International tax planning, also known as international tax structures, is one element of international taxation that allows to minimize the tax burden associated with operations done from and to other territories, through the Tax Treaties as well as multilateral agreements (Direct Tax European Union Directives and VAT Directives) stands out and becomes very useful. Applying these rules together with the internal Law could achieve a significant tax burden reduction that affects every business or specific transaction. These include the avoidance of double taxation and the use of reduced taxation for both companies and individuals. 

What are the main areas of tax planning? 

Double Taxation 

Legal double taxation occurs when the same taxpayer with the same income or assets is simultaneously subject to the same or comparable taxes in two or more countries. In the case of economic double taxation, the identity of the taxpayer is abandoned in favor of an economically defined identity. This is the case, for example, if the profits of a foreign subsidiary are subject to taxation abroad and are simultaneously taxable in Spain and Greece as an investment income of the parent company. 

Reduced Taxation 

Reduced taxation occurs when the use of international differences in tax burdens results in a reduction of the tax level compared to the burden in the country of residence. This is achieved by exploiting inter-state tax differentials, differences in international tax systems and incomplete inter-state coordination. A reduction in taxation can thus arise within a group of companies if taxable assets, e.g. in the form of profits, are transferred to foreign subsidiaries, are subject to lower taxation there and are exempted from domestic taxation when distributed to the domestic parent company (transfer prices). 

What are the long-term goals? 

In addition to main areas, tax planning also pursues a number of qualitative goals, most of which are long-term: 

• Fiscal goodwill refers to a company’s good reputation with the tax authorities. It can be advantageous in the discretionary decisions of the tax authorities. 
• Adaptability is understood to mean the fiscal flexibility with which it is possible to react to changed economic or fiscal conditions through appropriate tax planning. 
• The pursuit of security and independence leads to a relative minimisation of tax risks in the form of unexpected tax back payments and sanctions. Due to the increased complexity of international tax planning, adaptability, as well as security and independence, have a high priority. 

Services 

With this aim, to support and give the best possible advice to our European based active clients we offer the following services in various matters, such as: 

• (Inter)national legal certainty. 
• The effectiveness of measures to avoid double taxation. 
• Representation of international companies with regard to the reimbursement/exemption of withholding tax withheld in Spain, Belgium and Greece 
• VAT and customs law aspects of international trade in goods.  
• International assignments to (or from) Spain, Greece and Belgium. 

• Financing concepts. 
• Study of opening new markets and internationalization of companies: analysis of the more beneficial tax and legal option regarding the investment features. 
• Permanent Establishment for VAT purposes and Income Tax purposes and request for Foreigner Identification Number  
• Setting up subsidiaries for non-residents in Spain, Belgium and Greece or subsidiaries of local companies abroad. 
• Foreign subsidiaries of Companies follow up and tax advice. 

• Information obligations and filings of assets located abroad (720, D6, ETE, etc ) 
• Spanish Non Residents Tax Return 
• Reporting and special counseling about new methods of exchange of information between states 

 

The possibilities for optimizing international tax planning are numerous and individual and vary from case to case. Our team of experts for international tax planning assists Spanish, Greek and Belgium companies with their foreign business transactions as well as foreign companies with their projects in Spain, Greece and Belgium. 

Financial institutions provided their clients with borrowing facilities for the acquisition of these products. At present, following the drop in prices of shares on today, investors must face the compulsory purchase of shares with reductions of between 50% and 75% of their emission value, as well as having to repay the loans they used to finance the purchase of the bonds.

Navas & Cusí, with wide experience in legal procedures against bad banking practice, calls upon the courts of this country for the nullification of the contracts signed and the refund of the significant financial losses by investors as a result of the incorrect marketing of these products on the part of the financial institutions, in cases that have failed to comply with their legal duties of transparency and informationduring the procurement process, omitting the regulations applicable to the institutions that operate in the securities market.

What are convertible and/or exchangeable bonds?

Convertibility means the possibility of transforming one financial asset into another. Thus, a specific obligation (bond) can be converted into a share or into another type of obligation.
Convertible or exchangeable obligations enable the owner to redeem them for shares on a specified date.

Until the conversion or exchange date, the investor receives the interest through the collection of regular bond coupons. The number of shares that will be delivered for each bond or obligation and the way in which prices and dates of the exchange or conversion are determined, are specified in the Informative Leafletpublished by the issuing financial institution.

When the Exchange or conversion date arrives, the investor has two alternatives:

• Exercise the conversion option, if the price of the shares offered in exchange / conversion is less than their market price.
• Keep the obligations until the date of the following conversion option or until their maturity.