Recent News

The bill consolidates into one law the beneficial ownership rules contained in the Law on Commercial Companies, the Law on Limited Liability Companies and the Law on Limited Liability Partnerships. To address the commitment made by the Cayman Islands to the UK in 2019 to introduce public beneficial ownership information registries, the bill includes a provision that would allow the Cabinet to enact regulations to make certain beneficial ownership information publicly available. Before public access can move forward, Parliament must approve such rules at a future meeting of Parliament. This will not happen until discussions are finalized with the UK and other Overseas Territories as well as Crown dependencies regarding the necessary privacy safeguards, given the landmark decision of the European Court of Justice in November 2022. The decision canceled public access to registers of beneficial owners in the EU on the basis of their interference with privacy and data protection...

Global Fintech IFX Payments has received a Canadian Foreign Funds Services Business (FMSB) license and has continued its international expansion. Thanks to the FMSB license, the company plans to extend its ibanq virtual IBAN solution to Canadian businesses to enable them to optimize their operations and cross-border transactions. ibanq, one of the fintech company's core offerings, is a multi-currency virtual IBAN account integrated into the company's currency exchange and global payment network services. As a result of this integration, IFX Payments clients will be able to manage, store and distribute funds in 38 currencies from a single account. IFX Payments is a global fintech company whose goal is to create a complete digital payments experience for businesses that eliminates the need to manage complex treasury processes. As an Authorized Electronic Money Institution (EMI) regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), IFX Payments also offers BaaS solutions through both modern APIs and web...

In Switzerland, consultations have begun on a bill to tighten anti-money laundering legislation in order to strengthen the "integrity and competitiveness" of the country as an investment center. The main features of the proposed bill are: The introduction of a federal registry, in which companies and other legal entities will be required to enter the names of their beneficial owners. The private registry will be maintained by the federal police and regularly reviewed by the federal finance department. Anti-money laundering rules will apply to advisory activities, especially legal advice. Measures to prevent "violation or circumvention" of sanctions under embargo legislation. The cash payment threshold for precious metals trading will be lowered from 100,000 Swiss francs ($114,000) to 15,000 francs. Many Swiss lawmakers have been reluctant in the past to impose tougher restrictions on lawyers' privileges because they are lawyers themselves, the US official said. A meaningful register of beneficial owners will force lawyers to be more open about suspicious activity, the official said. The campaign group Transparency International said the bill was...

The purpose of creating the UBO Register in Spain is to ensure an effective and efficient fight against money laundering and the financing of criminal activities by providing access to information about beneficial ownership, as well as the formation of mutual channels of information about UBOs at the European level. All companies will be required to provide the following information about the ultimate beneficial owners: Name and surname; date of birth; type and number of the identity document; the country of issuance of the identity document; place of residence; citizenship; email address; the criteria that qualify this person as the ultimate beneficial owner. The UBO register is a public register, and therefore the information contained in it can be accessed: state bodies; to notaries; other relevant organizations; to any third party. Prior identification of the applicant and proof of legitimate interest is required to obtain the information. Such legitimate interest is allowed for: mass media; organizations engaged in the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing; ...

On August 8, 2023, the Government of Bermuda announced that it was launching a public consultation on the introduction of corporate income tax for companies that are part of multinational enterprise groups (with annual income of €750 million or more. Source:https://www.gov.bm/articles/bermuda-considers-introducing-corporate-income-tax To give stakeholders an opportunity to comment on the proposed tax regime, the Government of Bermuda is opening the first of a series of consultation periods. The first consultation will end on September 8th. Bermuda is considering introducing a corporate income tax that will be considered in calculating the effective tax rate for businesses in Bermuda, in line with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) global minimum tax rules. These rules require companies within the scope to pay a minimum tax of 15% in each jurisdiction in which they operate. Taxes payable under Bermuda's proposed corporate income tax regime would be the same as those payable in other jurisdictions under the global minimum tax system. Any new corporate income tax will also include certain tax incentives that support Bermuda's economic goals...

Germany is working on simplifying the acquisition of citizenship and the possibility of acquiring dual citizenship. This Wednesday (23/08/2023), the German government presented a new citizenship law. This initiative by Home Secretary Nancy Feather aims to make dual citizenship as well as naturalization easier for non-EU nationals. "We will attract the most qualified people in the world only if they can become a full part of our society with all democratic rights for the foreseeable future," emphasized Feiser. What changes are expected: Immigrants legally living in Germany will be allowed to apply for citizenship after five years instead of eight; and if they have special achievements - maybe in three Children born in Germany to at least one parent who has legally resided in the country for five years or more will automatically receive German citizenship; Immigrants over the age of 67 will be able to take an oral instead of a written exam in German; Multiple citizenships will be allowed. People living entirely on state support will not be eligible for German citizenship. German citizenship will be denied to people who have committed anti-Semitic,...

From now on, Ukraine will be able to automatically exchange information with tax states that are parties to the MCAA CRS and MCAA CbC international agreements. The first exchange of information according to the CRS is planned to be carried out in 2024 in the second half of this year. In the future, reporting will take place every year for the previous calendar year. Joining Ukraine to the system of international automatic exchange of information for tax purposes is a step within the framework of harmonization of tax legislation of Ukraine and the EU. If, after applying the due diligence procedures, the financial agent (bank) has a well-founded suspicion that the account belongs to the accountable, the financial agent is obliged to send a request to the address of the owner of the account with the requirement to provide explanations and information related to the suspicion. That is, if the bank, for example, suspects that the owner of the account is a legal entity controlled by another legal entity, the bank will demand an explanation. Ignoring the answer to this request or providing information that does not refute suspicions is grounds for closing the account of such a...

New regulation No. 01/2023 (replacing the old No. 23/2001) for Israeli taxpayers who wish to use the mutual agreement procedure in accordance with Israel's double tax treaties. What does this mean? A request to initiate a mutual agreement procedure must be filed with the ITA within 3 years from the date the taxpayer was first notified of the action that resulted in the assessment of tax not in accordance with the tax treaty; If the ITA decides to initiate a mutual consent procedure, it may require the applicant to provide guarantees for its tax payments; The ITA may agree to initiate a mutual agreement procedure also in the event of a dispute as to the applicability of anti-avoidance provisions (GAAR, in a tax treaty or in domestic law); The ITA will not conciliate disputes over the calculation of foreign tax paid, as such credit is governed by domestic...

In Singapore, MAS has completed work on a regulatory framework aimed at "ensuring a high degree of stability for the country's regulated stablecoins." The agency has defined stablecoins as digital payment tokens designed to maintain a stable value against one or more related fiat currencies. Singapore's new rules will apply to single currency stablecoins (SCS) pegged to the Singapore dollar or any G10 currency issued in the jurisdiction. After this news, local companies began to make plans to issue assets. Payments firms StraitsX and Circle Internet Singapore, as well as DCS Card Center, said they were exploring the possibility of issuing stablecoins. The first two companies are licensed by MAS to provide digital payment token services, while DCS is regulated under the Banking Act. StraitsX is considering receiving regulated status for its Singapore dollar-denominated stablecoin XSGD. The company also issues XIDR pegged to the Indonesian rupiah. Regarding the potential issue of stablecoins based on other currencies, the co-founder of the firm noted its good position as one of the leading issuers of non-dollar stablecoins. A spokesperson for Circle, which...