Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/835410
44 Events maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 JUNE 2017 In a first for Esplora, Malta's premier science centre destina- tion, an art exhibition has been opened to the public to deepen the understanding of water and its essence to life. The Bil-Qatra il-Qatra exhibi- tion will run until Saturday 17 June 2017. The exhibition is a result of a collaboration between HSBC Water Programme – Catch the Drop and Esplora – as led by the chairman of the Malta Council for Science and Technology Dr Jeffrey Pullicino Orlando – to attract the attention of the curi- ous minds, and to ignite enquir- ies into the STEAM fields which embrace science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, together with art. "All the artworks presented in the exhibition are a product of an educational process mentored by the Art Department within the Catholic Education Secretariat," a joint statement read. The HSBC-Esplora partnership sees the development of espe- cially-designed visual aid signs on hand washing. Visual aids are an effective tool for those on the Autism Spectrum Disorder and are effective for children of all ages to be able to learn the es- sential life and social skills that they have yet to grasp. The visual aids have been approved by the Autism Parents Association and ADHD Malta, and have been placed in all the hand washing areas of Esplora. Plans are afoot to use the visual aids in other high traffic places in Malta and Gozo. A new colouring book has also been developed featuring the well-known mascot of HSBC Water Programme – Catch the Drop, Harvey the Lifestyle Dog. In the book, Harvey visits the captivating world of Esplora as well as continues his previous attempts to save water. The col- ouring book is available to visi- tors for free until the stock lasts. Esplora will dedicate a perma- nent space in its Eco-Life zone to an exhibition of challeng- ing but fun games based on the theme of water. The games were developed by the students of the Institute for the Creative Arts of the Malta College of Arts, Sci- ence and Technology (MCAST) in collaboration with HSBC Water Programme – Catch the Drop. The interactive games will be available on touch-screens at Esplora. Water meets science - a collaboration between HSBC and Esplora A preview of the new APS Bank branches ARQ Group taking an active role at the International Tax Congress in London APS Bank announced that its branch transformation project, which will give its customers a fresher and more contemporary retail environment where to bank, is in full swing. Construction works at the Val- letta and Sliema locations have been completed and M&E works are now starting and to be fol- lowed by the interior finishes based on the innovative designs commissioned to London-based design agency I-AM in October 2016. The transformation is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2017 with the opening of the new branches in Republic Street and Tower Road, respec- tively. "This important step in the evolution of the Bank's physi- cal network will take the cus- tomer journey to the next level through high-tech delivery and innovative design. It will enable us to offer our services more ef- ficiently while elevating personal interaction with our customers," Alexander Camilleri, APS Bank's Senior Manager Support, said. ARQ Group is one of the spon- sors for this year's International Tax Congress that will take place on 21 and 22 June in London. The International Tax Congress 2017 will include expert panel sessions, unique case studies, thought pro- voking keynotes and excellent networking opportunities spread over the two days. The main topic for this year's In- ternational Tax Congress will be BEPS, an OECD project to com- bat Base Erosion and Profit Shift- ing and to ensure that profits are taxed where economic activities take place and value is created. Following the release of a report in February 2013, "Addressing Base Erosion and Profit Shifting", the OECD and G20 Countries adopt- ed a 15-point Action Plan with the key 3 pillars including introducing coherence in the domestic rules that affect cross-border activities; reinforcing substance require- ment in existing international standards and improving Trans- parency as well as Certainty. Nicky Gouder, Tax Partner at ARQ Group will be moderating a panel discussion entitled "The reality of BEPS: Implementation in Practice". "One of the biggest difficulties of the BEPS Projects is its implemen- tation – over 100 countries are expected to implement the BEPS 'recommendations'. The panel will be discussing exactly this – the difficulties which jurisdictions will face when implementing the Action Plans," Gouder said. "We will be touching upon the Multi-Lateral Instrument (MLI) which has been developed, and agreed to by more than 100 juris- dictions, that will swiftly imple- ment a series of tax treaty meas- ures to update international tax issues. We will also be getting into the problems which could arise with the implementation of the BEPS Action Plans if done so in an unharmonised manner by different jurisdictions – will this create further confusion rather than the Certainty which is so im- portant for investors and which is one of the BEPS pillars. The Anti- Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD), and now ATAD II, which is EU's response to BEPS, possibly solves the issue of implementation due to the fact that, being a Direc- tive, it must be implemented by each Member State– however, the ATAD also provides for cer- tain options for implementation. It has also been said, that on cer- tain points, ATAD goes beyond BEPS – this will also certainly be discussed at the International Tax Congress". The Congress agenda also in- cludes other tax topics such as European Holding and CFC re- gimes, Taxation of IP, Patent Box Regimes and the latest develop- ments in Global Transfer Pricing. Expert speakers at the Congress will include top international tax leaders such as Anna Elphick, VP Group Tax, Africa & Asia at Unilever; David Campkin, Group Tax Manager at BBC; Bandhana Jakhu, Head of Indirect Tax, Tax Risk and Tax Transformation at the London Stock Exchange Group; David Kelly, International Tax Manager at Dell and Ed Turn- er, Head of Tax Product at HSBC amongst others. For more information on the In- ternational Tax Congress, please visit https://finance.knect365. com/international-tax-congress/. The HSBC-Esplora collaboration will drive interest in science and the environment