Politics, Legal & Regulation

May 13, 2015 @ 2:23 am By Midori Yoshimura  |  

In Australia, startups recently received good news from Treasurer Joe Hockey: new tax incentives for startups, specifically around crowdfunding, also known as crowd-source equity funding (CSEF), notes Gizmodo Australia. The tax incentives are part of the new 2015-16 federal budget. Gizmodo notes, [AU] $7.8 million will be spent getting the… Read More

May 13, 2015 @ 12:05 am By Barry James  |  

EU Poised to Tax Crowdfunding Campaigns Potentially Killing Off Source of SME Funding Will Crowdfunders from the US and across the world be caught in the crossfire as the EU quietly prepares to declare war on the Internet’s behemoths? The European Union is considering the… Read More

May 12, 2015 @ 5:51 pm By JD Alois  |  

With final regulations expected this coming June, details continue to trickle out regarding the approach the China Banking Regulatory Commission (CBRC) will take in cracking down in a rather chaotic peer to peer lending industry in China. China is presently the largest peer to peer… Read More

May 11, 2015 @ 8:55 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Committee on Small Business, in the US House of Representatives, will discuss peer to peer lending on Wednesday, May 13th, at the Rayburn House Office Building.  The hearing is entitled Bridging the Small Business Capital Gap: Peer to Peer Lending. According to a notice from… Read More

May 9, 2015 @ 8:52 am By JD Alois  |  

The Equity Market Structure Advisory Committee will be holding a public meeting next week at the SEC.  The meeting will be live streamed and available by visiting the SEC web site. The agenda is presently scheduled to address Rule 611 of SEC Regulation NMS. Regulation… Read More

May 7, 2015 @ 12:00 pm By Anthony Zeoli  |  

Normally when I write about updates on intrastate crowdfunding legislation it’s simply to let readers know that one, two, maybe even as many as three states have either enacted or proposed new legislation. Not this time, however, as the first quarter of 2015 has brought… Read More

May 6, 2015 @ 5:49 pm By JD Alois  |  

The SEC has approved the long awaited tick size pilot program.  The proposal by the national securities exchanges and the FINRA is for a two-year test that will widen the minimum quoting and trading increments–or tick sizes–for stocks of some smaller companies.  This pilot program will be utilized… Read More

May 6, 2015 @ 8:02 am By JD Alois  |  

Both the Florida state Senate an House passed crowdfunding legislation and the bill has moved to the desk of Governor Rick Scott where it is expected to be signed into law this week. This is not the first time the Sunshine state attempted to legalize… Read More

May 5, 2015 @ 9:07 am By JD Alois  |  

The subject of venture exchanges, or secondary markets for small cap companies, is a hot topic right now.  Sparked in part by the signing of the JOBS Act, and the new securities exemptions now coming into play, investing in SMEs is better for everyone if… Read More

May 3, 2015 @ 11:29 am By JD Alois  |  

Ron Suber, President of Prosper – one of the leading peer to peer lenders in the US, delivered one of the keynote presentations at the LendIt conference held in Manhattan last month.  Suber really did not focus on his company but instead gave a high level… Read More

May 2, 2015 @ 12:47 pm By JD Alois  |  

Lawrence Lessig’s Experiment to Fix Politics Gears Up for 2015 Mayday PAC,a crowdfunded, independent political action committee, has launched its 2015 campaign to advance fundamental political reform.  Following tepid results in the 2014 cycle, Lessig and his partners are preparing to give it another go…. Read More

May 2, 2015 @ 9:25 am By JD Alois  |  

SEC Commissioner Kara Stein participated in the U.S. Treasury Department’s Corporate Women in Finance Symposium last week where she delivered a speech tackling creating a stronger economy and creating healthy companies.  The topic of the day was “Opportunities for Investment, Innovation, and Growth through Technology and Corporate… Read More

May 1, 2015 @ 8:26 am By JD Alois  |  

Crowdfunding has bee legal in Spain for some time now but the first run at creating a viable regulatory regime endured several challenges.  Regulations published in february 2014 were broadly criticized for being overly restrictive and the new rules are being described as an improvement having eliminated several restrictions… Read More

April 29, 2015 @ 1:34 pm By JD Alois  |  

According to a report from Small Business California, the crowdfunding bill (AB 722) took another step in a positive direction as the bill came up in the Assembly Judiciary Committee and was unanimously approved (7-0). Apparently some changes needed to be incorporated into the existing bill… Read More

April 29, 2015 @ 10:36 am By JD Alois  |  

The European Crowdfunding Stakeholders Forum, created in 2014 comprised of a diverse group of stakeholders in the emergent crowdfunding sector, met last month in Brussels. Unfortunately for those unable to attend these gatherings are not live-streamed (something we compliment the US SEC on doing). There… Read More

April 28, 2015 @ 3:56 pm By Erin Hobey  |  

“… the American market should be much easier for European platforms: one law, one interpretation and ca. 320 million customers. A perfect opportunity for scaling up the business.” The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the US government and the European Commission will have multiple… Read More

April 28, 2015 @ 2:45 pm By JD Alois  |  

There is a growing policy push to create a Venture Exchange, or exchanges, to facilitate the purchasing and selling of new types of securities in smaller cap companies.  A securities value is best determined by the market and if one does not exist valuations are… Read More

April 23, 2015 @ 10:21 pm By JD Alois  |  

The Minnesota bill that will legalize equity crowdfunding in the state has made its way through both the House and Senate. It is now on track to be signed into law by Governor Dayton . The legislative push received the backing of MNVest, a coordinated… Read More

April 23, 2015 @ 5:12 pm By JD Alois  |  

Germany has passed its new investor safety law, one that was viewed with trepidation by the investment crowdfunding industry as it impinged on online platforms ability to raise funds, but the final rules appear to be less onerous than initially anticipated. Tamo Zwinge, CEO and… Read More

April 21, 2015 @ 11:39 pm By JD Alois  |  

April 15th was not only the dreaded federal tax deadline day, but it is also the date that Jackie Robinson played his first professional baseball game and the day Abe Lincoln died. It also happens to be the date (this year) that SEC Chair Mary Jo… Read More