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Dutch supermarkets business Ahold has made a $2.7 billion bid for Giant Food, a US supermarket chain. The deal will expand Ahold's US presence to over 1,000 stores. Ahold will acquire the group from shareholders, including US holding company 1224 Group and UK-based company J Sainsbury USA Holdings.

Artemis of France is to buy UK auction house Christies for £721 million ($1.1 billion).

In the case of qualifying pension plans, the contribution of the employer under the scheme is not taxable, whereas the contribution of the employee is tax deductible. Benefits received from a qualifying plan are in general fully subject to Netherlands income tax. Special rules provide for taxation over the economic value of an employee's pension rights in case of certain "forbidden" transactions.

Piergiorgio Valente of Studio Associato Legale Tributario (Ernst & Young) gives an overview of the key principles behind administrative tax penalties in the jurisdictions of Italy, Sweden, the UK, France and Germany

In March of this year, the German Parliament and Federal Council ratified two major pieces of legislation which have since taken effect. The Law on Corporate Control and Transparency makes extensive changes to the provisions of the Stock Corporation Act (Aktiengesetz) to improve corporate accountability. This bill also liberalizes the provisions relating to the issuance of stock options to senior executives and other employees. Some of the new provisions may be applicable by analogy to limited liability companies. Most provisions either take immediate effect or apply to fiscal years beginning 1999 onwards.

The Korean government’s new warmth towards foreign investors has created M&A opportunities. Potential tax structures are analyzed by Todd M Landau, Yong-Kyun Kim and Robin Voigt of PricewaterhouseCoopers, New York, Seoul and Chicago

Foreign investors in the People’s Republic of China take note – the PRC tax authorities have turned on the transfer pricing heat. May Huang and Alan Tsoi of PricewaterhouseCoopers in Beijing, analyze the contents of a new circular on the subject

New Zealand’s Inland Revenue is tightening up on the accuracy with which taxpayers value income from trading stock. Andrew Button of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, Auckland, alerts readers to the consequences

The Washington National Tax Services office of Price Waterhouse has recruited Barbara Angus, formerly business tax counsel to the Congressional Tax Committee on Taxation.

The IRS has updated its definition of financial products, extending a safe harbour for securities and commodities to derivatives. Linda Carlisle and Daniel Gilroy of White & Case, Washington DC, report on regulations which could lead to a boom in hedge funds