Newsletter | November/December 2015
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Dear Reader,
Welcome to the IBSA Newsletter.
It has been a busy quarter for the IBSA with a number of events taking place throughout the run-up into Winter.
The IBSA Annual Conference was held in London at the Landmark Hotel and we have been delighted with the wonderful feedback received. We would like to say a huge thank you to our speakers for their excellent presentations and also to all those in the audience for participating so enthusiastically. A full round-up of the conference can be found below, plus slides from the presentations are now available on the IBSA Slideshare account.
The Conference was preceded by the first IBSA Annual Members’ Dinner at Hush restaurant in Mayfair. The evening provided Members with a well-deserved opportunity to socialise and for IBSA Chairman, Roy Saunders, to express his gratitude for all the support and enthusiasm of our Member’s in developing the Association. We hope to see you all again next year!
Elsewhere, there were excellent events held in Hong Kong and Lisbon. EY were very gracious hosts and provided an excellent presentation on the Indirect Transfer of Chinese Assets – introducing attendees to Announcement 7 and sharing their experience of handling filings with the Chinese tax bureaus. Please see below for a copy of EYs Tax Alert which provides further information on Announcement 7. Over in Lisbon, hosts MLGTS provided the setting for a very interesting discussion on Investment into Africa and the Renewable Energy Sector. Representatives from Madeira, Mozambique and Portugal examined the role of Portugal supporting companies trading within Africa.
As 2015 draws to a close, the IBSA has begun turning its attention to 2016 activities. There is no doubt that the year ahead will be every bit as interesting for business structuring professionals as 2015. If there are topics you would like to see at our discussion groups, webinars or would like more in-depth articles to cover, please get in touch via members@istructuring.com
Please also note that we have moved offices, and our new address effective from 1st December is: The IBSA, 133 Houndsditch, 5th Floor, London, EC3A 7BX
Make sure you follow the Twitter feed @TheIBSA to keep up to date with all IBSA events and business structuring news.
Best wishes,
The IBSA Team.
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Covering financing, tax, intellectual property, business strategy and economic issues, the 2015 IBSA Members’ conference was a fantastic celebration of the sheer range of expertise and sectors that the Association covers.
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On 24 November, our Hong Kong branch met to discuss 'Indirect Transfer of Chinese Assets'
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China's State Administration of Taxation (SAT) Circular 698, released in 2009, addressed tax treatments on China equities transferred (directly or indirectly) by non-residents. With the promulgation of Circular 698, China tax authorities were empowered to disregard interposed entities if they were considered to be lacking reasonable commercial purpose and the whole indirect share transaction would be treated as a direct transfer with PRC capital gain tax liabilities arising. In 2015, the SAT upgraded this rule by releasing Announcement 7, expanding the applicable scope, abolishing / replacing some of the requirements and providing safe harbor provisions.
Wei Ming and Tami Tsang provide this comprehensive overview.
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Tim Follett and Anthony Turner of Farrer & Co.
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A major new piece of UK company law will come into force in April 2016. New rules will require UK companies to maintain registers of people with significant control (PSC registers). Each company’s PSC register will, depending on the circumstances, contain the names and "required particulars" of: individuals who are "people with significant control" over the company (PSCs) – i.e. ultimate beneficial owners; and/or relevant legal entities" who have significant control over the company (RLEs).
Anthony Turner and Tim Follett of Farrer & Co. provide a full run-down of the new legislation.
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A summary of the IBSA discussion group which took place on 25 November centred around an investment project in Mozambique and the international business structuring issues related to this investment.
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In October 2015, HMRC released proposals to make claiming R&D easier. The proposals cover a framework comprising of four themes - improving awareness of the relief, the design of the relief, how taxpayers understand the relief and administration of the relief.
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With the Autumn Statement now over, we can reflect on the changes. The big news is that, despite a number of commentators suggesting that Entrepreneurs’ Relief could be restricted, no changes were made to this relief (no doubt eliciting a collective sigh of relief from entrepreneurs). Furthermore other predicted changes, such as the limitation of incorporation relief for property rental business, have also not come to fruition.
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The Partnerships and Business Names Law, Cap. 116, has been amended, introducing the partnership limited by shares (“Limited Liability Partnership” or “LLP”), being the Cyprus equivalent of a Luxembourg SCSp.
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On 28th September 2015 the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) published its final report on the draft technical standards for the European Market Abuse Regulation (MAR). On the same day technical standards were released for the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and the Central Securities Depositary Regulation (CSDR), together some of the most significant pieces of post-financial crisis regulation from Europe.
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Keith Brockman provides an overview of the key outcomes of Chancellor Osborne's Autumn Statement.
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Aimed at tackling double taxation caused by levying both business tax and corporate income tax on the services sector, tax reform has been in progress in China since 2012 by removing business tax and introducing value added tax (VAT) to the services sector.
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Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) in the UK has published its reviewed position following the decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Skandia America Corp. (USA), filial Sverige (C-7/13).
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Join us on the evening of Wednesday, 2nd March for our next London Branch Meeting: Intangible Assets and Intellectual Property Valuation, featuring expert panellists from Farrer & Co, Valuation Consulting and the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys. This event is kindly hosted by Farrer & Co.
Read more>
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Join us in London on Tuesday, 24th May for a discussion group focussed on Exit Strategies and Residence Planning for International Family Offices, featuring expert panellists including Penny Lovell of Close Brothers, Liz Palmer of Howard Kennedy and Darren Hersey of Simmons Gainsford. This event is kindly hosted by Close Brothers Asset Management.
Read more>
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IStructuring Ltd (trading as the IBSA) is a private limited company, registered in England and Wales with registered Company Number 06638150. Business address: 83 Baker Street, London, W1U 6AG, United Kingdom. Registered office: 44 Southampton Buildings, London WC2A 1AP, United Kingdom.
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