評(píng)論
打印
Private equity
私募股權(quán)融資
Tax attack
稅收攻擊
Leveraged buy-outs face legal scrutiny
衡平收購(gòu)面臨法律審查
Aug 24th 2013 |From the print edition
TAX planners at private-equity firms are having an unusually busy summer. A fiscal ruling in Sweden and a court case in America are threatening to upend the arrangements that buy-out firms use to minimise their tax bills.
私募股權(quán)公司的稅務(wù)規(guī)劃師這個(gè)夏天非一般的忙碌。瑞典的金融管制以及美國(guó)的一起案件有可能顛覆收購(gòu)公司用于最小化其稅收單的安排。
Both cases relate to a tax loophole used by private-equity firms in America and much of Europe. Under “carried interest” rules, buy-out executives pay (relatively low) capital-gains taxes on profits made from buying and selling companies, in the same way investors or entrepreneurs do. This is odd, given that the money wagered on private-equity deals comes overwhelmingly from outside investors, not the executives themselves. It would make more sense for these profits to be taxed like salaries, or bankers’ bonuses, at the (higher) income-tax rate.
這兩起事件都與一個(gè)稅收漏洞有關(guān)，這個(gè)漏洞在美國(guó)和歐洲大部分地區(qū)的私募股權(quán)公司被利用。根據(jù)附帶權(quán)益規(guī)則，控制股權(quán)收購(gòu)的主管跟投資者和企業(yè)家一樣支付相對(duì)較低的資本利得稅，這項(xiàng)稅是針對(duì)公司買賣獲利所征收。鑒于押在私募股權(quán)融資交易中的資金大部分來(lái)自外部投資者，而不是主管，所以這項(xiàng)規(guī)則很奇怪。這些利潤(rùn)應(yīng)該按照工資稅或者銀行家的紅利，征收更高的所得稅更合理。
That is exactly what Sweden’s tax administration has decided. In a ruling on August 20th it demanded SKr647m ($99m) of back taxes from EQT, a local private-equity fund, and its executives. The amount covers the difference between the 25% capital-gains rate and the 57% income tax for 2007-09, plus interest and penalties. EQT is not alone: dozens of other executives at other firms have been handed multi-million-kronor bills as a result of the tax authorities’ change of heart. The potentially impoverished bosses say they are confident courts will find in their favour on appeal.
瑞典的稅務(wù)局就是這樣做的。在8月20日的一起判決中，稅務(wù)局命令一個(gè)當(dāng)?shù)氐乃侥脊蓹?quán)基金EQT及其主管補(bǔ)交稅款6.47億瑞典克郎（9900萬(wàn)美元）。這筆稅款包括25%的資本利得稅和自2007年到2009年的57%的所得稅加上利息和罰金。不只是EQT一家，其他幾十家公司的主管也因?yàn)槎悇?wù)局中心的改變而交出了數(shù)百萬(wàn)克朗的資金。這些即將變成窮光蛋的老板說(shuō)他們很有信心法庭能找到有利于他們的請(qǐng)求。
The American case, decided on July 24th, chips away at carried interest from another angle. An appeals court in Boston ruled that Sun Capital, a private-equity fund that specialises in turning around distressed companies, is liable for some pension obligations of a firm it bought in 2006, and which subsequently went bust.
美國(guó)的案子于7月24日作出判決，從另一個(gè)角度撤銷了附帶權(quán)益。位于波士頓的一家上訴法院判決私募股權(quán)基金太陽(yáng)資本對(duì)其于2006年購(gòu)買的一家公司的養(yǎng)老金支付負(fù)有責(zé)任，這家公司最終破產(chǎn)。太陽(yáng)資本專注于使運(yùn)轉(zhuǎn)不佳的公司好轉(zhuǎn)。
The case is limited to pensions (and is being contested by Sun Capital) but the precedent could have a wider tax impact, says Jon Zorn of Ropes & Gray, a law firm. The core of the ruling blows away a legal fiction that private-equity funds are passive investors who do not actively control the companies they buy. That premise is also used to justify putting profits into the lower tax bracket.
這起案件局限于養(yǎng)老金，并且太陽(yáng)資本提出了異議。但是格雷律師事務(wù)所的Jon Zorn表示，先前的例子對(duì)稅收更有影響。判決的核心推翻了私募股權(quán)基金都是不會(huì)主動(dòng)控制收購(gòu)公司的消極投資者的法律假想。該假定之前也常常用于將利潤(rùn)劃為更低的稅率等級(jí)征稅的辯護(hù)。
Executives in Sweden and America complain about the uncertainty created by the cases. They have a point. It would be better to make clear that private-equity profits should be taxed as income, and carried interest done away with.
瑞典和美國(guó)的主管抱怨案件引起的不確定性。他們有一個(gè)觀點(diǎn)。弄清楚私募股權(quán)利潤(rùn)應(yīng)該按照所得征稅，并且廢除附帶權(quán)益，這樣更好。
