The Legal 500

Legal Developments in Finland

• The Tax Man Cometh: Finland's Latest Tax Package Has New Restrictions - and a Few Incentives

  This is an important year in Finland on the taxation front. New rules restrict interest deductions and increase the transfer tax related to the sale of shares in housing and real estate. Additionally, two tax incentives support research and development activities, as well as innovation and growth.
  - Krogerus

• Finnish Government Proposes Housing All IPR Cases in Market Court

  The Finnish Government proposes that suits related to intellectual property rights ("IPR") be in future heard exclusively by the Market Court. Bill 124/2012, submitted to the Parliament on 4 October and currently debated in the Law Committee, contains proposals on new acts on the Market Court and on proceedings before the Market Court as well as amendments to various existing statutes.
  - Krogerus

• Construction 2013

  Are all members of consortia jointly liable for the entire project or may they allocate liability and responsibility among them?
  - Mäkitalo Rantanen & Co Ltd

• The European Commission proposes stringent rules for high-frequency traders

  The European Commission has recently introduced two important regulatory packages that seek to respond to the challenges posed by rapidly developing trading technologies, particularly so-called high frequency trading. If the new regulations are adopted as drafted, considerable changes are in store for both those entities that engage in high frequency trading and the trading venues providing them access to the market.
  - Krogerus

• Implications of competition law on information exchange - New book published in Finland

  Lotta Uusitalo, Anne Petäjäniemi-Björklund and Leea Salminen, Attorneys at Law of Procopé & Hornborg, have written a book on the implications of competition law on information exchange.
  - Procopé & Hornborg

• New Waste Act to enter into force on May 1, 2012 in Finland

  The EC waste directive (2008/98/EC) will be implemented in Finland by the new Finnish Waste Act, which will enter into force on May 1, 2012.
  - Procopé & Hornborg

• Construction 2012

  Introduction Robert S Peckar Peckar & Abramson, PC 3
  - Mäkitalo Rantanen & Co Ltd

• Use of Legal Tools in Creating an Open Source Project or Business Model

  Written by Martin von Willebrand
  - HH Partners, Attorneys-at-Law, Ltd

• Court ruling on the Finnish CFC legislation

  The Finnish CFC legislation implies that a Finnish company may be subject to income tax for its share of the profit of a CFC regardless of whether these profits are distributed by the CFC to its shareholders or not. A CFC is defined as a foreign corporation owned and controlled by a Finnish tax resident that pays income tax in its domicile at a rate less than 60% of the Finnish corporate income tax rate.
  - Attorneys at law Borenius Ltd

• Cross-border merger case to ECJ

  The Finnish Supreme Administrative Court decided on 7 March 2011 (KHO 2011:21) to request for a preliminary ruling from the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) concerning the question whether a Finnish parent company may deduct the final tax losses of its Swedish subsidiary after a cross-border merger.
  - Attorneys at law Borenius Ltd