Data is the new fuel for a range of services, but when one thinks of more traditional sectors, such as agriculture, it is certainly not the first asset to be exploited that comes to mind. Yet, the world is advancing and with it the agricultural sector. The development of technologies...

The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee has published its long-awaited report on its inquiry on corporate governance following on from “ major corporate governance failings at BHS and Sports Direct“. The report considers “ whether the UK corporate governance framework is fit for purpose, whether it provides the right...

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that the cost of calls made to customer service telephone lines should not exceed the cost of a standard call and that the trader may obtain profits by operating said helpline. As a result of the Criminal and Civil Regional...

The judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union dated 14 March 2017 (Case C-1571/2015) analyses the enforceability of company policies that forbid workers from using political, religious and ideological symbols, limiting the implementation of such polices to the cases in which legitimate purposes concur providing that no...

The long-awaited General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into effect on 25 May 2018. The GDPR constitutes the biggest change to the data protection regime in the EU since the 1995 Data Protection Directive, and introduces fundamental changes, including: harmonisation and further development of data protection regimes across the...

Companies operating tax-advantaged EMI option arrangements need to be aware of some recent changes in HMRC policy and practice. Restrictions on shares An EMI option agreement must contain details of any restrictions on the shares (examples include leaver provisions and restrictions on voting). Details of the restrictions can either be...

Germany will introduce “license barrier rules” as of January 2018. The new rules will limit the tax deductibility of license fees or royalty payments to foreign related parties that benefit from preferential regimes (“Patent Box”, “IP-Box”, “License Box”) which are incompatible with the “OECD nexus approach” (“unqualified preferential regimes”) (sec...

In a significant decision concerning the liability of professional advisors, the Supreme Court has clarified that negligent advisers who provide clients with information in connection with a particular transaction will only be liable for the financial consequences of that information being wrong, not the entire losses stemming from the transaction...

Healthcare markets are naturally highly regulated and often require longer term planning when taking your product to market. However, the regulations in Europe can make it easier for US companies to take their product to market, sometimes even before you have entered the US market. This therefore offers a huge...

A stricter approach adopted by the Spanish Tax Authorities had been supported by the courts. Tax audit proceedings are giving rise to an ever-increasing number of disputes as the Spanish Tax Authorities are adopting increasingly strict criteria in their interpretation of tax law. This trend appears to be supported by...