UNITED STATES FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The U.S. federal income tax consequences of your investment in the Notes are summarized below, but we urge you to discuss the tax consequences of your particular situation with your tax advisor. This discussion is based upon the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), final, temporary and proposed U.S. Department of the Treasury (the “Treasury”) regulations, rulings and decisions, in each case, as available and in effect as of the date hereof, all of which are subject to change, possible with retroactive effect. Tax consequences under state, local and non-U.S. laws are not addressed herein. No ruling from the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) has been sought as to the U.S. federal income tax consequences of your investment in the Notes, and the following discussion is not binding on the IRS.
This discussion applies to investors that acquire the Notes upon initial issuance and hold the Notes as capital assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes. This discussion does not address all aspects of U.S. federal income taxation that may be relevant to a holder in light of its particular circumstances, including alternative minimum tax consequences and does not address the different tax consequences that apply to holders that are members of a class of holders subject to special rules, such as:
➢a dealer in securities or currencies,
➢a trader in securities that elects to use a mark-to-market method of accounting for its securities holdings,
➢a financial institution or a bank,
➢a regulated investment company, real estate investment trust or a common trust fund,
➢a life insurance company,
➢a tax-exempt organization including an “individual retirement account” or “Roth IRA”, as defined in Section 408 or 408A of the Code, respectively,
➢a person that owns Notes as part of a hedging transaction, straddle, synthetic security, conversion transaction, or other integrated transaction, or enters into a “constructive sale” with respect to the Notes or a “wash sale” with respect to the Notes or any underlying assets,
➢taxpayers subject to special tax accounting rules under Section 451(b) of the Code;
➢a former citizen or resident of the U.S., or
➢a U.S. holder (as defined below) whose functional currency for tax purposes is not the U.S. dollar.
You should consult your tax advisor concerning the application of the U.S. federal income tax laws to your particular situation, as well as any tax consequences arising under the laws of any state, local or non-U.S. jurisdictions.
Except as discussed under “— Non-U.S. Holders” below, this discussion is only applicable to U.S. holders. For purposes of this summary, a U.S. holder is a beneficial owner of a Note that is: (i) a citizen or resident of the U.S., (ii) a domestic corporation or other entity taxable as a corporation, created or organized in or under the laws of the U.S. or any political subdivision thereof, (iii) an estate whose income is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source, or (iv) a trust if a court within the U.S. is able to exercise primary supervision over its administration, and one or more U.S. persons are authorized to control all substantial decisions of the trust. For purposes of this summary, a “non-U.S. holder” is a beneficial owner of a Note that is: (i) a nonresident alien individual for U.S. federal income tax purposes, (ii) a foreign corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes; or (iii) an estate or trust whose income is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis.
An individual may, subject to certain exceptions, be deemed to be a resident of the U.S. by reason of being present in the U.S. for at least 31 days in the calendar year and for an aggregate of at least 183 days during a three-year period ending in the current calendar year (counting for such purposes all of the days present in the current year, one-third of the days present in the immediately preceding year, and one-sixth of the days present in the second preceding year).
If a partnership, or any entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes, holds the Notes, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner will generally depend on the status of the partner and the tax treatment of the partnership. A partner in a partnership holding the Notes should consult its tax advisor with regard to the U.S. federal income tax treatment of an investment in the Notes.
U.S. Federal Income Tax Treatment
The Notes will be treated as indebtedness for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and the balance of this summary assumes that the Notes are treated as indebtedness for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Pursuant to this treatment, interest on the Notes will be taxable to a U.S. holder as non-U.S.-source ordinary interest income at the time it accrues or is received in accordance with the U.S. holder’s normal method of accounting for tax purposes. Pursuant to the terms of the Notes, you agree to treat the Notes consistent with our treatment for all U.S. federal income tax purposes.
Our special U.S. tax counsel, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, is of the opinion that your Notes will be treated as described above. We do not plan to request a ruling from the IRS regarding the tax treatment of the Notes, and the IRS or a court may not agree with the tax treatment described herein. We urge you to consult your tax advisor as to the tax consequences of your investment in the Notes.
Sale, Exchange, Early Redemption or Maturity of the Notes
Upon the disposition of a Note by sale, exchange, early redemption, maturity or other taxable disposition, a U.S. holder should generally recognize gain or loss equal to the difference between (1) the amount realized on such taxable disposition (other than amounts attributable to accrued but unpaid interest) and (2) the U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in the Note. A U.S. holder’s adjusted tax basis in a Note generally will equal the U.S. holder’s cost of acquiring such Note. Assuming a Note is held as a capital asset, such gain or loss will generally constitute capital gain or loss. Capital gain of a noncorporate U.S. holder is generally taxed at preferential rates where the holder has a holding period of greater than one year. The deductibility of capital losses is subject to limitations.