Author: Karel Frielink

Applications to be filed with the Central Bank The National Ordinance on the Supervision of Investment Institutions and Administrators 2002 (‘Landsverordening toezicht beleggingsinstellingen en administrateurs’, the “NOSIIA”) prescribes a license for all Investment Institutions, unless: (i) the participation rights therein are not offered, nor are monies or other goods for participation therein requested or obtained,… Continue reading LICENSE REQUIREMENT FOR INVESTMENT INSTITUTIONS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

Microsoft’s success created a forbidden dominant position According to Mrs. Neelie Kroes, the European Union competition commissioner, Microsoft is abusing its dominant position because is is failing to comply with a three-year-old anti-trust ruling that it deliberately makes its Windows (now Vista) operating system incompatible with rival companies’ servers used to print and share files.… Continue reading MICROSOFT’S FATE: OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE LEADS TO PUNISHMENT

Curacao is ranked #1 According to the 2007 Global Custodian Hedge Fund Administration Survey, Curacao (Dutch Caribbean) is the # 1 location for hedge fund administration services. Curacao outperformed Singapore, Dublin, Toronto, Hong Kong, Luxembourg, Amsterdam and the Cayman Islands, to name just a few. Curacao is known for its excellent legal and tax infrastructure, high quality… Continue reading CURACAO RECEIVES TOP RANKING IN GLOBAL CUSTODIAN HEDGE FUND ADMINISTRATION SURVEY

Certain rulings are available Quite often a Netherlands Antilles NV or BV (Special Purpose Vehicle or SPV) is used for securitization purposes. The Netherlands Antilles corporate taxation will depend on the kind of vehicle used for SPV. Please note that the below only applies if the SPV is a resident of the Netherlands Antilles for Netherlands… Continue reading DUTCH CARIBBEAN TAXATION OF SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLES

Freedom of expression The Antilliaanse Televisie Maatschappij N.V., a Curacao-based television broadcasting company, holds a license under the Television Act (‘Televisielandsverordening’). Its subsidiary TDS N.V. (“TDS”) holds a license for the operation of a cable TV network on Curacao. Curacao Cable Television N.V. (“CCT”) has contested the exclusive rights of TDS. CCT has claimed that… Continue reading TELEVISION LAW IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

The Netherlands Antilles fully cooperates with the OECD There are still government officials and others in several countries who believe that the Netherlands Antilles (Curacao) is a tax-haven. They are so wrong!! Already on December 29, 1999, the Parliament of the Netherlands Antilles approved three tax bills, together known as the New Fiscal Framework (“NFF”).… Continue reading THE NETHERLANDS ANTILLES IS NOT A TAX-HAVEN

BusinessWeek Debate BusinessWeek asked two journalists about their position on the following issue (click here): “Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and other networking Web sites that young people find so appealing are weak substitutes for making and cementing real business relationships in person. Pro or con?” According to Jenna Goudreau, a BusinessWeek reporter, social-networking sites prove more… Continue reading SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES: BLAH, BLAH, BLAH?

It should be mandatory for government-held companies Limited liability companies, like the Netherlands Antilles NV or BV, may have a board of supervisory directors. The main task of such a board is to supervise the board of managing directors. According to the law of the Netherlands Antilles there are two different kinds of board of… Continue reading THE INDEPENDENT BOARD OF SUPERVISORY DIRECTORS IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

Notification may be an issue Under Netherlands Antilles law receivables can be transferred unless a statutory or contractual provision or the nature of the receivable restricts or prohibits its transfer. Transfer of legal title to a receivable under Netherlands Antilles law requires: (i) a written instrument evidencing the assignments (‘cessieakte’); and (ii) notification to the… Continue reading THE TRANSFER OF RECEIVABLES UNDER THE LAWS OF THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

Certain criteria will have to be met A limited liability company (‘besloten vennootschap’; ‘BV’) is subject to Netherlands Antilles corporate income tax as any other taxable entity against the normal statutory corporate income tax rates (30%, including 15% Island Surcharges a total of 34.5% on Curaçao) and can obtain certain tax rulings. However, under certain… Continue reading THE TAX-EXEMPT LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN

The Netherlands Antilles are an attractive jurisdiction Netherlands Antilles (a.k.a. Dutch Caribbean) special purpose vehicles (“SPVs”) are commonly used in both cross–border financing transactions as well as in Netherlands Antilles domestic financing transactions. As regards cross–border transactions, (synthetic and cash) securitizations, repackagings, collateralized debt obligations (“CDOs”) and collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”) and leasing transactions, MTN… Continue reading SECURITIZATION IN THE DUTCH CARIBBEAN