this is the briefing. i'm victoria fritz. our top stories: the biggest overhaul in the us tax system for 30 years is on course to become law, the first legislative win for donald trump. campaigning ends in catalonia, ahead of thursday's regional election, with the independence debate dominating the agenda. in her first tv interview, harvey weinstein‘s former assistant tells the bbc why she's breaking a non—disclosure agreement to speak out about him. what is uber, a transport or a technology company? the european court ofjustice will decide today and it will have huge consequences for the company. in the business briefing i'll be speaking to an employment lawyer, in brussels. a warm welcome to the programme, briefing you on all you need to know

in global news, business and sport. and you can be part of the conversation. tech firm or transport company? that's the tricky question facing europe's top court today. thejudgment has big implications for european regulation. is it the end of the road for uber or will the company turn a corner? let us know what you think on twitter. just use the hashtag bbcthebriefing the biggest changes to the us tax system for 30 years are on course to become law later on wednesday. they would hand donald trump the first big legislative win of his presidency. republicans say the reforms will boost growth and revive the economy but democrats argue it benefits america's richest and will inflate the deficit. senators have been debating the bill, but a technicality means it'll need

one more vote in the lower house before it's passed. joining me now is our correspondent in washington david willis. what stage are we at with this bill? a very good question. it passed the house of representatives earlier today only for a technical problem today only for a technical problem to arise once it got to the senate. it was found some of the language did not confirm to requirements and although the debate goes on in the senate, there will have to be another vote on this legislation in the house of representatives tomorrow morning. none of this is expected to influence the outcome, in particular. it is expected to be approved by the senate within narrow margin and that reaffirmed by the

house tomorrow and it is possible donald trump could possibly signed this into law tomorrow. what will be their significance of signing this for the administration? is significant not least because it is the first piece of major legislation passed by his presidency. the fact that republicans are in the majority in both houses of congress, attempt to overhaul and eliminate the very unpopular obamacare legislation faltered in the senate a couple of months ago and that has left a lot of people thinking that president trump will have little to show for his first year in office so they have been hasty measures are put in

place to get this legislation through and we are seeing a few of the kinks, these problems when it got to the senate today but they are expected to be ironed out the date and it will be donald trump's major legislative victory since taking office. campaigning for thursday's election in the spanish region of catalonia has ended. the crisis, you may remember, was triggered when an illegal referendum was held in the region, and the catalan government declared independence from spain. the government in madrid took measures to try to regain control of catalonia and many separatist politicians were jailed or went into exile. tim willcox reports on a tense election. barcelona, the century the heart of spain's great maritime trading power. the region steeped in history and culture but now, in the closing days of 2017, a region under direct

rule from madrid, the focus of great political uncertainty. it follows the referendum— illegal says madrid— in october. scenes of heavy police tactics travelling around the world and feeding the separatist cause. political instability has taken its toll. tourism is down, big business moving in their thousands to other parts of spain. imposing direct rule and calling early directions, madrid saysis and calling early directions, madrid says is to impose order but with independent regions in prison and in textile, is that possible?” independent regions in prison and in textile, is that possible? i do not think of these elections again to give any solution. translation: i do not think it is about resolving the crisis but more on legal and constitutional way to listen to the people. translation: i do not know

if it will be this year next but we will be independent, that is for sure. two years ago, the pro—independence seat won the most seats. this year, the pro— independence parties are divided into three. 0ne independence parties are divided into three. one of the parties that has managed to exploit their division and capitalised on the popularity of mariano rajoy‘s party isa group popularity of mariano rajoy‘s party is a group which stands a real chance of emerging as one of the parties with the largest number of votes in the regional parliament. they would have been considered a fa ntasy a they would have been considered a fantasy a few years ago but who will get into bed with them?” fantasy a few years ago but who will get into bed with them? i think it is possible and hopefully it will happen. we will get enough seats in the parliament to form a coalition and lastly a government. the shock

tactics were intended to wrongfoot the separatists but it was a big political gamble. translation: if the objective of these elections is to enter the situation, a clear separatist majority should force the government to allow us to create a government. weeks later, both sides entrenched as ever, it is not clear if any of the prime minister's abject these are closer to being achieved. let's brief you on some of the other stories making the news: a review has recommended members of the northern ireland assembly have their pay cut because of an ongoing political deadlock. a power sharing agreement between sinn fein and the democratic unionist party collapsed, but members have been drawing salaries since being elected in march, even though the assembly in stormont has not been sitting. austria's new chancellor has travelled to brussels to reassure eu leaders that his government is committed to the bloc. sebastian kurz, who leads the conservative people's party, has sparked alarm in brussels, by entering into an alliance

with the eurosceptic and anti—immigration freedom party. the defeated candidate in presidential elections in honduras, salvador nasralla has accepted an invitation for talks with the president, juan 0rlando hernandez. mr nasralla has accused his rival of rigging the elections. at least fourteen people have been killed in street protests since last month's vote. is uber a taxi firm or a tech company? that's our top business story this morning, with the european court ofjustice due to rule on it later. it could face tougher regulation if its recognised as a transport company. with me is liam booth—smith who's chief executive at localis, an independent think tank. why does the distinction matter?

simply put, it matters because the rat fundamental regulatory differences. naturally, uber would be noted as a tech firm because they do not have to comply with trespass and regulations but the pressure not just in this country but across europe is for uber to be more regulated as a traditional taxi firm. they will have higher firms because they would have to be under insurance costs because they would have to be under insurance costs as because they would have to be under insurance costs as well? absolutely. a service uber pop had legal challenge is and it is interesting for firms like uber that they have

been taken to court in fighting this battle. for businesses that like uber, how much is the incentive for better aligning themselves with regulations before becoming a problem or the firms are disrupting the market, will date misbehaves until they are told off? that sounds familiar. wide—ranging implications for businesses developing. lots of start—ups in the shed in konta me space in particular. how closely will they be looking at this ruling? it is hugely significant. uber, one of the most profitable high revenue taxi firms does not actually banned vehicles. airbnb is not actually on hotels. you will see something fundamental happened to the bit

economy. and the way we conceive of capital and profit and employment. if you are a firm like uber which operates as a platform connecting independent contractors, it will be interesting to see the final outcome but the nuances around it. we will leave it there for now. go and get yourself some coffee and we will see yourself some coffee and we will see you in about half an hour to run through the papers. in her first broadcast interview, a former colleague of hollywood producer harvey weinstein has told the bbc, how she was warned about his behaviour and how she went on to warn other women that he could behave in an inappropriate manner. but zelda perkins says, matters escalated after he sexually assaulted a colleague and she accused him of attempted rape. mr weinstein denies all allegations of non—consensual sex. 0ur entertainment correspondent, colin paterson, has the story. we've looked at the interview, to put this into context, this was 19 years ago, 1998, harvey weinstein is at the peak of his powers,

he was just about to release shakespeare in love, which would go on to win him an oscar the following year. now, in september, 1998, his personal assistant in the uk, zelda perkins, who was then 2k, quit. speaking to newsnight, she explained she'd endured a number of years of sexual harassment but then came the final straw. and it came to a head for you when he sexually assaulted, attempted rape, on your colleague? yes, we were at venice film festival and he tried to rape her. and what did you do? she was extremely distressed. she was shaking, very distressed, clearly in shock. didn't want anybody to know, was absolutely terrified of the consequences, what would happen and... i spoke with her and tried to calm her for about half an hour and then i went straight downstairs to where harvey was having

a business meeting on the terrace and told him he needed to come with me right away. for me to have broken into a meeting like that was very unusual and he did not question me, he got up and came with me straight away because he knew why, why i was angry and serious as i was. you accused him of attempted rape essentially? yeah, yeah. and he denied it? yes. he said nothing at all had happened and he swore on the life of his wife and children, which was his best get—out—of—jail card that he used quite a lot. the two women secured legal representation. they were hoping to bring down weinstein by revealing his behaviour to the walt disney company, who owned his company, miramax, but the lawyers of the two women said this wasn't a realistic option and the only option was a damages agreement.

now, this agreemant was to include the creation of procedures at miramax and therapy for mr weinstein. it's not known if these stipulations were carried out. zelda perkins signed a nondisclosure agreement, she received a sum of £125,000. in the interview on newnight, she calls for britain to follow the example of a number of us states and end the practice of allowing sexual assaults to be hidden behind nondisclosure agreements. a spokesperson for harvey weinstein says he unequivocally denies any allegations of non—consensual sex. colin paterson. and just to reiterate: in response to these allegations, a lawyer for harvey weinstein says he categorically denies engaging in any non— consensual conduct or alleged threatening behaviour. stay with us on the briefing. also on the programme: we'll have all the latest sport —

including another win for manchester city — this time in the english league cup. after eight months on the run, saddam hussein has been tracked down and captured by american forces. saddam hussein is finished, because he killed our people, our women, our children. the signatures took only a few minutes but they brought a formal end to 3.5 years of conflict, conflict that has claimed more than 200,000 lives. before an audience of world leaders, the presidents of serbia, bosnia and croatia put their names to the peace agreement. the romanian border was sealed and silent today. romania has cut itself off from the outside world in order to prevent the details of the presumed massacre

in timisoara from leaking out. from sex at the white house, to a trial for his political life, the lewinsky affair tonight guaranteed bill clinton his place in history as only the second president ever to be impeached. you're watching the briefing. 0ur headlines: campaigning ends in catalonia — ahead of thursday's regional election — with the independence debate dominating the agenda. and our top story — the biggest overhaul in the us tax system for thirty years is on course to become law — the first legislative win for donald trump. let's stay with that now i am joined by darien shanske, who is professor of law at university of california, davis. thank you to joining the thank you tojoining the programme. can you outline for us what these

tax reforms will do for international business? a couple of big changes for international business. general lowering of the american corporate tax rate. a lowering of the rate paid by other forms of business. special, faster deductions for equipment. the change to the american international tax system. longer be able to tax them on the income worldwide, only the income earned within the united states. what is this mean for ordinary people? it's clear that wealthier people will get a significant tax cut. especially to the extent on the income they earn

01’ the extent on the income they earn or other forms of business entities. there will be moderate tax cuts for low and middle income people that will phase out in order not to increase too much the deficit and there will be certain people, particularly professionals in states and cities that have progressive income taxes we will see their taxes increase. potentially fairly substantially. a lot of people are saying the reason this is a good thing overall is that the wealthy people will be spending money will trickle down throughout the economy. the trickle—down economics work in your view? there is some trickling down. it will have some effect on the most part. good paying jobs for

those who don't have those jobs at the moment. corporations have been making large profits. there are important investments that can employ a lot of people and if they were, they would be mabel reddy. thank you very much for your time. at least twelve tourists have died in a bus crash in the mexican state of quintana roo. they were travelling to visit a mayan ruin when the bus overturned. 0ur mexico correspondent, will grant reports. the group on the bus was comprised of passengers from the united states, italy, sweden and brazil, as well as a driver and tour guides from mexico. the tourists had arrived in mexico on—board a royal caribbean cruise ship and this, a visit to the beautiful mayan ruins of chacchoben, was meant to be a pleasurable day—trip to see a little of the country.

however, a dozen people were killed and many more injured when the bus overturned on the highway out to the ruins, south of the popular resort of tulum. some of the injured have already been discharged but others have been treated in four different hospitals in the region. an investigation is underway as to the cause of the crash. many of the coastal roads in that particular state of quintana roo are poor and potholed, especially on the southern road, down to the border with belize. however, for the time being, the authorities have made no comment as to what they think might have caused the bus to overturn. will grant, bbc news. here's our briefing on some of the key events happening later. first up in luxembourg, as we've been discussing, the european court ofjustice is to decide whether the ride—hailing company, uber should be considered

a transport company which would lead to tougher regulations. then we head to harare where the zimbabwean president emmerson mnangagwa will give his first state of the nation address a month after he assumed power following robert mugabe's resignation. and in the afternoon in brussels, ambassadors to the european union's 27 members states will hold a closed door meeting to discuss brexit article 50 negotiations. now it's time to get all the latest from the bbc sports centre. hello, coming up on your wednesday sport briefing, reigning german cup champions borussia dortmund having found some form take on bayern munich in the round of 16, in england holders manchester united are in league cup action and we'll show you an unconventional finish to a giant slalom run in the french alps. there's another busy night of cup football across europe on wednesday. and perhaps the biggest match

involves bundesliga leaders bayern munich who take on holders borussia dortmund in the last 16 of the german cup. so far it's been a season to forget for dortmund. they're third in the bundesliga and a massive 13 points behind leaders bayern. however, new coach peter sturger has led the side to back—to—back league wins since replacing peter bosz earlier this month. translation: i'm sure the game will be full of quality with both sides because dortmund have found their feet. that short changing form can make them a dangerous opponent that we feel good and will try to do everything we can to stay in the cup. holders manchester united and chelsea are in english league cup quarter—final action on wednesday. united travel to face bristol city from the second tier of english football while the blues host bournemouth. united bossjose mourinho might be stopping for a glass of red after the match too after his opposite number pulled out all the stops i ordered in a very expensive bottle

of wine. i have had to rate my little girl ‘s piggy banks why will be disappointed if he doesn't come in and the least taste it. it has to be pulled specially, it's that good. now they may be without one of the best player's in the league, but you wouldn't have known it. the golden state warriors are still finding a way to win without the injured steph curry. they host the memphis grizzlies on wednesday night. . and they'll be hoping to keep their nine—game winning streak going. last time out they edged past the los angeles lakers thanks to a game—winning 36 points from kevin durant. we heard a short time ago about wednesday's quarter—final ties in the english league cup but on tuesday manchester city needed a penalty shootout miss from jamie vardy and a save from goalkeeper claudio bravo to see them through to the semi—finals against leicester city. while danny welbeck‘s bundled in effortjust prior to half time proved enough for arsenal to see off west ham united. atletico madrid are to report spanish rivals barcelona to fifa

over an alleged illegal approach for euro 2016 golden boot winner antoine griezmann. the france striker recently signed a five year contract which ties him to the spanish capital until 2022. atletico are claiming barcelona have spoken to people around griezmann, including family members about a possible transfer. now to what's been catching our eye on social media — a lucky escape for austrian skier katharina truppe in the french alps. on her way to finishing her first run in the giant slalom she was sent spinning losing a ski and a pole before slowing to a stop. luckily it looked far worse than it actually was. she suffered no injuries thanks to constructional changes to the finishing posts which are no longer anchored to the ground. you can get all the latest sports news at our website — that's bbc.com/sport, but from me, that is your wednesday sport briefing. a cafe around the corner here in

0xford a cafe around the corner here in oxford street in london claims to be able to make the first selfie copy. a call at the selfiecino. this selfie only last as long as you drink it. stay with us here on bbc news so much more to come. coming up, the courtjudgement that has massive implications for european regulation. and tell us what you think about talking point. is ubera what you think about talking point. is uber a tech company or transferred ——a passport firm. ——? the weather is pretty quiet at the

moment but that doesn't mean to say it has to be dull. many weather watchers caught the glorious end to tuesday. the sum, yes it was dull and it stayed that way the tuesday. some fog patches which lingered in one 01’ some fog patches which lingered in one or two spots. signs of a change one or two spots. signs of a change on the way. this weather front is making progress into the north—west of scotland. but making a pretty poor fist of it. as you start a new day on wednesday, a bit of mild weather, save for the far east where it the cloud pops away overnight, the temperatures will tumble away. here we are a roundabout eight o'clock in the morning. quite a bit of merck and missed. some hill fog across western parts of wales. here we have the old weather front. still

producing the odd bit of rain but not much at all. a fresh start of the day, particularly in this north—western quarter. eventually perhaps inter northern ireland as well. there is a lot of cloud to be had. a lot of dry weather as well. just the chance of the odd bit of brightness if you're in the moors or the south—west. the temperatures are really not too bad at all. just that we bit fresh across the north. a peppering of showers. the frontal system, having tried to come south, sta rts system, having tried to come south, starts moving back north, particularly in this western end. more rain about. still a lot of cloud. the best chance of seeing the sunshine on thursday. was frontal system sunshine on thursday. was frontal syste m loo ks sunshine on thursday. was frontal system looks as though it's going to threaten somebody really does weaken as the high—pressure tries to build

through and become the dominant feature. still enough cloud around the odd bit and peace. again, a lot of mild weather but if you can get away to the eastern side of the pennines, single figure temperatures. in the run—up to christmas, generally mild. there will be some rain in the north. this is business briefing. i'm victoria fritz. what is uber? is it a transport or a technology company? the european court ofjustice will decide today and it will have huge consequences for the company. and the us is getting closer to reforming its tax structure for the first time in 30 years. we look at who the winners, and the losers are. and on the markets asian stocks were mixed, with investors awaiting the final votes on us tax—cut legislation.