Recent News

The draft New Rules for Suspension of the Visa-Free Regime with Third Countries was agreed upon by the Committee of Permanent Representatives of Member States. Currently, 61 countries have a visa-free regime with the EU. Thus, one of the three grounds for suspending a visa-free regime with a third country is the presence of an existing citizenship by investment program. The period of temporary suspension of visa-free travel may increase to 12 months and be extended again to 24 months. The EU may completely revoke the visa-free regime if the reason for the suspension is not eliminated. This proposal will be submitted for discussion with the European Parliament and after that the final regulations will be...

On Tuesday, Romania's Constitutional Court upheld as constitutional a law that would abolish criminal penalties for tax evasion of less than €1 million. Thus, overcoming the last obstacle to the entry into force of criminal law reform. According to the law approved in Romania, tax evasion will no longer be subject to criminal penalties if the culprit, within 30 days of the decision by the tax authority, pays the amount of taxes with penalties and a fine of 15% of the amount of underpaid taxes. If all the money is paid before the first court hearing, the amount of the fine will be halved. Two opposition parties tried to appeal the law to the Constitutional Court, but the court found it constitutional. The law was passed in December 2023 and aims to help the country recover unpaid taxes. At the same time, criminal liability remains in case of repeated...

On March 14, amendments to the DIFC Law were adopted, which formally establish the supremacy of DIFC laws, prohibiting the enforcement of a foreign judgment if it does not comply with DIFC laws. These provisions ensure that foreign courts or parties who do not wish to submit to the jurisdiction of the DIFC courts cannot circumvent the DIFC Trusts and Foundations Law. They provide that a fund or trust officer must cease to act with respect to the fund or trust if a foreign judgment has been entered against it, thereby preventing it from exercising the authority to manage assets under the foreign judgment. The amendments provide additional guarantees regarding the prior transfer of property by the founder to the trust or foundation. A creditor of a trust or foundation must prove that the settlor intended to defraud the creditor in transferring property to the trust or foundation and that the transfer resulted in the settlor's insolvency. Without this proof, the trust or foundation will be obligated to settle the creditor's claim only to the extent of the share that previously belonged to the settlor. A new protection was also the introduction of a three-year statute of...

The Bank of France has tapped a special reserve fund to cover losses of 12.44 billion euros in 2023 after the ECB's rapid rise in interest rates pushed up the cost of servicing deposits. Source:https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/french-central-bank-taps-provisions-cover-12-bln-euro-loss-2024-03-15/ Many central banks are reporting losses as they raised rates over the past two years, leading to large interest payments on the excess liquidity commercial banks parked with them. Anticipating such circumstances, the Bank of France has built up rainy day reserves in recent years to cover potential losses, reaching €16.4 billion in 2022 before being used to offset pre-tax losses in 2023. Villeroy promises that the Bank of France will not need taxpayer help. Future losses could be covered by about 18 billion euros held in another reserve fund and potential asset...

At the moment, inheritance in Switzerland is not subject to tax. But members of the Swiss Socialist Youth movement and environmental activists have already collected 108,988 signatures in support of the initiative to introduce a 50% inheritance tax on assets exceeding 50 million francs. The initiators calculated that the innovation would bring in about 6 billion francs annually. In their opinion, this amount should be spent on climate protection and green transformation of the economy. A referendum is due to take place soon, where voters will be able to express their views. Let us remind you that consultations are also underway in Switzerland on the implementation of new rules to combat money...

MiCA rules are due to be introduced in Cyprus by the end of 2024. They are designed to protect investors, increase the level of transparency of transactions on crypto exchanges and combat money laundering. The Chairman of the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, Giorgos Theocharides, recommends that all companies involved prepare for innovation. All companies should begin implementing the KYC procedure and, if necessary, hire additional staff for this. All investors are urged to be careful when conducting any crypto transactions to avoid financial risks, as at this stage, until the implementation of the MiCA rules, their interests are not...

In this way, leader Nayib Bukele seeks to attract capital and wealthy foreigners to the country. Previously the rate was 30%. The tax is waived regardless of the amount of money deposited. Source:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-03-13/el-salvador-eliminates-income-tax-on-investment-from-overseas?srnd=undefined Some cryptocurrency enthusiasts have moved to El Salvador in recent years after Bukele made bitcoin legal tender. In addition, the crime rate in El Salvador has decreased significantly due to some actions taken. The country's dollar bonds have risen in recent weeks after Bukele told investors the country was working to reach an agreement with the International Monetary Fund. El Salvador recently achieved credit rating upgrades from S&P Global Ratings and Fitch...

The Directive is awaiting approval by the EU Council. In this way, it will be possible to confiscate Russian assets due to violation of sanctions and the onset of criminal liability. The bill concerns all restrictions that Brussels will introduce. Bypassing sanctions will be considered a punishable act. The initiative guarantees criminal liability and even imprisonment, and companies may be subject to fines. The European Parliament believes that there is now a practice of searching for sanctions violators in EU countries “with the weakest law enforcement.” The new law aims to establish “consistent definitions of violations,” including not freezing funds, violating travel bans or arms embargoes, or transferring money to sanctioned individuals. It will also be a crime to provide financial services or legal advice in violation of...

All foreign banks operating in Dubai (except those holding a DIFC license) will be subject to a 20% tax. According to the innovation, foreign banks will be taxed at the rate of 20% of annual taxable income. If corporate tax is paid in accordance with the law, its amount will be deducted from the total tax liability. The law will be finally adopted after publication in the official...