Abstract The purpose of this thesis has been to investigate if the Swedish legislation concerning taxation of dividends to foreign investment funds is in violation to EU law. Furthermore, the thesis will analyze if the Fondskatteutredningens suggestions to changes in the current legislation is appropriate to the purpose it tries to obtain. Today there is a difference in the taxation of dividends paid to Swedish investment funds and foreign investment funds. Dividends paid to foreign investment funds is being taxed in accordance with the Coupon Tax Act (1970:624), in which no deduction of the tax is possible. Swedish investment funds on the other hand have the possibility to deduct as much of the received dividends that they have given in dividends to its shareholders. The difference in the taxation between investment funds because of origin has been reviewed by both Swedish court and by the European Court of Justice. It has in these cases been up to the courts to review if a difference in taxation of dividends could constitute a violation of the free movement. Even if a national legislation would be considered to be in violation of the free movement there are however developed justifying obstacles to the free movement. These obstacles are being analyzed in the thesis to see if the difference in the Swedish taxation can be justified. Within the EU the UCITS-directive regulates investment funds. Since the directive is being changed and will come in to force during 2011 the Fondskatteutredningen was presented in 2009 which presents suggestions to changes in the Swedish legislation concerning taxation of dividends to investment funds. These new changes may constitute that the Swedish legislation no longer will be in violation of EU law.

As trading through advertisements increases, for example via advertisement websites such as Blocket, trading and contracting between individuals also increases. The contract law is the applicable legislation when individuals are trading between one another, because of the fact that individuals are to be considered equal against each another, and no consumer protection provisions are applicable. The contract law is not compelling, and general principles of contract law are therefore frequently applied within the legal area of contract law. Consistent declarations of intent shall have been delivered from both parties for a binding agreement to have been concluded. The declaration of intent, for example tender and acceptance are examples of a will to legally act. Other than tender and acceptance, the declaration of intent is usually difficult to establish and determine. In the event of the commencement of a negotiation stage between the parties, the declarations of intent are not deemed to be binding, but rather binding in the sense of a moral attachment for the parties. To determine whether or not a binding agreement has been concluded between the parties, an interpretation is conducted with regard to either the underlying will of the declaration of intent, or the wording of the declaration of intent or to the receiver’s trust and interpretation of the will of the counterpart. Part may assert that the declaration of intent is invalid based either on incorrect assumptions, statement errors or one parties passivity. The deemed sanctions are either; invalid declaration of intent or damage, or a combination of both consequences. The decision to sentence damage depends on bad faith or disloyal behavior of one party.

The demand for a rapid response to constant business developments turns existing corporate legislations and Directives into an obstacle to innovation and progress. Company law’s need for continuously updated and flexible solutions can be accomplished with a model act. In 1950 the US presented its MBCA and there is currently a European working group involved in a voluntary and private project trying to develop a similar model for the EU. An EMCA should cooperate with the competition between Member States and their corporate legislation to further the practice of converging rules within EU company law. The working group needs to study the structure, comprehension, composition and general process of the MBCA project in detail and let the established US project have a greater influence on the EMCA. Concrete examples of what the EMCA group can change in their approach to the project are: 1 Procedure: Make the finished drafted chapters and proposed provisions available for the public. Add more steps to the model act’s development procedure and do not rush the publication and the consulting stages with interested parties. Furthermore, put one reporter in charge of the entire project and its development. 2 Committee: Appoint more corporate law practitioners and professors within closely related areas to corporate law, to members of the Group. Furthermore the “experts” of issues that might occur with the EMCA should be involved during the initial development of the provisions. 3 Material: Reinstate the original objective of initially only providing rules for public companies. Preferably present provisions for private companies in a distinct and separated form at a later stage. If the Working Group were to imitate several of the US procedures for the MBCA project, the EMCA might result in advantageous for the convergence of corporate law within the EU.

Every year approx. 110 billion SEK is being used In Sweden to finance research. The government contributes with 22 percent, i.e. approx. 25 billion SEK. The universities are equally financed by the government and private contributors. The tax laws concerning these contributions are somewhat unclear, and this can generate problems. The two important questions that can arise are if the contribution is deductible, and if the receiver has to declare the income in his taxation. The essay focuses on the situations where the contribution is deductible for the giver and tax free for the receiver, i.e. when there is a lack of reciprocity in the taxation. This generates a lack of tax income for the government, and can lead to tax planning / Samhället har ett intresse av att forskning bedrivs. Varje år används ca. 110 miljarder kr till forskning i Sverige, varav staten står för ca. 22 procent, d.v.s. ca. 25 miljarder kronor. Universitetens forskning finansieras av staten och externa finansierare med ungefär lika stora delar. De skatterättsliga reglerna angående forskningsbidrag är något oklara och detta kan leda till problem. Frågor som kan uppstå i anledning härav är i vilken utsträckning en näringsidkare åtnjuter avdragsrätt för forskningsbidrag till universitet, stiftelser, juridiska och fysiska personer, samt även i vilken mån detta bidrag är skattefritt för mottagaren? Främst inriktas uppsatsen mot de situationer där bristande reciprocitet uppstår. De frågeställningar som behandlas härvidlag är i vilken mån denna bristande reciprocitet kan läkas, och på vilket sätt detta kan ske. Förhållandet mellan att det inte krävs någon motprestation för avdragsrätt i anledning av forskningsbidrag, och att en intäkt utan någon motprestation leder till skattefrihet skapar problem. Detta förhållande synes inte vara avsett av lagstiftaren och det ger visst utrymme för ’otillbörlig’ skatteplanering.

There are many Swedish companies active on the Chinese market, since China’s accession to the WTO the year 2001 China has gotten even more interesting. China’s WTO accession does not only make it easier for Swedish companies to be present in China, it also provides Chinese companies an increased opportunity to access the Swedish market. Currently Chinese companies active in Sweden only counts for a small share of the total amount of the foreign companies present in Sweden, while there are several Swedish companies present in China. The Chinese legislation for the various entities is extensive. Just as in Sweden, China applies a civil law system with a written constitution. While China is a communistic one-party state Sweden is democratic nation with several parties. The communistic legacy is reflected in the Chinese legislation. There are several types of entities that appeals to a foreign investor in the Chinese legislation while there in the Swedish legislation only exist one kind of entity that counts as a legal person with limited liability. In both nations there exists the possibility of establishing a Representative Office however it is not allowed to conduct any kind of profit making business. There is in neither state any severe obstacles from establishing a company, there is only a demand for residency within the EEA in the Swedish legislation. According to many Swedish companies present in China it seems that bureaucracy in China is the major difficulty, it is perceived as complicated and time-consuming For foreign companies it is important to respect the culture in the foreign country. The Chinese culture is different from the western and there are some concepts that are valuable to be familiar with. Guanxi can be compared to having a powerful network which may perform miracle with the time-consuming Chinese bureaucracy and mianzi which is more than just having a good reputation. How the company is perceived is highly important in China.

Inom gemenskapen pågår idag ett harmoniseringsarbete beträffande både de nationella bolagsstiftningarna, men även vad gäller utvecklingen av överstatliga bolagsformer, där ibland det liggande förslaget om SPE-bolag. I det gemenskapsrättsliga fördraget regleras genom art. 49 samt 54 EUF den grundläggande etableringsfriheten. Denna har under ett flertal år varit uppe för diskussion då det är oklart hur långtgående denna frihet skyddas av fördraget. Inom gemenskapen bygger medlemsstaterna idag sina bolagsstiftningar antingen på inkorporations- eller sätesprincipen. Det är skillnaden vid dessa principers tillämpning som har givet upphov till problematiken på området. Problemen rör huruvida ett bolag ska få separera sitt registrerade- och faktiska säte med bibehållande av rättslig status. Vid sidan av detta problem har även en annan problematik uppkommit som rör forum shopping. Vilken innebär att regelkonkurrens har skapats mellan medlemsstaternas lagstiftningar, som en följd av att det råder valfrihet för bolag att inkorporera sig under den medlemsstats nationella lagstiftning vilken de finner förmånligast. Det liggande förslaget om SPE-bolagsförordning rör införandet av överstatlig bolagsform som kommer, vid ett eventuellt införande, verka som ett alternativ till de inhemska bolagsformerna. Bolaget har formen av ett aktiebolag och riktar sig mot de små och medelstora bolagen, det vill säga SMEs. Bolagsformen har till syfte att verka för att SMEs ska bli mer aktiva på den inre marknaden och därför är en viktig del i förslaget reglerna som berör bolagets etableringsmöjligheter. Förslaget om SPE-bolag bereder bestämmelser som gäller dess bildande, men även vad gäller bolagets verksamhet. För att göra denna bolagsform mer attraktiv har bl.a. kapitalkravet endast satts till 1€. Då förslaget inte omfattar alla relevanta rättsliga områden kommer dessa även fortsättningsvis regleras av den nationella lagstiftning där bolagets säte är beläget, däribland skattelagstiftning. Förslaget bereder även bolaget med förflyttningsrätt inom gemenskapen, hur långtgående denna skyddas av den förslagna förordningen förefaller vara tvetydigt ur dess ordalydelse. Det finns dock starka indikationer på att denna förflyttningsrätt måste anses gå i linje med inkorporationsprincipen. Huruvida ett eventuellt införande av SPE-bolagsförordningen skulle kunna lösa den problematik som finns på etableringsfrihetens område är diskuterbart. Den problematik som föreligger vid tillämpningen av inkorporations- och sätesprincipen kommer på ett rent teoretiskt plan kunna lösas genom ett sådant införande. Vad gäller problematiken med forum shopping kommer denna i viss mån endast kunna komma att begränsas genom ett sådant införande. Förordningen är således endast en teoretisk lösning, men den är även alternativ till sin utformning, vilket innebär att den endast presenterar sig som ett alternativ till de inhemska bolagsformerna. Jag tror inte att förordningen vid ett införande, på ett praktiskt plan, skulle kunna få tillräcklig genomslagskraft för att lösa problematiken på etableringsfrihetens område. Det krävs andra åtgärder av mer direkt natur för att lösa dessa.

When someone dies there will always be an inheritance, an inheritance that earlier has been seen as a national concern. However, every year there are about 450 000 deaths within the European Union linked to more than one country, either when the deceased has changed his state of residence or when he has assets in another state, for example a Swedish national with a summer house in Spain. The problem is to determine which na-tional law that is supposed to be applicable to the inheritance. There are two principles that can be applicable on the choice of law, the principle of na-tionality and the principle of residency. If the principle of nationality is used the inherit-ance will be regulated by the deceased`s citizenship while the principle of residency takes aim on the deceased´s last domicile instead. Conflicts can occur between the two principles so that the legacy must be divided between two different legislations. In October 2009 the Proposal for a Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and authentic instruments in matters of succession and the creation of a European Certificate of Succession was presented, a regulation that will try to create harmonized rules on in-teralia the inheritance matters. The principle of residency is supposed to be the general rule according to the regulation, but the deceased should still have the privilege to choose the rules in his country of nationality to govern the succession. But is it really necessary to harmonize the rules of applicable law or is it satisfying with the rules that is today? This is questions that will be answered in this essay.

When anyone acquires control over a listed company the mandatory bid rule is triggered. This means that the person who acquires the control has to make an offer to buy the remaining shares in the company. The purpose of the rule is to protect the minority shareholders from the buyers. This rule has been considered to be burdensome and thus it is followed by an exemption rule which under some special circumstances may make the mandatory bid rule void. The purpose of this thesis is to analyze if the exemptions given by the Swedish securities council (in Swedish Aktiemarknadsnämnden) are in accordance with the purpose of the mandatory bid rule and if a review of these rules are needed. To answer the purpose, the Swedish securities councils statements has been analyzed, to determinate if the exemptions are in accordance with the purpose of the mandatory bid rule. The result of the analysis is that the rules need to be changed because exemptions from the mandatory bid rule are given to arbitrary in Sweden.

The purpose of the set of regulations as regards to accounting and auditing within the Union, is primarily to ensure a high quality of the large public companies financial reporting and hence protect the capital market investors. As the set of regulations also applies to the small companies, these are burdened by administrative costs that are disproportionate. To increase the competitiveness of the European companies, the European council has stated that it is essential to reduce the companies’ administrative costs. The main principle is that all companies are under an obligation to statutory audit, however Member States may make audit exemptions for small companies. In 2006 Denmark adopted a law which states that small companies are exempted from the statutory audit. Britain has progressively, in line with the Fourth Corporation Directive´s threshold limit value, abolished the statutory audit for small companies. The ability for small companies in Sweden to be exempted from the statutory audit will probably come into force 1st of November 2010.  The purpose of this study is to compare the simplified auditing regulations in Swedish law with Danish law and British law. The aim is further to explore the possible cost savings that may arise in association with the abolition of the statutory audit in Sweden and subsequently estimate what the savings would amount to if the Danish and British threshold limited value was applied instead of the values suggested by the Swedish government. The thesis is performed with help of a comparative part followed by an analyzing part.  The auditing regulations are very equal in the three mentioned states. The British threshold limit value is the highest followed by the Danish and Swedish. The savings would have amount to almost the double if the British threshold limit value was applied instead of the one suggested by the Swedish government. Also when applying the Danish threshold limit value the savings would have amount to more. Thus it has been found that the higher threshold limit value that applies, the more companies will be subject to the statutory audit exemption and hence the greater the savings will amount to.

The purpose with this essay is to investigate whether the legal capital can be justified as creditor protection and whether the legal capital prevent entrepreneurship. Historically the legal capital has been justified by means of creditor protection. Nowdays the development within EU rather reduces or abolish the legal capital. Sweden has recently, 1 of April 2010, reduced the legal capital from 100 000 Swedish crowns to 50 000 Swedish crowns. In the preparatory work it has been admitted that the legal capital does not in reality offer creditors much protection. Although the lawmaker decides to retain the legal capital and justifies the legal capitals existence with the argument that involuntary creditors has the need of the legal capital. It is also argued in the preparatory work that a reduction of the legal capital does not necessarily mean that new business creation will increase. Rather, the private limited liability company will instead be more available. I will present different authors views on the legal capital doctrine. The views that are presented are critical to the legal capital doctrine. I will also present different statistics that compares countries legal environment and how it effects entrepreneurship My conclusions are that legal capital can be questioned, especially on efficiency grounds. I also argue that legal capital in fact hinders entrepreneurship and I base my premise on the different statistics that has been presented.