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WEBINAR HIGHLIGHTS IFCs' IMPORTANT ROLE AS INVESTMENT FACILITATORS
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A webinar titled: “What's Happening with the EU and the OECD and the Likely Impact on IFCs”, highlighted British Virgin Islands (BVI) and other International Finance Centres’(IFCs) important role as investment facilitators, along with the other social and economic benefits of IFCs.
The panelists, Richard Hay, Counsel at the IFC Forum and Partner at Stikeman Elliott, and Oliver Cooper, Policy Lead at Stikeman Elliott and also an IFC Forum adviser, and said that while there has been a misunderstanding by some of the purposes and users of IFCs, there are pragmatic reasons for using an IFC, which include: holding property in a foreign country, accessing specialised legal architecture or regulation, and tax neutrality for collective investment.
Trends to watch in globalisation
The United States’ (US) recent withdrawal from discussions on the Digital Services Tax (DST), the continued calls for central public registers, and minimum corporate tax rates led the discussions on trends to watch in globalisation.
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Richard Hay, Partner, Stickman Elliot Counsel, IFC Forum
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Oliver Cooper, Policy Lead, Stickman Elliot Counsel, IFC Forum
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Global minimum tax rates, under discussion at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, must take account of the importance of tax neutrality in supporting efficient collective investment, which increases returns on workplace pensions and other funds and increases the tax collections of onshore governments.
Webinar attendees were reminded of the United Kingdom (UK) Parliamentary pressures on Bermuda, the BVI, and Cayman to adopt public registers by the end of 2020, notwithstanding that these countries already collect verified beneficial ownership information while the UK substantially relies on self-contributed data. Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man, and Cayman have committed to adopt public share registers at the same time as the EU. However, a number of EU member states have not done so, with 16 member states to date not implementing all of the requirements of AMLD5 (some including requirements for public registers), although they were required to do so by January 2020.
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The webinar also offered insight to the European Union’s (EU) economy; highlighting the EU has six-percent (6%)of the global population, and 21-percent (21%) of the world economy, the costs associated with the EU’s social programmes (up to 45-percent) were noted as concerning and possibly a significant policy influence bearing on the EU’s expanding role in global tax and regulatory policy.
As it relates to the rapidly changing global environment for tax and regulatory policy, observations noted the impact of the COVID-19 crisis as slowing down some discussions and decisions as it relates to economic substance; a delay which may result in a more considered strategy and roll out.
Click here to read full article.
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O'NEAL WEBSTER ACTS FOR SCOTIABANK ON THE SALE OF ITS BVI OPERATIONS
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O’Neal Webster advised The Bank of Nova Scotia, a leading bank in Canada and leading financial services provider in the Americas, on the sale of its British Virgin Islands operations to Republic Financial Holdings Limited. The O’Neal Webster team was led by Partner Christopher Simpson (corporate, banking, and regulatory) based in the firm’s BVI office, with support from Partners Vanessa King and Kerry Anderson (corporate, banking, and regulatory) based in the firm’s BVI and New York offices respectively. BVI-based Managing Associate Jenelle Archer (property and business), assisted in the property aspects of the deal. The transaction closed on May 31, 2020, after securing prior regulatory approval from the BVI Financial Services Commission. The O’Neal Webster team worked alongside Osler, Hoskin and Harcourt LLP and Scotiabank’s in-house legal team.
Simpson stated: “We are delighted to have assisted Scotiabank, meeting all their requirements and producing a successful outcome for this important deal. Our firm’s experience in corporate, banking, property, and regulatory matters allowed for a seamless, efficient transaction.”
Click here to read full article.
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ECONOMIC SUBSTANCE UPDATE - FINAL ECONOMIC SUBSTANCE PORTALS GO LIVE!
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The International Tax Authority (the “ITA”), wishes to inform all Registered Agents (“RA’s”) and Legal Entities with reporting obligations under the Economic Substance (Companies and Limited Partnerships) Act, 2018 and the Beneficial Ownership Secure Search System Act, 2017 that Economic Substance Portal as integrated with the Beneficial Ownership Secure Search system (“BOSS(ES)s”) has gone live on Friday 12 June, 2020.
All RA’s and Legal Entities are remined that the deadline to file declarations is six months after the end of the end of the Financial Period of the legal entity. The prescribed financial period for those legal entities incorporated before 1 January 2019 is 30 June 2019 – 29 June 2020. The prescribed financial period for those legal entities that were incorporated on or after 1 January 2019 will begin on the date of incorporation of the Company and end 1 year following that date. All notifications to made to alter the Financial Period of Company must continue to be made to the ITA via info@bviita.vg in accordance with the Rules.
The updated data model can be found attached to this communication, in the “Resources” section of the BOSS(ES)s portal and also at the following link https://bviita.vg/blog/2020/06/26/bossess-portal-has-gone-live/bvi-ess-data-model-description-v1-1/
It is important to note that ONLY RA’s have access to the BOSS(ES)s portal and all declarations made on behalf of a legal entity must be done by the RA.
For further information on Economic Substance please feel free to contact us via the following means: telephone number: 1 284 468 4415, email address: Info@bviita.vg
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ECONOMIC SUBSTANCE PORTALS GO LIVE
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BDO is pleased to announce the successful rollout of the Economic Substance portal (“ES portal”) integrated into your BOSSs portal (collectively known as “BOSS(ES)”), which was completed as agreed on Friday 12 June 2020. As mentioned in Update #3, you will also see a refresh of the user interface, which was done simultaneously with the ES portal which hopefully will make it more user-friendly.
Click here to read BVI ESS - DATA Model Description v1.1
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TERRITORY DAY - THE MARCH TOWARD GREATER AUTONOMY
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This year’s annual Territory Day celebrations will focus on the importance of being a Virgin Islander in a year when the Territory will go through a constitutional review.
The celebrations are being held under the theme, “The March Toward Greater Autonomy: Shaping Collective Pride”, and will also focus on what it was to be a Virgin Islander during such hardships as the lack of local governance in the 1940’s.
Minister for Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, Fisheries and Agriculture, Dr. the Honourable Natalio D. Wheatley, said that the Territory must seize the opportunity to understand its own situation in light of the current global protests.
Click here to read full article.
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BVI DISPUTE RESOLUTION SPECIALIST DAVID WELFORD JOINS OGIER AS PARTNER
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BVI Dispute Resolution specialist David Welford has joined Ogier as partner.
David joins Ogier's BVI law team in Europe, which works seamlessly alongside the firm's BVI-based team to provide BVI Dispute Resolution support across the European and Caribbean timezones.
David is a barrister with broad experience of commercial and financial disputes, with a focus on cross-border company, trusts and insolvency matters. He has extensive advocacy experience before the BVI Commercial Court and the Court of Appeal.
Click here to read full article.
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David Welford, Partner, Ogier
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BILL - CANNABIS LICENSING ACT, 2020
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The Government of the Virgin Islands hosted a Virtual Public Meeting on the Bill entitled, Cannabis Licencing Act, 2020 via Webexon June 25 at 7:30 p.m.
The discussion was led by Minister for Education, Culture, Youth Affairs, Fisheries and Agriculture who detailed the contents of the plan and the economic benefits to be derived from the industry.
Please see below the Fact Sheet as well as the Cannabis Licencing Act 2020.
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6 DO'S AND DONT'S WHEN SAVING MONEY DURING A CRISIS
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Probably the last thing you want to think about during a crisis is working on healthy financial habits like saving money. But if you’re able to save, you can make your eventual recovery easier.
“Every time you put some [money] away, you’re looking out for your future self,” says Saundra Davis, founder and executive director at Sage Financial Solutions, a San Francisco Bay Area-based nonprofit that offers financial coach training and services to people across the wealth spectrum.
Whether or not your financial situation has changed since the start of 2020, you may benefit from these saving strategies now or down the road.
Do: Reduce costs, including bills if needed
Common advice to save money is to cut unnecessary costs. During an ongoing crisis such as a pandemic, you might need to redefine what is “unnecessary.”
Start with the cost of bare essentials to operate your household — rent or mortgage, utilities, food — and when you factor bills in, don’t treat them all the same. For example, paying your credit card bill in full every month is normally the best tactic, but in hard times, it’s OK not to follow this rule and just pay the minimum. For loan payments, see if your creditor can offer relief.
“Don’t have your lender deciding what you can pay,” Davis says. “Sketch out your own budget.” This might mean working with your lender to reduce payments or suspend them temporarily.
Do: Adjust your savings goals
Having a dollar amount to save up to is generally helpful. An emergency fund, for example, is a standard goal that involves building up three to six months’ worth of living expenses. But during an emergency, consider resetting expectations.
“If your income changes, you aren’t beholden to saving a fixed amount,” says LaKhaun McKinley, certified financial planner and owner of the firm MNM Vested in Katy, Texas.
The way you save might need to be tweaked, too. If you use automatic transfers from checking to savings accounts, see if that amount is still doable for you. If not, reduce the amount. Or, as a last resort, cancel the transfers for the time being and make one-off transfers when possible.
When saving money, “the habit is more important than the amount,” Davis says.
Click here to read full article by NerdWallet.
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FARM TOURS ON GOOD MOON FARM
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“Since Covid 19 all my office staff want to be farmers!- I need to bring them on a Farm Tour"- Akeymo Percival, Bank of Asia.
Situated on the beautiful north side of Tortola, five minutes from Road Town is Good Moon Farm. Farm Tours have been a staple for the tourism sector for many years, but the in the spirit of newly ‘localized economy, they are offering this educational out of office experience for companies, schools, community groups and interested gardeners.
The Good Moon Farm tour starts with a talk on BVI's agriculture history and heritage, whilst enjoying a cup of bush tea, cassava bread and seasonal fruit. They start on a walking tour of the farm, identifying some of our rare trees, viewing the terraces and crops. Groups of 7 to 20 people are welcomed. Tours start at 9.00 and generally take 2 hours.
The tour is designed to give an understanding of the historical importance of agriculture in the BVI, from the pre-Columbian era to the present day. The goal is to show how a farm can work in the BVI and to inspire and encourage our visitors to plant their own gardens. They will explain the regenerative organic farming techniques used and share gardening tips. The tour finishes with lively chatter on agricultural memories, views and visions for the future. Guests leave with something to plant!
Please call Aragorn for dates and rates on 5420586 or e-mail : goodmoonfarmbvi@gmail.com
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UPCOMING EVENTS
July
BVI Finance Breakfast Forum
Webinar | 15 July | 10:00 a.m
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