New course release – Diversity and Inclusion at Work: MyStory

Everyone has the right to be safe and respected at work. But this does not always happen. Following the release of our story-based harassment course, VinciWorks has released a new diversity course, Diversity and Inclusion at Work: MyStory. This training sheds light on stories of discrimination all too frequently experienced by people in the workplace.

MyStory raises awareness of the prevalence and impact of discrimination. It is designed to bring to life the real impact of equality and diversity through storytelling. The user is presented with a series of short, hard-hitting personal accounts of diversity-related discrimination at work.

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DAC6 compliance – Category C: Specific hallmarks relating to cross-border transactions – which transactions should you be aware of?

On 25 May 2018, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union (ECOFIN) adopted the 6th Directive on Administrative Cooperation (the “DAC6”), requiring so-called tax intermediaries to report certain cross-border arrangements that contain at least one of the hallmarks as defined in DAC6.

Within DAC6, there are five different hallmark categories that represent an indication that a transaction may have a potential risk of tax avoidance.

This blog will focus on the category B hallmarks which are classified as generic hallmarks, and may include one of the following:

1. Cross Border Payments – Deductible cross border payments in certain cases where one of the following occurs:

a. The recipient is not a tax resident in any jurisdiction.

b. The recipient is a tax resident in a jurisdiction with zero or near zero corporate tax rate.

c. The recipient is included in a list of third-country states considered non-cooperative by EU Member states or the OECD.

d. The payment has a full tax exemption in the jurisdiction of the resident.

e. The payment benefits from a preferential tax regime where the recipient is resident.

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DAC6 compliance – Category B: Specific hallmarks – which transactions should you be aware of?

On 25 May 2018, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union (ECOFIN) adopted the 6th Directive on Administrative Cooperation (the “DAC6”), requiring so-called tax intermediaries to report certain cross-border arrangements that contain at least one of the hallmarks as defined in DAC6.

Within DAC6, there are five different hallmark categories that represent an indication that a transaction may have a potential risk of tax avoidance.

This blog will focus on the category B hallmarks which are classified as generic hallmarks, and may include one of the following:

  1. Acquiring loss-making companies: Trading in loss-making companies to reduce tax liability.
  2. Income conversion: Conversion of income into lower-taxed revenue streams.
  3. Circular transactions: An artificial transaction between companies in a group, or under single control, the purpose of which is to inflate the turnover of one or more of the companies.
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On-demand Webinar: Diversity and inclusion — how to lead the way

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Wednesday 5 June, 12pm

Promoting diversity and inclusion in the workplace means more than simply updating policies or adding a new initiative. Effecting such change requires a continuous push to holistically improve the business culture. In this webinar, VinciWorks was recently joined by law firm Pinsent Mason’s Diversity & Inclusion specialist Kate Dodd. Kate and her team worked with VinciWorks to create groundbreaking diversity training and Kate’s team was instrumental in winning first place in LGBT charity Stonewall’s most inclusive places to work for 2019.

During the webinar, we looked at the initiatives implemented by Kate and her team and explored how organisations can apply them to their own workplace.

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DAC6 training and reporting tools

DAC6 training flowchart screenshot
The DAC6 interactive flowchart allows users to gain a clear understanding of which hallmarks and categories they are required to report on

The Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union (ECONFIN) adopted the 6th Directive on Administrative Cooperation (“DAC6”) requiring tax intermediaries to report certain cross border arrangements.

The new EU rules which aim to clamp down on aggressive tax planning are set to impose a huge compliance burden on taxpayers and their advisers, potentially even in circumstances where there is no tax benefit at all.

VinciWorks’ DAC6 course, DAC6: Fundamentals, will help all entities who may be considered tax intermediaries develop an understanding of DAC6. The course follows a flow-chart navigation and includes example scenarios to help users understand DAC6. VinciWorks also offers a DAC6 reporting tool to help intermediaries easily keep track of and report cross-border transactions.

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Harassment and discrimination whistleblowing portal – Provide seamless, anonymous reporting

In a survey carried out by VinciWorks, a staggering 50% of respondents said they weren’t confident their organisation would deal with a report of sexual harassment very seriously. And worse, 10% of respondents said that they had been shown sexually explicit or inappropriate content at work. The results of this survey and others evidence that in an environment where harassment is tolerated and complaints ignored, abuse will thrive. Sadly, a study by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission critically shows that 75% of victims don’t report abuse because they fear retaliation, whilst 75% of victims who did report abuse experienced retaliation.

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DAC6 compliance – Category A: Generic hallmarks – which transactions should you be aware of?

On 25 May 2018, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union (ECOFIN) adopted the 6th Directive on Administrative Cooperation (the “DAC6”), requiring so-called tax intermediaries to report certain cross-border arrangements that contain at least one of the hallmarks as defined in DAC6.

Within DAC6, there are five different hallmark categories that represent an indication that a transaction may have a potential risk of tax avoidance.

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On-demand webinar: GDPR – A Year in Review

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A year has passed since GDPR came into force. In our recent webinar, Director of Course Development Nick Henderson and Data Protection Officer Ruth Cohen looked at how businesses dealt with GDPR. Ruth gave guidance on how to make sure your organisation maintains compliance as the regulation enters its second year.

The webinar covered:

  • A review of the requirements under GDPR
  • How often should staff be trained on GDPR?
  • What measures should be taken to maintain compliance?
  • How to avoid data breaches and what to do in the event of a breach
  • Answering any GDPR questions from registrants

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Key takeaways

  • 19% of attendees said they are “very confident” the data they work with is sufficiently protected
  • 20% of our attendees are still unsure of what privacy by design and privacy by default mean
  • Organisations should run “fire-drill” like exercise to ensure they are equipped to deal with any data breach
  • Targeted GDPR training is recommended as it enables those in specific roles such as marketing, HR and IT to take the training most relevant to them
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Poland becomes first country to incorporate DAC6 into local legislation

Polish Parliament
Poland has brought DAC6 into national law well ahead of schedule, meaning some businesses will already have to comply with DAC6

On 25 May 2018, the Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union (ECOFIN) adopted the 6th Directive on Administrative Cooperation (the “DAC6”), requiring so-called tax intermediaries to report certain cross-border arrangements.

The deadline for each EU Member State to transpose the Directive into national law and legislation is 31 December 2019.

On 31 January 2019, Poland’s Finance Ministry (MOF) published a 102-page guidance document on the country’s new tax reporting requirements which apply retroactively from 1 January 2019, and these included the implementation of DAC6. This is earlier than the 1 July 2020 obligation as stipulated in DAC6, therefore anyone dealing with Polish transactions should ensure they have DAC6 reporting measures in place already.

Free download: DAC6 guide to compliance

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Upcoming webinar: DAC6 — Understanding tax disclosure requirements

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The Economic and Financial Affairs Council of the European Union (ECONFIN) has adopted the 6th Directive on Administrative Cooperation (“DAC6”), requiring tax intermediaries to report certain cross border arrangements. Under DAC6, intermediaries may be required to submit all cross-border transactions and backdate them when member states publicise their requirements.

In our upcoming webinar, Legal and Research Executive Ruth Cohen and Director of Best Practice Gary Yantin will help dissect the new regulation and give guidance on reporting and training requirements under DAC6.

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