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October 29, 2015
EU Court invalidates Safe Harbor Arrangement – repercussions for Israel
Recently, an official announcement was issued on behalf of the Law, Information and Technology Authority of the Israeli Ministry of Justice ("ILITA"), as a result of the ruling of the European Union’s Court of Justice invalidating the Safe Harbor Arrangement governing transfers of personal information from Europe to the United States – at this stage, the transfer of personal information from Israel to organizations in the United States on the basis of that arrangement is prohibited.
October 25, 2015
New Securities Regulations – Reporting Negotiations and Delaying Reporting
As part of its endeavor to streamline public reporting and ease some of the regulatory burden imposed on publicly listed companies, the Israeli Securities Authority (ISA) this week introduced an amendment to the Securities Regulations governing periodic and immediate reports. The amendment deals with a number of issues, including reporting on agreement negotiations and the companies’ right to delay public reporting.
October 12, 2015
Barnea Represents AFI Group
We represent the AFI Group in a EUR 50 million transaction involving the construction of two office buildings in Romania.
October 8, 2015
Casino in Israel?
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has instructed the Transport Minister and the Tourism Minister, to evaluate the possibility and ramifications of establishing a brick and mortar casino in Eilat, one of Israel's main touristic destinations. The review will look into, inter alia, the economic potential of establishing such a casino, the impact it would have on Eilat and the potential social risks involved.
October 6, 2015
Barnea Represents Bruker Nano
Barnea represented Bruker Nano, an American company traded on Nasdaq, in its USD 53 million acquisition of Jordan Valley Semiconductors. The acquisition positions Bruker to offer innovative solutions to complex challenges in nanotechnology research and semiconductor metrology. Adv. Simon Jaffa and Adv. Daniel Lorber advised the client on the transaction.
October 6, 2015
Israel's New R&D Law
On July 29, 2015, the Knesset passed an amendment to the Encouragement of Industrial Research and Development Law. In Globes, Adv. Micky Barnea discusses the benefits of the amended law. Micky advises companies of all sizes across a range of industries, as well as venture capital funds, entrepreneurs, and Israeli and international investors in the technology and life sciences sectors.
September 29, 2015
Supreme Court: A Foreign Company Can Be Liquidated in Israel
In a precedent-setting ruling, the Supreme Court held that a foreign company can be liquidated in Israel. Commenting on the decision, Adv. Zohar Lande said: “The Supreme Court has extended the existing boundaries of the application of Israeli liquidation law to foreign companies.”
September 28, 2015
Israel Opens New Casino Inquiry with Netanyahu Backing
Following Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s statement about the possibility of opening Israel’s first casino, Gambling Compliance interviewed our firm. Our Internet Department believes the initiative has a greater chance of success this time, as economic conditions in Israel and globally have prompted the government to seek additional sources of revenue, which a casino could provide.
September 8, 2015
Lishtot Wins Startup Open Israel Competition
Lishtot, an Israeli startup that has developed technology to detect water contamination in just two seconds, won the “Startup Open” competition. Its technology helps reduce the risks associated with drinking contaminated water. The event was held at Hansen House in Jerusalem. For the second consecutive year, Barnea was involved in the competition from the outset, alongside the Jerusalem Development Authority, JNext, the Jerusalem Municipality, the Prime Minister’s Office, the MIT Enterprise Forum of Israel, and other partners.
September 7, 2015
Israel Tax Authority extends voluntary disclosure program
As expected, the Israeli Tax Authority has decided to extend the temporary order regarding anonymous Voluntary Disclosure.
The Israeli Tax Authority announced that the temporary order regarding voluntary disclosure, which was supposed to expire on September 6, 2015, has been extended.
The temporary order was published a year ago and was limited to one year. The regular procedure has been restricted until 31/12/2016.
In total, last year 3290 requests were submitted, about 60% of them anonymous. In light of this success, it was decided to extend the duration of the temporary order.
Additional information regarding the dates will be announced later.
September 7, 2015
Barnea Represents Tonstate Group
Tonstate Group, a UK real estate investment company, is suing PBC Group and its partners for GBP 88.5 million (approximately ILS 500 million) in the UK courts. Tonstate is represented by UK law firm Rosling King, with assistance from Adv. Zohar Lande of Barnea.
September 7, 2015
Lexology Navigator – Employment & Labour
Our firm was selected to author the Israeli chapter of “Lexology Navigator - Employment Labour,” which provides an overview of Israel’s employment market and regulatory framework. Lexology is an online service offering free practical legal insights to in-house legal departments and law firms. It has become a leading source of legal news, updates, and analysis for more than 242,000 lawyers worldwide.
September 2, 2015
New Business in Ancient Lands
Adv. Simon Jaffa, an MA expert with extensive experience in cross-border transactions, was interviewed for the August edition of the China Business Law Journal for an article on China’s interests in the Middle East. The journal selected Simon to provide the Israeli perspective in recognition of his standing in Israel’s MA field. To read the full article, click here (p.109).
August 30, 2015
New ITA circular, Aug 2015
On August 16, 2015, the Israel Tax Authority published a new circular (number 8/2015), which is effective immediately. The circular presents the new material requisite tests and criteria for recognizing an organization as a ‘public institution’ pursuant to section 46 of the Israeli Income Tax Ordinance. Certification issued to an organization pursuant to section 46 of the Income Tax Ordinance confers a tax benefit, by way of tax credits to donors in respect of donations they grant to that organization, at a rate of 35% for an individual donor and 26.5% for a corporate donor (according to the corporate tax rate).
August 20, 2015
Which Employees Are Entitled to a Day Off, When Can They Take It, and Who Must Work?
Adv. Marie Tsion, head of our Employment Department, was interviewed by Globes.
August 19, 2015
How the JOBS Act Changed the Rules of the IPO Game
A few weeks ago, a new law came into effect in the United States that made significant changes to how small companies can raise money.
The Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (better known by its nickname, the “JOBS Act”) aims to ease the process for startups to seek investments, with a potentially dramatic effect.
Now, two years after the JOBS Act became law, we can look back and see just what effect these changes have had on the process of taking startups through initial public offerings (IPOs), and how this affects Israeli startups.
August 19, 2015
Barnea Represents Kibbutz Shefayim
Yesterday, Kibbutz Shefayim applied to the Tel Aviv District Court to have its former treasurer, Yehuda Doron, declared bankrupt if he fails to pay ILS 14.6 million within one week. This sum represents most of the money Doron was convicted of stealing.
August 18, 2015
Updates about legislative amendments relating to construction licenses and permits
Amendment 101 to the Building and Planning Law was promulgated in April 2015. The amendment concerns a transfer and expansion of authorities to the local committees and sweeping amendments designed to shorten, streamline and simplify construction licensing.
August 17, 2015
New R&D Law – More Flexibility in Supporting Technological Innovation
On July 29, 2015 the Knesset passed the 7th Amendment to the Encouragement of Research and Development in the Industry Law. The purpose of the amendment is to allow the State of Israel to effectively and efficiently continue its support of the various companies which promote technological innovation and address the current challenges this industry faces in light of the importance of the high tech industry to the Israeli economy.
August 11, 2015
Israeli Home Sales Reach All-Time Monthly Record
The Ministry of Finance has published data showing a 42% surge in apartment purchases in June, reaching a record 16,100. The surge was driven by investors rushing to buy before the new purchase tax took effect. Adv. Maya Zisser Ben Tal, a partner in the Real Estate Department, was interviewed by leading publications and websites, including Globes, Calcalist, Ynet, and Bizportal. She expressed doubts about whether the new tax would ultimately bring down housing prices.