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GCR Guide to Data & Antitrust – Competition law and data
Miranda Cole and Francesco Salis from our Brussels office are the authors of a chapter on the evolving view of data in the application of competition law.
Global | Publication | September 2016
On 20 September 2016 – 2017 Budget Day – the Dutch State Secretary for Finance submitted a letter to the lower house of parliament on the proposed amendment to the Dutch dividend tax regime. He proposes to amend the Dutch dividend tax act to eliminate the difference between Dutch cooperatives and Dutch private companies (BV) and public companies (NV). It introduces a liability to dividend tax for so-called holding cooperatives but at the same time relaxes the current regime applicable; to BVs and NVs by allowing BVs and NVs to make distributions free of dividend tax if their shareholders reside in a treaty country. If enacted, the changes are intended to become effective as from January 1, 2018, at the latest.
The cooperative is a specific legal entity that is used in international holding structures to prevent Dutch dividend tax being levied on distributions. As opposed to BVs and NVs, the cooperative is not subject to dividend tax as its capital is not divided into units or shares. Because there are no specific legal grounds for this difference, the Dutch State Secretary for Finance proposes to eliminate it.
His letter first sets out the different types of cooperatives and their uses. Here, the Dutch State Secretary for Finance distinguishes between so-called (active) “real cooperatives” and (passive) “holding cooperatives”. He subsequently proposes to amend the dividend tax regime for holding cooperatives so that their treatment will be put at par with that of BVs and NVs:
As this letter is only an announcement of a future change, these developments are subject to change. We will keep you updated on further developments. Nonetheless, a review should be made of any structures that uses cooperatives The amendment may allow you to simplify such structures. We are obviously more than happy to assist you in reviewing your structures to ensure their effectiveness.
Publication
Miranda Cole and Francesco Salis from our Brussels office are the authors of a chapter on the evolving view of data in the application of competition law.
Publication
Miranda Cole, Lara White and Christoph Ritzer from our Brussels, London and Frankfurt offices are the authors of a chapter on how the interplay between competition and privacy law is affecting online advertising.
Publication
Unannounced inspections by competition authorities, usually called “dawn raids”, are undoubtably one of the most efficient tools for collecting evidence and enforcing competition rules. They are also an area where investigators test (and sometimes exceed) the boundaries of companies’ procedural rights.
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