Newsletter
Symposium on the Legal Risks and Practice of Repatriating Offshore Funds for Investment in Taiwan Jointly Held by Lee & Li and TCGA
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Lee and Li, Attorneys-at-Law and the Taiwan Corporate Governance Association jointly held the Symposium on the Legal Risks and Practice of Repatriating Offshore Funds for Investment in Taiwan on December 23, 2019 and provided the symposium attendants with an in-depth analysis on the government policies relating to the repatriation of offshore funds as well as the practical application of such policies in the hopes of assisting investors in establishing long-term and strategic plans for the repatriation and investment of their offshore funds.
During the session on Anti-Money Laundering Rules and Industries' Responsive Measures, Ms. Tsai, Pei-ling (蔡佩玲), a prosecutor of the Anti-Money Laundering Office under the Executive Yuan, and Ms. Jin, Pei-hua (金佩華), Deputy Director of the Compliance Division at First Commercial Bank, explained in their presentations that while the repatriated funds are subject to different levels of anti-money laundering scrutiny depending on its source country, investors can rest assured that once the repatriated funds have been taxed under the Management, Utilization, and Taxation of Repatriated Offshore Funds Act and its subordinate regulations, no other taxes will be imposed by the Ministry of Finance on the same funds.
During the session on Feasible Options of Direct and Indirect Investment – the Next Step of the Repatriation, Mr. Chou, Chung-bin (周崇斌), Director of the Industrial Policy Division at the Industrial Development Bureau under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, gave a detailed introduction on the process for the repatriation of offshore funds and also pointed out the key points in the competent authority's review of such repatriation process. Lee and Li Associate Partners Matt Lai and Eddie Hsiung provided a further analysis on the issues pertaining to the practical applications of the repatriated funds on either direct or indirect investment. While certain practical issues remain to be clarified, repatriated funds that are in compliance with the above-cited laws and regulations will enjoy a favorable tax rate as low as 4% in minimum.
Asset and estate planning is another important issue pertaining to the repatriation of offshore funds. Hence, during the session of Family Asset and Estate Planning regarding the Repatriated Funds, Mr. Lin, Chao-hsian (林昭賢), Director of the Trust Division at First Commercial Bank, and Lee and Li Senior Attorney Alvin Chen both explained that repatriation of offshore funds often involves the readjustment of shareholding and investment structures; hence potential disputes that may arise from issues relating to asset succession and estate inheritance may be pre-emptively contained by advance planning measures in tandem with the execution of a will and establishment of a trust.