Latest Updates

December 11, 2016

“Wallet Companies” – Draft Tax Bill within the Scope of the Arrangements Law for 2017 - 2018

Recently, the Finance Committee concluded its deliberations regarding the imposition of tax legislation pertaining to “wallet companies” within the scope of the Arrangements Law for 2017 – 2018.

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December 8, 2016

Three Technological Predictions for the Next 5 Years

The world around us is changing. In labs and living rooms around the world, people are creating new technologies and finding new applications for existing and emerging technologies. The products and services available to everyone thus expand exponentially every year. In the next five years, then, you can expect massive growth in what we can do. Three areas in particular will provide important developments.

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December 6, 2016

Update on Employee Rights – Minimum Wage, Annual Paid Leave, Pension

Three updates to employee rights (Minimum Wage – Annual Paid Leave – Pension) came into effect on July 2016. The following is important news about the next update to employee rights, which is expected to come into effect on 1.1.2017.

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December 6, 2016

Expected Amendments to Tax Legislation in 2017

Adv. Harel Perlmutter, Head of the Tax Department at Barnea was interviewed by Ynet regarding the expected tax amendments going into effect in 2017.

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December 5, 2016

Nochi Dankner, Former Chairman of IDB Group, Sentenced to Two Years

We were interviewed by several Israeli newspapers after Nochi Dankner was sentenced to two years' imprisonment following his conviction for stock manipulation. We noted that, unlike the verdict, which created the impression that Dankner would receive a harsher punishment, it appears that the District Court sought to impose a relatively lenient sentence that would nevertheless not prompt the prosecution to appeal.

Article from Israel Hayom

Article from Globes

Article from Funder

December 4, 2016

Israel’s First Open Call for Bids for Offshore Oil and Natural Gas Explorations

November 2016 marked the first time that the Ministry of Infrastructures and Energy invited an open international call for bids for 24 licenses to 24 blocks (each not exceeding 400 km2) in Israel’s economic waters at a distance of at least 7 kilometers from the shore.

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December 1, 2016

The Israeli Public Utilities – Electricity Authority to Hold a Hearing Regarding New Quotas for Photovoltaic Power Plants

In October 2016, the Electricity Authority published a draft resolution to hold a hearing regarding the arrangement of a competitive proceeding to set the tariff payable for electricity generation using photovoltaic technology.

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November 30, 2016

Regulation of Crowdfunding in the UK, US, and Israel: Comparative Review

We published a comparative review in Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial Law on the regulation of crowdfunding. The article examines how three jurisdictions—the United Kingdom, the United States, and Israel—have addressed the regulatory aspects of the equity crowdfunding sector, and compares the different approaches adopted by their regulators.

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November 30, 2016

Crowdfunding: Funding Companies in the Startup Nation

For many small businesses around the world, crowdfunding the pooling of usually small investments from a large group of investors facilitates the ability to start a business without large institutional investments in the company. The portfolio of crowdfunding investors is diverse and is comprised of a broad array of ROIs (returns on investment). Investors may be donating to a specific cause, seeking repayment with interest or claiming equity in the company.

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November 28, 2016

Chinese Retail and Internet Giant Alibaba Invested 15 Million Dollars in the Israeli Tech Firm Infiniti AR

Adv. Yuval Lazi, Partner at Barnea represented Sun Corporation of Japan in a mutual investment with Alibaba the Chinese retail and Internet giant in the Israeli company Infiniti AR, which is developing augmented reality systems for medicine, training, and games.

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November 27, 2016

Convertible Notes

Adv. Ariella Dreyfuss, Partner at Barnea in an article on Convertible Notes. According to Ariella, Convertible notes are an attractive instrument for investors, they can also be advantageous to entrepreneurs and if drafted correctly should balance the interests of both parties.

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November 24, 2016

IBM Alpha Zone Accelerator 4th Class

Micky Barnea joined IBM Alpha Zone Accelerator 4th Class as a mentor. The program focuses on post Seed and Round A funded companies with the aim to create a long term Technology and Business partnership with IBM worldwide.

November 23, 2016

Less Remuneration, More Responsibility

The issue of officers’ responsibility in general, and of directors in particular, is one of the key issues addressed in companies and securities laws in Israel. The subject has been deliberated, analyzed and gradually expanded over the years and, without doubt, onerous and extensive responsibility is imposed on directors in the current legal environment.

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November 22, 2016

Adv. Yuval Lazi Interviewed by the Blog 'Talks about Entrepreneurship' and the Granting of Employee Stock Options

Adv. Yuval Lazi, Partner at Barnea, interviewed by the blog 'Talks about Entrepreneurship' and the granting of stock options to a start-up's employees. Yuval discussed the possibility for an employee to sell his options, valuation of options and how stock options are taxed.

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November 16, 2016

Performing a Legal Due Diligence – Think before You Act

We have encountered numerous instances recently whereby investors were about to make an investment without performing a prior legal due diligence examination. There are various reasons put forward by investors for not performing a due diligence examination, such as: the contemplated investment is in a young company, insufficient budget, cost-benefit considerations, the volume of the investment, timetables, long-standing work relations between the investors and the corporation, and the like.

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November 16, 2016

Representing D.G.I Media Ltd. in Administrative Enforcement Settlement with Israel Securities Authority

We represented D.G.I Media Ltd. in a precedent-setting administrative enforcement settlement with the Israel Securities Authority concerning forex trading.

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November 10, 2016

The Supreme Court Rejected Yaacov Peri’s demand for Reduction From tax payable on an Exercise of Options

This week the Supreme Court rejected Yaakov Peri's demand for a tax reduction from the tax authorities from an exercise of options received by the public company, Lipman Electronic Engineering. Adv. Harel Perlmutter, Head of the Tax Department at Barnea was interviewed by Globes and noted that during the period in which the controversy arose, there was a difference between corporate tax (35%) and capital gains tax (25%) for companies. Today, when the tax rates are identical, there are no implications arising from the nature of the tax imposed on the taxpayer.

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November 9, 2016

Barnea & Co. Represents iTrader, an Online Forex Trading Company

Barnea represents iTrader, an online forex trading company, which is under investigation by the Israeli Securities Authority. Adv. Zohar Lande and Adv. Moran Bickel from the Litigation department were interviewed by The Marker and commented that they hope the investigation by the ISA, which focuses on the company's activities during the period in which it was entitled to act as a trading platform, will end soon.

Article from The Marker

Article from Calcalist

November 9, 2016

Voluntary Retirement Program

Following reports on the voluntary retirement programs that are promoted by the Israel’s largest banks, our Head of the Employment Department at Barnea was interviewed by Globes. She commented that a successful voluntary retirement program is one which creates a situation where the employer offers retirement to certain workers, without harming the functioning of the organization, which often relies on the knowledge and experience of the veterans.

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November 8, 2016

Barnea & Co. Represented Hadad Brothers

Our firm represented Hadad Brothers, Worldwide Judaica Artists, in a claim by a service provider with an independent business, that after 17 years of engagement argued for a recognition of an employee-employer relationship and filed a claim for various social benefits in the sum of 1.5 Million NIS. After 2.5 years of legal proceedings, the court this week denied the claim in full.

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