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Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan get Beller

Following the Irish government's announcement of the new corporate tax regime (as outlined in the September issue of International Tax Review), the Department of Finance has given further guidance and clarification on the implications of the new regime for the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in Dublin.

In a draft bill soon to be submitted to parliament, the Belgian government sets out new rules concerning the tax treatment of employee stock options and warrants. The new rules focus on two aspects which have in the past been the object of debate ? the taxable event and the valuation of the taxable benefit resulting from such option or warrant. Once approved by parliament, the new rules will apply to all employee stock options and warrants granted as of July 1 1998.

New regulations on non-US partnerhips have been introduced in the US. Michael Cooper and Stan Torgersen of Deloitte & Touche LLP, Washington DC, advise readers on who should report and to what extent reporting is required

Merrill Lynch lost another round in the US courts in late August, in its efforts to defend a complicated financial product that it sold to prominent US corporations to help the companies generate capital losses. The decision is important for international tax planning because it shows the fragility of financial products that have little purpose other than generating tax results when tested in the US courts.

It has been a month in the news for KPMG. Between advertising campaigns and plans to float part of the partnership, the global services firm has rarely been out of the headlines. KPMG has now announced that it is to spend $60 million on a brand building campaign. It will be based on the phrase ?It's time for clarity?. The inspiration for this gem comes from a survey of 250 chief executive officers and chief financial officers at Fortune 1000 companies. The respondents expressed concern about the information overload and confusion of advice they receive.

The French government wants to extract high taxes from the banking and financial services sectors to pay for tax cuts in other areas of the economy. Under measures proposed by the government in September this year, contributions made by the sector to the taxe professionelle (business tax) will go up to finance a reduction for other sectors. The proposals are part of the reform of the business tax. The tax is based on assets and salaries, and rates vary from region to region. Under the proposals the salary base would be removed from the tax. The socialist government hopes that this will encourage businesses to hire more employees and so reduce unemployment.

Colombia's finance minister, Juan Camilo Restrepo, has sent a message to the country's congress urging it to pass proposed tax reforms quickly. The package was introduced at the beginning of September 1998, as part of government efforts to reduce the budget deficit. The most important proposals deal with sales tax. While the rate is to go down from 16% to 15%, a large number of new goods and services are to be taxed. These include some foods, business rents, credit cards, farming machinery and certain household goods.

The UK government has abandoned a plan to increase taxation of the oil and gas industries. In the March 1998 budget, chancellor Gordon Brown announced his plan to begin consultation on the possibilities for change. But, after months of uncertainty, the plan has been dropped. Brown put the change of heart down to oil prices. ?I have concluded that at the current low level of oil prices it would not be right at this stage to proceed with reform of the regime,? he said.

The Royal Bank of Scotland has agreed to buy Bank of Ireland's 23.5% holding in US bank, Citizens Financial Group. The deal is valued at $750 million, and will give Royal Bank of Scotland 100% ownership of Citizens Financial.