Recent and expected tax changes in Bulgaria and Greece important for cross-border operations

Transcription

1 Baker Tilly in South East Europe Cyprus, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Moldova Recent and expected tax changes in Bulgaria and Greece important for cross-border operations November 2016

2 Agenda Implementation of automatic exchange of information by banks and other financial institutions and common reporting standard Developments on disclosure of beneficial owners Changes in the Greek and international tax scene make substance an important element of operating internationally EU Parent subsidiary Directive BEPS The EU anti tax avoidance directive Substance requirements [2]

3 Implementation of Automatic Exchange of Information by banks and other financial institutions and the CRS [3]

4 Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information on Tax Matters and the CRS Standard for Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information on Tax Matters and the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) has been adopted by 101 countries (54 starting on and 47 countries starting as from ) All EU countries will report in 2017, except Austria which will report as from Other countries to report as from 2018 include Australia, Canada, Israel, Japan, Russia, Singapore, Switzerland and UAE. [4]

5 CRS Financial Institutions (1) This standard covers Financial Institutions ( FI ) resident in the state or a branch in the state of a foreign resident FI. These are classified as: Depository Institution (an entity which accepts deposits in the ordinary course of banking or similar business) [5]

6 CRS Financial Institutions (2) Investment Entity (on behalf of customers involved in: (i) trading in monetary market instruments, foreign exchange, currency, etc (ii) individual and collective portfolio management (iii) investing/administering/managing financial assets on behalf of other persons Custodial Institution (holds assets for the account of others) Specified Insurance Company (an insurance company which issues or it is obligated to make payments with respect to insurance contracts) [6]

7 CRS Reportable persons An individual resident in the other state An entity (including funds and foundations) resident in the other state There is a requirement to look through passive entities in order to find out and report on controlling persons who are resident in the other state It excludes publicly listed companies and Financial Institutions [7]

8 CRS - Active NFE / Passive NFE (1) Active Non Financial Entity (NFE) is: An entity which operates an active trade or business other than that of a financial business and meets any of the following criteria: Less than 50% of preceding calendar year s gross income is passive income AND less than 50% of the assets held during the preceding year are assets that produce or are held for the production of passive income [8]

9 CRS - Active NFE / Passive NFE (2) Active Non Financial Entity (NFE) is: The stock of the NFE is regularly traded on the stock exchange or related to an entity regularly traded on a stock exchange Substantially all the activities consist of holding (in whole or in part) share capital or providing financing and services to one or more subsidiaries which engage in trades or business other than the business of FI, not including investment funds (private equity fund, venture capital fund etc.) [9]

10 CRS Controlling persons For companies - the UBO who is the natural person who ultimately owns or controls a legal entity through direct or indirect ownership meaning: (i) 25% + of shares with voting rights (ii) right to appoint board members, right to exercise significant influence For unions, administrative committees, foundations, clubs, associations the members of the board of directors/committee or the administrators For trusts the settlor, trustees, the protectors, the beneficiaries and any other natural persons exercising ultimate effective control over the trust. [10]

11 CRS Reportable information Account balances or values at the end of the year or in case account was closed during the year the balance on the date of closure Custodial accounts - gross amount interest, gross amount of dividends, the total gross amount of other income generated with respect to assets held in the account and the total gross proceeds from the sale or redemption of financial assets paid or credited to the account during the reporting period Depository accounts - Gross amount of interest paid or credited during the reporting period Income from certain insurance products [11]

12 CRS Reporting deadlines The first exchange of information in relation to new accounts and pre-existing individual high value accounts will take place by the end of September 2017 (2016 information). Information about pre-existing individual low value accounts and entity accounts will either first be exchanged by the end of September 2017 or September 2018 depending on when financial institutions identify them as reportable accounts. [12]

13 Practical steps for CRS Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus are early adopters of the CRS and will start exchanging information as from 2017 The identification of the country of tax residency of individuals and companies is made on a self-certification form In the case of legal entities, the banks may exclude accounts which in total are upto US$ at 31 December 2015 or in any subsequent year In 2017 the exchange of information will be done by Bulgaria, Greece and Cyprus only with those countries which are also early adopters [13]

14 Developments on disclosure of beneficial owners [14]

15 Tackling transparency of beneficial ownership (1) Who will have access to the beneficial ownership information? Currently, under the fourth AMLD, the information about the beneficial ownership of companies and trusts is already accessible to competent authorities and obliged entities in view of facilitating the performance of their "customer due diligence obligations" (i.e. a procedure consisting in properly identifying the customer on the basis of reliable and independent sources, such as for example identity cards or passports). [15]

16 Tackling transparency of beneficial ownership (2) Who will have access to the beneficial ownership information? The Commission now proposes to also provide public access to certain essential beneficial ownership information held in registries regarding companies and trusts that engage in economic activities with a view to gain profit. For privacy reasons, access to information in relation to trusts not engaged in economic activities (e.g. family trusts set up to finance studies) will only be granted to persons and organizations that can demonstrate a legitimate interest. [16]

17 What impact will the proposal have on transposition of the 4 th AMLD? The formal transposition date for the fourth AMLD is 26 June Although Member States have sped up work, the period to transpose the fourth AMLD is still ongoing. [17]

18 The UK PSC (People with Significant Control) Register (1) UK companies, SEs and LLPs will be required to identify and record the people who own or control their company. Companies, SEs and LLPs will need to keep a PSC register, in addition to existing registers such as the register of directors and register of members (shareholders), and must file the PSC information with the central public register at Companies House. [18]

19 The UK PSC (People with Significant Control) Register The PSC register will help to increase transparency over who owns and controls UK companies and will help inform investors when they are considering investing in a company. It will also support law enforcement agencies in money laundering investigations. Significant control means (i) more than 25% of the share capital, (ii) more than 25% of the voting rights and (iii) right to appoint and remove the majority of the board of directors [19]

20 Other countries introducing registers The Netherlands have already introduced a register which is available to the public upon registration and payment of a fee Denmark has introduced a Register which is available to the public Ireland has introduced a Register, bit no decision has been made yet if it will be made available to the public France has introduced a Register for trusts [20]

21 Changes in the Greek and international tax scene make substance an important element of operating internationally [21]

22 EU Parent / Subsidiary Directive [22]

23 Parent-Subsidiary Directive: antiabuse clause The EU Council amended the EU directive with the aim of preventing tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning by corporate groups. The anti-abuse clause is aimed at preventing misuses of the directive and ensuring a greater consistency in its application in different member states. It requires governments to refrain from granting the benefits of the parent-subsidiary directive to an arrangement, or a series of arrangements, that are not "genuine" and have been put in place to obtain a tax advantage, while not reflecting economic reality. An arrangement or a series of arrangements is regarded as not genuine to the extent that they are not put into place for valid commercial reasons, which reflect economic reality. [23]

24 Base Erosion Profits Sharing ( BEPS ) [24]

25 Actions under BEPS ACTION 5 - Counter harmful tax practices more effectively, taking into account transparency and substance ACTION 6 - Prevent treaty abuse ACTION 7 - Prevent the artificial avoidance of PE status ACTION 13 - Re-examine transfer pricing documentation ACTION 15 - Develop a multilateral instrument [25]

26 BEPS - Action 5 Counter harmful tax practices more effectively, taking into account transparency and substance Substantial activity requirement (IP Box) Framework for improving transparency in relation to rulings Review of OECD and associate country regimes Further work of the Forum on Harmful Tax Practices ( FHTP ) [26]

27 BEPS - Action 6 (1) Identifies treaty abuse, and in particular treaty shopping, as one of the most important sources of BEPS concerns. Taxpayers engaged in treaty shopping and other treaty abuse strategies undermine tax sovereignty by claiming treaty benefits in situations where these benefits were not intended to be granted, thereby depriving countries of tax revenues. [27]

28 BEPS - Action 6 (2) Countries have therefore agreed to include anti-abuse provisions in their tax treaties, including a minimum standard to counter treaty shopping. They also agree that some flexibility in the implementation of the minimum standard is required as these provisions need to be adapted to each country s specificities and to the circumstances of the negotiation of bilateral conventions. [28]

29 BEPS Action 6 (3) It should be expected that once the multilateral instrument amending the double tax treaties is adopted by the OECD, Greece will ratify the instrument, which effectively would mean that treaties that Greece has entered into with countries which ratify the instrument will be considered as automatically including the LOB provisions Companies using the double tax treaty network need to introduce changes to their existing structuring in order to take into account this limitation of benefits, otherwise will loose their tax treaty benefits [29]

30 Action 15 Multilateral Instrument (1) The Multi-Lateral Instrument ( MLI ) will only apply to DTTs in cases where both States are party to the MLI. The MLI will not impact any DTTs where only one of the Contracting States is a party to it It is anticipated the MIL will be adopted by the countries at the next meeting scheduled for the end of November 2016 It is anticipated that the effects of the MLI would be felt in 2018 or 2019, depending on the time of the adoption of the MLI by the respective countries [30]

31 Action 15 Multilateral Instrument (2) Hybrid Mismatches Treaty Abuse Avoidance of Permanent Establishment Status Improving Dispute Resolution Arbitration [31]

32 EU Anti Tax Avoidance Directive [32]

33 EU Anti-tax avoidance Directive Implementation The directive was adopted at a meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council. Political agreement was reached in June The member states will have until 31 December 2018 to transpose it into their national laws and regulations, except for the exit taxation rules, for which they will have until 31 December [33]

34 EU Anti-tax avoidance Directive Issues addressed Interest limitation rules Exit taxation General anti-abuse rule CFC rule Hybrid mismatches [34]

35 EU Anti-tax avoidance Directive General anti-abuse rule (1) For the purposes of calculating the corporate tax liability, a Member State shall ignore an arrangement or a series of arrangements which, having been put into place for the main purpose or one of the main purposes of obtaining a tax advantage that defeats the object or purpose of the applicable tax law, are not genuine having regard to all relevant facts and circumstances. An arrangement may comprise more than one step or part. [35]

36 EU Anti-tax avoidance Directive General anti-abuse rule (2) An arrangement or a series thereof shall be regarded as non-genuine to the extent that they are not put into place for valid commercial reasons which reflect economic reality. Where arrangements or a series thereof are ignored, the tax liability shall be calculated in accordance with national law. [36]

37 Substance Requirements [37]

38 Substance Requirements New rules on substance in the new EU Parent / Subsidiary Directive Rules under EU Commission s anti-tax avoidance directive Substance rules under OECD s Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) Action Plan Rules on tax residency in Greece [38]

39 Substance would determine the company s tax residency (1) Substance can start from the minimum which is statutory substance. Statutory substance is to prove that the company is actually a real company and not a conduit, by paying its taxes, filing its tax returns, preparing audited financial statements and meeting all its statutory obligations. [39]

40 Substance would determine the company s tax residency (2) Physical substance is statutory substance plus an office, telephone facilities, employees and properly qualified directors. Economic substance which is more on day to day activities, which is a similar concept to effective management. [40]

41 Greek tax residency rules A legal person is tax resident in Greece if the place of exercise of effective management at any time during the year in Greece, based on following criteria: Place of exercise of daily administration Place of strategic decision making Place of AGM of shareholders Place of bookkeeping and data Place of holding board of directors meetings Place of residence of board members or executive management Place of residence of majority shareholders/members [41]

42 Practical impact on holding companies of the new GAAR Does the holding company have to exercise, (in addition to the holding activities) intra-group financing activities and to provide services to its subsidiary? Should the holding company hold several participations? Is it necessary to document the economic motives of a holding company in the European Union? Can a holding company still have its headquarters in a domiciliation company in a country like Cyprus? What is the minimum substance required for a holding company? [42]

43 Holding Company pure holding activities vs multi- activities? The holding company SPV is no longer a preferred solution Taking into account any business risks / considerations (if any), a company, in addition to its holding activities, it could provide financing to group companies, license intangibles, provide services and carry out trading activities This would substantiate a claim that there are various business reasons for the existence and operation of the company [43]

44 Holding company standalone SPV vs multiple investments? (1) If an investor in Country A injects equity/grants loans into a holding company in Country B, which in turn creates a subsidiary in Country C (instead of the investor in Country A investing directly in the company in Country C), it is obvious that the main/one of the main objectives of the investor was to take advantage of treaty/directive benefits of the specific country (which he could not obtain by investing directly from his own country) [44]

45 Holding company standalone SPV vs multiple investments? (2) If, instead, the holding company in Country B invests in a number of subsidiaries in various countries, then it is becoming difficult for a tax administration to claim that the structure was put in place with the only purpose of obtaining benefit under the specific treaty/directive [45]

46 Holding Company economic motives necessary? Economic motives in addition to taxation motives become increasingly important In the case of Cyprus, these motives could be operational costs, banking system, company law flexibility, location of the country, availability of staff, cultural relationships etc Combining economic motives with tax motives is still not a crime [46]

47 Holding Company - headquarters in a domiciliation company? A question which needs to be addressed is whether a pure holding company with headquarters in a country like Cyprus and with little activities within Cyprus can withstand the international pressure for taxation and substance The holding company needs to demonstrate that its board of directors are qualified and experienced enough in the specific industry, capable enough and with adequate time available in order to spend on making proper informed decisions on the investment activities of the company. Is it necessary for holding company to have fully operational offices with a large number of employees? [47]

48 Holding Company Level of substance (1) In assessing whether Company X s and Company Y s actual or effective management was located in Luxembourg and Portugal respectively, the Tribunal considers it critical to take into account the actual nature of each company, and its actual activities. [48]

49 Holding Company Level of substance (2) In so far as either entity is no more than a holding company, or a company with little or no day-to-day operational activities, its day-to-day management will necessarily be very limited, and so will its physical links with its corporate seat. Put another way, it would be entirely unreasonable to expect a mere holding company, or a company with little or no operational responsibility, to maintain extensive offices or workforce, or to be able to provide evidence of extensive activities, at its corporate location. [49]

50 Holding Company Level of substance (3) And yet holding companies, and companies with little or no operational responsibility, have management, and are certainly not excluded from the Treaties in this case. Indeed, countries such as Luxembourg and Portugal clearly consider it to their respective benefit to attract such companies, and to maintain a corporate regulatory regime that allows for them. To this end, the Tribunal considers that the test of actual or effective management must be a flexible one, which takes into account the precise nature of the company in question and its actual activities [50]

51 Contact us NEOFYTOS NEOFYTOU Head of Tax South East Europe Baker Tilly Klitou Tel , Fax This presentation has been prepared for general guidance on matters of interest only, and does not constitute professional advice. Do not act upon the information contained in this publication without obtaining specific professional advice. No representation or warranty (express or implied) is given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information contained in this publication. Τo the extent permitted by law, Baker Tilly Klitou and Partners Ltd, its members, employees and agents do not accept or assume any liability, responsibility or duty of care for any consequences of anyone acting, or refraining to act, in reliance on the information contained in this publication or for any decision based on it Baker Tilly Klitou and Partners Ltd. All rights reserved. In this document, Baker Tilly or Baker Tilly Klitou refers to Baker Tilly Klitou and Partners Ltd, registered in Cyprus, which is an independent member of Baker Tilly International, a worldwide network of accounting firms. Baker Tilly is a trademark of Baker Tilly UK Group LLP, used under license.