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Landwell & Associés, the legal arm of PricewaterhouseCoopers, has won an appeal at the Paris high court to overturn a decision by the French National Bar Council to ban some of the structures applying to multidisciplinary practices (MDPs). The Bar Council's decision, made last year, had three main proposals: lawyers cannot practise in a law firm that has the same name as an audit firm. This affected Andersen Legal but was not an issue for Landwell; lawyers cannot belong to an organization or firm that is part of a network where there are non-regulated professions. While lawyers and accountants are regulated, consultants are not. This would harm Landwell because it is networked with PwC; and a law firm associated with an accounting or audit firm cannot work for any shared clients, even if the clients have authorized it. The court of appeal held that the bars did not have the authority to set the regulations in place, as it would require a legal process to modify or replace existing laws that permit MDPs. The verdict is good news for the big five firms functioning as multidisciplinary practices and should lead to further discussion about establishing full regulations applying to MDPs.

Several options exist to calculate the taxes on a transfer of shares issued by a Mexican entity. As a general rule, and with almost no exception, any transfer involving a Mexican entity is a taxable transaction under Mexican law. Four different possibilities exist to determine the taxes on a transaction involving a transfer of shares in Mexico. They are:

In May 2000, legislation was introduced amending the Japan Commercial Code to allow for corporate spin-offs. This amendment, together with the 1997 merger amendments and the 1999 introduction of stock exchange/transfers, will simplify corporate reorganizations under the Japanese commercial law. This article provides a general discussion of tax legislation expected to be contained in the 2001 tax reform package based on two recent public announcements (one by the Ruling Party on December 13 2000, and the other by the Ministry of Finance on December 19 2000). The new tax legislation will be effective for corporate reorganizations consummated on or after April 1 2001.

It’s all very well having your QI status in place, but how will this affect your business in practical day-to-day terms? This two-part article takes a look at what being a QI actually means. By Philip Marcovici and Marnin Michaels of Baker & McKenzie’s Zurich office, Thomas O’Donnell in the Paris office and David Balaban and Peter Connors of Baker & McKenzie in New York

Legislation enacted in 2000 gives Germany’s tax auditors sweeping electronic audit rights from 2002 onwards. Most taxpayers have yet to realize the potentially dire transfer pricing implications. By Alexander Vögele and William Bader for KPMG, Frankfurt

The UK Inland Revenue and Customs and Excise are to be given powers to fight crime.

SJ Berwin has established a Paris office by poaching a private equity team from Salans Hertzfeld & Heilbronn.

EU action on harmful tax competition has taken a significant step forwards. The rollback of measures with harmful features is now possible as early as 2002. By Heleen Nijkamp, chair of Ernst & Young’s EU Tax Steering Committee, New York

For foreign investors in Argentina, the question of whether business activities constitute a permanent establishment in the country is a crucial one. This special report outlines the definition, scope and practicalities of an Argentinian PE. By Daniel Albarellos and Horacio Dinice of Arthur Andersen, Buenos Aires

The US is to negotiate new tax treaties with Hungary and Australia.