IAWS/Aryzta tax position on dividends?

Brendan Burgess

Brendan Burgess

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Holders of IAWS shares will now hold Depositary Interests in a Swiss company called Aryzta.

Anyone got any idea of how dividends from a Swiss company are taxed in Ireland?

Is there a tax advantage in holding Irish shares over Swiss shares or vice versa?

Brendan
 
Brendan,

Some discussion [broken link removed](of all places!) - I'll see if I can dig out anything from Bloomberg or Reuters.

EDIT: Another question to ponder - for tax purposes, is any dividend paid to the shareholder paid by the UK Registered CDI or by the underlying Swiss company? ie which DTA applied Swiss / Irish or UK / Irish?
 
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OK, so I got my first dividend from Aryzta today with a massive 35% withholding tax taken by the Swiss government.

Does anyone know how to go about getting some of it back? Do I apply to the Swiss or to the Irish Revenue? Which particular division to I apply to? I had a terrible time before with German and French dividends and eventually gave up trying to get my refund.

From the above article

Dividends paid on the Aryzta shares will be subject to Swiss withholding tax.

...

The current Swiss dividend withholding tax rate is 35%. This will be levied on any dividends or distributions made by Aryzta.


From January 2011, dividends paid from profits will be exempt from withholding tax.


For dividends paid next year, Irish tax resident investors may be entitled to a partial refund of the dividend withholding tax under the terms of the Irish Switzerland Double Taxation Convention.


Individual Irish tax resident shareholders are subject to Irish income tax on the gross amount of dividend received. This is 65% of the declared dividend, plus what is refunded back under the double taxation agreement.


Irish investors will also have to pay the health levy of 2%, depending on amount of dividend and they may also have to pay PRSI.
Click to expand...
 
I also paid 35% tax when I recieved my dividend paymant from Aryzta. However I did a search on Google and came across a company called taxback who can reclaim your dividend withholding tax. It was easy enough, I just sent them a couple of forms and recieved my refund directly into my account - worth a look!
 
Hi Eamon

There should be no need to go through taxback or any other group.

Do you know where the forms were sent?
 
From the Aryzta [broken link removed]

Edited to remove references to non Irish resident tax payers.

This document sets down the procedures for seeking a refund of Swiss dividend withholding tax deducted on the payment of dividends by ARYZTA AG.

If you are in any doubt as to what action you should take, you are recommended to seek your own personal financial advice from your stockbroker, bank manager, solicitor, accountant, fund manager or other appropriate independent financial adviser

Dividend Payment and Swiss Withholding Tax
The following paragraphs, which are intended as a general guide only, are based on Swiss tax law and current Irish tax law and practice. The following paragraphs are intended for use by individual shareholders, and do not address categories of shareholders who may be subject to special rules (such as banks, dealers or traders in securities, insurance companies, etc.)


The summary below does not purport to constitute a comprehensive analysis of the relevant tax issues and it does not consider any individual shareholder’s particular circumstances. It is not a substitute for tax advice. If you are in any doubt about your taxation position you should consult an appropriate professional advisor.

Tax Analysis


(i) Irish tax resident shareholders
The current double tax treaty between Ireland and Switzerland may entitle you to a partial reclaim of Swiss withholding tax on the dividend. Qualifying shareholders resident in Ireland will be able to claim back 4/7ths of the 35% Swiss withholding tax, leaving a net tax cost in Switzerland of 15% of the gross dividend.

Depending on your personal circumstances, you may be able to secure a tax credit in Ireland for the remaining 15% Swiss withholding tax.


(ii) Irish tax resident shareholders
Three copies of Swiss tax Form 91, duly completed and signed, must be sent to the Inspector of Taxes in Ireland to whom your income tax return is made (or to the Inspector of Taxes for the district in which you reside, if you have not made such a return) no later than 31 December of the third year following the calendar year in which the dividend became due. All rights to repayment in one calendar year must be claimed in a single claim.


Two copies of the forms will be sent by the Inspector of Taxes to the Federal Tax Administration of Switzerland, Eigerstrasse 65, CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland.

The relevant form can be found on the [broken link removed]of the Swiss Federal Tax Administration


The claim must be accompanied by evidence of deduction of Swiss withholding tax. In general, a certificate of deduction, signed bank voucher or credit slip will satisfy this requirement. A respective dividend voucher will be provided at the time of payment. However, the Swiss administration reserves the right to request further evidence and information.

The claim form may be filed by a representative on behalf of the beneficial owner, provided that the representative is formally authorised by a power of attorney (which must be attached to the form).

Please note: If your shares are held through a custodian, then the reclaim may be automatically generated on your behalf. You should therefore check with your custodian whether the reclaim will be made on your behalf.

ARYZTA AG have been advised by the Swiss tax authorities that refunds may take some months to obtain, so you are advised to make your application as soon as possible. Refunds will be paid in Swiss Francs.


IMPORTANT NOTE
This summary does not purport to constitute a comprehensive analysis of the relevant tax issues and it does not consider any individual shareholder’s particular circumstances. It is not a substitute for tax advice. ARYZTA AG is not a tax advisor and does not purport to offer tax or other advice. Each shareholder is responsible for its own tax matters and ARYZTA AG accepts no responsibility in this regard. If you are in any doubt about your taxation position, or you are resident other than in Switzerland, Ireland, the United Kingdom or the United States, you should consult an appropriate professional advisor.
 
The form is in QDF format.

To download this, go to the top right hand side of the page and click on download [broken link removed]viewer


Put the gross amount of the dividend in Column 6 (I think)/. The refund on dividends is only 20%

Tick the boxes on page 2

When you print it, it prints 4 copies.

Send three copies of the form with the dividend certificate to your tax office in Ireland.
It's not clear, but I think you keep the 4th copy for your own records.

Again, it's not clear, but I think that the Irish Revenue sends on the forms to the Swiss Revenue (but they might send them back to you to send on)

Brendan
 
Has anyone figured out the detail of this. From the Farmer's Journal

Individual Irish tax resident shareholders are subject to Irish income tax on the gross amount of dividend received. This is 65% of the declared dividend, plus what is refunded back under the double taxation agreement.
Click to expand...

From Arytza's note
Depending on your personal circumstances, you may be able to secure a tax credit in Ireland for the remaining 15% Swiss withholding tax.
Click to expand...

Gross dividend|100
Swiss withholding tax|35
net dividend received|65
Reclaimed from Swiss Revenue|20

I have put the €100 on my tax return.

But maybe I should have put only 85 ( 65 net + 20 refund) ?

Brendan
 
The tax situation on Aryzta has changed and the dividends have been paid without deduction of any tax for some years


Application for ARYZTA AG for the year ended 31 July 2010
For the year ended 31 July 2010, ARYZTA AG distributed unrestricted contributed reserves. Swiss
Federal Authorities have verified the fact that these unrestricted contributed reserves can be distributed
without the imposition of Swiss dividend withholding tax.

The dividend distribution for the year ended 31 July 2010 was paid on 1 February 2011.

Application for ARYZTA AG for the year ended 31 July 2011
For the year ended 31 July 2011, ARYZTA AG will distribute unrestricted contributed reserves. Swiss
Federal Authorities have verified the fact that these unrestricted contributed reserves can be distributed
without the imposition of Swiss dividend withholding tax.

Application for ARYZTA AG for the year ended 31 July 2012
For the year ended 31 July 2012 and future periods, the Group will look to continue to make any
future approved dividend distributions out of unrestricted contributed reserves (to the extent that the
Group continues to have sufficient unrestricted contributed reserves available for distribution).

Consequently, the 0% Swiss withholding tax rate should continue to apply to future dividend
distributions by the Group until all of the existing unrestricted contributed reserves available within
ARYZTA AG have been utilized.
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