Participation exemption is a general term relating to an exemption from taxation for a shareholder in a company on dividends received, and potential capital gains arising on the sale of shares.
The justification for a participation exemption is to eliminate double taxation of shareholders.
In any accounting period, a company may pay a form of corporate income tax on its taxable profit which reduces the amount of post-tax profit available for distribution by dividend to shareholders.
In the absence of a participation exemption, or other form of tax relief, shareholders may pay tax on the amount of dividend income received. This results in double taxation as the dividend is paid out of taxed profits of the company.
A participation exemption will typically provide that certain types of dividends are not taxed in the hands of shareholders. In addition, many participation exemption regimes provide that capital gains on shares are not taxed as long as a specified proportion of the company's share capital is held for a specified period.
A participation exemption may apply to qualifying shareholdings in overseas companies, domestic companies, or both.
The existence of a participation exemption under a local tax regime enhances a jurisdiction's attractiveness as a holding company location, although other factors such as the presence of a network of double taxation treaties are relevant.
Countries with a participation exemption include:
Ireland announced a roadmap for the introduction of a dividend participation exemption to Ireland's corporate tax regime, effective starting 1 January 2025. [2]
EU Directive 2011/96/EU exempts intra-EU dividends and other profit distributions paid by subsidiary companies to their parent companies from withholding taxes and to eliminate double taxation of such income at the level of the parent company, provided that the parent company and subsidiary are located in different EU member states.
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Participation exemptions generally limit taxation of a parent company (corporation) in its country of organization on income from subsidiaries. This reduction of taxation generally has some limitations as to the nature of income on which tax is reduced and the minimum level and period of ownership of the subsidiary. Participation exemptions are only relevant in countries which tax companies on their income from sources outside the country.
Some systems (e.g., The Netherlands) provide that dividends from a subsidiary meeting the minimum ownership requirements is wholly exempt from taxation. Some systems provide a partial exemption. A few extend this treatment to interest or other forms of participation.
Most systems require that the parent company must own some significant portion (e.g., 25 percent) of the equity of the subsidiary in order to qualify for participation exemption. In addition, most systems require that this ownership either have already continued for a minimum period at the time the income is received or continue beyond the date of such receipt until the minimum period is reached. The minimum ownership period is often one year.[ citation needed ]
A few systems require an advance ruling by tax authorities in order to benefit from participation exemption. This requirement, however, is becoming less prevalent.
Some jurisdictions offer alternative forms of tax relief which are designed to achieve similar results to a participation exemption.
A dividend tax is a tax imposed by a jurisdiction on dividends paid by a corporation to its shareholders (stockholders). The primary tax liability is that of the shareholder, though a tax obligation may also be imposed on the corporation in the form of a withholding tax. In some cases the withholding tax may be the extent of the tax liability in relation to the dividend. A dividend tax is in addition to any tax imposed directly on the corporation on its profits. Some jurisdictions do not tax dividends.
A capital gains tax (CGT) is the tax on profits realized on the sale of a non-inventory asset. The most common capital gains are realized from the sale of stocks, bonds, precious metals, real estate, and property.
Controlled foreign corporation (CFC) rules are features of an income tax system designed to limit artificial deferral of tax by using offshore low taxed entities. The rules are needed only with respect to income of an entity that is not currently taxed to the owners of the entity. Generally, certain classes of taxpayers must include in their income currently certain amounts earned by foreign entities they or related persons control.
A corporate tax, also called corporation tax or company tax, is a type of direct tax levied on the income or capital of corporations and other similar legal entities. The tax is usually imposed at the national level, but it may also be imposed at state or local levels in some countries. Corporate taxes may be referred to as income tax or capital tax, depending on the nature of the tax.
Double taxation is the levying of tax by two or more jurisdictions on the same income, asset, or financial transaction.
Dividend imputation is a corporate tax system in which some or all of the tax paid by a company may be attributed, or imputed, to the shareholders by way of a tax credit to reduce the income tax payable on a distribution. In comparison to the classical system, it reduces or eliminates the tax disadvantages of distributing dividends to shareholders by only requiring them to pay the difference between the corporate rate and their marginal tax rate. The imputation system effectively taxes distributed company profit at the shareholders' average tax rates.
Ireland's Corporate Tax System is a central component of Ireland's economy. In 2016–17, foreign firms paid 80% of Irish corporate tax, employed 25% of the Irish labour force, and created 57% of Irish OECD non-farm value-add. As of 2017, 25 of the top 50 Irish firms were U.S.–controlled businesses, representing 70% of the revenue of the top 50 Irish firms. By 2018, Ireland had received the most U.S. § Corporate tax inversions in history, and Apple was over one–fifth of Irish GDP. Academics rank Ireland as the largest tax haven; larger than the Caribbean tax haven system.
International taxation is the study or determination of tax on a person or business subject to the tax laws of different countries, or the international aspects of an individual country's tax laws as the case may be. Governments usually limit the scope of their income taxation in some manner territorially or provide for offsets to taxation relating to extraterritorial income. The manner of limitation generally takes the form of a territorial, residence-based, or exclusionary system. Some governments have attempted to mitigate the differing limitations of each of these three broad systems by enacting a hybrid system with characteristics of two or more.
Taxation in the Netherlands is defined by the income tax, the wage withholding tax, the value added tax and the corporate tax.
The tax system of the Russian Federation is a complex of relationships between fiscal authorities and taxpayers in the field of all existing taxes and fees. It implies continuous communication of all its members and related objects: payers; legislative framework; oversight authorities; types of mandatory payments. The Russian Tax Code is the primary tax law for the Russian Federation. The Code was created, adopted and implemented in three stages.
Corporate tax is imposed in the United States at the federal, most state, and some local levels on the income of entities treated for tax purposes as corporations. Since January 1, 2018, the nominal federal corporate tax rate in the United States of America is a flat 21% following the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. State and local taxes and rules vary by jurisdiction, though many are based on federal concepts and definitions. Taxable income may differ from book income both as to timing of income and tax deductions and as to what is taxable. The corporate Alternative Minimum Tax was also eliminated by the 2017 reform, but some states have alternative taxes. Like individuals, corporations must file tax returns every year. They must make quarterly estimated tax payments. Groups of corporations controlled by the same owners may file a consolidated return.
The dividends-received deduction, under U.S. federal income tax law, is a tax deduction received by a corporation on the dividends it receives from other corporations in which it has an ownership stake.
Taxes in Switzerland are levied by the Swiss Confederation, the cantons and the municipalities.
Netherlands benefits from a strategic geographic location, a world-class economy, a stable political climate, and a skilled workforce. The Netherlands has a large network of tax treaties, a low corporate income tax rate and a full participation exemption for capital gains and profits. These characteristics, in addition to a favorable tax environment, make Netherlands one of the most open economies in the world for multinational corporations (MNCs).
Taxation in Estonia consists of state and local taxes. A relatively high proportion of government revenue comes from consumption taxes whilst revenue from capital taxes is one of the lowest in the European Union.
The Common Consolidated Corporate Tax Base (CCCTB) is a proposal for a common tax scheme for the European Union developed by the European Commission and first proposed in March 2011 that provides a single set of rules for how EU corporations calculate EU taxes, and provide the ability to consolidate EU taxes. Corporate tax rates in the EU would not be changed by the CCCTB, as EU countries would continue to have their own corporate tax rates.
In Slovakia, taxes are levied by the state and local governments. Tax revenue stood at 19.3% of the country's gross domestic product in 2021. The tax-to-GDP ratio in Slovakia deviates from OECD average of 34.0% by 0.8 percent and in 2022 was 34.8% which ranks Slovakia 19th in the tax-to-GDP ratio comparison among the OECD countries. The most important revenue sources for the state government are income tax, social security, value-added tax and corporate tax.
Base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS) refers to corporate tax planning strategies used by multinationals to "shift" profits from higher-tax jurisdictions to lower-tax jurisdictions or no-tax locations where there is little or no economic activity, thus "eroding" the "tax-base" of the higher-tax jurisdictions using deductible payments such as interest or royalties. For the government, the tax base is a company's income or profit. Tax is levied as a percentage on this income/profit. When that income / profit is transferred to a tax haven, the tax base is eroded and the company does not pay taxes to the country that is generating the income. As a result, tax revenues are reduced and the country is disadvantaged. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) define BEPS strategies as "exploiting gaps and mismatches in tax rules". While some of the tactics are illegal, the majority are not. Because businesses that operate across borders can utilize BEPS to obtain a competitive edge over domestic businesses, it affects the righteousness and integrity of tax systems. Furthermore, it lessens deliberate compliance, when taxpayers notice multinationals legally avoiding corporate income taxes. Because developing nations rely more heavily on corporate income tax, they are disproportionately affected by BEPS.
The Tax Attractiveness Index (T.A.X.) indicates the attractiveness of a country's tax environment and the possibilities of tax planning for companies. The T.A.X. is constructed for 100 countries worldwide starting from 2005 on. The index covers 20 equally weighted components of real-world tax systems which are relevant for corporate location decisions. The index ranges between zero and one. The more the index values approaches one, the more attractive is the tax environment of a certain country from a corporate perspective. The 100 countries include 41 European countries, 19 American countries, 6 Caribbean countries, 18 countries that are located in Africa & Middle East, and 16 countries that fall into the Asia-Pacific region.
The Australian dividend imputation system is a corporate tax system in which some or all of the tax paid by a company may be attributed, or imputed, to the shareholders by way of a tax credit to reduce the income tax payable on a distribution. In comparison to the classical system, dividend imputation reduces or eliminates the tax disadvantages of distributing dividends to shareholders by only requiring them to pay the difference between the corporate rate and their marginal rate. If the individual’s average tax rate is lower than the corporate rate, the individual receives a tax refund.