Supreme Court To Review ‘Foreign-Cubed’ Case Despite SEC, Solicitor General Objections

The U.S. Supreme Court November 30, 2009, agreed to review a lower court decision dismissing a “foreign-cubed” case that raises critical questions about the reach of U.S. federal courts and the U.S. securities fraud laws with respect to…

House Financial Reform Measures Rolled Into Single Bill For Floor Action

The House Financial Services Committee December 2, 2009, approved legislation that would establish tough new federal controls on systemically important financial firms, clearing the way for…

Bill To Expand SEC’s Subpoena Power Clears House

The House December 2, 2009, approved by voice vote a bill that would strengthen the Securities and Exchange Commission’s enforcement program by allowing the agency to subpoena witnesses in…

Proposed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act: Impact On Non-U.S. Financial Institutions, Intermediaries, And Investment Vehicles

On October 27, 2009, proposed U.S. tax legislation entitled the “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009” (the “Bill”) was introduced in both houses of the U.S. legislature and endorsed by the Obama administration[...] If enacted in its current form…

Proposed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act: Impact On Bearer Debt Instruments

Bearer debt instruments, when issued in definitive form, allow holders to invest anonymously. Recognising the potential for U.S. investors to take advantage of bearer debt instruments to avoid U.S. taxes, President Ronald Reagan and the U.S. Congress took a number of steps in 1982 to eliminate bearer debt instruments from the U.S. markets. Congress passed the Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act (“TEFRA”), legislation…

Proposed Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act: Impact On Hedge Funds

On October 27, 2009, the House Ways and Means and Senate Finance Committees’ Democratic members introduced the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act of 2009 (H.R. 3933 and S. 1934), a joint legislative proposal on offshore taxation (see WSLR, November 2009, page 3)…