Law stated as at 01 Nov 2011 • ExpandAustralia, Belgium, Brazil...Canada (Common Law), China, England, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, South Africa, Switzerland, UK, USA (National/Federal) |
Jurisdiction | What legal structures are commonly used as vehicles? | Are they taxed, tax exempt or fiscally transparent? |
Closed-ended unit trusts. | Fiscally transparent. | |
Venture capital limited partnerships (VCLPs). | Fiscally transparent. | |
Early stage venture capital limited partnerships (ESVCLPs). | Fiscally transparent. | |
Private privaks. | Fiscally transparent. | |
Other structures. | Taxed. | |
FIPs. | Tax exempt (capital gain). | |
Limited partnerships. | Taxed. | |
FIMEEs. | Tax exempt (capital gain). | |
Holding companies. | Taxed. | |
Direct investments. | Taxed. | |
Limited partnership. | Fiscally transparent. | |
Limited partnership. | Fiscally transparent. | |
Trust structure. | Fiscally transparent. | |
Venture capital enterprise. | Fiscally transparent, subject to intentional structuring. | |
Pilot programmes for offshore investors. | Fiscally transparent, subject to intentional structuring. | |
French regulated fund (FCPRs, FCPIs, FIP). | Tax exempt. | |
French SCR. | Tax exempt. | |
French corporate vehicle. | Taxed. | |
Limited partnership (KG) with a private limited company (GmbH) as its general partner and the investors as limited partners (GmbH & Co KG). | Fiscally transparent. | |
GmbHs. | Taxed. | |
Public limited companies (AGs). | Taxed. | |
Companies and trusts. | Income earned by a trust that is a SEBI registered domestic VCF and companies set up to raise funds for investment in a venture capital undertaking, is exempt from tax. | |
LLPs. | LLPs are not the preferred form of a PE vehicle since tax is levied on the LLP at the entity level, and the income of the LLP is not taxed in the hands of the individual partners. | |
Closed-ended investment fund. | Tax exempt. | |
An investment limited partnership (toshijigyo yugensekinin kumiai) (domestic). | Fiscally transparent. | |
Cayman limited partnership (offshore). | Fiscally transparent. | |
Soparfis. | Taxed. | |
SICARs / SIFs – corporations. | Taxed but special tax regime available. | |
SICARs / SIFs – partnerships. | Tax transparent. | |
Trusts generally established in non-Mexican jurisdictions. | Depending on the structuring and participants, these may be taxed, tax exempt or fiscally transparent. | |
Silent partnership and limited partnership. | Tax transparent. | |
Limited liability company. | Taxed. | |
Portugal | Venture capital funds (Fundos de capital de risco) (FCRs). | Tax exempt. |
Venture capital companies (Sociedades de capital de risco) (SCRs). | Taxed, but tax exempt in relation to certain dividends and capital gains. | |
Domestic limited liability companies. | Taxed. | |
Joint stock companies. | Taxed. | |
Offshore limited liability partnerships formed in a tax-advantageous jurisdiction. | Fiscally transparent for foreign investors. | |
SPVs. | Taxed. | |
Limited partnerships. | Fiscally transparent. Partnership income and capital gains are taxed in the partners' hands. Foreign partners are only taxed on South African-sourced income and capital gains on certain land-rich assets. | |
Bewind trusts. | Fiscally transparent and treated as partnerships. | |
SLLPs. | Fiscally transparent. | |
SICAVs. | Fiscally transparent. | |
Contractual funds. | Fiscally transparent. | |
Joint stock companies and limited liability companies are used. Capital Markets Board (CMB)-regulated private equity companies (PECs) must take the form of a joint stock company. | Generally, they are taxed. Special rules apply to PECs:
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Domestic and offshore limited partnerships. | Fiscally transparent. | |
Delaware limited partnerships. | Tax transparent. | |
Delaware limited liability company. | Tax transparent in the US but not recognised as tax transparent in some jurisdictions. |