Material Australian Tax Considerations
In this section, we provide a general summary of the material Australian income tax, stamp duty, and goods and services tax considerations generally applicable to the acquisition, ownership, and disposal by the absolute beneficial owners of the ordinary shares issued by IREN.
This section is based upon existing Australian tax law as of the date of this prospectus, which is subject to change, possibly retrospectively. This discussion does not address all aspects of Australian tax law, which may be important to particular investors in light of their investment circumstances, such as shares held by investors subject to special tax rules (for example, financial institutions, insurance companies, or tax-exempt organizations).
It does not purport to address all possible tax situations that may be relevant to a decision to purchase, own, or deposit our ordinary shares. It is included herein solely for preliminary information purposes and is not intended to be, nor should it be construed to be, legal or tax advice. IREN and their officers, employees, taxation or other advisers do not accept any liability or responsibility in respect of any statement concerning taxation consequences or the taxation consequences.
Prospective purchasers of our ordinary shares should consult their tax advisers on the applicable tax consequences related to the ownership of our ordinary shares, based on their particular circumstances.
The comments in this section deal only with the Australian taxation implications of the ownership and disposition of IREN ordinary shares if you hold your IREN ordinary shares as investments on a capital account. In addition, this summary does not discuss any non-Australian or state tax considerations, other than stamp duty and goods and services tax.
For this summary, a holder of our ordinary shares that is not an Australian tax resident and is not carrying on business in Australia at or through a permanent establishment is referred to as a “Non-Australian Holder.”
Conversely, for the purposes of this summary, a holder that is an Australian tax resident or is carrying on business in Australia at or through a permanent establishment is referred to as an “Australian Resident Holder.”
Please be aware that the residence concept used in this section applies for Australian tax assessment purposes only. Any reference in this section to a tax, duty, levy impost, or other charge or withholding of a similar nature refers to Australia’s tax laws and/or concepts only. Also, please note that a reference to Australian income tax encompasses corporate income tax and personal income tax generally.
Taxation of the Company
As the Company is a fully taxable Australian company, its taxable income is subject to corporate income tax in Australia. All Australian companies are subject to a corporate income tax rate of 30%, other than those classified as a “base rate company”, which are businesses with revenue of less than A$50 million that are subject to a reduced corporate income tax rate of 25% from the 2021/2022 income year. The Company is not considered a base rate company for the year ended June 30, 2023.
Taxation of Australian Resident Holders
Taxation of Dividends
Dividends paid by us on our ordinary shares should constitute the assessable income of an Australian Resident Holder. Australia operates a dividend imputation system under which dividends may be declared to be “franked” to the extent they are paid out of company profits that have been subject to income tax.
Individuals and complying superannuation entities
Australian Resident Holders who are individuals or complying superannuation entities should include the dividend in their assessable income in the year the dividend is paid, together with any franking credit attached to that dividend.
Subject to the comments concerning ‘Qualified Persons’ below, such Australian Resident Holders should be entitled to a tax offset equal to the franking credit attached to the dividend. The tax offset can be applied to reduce the tax payable on the investor’s taxable income. Where the tax offset exceeds the tax payable on the investor’s taxable income, the investor should be entitled to a tax refund equal to the excess.