Can paraphrase my sentences in my assignment? 1. Intellectual property protection : Legal safeguards for creative works
Question:
Can paraphrase my sentences in my assignment?
1. Intellectual property protection:
Legal safeguards for creative works including inventions, designs, logos, and brand names include intellectual property. Businesses can register their company name and logo with the appropriate government agency as trademarks to prevent unauthorized use of their intellectual property. To safeguard its intellectual property, "Gorgeous & Glam PTE Limited", for instance, has registered the " TINSAL PTE LIMITED " emblem and the "product" brand name as trademarks with the Fiji Patent and Trademark Office.
- Trademarks - Fiji'sTrade Marks Actis established on British trademark legislation passed nearly a century ago. It is acknowledged as unsettled for amendment. The Act offers for independent registration of goods marks (but not service marks) in Fiji or registration (generally speaking) as of right based on United Kingdom registrations. Goods are categorized according to theold British classesrather than the generally accepted international classes. A writtenAuthorization of Agent form, in original, must accompany every application. Clients can save time by downloading, editing, and signing the form (an original signed hard copy is required) at the same time as sending directives.
- Patents - The Patents Act dates back to the early 20th century and offers for either independent or UK-based applications. All independent applications are sent to Australia for examination and are expected to take at least four years to be registered. In practice, UK-based applications, which have been imperiled to the British examination process, proceed more quickly. There has been a modification to section 3 of the Patent Act (by Act No. 21/2002) which permits the manufacture of patented pharmaceuticals for approved research purposes.
- Design - Designs, as such, are not registrable in Fiji. Fiji'sUnited Kingdom Designs(Protection) Actoffers that any design registered in the United Kingdom enjoys the same honors and privileges in Fiji. However, costs for breach of copyright in a design may not be mended if the offender's evidence shows that they were not mindful of the registration and had no judicious means of making themselves responsive to it.
- Copyrights -TheCopyright Act 1999emanated into effect on 1 July 2000. This Act is established on UK, Australian, and New Zealand legislation and presents a comprehensive scheme for guarding copyright and related rights. Significantly, the Act extends copyright protection to industrial designs. The Act represents a long-overdue modernization of Fiji's intellectual property law. Its full enforcement will, however, depend on the Government's ability to commit resources to its implementation, as well as the capacity of officials to enforce its terms.
2. Business Structure of the Partnership:
By registering the company with the right government departments, businesses may make sure that their partnership is set up legally and properly. This entails obtaining the requisite licenses and permits and submitting the required documents to the regional and/or national governments. As an illustration, a business in the US might have to register with the state, submit articles of incorporation to the Secretary of State, or apply for and receive an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the Internal Revenue Service.
3. Tax Compliance:
Businesses must make sure they are correctly registered with the IRS and adhere to all applicable tax laws. This includes submitting the required paperwork to the appropriate government entities, such as tax returns. For instance, a fiscal year-end for all taxpayers is 31st December, and alternative tax year ends can be applied under certain circumstances.
- Tax rate individual
Individuals are liable to personal income tax - FRCS determines an individual to be a resident if an individual is residing in Fiji, is domiciled unless the individual has a permanent place of abode outside Fiji or is present in Fiji for a period over 183 days in any twelve-month period; or is an employee of a government posted abroad.
- Personal Income of Resident
The annual income earned below $30,000 will no longer incur income tax. However, non-residents do not receive any tax exemptions.
iii Social Responsibility Tax (SRT) and Environmental Levy (ECAL)
As of 1st August 202, SRT and ECAL apply to income over $270,000 at a rate of 18% increasing to 24% (previously 23% and 29%) for incomes over $1m.
iv Schedule of Present Tax Rates
A full schedule of individual tax rates for residents and non-residents can be provided on
request
.
v Tax Rates: Companies
The rate of income tax on the assessable income of a resident company and a branch of a non-resident company carrying on business in Fiji is 20%. The corporate tax rate for those companies listed in South Pacific Stock Exchange (SPSE) is 10%. A foreign company that establishes/relocates its Headquarters to Fiji will be subject to a low corporate tax rate of 17% 150% tax deduction will be available for capital expenditure incurred for the set-up of the HQ relocation to Fiji.
vi Dividend Withholding Tax
All dividend income is now exempt from taxation. Any scheming around payment or crediting of dividends to avoid or evade taxation will create a taxation offense and be punishable by a severe fine or prosecution
vii Interest Withholding Tax
Interest payable to a non-resident is subject to a 10% interest withholding tax. However, there are certain exemptions from this tax, including interest on any promissory note payable to the supplier of goods in respect of goods imported into Fiji
.
viii Resident Interest Withholding Final Tax
A withholding tax of 10%known as resident interest withholding tax shall be paid in respect of any interest which accrues to or in favor of a resident. If the debtor of any such interest is a financial institution.
ix Non Resident Interest Withholding Tax
A withholding tax of 10% known as non-resident interest withholding tax will apply to any interest accrued in favor of
1 Any non-resident, other than company
2 The estate of a deceased person who was at the date of his death, a non-resident; or
3 A company not resident in Fiji.
x Royalty Withholding Tax
A withholding tax of 15% known as Royalty Withholding Tax shall be paid in respect of any
royalty paid as defined in the income tax act.
xi Valued Added Tax (VAT)
All businesses with a turnover of $100,000 or more are required to register for vat and lodge return on a yearly basis provided the gross turnover does not exceed $300,000. However, should gross turnover exceed $300,000 then VAT is to be accounted for on a monthly basis. Any person whose gross turnover is less than $100,000 can still apply to register for VAT voluntary. VAT is levied on all goods and services at the rate of 9% and is effectively borne by the consumer. VAT is zero rated for certain items including exports and sale of a business as a going concern certain items are exempt from VAT including financial services.
xii Service Turnover Tax (STT)
As of 1st August 2020 STT on all prescribed services, previously 6% is now removed.
xiii Environment and Climate Adaptation Levy (ECAL)
As of 1st August 2020, the threshold for the Environment and Climate Adaptation Levy (ECAL) has been increased from $1.25m to $3m. The rate of tax is reduced to 5% previously 10%).
xiv Capital Gains Tax (CGT)
Capital Gains Tax was introduced in 2011 and the current tax rate is 10%. CGT covers the sale ofsuch assets as but not limited to; land, property (excluding personal home), shares, and other assets listed in the legislation. People who are deemed to be in the suggestion to use either trade or business of buying and selling of such properties are charged income tax at prescribed tax rates and do not attract CGT.
xv Fringe Benefits Tax (FBT)
As of 2012 employers are responsible for declaring and paying FBT on a quarterly basis at the rate of 20% on the following employee benefits; housing, motor vehicle, subsidized loans, travel, and other personal benefit health insurance benefits provided to local employees (Fiji citizen) are exempt from Fringe Benefits Tax.
xvi Provisional Taxes (PT)
Contractors Provisional Tax is deducted at the rate of 5%and applies n certain professional services, know-how payments, payment for management, supervision, or supply similar services. Provisional Tax will not be deducted by the payer if the Certificates of Exemption (COE) is presented. The COE provision is particularly available to taxpayers who are engaged in the contract for service.
4. Data protection:
To guarantee that personal data is processed and maintained in a secure manner, businesses must maintain compliance with applicable data protection legislation, such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). This entails putting in place suitable security measures to safeguard personal information and educating clients about their rights and the usage of their data. For instance, a business must guarantee that any customer information is stored securely and that clients are informed of their rights to access, amend, or delete their information.Some of the main types of data organizations aim to protect include:
- Email addresses
- Phone numbers
- Names
- Medical information
- Bank and credit card details
- Home addresses
5. Leave and Pay Regulation
5.1Normal Working Hours
The regular working hours shall not exceed 48 hours (exclusive of overtime) in a week and the daily working hours shall not exceed 8 hours per day for a 5-day workweek and 9 hours for a 6-day workweek.
In case, the weekly working hours are fixed by the employment contract at 45 hours (exclusive of overtime), in such a scenario also the daily working hours shall be fixed between the employer and employee, such that those hours are worked on not more than 5 days of the week.
Employees working in managerial or executive positions or certain employees employed by reason of special qualifications, experience, etc are not subject to the above-mentioned working hours limitation. Employment Relations Act of 2007 (amended as of 2020), 72, and Employment Relations (Administrative) Regulations of 2008 Reg. 50.
5.2 Recording Requirements
An employer shall maintain a record comprising of names, the dates of commencement and termination of employment, the hours between which an employee is employed each day and the days of employment in each week, leave entitlements, dates on which annual and public holidays were taken and the amount paid to an employee in respect of the paid holidays.
An employer shall maintain such wages and time records for a period of at least 6 years.Employment Relations Act of 2007 (amended as of 2020), 45 and Employment Relations (Administrative) Regulations of 2008 Reg. 17.
Overtime
Any work performed beyond 8 hours per day for a 6-day workweek or 9 hours per day for a 5-day workweek or beyond 48 hours and 45 hours respectively per week is considered overtime.Employment Relations Act of 2007 (amended as of 2020), 72.
Pay- The pay structure for overtime work varies from industry to industry and it is determined by the wage council under the Employment Relations Promulgation 2007. There is no general overtime pay structure that is subjected to all industries. Below is the overtime pay structures listed.
Overtime Pay Structure for various Industries -
- Mining and Quarrying Industry - 1.5 times for the first 4 hours worked overtime. 2 times for overtime work more than 4 hours.
- Wholesale and Retail Trade - 1.5 times the normal hourly rate of pay for the first 2 hours and thereafter at 2 times the normal hourly rate of pay.
- Manufacturing Industry - 1.5 times for the first 4 hours worked in overtime. 2 times for overtime work more than 4 hours.
- Hotel and Catering Trades - 1.5 times for the first 4 hours worked overtime. 2 times for overtime work more than 4 hours.
- Building & Civil & Electrical Engineering Trades - 1.5 times for work on weekdays including Saturday. For work, post-midnight employees shall be paid 2 times the hourly rate of pay.
- Garment Industry - on any working day or some Saturday employees shall be paid 1.5 times the normal hourly rate of pay for the first 4 hours and thereafter 2 times the normal hourly rate of pay.
- Sawmilling and Logging Industry - 1.5 times for the first 3 hours worked overtime. 2 times for overtime work more than 3 hours.
- Security Services - 1.5 times for the first 4 hours worked overtime. 2 times for overtime work more than 4 hours.
- Road Transport Wages - 1.5 times for the first 4 hours worked overtime. 2 times for overtime work more than 4 hours.
- Printing Trades - 1.5 times for the first 4 hours worked overtime. 2 times for overtime work more than 4 hours.
5.3 Work On Rest Days
There is no general provision for weekly rest in the labor legislation. The provisions are separately defined by wage orders of various industries. Most commonly, an employee who works for 5 days in a week is entitled to 2 days of rest, and employees with a 6-day work week are entitled to 1 day of rest each week.
Also, when a rest day falls on a public holiday, employees receive an alternate day off. This is followed across various industries.
Overtime on a weekly rest day- Overtime rate varies across various industries as per the specific wage orders of respective industries. Refer to thislinkfor the wage order for various industries.
5.4 Public Holidays
Employees are entitled to the following 11 public holidays for 2023:
- New Year's Day - January 1
- Good Friday - April 7
- Easter Saturday - April 8
- Easter Monday - April 10
- Grimmit Day - 15 May
- Ratu Sukuna Day - May 29
- Prophet's Mohammed's Birthday - October 2
- Fiji Day - October 10
- Diwali - November 13
- Christmas Day - December 25 and
- Boxing Day - December 26
The above list of holidays can, however, be modified by the Minister following the prime minister's approval.
Days to be celebrated as Public Holidays:
- If Christmas Day, Diwali or Prophet Mohammed's Birthday falls on a Saturday or Sunday, in such case the following Monday shall be considered a public holiday.
- If Boxing Day falls on a Saturday, the following day must be observed as a public holiday.
- If Boxing Day falls on a Sunday or Monday, the following Tuesday must be observed as a public holiday.
- If Boxing Day falls on a Monday which is already a public holiday, the following Tuesday must be observed as a public holiday.
- If New Year's Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, the following Monday shall be observed as a public holiday.
- If the date set for a public holiday falls on another day other than Monday, in such case the government authority may approve that such public holiday is celebrated on another day.
NOTE - The government authority may declare a day or part of a day as a special holiday in all workplaces.
Pay- An employee who has worked the last working day immediately preceding the public holiday and is present for work on the first working day after the public holiday shall pay his/her regular wages for a public holiday. The exception is allowed only in cases where the employee has been absent from work due to sickness or any other reason acceptable by the employer.
An employee who works on a public holiday (exclusive of overtime) shall be paid double the rate of regular wages.
Overtime on a public holiday- If an employee works overtime hours on a public holiday he/she shall be entitled to additional remuneration for such work based on the wage order of the industries the employee is employed in. The overtime pay in this regard varies from industry to industry. For more details on the overtime pay on a public holiday please refer to thelink. Employment Relations Act of 2007 (amended as of 2020), 64 - 67, and Employment Relations (Administrative) Regulations of 2008 Reg. 42.
5.5 Annual Leave
An employee is entitled to annual vacation for a period of 10 working days after each year of employment with an employer. However, an employee shall not be entitled to annual vacation who has been absent from work for a period of 20 working days during that year, except where the absence was due to sickness or any period of absence from work was allowed (acceptable) by the employer.
An employer shall allow employees to take annual leave in an unbroken period, however, if the employee so requests, the period of annual vacation can be taken in 2 or more periods, one of which must be a continuous period of one week.An employee is entitled to all annual holidays but he/she can be paid in lieu of holidays.
An employer and employee may enter into an agreement that the paid annual holiday can be deferred and accumulated over a period not exceeding a duration of 4 years, provided that one week of the holiday must be taken after the completion of each year of service.
Pay- An employee is entitled to his/her regular pay which would have been received by them if they were not absent from work. Employees shall be paid for the annual holiday in advance of or on the payday immediately preceding the holiday.
5.6 Termination of employment
An employee whose employment is terminated -
- After a period exceeding one month and less than one year after the commencement of employment; or
- After a period of employment following the completion of a year in respect of which paid annual holiday has been taken.
The employer must on or before the date of termination of employment pay to the employee a sum equal to not less than 5/6th of a day's wages for each completed month of the period of employment.Employment Relations Act of 2007 (amended as of 2020), 58 - 63.
Minimum Wage
Effective October 1, 2022, the minimum wage in Fiji is $4.00 per hour. Employment Relations (National Minimum Wage) Regulations 2015, Reg. 4,
5.7 Special Leave
Sick Leave
An employee who has been in continuous employment with the same employer for a period of more than 3 months and who is incapable of working due to sickness or injury is entitled to not less than 10 working days of paid sick leave for each year of service.
Eligibility- To be entitled to sick leave an employee must inform his/her employer of absence from work and the reason related to it and if requested by the employer shall provide a medical certificate specifying the employee's capacity to work.
An employee cannot accumulate sick leave and any unused sick leave for each year automatically lapses in the next year. Employment Relations Act of 2007 (amended as of 2020), 68.
Maternity Leave
A female employee who has been employed for a period of at least 150 days during the period of 9 months before the expected date of delivery of the child is entitled to paid maternity leave for a period of 98 consecutive days on providing a medical certificate to her employer specifying the expected date of delivery.
An employee can avail of maternity leave at any time before or after delivery on the condition that if she continues to work during the time before the delivery period, she shall provide a medical certificate certifying that she is fit to work during that period. In case, a female employee is absent from work for a period of more than 98 consecutive days, in such a scenario she is not entitled to wages for days in excess of 98 days.
In case a female employee dies before the expected birth or after the day of the birth of the child before receiving any wages to which she may be entitled, in such case the employer or any of her employers shall be liable to pay such wages to the nominee.
Pay- Employee is entitled to full regular pay for her first 3 births and half her regular pay for 4th and subsequent births. Employment Relations Act of 2007 (amended as of 2020), 101 - 103.
Paternity Leave
A male employee is entitled to 5 days of paid paternity leave if his partner (spouse or de facto partner) is entitled to maternity leave or would have been entitled to such leave if she were employed. An employee is entitled to paternity leave subject to the below conditions:
- The employee has completed more than 3 months of continuous service with the same employer;
- The employee is or is to be a primary caregiver for his child; and
- The employee provides a medical certificate specifying the expected date of the birth of his child.
The paternity leave can be availed at any time during the 3 months period before and after the birth of the child. The leave can be taken either in a lump sum or in shorter periods, as may be agreed between the employer and employee but the total amount of leave-in aggregate shall not be less than 5 days.
Pay- An employee is entitled to full regular pay for the first 3 births and half of his regular pay for the 4th and subsequent births. Employment Relations Act of 2007 (amended as of 2020), 101A.
Personal Leave
An employee who has been in continuous employment with the same employer for a period of more than 3 months and intends to provide care or support to a member of his/her immediate family is entitled to paid leave for a duration of 5 working days. The leave cannot be accumulated and any unused leave shall lapse in the following year. Employment Relations Act of 2007 (amended as of 2020), 68A.
Bereavement Leave
An employee who has been in continuous employment with the same employer for a period of more than 3 months is entitled to paid leave for a duration of 3 days in addition to any other leave entitlement. The leave cannot be accumulated and any unused leave shall lapse in the following year. Employment Relations Act of 2007 (amended as of 2020), 69, and Employment Relations (Administrative) Regulations of 2008 Reg. 43.
Accounting concepts and applications
ISBN: 978-0538745482
11th Edition
Authors: Albrecht Stice, Stice Swain