Argentina topped our most read stories from the region last month, with changes to trust law and a succession ruling of most interest. In case you missed them, here are the top five:

Regulation of Argentine trusts under the new Civil and Commercial Code: On August 1, 2015, a new civil and commercial code (the ‘new Code’, Law No. 26.994) will become effective in Argentina which introduces new regulations in connection with trusts in Argentina. The new Code amends existing Argentinian trust law (Law No. 24,441, the “Trust Law”).

Argentine court hands down succession ruling; rules on applicable law: When deciding on the succession of Cesar Joaquin Porto (Porto, Cesar Joaquin s/Sucesion Ab Intestato) on May 10, 2015, Chamber H of the National Civil Appellate Court (hereinafter, the ‘Appellate Court’) ruled that if the assets of a deceased person were located in different countries, the succession regime applicable where those assets are located should be applied (i.e., the applicable succession law is that of the country where property is situated).

Chile: Tax authority issues circulars on tax evasion as part of reform: Chile’s tax authority (Sp: Servicio de Impuestos Internos, SII) has issued a number of circulars on tax evasion which will apply from September 30, 2015 – this is partly to implement the government’s tax reform. These include circular 51 (on the obligation of financial institutions to share information with the SII and other governmental authorities) and circular 55 (on the validity of the rules to combat tax evasion).

Executives of Panamanian Corporation and Aviation Company Arrested in Multi-Million-Dollar Money Laundering Sting: Michael J. Dodd, also known as ‘Michael Stanley,’  Kenneth Ardell Landgaard, and James Robert Shipman, Jr. were arrested today on charges that they conspired to launder over two million dollars of proceeds from what they thought to be a penny stock fraud scheme. The money was, in fact, provided to the defendants by an undercover law enforcement agent who posed as a criminal stock promoter as part of a sting operation.

Brazilian tax policy likely to increase taxes on financial institutions and high net worth individuals: Recent tax policy trends in Brazil are likely to increase taxes on financial institutions, dividends and high net worth individuals. First, a tax on the profits of firms in the financial sector is due to increase by a third, from 15% to 20%. This increase is scheduled to go into effect on 1 September 2015, and will likely affect the financial industry significantly. Second, high net worth individuals are also likely to be subject to higher taxes on their wealth. Specifically, there are discussions in the Brazilian Congress around targeting dividends, as well as proposals for a federal wealth tax.

The STEP Industry News Digests provide a round-up of relevant industry news for trust and estate practitioners and other professionals in the wealth management sector. They provide brief summaries of topical news stories gathered from news providers internationally, providing a quick reference for busy practitioners to all the relevant news and issues. The News Digests also feature job listings from our recruitment site and list local STEP branch events and conferences. STEP’s digest services include twice weekly UK and Wealth Structuring (international) editions as well as a bi-weekly North America Digest focusing on the US, Canada and Mexico, and a Latin America Digest.

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