Tax

In this article we examine recent developments that may affect the use of holding companies and the resulting impact on the UK as a holding jurisdiction.

There has been an abundance of tax measures in recent years that have the potential to reduce the tax efficiency of holding companies. For example, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) judgments in the Danish withholding tax cases, the publication of the draft Anti-Tax Avoidance Directive (ATAD) III (the so-called “Unshell Directive”), and the European Commission’s announcement that ATAD III will be closely followed by an anti-shell directive that will apply to non-EU companies, have led some to predict the demise of the use of holding companies in investment structures.

It is the authors’ view that reports of such a demise are an exaggeration. However, there have been a number of recent developments that have the potential to disrupt the use of holding companies. This article provides an overview of the relevance of these developments to the UK as a viable holding company.

You can read the full article here.

This article first appeared in the November 2022 issue of PLC Magazine.