Posted in Alert

Global Tax Alert: Dutch tax proposals aim to improve investment climate

By Israel Group on

By Jian-Cheng Ku and Rhys Bane

In September, the Dutch government published an initial round of tax proposals in connection with the 2019 Budget. One of these proposals, the Source Tax Act of 2020 (STA 2020), would, among other things, see the Dutch dividend withholding tax abolished and a source tax on dividends (as of 2020), interest and royalties (as of 2021) introduced. Furthermore, the STA 2020 would see Dutch corporate income tax rates lowered to 16 percent for taxable profits of up to €200,000 and 22.25 percent for taxable profits in excess of €200,000. These proposals were announced on September 15, 2018.

Then, on October 5, 2018, the Dutch government announced it was reconsidering its proposals for the improvement of the Dutch investment climate. On October 15, in a letter from the State Secretary of Finance to Parliament, the government announced the results of this reconsideration.

Rather than abolishing the Dutch dividend withholding tax, the government is proposing 10 changes to the pending tax proposals.

Internationally operating companies with a Dutch company in their corporate structure are making note of the proposals.

Find out more.

If you are interested in attending an event on Doing Business in the Netherlands, please contact deborah.kandel@dlapiper.com.

Posted in Event

Event: Blockchain Breakfast Club – 6 November

By Israel Group on

Please join us for a Blockchain program we are co-hosting on November 6th together with our friends at Yigal Arnon and iCapital. Martin Bartlam, Head of DLA Piper’s International Finance and Projects Group, will be speaking about “Blockchain and ICO trends in the UK market”, and there will be presentations by Adrian Daniels, Partner at Yigal Arnon & Co., and Agada Nameri, General Manager of iCapital.io, as well.

For more information and to register, click here.

 

 

Posted in Accelerate Articles

Best practices in hiring to protect trade secrets

By Israel Group on

Employee mobility is a boon to employers and employees alike, but it also presents unique challenges for preserving trade secret information. Those challenges include not only preserving one’s own trade secrets on the back end, but also defending against accusations that an employee has misappropriated a former employer or third party’s IP on the front end.

Rather than waiting for those challenges to ripen into costly litigation, employers should adopt four best practices on the front end – during the onboarding process – to prevent disputes from arising in the first place and – in the event they do arise – being prepared to defend the company.

To read more about these best practices, click here.

Posted in Event

NBN Executive Learning Series: Innovation, Autonomous Vehicles and Purpose

By Israel Group on

We hosted our second Executive Learning Series event with a breakfast discussion and tour of Mobileye by one of its co-founding engineers, Mois Navon. Mois told his personal story and how he eventually ended up at Mobileye after a series of twists and turns in his life. He described the evolution of the company, why Intel decided to acquire it a premium and where the company is headed.  Mois also led the group on a tour of the company’s R&D facility, where we had a chance to see some of Mobileye’s technology in action.

The event was co-hosted by Nefesh b’Nefesh (NBN), an organization that, in cooperation with the Israeli government and The Jewish Agency for Israel, is dedicated to minimizing the financial, professional, logistical and social obstacles for individuals and families seeking to move to Israel.

Posted in Articles

New York City amends Human Rights Law – employers must engage in “cooperative dialogue” with employees seeking accommodation

By Israel Group on

On October 15, 2018, a new amendment to the New York City Human Rights Law regarding employer obligations when responding to an employee’s potential need for a reasonable accommodation will go into effect.

The amendment requires employers with four or more employees in New York City to enter into a “cooperative dialogue” with any employee who may be eligible for a “reasonable accommodation” for issues related to (1) disability, (2) pregnancy, childbirth or a related medical condition, (3) religion or (4) the employee’s “needs as a victim of domestic violence, sex offenses or stalking.” It also requires employers to document in writing the result of any decision to grant or deny an accommodation.

Click here to read the full article by Daniel Turinsky and Matt Engel.

Posted in Articles

Argentina introduces VAT on digital services

By Israel Group on

Argentina’s new Law 27,430 introduces a new taxable event: a Value Added Tax (VAT) applicable to the importation of “digital services” rendered by a non-resident to a resident individual or entity when the effective use or exploitation of the service is carried out inside Argentina.

An earlier regulation, Decree 354/2018 of April 23, 2018, a deficient attempt to regulate the VAT applicable on digital services, was recently repealed.

In this alert, we review the current wording of Argentina’s VAT Law and its Regulatory Decree regarding the importation of digital services.

Find out more.

Posted in Articles

California mandates female board directors for publicly held companies

By Israel Group on

Governor Jerry Brown signed a bill into law on September 30, 2018 requiring publicly held companies based in California to have at least one female on their boards of directors by the end of 2019, and, depending on the size of their boards, additional females by the end of 2021. Financial penalties will apply for noncompliance.

With the enactment of this law, California becomes the first state in the US to mandate gender diversity in the corporate boardroom.

While California, and, in particular, Silicon Valley, often has the reputation of being progressive, the new law has sparked a challenging debate. Is this an effective way to enable women to break the glass ceiling? Is the government overreaching by mandating diversity in private businesses? Does it elevate gender diversity over other aspects of diversity? Despite the debate, both advocates and critics of the law agree on the importance of board diversity.

See our summary of the new law.

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