In December 2019 Parliament passed a package of environmental bills geared towards developing, reinforcing and strengthening the laws which promote and support the management, protection, enhancement and proper use of the Bahamian environment. This article provides an overview of the Environmental Planning and Protection Act and the Environmental Impact Assessment Regulations.

The government recently announced that the Virtual Asset (Service Providers) Law 2020 will commence in phases, with phase one commencing on 31 October 2020. Phase one will focus on anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism compliance, supervision and enforcement. Phase two, which is expected to begin in June 2021, will bring into force the licensing and virtual asset issuance approval process.

In the current economic environment, directors will be fully focused on avoiding any breach of their fiduciary duties, particularly if they are directors of companies experiencing or at risk of financial distress. This article provides a general overview of the duties of directors of Jersey companies in these circumstances.

Individuals who are not US citizens and are not domiciled in the United States for transfer tax purposes (non-resident aliens) are subject to US gift tax only on gifts of real property and tangible personal property located in the United States. On death, a significantly broader list of property is subject to US estate tax. Advisers to families with international investments should familiarise themselves with the basic US situs rules and options for owning US-situs assets that may shelter them from gift and estate tax.