Articles

Protect your children's inheritance by taking advantage of new inheritance tax allowance

Nobody wants to see their hard-earned cash go to the tax man when they die, but until recently if your estate was worth more than £325,000 you faced the prospect of having to pay inheritance tax at a rate of 40 per cent.  There were, and continue to be, ways to reduce your potential liability but none are straightforward.  The good news is that, from 6 April this year, new rules are introduced which should allow most people to reduce their inheritance tax liability with a bit of forward planning.

In this article, Gail Hall, private client lawyer at Warners Solicitors in Kent, explains the new rules and how the allowance will work.

Malta may be a small country but what it lacks in sq/km, it makes up for in terms of its maritime reputation. It’s shipping register is the largest in Europe and the 6th largest in the world and offers an efficient registration procedure, flexible fiscal solutions, for anyone looking to register a yacht or ship in Malta.

Read the full article to learn about the advantages to registering your ship, vessel or yacht in Malta.

The concept of jointly owned property was introduced by Law no. 27 of 2007 “concerning ownership of jointly owned real property in the Emirate of Dubai”. This law came into effect on April 1st, 2008. Additional regulations, known as “directions”, were issued in 2010 in order to regulate a few subjects such as the content of Jointly Owned Property Declarations and Building Management Statements, the developers’ disclosure obligations, consumer protection matters and the licensing and registration of Owners Associations, among others.

This article elaborates on Jointly Owned Property, Common Areas, Responsibilities and Procedure.

The ABL Young Lawyer’s Group has published its first Report on ‘National Rules for Long Term Visa Stays’.

The Report draws attention to the process involved for those looking at applying for long term stays of more than 3 months in each of the countries mentioned and the criteria that needs to be met. It is important to note that there are different rules for those that are EU citizens and those that are non-EU citizens.

In his book, The Art of the Deal, Donald Trump tells a story about a particular real estate transaction he negotiated, and one reference highlights a dilemma regarding a lawyer’s role in real estate and business contract negotiation and drafting.  Trump writes “I wasn’t sure who was more eager to break up the deal, my lawyers or theirs?” This begs the question: “Whose deal is it, anyway?”

Indeed, lawyers can be the reason why a good transaction isn’t completed, inserting their personalities, confusing themselves with the real decision maker (you!), identifying problems without offering solutions, and generally getting in the way of the transaction. However, without legal insights applied to the contract, a buyer or seller may go into the deal without understanding what they have committed themselves to.

The Investment Services Act 1994, Cap. 370 of the Laws of Malta, (the “Act”) regulates Investment Services and Collective Investment Schemes in Malta. The Act implements ECD Council Directive 2004/39/EC (MiFID) and certain provisions of EC Council Directive 85/611/EC (UCITS) and provides the opportunity for a Licensed Maltese Investment Services company  to offer its services in other EU member states by means of passporting rights, either through the establishment of a branch or through a services passport, i.e. the offering of cross border services.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will be applicable in all EU member states from 25 May 2018.

The Government has decided that it will not repeal this law upon Brexit.

This article touches upon the main changes, requirements and what businesses need to do.

Social media is an intrinsic part of everyday life. What was once just used by teenagers for socialising and sharing music and is now used by almost 2.7 billion individuals and businesses from every corner of the globe. With over 88% of businesses actively using social media, and 3 out of 4 consumers checking a company’s social media before purchasing, if you are not currently using it as a tool for business development then you really should be.

Read the full article.

On the 25th October 2016, the European Commission made public its plans to completely overhaul the system that governs how companies are taxed in the Single Market. The aim of the proposal, which includes a Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (“CCTB”), will act as a powerful weapon in the ongoing fight against tax avoidance, whilst making it cheaper and easier for companies to do business in the Single Market.

The concept of this corporate reform package was first developed in 2011 as a response to increasing pressure from governments, the media and members of the public to modernise the current corporate tax framework whilst closing various loopholes that allowed businesses to avoid their tax obligations. Pressure has been mounting from all business spheres to find a solution to ensure that the system becomes fairer, easier and more compatible with economic growth.

Read the full article to find out more.

On October 19th, 2016, the Minister of Finance of Colombia, Mauricio Cárdenas, presented to the Colombian Congress, a Tax Reform Bill, filed under number 178/2016, to be approved and then enacted by the Colombian President, Juan-Manuel Santos.

This tax bill was described as a Structural Tax Reform Bill. Its main goals are to fight aggressive tax planning, tax evasion and seek billions of Colombian Pesos in order to make up for the lack of revenues that Colombia stopped receiving from the oil industry.

It was described as a Structural Tax Reform. The text presented to the Chamber of Representatives of the Colombian Congress includes 16 sections with 311 articles, some modifying current articles and some are new provisions for the Colombian Tax Code (CTC).

Read the full article to find out more about the main provisions.