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Legal Regulation of ICO in Different Countries

Published: 28.12.2017 |

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Earlier in our articles, we have already considered what Initial Coin Offering is. However, we remind that the Initial Coin Offering (ICO) is a popular method among start-ups and other companies to raise capital. Investors participate in the collection of financial resources by transferring funds to the issuer in official currencies such as dollar, euro, yuan, etc. or in cryptocurrencies, for example, Bitcoins or Ethers, in exchange for digital tokens (Tokens, electronic coins). It is Tokens that confirm the rights of the holder to receive profit or the fulfillment of obligations on the part of the issuer. In addition, Tokens can be used to pay for services/goods of the issuing company. In contrast to the initial public offering (IPO), usually Tokens do not represent an ownership interest or receipt of dividends from the issuing company. Investors who participate in the ICO often expect to profit from the development of the activities of the company in the future, or play at increasing the value of Tokens (probably the brightest example at the moment is the rise in the price of Bitcoin). Like all cryptocurrencies, Tokens are based on Blockchain (distributed ledger technology,...

Single Judicial Information and Telecommunication System (SJITS) within the Framework of the Code of Administrative Court Procedure

Published: 26.12.2017 |

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#Tax disputes #Taxes

It’s not a secret for anyone that in order to protect your rights and protected interests, in the event of a tax dispute, taxpayers apply to the district administrative courts. Since December 15, 2017, the procedure of appeal and the consideration procedure in the district administrative courts has changed significantly, in connection with the entry into force of the new edition of the Code of Administrative Court Procedure of Ukraine. The number of novels that appeared in the new edition of the Code is quite significant. In this article, I would like to provide an overview of such an innovation in administrative procedure as the Single Judicial Information and Telecommunication System. Article 18 of the Code of Administrative Court Procedure of Ukraine defines the tasks that are imposed on the Single Judicial Information and Telecommunication System (hereinafter - the System): registration of documents entering the court (which may be the subject of litigation); determination of the judge(s) for the consideration of the case; exchange of documents (sending and receiving documents) in electronic form between the courts, between the court and the participants to the legal...

Obtaining Licenses by Companies Working with Cryptocurrencies on the Isle of Man

Published: 20.12.2017 |

The Isle of Man shows considerable activity with respect to cryptocurrencies: everyone is interested in digital currencies and is discussing what benefits they can bring to the island. So, the government of the Isle of Man shows that it is entirely open to such a novelty and even offers the opportunity for residents to pay taxes using Bitcoins. The Commission on Financial Supervision of the Isle of Man reacted very quickly to the revitalization of the sphere and brought promptly the rules for preventing the laundering of funds obtained by criminal means in line with the development of the industry. Thus, the government shows its desire not to burden this developing sphere with regulation. In 2015, the amendments were made to the legislation of the Isle of Man, according to which the Financial Services Commission (hereinafter referred to as the Commission) should monitor the compliance of laundering laws by the companies that operate in the field of cryptocurrencies. On October 26, 2015, the amendments to the Companies Act, which carry out certain types of activities (registration and supervision issues) (The Designated Businesses (Registration and Oversight) Act 2015) came into...

Why is the EU VAT System Necessary and How it Works

Published: 18.12.2017 |

Данным блогом мы начинаем серию публикаций, посвященных европейскому НДС, который так интересует наших клиентов. Неудивительно, ведь он имеет большое значение для ведения бизнеса в ЕС. Поскольку тема очень обширная, обсуждать ее будем поэтапно. И начнем мы с рассмотрения сути и назначения системы НДС, а также общих понятий и правил. On posting this blog, we are starting a series of publications on the topic of the EU VAT which is so interesting for our customers. It is not surprising, as it is important for doing business in the EU. As the topic is very extensive, we will discuss it step by step. Let’s start with considering the essence and purpose of the VAT system, as well as the general concepts and rules. The idea of the European VAT is that enterprises could trade within the EU without being registered as a VAT payer in each individual union country. The rules of the EU VAT are quite complicated,...

From “paradise” to “black list”. EU has approved a new list of offshore jurisdictions

Published: 07.12.2017 | blog

On Tuesday, at the meeting of the Ministers of Finance of the European Union, the long-awaited list of low-tax countries which included 17 countries was approved. This list was finally approved at the meeting in Brussels on December 4, 2017 after 10 months of investigation and two years of struggle for obtaining national support from the EU countries. So, the black list of offshore states of the EU includes: American Samoa, Barbados, Bahrain, Grenada, Guam, Macau, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Namibia, Palau, Panama, UAE, Samoa, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, and South Korea. It is noteworthy that the British Overseas Territories such as the Cayman Islands and Bermuda are not included in the black list, even though they have been in the previous list of June 2015. The methodology for identifying countries in the list of 2015 was strictly criticized, which resulted in the need to refuse from the old list and replace it with a new one. At the same time, real activity is directed to 47 countries that have been included in the so-called “gray list” and promise to amend their taxation rules in order to bring them in line with EU requirements, and also to cooperate more in...

European Regulatory Authorities Publish ICO Hazard Notifications

Published: 29.11.2017 |

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#Bitcoin #Investments #Legislation

ICO (Initial coin offering) is a form of attracting investments in the form of selling a fixed number of new units of cryptocurrency, received with a single or accelerated emission. In the middle of November, the European financial regulators, including ESMA (the European Securities and Markets Authority), the Belgian FSMA (the Financial Services and Markets Authority) and the Dutch AFM (the Authority for the Financial Markets), issued warnings about risks for the investors and rules applicable to the companies participating in the ICO. The market of so-called cryptocurrencies has heated up. The approximate total market capitalization of all cryptocurrencies has increased from $ 18 billion in early 2017 to staggering $ 200 billion by the time of writing this article. Needless to say, some people were worried about this hype, and not only the European financial regulators. ICO is the key concept of cryptocurrency as a type of “crowdsale” (“crowd” and “sale”) where the project developers offer a new type of cryptocurrency (also called “token” or “coin”) using the distributed ledger technology. Cryptocurrency can acquire various characteristics based on the...

Next changes in the criteria for risk assessment

Published: 21.11.2017 |

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#Tax disputes

At the beginning of November 2017, we have already analyzed the draft proposed by the Ministry of Finance of Ukraine on amending Order No.567 of 13.06.2017 “On approval of the criteria for risk assessment sufficient to suspend the registration of tax invoice/adjustment calculation in the Unified Register of Tax Invoices” (hereinafter - Criteria). At present, the changes to the criteria have been made and entered into force on November 17, 2017. They are approved by the Order of the Ministry of Finance No.926 of 09.11.2017 and registered with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine under No.138/31250 on November 13, 2017. It should be noted that the changes that have been made and their project differ significantly from each other. The experts of Finance Business Service have been considering the essence of the latest innovations and how they will affect the business. First, the clause 3 of the Criteria is set out in a new version, namely in the part that concerns the automatic recording of the information by the monitoring system, submitted by the taxpayer in the prescribed form. As for the payers, agricultural commodity producers, automatic accounting of information is carried...

Citizenship of Malta: Individual Resident Program

Published: 16.11.2017 |

Main advantages The main goal to acquire the citizenship of Malta and the associated benefits depend on the plans of each individual investor. However, in most cases, such goals and benefits include: Acquisition of citizenship in a stable EU member state; Access to all investment opportunities in Malta and the European Union; Access to the Schengen area; Visa-free entry to more than 160 countries, including the United States; Advantages of tax planning; Stable political system; Access to quality training and education programs. Requirements for candidates: The main applicant must be at least 18 years old; The applicant must be a resident of Malta for at least 12 months preceding the issuance of the certificate of naturalization; The applicant is demanded to contribute to the economic development of Malta by paying a non-refundable contribution to the Malta National Development and Social Fund; The applicant must, within four months from the receipt of the prior Letter of Approval in Principle, give a proof of the availability of a Global Health Insurance of at least € 50,000 for the main applicant and each dependent, as well as confirmation that they will have this...

New EU Directive to Resolve Double Taxation Disputes Has Been Adopted

Published: 09.11.2017 |

Tags:

#Double taxation #Legislation #Tax disputes #Tax planning Transfer pricing

The existing European mechanisms for arbitration resolution of tax disputes on double taxation, prescribed in tax agreements and in accordance with the EU Arbitration Convention, do not always result in effective resolution of tax disputes. The recent monitoring carried out by the Council of the European Union revealed certain shortcomings, especially in relation to accessibility of dispute resolution mechanisms, as well as the length and effective conclusion of the procedure. According to the European Commission, the estimated figure of tax disputes on double taxation in the EU is about 900, with approximately 10.5 billion euros at stake. In this regard, on October 10 this year, the EU Council approved the Directive to resolve tax disputes (hereinafter - the Directive). The directive is aimed at changing the current situation, when the scope for mandatory arbitration in dispute resolution is limited to the issues of transfer pricing adjustments and the profit distribution of related persons. Thus, legal persons and natural persons will be able to resolve all disputes related to the interpretation and application of agreements that provide for the elimination of double taxation...

Legal Regulation of Blockchain

Published: 07.11.2017 |

Tags:

#Bitcoin #Blockchain #Legislation #United Kingdom #USA

Legal regulation of blockchain. Latest changes and prospects for the development of legislation Blockchain Technology is a developing technology on which basis new applications in the field of finance appear daily. Regulators of some countries have already reported their intentions to study the use of blockchain technology, which is also called distributed ledger technology (DLT). The new technology is potentially attractive to the regulators because of the increased level of transaction security and risk reduction of manipulation, but, at the same time, it creates complex legal problems that regulators are trying to understand and resolve. In this article, we will try to make a brief analysis of the approach of regulatory authorities to blockchain technology. Regulation in the USA The regulators in the USA are seriously monitoring the development of blockchain and other DLT (as well as cryptocurrency, in circulation on the basis of such registers). Some express concern about their impact on financial stability and market integrity. At the same time, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is actively exploring the potential possibilities of the use of blockchain and...

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