News

 Announcement of PricewaterhouseCoopers Qualified Foreign Corporation (QFC) Confirmation Program

As you may know, the United States recently enacted legislation providing for a beneficial reduced maximum 15 percent rate of tax on certain dividends received by US individuals and other US non-corporate taxpayers. This important new legislation is effective for dividends paid on or after January 1, 2003. The new law has important ramifications not only for U.S. corporations, but also for certain qualifying foreign corporations ("QFCs") paying dividends to US non-corporate taxpayers.

In response to continuing uncertainty concerning the application of the new law to foreign corporations paying dividends to US non-corporate shareholders, PricewaterhouseCoopers is pleased to introduce the PricewaterhouseCoopers QFC Confirmation Program. The program, which is outlined in greater detail in the attached document, provides us with the opportunity to help you determine whether your company qualifies as a QFC to deliver this important shareholder benefit to your company's US non-corporate shareholders.

We invite you to contact your PricewaterhouseCoopers professional to discuss participation in our QFC Confirmation Program, or to contact one of the Washington National Tax Services QFC Team members listed in the attached document (PDF).