Recent News

Rising tensions in the Persian Gulf have triggered significant volatility in global markets. Beyond rising energy prices, international companies are facing growing legal, compliance, and structural risks that may affect contractual stability and financial flows.1. Strait of Hormuz DisruptionsThe Strait of Hormuz handles roughly 20% of global oil exports and a major share of LNG shipments. Any restriction in this corridor immediately impacts shipping costs, insurance premiums, and supply chains worldwide.Business implications include:• delayed raw material deliveries;• increased freight and insurance costs;• higher production expenses.2. Force Majeure and Contractual RiskLegal teams are assessing whether current developments qualify as force majeure events. Military escalation, port closures, and government restrictions may justify temporary suspension of contractual obligations.Companies are advised to:• review international contracts;• examine force majeure and hardship clauses;• assess exposure to penalties;• initiate renegotiations where necessary.3. Sanctions and Banking ComplianceStricter sanctions and regulatory scrutiny are expected. Financial institutions...

Effective January 1, 2026, California's data privacy landscape has shifted. New CCPA regulations mandate annual cybersecurity audits for businesses meeting specific processing thresholds. This is a move toward a transparent, evidence-driven security oversight.I. Scope: Does This Apply to Your Business?The mandate targets businesses presenting a "significant risk to consumers’ security." You are in scope if, in the preceding year:Data-Centric Revenue: You derived 50% or more of annual revenue from selling/sharing CA consumer data.Revenue & Volume: Your annual gross revenue exceeded $25 million and you:Processed data of 250,000+ consumers.Processed sensitive personal info of 50,000+ consumers.II. The Compliance TimelineDeadlines are tiered to provide a phased approach:Annual Gross RevenueAudit Report Due DatePeriod CoveredOver $100MApril 1, 2028FY 2027$50M – $100MApril 1, 2029FY 2028Less than $50MApril 1, 2030FY 2029III. Requirements for Conduct and IndependenceQualified Auditors: Must use industry standards (e.g., AICPA, ISO).Objectivity: Auditors must be free from influence and conflicts of interest.Evidence-Based: Assertions must be grounded in sampling, testing, and...

The business landscape in Cyprus has just undergone a seismic shift. As of January 1, 2026, the Republic has officially dismantled its decades-old Stamp Duty regime, effectively removing a fiscal relic that has defined transactional law on the island for generations. This isn't just a minor tweak in tax policy—it’s a clear declaration that Cyprus is evolving into a frictionless, high-speed hub for global capital.Breaking the Bureaucratic ChainsFor years, the "stamping process" was the silent hurdle in every major deal. Whether you were closing a multi-million euro real estate acquisition or a complex cross-border financing structure, the requirement for physical stamps from the Tax Department created unnecessary bottlenecks. By eliminating this law, Cyprus is aligning itself with the world’s most elite financial centers, where speed and digital-first operations are the gold standard.What this means for the modern investor:Direct Capital Efficiency: Without mandatory document taxes, more capital stays where it belongs—within the transaction. This is a massive win for high-volume investment funds and large-scale infrastructure projects.Deals at the Speed of Thought: The...

Cyprus is undergoing a comprehensive tax overhaul effective January 1, 2026. This reform balances international compliance with aggressive local incentives, reinforcing the island’s position as a premier European business hub.Corporate Landscape: Higher Rates, Better TermsWhile the Corporate Tax rate increases from 12.5% to 15% to align with OECD global standards, the reform introduces several "pro-business" counter-measures:Loss Carry-Forward: Extended from 5 to 7 years, providing better long-term financial planning.Incorporation Rule: Companies are now automatically deemed tax residents upon incorporation.Stamp Duty Abolition: Total removal of stamp duty from 2026 streamlines contract execution and reduces costs.Personal Taxation and Family IncentivesThe new tax framework significantly lightens the burden on middle-income earners and families. The tax-free threshold has been raised to €22,000. The introduction of targeted allowances—such as child credits (up to €1,500 per child), mortgage/rent relief, and "green" investment deductions—creates a highly competitive environment for talent relocation.Modern Assets: Crypto and Real EstateCyprus officially enters the...

Cryptocurrency losses arising from exchange collapses, fraud, or misappropriation have become one of the most contentious issues in Canadian tax audits. In many cases, the Canada Revenue Agency seeks to characterize such losses as capital losses, limiting their deductibility to capital gains only.The Tax Court of Canada’s decision in Amicarelli v. The King provides important clarification on when crypto losses may instead be treated as losses on income account.Background of the caseThe taxpayer suffered a substantial loss after cryptocurrency assets held on an exchange became inaccessible. The CRA reassessed the loss as capital in nature. The taxpayer appealed, arguing that his Bitcoin activities constituted a commercial trading operation.The Court examined traditional indicators of business activity, including:intention to generate profit;frequency and volume of transactions;degree of organization and active management;overall commercial character of the activity.Based on these factors, the Court concluded that the taxpayer’s activities went beyond passive investment and constituted an adventure in the nature of trade. The loss was therefore deductible as a non‑capital...

On January 14, 2026, the National Bank of Ukraine introduced the next stage of easing currency restrictions for companies. The key idea is to give businesses more tools to work with currency, loans, and investments without disrupting financial stability.Key changesA new “borrowing limit” has been introduced - an additional mechanism that allows companies to carry out currency transactions within the amount of funds received in the form of external credits and loans after January 1, 2026.This limit allows, in particular:to repay “old” loans and pay interest on them (received before June 20, 2023);to pay for imported goods delivered before February 23, 2021;return prepayments to non-residents for goods paid for before February 23, 2022;finance their foreign separate divisions;repatriate dividends in excess of standard limits.Stimulating currency liberalization is expanding — the old restrictions work in conjunction with the investment limit (which is tied to the volume of foreign investment in authorized capital from May 2025), and now also to the borrowing limit. This effectively gives businesses several “windows” for conducting currency transactions that were...

On 21 January 2026, the States of Jersey adopted the Companies (Jersey) Amendment Law 2026 — a substantial package of reforms to the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991, which will come into force in June 2026. Despite the breadth of the amendments, their underlying rationale is straightforward: to remove outdated formalities, codify practices long adopted by businesses in practice, and ensure that the Jersey company remains a practical and effective vehicle for modern corporate structures.Among the numerous changes introduced, several reforms stand out as having a systemic, rather than merely cosmetic, impact.First, the legislator has abandoned artificial restrictions that no longer serve a meaningful purpose. Public companies will no longer be required to have at least two members, and private companies will no longer automatically lose their private status upon exceeding the threshold of 30 shareholders. Historically, these rules operated more as signalling mechanisms than as genuine safeguards. Their removal eliminates unnecessary regulatory consequences, including mandatory audit requirements and financial statement filings. For companies with a broad investor base, this allows...

In the world of crypto assets, tax regulation has become significantly more complex in recent years, as governments increasingly define clear rules for taxing income from digital assets. The European Union, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Middle Eastern countries are now actively shaping legal frameworks for cryptocurrency taxation, establishing clear criteria for when and how taxes must be paid and how digital asset activities are classified.Against the backdrop of a global trend toward the formalization of tax approaches, Cyprus has introduced a fixed tax rate of 8% on profits from the disposal of crypto assets, effective from January 1, 2026. This creates legal certainty for individuals and companies working with cryptocurrencies and aligns with the broader European approach to regulating digital financial instruments.How Cryptocurrencies Are Taxed in Key JurisdictionsGermany: Crypto assets owned by individuals are classified as private assets. Capital gains are fully exempt from taxation provided the cryptocurrency is held for more than one year. If disposal occurs earlier, the profit is taxed as other income, provided the annual tax-free threshold of EUR 1,000 is...

Throughout 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) took several steps that many market participants perceive as a refinement of its approach to regulating crypto assets. This was not about changing legislation or introducing new mandatory rules, but rather about clarifying how the regulator frames and communicates its position.The focus was on public statements by SEC officials regarding tokens without a clear economic function (meme coins), staking directly through blockchain protocols, and mining (technical activity supporting blockchain networks by validating transactions)—areas long considered zones of heightened regulatory risk.Institutional Context: Task ForceAn additional signal of a changing approach was the establishment of a dedicated task force within the SEC responsible for developing approaches to crypto asset regulation. This is not a supervisory or punitive body but an institutional platform for market analysis, risk assessment, and forming a more coordinated regulatory stance.The creation of such a unit indicates the regulator's desire to move away from fragmented reactions to individual cases and toward a more systematic understanding of...