This discussion of the Cross-Border Merger Directive and its implementing legislation in each Member State of the European Union and the European Economic Area provides companies and their advisors with useful insight into the legal framework applicable to, and the tax treatment of, cross-border mergers throughout the European Economic Area. Analysis of the Community rules laid down in the Cross-Border Merger Directive and the Community rules on the tax treatment of cross-border mergers is complemented by chapters on the implementing legislation in each Member State, prepared in accordance with a common format and contributed by a practitioner from each state. Annexes contain the Cross-Border Merger Directive (Annex I), the Parent-Subsidiary Directive (Annex II) and a list of the implementing legislation in each Member State (Annex III).

This discussion of the Cross-Border Merger Directive and its implementing legislation in each Member State of the European Union and the European Economic Area provides companies and their advisors with useful insight into the legal framework applicable to, and the tax treatment of, cross-border mergers throughout the European Economic Area. Analysis of the Community rules laid down in the Cross-Border Merger Directive and the Community rules on the tax treatment of cross-border mergers is complemented by chapters on the implementing legislation in each Member State, prepared in accordance with a common format and contributed by a practitioner from each state. Annexes contain the Cross-Border Merger Directive (Annex I), the Parent-Subsidiary Directive (Annex II) and a list of the implementing legislation in each Member State (Annex III).

This edited volume focuses on specific, crucially important structural measures that foster corporate change, namely cross-border mergers. Such cross-border transactions play a key role in business reality, economic theory and corporate, financial and capital markets law. Since the adoption of the Cross-border Mergers Directive, these mergers have been regulated by specific legal provisions in EU member states. This book analyzes various aspects of the directive, closely examining this harmonized area of EU company law and critically evaluating cross-border mergers as a method of corporate restructuring in order to gain insights into their fundamental mechanisms. It comprehensively discusses the practicalities of EU harmonization of cross-border mergers, linking it to corporate restructuring in general, while also taking the transposition of the directive into account. Exploring specific angles of the Cross-border Mergers Directive in the light of European and national company law, the book is divided into three sections: the first section focuses on EU and comparative aspects of the Cross-border Mergers Directive, while the second examines the interaction of the directive with other areas of law (capital markets law, competition law, employment law, tax law, civil procedure). Lastly, the third section describes the various member states’ experiences of implementing the Cross-border Mergers Directive.

The Comparative Law Yearbook of International Business, published under the auspices of the Center for International Legal Studies, in this 41st volume spans an arc from nuanced discussion of the notion of ‘creativity’ under various copyright regimes and product designations over corporate organization, acquisition and criminal conduct, regulation of payment services and tax evasion to dealing with disruptive behaviour in international arbitration. The authors, practitioners and academics from Japan, Poland, Romania, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Spain and England bring a medley of perspectives addressing developments and pressing legal issues for businesses that are engaged in international commerce and investment, such as the difficulty of prosecuting corporate crimes, disincentives for tax offenders to cooperate with authorities, and new paradigms for banking. What’s in this book: Among the broad spectrum of aspects, the book covers such issues and topics as the following: – reorganization of the concept of creativity by functions; – designation of products, business and entrepreneurs; – dividend distribution in public companies; – tax evasion, disproportionate punishment and lack of remedies; and – transposition of the European Payment Services Directive 2. How this will help you: As a scrutiny of the updated developments in the legal fields, this Yearbook helps readers gain insight into national and regional perspectives on the interpretation of laws. The presentation of the reports aids in understanding the impact of such legal developments in practice. Thus, this book serves as a source of knowledge for lawyers and academics to comprehend the changing legal rules and regulations and to confidently apply them in solving problems.

The European Union (EU) Merger Directive removes certain tax disadvantages encountered by companies and their shareholders in the course of a restructuring operation. However, in spite of amendments and European Court of Justice's (ECJ) interpretations of its provisions, various shortcomings remain. This thoroughgoing analysis, broader and deeper than any prior work on the subject, addresses all the Directive's subtopics methodically, following the paragraphs of Articles 1-15 in their logical succession. The author analyses the points in which the Merger Directive falls short of attaining its stated objective, and he also examines how these shortcomings could be scaled. To do so, he tests the Merger Directive against its own objective, primary EU law (the fundamental freedoms and the unwritten general principles of EU law) and non-discrimination provisions in relevant treaties. Each of the following questions is addressed and responded to in depth: – Which entities have access to the Merger Directive and which entities should have access to it? – Which operations are covered by the Merger Directive and which operations should be covered? – Which tax disadvantages to cross-border restructuring operations does the Merger Directive aim to remove, which tax disadvantages have been actually removed, which tax disadvantages remain, and how should the Merger Directive be amended to remove the remaining tax disadvantages? – How tax avoidance should be combated under Article 15(1)(a) of the Merger Directive, which possible types of tax avoidance can be identi¬fied, and how the Merger Directive should be amended? – Which cases of double taxation does a taxpayer engaging in cross-border restructuring operations potentially encounter, and how they can be taken away by the Merger Directive? The key shortcomings that are identifi¬ed are: the Merger Directive’s objective is not stated precisely; minimum harmonisation does not lead to a common tax system; exhaustive lists are used as legislative technique; the Merger Directive does not add much to the outcomes reached through negative harmonisation; and the de¬finitions of qualifying operations are not fully aligned with corporate law. Chapter 6 contains a deeply informed and viable proposal for the amendment of the Merger Directive. This is the fi¬rst treatment not only to evaluate the Directive's effi¬cacy in detail but also to offer real solutions to its shortcomings. It will be welcomed by policymakers, judges, practitioners and academics, and the recommendations it contains are sure to affect ongoing amendments and jurisprudence on the Merger Directive.

As a result of the Regulation on the European Company and the Tenth Council Directive, all Member States are obliged to finally implement the merger arrangements of the 1990 Fiscal Merger Directive, forcefully raising the question of the tax consequences of cross-border mergers. This book is the first to focus in such an extended way on the meaning of the 1990 Directive’s tax provisions in this context. With unique and valuable insights drawn from legislative history documents never examined before, its detailed commentary leads to sound and practical recommendations on cross-border mergers within the EU from a tax law perspective. This book also examines to what extent taxation as a result of mergers is in line with the freedom of establishment and the free movement of capital. Clearly analysing the dangers of advance taxation, double taxation, double non taxation, and additional tax claims as a result of a merger, the book deals with such core elements as the following: the aims of cross-border merger relief schemes; the aims of cross-border merger relief schemes; transfer of losses; exit taxation; taxation of dividend withholding tax; employee participation rights; tax standing of creditors of a transferring company; and taxation of foreign shareholders. With its new insights on tax aspects of mergers within the European Union, this book will be of special value to merging companies and their shareholders, to tax administrations and courts, and to legislators who must properly implement the Merger Directive.

Regulatory and market developments have transformed the way in which UK private sector pension schemes operate. This has increased demands on trustees and advisors and the trusteeship governance model must evolve in order to remain fit for purpose. This volume brings together leading practitioners to provide an overview of what today constitutes good governance for pension schemes, from both a legal and a practical perspective. It provides the reader with an appreciation of the distinctive characteristics of UK occupational pension schemes, how they sit within the capital markets and their social and fiduciary responsibilities. Providing a holistic analysis of pension risk, both from the trustee and the corporate perspective, the essays cover the crucial role of the employer covenant, financing and investment risk, developments in longevity risk hedging and insurance de-risking, and best practice scheme administration.

The Energy Charter Treaty has come of age, with almost 50 States parties and a small but growing body of arbitral case law. In this new study of the Treaty's investment protection provisions, Thomas Roe and Matthew Happold set out to identify and explain the Treaty's principal provisions and to suggest answers to some of the difficult problems thrown up by its drafting. They discuss in detail questions such as the standards of protection granted by the Treaty and the international responsibility of States for breaches of the Treaty, the various procedures available for the vindication of rights under the Treaty and the conditions to be satisfied before a claimant's complaint may be considered on the merits. Specific issues addressed include the impact of EU law on claims under the Treaty and the Treaty's provisions concerning taxation.

This overview of a complex and often misunderstood subject takes the reader through the issues that are faced throughout the life cycle of a private equity investment, from the identification of an opportunity, through the various stages of the transaction and the lifetime of the investment, to the eventual exit by the investor. The analysis of key documentation and legal issues covers company law, employment law, pensions, taxation, debt funding and competition law, taking into account recent legal developments such as the Companies Act 2006, the recent emergence of private equity in the UK and the challenges faced by the industry as a result of the financial crisis.

The Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies provides a forum for the scrutiny of significant issues in EU Law, the law of the European Convention on Human Rights, and Comparative Law with a 'European' dimension, and particularly those issues which have come to the fore during the year preceding publication. The contributions appearing in the collection are commissioned by the Centre for European Legal Studies (CELS) Cambridge, a research centre in the Law Faculty of the University of Cambridge specialising in European legal issues. The papers presented are at the cutting edge of the fields which they address, and reflect the views of recognised experts drawn from the University world, legal practice, and the institutions of both the EU and its Member States. Inclusion of the comparative dimension brings a fresh perspective to the study of European law, and highlights the effects of globalisation of the law more generally, and the resulting cross fertilisation of norms and ideas that has occurred among previously sovereign and separate legal orders. The Cambridge Yearbook of European Legal Studies is an invaluable resource for those wishing to keep pace with legal developments in the fast moving world of European integration. INDIVIDUAL CHAPTERS Please click on the link below to purchase individual chapters from Volume 13 through Ingenta Connect: www.ingentaconnect.com SUBSCRIPTION TO SERIES To place an annual online subscription or a print standing order through Hart Publishing please click on the link below. Please note that any customers who have a standing order for the printed volumes will now be entitled to free online access. www.hartjournals.co.uk/cyels/subs Editorial Advisory Board: Albertina Albors-Llorens, John Bell, Alan Dashwood, Simon Deakin, David Feldman, Richard Fentiman, Angus Johnston, John Spencer Founding Editors: Alan Dashwood and Angela Ward Ius Commune Prize 2012 Alexandre Saydé wrote Chapter 15 in this volume entitled: 'One Law, Two Competitions: An Enquiry into the Contradictions of Free Movement Law' and we are delighted to announce that he has been awarded the Ius Commune Prize 2012.