ITAD BIR Ruling No. 295-14

October 10, 2014 ITAD BIR RULING NO. 295-14 Article 10, Philippines-Netherlands tax treaty Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & Delos Angeles Attorneys at Law 21st Floor, Philamlife Tower 8767 Paseo de Roxas 1226 Makati City Attention: Jayson L. Fernandez Legal Counsel Gentlemen : This refers to your tax treaty relief application filed on September 28, 2012, on behalf of G.O. IB NETHERLANDS ONE BV ("GOIB BV"), requesting confirmation that dividends paid by BAHAY FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC. ("BFSI") to GOIB BV are subject to 10 percent preferential tax rate pursuant to Article 10 of the Convention between the Republic of the Philippines and the Kingdom of the Netherlands for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income ("Philippines-Netherlands tax treaty"). It is represented that GOIB BV, with principal address at Telestone 8 Teleport, Naritaweg 1651043 BW Amsterdam, The Netherlands, is a resident of the Netherlands within the meaning of Article 4 of the Philippines-Netherlands tax treaty per Declaration of Residence issued by the Tax and Customs Administration of the Netherlands on September 20, 2012; that it is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the Netherlands with authorized capital of one million nine hundred thirty thousand euro (EUR1,930,000) divided into one hundred ninety three thousand (193,000) shares with a nominal value of ten euro (EUR10.00) each; that it is not registered either as a corporation or as a partnership in the Philippines per Certification of Non-Registration of Company issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission dated September 20, 2012; and that, on the other hand, BFSI is a corporation organized and existing under the laws of the Philippines with principal address at 24th BPI Buendia Center, Sen. Gil Puyat Avenue, Makati City. It is further represented that the Board of Directors of BFSI declared cash dividends on September 27, 2012 at the rate of Php107.777179 per share or a total of Ninety Seven Million Pesos (Php97,000,000.00) payable to all stockholders of record as of September 27, 2012, payable on October 31, 2012; that as of the date of record, GOIB BV holds 810,001 common shares which represent 90% ownership in BFSI; and that, based on a certification issued by BFSI as evidenced by the attached SWIFT confirmation on September 2, 2012, such dividends was remitted to GOIB BV on October 1, 2012. aTEADI In reply, please be informed that Section 28 (B) (1) of the National Internal Revenue Code (Tax Code) of 1997, as amended, applies, in general, to income derived in the Philippines by a nonresident foreign corporation. It provides: "Section 28. Rates of Income Tax on Foreign Corporations. xxx xxx xxx (B) Tax on Nonresident Foreign Corporation (1) In General. Except as otherwise provided in this Code, a foreign corporation not engaged in trade or business in the Philippines shall pay a tax equal to thirty-five percent (35%) of the gross income received during each taxable year from all sources within the Philippines, such as interest, dividends, rents, royalties, salaries, premiums (except reinsurance premiums), annuities, emoluments, or other fixed or determinable annual, periodic or casual gains, profits and income, and capital gains, except capital gains subject to tax under subparagraph 5(c): Provided, That effective January 1, 2009, the rate of income tax shall be thirty percent (30%) . . . ." However, Section 32 (B) (5) of the Tax Code of 1997, as amended, provides: "Section 32. Gross Income. xxx xxx xxx (B) Exclusions from Gross Income. The following items shall not be included in gross income and shall be exempt from taxation under this Title: xxx xxx xxx (5) Income Exempt under Treaty. Income of any kind, to the extent required by any treaty obligation binding upon the Government of the Philippines." In relation thereto, Article 10 of the Philippines-Netherlands tax treaty, which you invoked, may apply to the instant case. It provides: "Article 10 Dividends 1. Dividends paid by a company which is a resident of one of the States to a resident of the other State may be taxed in that other State. 2. However, such dividends may also be taxed in the State of which the company paying the dividends is a resident and according to the laws of that State, but if the recipient is the beneficial owner of the dividends the tax so charged shall not exceed: a) 10 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends if the recipient is a company the capital of which is wholly or partly divided into shares and which holds directly at least 10 per cent of the capital of the company paying the dividends; ICAcTa b) 15 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends in all other cases. xxx xxx xxx 5. The term 'dividends' as used in this Article means income from shares, 'jouissance' shares or 'jouissance' rights, mining shares, founders' shares or other rights participating in profits, as well as income from debt-claims participating in profits and income from other corporate rights which is subjected to the same taxation treatment as income from shares by the taxation law of the State of which the company making the distribution is a resident. . . ." Based on the above-cited provision, the 10 percent preferential tax rate on dividend applies whenever the beneficial owner of the dividends is a company, the capital of which is divided into shares, and owns at least 10 percent of the capital of the paying company. In all other cases, 15 percent preferential tax rate applies. Such being the case and considering that the capital of BFSI is wholly divided into shares, and that GOIB BV holds 90 percent of the capital of BFSI, this Office is of the opinion and so holds that the dividends paid by BFSI to GOIB BV are subject to the preferential tax rate of 10 percent of the gross amount of the dividends pursuant to Article 10 (2) (a) of the Philippines-Netherlands tax treaty. This ruling is issued on the basis of the foregoing facts as represented. However, if upon investigation it shall be disclosed that the actual facts are different, then this ruling shall be without force and effect insofar as the herein parties are concerned. SHECcT Very truly yours, (SGD.) KIM S. JACINTO-HENARES Commissioner Bureau of Internal Revenue