On 29 May 2023, Texas’s H.B. 4, also known as the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act, passed in the Texas legislature. The Texas Data Privacy and Security Act joins the growing number of states that have passed or enacted legislation in 2023, including Iowa, Indiana, Tennessee and Montana, and more are expected in the coming months.
Baker McKenzie’s Sanctions Blog published the alert titled Canada Enacts Sanctions Against Moldova on 2 June 2023. Read the article via the link here. Please also visit our Sanctions Blog for the most recent updates.
On 27 May 2023 the Canada Border Services Agency introduced amendments to the Valuation for Duty Regulations, which will alter existing Canadian customs valuation rules. The Amendments intend to clarify the “sale” used to establish the value for duty under the transaction value method for all goods imported into Canada. Effectively, the Amendments propose a “last sale” approach to customs valuation, which has the potential to increase the declared value for duty of imported goods, directly increasing duties and taxes owing, and indirectly increasing the cost of doing business in Canada.
On 11 May 2023, GCI Communications Corp. (GCI) agreed to pay more than USD 40 million to the US government to settle allegations that it submitted false claims to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) by knowingly inflating its prices in a competitive bidding program regulated by the FCC. The investigation began when a former GCI employee, Robert Taylor, filed a qui tam action against the company under the False Claims Act (FCA) after it allegedly falsely claimed and received funds from the FCC’s Rural Health Care Program. This settlement signals the DOJ’s intent to partner with other government agencies, in this case the FCC, in using the False Claims Act to combat fraud by organizations that service health care providers. It is also one of the DOJ’s largest settlements of allegations under the FCA in 2023.
Released 12 May 2023, Notice 2023-38 provides interim guidance on the “domestic content” bonus tax credit amounts available for facilities that generate electricity from renewable resources (e.g., wind and solar facilities) and certain energy storage property. The “domestic content” bonus incentivizes owners of green energy projects to utilize domestically-manufactured materials and components (including steel, iron, and “manufactured products”) by offering them an additional incentive in the form of an increased tax credit for doing so.
Baker McKenzie’s Sanctions Blog published the alert titled Canada Announces Additional Sanctions in Relation to Russia and Updates Guidance on Sanctions Evasion on 24 May 2023. Read the article via the link here. Please also visit our Sanctions Blog for the most recent updates.
Baker McKenzie’s Sanctions Blog published the alert titled US Government Imposes Significant Sanctions on Russia and Adds 71 Entities to the Entity List on 26 May 2023. Read the article via the link here. Please also visit our Sanctions Blog for the most recent updates.
Beginning 29 December 2023, the Modernization of Cosmetic Regulation Act of 2022, which was signed into law last year to establish a more strengthened US Food and Drug Administration regulatory framework to ensure the safety of cosmetic products, will begin to take effect. Like with cosmetic application, prepping for full coverage to comply with the new law is important.
On 18 May 2023, the Supreme Court sided with the IRS in a dispute that centered on the agency’s power to issue summons for bank account records without notice to the interested account holders. The court’s decision, however, is far from an unmitigated victory for the agency. In fact, the majority and concurring opinions reflect the court has significant reservations about the IRS’s use of no-notice summons, particularly in cases involving innocent third parties.
On 1 May 2023, Governor Eric Holcomb’s signed Indiana’s Consumer Data Protection Act into law, making Indiana the seventh US state to pass comprehensive consumer data privacy law — joining California, Iowa, Utah, Connecticut, Virginia, and Colorado (Tennessee has since enacted a consumer privacy statute; and Montana and Texas have passed laws that are currently awaiting their respective governors’ signatures). The Consumer Data Protection Act closely tracks prevailing trends in US state privacy legislation and in particular emulates the Virginia Consumer Data Protection Act, which came into force at the start of 2023. The new law will come into effect on 1 January 2026.