While they are an integral part of most businesses - often with a primary function of delivering cost savings and efficiencies - they must be kept up-to-date to ensure they achieve those aims. So now is a good time to undertake an IT systems review, and look at consolidation and streamlining. Changes to business structures, acquisitions and a system's age are other triggers for an IT stock take ...
GENERAL 1. How can the government’s attitude and approach to internet issues best be described? The attitude of the Belgian government can be described as positive and their approach is proactive. In 2003, the Belgian authorities announced the introduction of ‘e-government’. The most important initiatives were the introduction of electronic identity cards (e-ID) for all Belgian citizens over 12, and the federal government’s information web-portal ...
Effective January 1, 2009, the rules governing the right to obtain tax registration as a self-employed business person has been changed. Thus, it is now possible for non-executive directors to obtain registration as such. The amendments are made by clarifying the term "business". This is achieved by introducing additional criteria when assessing whether an independently conducted business is at hand or not ...
What is spamdexing? The Internet contains a lot of information. In 2002, the total number of web pages was estimated at 2.024 million; by 2005 this estimate had risen to 11.5 billion2. The ever- increasing amount of information found on the Internet also has disadvantages. In this jungle of information, it is getting harder and harder to see the wood for the trees ...
In the current economic downturn it seems that industrial relations are once again in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons. Recent "wildcat" strikes over the use of foreign labour suggest a trend towards more militant attitudes within the workforce and the possibility of greater industrial unrest. The UK's labour laws are very complex ...
With the credit crunch likely to affect every aspect of the global economy, the prospect of declining revenue threatens to erode the profitability of many businesses. So the challenge is to preserve cash and cut costs. But how does this affect IT? Cutting back on IT projects is not necessarily an option. Software is the engine of the modern enterprise. Indeed, for many organisations it is their primary source of competitive advantage ...
Lavery, de Billy makes its mark with a new brand and new firm signature: Lavery, Law Business. The new “Lavery” brand and “Lavery, Law Business” signature are a reflection of the firm’s personality ...
I. IntroductionIt has been over 4 years since the Constitutional Court’s ruling on 26 October 2004 which declared that Article 158 and other relevant articles of the Manpower Law in relation to serious misconduct were against the Indonesia Constitution and therefore were not legally binding. The legal effect of the ruling was that an employer cannot immediately terminate an employee for serious misconduct ...
The shifting of the burden of proof is an issue of great concern for suppliers when involved with litigation over product liability ...
A Foreign Company ("FC") is subject to Swedish taxation on income from a permanent establishment ("PE") in Sweden. Today, different types of tolling arrangements are part of the business model of many MNE’s. The purpose of this article is to analyze the Swedish tax implications of a tolling arrangement, primarily the risk of a FC to acquire a PE in Sweden. The below example can be used in order to illustrate the PE issues at hand ...
Software is part of the day-to-day fabric for most companies. And almost everyone who uses it does so with little or no thought about what happens should it fail, or if it is no longer available. However, the prudent software buyer will consider how to protect against failure of critical or bespoke software, which is where escrow may come in. Be warned, though ...
The new forms for reducing the amount of corporate income (IRC) tax to be withheld (MOD. 01-DJR) and for the partial refund of IRC (MOD. 02-DJR) withheld on the payment of interest and royalties between associate companies from different European Union Member- States under the Interest and Royalties Directive were approved in February ...
The Chancellor delivered the 2009 Budget on 22 April 2009. The following is a summary of the main points of interest. Income tax From 6 April 2010 there will be an additional higher rate of 50 per cent on taxable income above £150,000. The basic personal allowance for income tax will be reduced by £1 for every £2 an individual's net income is above £100,000 ...
The High Court has held that in certain circumstances, an employee has the right to be represented by a lawyer at internal disciplinary hearings. The Employment Relations Act 1999 gives employees a statutory right to be accompanied only by a work colleague or union official at disciplinary and grievance hearings. The good practice recommendations in the new ACAS Code on Disciplinary and Grievance in the Workplace reflect this ...
EIS is a direct investment in a small unquoted company, which meets strict HMRC criteria. The tax advantages of such an investment are: Income tax relief at 20% on a maximum investment of £500,000 ...
On 6 April 2009 the Mandatory Dismissal and Disciplinary Procedures and Grievance Procedures (the statutory procedures) will be Repealed when Relevant Provisions of the Employment Act 2008 Come Into Force. It is no exaggeration to say that this is one of the most eagerly awaited changes to employment law for many years, and it is all but impossible to find anyone who doesn't view this as a positive development ...
Virtually every business has some sort of website or presence on the internet, and it is often an integral part of the business. At the same time, many organisations use bespoke or customised software internally on a day-to-day basis, and undoubtedly attribute significant value to these assets, not least because the development of them probably required a significant investment via a third party developer providing the software ...
In early 2008, 'green computing' and the idea that companies were going to need to implement new measures to improve their green credentials was one of the hot topics in IT. You might have been forgiven for thinking that environmental concern would be among the first casualties of the credit crunch and the resulting recession ...
A lot hinged on the answer to the following question for thousands of businesses and organisations across the UK. When is equipment used at work not work equipment for the purposes of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998? It was put before the House of Lords at a hearing on 4 February 2009, exactly one year after the same question was considered by the Court of Appeal ...
How far do you have to go in carrying out risk assessments when the risks to your employees arise from activities conducted off your premises? It is a question that has always troubled health and safety advisors. The recent decision of the House of Lords in Smith (Jean) v Northamptonshire County Council, 2009 has helped to define the boundaries. In this case a care worker employed by the council was injured at a client's home ...
On May 7, 2009, the White House issued its proposed budget for fiscal year 2010, which outlines the Obama administration’s plan to reform certain of the Internal Revenue Code’s provisions on the taxation of international transactions. Proposed changes to the rules on withholding taxes, which are aimed at reducing tax evasion by U.S. citizens and residents and improving collection efforts for taxes owed by foreigners investing in the U.S ...
On May 7, 2009, the White House issued its proposed budget for fiscal year 2010, which outlines the Obama administration’s plan to reform certain of the Internal Revenue Code’s provisions on the taxation of international transactions. Proposed changes to the rules on withholding taxes, which are aimed at reducing tax evasion by U.S. citizens and residents and improving collection efforts for taxes owed by foreigners investing in the U.S ...
Robertson v. West Fraser Timber Co. Ltd., 2009 BCSC 602 Employee not constructively dismissed when employer’s unilateral reduction in his remuneration was small and he waited too long to complain about changes to his duties. Robertson was employed by West Fraser Timber (“WFT”) and its predecessor Weldwood for twenty-nine years ...
The White House issued a proposed 2010 budget which includes the Obama administration’s plan to reform sections of the U.S. Tax Code on international transactions. One proposal includes a change in how international and domestic banks with foreign clients withhold tax and report to the Internal Revenue Service. The rule change is aimed at improving collection efforts on taxes owed by foreign investors and reducing tax evasion by U.S. citizens and residents ...
The Labour Market Opinion (LMO) program of Service Canada has recently changed: extension applications for LMOs are no longer permitted. Instead, each request to continue to employ a foreign worker will be treated as a new LMO request and will need to be supported by evidence of updated recruitment activity ...
