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The sale, which includes long-term mortgages and securities, aims to reduce the mismatch between the bank's assets and liabilities. Source:https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-25/first-republic-said-to-weigh-up-to-100-billion-in-asset-sales Potential buyers, including major US banks, could receive guarantees or preferred shares as an incentive to buy assets above market value, one source said. The day after First Republic reported earnings well below analysts' estimates, investors are fully aware of the challenges facing the bank. The lender is trying to bolster its balance sheet to avoid a FDC arrest and clear the way for a possible capital increase, the source said. The source added that the US government may need to assist in negotiations with some of the largest banks in the country to stabilize the lender while it is bailing out. This would be a much cheaper alternative than bankrupting the company. First Republic shares tumbled 23% in early New York trading on Wednesday, after falling on Tuesday halved its market value to $1.5 billion. In early March, the bank's value exceeded $22 billion. In addition to selling assets, the bank also plans to focus on loans...

Bitpanda Technology Solutions, Europe's leading investment-as-a-service platform, and Austrian-based Raiffeisenlandesbank have reached an agreement to explore ways to offer digital assets to their clients. Raiffeisenlandesbank, which also has a presence in Europe, breaks new ground in the development of innovative investment solutions. Source:https://ffnews.com/newsarticle/raiffeisenlandesbank-becomes-the-first-major-traditional-european-bank-to-move-into-digital-assets-in-partnership-with-bitpanda/ “In the spirit of absolute customer orientation, we support our customers as a reliable and strong partner. Personal advice is just as important as modern digital solutions,” said Michael Hellerer, CEO of Raiffeisenlandesbank NÖ-Wien: “The Bitpanda deal aims to expand our product range with an innovative and secure aspect and make it easy for everyone to accumulate wealth.” RLB NÖ-Wien is set to become the first traditional bank in the European Union to include cryptocurrencies and other asset classes in its digital investment offering. Bitpanda will provide a SaaS trading infrastructure to achieve this goal quickly and securely. “We have created Bitpanda technology...

In March, Italy's Council of Ministers approved a set of general principles and criteria for future reform. Source:https://internationalwealth.info/offshore-tax/v-italii-nachalas-masshtabnaja-nalogovaja-reforma/ What changes might follow? complete overhaul of classical taxes (IRES, НДС и IRPEF); reduction in the number of deductions; refusal of criminal penalties for tax evasion associated with objective reasons beyond the control of the taxpayer. The government hopes the changes will make the system more manageable and make it easier to tackle tax evasion, which cost the country €90bn in 2020, according to the latest Treasury data.. Innovations will also affect the system of taxation of individuals. The Italian government wants to establish a single range of fiscal benefits and the same tax, regardless of the category of income received: wage labor; self-employment; business; real estate; agriculture; finance; other. Interestingly, it is planned to reduce the tax on income of companies and organizations from 24% to 15%. And it will be possible to receive a benefit if legal entities within two tax periods are...

The double tax treaty between Denmark and Russia has been in force since 1996. Now the Danish government has begun consultations to end it. Such a bill was introduced in Denmark on April 20, 2023. The decision is due to the fact that Russia was blacklisted by the EU. What does it mean? The inclusion of an aggressor country on the EU "black list" immediately limits its cooperation with international financial organizations. As of January 30, 2023, there were 12 countries and territories on the EU "black list": American Samoa, Anguilla, Bahamas, Fiji, Guam, Palau, Panama, Samoa, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos, US Virgin Islands and Vanuatu, and on February 14, 2023, the Council of the European Union updated the blacklist to include the British Virgin Islands, Costa Rica, the Marshall Islands and Russia. The agreement is expected to end in 2024. Tax Minister Jeppe Bruus commented: “This is contrary to the general considerations that Denmark usually pursues when concluding double tax treaties. Namely, that Denmark has an agreement with a country on the black list of EU tax havens. Therefore, after a specific assessment, the Government decided to terminate the agreement....

Recently, the EU Parliament approved the licensing of cryptocurrencies and the rules for transferring funds. Legislators voted for a new cryptocurrency licensing regime - MiCA. A separate law, known as the Funds Transfer Ordinance, has also been enacted, which requires crypto operators to identify their customers (in an attempt to stop money laundering). The vote followed debate in which lawmakers heavily supported plans to force cryptocurrency wallet providers and exchanges to seek a license to operate across the block and require issuers of stablecoins pegged to the value of other assets to maintain sufficient reserves. In a tweet, Mairead McGuinness of the European Commission called the vote "a first in the world" on cryptocurrency rules. “We protect consumers, ensure financial stability and market integrity,” McGuinness said. "The rules will start to apply from next...

At the end of March, the European Parliament adopted a draft of amendments to the EU Directive of 2003, which provides for the simplification of obtaining the status of a long-term resident of the European Union (PMP) by citizens of third countries. Source:https://internationalwealth.info/residence-permit-abroad/v-evrosojuze-hotjat-uprostit-pravila-poluchenija-pmzh-inostrancami/ What changes does the bill propose? 1. Permanent residence in EU countries can start providing after a three-year period of legal residence. 2. Persons who have the status of temporary protection will have the possibility of deeper social integration. 3. Having a long-term residency in the European Union, the immigrant will be able to move freely between EU countries. 4. Dependent children will automatically acquire residence permit in the European Union. Speeding up the procedure for obtaining permanent residence in the EU Now, in many European countries, you need to live legally in the EU for 5 years, after which you can get a permanent residence. This term can be shortened to 3 years. It is also allowed to sum up the periods of stay on a legal basis in different EU countries. Legal reasons...

The tax rebate became available not only to those who paid for education, medical insurance or contributions to the NPF, but also to those who invested in start-ups. The Ministry of Finance told in detail how you can use the discount. The mechanism of the tax rebate opens up the possibility to return a part of the paid personal income tax (PIT) in “live” money. However, some resources indicate that lawyers believe that only persons who have bought shares (other corporate rights) of Action.City residents will be able to take advantage of the tax credit to reduce taxable income in the form of dividends. When acquiring corporate rights of other legal entities that are not residents of the Action. City, there is no tax credit. The tax credit is not available for FLP, but this does not apply to those who conduct business activities and simultaneously invest or work as an employee. The income of an applicant for a discount cannot be less than the expenses for which he expects a benefit. Otherwise, the tax office may ask unpleasant questions. Thus, in order to qualify for a tax rebate based on the results of the previous year, the following conditions must be met:: Be a...

On April 1, 2023, the Inland Revenue Department (IRD) announced changes in the filing of income tax returns. The innovation was called "the beginning of a new era" - although this kind of wording is uncharacteristic for the department. Source:https://internationalwealth.info/offshore-tax/izmenenija-v-pravilah-podachi-nalogovyh-deklaracij-v-gonkonge/ The main point on which the IRD is betting is to significantly expand the possibilities of electronic submission of documents and for Hong Kong this is a big step forward. A course on digitalization of all organizational processes related to taxation was also officially announced. Many analysts are inclined to believe that this initiative is a successful and timely attempt to smooth out dissatisfaction in the business environment caused by the partial rejection of the territorial principle of taxation. The main innovation is the launch of extended services, which actually introduce the option of electronic filing of income tax returns. It is planned to make the tax field more digital and improve the efficiency of Hong Kong's fiscal policy by significantly reducing the risk of errors when preparing and submitting returns. Thus,...

On March 27, the European Parliament decided to tighten the rules on combating money laundering (AML), crime financing, and sanctions evasion in the EU. The decision was made by the committees of ECON (on economic and monetary issues) and LIBE (committee on civil liberties, justice and home affairs). What changes are we talking about: Adopt a resolution establishing a pan-European regulatory body, the Anti-Money Laundering Authority (AMLA), which will be given supervisory and investigative powers to ensure compliance with AML requirements; Create a regulation that establishes requirements for customer verification, disclosure of information about beneficiaries, the use of crypto assets and work with them, as well as for Golden visa programs in the EU countries; Implement the 6th Directive on AML (The Directive reforms the national legislation of the participating countries in the field of supervision and regulation of the financial sector, and also provides for a certain level of access for regulators and financial intelligence to registers of beneficial ownership and information about assets located in free zones); Implement the MiCA regulation, which...