2014 Operational Updates

News and Updates

Dec 31

Belgium

July 2014: Delhaize Group ADR (29759W101 / US29759W1018 / DEG) - Long Form Reclaim Services Available

Acupay is pleased to announce that it now accepts Long Form reclaims for any holders who have for any reason failed to submit their tax relief request during the short relief at source window. Long Form reclaims can be submitted up until 19 November 2018. Refunds from the Belgian tax authorities usually take 6 to 18 months from the date of submission to be received.

Acupay can also assist you with recovering excess withholding tax on any Belgian ordinary shares. For more information regarding any past Delhaize ADR dividend payments or reclaiming excess tax on other Belgian dividend or interest payments, please contact our Reclaims team.

June 2014: Delhaize Group ADR (29759W101 / US29759W1018 / DEG) - Continued Support

Acupay is pleased to announce its continued support to Delhaize ADR holders in obtaining relief from Belgian withholding tax. The Delhaize ADR Dividend payment on 5 June 2014 will be paid net of 25% statutory Belgian withholding tax. However, the Acupay System is now open to U.S. holders to submit Quick Refund instructions to obtain tax refunds on 19 June 2014. Investors from other jurisdictions will have the opportunity to apply for a Standard Refund post-payment date.

Don’t miss the deadline for Quick Refund submissions and EDS Elections on 4 June 2014!

Acupay can also assist you with recovering excess withholding tax on any ordinary Belgian share. For more information regarding any past Delhaize ADR dividend payments or reclaiming excess tax on other Belgian dividend or interest payments, please contact our Reclaim team.

May 2014: Delhaize Group NV/SA (ISIN: US29759W1018) – Recovery of Belgian Withholding Tax

The Belgian supermarket chain Delhaize will hold its ordinary shareholders’ meeting on Thursday, 22 May 2014. Shareholders will be asked to approve the distribution of a gross dividend of approximately EUR 1.56 per ordinary share around Monday, 2 June 2014.

Acupay continues to assist Delhaize ADR holders

To assist ADR shareholders, Delhaize Group, and its U.S. Depositary Bank, Citibank, N.A., have arranged for Acupay to make available tax relief procedures to obtain a reduced rate of Belgian withholding tax on dividend payments. Acupay will distribute a DTC Important Notice once the ordinary dividend payment has been confirmed. To receive a copy of the DTC Important Notice as soon as it is available, please contact the A-Team.

Germany

October 2014: 2014 German Dividend Season – DTV Submission Deadlines

Acupay supports the German Tax Agency’s (the "BZSt") electronic tax relief program (the DTV) designed to accelerate German tax reclaims.

The cut-off for submissions in this procedure is 6 months after the ordinary share payment date. Since dividend season takes place from February to June, most of the refund windows are closing in the coming weeks.

Therefore, please make sure to submit any DTV Quick Refund submissions as soon as possible!

Acupay can also assist you with recovering excess withholding tax on all German shares, ADRs, and GRSs via DTV. For more information regarding any German tax relief request, please contact the Acupay D-Team.

Israel

October 2014: The Israel Electric Corporation Limited – Reminder of Upcoming Payment

46507MAD4 / US46507MAD48
46507NAD2 / US46507NAD21
46507MAE2 / US46507MAE21
46507NAE0 / US46507NAE04

Since June 2013, Acupay has proudly been serving as Tax Compliance Agent for the Israel Electric Corporation Limited’s US$5 bn. Yankee bond program, the first fully compliant Israeli Yankee debt issue achieved by Acupay's cross-border tax relief platform.

The next interest payment is due to take place in December 2014, and pursuant to a special tax ruling of the Israeli Tax Authority, interest payments on these notes are tax exempt for beneficial owners who are non-Israeli or otherwise exempt from Israeli income taxes, unless there is failure to comply with the tax compliance procedures. Please ensure that DTC EDS elections and beneficial owner tax residence information is submitted to DTC/Acupay or your custodian as soon as the payment period is open for certification, to ensure tax relief on this payment.

Acupay open for certification: December 8th 2014

Acupay closes for certification: December 19th, 2014

(Be aware that your custodian will set deadlines well before the Acupay deadline.)

To receive a copy of the DTC Important Notice as soon as it is available, please register your interest with the A-Team.

August 2014: Israeli Withholding Tax - Long Form Reclaim Services Available

Acupay can also offer assistance to custodian banks whose clients have been unduly taxed on the December 2013 and/or June 2014 interest payment on the Israel Electric Corporation Notes. There is no traditional Long Form Reclaim procedure available in Israel. Instead, to obtain a refund of excess withholding tax, an annual tax return must be filed with the Israeli tax authorities on behalf of each eligible investor.

Under Israeli tax law, annual tax returns for foreign investors must be submitted by a local accountant. This will have an impact on the cost of the service. However, Acupay is happy to help custodian banks that would like to explore the possibility of obtaining a refund, and has therefore established procedures in collaboration with Deloitte in Israel.

For more information on the IEC Notes and eligible investor types, please go to our Israel Resources page. If you would like to reclaim Israeli withholding taxes for any of your clients, please contact our Reclaims team for more information.

June 2014: The Israel Electric Corporation Limited: Upcoming Payment Date

46507MAD4 / US46507MAD48
46507NAD2 / US46507NAD21
46507MAE2 / US46507MAE21
46507NAE0 / US46507NAE04

This is a reminder that, pursuant to a special Tax Ruling of the Israel Tax Authority, interest payments on the above-listed Israel Electric Notes are tax exempt for beneficial owners who are non-Israeli or otherwise exempt from Israel income taxes so long as the Acupay procedures are followed. Please ensure that DTC EDS elections and Beneficial Owner Tax Residence Information is submitted by you or on your behalf well in time before the deadline to ensure tax relief at source on 20 June 2014!

Please note that the applicable withholding tax rate for non-eligible or non-certified beneficial owners has increased from 25% to 26.5%. Tax rates and instructions on how to submit for tax relief can be found here.

If you have any questions, please contact Acupay’s A-Team.

Italy

August 2014: Italian Substitute Tax - Long Form Reclaim Services Available

Holdings in any of the taxable Yankee bond receipts (N Receipts), as well as uncertified holdings in the non-taxable Yankee bond receipts (X Receipts) deposited in DTC for which Acupay acts as tax certification agent, are taxed at the applicable rate of Italian substitute tax (currently 26%) on any interest payment date.

In recent weeks, Acupay has received several enquiries from financial intermediaries who missed relief-at-source on some of these Italian debt securities and were looking for support in submitting Long Form reclaims directly to the Italian tax authorities. Unfortunately, the preparation of Italian Long Form reclaims is cumbersome, the Italian state takes extensive periods of time (10+ years) to process requests for refund, and the rejection rate is high – especially for securities with complicated structures.

However, if you would like to lodge a claim, Acupay is happy to help. Please contact our Reclaims team for more information.

July 2014: Italian Substitute Tax Rate increase from 20% to 26%

Investors are advised that Legislative Decree 66 of 24 April 2014, as amended and implemented by Law 89 of 23 June 2014, established a new 26% tax rate replacing the previous rate of 20% imposta sostitutiva and withholding tax. The newly implemented 26% tax rate (the “New Rate”) will be applicable on financial income deriving from debt securities, equities and capital gains realised from 1 July 2014.

Exemptions based on Legislative Decree 239/1996 that are currently available under Italian tax law are unaffected.

Holdings in any of the taxable Yankee bond receipts deposited in DTC for which Acupay acts as tax certification agent, will be taxed under the pro-rata temporis principle: 20% for the period of the coupon before 1 July and 26% for the coupon period after 1 July.

If you have any questions, please contact the Acupay A-Team.

May 2014: Italian Substitute Tax Rate to Increase

On 24 April 2014, the Italian government issued Law Decree No. 66 aimed at increasing competitiveness and social justice in Italy. It also confirms some of the tax measures announced earlier this year by the Italian Prime Minister, which make significant changes to Italian tax on financial income.

Substitute Tax Rate to Increase from 20% to 26%

The Decree stipulates an increase from 20% to 26% in the substitute tax rate ("imposta sostitutiva") provided for by Legislative Decree 239/1996. The new rate will be applicable to any interest and other proceeds (including OID) from bonds ("obbligazioni") or debentures similar to bonds ("titoli similari alle obbligazioni") earned after 1 July 2014.

All of the debt securities for which Acupay acts as the Tax Compliance Agent are affected by this measure (please refer to the bottom of this email for a list of ISINs).

The same rate increase also applies to dividends and certain capital gains as well as proceeds distributed by Italian open ended or closed-ended investment funds. However, interest and capital gains from Italian government bonds remain taxable at a reduced 12.5% rate.

Please note that the Decree must be converted into Law within 60 days and the measure will not take effect otherwise.

If you would like to receive updates on this matter by email, please contact Acupay’s A-Team.

Spain

October 2014: Telefonica, S.A. (ADS) - Recovery of Spanish Withholding Tax

Acupay is pleased to announce its continued support to Telefonica ADR holders in obtaining relief from Spanish Withholding Tax. We provide a tax Relief-at-Source service and support tax reclaims for past dividends up to a statutory limit of 4 calendar years.

The next Telefonica dividend payment is coming up in November of this year – so be prepared to submit your tax relief request in to the Acupay System. Be aware that you will need to provide a Spain-specific certificate of tax residence (see NOTE below) valid for the Record Date for each beneficial owner. If you don’t already have a certificate of residence on file, now is the time to apply!

Also, don’t forget to file for any excess withholding tax from past dividend payments. For more information:

Regarding the upcoming Telefonica ADS dividend payment or U.S. certificates of residence please contact the A-Team.
Regarding any past Telefonica ADS dividend payments, please contact our Reclaim team.

NOTE: A Petición de Reducción / Devolución is required for certain countries of tax residence.

September 2014: Telefonica, S.A. ADR (ISIN: US8793822086) SOL Expiring for November 2010 Dividend Payment

The statute of limitation for tax reclaims on Spanish dividend payments is 4 years from the ordinary share payment date. This means that the deadline to submit requests for refunds of excessively withheld taxes on the 17 November 2010 dividend payment of the Telefonica, S.A to Acupay is 23 September 2014 to ensure timely filing with the Spanish tax authorities. Therefore, if you wish to file a reclaim to recover excess withholding tax, please do so as soon as possible. Be aware that you will need to provide a valid Spain-specific Certificate of Residence (see NOTE below) for tax year 2010, for each beneficial owner. Acupay must receive all original paperwork no later than 23 September 2014.

Please contact our Reclaims team for more information.

NOTE: A Petición de Reducción / Devolución is required for certain countries of tax residence.

August 2014: Spanish Long Form Reclaims - Updated Document Requirements

For dividend payments after 12 June 2014, U.K. tax residents will no longer need to provide a Petición de Reducción/Devolución to obtain tax relief. Instead, an original Spain-specific Certificate of Residence, valid for the year of the dividend payment date, must be provided.

The U.K.-Spain Double Taxation Treaty was also updated to include a provision to exempt pension plans from withholding tax. The practical implication of this update is that Pension Plans may now also apply for exemption from tax at-source in addition to applying for a full refund via a reclaim under domestic law. In line with the above paragraph, U.K. pension schemes can obtain tax reductions by providing a Spain-specific Certificate of Residence instead of an Annex VI.

Please note that a Petición de Reducción/Devolución and Annex VI will still need to be provided to reclaim excess withholding taxes for dividends paid before 12 June 2014.

Please contact our Reclaims team for more information.

May 2014: Telefonica, S.A. ADR (ISIN: US8793822086) – Tax Relief on Upcoming Dividend Payment

Telefonica has announced a dividend payment of EUR 0.40 per ordinary share or approx. US $ 0.554 per ADR (1 ADR: 1 ORD) to be paid to shareholders holding a position on the Record Date (Tuesday, 6 May 2014).

The dividend will be subject to 21% Spanish withholding tax. A reduced rate of Spanish withholding tax will be available when submitting a valid tax relief request in to the Acupay System. Acupay will offer a relief at source, a quick refund, and a standard refund service.

Be aware that you will need to provide a Spain-specific certificate of tax residence valid for the Record Date for each beneficial owner. If you haven’t got a certificate of residence on file yet, apply immediately!

Also, don’t forget to file for any excess withholding tax from past dividend payments.

For more information:

To receive a copy of the DTC Important Notice as soon as it is available, please contact the A-Team.
Regarding any excess withholding tax from past Telefonica ADR dividend payments, please contact our Reclaim team.

Nothing on this page is intended to constitute financial, legal, or tax advice.

Product Team