Investors

As a general rule, non-U.S. taxpayers (such as individuals who are neither U.S. citizens nor residents) receiving U.S. source income are subject to U.S. withholding tax. As a regulated reporting firm we are required to withhold and remit funds to the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for such non-U.S. persons on their U.S. source income.

In order to satisfy U.S. Internal Revenue Service (IRS) tax reporting requirements, non-U.S. persons must declare their country of residence and to verify their status as a non-U.S. citizen or resident to the IRS and Dunne and Walsh on IRS Form W-8BEN. Dunne and Walsh U.S. will then compute the withholding U.S. taxes from non-U.S. customers based on customer's country of residence as declared on the IRS Form W-8BEN.

In the absence of a valid IRS Form W-8BEN along with required supporting documents (see Required Document Checklist) on file for each account holder appearing on the account, Dunne and Walsh is required to collect and/or withhold 30% of all sales proceeds and of certain other corporate actions that result in a cash payment to your account. Without a valid IRS Form W-8BEN, Dunne and Walsh is also required to collect withholding tax on non-U.S. customers' accounts at the maximum tax rate of 30%, which is generally higher than rates available to residents of countries that have a tax treaty with the United States. Information included in the IRS Form W-8BEN will be reported annually by Dunne and Walsh to the IRS and to the account on IRS Form 1042-S.

Determining Non-U.S. Person Status

A non-U.S. person is an individual who is not a U.S. citizen or a legal resident of the United States. A foreign person includes a non-resident alien individual, foreign corporation, foreign partnership, foreign trust, a foreign estate, and any other person that is not a U.S. person.

If any person listed in the account title is a U.S. citizen or a legal U.S. resident, the account may not be classified as a non-resident account. Instead, the account must be opened as a U.S. resident account, with the name of the U.S. person appearing first on the account title. Reportable transactions will be reported under the Tax ID of the U.S. person, who must certify their Tax ID number on an IRS Form W-9.

Clients must determine for themselves whether they are or are not residents of the United States. Dunne and Walsh cannot determine residency for clients. However, if Dunne and Walsh has knowledge that an owner of the account is a U.S. person, withholding rates applicable to an uncertified U.S. account will be applied to the appropriate transactions until an IRS Form W-9 is received from that person.

Regulatory Compliance

We are sensitive to the needs of companies and individuals that must comply with the requirements of national and international regulators, including capital market regulators such as the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as well as the pronouncements of accounting standard-setters, such as the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).

Our partners and staff take part in regular training, and our national assurance, accounting, and SEC leadership teams are active in professional and technical committees. We express our views and perspectives through these committees and through comment letters to the SEC, FASB and other regulators and standard-setters.

The rigorous training and participation in professional activities enable us to take a proactive role in working with our clients to help them remain abreast of today's ever-changing rules. We can assist with technical training and presentations to management and audit committees, in addition to working meetings to consider implementation approaches and timetables.

IRS Form W-8BEN and NRA Withholding

In order to have the correct amount of tax withheld – which can vary from 10% to 30%, depending on the account holder's country of residence – a non-U.S. person must have provided to Dunne and Walsh a valid IRS Form W-8BEN along with any supporting documentation required by the IRS or by Dunne and Walsh.

A non-U.S. person's residency status must be re-certified before December 31st of the third year following the year the IRS Form W-8BEN was submitted to Dunne and Walsh, or when any information on the original IRS Form W-8BEN has changed. If we have no valid IRS Form W-8BEN on file for each account holder, we must withhold the maximum tax rate, currently 30%, on dividends and interest in that account. We must also withhold 30% of sale proceeds and of certain other payments made to an account.

What is the NRA Withholding?

Generally, a foreign person is subject to U.S. tax on his/her U.S. source income. Investment income subject to tax includes dividend income paid by U.S. corporations, as well as some interest income. The non-U.S. person tax rate is 30%, although a reduced rate, including an exemption from tax, may apply if there is a tax treaty between the foreign person's country of residence and the United States.

Dunne and Walsh is required to collect and/or withhold this tax (NRA withholding) from payments made to the foreign person.

Regulated reporting firms located in the United States are required to report to the IRS once a year on IRS Form 1042-S all U.S. source income for each account at the firm.

Payments to all foreign persons, including non-resident alien individuals, foreign entities and governments, may be subject to NRA withholding.

What is U.S. Source Income?

"U.S. source income" is, in general terms, defined under U.S. tax regulations as dividend and interest income earned on securities issued by U.S. companies or U.S. registered mutual funds.

In addition, interest earned on U.S. Treasury and U.S. Government agency securities is U.S. source income.

Therefore, to the extent that you have dividends or interest from U.S. companies, the U.S. Treasury or U.S. government agencies, the amount will be included in the annual report we are required to send to the IRS.