MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES TO U.S. HOLDERS
The following discussion describes the material U.S. federal income tax consequences to U.S. Holders (as defined below) under present law of an investment in our ordinary shares. It is not a comprehensive description of all tax considerations that may be relevant to a particular person’s decision to acquire our ordinary shares. The effects of any applicable state or local laws, other U.S. federal tax laws such as estate and gift tax laws, the alternative minimum tax or the Medicare contribution tax on net investment income, are not discussed. This summary applies only to investors who acquire our ordinary shares in exchange for cash, hold our ordinary shares as capital assets (generally, property held for investment) and who have the U.S. dollar as their functional currency. This discussion is based on the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code, U.S. Treasury regulations promulgated thereunder, judicial decisions, published rulings and administrative pronouncements of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, or the IRS, all as in effect as of the date of this prospectus. All of the foregoing authorities are subject to change, which change could apply retroactively and could alter the tax consequences described below.
The following discussion does not address all U.S. federal income tax consequences relevant to a holder’s particular circumstances or to holders subject to particular rules, including:
•
U.S. expatriates and certain former citizens or long-term residents of the United States;
•
persons whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar;
•
persons holding ordinary shares as part of a hedge, straddle or other risk reduction strategy or as part of a conversion transaction or other integrated investment;
•
banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions;
•
real estate investment trusts or regulated investment companies;
•
brokers, dealers or traders in securities, commodities or currencies;
•
S corporations or entities or arrangements treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes;
•
tax-exempt organizations or governmental organizations;
•
individual retirement accounts or other tax deferred accounts;
•
persons who acquired the ordinary shares pursuant to the exercise of any employee share option or otherwise as compensation;
•
persons that own or are deemed to own 10% or more of our ordinary shares by vote or value;
•
persons subject to special tax accounting rules as a result of any item of gross income with respect to the ordinary shares being taken into account in an applicable financial statement;
•
persons that hold ordinary shares through a permanent establishment or fixed base outside the United States; and
•
persons deemed to sell ordinary shares under the constructive sale provisions of the Code.
U.S. HOLDERS ARE URGED TO CONSULT THEIR TAX ADVISORS REGARDING THE APPLICATION OF THE U.S. FEDERAL TAX RULES TO THEIR PARTICULAR CIRCUMSTANCES AS WELL AS THE U.S. STATE, LOCAL AND NON-U.S. TAX CONSEQUENCES TO THEM OF THE PURCHASE, OWNERSHIP AND DISPOSITION OF OUR ORDINARY SHARES.
For purposes of this discussion, a “U.S. Holder” is a beneficial owner of our ordinary shares that, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, is or is treated as any of the following:
•
an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States;
•
a corporation (or another entity taxable as a corporation) created or organized under the laws of the United States, any state thereof, or the District of Columbia;
•
an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source; or