News

13
Mar

In some instances, the FAA has attempted to regulate UAVs by relying on existing regulations that are stretched and distorted. For instance, it uses regulations governing experimental aircraft and the flight crews of experimental aircraft to justify the current permitting system, which is consistent with Dorr’s acknowledgment that the FAA uses regulations governing manned aircraft to regulate UAVs. Of course the whole point of an unmanned aerial vehicle is that there is no flight crew, but no one seems to have pointed that out to the FAA. In fact, one could argue that it’s voluntary to listen to the FAA about drones. In its literature discussing its governance of UAVs, the FAA often refers to Advisory Circular 91-57, which addresses model airplanes. However, AC 91-57 merely “outlines, and encourages voluntary compliance with” the model airplane standards it states (so I guess paper airplane–slinging third-graders are safe). I think “voluntary” is probably a more honest representation of FAA authority over UAVs as well, absent congressional approval or at least publicly vetted regulations. Similarly, there is reason to think that if you keep your beer-delivery drone flying low, you’ll be in the clear. In its documentation addressing a redesign of the national ...

07
Mar

MEPs and member state negotiators reached a deal last night (4 March) to change the rules of the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that will essentially exempt non-EU airlines from having to pay for their CO2 emissions. The change was demanded by third countries such as Russia, China and the United States. The ETS legislation, adopted in 2008, has covered all emissions from flights landing or taking off from an EU airport since 1 January 2012. But third countries objected to the inclusion of emissions that did not take place in EU airspace, saying it was a breach of sovereignty. The European Commission temporarily exempted flights leaving or entering EU airspace in 2012, in order to give the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) time to agree a global mechanism to control aviation emissions. In September ICAO adopted a timeline to agree a future mechanism in 2016, and the Commission decided this was enough to propose an amendment to the legislation to exempt emissions outside EU airspace until then. However the third countries demanded that the EU go further, exempting all emissions from flights entering or leaving the EU – even those emissions that took place within EU airspace. National EU governments have been leaned ...

07

The long and contentious conflict over the application of the European Union's Emissions Trading Scheme to foreign carriers appears to be nearing an end as Members of the European Parliament reached an agreement with negotiators from the various Member States to essentially exempt non-EU carriers from any obligation to participate in Europe's cap-and-trade program. Carriers based in EU Member States will still be required to comply. The application of Directive 101/2008 to non-EU airlines has been criticized for its extraterritorial effects since its passage six years ago. Under pressure from Member States fearful of repercussions from trade partners, the EU temporarily suspended its application to non-EU carriers last year, and the European Commission and Parliament had both recently backed a measure to restrict foreign carriers’ obligations to only those pertaining to emissions occurring in EU airspace – thereby addressing the primary legal argument opposing States had put forward. Despite the Parliament's acquiescence to their purported concerns, non-EU countries, perhaps emboldened by their success, continued to press for complete exemption for their carriers which they now appear to have won. March, 6, 2014

18
Feb

Government will negotiate with the US to ensure that institutions like credit unions, pension funds, government entities and international institutions that present a low risk of US tax evasion are exempt from the provisions of FATCA under a special annex to the IGA Barbados is moving steadily towards an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with the United States to give effect to the Foreign Account Compliance Act (FATCA). 03 February 2014 Minister of Industry Donville Inniss, Bank Secretary of the Central Bank Elson Gaskin and Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Sabina Walcott- Denny at a press conference highlighted the logistics of the initiative. According to Gaskin, the timeline that the negotiation team has set for actually getting the IGA into place is April 30, 2014, while the deadline for signing is June 30. It was noted that Barbados will have at least until September 30, 2015 to ensure that all matters needed to operationalise FATCA, including the passage of legislation are in place. The Bank secretary explained, "The threshold for bank accounts is USD 100 000 on an aggregate basis. On the July 1, 2014 you will be subject to FATCA reporting. Or if you have an insurance contract with a Cash Surrender Value ...

18

13 February 2014 OECD has unveiled a new single global standard for the automatic exchange of information between tax authorities worldwide. Developed by the OECD together with G20 countries, the standard calls on jurisdictions to obtain information from their financial institutions and exchange that information automatically with other jurisdictions on an annual basis. It sets out the financial account information to be exchanged, the financial institutions that need to report, the different types of accounts and taxpayers covered, as well as common due diligence procedures to be followed by financial institutions. The OECD is expected to deliver a detailed Commentary on the new standard, as well as technical solutions to implement the actual information exchanges, during a meeting of G20 finance ministers in September 2014. www.oecd.org