions, have already received considerable media attention and commentary, and therefore this article does …
The European Ombudsman, Nikiforos Diamandouros, has published a decision upholding a complaint against the European Commission by Intel Corporation (Intel). The complaint relates to the Commission’s handling of its investigation into Intel’s business activities and, in particular, its record of a meeting with a senior executive from Dell Inc (Dell), one of Intel’s biggest customers. …
The Companies (Cross-Border Mergers) Regulations 2007 (the Regulations) came into force in December 2007 and implements Directive 2005/56/EC of the European Parliament and Council on cross-border mergers of limited liability companies. The Regulations provide for the merging of any two public or private limited liability companies resident in the EU (providing such a merger is …
On 11 November 2009, the European Commission imposed fines totalling over €173m on companies involved in a cartel in the market for heat stabilisers (Commission decision of 11 November 2009 in case 38.589). This brings the total value of fines imposed by the Commission in 2009 for cartel activity to over €1.6bn. The Commission found …
There are times when one party to a contract will know that the other has no intention of performing, even though the time for performance has yet to expire. The courts have again recently confirmed that, in certain circumstances, and provided the ingredients of a repudiatory breach are present (see pp8-9, IHL174), the innocent party …
The REACH (Registration, Evaluation, authorisation and restriction of chemical substances) Chemicals Regulation 1907/2006 (REACH) entered into force across the EU on 1 June 2007. UK enforcement of REACH is led by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The main purpose of REACH is to ensure a high level of protection of human health and the …
Two of Blake, Cassels & Graydon’s M&A partners have identified some noteworthy trends that they expect will have an impact on the Canadian M&A landscape in 2010.
The current financial crisis has undoubtedly dampened the initial enthusiasm over public-private partnerships (PPP). However, ongoing developments in relevant legislative frameworks, particularly those in central and eastern European (CEE) and south-east European (SEE) countries, suggest that a belief in PPP projects as an alternative to traditional public contracts still exists. PPP PROJECTS AND THE IMPACTOF …
Sir David Walker published his final review of corporate governance in banks and other financial institutions on 26 November 2009 (the Review). This followed a period of consultation based on initial draft recommendations that were announced in July 2009. While the Review’s final recommendations do not depart hugely from the July draft proposals, the consultation …
Based in Dubai, Habib Al Mulla & Company has witnessed first hand the worst effects of the 2009 financial crisis. The Dubai construction market has suffered more than most and the number of construction cases through the Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC) has tripled over the course of 2009. The launch of the DIFC LCIA …
