As previously communicated in a briefing note, the British Virgin Islands (BVI) enacted the BVI Mutual Legal Assistance (Tax Matters) Amendment Act, 2018 (the Act) which directly impacted upon CRS reporting obligations on several levels. The Act and the BVI Guidance Notes on CRS require that all BVI Financial Institutions (FIs) establish, implement and maintain written […]
Law No. 129, which deals with the establishment and regulation of a beneficial owner register, was approved in Panama on 17 March 2020 and became law on 20 March 2020. In summary, the new Law requires a resident agent to file certain information in relation to the ultimate beneficial owner (the “UBO”) at the Superintendence […]
Bill No. 169 (the “Bill”), which deals with the establishment and regulation of a beneficial owner register, has been approved by the Panamanian National Assembly. The Bill will become law once executed by the Panamanian President and published in the Panamanian Official Gazette. The Bill requires resident agents to file relevant information, such as details […]
Hatstone is pleased to announce the appointment to Group Partner of Bella Ward, who will be based in the Hatstone’s Jersey office. Bella specialises in banking, finance, corporate, commercial and real estate transactions. She has a significant practice leading cross-border corporate, banking and capital markets transactions. Prior to joining Hatstone, Bella worked in the banking and […]
Hatstone has in the last six months promoted four of its lawyers in South Africa. Dr Erin Nel, who is an international trust and compliance specialist, was promoted to Senior Associate. Her role entails dealing with regulatory and trust-related matters, drafting corporate agreements and documents, wealth management, as well as supporting the Hatstone Group with local and […]
Hatstone’s Jersey office is delighted to announce the promotion of two of its lawyers. Private client specialist Michael Shenkin has been promoted to Of Counsel and corporate lawyer Marianne Hendry has been promoted to Senior Associate. Michael advises trustees, beneficiaries, family offices and private individuals on the establishment, maintenance, administration and governance of their structures […]
Panama has recently approved a new law, Tax Amnesty in Panama Law 99 of 2019 (the “Law”), relating to outstanding fines and penalties payable by Panamanian companies and foundations. Currently, companies and foundations that do not pay their annual tax of $300 and $400 respectively incur fines and penalties, which over time do add up. […]
On October 9, 2019, the BVI International Tax Authority published the final version of their ‘Rules and Explanatory Notes’ (the “Rules”) on Economic Substance. The Rules replace the draft BVI Economic Substance Code (the “Code”). The Rules provide very important guidance and explanatory notes to assist with the interpretation of the Economic Substance (Companies and […]
By way of background, a first draft Economic Substance Code was published by the BVI International Tax Authority (“ITA”) in April 2019. It is anticipated that the final code, now referred to as Rules (and Explanatory Notes), will be published on 30 September 2019 (the “Rules”). A further update will be circulated once the final […]
Sanmari Crous has recently qualified as a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER® Professional with the Financial Planning Institute of South Africa (FPI). This achievement comes after successfully completing a post-graduate diploma in Financial Planning at the University of Free State in 2018, which she passed with distinction, and sitting the professional competency exam in February this year. […]
Introduction: Following the introduction of the Economic Substance (Companies and Limited Partnerships) Act, 2018 (the Act) in the British Virgin Islands (BVI) on 1st January 2019 all BVI companies and all limited partnerships with legal personality will need to assess their compliance with the Act and submit compliance reports within six months after the end […]
In an extraordinary Gazette published 28 June 2019, the effective date for Economic Substance (Companies and Limited Partnerships) Act, 2018 (section 16 – deadline on economic substance reporting) coming into force was delayed from 30 June 2019 to 1 October 2019. We encourage all clients and users of BVI companies to take the necessary steps […]