Transfer Tax and Stamp Duty
Transfer tax is not levied on bonds issued by the Government of Jamaica given that such bonds do not qualify as property on which transfer tax is levied. This is because in line with section 3(4) of the Transfer Tax Act, transfer tax is levied on property defined as land, lease of land, securities, and beneficial interest under any of the aforementioned properties. Section 2 of the Transfer Tax Act explicitly excludes bonds or other securities issued by the Government of Jamaica from the definition of securities. Analogously, stamp duty is exempt under the head of General Exemption of the Stamp Duty Act, which provides: “All bonds, and other official documents, whatsoever, relating to the service of Her Majesty’s Customs in this Island, Her Majesty’s Commissariat or Ordinance Department…or relating to the Public Service of this Island…”. Therefore, there is no need for the use of the discretionary powers of the Minister of Finance and the Public Service in respect of this matter.
United States Federal Income Taxation Considerations
The following is a general summary of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations that may be relevant with respect to the acquisition, beneficial ownership and disposition of the debt securities. This summary addresses only the U.S. federal income tax considerations of holders that acquire the debt securities at their original issuance at their “Issue Price” (as defined below) and that will hold the debt securities as capital assets.
This summary does not purport to address all U.S. federal income tax matters that may be relevant to a particular holder of debt securities. This summary does not address tax considerations applicable to holders of debt securities that may be subject to special tax rules including, without limitation, the following: (i) banks and financial institutions; (ii) insurance companies; (iii) dealers or traders in securities, currencies or notional principal contracts; (iv) tax-exempt entities; (v) regulated investment companies; (vi) real estate investment trusts; (vii) persons that will hold the debt securities as part of a “hedging” or “conversion” transaction or as a position in a “straddle” or as part of a “synthetic security” or other integrated transaction for U.S. federal income tax purposes; (viii) persons that have a “functional currency” other than the U.S. dollar; (ix) persons who will hold the debt securities through partnerships or other pass-through entities; and (x) certain U.S. expatriates and former long-term residents of the United States. Further, this summary does not address state and local tax consequences, alternative minimum tax consequences, any estate or gift tax consequences or the indirect effects on the holders of equity interests of a holder of debt securities.
This summary is based on the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), U.S. Treasury Regulations and judicial and administrative interpretations thereof, in each case as in effect and available on the date of this prospectus. All of the foregoing are subject to change, which change could apply retroactively and could affect the tax consequences described below.
This summary does not cover every type of debt security that may be issued under this prospectus. If we intend to issue a debt security of a type not described in this summary, or if there are otherwise special tax consequences with respect to the debt security that are not covered herein, additional tax information will be provided in the prospectus supplement for the applicable debt security.
Prospective investors should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the U.S. federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences of acquiring, beneficially owning or disposing of the debt securities.
For the purposes of this summary, a “U.S. Holder” is a beneficial owner of debt securities that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes: (i) a citizen or resident of the United States; (ii) a corporation (or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or any state thereof (including the District of Columbia); (iii) an estate the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source; or (iv) a trust if (x) a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over its administration and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all of the substantial decisions of such trust or (y) the trust has validly made an election to be treated as a U.S. person under applicable U.S. Treasury Regulations. A “Non-U.S. Holder” is a beneficial owner of debt securities that is not a U.S. Holder and not a partnership. If a partnership holds a debt security, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner generally will depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. A partner of a partnership holding any debt securities should consult its tax advisors.
U.S. Holders that use an accrual method of accounting for tax purposes (“accrual method holders”) generally are required to include certain amounts in income no later than the time such amounts are reflected on certain financial statements (the “book/tax conformity rule”). The application of the book/tax conformity rule thus may
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