Tax Sharing Agreement Vs Tax Funding Agreement

We have developed a wide range of precedents that document tax-sharing and tax financing regimes. Among these precedents, the new international financial reporting standards require tax groups to ensure that they have a tax financing agreement that uses an “acceptable allocation method” under the Emergency Group (UIG) Interpretation 1052 Tax Accounting Consolidation. If the tax financing agreement does not use an “acceptable allocation method,” group members may be required to account for dividends and capital distributions or capital contributions in their accounts. If they join the tax consolidation system, business groups need to think about how best to minimize the application of joint and several liability related to group income taxes. They must also consider the extent to which subsidiaries finance the payment of these debts by the main company. Both issues can be managed by business groups through tax-sharing agreements and tax financing agreements. If your client has entered these agreements, has the client also brought in or removed members of the group? It is important that all member organizations are parties to the agreements. Please call a member of our team if you need help. We recommend that you check your client`s circumstances. If the client is fiscally consolidated and there is no tax participation or financing agreement, please call a member of our team to discuss your client`s needs. To date, most consolidated tax groups have decided to allocate their income tax commitments based on the fictitious individual taxable income of each member of the group or on the basis of each member`s accounting income as a percentage of the group`s total accounting income. Acceptance of the allocation on these bases will ultimately depend on the facts and circumstances related to the tax situation of the various groups, as well as legislation, regulations and ATO guidelines, which generally apply to tax-sharing agreements.

However, each subsidiary may be jointly liable to the Australian tax authorities for the full amount of group income tax if the main company does not pay that debt. This joint and several liability can have negative consequences for the group, including external financing agreements, solvency requirements, credit rating agency audits, the sale of subsidiaries and the functions of directors. Tax financing agreements complement tax-sharing agreements and explain how subsidiaries finance the payment of tax by the main company and when the main company is required to make payments to subsidiaries for certain tax attributes generated by subsidiaries that benefit the group as a whole (for example. B tax losses and tax credits). Business groups are encouraged to consider entering into tax-sharing and tax financing agreements as part of their entry into the tax consolidation system. Tax financing agreements also determine tax accounting inflows into the financial statements of tax group members (i.e., deferred tax assets and deferred tax liabilities). A tax-sharing agreement “shares” the group`s tax debt (if the main company is late) and limits the liability of group members according to the methodology defined in the agreement. Only a valid tax-sharing agreement takes effect in order to limit the joint and several liability of the group members.

Any party to the credit established in Australia for tax reasons (or depending on the end date) is (or will follow the end date) and has (or will) enter (or enter) into an Australian tax-sharing agreement and a tax financing agreement with any other member of this Australian tax consolidation group after the end date. . These issues can be managed by the consolidated tax group, which has a tax-sharing agreement and a tax financing agreement.