Businesses seeking exemption to perform essential services have previously had to register on the government’s BizPortal website, but their current certificates are no longer valid as the initial 21-day lockdown period for which they applied, ...

A Councillor has successfully applied for judicial review of a decision by his own council to vary a contract for the development of a mixed retail, residential and transport hub in Winchester. The High Court ruled that the variations to the contrac...

...

...

Following the June 2016 referendum on the UK’s membership of the EU, the UK government triggered article 50 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union on 29 March 2017, thereby commencing the two-year formal process that will ultim...

On 2 April 2019, the European Commission issued a press release regarding its State aid investigation into aspects of the UK controlled foreign company (CFC) rules. This press release explains that certain aspects of the CFC rules under investigatio...

An approval would bring the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act a significant step closer to becoming law.

Customs official banished to a remote area after being caught smuggling.

Introduction Earlier this year, Luxembourg’s financial services regulator, the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (the “CSSF”) announced a year-long transitional period, to take effect from the date of a no-deal Brexit...

A conversation is beginning around the future of the UK’s regulatory regime post-Brexit, with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) talking about adopting a broader outcomes-based approach and is even questioning disclosure levels. Jonathan Master b...

On 16 October 2019, the FCA published their feedback statement FS19/6 on Climate Change and Green Finance[1]. This feedback statement summarises the responses from stakeholders to the Discussion Paper (DP18/8) on Climate Change and Green Finance[2] ...

On 18 February 2018, the EU added the Cayman Islands to its list of noncooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes (“Annex 1”). This has come as a surprise, but is unlikely to have any immediate impact on Cayman-domiciled funds. In this b...

The Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”) sent a letter to all UK regulated asset managers on 27 February 2020 (the “Dear CEO Letter”), to encourage the sector to prepare for the cessation of the sterling London interbank o...

Cross-border fund marketing arrangements into the UK are poised to be significantly amended when the current post-Brexit ‘transition or implementation period’ (“TIP”) comes to an end on 31 December 2020.  Retail funds&rs...

The High Court looks at the definition of highway ‘maintainable at public expense’ in the recent case of Barlow v Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council (2019). The case at first instance The claimant, Deborah Barlow, brought a claim against...

...

In its concern to block tax avoidance, HMRC is planning to make Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) ever more complicated, as two recent consultations show. Residential properties held by companies The first consultation proposes the imposition of SDLT on ...

The VAT tribunal has decided that the sale of a 'future property rental business' qualified as a transfer of a going concern. If the sale of a property rental business satisfies the conditions that apply to sales of businesses as going concerns, th...

The 'option to tax', or 'election to waive exemption' is a facility that allows property owners to charge VAT on sales and lettings, rather than exempting them. This means that they can recover VAT they incur on construction and other costs. Various...

A simple drafting error in a lease invalidates a contracting–out order. In Newham LBC v Thomas–Van Staden, which has been fully reported only recently, the Court of Appeal has presented us with a curious decision on the effect of a draf...

Helpful analysis of when landlords of mixed–use properties need to consult their tenants before incurring service charge costs. The Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires landlords who own residential blocks of flats to consult their tenants b...

The Carbon Tax Act No. 15 of 2019 | Effective as of 1 June 2019 “Reducing the impacts of climate change through facilitating a viable and fair transition to a low-carbon economy is essential to ensure an environmentally sustainable economic gr...

...

Introduction A circular economy is an economic system characterised by the trading of products and services in closed loops or cycles. The system is designed to be regenerative insofar as it aims to retain as much value as possible from used product...

The Withdrawal Agreement was signed by Boris Johnson on 24 January 2020 and has been ratified by the EU. As part of the Withdrawal Agreement, the UK and the EU have agreed a transition period to provide continuity and certainty while they negotiate ...

...

The Plateau State Government has discharged the state’s index case of Coronavirus from one of its isolation centres at Jos University Teaching Hospital after she made a full recovery.

Nathan Shehu, Consultant Physician, Infectious Disease, at JUTH, confirmed the recovery, saying she was fit to reintegrate into society.

He said, “The patient has recovered and is fit to reintegrate into the community. She no longer poses a risk. 

“The patient came asymptomatic; after treatment, her samples were taken and they all are negative, so she is discharged and can go home.

“The advice we will give her is the same we will give those in the community. She should maintain social distance, respiratory and cough etiquette and hand hygiene.”

The consultant, who was involved in managing the patient, urged the public not to stigmatise those treated and discharged.

Eversheds Sutherland has advised the CEO and owner of saracus group on the sale of the group to an investment fund managed by private equity investor Maxburg Capital Partners. The parties agreed to keep the purchase price confidential. The client w...

New Resourcing+ service gives clients ultimate flexibility with interim support Konexo, a division of Eversheds Sutherland, has launched Resourcing+ an evolution of its existing resourcing service to be rolled out across its global network.

The Government introduced tax reliefs and extended deadlines The Government decided on the tax reliefs previously announced, postponing the deadlines in connection with the annual report to 30 September. The payment of health services contribution b...

A number of measures have been introduced in Ireland in recent weeks in light of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Irish Revenue has also published a number of welcome guidelines and confirmations in an attempt to mitigate any detrimental effects...

The UK has suffered widespread damage as a result of recent flooding over the winter of 2019/20, with anticipated losses in excess of £400m. If flood-related interruption to a business is significant, property and business interruption (“BI”) polici...

The FCA has published information on its expectations of general insurance firms in relation to their treatment of consumers during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The FCA has also published information for consumers on what they sho...

The FCA has published information on its expectations of general insurance firms in relation to their treatment of consumers during the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic. The FCA has also published information for consumers on what they sho...

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...

By James H. Spencer, Sumeet Saksena, and Jefferson Fox HONOLULU (1 April 2020)—The current COVID-19 pandemic, which started in Wuhan, China, underscores what the public health community has warned about for more than two decades—the risk of viral diseases capable of spreading from animal to human hosts. The first outbreaks of “bird flu” (highly pathogenic avian influenza―HPAI, subtype H5N1) raised similar concerns 20 years ago―concerns that have persisted with the outbreak of SARS in 2002–2004 and COVID-19 today. New outbreaks of avian influenza are also still occurring in poultry and humans, primarily in Asia but also in other parts of the world.

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

By Rebecca Strating HONOLULU (24 April 2020)—Many argue that China’s increasingly aggressive posture in the South China Sea is an attempt to unilaterally alter the US-led regional order, which includes an emphasis on freedom of navigation. In response, the US has stressed the importance of support from “like-minded” states—including Japan and South Korea—in defending freedom of navigation in the South China Sea and elsewhere. This characterization, however, disguises important differences in attitudes and behavior that could hinder joint efforts to push back against China.

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

In Brief: According to the 2020 budget draft law n°7500, published on 14 October 2019 (the “Bill”), the validity of advance tax agreements (“ATAs”) granted prior to 1 January 2015 should now be limited to five years. Sinc...

  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...

...

With the delivery of the Medium Term Budget Policy Statement on 30 October 2019, updated and amended draft tax bills have been released highlighting the latest proposed amendments to the relevant tax acts.  The amended bills contain the le...

    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...

...

  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)...

...