Registration Form • Apr 15, 2024
Registration Form
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Listing for trading of (i) 6,463,590 outstanding shares of common stock, par value \$0.0001 per share ("Common Stock"), of the Company, and (ii) up to 45,373,615 shares of Common Stock that may be issued, at the Company's option, upon redemption of outstanding OP units not held by the Company ("OP Units"), as described in Section 12.1 below; and (iii) 225,100 shares of Common Stock available for future issuance under the Company's equity incentive plan, as described in Section 12.2 below. The issuance and listing of additional shares of Common Stock from time to time in the future will be subject to the approval of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange ("TASE") at such time, to the extent required by the bylaws of the TASE, as may be amended from time to time.
The Common Stock of the Company is listed for trading in the United States on the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE").
Common Stock Ticker Symbol on NYSE: STRW
Expected Common Stock Ticker Symbol on TASE: STRW (English), סטרו) Hebrew)
The Company's securities are to be listed for trading in accordance with the provisions of Chapter E3 of the Israel Securities Law-1968 (the "Securities Law"); accordingly, the Company's reports shall be in English and their contents shall be in accordance with the reporting regime of the United States. According to a ruling of the Israeli Supreme Court, liability for the Company's reports will also be subject to U.S. legal standards.
Date of Listing Document: April 15, 2024
| Part 1 | General | Page |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Company Name | 3 |
| 2 | Place of Incorporation | 3 |
| 3 | Incorporation Date | 3 |
| 4 | Name of Exchange on which Securities are Listed | 3 |
| 5 | Initial Listing Date of Securities | 3 |
| 6 | Company Address Details | 3 |
| 7 | Stock Ticker Symbol | 3 |
| 8 | Company Contact Persons | 3 |
| 9 | Classes of Shares in Authorized Share Capital | 4 |
| 10 | Authorized Share Capital | 4 |
| 11 | Issued Share Capital | 4 |
| 12 | Convertible Securities | 5 |
| 13 | Primary Rights Attached to the Shares | 6 |
| 14 | Restrictions on Transfer and Ownership of Stock | 18 |
| 15 | U.S. Taxation in Connection with REITs and the Common Stock | 21 |
| 16 | Israeli Taxation in Connection with the Common Stock | 62 |
| 17 | Dividends | 69 |
| 18 | Section 39A of the Securities Law | 71 |
| 19 | TASE Approval | 71 |
| Part 2 | Exhibits | 72 |
8.1 Contact Person for Foreign Statutory Supervisory and Enforcement Agencies and Contact Details:
Name: David Gross
Address: 6101 Nimtz Parkway, South Bend, IN 46628
For mail, see Section 8.1.
For service of court documents:
146 Menachem Begin Rd. Tel Aviv 6492103 Attn: Fischer & Co. Law Offices Telephone: 03-6944249, Fax: 03-6944157
11.3 The Company owns no treasury shares.
12.1 On June 8, 2021, Strawberry Fields REIT, LLC (the "Predecessor Company")1 contributed all of its assets to Strawberry Fields Realty LP (the "Operating Partnership")2 , and the Operating Partnership assumed all of the liabilities of the Predecessor Company (the "Formation Transactions"). In exchange, the Operating Partnership issued limited partnership interests designated as common units (the "OP units") to the Predecessor Company, which immediately distributed them to its members and beneficial owners (as set forth below). The Company offered certain of the holders of these OP units the opportunity to exchange their OP units for shares of Common Stock of the Company on a one for one basis. The Company limited the number of OP units that could be exchanged by some of the holders so that such holders would not become beneficial owners of more than 9.8% of the outstanding shares of the Company in violation of the ownership limitations set forth in the Charter.
Following the completion of the Formation Transactions, the Operating Partnership had 53,256,397 outstanding OP units, consisting of: (i) 5,849,746 OP units held by the Company; (ii) 45,861,434 OP units held by beneficial owners of the Predecessor Company and their transferees; and (iii) 1,545,217 OP units held by sellers and the broker of certain properties acquired by the Operating Partnership.
According to the terms of the Formation Transactions:
The redemption of the OP units is subject to the restrictions on ownership and transfer of the Company's Common Stock set forth in the Charter (see Section 14 below).
As of April 9, 2024, there were 45,373,615 OP units outstanding which were potentially dilutive securities (in addition to the OP Units held by the Company).
1 Strawberry Fields REIT, LLC is an Indiana limited liability company and the Company's accounting predecessor.
2 Strawberry Fields Realty LP is a Delaware limited partnership. The Company is the sole general partner of the Operating Partnership.
12.2 The Company's 2021 Equity Incentive Plan (the "Incentive Plan") authorizes the grant of various types of incentive awards to directors, officers, employees and consultants of the Company and its subsidiaries and affiliates, including the Operating Partnership. An aggregate of 250,000 shares of the Company's Common Stock is authorized for issuance under the Incentive Plan. The Company issued 24,900 shares to certain employees of the Company and its affiliates under the Incentive Plan. In the event that the Company elects to issue additional equity awards under the Incentive Plan, it will file with the SEC a registration statement on Form S-8 covering awards and shares of its Common Stock issuable under the Incentive Plan. Any shares of the Company's Common Stock covered by a Form S-8 would be eligible for transfer or resale without restriction under the Securities Act unless held by affiliates.
12.3 On November 14, 2023, the Company's board of directors approved a USD 5 million share repurchase program (the "Program"). Repurchases under the program may be made at management's discretion from time to time in the open market or through privately negotiated transactions. The repurchase program has no time limit and may be suspended for periods or discontinued at any time. As of April 9, 2024, the Company has repurchased 33,442 shares.
12.4 The Company has not adopted a stockholder rights plan (commonly referred to as a ("poison pill").
13. Primary Rights Attached to the Shares: The Company is incorporated under the laws of the State of Maryland General Corporation Law ("MGCL"). The Israeli Companies Law-1999 (the "Companies Law") does not apply to the Company. However, for the sake of comparison, material differences in the Companies Law (in comparison to the MGCL) are stated in footnotes to this Section 13.
The following description is based on relevant portions of the MGCL and the Charter and Bylaws. This summary is not necessarily complete, and reference is made to the MGCL and the Charter and Bylaws for a more detailed description of the provisions summarized below. The MGCL and the Charter and Bylaws contain provisions that could make it more difficult for a potential acquirer to acquire the Company by means of a tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise. These provisions may discourage certain coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids and encourage persons seeking to acquire control of the Company to negotiate first with the board of directors.
13.1 Subject to the provisions of the Charter relating to the restrictions on ownership and transfer of its stock, and except as may otherwise be specified in the terms of any class or series of Common Stock, each share of Common Stock shall entitle the holder thereof to one vote for each share held of record by such holder on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders.
Under the MGCL, a Maryland corporation generally cannot dissolve, amend the Charter, merge, convert, sell all or substantially all of its assets, engage in a statutory share exchange or engage in similar transactions outside the ordinary course of business unless declared advisable by a majority of its board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders holding at least twothirds of the shares entitled to vote on the matter unless a lesser percentage (but not less than a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter) is set forth in the corporation's charter. The Company's Charter provides that these actions (other than certain amendments to the provisions of the Charter related to the removal of directors and the vote required to amend the Charter, which requires at least two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast) may be taken if declared advisable by a majority of the Company's board of directors and approved by the vote of stockholders holding at least a majority of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. However, Maryland law permits a corporation to transfer all or substantially all of its assets without the approval of the stockholders of the corporation to one or more persons if all of the equity interests of the person or persons are owned, directly or indirectly, by the corporation. In addition, because assets may be held by a corporation's subsidiaries, as will be the case with the Company, these subsidiaries may be able to transfer all or substantially all of such assets without a vote of the Company's stockholders.
Except as otherwise provided in the Charter, the Company's board of directors may reclassify any unissued shares of Common Stock from time to time into one or more classes or series of stock3 . In the event of any voluntary or involuntary liquidation, dissolution or winding up of, or any distribution of the assets of, the Company, each holder of shares of Common Stock shall be entitled (after payment or provision for payment of the debts and other liabilities of the Company and subject to the rights of the holders of shares of any class of stock hereafter classified or reclassified having a preference over the Common Stock as to distributions in the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company) to share ratably in the remaining net assets of the Company, together with the holders of shares of any other class of stock now existing or hereafter classified or reclassified not having a preference over Common Stock as to distributions in the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Company.
The holders of shares of Common Stock shall be entitled to receive dividends and other distributions when and as authorized by the Company's board of directors and declared by the Company out of cash or other assets legally available thereof. Except as expressly provided in the Charter, shares of Common Stock shall have the same rights and privileges and rank equally, share ratably in dividends and other distributions and be identical in all respects as to all matters.
3 Subject to the Company's undertakings as specified in section 10.2 above. Under the Companies Law, the terms of a class of shares must be set forth in the articles of association, the approval of which requires shareholder approval.
13.2 The Company's board of directors may classify any unissued shares of Preferred Stock and reclassify any previously classified but unissued shares of Preferred Stock of any class or series from time to time, into one or more classes or series of stock4 .
13.3 Prior to the issuance of classified or reclassified shares of any class or series of stock, the Company's board of directors by resolution shall: (a) designate that class or series to distinguish it from all other classes and series of stock of the Company; (b) specify the number of shares to be included in the class or series; (c) set or change, subject to the provisions of the Charter and subject to the express terms of any class or series of stock of the Company outstanding at the time, the preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions, qualifications and terms and conditions of redemption for each class or series; and (d) cause the Company to file articles supplementary with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation of Maryland (the "SDAT").5
13.4 Any action required or permitted to be taken at any meeting of the stockholders may be taken without a meeting by consent, in writing or by electronic transmission, in any manner and by any vote permitted by the MGCL and set forth in the Bylaws, including that if the action is advised, and submitted to the stockholders for approval, by the board of directors and a consent in writing or by electronic transmission of stockholders entitled to cast not less than the minimum number of votes that would be necessary to authorize or take the action at a meeting of stockholders is delivered to the Company in accordance with the MGCL and the Company gives notice of the action not later than ten (10) days after the effective date of the action to each holder of the class or series of common stock and to each stockholder who, if the action had been taken at a meeting, would have been entitled to vote.6
13.5 Except as may otherwise be provided in the terms of any class or series of Preferred Stock, in determining whether a distribution (other than upon liquidation, dissolution or winding up) is permitted under Maryland law, amounts that would be needed, if the Company were to be dissolved at the time of the distribution, to satisfy the preferential rights upon dissolution of stockholders whose preferential rights upon dissolution are superior to those receiving the distribution, shall not
4 Subject to the Company's undertakings as specified in section 10.2 above. Under the Companies Law, creating a class of preferred shares requires amending the articles of association, which requires shareholder approval.
5 Under the Companies Law, creating a class of preferred shares requires amending the articles of association, which requires shareholders approval.
6 Under the Companies Law, the shareholders of a public company may not act by written consent.
be added to the Company's total liabilities.
13.9 Under the MGCL, certain "business combinations" (including a merger, consolidation, share exchange or, in circumstances specified in the statute, an asset transfer or issuance or reclassification of equity securities) between a Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder (i.e., any person (other than the corporation or any subsidiary) who beneficially owns 10% or more of the voting power of the corporation's outstanding voting stock after the date on which the corporation had 100 or more beneficial owners of its stock, or an affiliate or associate of the corporation who, at any time
7 Under the Companies Law, a public company is required to have at least two external directors (as defined therein).
8 Under the Companies Law, directors generally are elected by a simple majority of the votes cast, not by a plurality.
9 Under the Companies Law, shareholders generally may remove directors by a simple majority of the votes cast on the matter.
within the two-year period immediately prior to the date in question, was the beneficial owner of 10% or more of the voting power of the then outstanding stock of the corporation after the date on which the corporation had 100 or more beneficial owners of its stock) or an affiliate of an interested stockholder, are prohibited for five years after the most recent date on which the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. Thereafter, any such business combination between the Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder generally must be recommended by the board of directors of such corporation and approved by the affirmative vote of at least (1) 80% of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of outstanding shares of voting stock of the corporation and (2) two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of voting stock of the corporation other than shares held by the interested stockholder with whom (or with whose affiliate) the business combination is to be effected or held by an affiliate or associate of the interested stockholder, unless, among other conditions, the corporation's common stockholders receive a minimum price (as defined in the MGCL) for their shares and the consideration is received in cash or in the same form as previously paid by the interested stockholder for its shares. A person is not an interested stockholder under the statute if the board of directors approved in advance the transaction by which the person otherwise would have become an interested stockholder. The board of directors may provide that its approval is subject to compliance, at or after the time of approval, with any terms and conditions determined by it.10
13.10 The statute permits various exemptions from its provisions, including business combinations that are exempted by the board of directors prior to the time that the interested stockholder became an interested stockholder. As permitted by the MGCL, the Company's board of directors has adopted a resolution exempting any business combination between the Company and any other person from the provisions of this statute, provided that the business combination is first approved by the Company's board of directors (including a majority of directors who are not affiliates or associates of such persons). However, the Company's board of directors may repeal or modify this resolution at any time in the future, in which case the applicable provisions of this statute will become applicable to business combinations between the Company and interested stockholders.
13.11 The MGCL provides that holders of "control shares" of a Maryland corporation acquired in a "control share acquisition" have no voting rights with respect to those shares except to the extent approved by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast by stockholders entitled to vote generally in the election of directors, excluding votes cast by (1) the person who makes or proposes to make a control share acquisition, (2) an officer of the corporation or (3) an employee of the corporation who is also a director of the corporation. "Control shares" are voting shares of stock which, if aggregated with all other such shares of stock previously acquired by the
10 The Companies Law does not have provisions like those described in this paragraph.
acquirer or in respect of which the acquirer is able to exercise or direct the exercise of voting power (except solely by virtue of a revocable proxy), would entitle the acquirer to exercise voting power in electing directors within one of the following ranges of voting power: (1) one-tenth or more but less than one-third, (2) one-third or more but less than a majority or (3) a majority or more of all voting power. Control shares do not include shares the acquiring person is then entitled to vote as a result of having previously obtained stockholder approval. A "control share acquisition" means the acquisition of issued and outstanding control shares, subject to certain exceptions.11
11 The Companies Law provides that an acquisition of shares of public company must be made by means of a 'special tender offer' if as a result of the acquisition the purchaser would become a 25% or more shareholder of the company and there is no 25% or more shareholder in the company. In addition, an acquisition of shares of a public company must be made by means of a 'special tender offer' if as a result of the acquisition the purchaser would become a greater than 45% shareholder of the company and there is greater than 45% shareholder in the company (these requirements do not apply if the acquisition (i) is made in a private placement that received shareholder approval, (ii) was from a 25% shareholder of the company and resulted in the acquirer becoming a 25% shareholder of the company or (iii) was from a greater than 45% shareholder of the company and resulted in the acquirer becoming a greater than 45% shareholder of the company. The board of directors does not have the authority to opt out of the 'special tender offer' requirement). A 'special tender offer' must be extended to all shareholders, but the offer or is not required to purchase more than 5% of the company's outstanding shares, regardless of how many shares are tendered by shareholders. A 'special tender offer' may be consummated only if (i) at least 5% of the company's outstanding shares will be acquired by the offer and (ii) the number of shares tendered in the offer exceeds the number of shares whose holders objected to the offer. Shares acquired in violation of these provisions will not have any rights and will be deemed dormant shares for so long as they are held by the acquirer.
by any person of shares of the Company's stock. There can be no assurance that such provision will not be amended or eliminated at any time in the future by the Company's board of directors.
The Company has elected by a provision in the Charter to be subject to the provisions of Subtitle 8 relating to the filling of vacancies on the Company's board of directors. In addition, without the Company's having elected to be subject to Subtitle 8, the Charter and Bylaws already (1) require the affirmative vote of holders of shares entitled to cast at least two-thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast generally in the election of directors to remove a director from the board of directors, (2) vest in the board of directors the exclusive power to fix the number of directors and (3) require, unless called by the chairman, the Company's president and chief executive officer or the board of directors, the request of stockholders entitled to cast not less than a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast at the meeting to call a special meeting. 12 The Company's board of directors is not currently classified. In the future, the board of directors may elect, without stockholder approval, to classify the board of directors or elect to be subject to any of the other provisions of Subtitle 8.
13.17 Pursuant to the Bylaws, an annual meeting of the Company's stockholders for the purpose of the election of directors and the transaction of any other business will be held on a date and at the time and place set by the board of directors. Each of the Company's directors is elected by the Company's stockholders to serve until the next annual meeting or until his or her successor is duly elected and
-12-
12 Under the Companies Law, the board of directors does not have the authorities described in this paragraph.
qualifies under Maryland law. In addition, the Company's chairman, its president and chief executive officer or the board of directors may call a special meeting of the Company's stockholders. Subject to the provisions of the Bylaws, a special meeting of stockholders to act on any matter that may properly be considered by the Company's stockholders will also be called by the Company's secretary upon the written request of stockholders entitled to cast a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast at the meeting on such matter, accompanied by the information required by the Bylaws.13 The secretary will inform the requesting stockholders of the reasonably estimated cost of preparing and mailing the notice of meeting (including the Company's proxy materials), and the requesting stockholder must pay such estimated cost before the secretary may prepare and mail the notice of the special meeting.
13.18 Under the MGCL, a Maryland corporation generally cannot amend its charter unless approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders entitled to cast at least two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter unless a lesser percentage (but not less than a majority of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter) is set forth in the corporation's charter. Except for certain amendments related to the removal of directors and the vote required to amend the charter (which must be declared advisable by the Company's board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders entitled to cast not less than two-thirds of all the votes entitled to be cast on the matter), the Charter generally may be amended only if the amendment is declared advisable by the Company's board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders entitled to cast a majority of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. the Company's board of directors, with the approval of a majority of the entire board, and without any action by the Company's stockholders, may also amend the Charter to increase or decrease the aggregate number of shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series the Company is authorized to issue. the Company's board of directors has the exclusive power to adopt, alter or repeal any provision of the Bylaws and to make new bylaws.14
13.19 Under the MGCL, a Maryland corporation generally cannot dissolve, merge, convert, sell all or substantially all of its assets, engage in a statutory share exchange or engage in similar transactions outside the ordinary course of business unless approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders entitled to cast at least two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter unless a lesser percentage (but not less than a majority of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter) is set forth in the corporation's charter. As permitted by the MGCL, the Charter provides that any of these actions may be approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders entitled to cast a majority of all of
13 Under the Companies Law, the threshold is 5%.
14 Under the Companies Law, amendments to the articles of association require shareholder approval.
the votes entitled to be cast on the matter.15 ' 16 Many of the Company's operating assets will be held by the Company's subsidiaries, and these subsidiaries may be able to merge or sell all or substantially all of their assets without the approval of the Company's stockholders.
13.20 The Charter provides that the Company's stockholders generally will not be entitled to exercise statutory appraisal rights.17
15 Under the Companies Law, (i) a merger and all amendments to the articles of association require the approval of a simple majority of the votes cast on the matter, unless the company's articles of association require a higher threshold, and (ii) a sale of all or substantially all of the company's assets does not require shareholder approval.
16 Under the Companies Law, the dissolution of a solvent company requires the approval of 75% of the votes cast on the matter.
17 Under the Companies Law, shareholders are entitled to appraisal rights in a full tender offer, unless the offeror stipulates in advance that accepting the offer constitutes a waiver of appraisal rights.
18 Under the Companies Law and the regulations promulgated thereunder, a holder or holders of at least 1% of the outstanding
Likewise, if the resolution opting out of the business combination provisions of the MGCL was repealed, or the business combination is not approved by the Company's board of directors, or the provision in the Bylaws opting out of the control share acquisition provisions of the MGCL were rescinded, these provisions of the MGCL could have similar anti-takeover effects.
13.24 The Bylaws provide that, unless the Company consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the Circuit Court for Baltimore City, Maryland, or, if that court does not have jurisdiction, the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, Northern Division, will be the sole and absolute forum for (a) any Internal Corporate Claim, as such term is defined in Section 1-101(p) of the MGCL, (b) any derivative action or proceeding brought on the Company's behalf other than actions arising under the federal securities laws, (c) any action asserting a claim of breach of any duty owed by any of the Company's directors, officers or other employees to the Company or to its stockholders, (d) any action asserting a claim against the Company or any of its directors, officers or other employees arising pursuant to any provision of the MGCL or the Charter or Bylaws or (e) any action asserting a claim against the Company or any of its directors, officers or other employees
shares generally may request to add a proposal to the agenda of a general meeting within seven days of the notice of such meeting, and a holder or holders of at least 5% of the outstanding shares, any two directors or a quarter of the directors generally may request that the company call a general meeting and may set the agenda thereof, in which case the company must call a meeting within 21 days.
that is governed by the internal affairs doctrine and no such action may be brought in any court sitting outside of the State of Maryland or in another circuit court within the State of Maryland unless the Company consentsin writing to such court. These provisions of the Bylaws will not apply to claims that may be asserted under federal securities laws.
19 The Companies Law does not have provisions like those described in this paragraph.
20 Under the Companies Law, a court order is not required in order to permit the indemnification of expenses incurred by an office holder in connection with a proceeding brought by or in the name of the company and indemnification of an office holder for an act or omission done with the intent to derive an illegal personal benefit is not permitted.
21 Under the Companies Law, a company is permitted to indemnify its office holders only if it is authorized to do so under the company's articles of association. To be entitled to indemnification for expenses incurred in a civil proceeding, an office holder is not required to be successful in the defense. The office holder may also be indemnified for a financial obligation or monetary liability imposed on him in favor of a third party by a judgment, including a settlement or an arbitrator's award approved by court. However, indemnification for expenses incurred in a criminal proceeding is permitted only if the office holder is acquitted or convicted of a crime which does not require proof of mens rea.
22 Under the Companies Law, an undertaking of a company to indemnify an officer holder is limited to (i) the classes of events that are foreseeable in light of the company's activities at the time of giving the undertaking and (ii) an amount and/or criteria which the board of directors has determined are reasonable in the circumstances. The Companies Law does not permit
13.32 The Charter provides that the board of directors may revoke or otherwise terminate the Company's election to qualify as a real estate investment trust (REIT) for U.S. federal income tax purposes, without approval of the stockholders, if it determines that it is no longer in the Company's best interests to attempt to qualify, or to continue to qualify, as a REIT.
indemnification of an office holder for (i) an act or omission done with the intent to derive an illegal personal benefit, (ii) a breach by the office holder of his duty of loyalty (unless the office holder acted in good faith and had a reasonable basis to believe that the act would not prejudice the company), (iii) a breach by the office holder of his duty of care if the breach was done intentionally or recklessly or (iv) any fine levied against the office holder.
In order for the Company to qualify as a REIT under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the "Code"), shares of the Company's stock must be owned by 100 or more persons during at least 335 days of a taxable year of 12 months (other than the first year for which an election to be taxed as a REIT has been made) or during a proportionate part of a shorter taxable year. Also, under Section 856 of the Code, a REIT cannot be "closely held." In this regard, not more than 50% of the value of the outstanding shares of stock may be owned, actually or constructively, by five or fewer individuals (as defined in the Code to include certain entities) during the last half of a taxable year (other than the first year for which an election to be a REIT has been made).
The Charter contains restrictions on the ownership and transfer of shares of Common Stock and other outstanding shares of stock. The relevant sections of the Charter provide that, subject to the exceptions described below, no person or entity may own, or be deemed to own, by virtue of the applicable constructive ownership provisions of the Code, more than 9.8% (in value or in number of shares, whichever is more restrictive) of the outstanding shares of the Company's stock (the "Ownership Limits").
The Charter also prohibits any person from:
The board of directors is authorized to consider the lack of certainty in the provisions of the Code relating to the ownership of stock that may prevent a corporation from qualifying as a REIT and may make interpretations concerning the ownership limit and attributed ownership and related matters on as conservative basis as the board of directors deems advisable to minimize or eliminate uncertainty as to the Company's qualification or continued qualification as a REIT. The Charter does not restrict the authority of the board to take such other action as it deems necessary or advisable to protect the Company and the interests of the stockholders by preservation of the Company's qualification as a REIT under the Code.
The board of directors, in its sole discretion, may prospectively or retroactively exempt a person from certain of the limits described above and may establish or increase an excepted holder percentage limit for such person if the board of directors obtains such representations, covenants and undertakings as it deems appropriate in order to conclude that granting the exemption and/or establishing or increasing the excepted holder percentage limit will not result in the Company being "closely held" under Section 856(h) of the Code (without regard to whether the ownership interest is held during the last half of a taxable year) or otherwise failing to qualify as a REIT. The Company's board of directors may not grant an exemption to any person if that exemption results in the Company's failing to qualify as a REIT. The Company's board of directors may require a ruling from the IRS or an opinion of counsel, in either case in form and substance satisfactory to the Company's board of directors, in its sole discretion, in order to determine or ensure the Company's status as a REIT.
Notwithstanding the receipt of any ruling or opinion, the Company's board of directors may impose such guidelines or restrictions as it deems appropriate in connection with granting such exemption. In connection with granting a waiver of the ownership limit or creating an exempted holder limit or at any other time, the Company's board of directors from time to time may increase or decrease the ownership limit, subject to certain exceptions. A decreased ownership limit will not apply to any person or entity whose percentage of ownership of the Company's stock is in excess of the decreased ownership limit until the person or entity's ownership of the Company's stock equals or falls below the decreased ownership limit, but any further acquisition of the Company's stock will be subject to the decreased ownership limit.
Any attempted transfer of shares of the Company's capital stock which, if effective, would violate any of the restrictions described above will result in the number of shares of the Company's capital stock causing the violation (rounded up to the nearest whole share) to be automatically transferred to a trust for the exclusive benefit of one or more charitable beneficiaries and the purported owner or transferee (the "Prohibited Owner") acquiring no rights in such shares, except that any transfer that results in the violation of the restriction relating to shares of the Company's capital stock being beneficially owned by fewer than 100 persons will be void ab initio. In either case, the Prohibited Owner will not acquire any rights in those shares. The automatic transfer will be deemed to be effective as of the close of business on the business day prior to the date of the purported transfer or other event that results in the transfer to the trust. Shares held in the trust will be issued and outstanding shares. The Prohibited Owner will not benefit economically from ownership of any shares held in the trust, will have no rights to dividends or other distributions and will have no rights to vote or other rights attributable to the shares held in the trust. The trustee of the trust will have all voting rights and rights to dividends or other distributions with respect to shares held in the trust. These rights will be exercised for the exclusive benefit of the charitable beneficiary. Any dividend or other distribution paid prior to the Company's discovery that shares have been transferred to the trust will be paid by the recipient to the trustee upon demand. Any dividend or other distribution authorized but unpaid will be paid when due to the trustee. Any dividend or other distribution paid to the trustee will be held in trust for the charitable beneficiary. Subject to Maryland law, the trustee will have the authority (i) to rescind as void any vote cast by the Prohibited Owner prior to the Company's discovery that the shares have been transferred to the trust and (ii) to recast the vote in accordance with the desires of the trustee acting for the benefit of the charitable beneficiary. However, if the Company has already taken irreversible corporate action, then the trustee will not have the authority to rescind and recast the vote.
Within 20 days of receiving notice from the Company that shares of its stock have been transferred to the trust, the trustee will sell the shares to a person, designated by the trustee, whose ownership of the shares will not violate the above ownership and transfer limitations. Upon the sale, the interest of the charitable beneficiary in the shares sold will terminate and the trustee will distribute the net proceeds of the sale to the Prohibited Owner and to the charitable beneficiary as follows. The Prohibited Owner will receive the lesser of (i) the price paid by the Prohibited Owner for the shares or, if the Prohibited Owner did not give value for the shares in connection with the event causing the shares to be held in the trust (e.g., a gift, devise or other similar transaction), the market price (as defined in the Charter) of the shares on the day of the event causing the shares to be held in the trust and (ii) the price per share received by the trustee (net of any commission and other expenses of sale) from the sale or other disposition of the shares. The trustee may reduce the amount payable to the Prohibited Owner by the amount of dividends or other distributions paid to the Prohibited Owner and owed by the Prohibited Owner to the trustee. Any net sale proceeds in excess of the amount payable to the Prohibited Owner will be paid immediately to the charitable beneficiary. If, prior to the Company's discovery that shares of the Company's stock have been transferred to the trust, the shares are sold by the Prohibited Owner, then (i) the shares shall be deemed to have been sold on behalf of the trust and (ii) to the extent that the Prohibited Owner received an amount for the shares that exceeds the amount he or she was entitled to receive, the excess shall be paid to the trustee upon demand.
In addition, shares of the Company's stock held in the trust will be deemed to have been offered for sale to the Company, or its designee, at a price per share equal to the lesser of (i) the price per share in the transaction that resulted in the transfer to the trust (or, in the case of a devise or gift, the market price at the time of the devise or gift) and (ii) the market price on the date the Company, or its designee, accept the offer, which the Company may reduce by the amount of dividends and distributions paid to the Prohibited Owner and owed by the Prohibited Owner to the trustee. The Company will have the right to accept the offer until the trustee has sold the shares. Upon a sale to the Company, the interest of the charitable beneficiary in the shares sold will terminate and the trustee will distribute the net proceeds of the sale to the Prohibited Owner.
If a transfer to a charitable trust, as described above, would be ineffective for any reason to prevent a violation of a restriction, the transfer that would have resulted in a violation will be void ab initio, and the Prohibited Owner shall acquire no rights in those shares.
The foregoing restrictions on transferability and ownership will not apply if the Company's board of directors determines that it is no longer in the Company's best interests to attempt to qualify, or to continue to qualify, as a REIT.
Any certificate representing shares of the Company's capital stock, and any notices delivered in lieu of certificates with respect to the issuance or transfer of uncertificated shares, will bear a legend referring to the restrictions described above.
Any person who acquires or attempts or intends to acquire beneficial or constructive ownership of shares of the Company's capital stock that will or may violate any of the foregoing restrictions on transferability and ownership, or any person who would have owned shares of the Company's capital stock that resulted in a transfer of shares to a charitable trust, is required to give written notice immediately to the Company, or in the case of a proposed or attempted transaction, to give at least 15 days' prior written notice, and provide the Company with such other information as the Company may request in order to determine the effect of the transfer on the Company's status as a REIT.
Every owner of 0.5% or more (or any greater percentage as required by the Code or the regulations promulgated thereunder) in number or value of the outstanding shares of the Company's capital stock, within 30 days after the end of each taxable year, is required to give the Company written notice, stating his or her name and address, the number of shares of each class and series of shares of the Company's capital stock that he or she beneficially owns and a description of the manner in which the shares are held. Each of these owners must provide the Company with additional information that it may request in order to determine the effect, if any, of his or her beneficial ownership on the Company's status as a REIT and to ensure compliance with the ownership limits. In addition, each stockholder will upon demand be required to provide the Company with information that it may request in good faith in order to determine the Company's status as a REIT and to comply with the requirements of any taxing authority or governmental authority or to determine the Company's compliance.
These ownership limitations could delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for shares of the Company's Common Stock or otherwise be in the best interests of the Company's stockholders.
The following is a description of the material U.S. federal income tax considerations to a holder of the Company's Common Stock who is not a U.S. stockholder as such term is defined below). The following discussion is not exhaustive of all possible tax considerations. In addition, this discussion, except as otherwise indicated, does not address the U.S. federal income or other tax considerations applicable to U.S. stockholders.
No ruling on the U.S. federal, state, or local tax considerations relevant to the Company's operation or to the purchase, ownership or disposition of shares of the Company's shares has been requested from the IRS or other tax authority. No assurance can be given that the IRS would not assert, or that a court would not sustain, a position contrary to any of the tax consequences described below.
This summary is also based upon the assumption that the operation of the Company, and of its subsidiaries and other lower-tier and affiliated entities, will in each case be in accordance with its applicable organizational documents or partnership agreements. This summary does not discuss the impact that U.S. state and local taxes and taxes imposed by non-U.S. jurisdictions could have on the matters discussed in this summary. In addition, this summary assumes that shareholders hold shares of the Company as a capital asset, which generally means as property held for investment.
Each prospective purchaser is advised to consult his or her own tax advisor regarding the specific tax consequences to him or her of the acquisition, ownership and sale of securities of an entity electing to be taxed as a real estate investment trust, including the federal, state, local, foreign, and other tax consequences of such acquisition, ownership, sale, and election and of potential changes in applicable tax laws.
future changes in its circumstances and in the tax rules applicable to REITs, no assurance can be given that it has satisfied all of the tests for REIT qualification or will continue to do so.
to the stockholders) and would receive a credit or refund for its proportionate share of the tax that the Company paid.
15.5 In addition, notwithstanding the Company's qualification as a REIT, the Company also may have to pay certain state and local income taxes because not all states and localities treat REITs in the same manner that they are treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Moreover, as further described below, the Company's TRSs will be subject to federal, state and local corporate income tax on their taxable income.
15.8 Pursuant to applicable Treasury Regulations, to be taxed as a REIT, the Company is required to maintain certain records and request on an annual basis certain information from its stockholders designed to disclose the actual ownership of its outstanding shares, or risk facing a monetary penalty. The Company has complied with such requirements. If the Company complies with these regulatory rules, and it does not know, or by exercising reasonable diligence would not have known, whether it failed to meet requirement (vi) above, it will be treated as having met the requirement.
15.9 A corporation that is a "qualified REIT subsidiary" is not treated as a corporation separate from its parent REIT. All assets, liabilities, and items of income, deduction, and credit of a "qualified REIT subsidiary" are treated as assets, liabilities, and items of income, deduction, and credit of the REIT. A "qualified REIT subsidiary" is a corporation, other than a TRS, all of the stock of which is owned by the REIT. Thus, in applying the requirements described herein, any "qualified REIT subsidiary" that the Company owns will be ignored, and all assets, liabilities, and items of income, deduction, and credit of such subsidiary will be treated as the Company's assets, liabilities, and items of income, deduction, and credit.
owns an interest takes or expects to take actions that could jeopardize the Company's status as a REIT or require the Company to pay tax, the Company may be forced to dispose of itsinterest in such entity. In addition, it is possible that a partnership or limited liability company could take an action that could cause the Company to fail a gross income or asset test, and that the Company would not become aware of such action in time to dispose of its interest in the partnership or limited liability company or take other corrective action on a timely basis. In that case, the Company could fail to qualify as a REIT unless it was entitled to relief, as described below.
15.12 In addition, the character of the assets and gross income of the partnership, qualified REIT subsidiary or other disregarded entity shall retain the same character in the hands of the REIT for purposes of satisfying the gross income tests and asset tests set forth in the Code.
the gross income tests applicable to REITs so long as either (A) the property is a healthcare property and is operated on behalf of the lessee TRS by an "eligible independent contractor" that meets certain requirements, or (B) (1) at least 90% of the leased space in the property is leased to persons other than TRSs and related-party tenants, and (2) the amount paid by the TRS to rent space at the property is substantially comparable to rents paid by other tenants of the property for comparable space, as described in further detail below under "—Gross Income Tests — Rents from Real Property." If the Company leases space to a TRS in the future, the Company will seek to comply with these requirements. The Company may elect to treat entities as TRSs in the future. Such TRSs will be subject to corporate income tax on their taxable income.
Gross income from the sale of property that the Company holds primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of business is generally excluded from both the numerator and the denominator in both gross income tests, but is subject to a 100% tax on income from prohibited transactions. In addition, income and gain from "hedging transactions" (as defined in "—Hedging Transactions") that the Company entersinto to hedge indebtedness incurred or to be incurred to acquire or carry real estate assets and that are clearly and timely identified as such will be excluded from both the numerator and the denominator for purposes of the 75% and 95% gross income tests. In addition, certain foreign currency gains will be excluded from gross income for purposes of one or both of the gross income tests. See "— Foreign Currency Gain." Finally, gross income attributable to cancellation of indebtedness income will be excluded from both the numerator and denominator for purposes of both of the gross income tests. The following paragraphs discuss the specific application of the gross income tests to the Company.
the Company may own up to 100% of the stock of a TRS which may provide customary and noncustomary services to its tenants without tainting its rental income for the related properties. However, the Company need not provide services through an "independent contractor" or a TRS, but instead may provide services directly to the Company's tenants, if the services are "usually or customarily rendered" in connection with the rental of space for occupancy only and are not considered to be provided for the tenants' convenience. In addition, the Company may provide a minimal amount of "noncustomary" services to the tenants of a property, other than through an independent contractor or a TRS, as long as the Company's income from the services (valued at not less than 150% of its direct cost of performing such services) does not exceed 1% of the Company's income from the related property.
of the stock (a "controlled TRS") may not be treated as "rents from real property." If in the future the Company receives rent from a TRS, the Company will seek to comply with this exception.
the tenants of the Company's properties, or manage or operate its properties, other than through an independent contractor who is adequately compensated and from whom the Company does not derive or receive any income. However, the Company need not provide services through an "independent contractor," but instead may provide services directly to the Company's tenants, if the services are "usually or customarily rendered" in connection with the rental of space for occupancy only and are not considered to be provided for the tenants' convenience. In addition, the Company may provide a minimal amount of "noncustomary" services to the tenants of a property, other than through an independent contractor, as long as the Company's income from the services (valued at not less than 150% of the Company's direct cost for performing such services) does not exceed 1% of the Company's income from the related property. Finally, the Company may own up to 100% of the shares of one or more TRSs, which may provide noncustomary services to the Company's tenants without tainting the Company's rents from the related properties. The Company believes that it does not perform any services other than customary ones for the Company's lessees, other than any services that are provided through independent contractors or TRSs.
all of its interest in the property, and only to the extent that the amounts received by the debtor would be qualifying "rents from real property" if received directly by a REIT.
Interest on debt secured by a mortgage on real property or on interests in real property, including, for this purpose, discount points, prepayment penalties, loan assumption fees, and late payment charges that are not compensation for services, generally is qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test. However, if a loan is secured by real property and other property and the highest principal amount of a loan outstanding during a taxable year exceeds the fair market value of the real property securing the loan as of the date the REIT agreed to originate or acquire the loan or on the date the REIT modifies the loan (if the modification is treated as "significant" for federal income tax purposes), a portion of the interest income from such loan will not be qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test, but will be qualifying income for purposes of the 95% gross income test. The portion of the interest income that will not be qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test will be equal to the portion of the principal amount of the loan that is not secured by real property — that is, the amount by which the loan exceeds the value of the real estate that is security for the loan. For purposes of this paragraph, however, the Company does not need to redetermine the fair market value of the real property securing a loan in connection with a loan modification that is occasioned by a borrower default or made at a time when the Company reasonably believes that the modification to the loan will substantially reduce a significant risk of default on the original loan. In addition, in the case of a loan that is secured by both real property and personal property, if the fair market value of such personal property does not exceed 15% of the total fair market value of all such property securing the loan, then the personal property securing the loan will be treated as real property for purposes of determining whether the interest on such loan is qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test.
Company will be required to redetermine the value of the real property securing the loan at the time it was significantly modified, which could result in a portion of the interest income on the loan being treated as nonqualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test. In determining the value of the real property securing such a loan, the Company generally will not obtain third party appraisals but rather will rely on internal valuations.
15.32 The Company expects that the interest, original issue discount, and market discount income that the Company receives from any mortgage related assets generally will be qualifying income for purposes of both gross income tests.
The Company will attempt to comply with the terms of the safe-harbor provisions in the federal income tax laws prescribing when an asset sale will not be characterized as a prohibited transaction. The Company cannot assure you, however, that the Company can comply with the safe-harbor provisions or that the Company will avoid owning property that may be characterized as property that the Company holds "primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of a trade or business." The 100% tax will not apply to gains from the sale of property that is held through a TRS or other taxable corporation, although such income will be taxed to the corporation at regular corporate income tax rates.
15.36 Foreclosure Property. The Company will be subject to tax at the maximum corporate rate on any income from Foreclosure Property, which includes certain foreign currency gains and related deductions, other than income that otherwise would be qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test, less expenses directly connected with the production of that income. However, gross income from Foreclosure Property will qualify under the 75% and 95% gross income tests. Foreclosure Property is any real property, including interests in real property, and any personal property incident to such real property: (i) that is acquired by a REIT as the result of the REIT having bid on such property at foreclosure, or having otherwise reduced such property to ownership or possession by agreement or process of law, after there was a default or default was imminent on a lease of such property or on indebtedness that such property secured; (ii) for which the related loan was acquired by the REIT at a time when the default was not imminent or anticipated; and (iii) for which the REIT makes a proper election to treat the property as Foreclosure Property.
A REIT will not be considered to have foreclosed on a property where the REIT takes control of the property as a mortgage-in-possession and cannot receive any profit or sustain any loss except as a creditor of the mortgagor. Property generally ceases to be Foreclosure Property at the end of the third taxable year (or, with respect to qualified healthcare property, the second taxable year) following the taxable year in which the REIT acquired the property, or longer if an extension is granted by the Secretary of the Treasury. However, this grace period terminates and Foreclosure Property ceases to be Foreclosure Property on the first day:
The Company may have the option to foreclose on mortgage loans when a borrower is in default. The foregoing rules could affect a decision by the Company to foreclose on a particular mortgage loan and could affect whether the Company chooses to foreclose with regard to a particular mortgage loan.
15.37 Hedging Transactions. From time to time, the Company or its Operating Partnership may enter into hedging transactions with respect to one or more of the Company's assets or liabilities. The Company's hedging activities may include entering into interest rate swaps, caps, and floors, options to purchase such items, and futures and forward contracts. Income and gain from "hedging transactions" will be excluded from gross income for purposes of both the 75% and 95% gross income tests provided the Company satisfies the identification requirements discussed below. A "hedging transaction" means (i) any transaction entered into in the normal course of the Company or its Operating Partnership's trade or business primarily to manage the risk of interest rate, price changes, or currency fluctuations with respect to borrowings made or to be made, or ordinary obligations incurred or to be incurred, to acquire or carry real estate assets, (ii) any transaction entered into primarily to manage the risk of currency fluctuations with respect to any item of income or gain that would be qualifying income under the 75% or 95% gross income test (or any property which generates such income or gain), or (iii) any transaction entered into to "offset" a transaction described in (i) or (ii) if a portion of the hedged indebtedness is extinguished or the related property is disposed of. The Company is required to clearly identify any such hedging transaction before the close of the day on which it was acquired, originated, or entered into and to satisfy other identification requirements. The Company intends to structure any hedging transactions in a manner that does not jeopardize the Company's qualification as a REIT.
The Company may originate loans with original issue discount. In general, the Company will be required to accrue original issue discount based on the constant yield to maturity of the loan, and to treat it as taxable income in accordance with applicable federal income tax rules even though such yield may exceed cash payments, if any, received on such loan.
Under the tax law informally known as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act ("TCJA"), the Company generally will be required to take certain amounts in income no later than the time such amounts are reflected in the Company's consolidated financial statements. This rule may require the accrual of income with respect to any loans the Company may acquire earlier than would be the case under the general tax rules.
In addition, in the event that any loan is delinquent as to mandatory principal and interest payments, or in the event payments with respect to a particular loan are not made when due, the Company may nonetheless be required to continue to recognize the unpaid interest as taxable income.
Finally, the Company may be required under the terms of indebtedness that the Company incurs to use cash received from interest payments to make principal payments on that indebtedness, with the effect of recognizing income but not having a corresponding amount of cash available for distribution to the Company's stockholders.
Failure to Satisfy Gross Income Tests. If the Company fails to satisfy one or both of the gross income tests for any taxable year, the Company nevertheless may qualify as a REIT for that year if the Company qualifies for relief under certain provisions of the federal income tax laws. Those relief provisions are available if:
The Company cannot predict, however, whether in all circumstances the Company would qualify for the relief provisions. In addition, as discussed above in "—Taxation as a REIT", even if the relief provisions apply, the Company would incur a 100% tax on the gross income attributable to the greater of the amount by which the Company fails the 75% gross income test or the 95% gross income test multiplied, in either case, by a fraction intended to reflect the Company's profitability.
Second, of the Company's investments not included in the 75% asset class, the value of its interest in
any one issuer's securities (other than a TRS) may not exceed 5% of the value of the Company's total assets, or the 5% asset test.
Third, of the Company's investments not included in the 75% asset class, the Company may not own more than 10% of the voting power of any one issuer's outstanding securities or 10% of the value of any one issuer's outstanding securities, or the 10% vote test or 10% value test, respectively.
Fourth, no more than 20% of the value of the Company's total assets may consist of the securities of one or more TRSs.
Fifth, no more than 25% of the value of the Company's total assets may consist of the securities of TRSs and other non-TRS taxable subsidiaries and other assets that are not qualifying assets for purposes of the 75% asset test, or the 25% securities test.
Sixth, no more than 25% of the value of the Company's total assets may consist of debt instruments issued by "publicly offered REITs" to the extent such debt instruments are not secured by real property or interests in real property.
For purposes of the 10% value test, the Company's proportionate share of the assets of a partnership is the Company's proportionate interest in any securities issued by the partnership, without regard to the securities described in the last two bullet points above.
15.43 In general, under the applicable Treasury regulations, if a loan is secured by real property and other property and the highest principal amount of the loan outstanding during a taxable year exceeds the fair market value of the real property securing the loan as of: (1) the date the Company agreed to acquire or originate the loan; or (2) in the event of a significant modification, the date the Company modified the loan, then a portion of the interest income from such a loan will not be qualifying income for purposes of the 75% gross income test, but will be qualifying income for purposes of the 95% gross income test. Although the law is not entirely clear, a portion of the loan will also likely be a nonqualifying asset for purposes of the 75% asset test. The non-qualifying portion of such a loan would be subject to, among other requirements, the 10% vote or value test. IRS Revenue Procedure 2014-51 provides a safe harbor under which the IRS has stated that it will not challenge a REIT's treatment of a loan as being, in part, a qualifying real estate asset in an amount equal to the lesser of (1) the fair market value of the loan on the relevant quarterly REIT asset testing date or (2) the greater of (a) the fair market value of the real property securing the loan on the relevant quarterly REIT testing date or (b) the fair market value of the real property securing the loan on the date the REIT committed to originate or acquire the loan. The Company intends to invest in mortgage loans, if any, in a manner that will enable the Company to continue to satisfy the asset and gross income test requirements.
15.44 The Company will monitor the status of its assets for the purposes of the various asset tests and will
manage the Company's portfolio in order to comply at all times with such tests. However, there is no assurance that the Company will not inadvertently fail to comply with such tests. If the Company fails to satisfy the asset tests at the end of a calendar quarter, the Company will not lose the Company's REIT qualification if: (1) the Company satisfied the asset tests at the end of the preceding calendar quarter; and (2) the discrepancy between the value of the Company's assets and the asset test requirements arose from changes in the market values of the Company's assets and was not wholly or partly caused by the acquisition of one or more non-qualifying assets.
If the Company did not satisfy the condition described in the second item, above, the Company still could avoid disqualification by eliminating any discrepancy within 30 days after the close of the calendar quarter in which it arose.
15.47 Each taxable year, the Company must distribute dividends, other than capital gain dividends and deemed distributions of retained capital gain, to the Company's stockholders in an aggregate amount at least equal to: (1) the sum of: (i) 90% of the Company's "REIT taxable income," computed without regard to the dividends paid deduction and the Company's net capital gain or loss, and (ii) 90% of the Company's after-tax net income, if any, from Foreclosure Property, minus (2) the excess of the sum of specified items of non-cash income (including original issue discount on any loans) over 5% of the Company's REIT taxable income, computed without regard to the dividends paid deduction and the Company's net capital gain.
requirements and to avoid corporate income tax and the 4% nondeductible excise tax.
to pay a deficiency distribution to the Company's stockholders and pay penalties and interest thereon to the IRS, as provided by the Code. A deficiency distribution cannot be used to satisfy the distribution requirement however, if the failure to meet the requirement is not due to a later adjustment to the Company's income by the IRS.
15.57 To avoid a monetary penalty, the Company must request on an annual basis information from the Company's stockholders designed to disclose the actual ownership of the Company's outstanding stock. The Company intends to comply with these requirements.
stock for more than 60 days during the 121 day period beginning on the date that is 60 days before the date on which the Company's capital stock becomes ex-dividend.
15.71 A taxpayer generally must hold a capital asset for more than one year for gain or loss derived from its sale or exchange to be treated as long-term capital gain or loss. For taxable years before January 1, 2026, the highest marginal individual income tax rate currently is 37%. The maximum tax rate on long-term capital gain applicable to taxpayers taxed at individual rates is 20% for sales and exchanges of assets held for more than one year. In addition, certain net capital gains attributable to depreciable real property held for more than 12 months are subject to a 25% maximum federal income tax rate to the extent of previously claimed real property depreciation. The maximum tax rate on long-term capital gain from the sale or exchange of "Section 1250 property," or depreciable real property, is 25%, which applies to the lesser of the total amount of the gain or the accumulated depreciation on the Section 1250 property. In addition, individuals, trusts and estates whose income exceeds certain thresholds are also subject to a 3.8% Medicare tax on gain from the sale of the Company's stock.
15.72 With respect to distributions that the Company designates as capital gain dividends and any retained capital gain that the Company is deemed to distribute, the Company generally may designate whether such a distribution is taxable to U.S. stockholders taxed at individual rates currently at a 20% or 25% rate. Thus, the tax rate differential between capital gain and ordinary income for those taxpayers may be significant. In addition, the characterization of income as capital gain or ordinary income may affect the deductibility of capital losses. A non-corporate taxpayer may deduct capital losses not offset by capital gains against its ordinary income only up to a maximum annual amount of \$3,000. A noncorporate taxpayer may carry forward unused capital losses indefinitely. A corporate taxpayer must pay tax on its net capital gain at ordinary corporate rates. A corporate taxpayer may deduct capital losses only to the extent of capital gains, with unused losses being carried back three years and forward five years.
15.73 Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, or FATCA, a U.S. withholding tax at a 30% rate will be imposed on dividends paid to certain U.S. stockholders who own the Company's shares through foreign accounts or foreign intermediaries if certain disclosure requirements related to U.S. accounts or ownership are not satisfied. The Company will not pay any additional amounts in respect of any amounts withheld.
15.74 Tax-exempt entities, including qualified employee pension and profit-sharing trusts and individual retirement accounts, generally are exempt from federal income taxation. However, they are subject to taxation on their unrelated business taxable income ("UBTI"). Although many investments in real estate generate UBTI, the IRS has issued a ruling that dividend distributions from a REIT to an exempt employee pension trust do not constitute UBTI. Based on that ruling, amounts that the Company distributesto tax-exempt stockholders generally should not constitute UBTI. However, if a tax-exempt stockholder were to finance (or be deemed to finance) its acquisition of capital stock with debt, a portion of the income that it receives from the Company would constitute UBTI pursuant to the "debtfinanced property" rules. Moreover, social clubs, voluntary employee benefit associations, supplemental unemployment benefit trusts and qualified group legal services plans that are exempt from taxation under special provisions of the federal income tax laws are subject to different UBTI rules, which generally will require them to characterize distributions that they receive from the Company as UBTI. Finally, in certain circumstances, a qualified employee pension or profit-sharing trust that owns more than 10% of the Company's capital stock must treat a percentage of the dividends that it receives from the Company as UBTI. Such a percentage is equal to the gross income the Company derives from an unrelated trade or business, determined as if the Company was a pension trust, divided by the Company's total gross income for the year in which the Company pays the dividends. That rule applies to a pension trust holding more than 10% of the Company's capital stock only if:
15.75 The term "non-U.S. stockholder" means a beneficial owner of the Company's capital stock that is not a U.S. stockholder, a partnership (or entity treated as a partnership for federal income tax purposes) or a tax-exempt stockholder. The rules governing federal income taxation of non-resident alien individuals, foreign corporations, foreign partnerships, and other foreign stockholders are highly complex. This section is only a summary of such rules. The Company urges non-U.S. stockholders to consult their tax advisors to determine the impact of federal, state, and local income tax laws on the purchase, ownership and sale of the Company's capital stock, including any reporting requirements.
15.76 A non-U.S. stockholder that receives a distribution that is not attributable to gain from the Company's sale or exchange of a "United States real property interest" ("USRPI"), as defined below, and that the Company does not designate as a capital gain dividend or retained capital gain will recognize ordinary income to the extent that the Company pays such distribution out of the Company's current or accumulated earnings and profits. A withholding tax equal to 30% of the gross amount of the distribution ordinarily will apply to such distribution unless an applicable tax treaty reduces or eliminates the tax. However, if a distribution is treated as effectively connected with the non-U.S. stockholder's conduct of a U.S. trade or business, the non-U.S. stockholder generally will be subject to federal income tax on the distribution at graduated rates, in the same manner as U.S. stockholders are taxed with respect to such distribution, and will be required to file a tax return in the U.S. on which such income and tax are reported, and a non-U.S. stockholder that is a corporation also may be subject to the 30% branch profits tax with respect to that distribution. The Company plans to withhold U.S. income tax at the rate of 30% on the gross amount of any such distribution paid to a non-U.S. stockholder unless either:
not own more than 10% of such class of capital stock at any time during the one-year period preceding the distribution or (ii) the non-U.S. stockholder was treated as a "qualified shareholder" or "qualified foreign pension fund," as discussed below. As a result, non-U.S. stockholders generally will be subject to withholding tax on such capital gain distributions in the same manner as they are subject to withholding tax on ordinary dividends. We believe that our Common Stock is regularly traded on an established securities market in the United States. However, no assurance that our common stock will continue to be so traded on an established securities market in the United States. If a class of the Company's capital stock is not regularly traded on an established securities market in the United States or the non-U.S. stockholder owned more than 10% of the applicable class of the Company's capital stock at any time during the one-year period preceding the distribution, capital gain distributions that are attributable to the Company's sale of real property would be subject to tax under FIRPTA, as described in the preceding paragraph. In such case, the Company must withhold 21% of any distribution that the Company could designate as a capital gain dividend. A non-U.S. stockholder may receive a credit against its tax liability for the amount the Company withholds. Moreover, if a non-U.S. stockholder disposes of shares of the Company's capital stock during the 30-day period preceding a dividend payment, and such non-U.S. stockholder (or a person related to such non-U.S. stockholder) acquires or enters into a contract or option to acquire that capital stock within 61 days of the first day of the 30-day period described above, and any portion of such dividend payment would, but for the disposition, be treated as a USRPI capital gain to such non-U.S. stockholder, then such non-U.S. stockholder shall be treated as having USRPI capital gain in an amount that, but for the disposition, would have been treated as USRPI capital gain.
15.80 Although the law is not clear on the matter, it appears that amounts the Company designates as retained capital gains in respect of the Company's capital stock held by U.S. stockholders generally should be treated with respect to non-U.S. stockholders in the same manner as actual distributions by the Company of capital gain dividends. Under this approach, a non-U.S. stockholder would be able to offset as a credit against its federal income tax liability resulting from its proportionate share of the tax paid by the Company on such retained capital gains, and to receive from the IRS a refund to the extent of the non-U.S. stockholder's proportionate share of such tax paid by the Company exceeds its actual federal income tax liability, provided that the non-U.S. stockholder furnishes required information to the IRS on a timely basis.
15.81 Non-U.S. stockholders could incur tax under FIRPTA with respect to gain realized upon a disposition of the Company's capital stock if the Company is a United States real property holding corporation during a specified testing period. If at least 50% of a REIT's assets are USRPIs, then the REIT will be a United States real property holding corporation. The Company anticipatesthat the Company will be a United States real property holding corporation based on the Company's investment strategy. However, despite the Company's status as a United States real property holding corporation, a nonU.S. stockholder generally would not incur tax under FIRPTA on gain from the sale of the Company's capital stock if the Company is a "domestically controlled qualified investment entity." A domestically controlled qualified investment entity includes a REIT in which, at all times during a specified testing period, less than 50% in value of its shares are held directly or indirectly by non-U.S. stockholders. The Company cannot assure you that this test will be met. If a class of the Company's capital stock is regularly traded on an established securities market, an additional exception to the tax under FIRPTA will be available with respect to that class of the Company's capital stock, even if the Company does not qualify as a domestically controlled qualified investment entity at the time the non-U.S. stockholder sells shares of that class of the Company's capital stock. Under that exception, the gain from such a sale by such a non-U.S. stockholder will not be subject to tax under FIRPTA if:
Although we believe that our common stock has been regularly traded on an established securities market, no assurance can be given that our Common Stock will continue to be so traded, in which case this exemption from application of FIRPTA upon the sale of a our common stock by a non-U.S. stockholder would not be available.
15.83 Subject to the exception discussed below, any distribution to a "qualified shareholder" who holds REIT stock directly or indirectly (through one or more partnerships) will not be subject to federal income taxation under FIRPTA and thus will not be subject to the special withholding rules under FIRPTA. While a "qualified shareholder" will not be subject to FIRPTA withholding on REIT distributions, the portion of REIT distributions attributable to certain investors in a "qualified shareholder" (i.e., non-U.S. persons who hold interests in the "qualified shareholder" (other than interests solely as a creditor), and directly or indirectly hold more than 10% of the stock of such REIT (whether or not by reason of the investor's ownership in the "qualified stockholder")) may be subject to FIRPTA withholding. REIT distributions received by a "qualified stockholder" that are exempt from FIRPTA withholding may still be subject to regular U.S. withholding tax.
15.87 Any distribution to a "qualified foreign pension fund" (or an entity all of the interests of which are held by a "qualified foreign pension fund") who holds REIT stock directly or indirectly (through one or more partnerships) will not be subject to federal income taxation under FIRPTA and thus will not be subject to the special withholding rules under FIRPTA. REIT distributions received by a "qualified foreign pension fund" that are exempt from FIRPTA withholding may still be subject to regular U.S. withholding tax 9e.g. on ordinary dividends). In addition, a sale of the Company's stock by a "qualified foreign pension fund" that holds such stock directly or indirectly (through one or more partnerships) will not be subject to federal income taxation under FIRPTA.
15.88 A qualified foreign pension fund is any trust, corporation, or other organization or arrangement (i) which is created or organized under the law of a country other than the United States, (ii) which is established to provide retirement or pension benefits to participants or beneficiaries that are current or former employees (or persons designated by such employees) of one or more employers in consideration for services rendered, (iii) which does not have a single participant or beneficiary with a right to more than 5% of its assets or income, (iv) which is subject to government regulation and provides annual information reporting about its beneficiaries to the relevant tax authorities in the country in which it is established or operates, and (v) with respect to which, under the laws of the country in which it is established or operates, (a) contributions to such organization or arrangement that would otherwise be subject to tax under such laws are deductible or excluded from the gross income of such entity or taxed at a reduced rate, or (b) taxation of any investment income of such organization or arrangement is deferred or such income is taxed at a reduced rate.
15.89 The Company has not made, but in the future may make, distributions to holders of shares of Common Stock that are paid in shares of Common Stock. In certain circumstances, these distributions may be intended to be treated as dividends for U.S. federal income tax purposes and, accordingly, would be treated in a manner consistent with the discussion above regarding ordinary dividends and capital gain dividends. If the Company (or the applicable withholding agent) is required to withhold an amount in excess of any cash distributed along with the shares of Common Stock, some of the shares that would otherwise be distributed will be retained and sold in order to satisfy such withholding obligations.
15.90 Under FATCA, a U.S. withholding tax at a 30% rate will be imposed on dividends paid on the Company's capital stock received by certain non-U.S. stockholders if certain disclosure requirements related to U.S. accounts or ownership are not satisfied. If payment of withholding taxes is required, non-U.S. stockholders that are otherwise eligible for an exemption from, or reduction of, U.S. withholding taxes with respect of such dividends and proceeds will be required to seek a refund from the IRS to obtain the benefit of such exemption or reduction. The Company will not pay any additional amounts in respect of any amounts withheld.
15.95 Tax Aspects of the Company's Investments in its Operating Partnership and Subsidiary Partnerships The following discussion summarizes certain federal income tax considerations applicable to the Company's direct or indirect investments in the Company's Operating Partnership and any subsidiary partnerships or limited liability companies that the Company forms or acquires (each individually a "Partnership" and, collectively, the "Partnerships"). The discussion does not cover state or local tax laws or any federal tax laws other than income tax laws.
Substantially all of the Company's investments are held indirectly through the Operating Partnership. In general, partnerships are "pass-through" entities that are not subject to federal income tax at the partnership level. However, a partner is allocated its proportionate share of the items of income, gain, loss, deduction and credit of a partnership, and is required to include these items in calculating its tax liability, without regard to whether it receives a distribution from the partnership. The Company includes its proportionate share of these partnership items in its income for purposes of the various REIT income tests and the computation of its REIT taxable income. Moreover, for purposes of the REIT asset tests, the Company includes its proportionate share of assets held through the Operating Partnership.
Classification as Partnerships. The Company will include in its income its distributive share of each Partnership's income and to deduct the Company's distributive share of each Partnership's losses only if such Partnership is classified for federal income tax purposes as a partnership (or an entity that is disregarded for federal income tax purposes if the entity is treated as having only one owner for federal income tax purposes) rather than as a corporation or an association taxable as a corporation. An unincorporated entity with at least two owners or members will generally be classified as a partnership, rather than as a corporation, for federal income tax purposes if it: (1) is treated as a partnership under the Treasury regulations relating to entity classification (the "check-the-box regulations"); and (2) is not a "publicly-traded partnership."
Under the check-the-box regulations, an unincorporated entity with at least two owners or members may elect to be classified either as an association taxable as a corporation or as a partnership. If such an entity is a U.S. entity and fails to make an election, it generally will be treated as a partnership (or an entity that is disregarded for federal income tax purposes if the entity is treated as having only one owner for federal income tax purposes) for federal income tax purposes. The Company's Operating Partnership intends to be classified as a partnership for federal income tax purposes and will not elect to be treated as an association taxable as a corporation under the check-the-box regulations.
A publicly traded partnership is a partnership whose interests are traded on an established securities market or are readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof. A publiclytraded partnership will not, however, be treated as a corporation for any taxable year if, for each taxable year beginning after December 31, 1987 in which it was classified as a publicly-traded partnership, 90% or more of the partnership's gross income for such year consists of certain passivetype income, including real property rents, gains from the sale or other disposition of real property, interest, and dividends (the "90% passive income exception"). Treasury regulations (the "PTP regulations") provide limited safe harbors from the definition of a publicly traded partnership. Pursuant to one of those safe harbors (the "private placement exclusion"), interests in a partnership will not be treated as readily tradable on a secondary market or the substantial equivalent thereof if (i) all interests in the partnership were issued in a transaction or transactions that were not required to be registered under the Securities Act and (ii) the partnership does not have more than 100 partners at any time during the partnership's taxable year. In determining the number of partners in a partnership, a person owning an interest in a partnership, grantor trust, or S corporation that owns an interest in the partnership is treated as a partner in such partnership only if (i) substantially all of the value of the owner's interest in the entity is attributable to the entity's direct or indirect interest in the partnership and (ii) a principal purpose of the use of the entity is to permit the partnership to satisfy the 100 partner limitation. The Company believes its Operating Partnership will qualify for the private placement exclusion. The Company expectsthat any other Partnership that the Company formsin the future will qualify for the private placement exclusion. The Company's Operating Partnership's partnership agreement contains provisions enabling its general partner to take such steps as are necessary or appropriate to prevent the issuance and transfers of interests in the Company's Operating Partnership from causing the Company's Operating Partnership to be treated as a publicly traded partnership under the PTP regulations. There can be no assurance, however, that the Company will not (i) issue partnership interests in a transaction required to be registered under the Securities Act, or (ii) issue partnership interests to more than 100 partners. However, even if the Company's Operating Partnership was considered a publicly traded partnership under the PTP Regulations, the Company believes its Operating Partnership should not be treated as a corporation because the Company expects it would be eligible for the 90% passive income exception described above.
The Company has not requested, and do not intend to request, a ruling from the IRS that the Company's Operating Partnership will be classified as a partnership for federal income tax purposes. If for any reason the Company's Operating Partnership was taxable as a corporation, rather than as a partnership, for federal income tax purposes, the Company may not be able to qualify as a REIT unless the Company qualified for certain relief provisions. See "— Gross Income Tests" and "— Asset Tests." In addition, any change in a Partnership's status for tax purposes might be treated as a taxable event, in which case the Company might incur tax liability without any related cash distribution. See "— Distribution Requirements." Further, items of income and deduction of such Partnership would not pass through to its partners, and its partners would be treated as stockholders for tax purposes. Consequently, such Partnership would be required to pay income tax at corporate rates on its net income, and distributions to its partners would constitute dividends that would not be deductible in computing such Partnership's taxable income.
Partners, Not the Partnerships, Subject to Tax. In general, a partnership is not a taxable entity for federal income tax purposes. Rather, the Company is required to take into account the Company's allocable share of each Partnership's income, gains, losses, deductions, and credits for any taxable year of such Partnership ending within or with the Company's taxable year, without regard to whether the Company has received or will receive any distribution from such Partnership. However, the tax liability for adjustments to a Partnership's tax returns made as a result of an audit by the IRS will be imposed on the Partnership itself in certain circumstances absent an election to the contrary.
Partnership Allocations. Although a partnership agreement generally will determine the allocation of income and losses among partners, such allocations will be disregarded for tax purposes if they do not comply with the provisions of the federal income tax laws governing partnership allocations. If an allocation is not recognized for federal income tax purposes, the item subject to the allocation will be reallocated in accordance with the partners' interests in the partnership, which will be determined by taking into account all of the facts and circumstances relating to the economic arrangement of the partners with respect to such item. Each Partnership's allocations of taxable income, gain, and loss are intended to comply with the requirements of the federal income tax laws governing partnership allocations.
Tax Allocations with respect to partnership properties. Pursuant to Section 704(c) of the Code, income, gain, loss, and deduction attributable to appreciated or depreciated property that is contributed to a partnership in exchange for an interest in the partnership must be allocated in a manner such that the contributing partner is charged with, or benefits from, respectively, the unrealized gain or unrealized loss associated with the property at the time of the contribution. In the case of a contribution of property, the amount of the unrealized gain or unrealized loss ("built-in gain" or "built-in loss") is generally equal to the difference between the fair market value of the contributed property at the time of contribution and the adjusted tax basis of such property at the time of contribution (a "book-tax difference"). Any property purchased for cash initially will have an adjusted tax basis equal to its fair market value, resulting in no book-tax difference. The Company's Operating Partnership may admit partners in the future in exchange for a contribution of property, which will result in book-tax differences.
Allocations with respect to book-tax differences are solely for federal income tax purposes and do not affect the book capital accounts or other economic or legal arrangements among the partners. The U.S. Treasury Department has issued regulations requiring partnerships to use a "reasonable method" for allocating items with respect to which there is a book-tax difference and outlining several reasonable allocation methods. Under certain available methods, the carryover basis in the hands of the Company's Operating Partnership of properties contributed to the Company would cause the Company to be allocated lower amounts of depreciation deductions for tax purposes than would be allocated to the Company if all its properties were to have a tax basis equal to their fair market value at the time of contribution.
Under the partnership agreement for the Company's Operating Partnership, depreciation or amortization deductions of the Company's Operating Partnership generally will be allocated among the partners in accordance with their respective interests in the Company's Operating Partnership, except to the extent that the Company's Operating Partnership is required under Section 704(c) of the Code to use a method for allocating depreciation deductions attributable to contributed properties that results in the contributing partner receiving a disproportionately large share of such deductions when compared to the tax basis of such property. In this case, the contributing partner may be allocated (1) lower amounts of depreciation deductions for tax purposes with respect to contributed properties than would be allocated to such contributing partner if each such property were to have a tax basis equal to its fair market value at the time of contribution, and/or (2) taxable gain in the event of a sale of such contributed properties in excess of the economic profit allocated to such contributing partner as a result of such sale. These allocations may cause the contributing partner to recognize taxable income in excess of cash proceeds received by the contributing partner, which might require such partner to utilize cash from other sources to satisfy his or her tax liability or, if the REIT happens to be the contributing partner, adversely affect the Company's ability to comply with the REIT distribution requirements. The Company has not yet decided what method will be used to account for book-tax differences caused by the Company's Operating Partnership admitting partners in the future in exchange for contributions of property.
The Company anticipates that the REIT primarily will be contributing cash to the Operating Partnership, in which case the Company does not anticipate that these rules will adversely impact the allocations of income and gain from the Operating Partnership to the REIT. However, the Company (and the Operating Partnership) has entered into a contribution agreement with certain affiliates pursuant to which the Operating Partnership acquired real properties having a lower basis than the fair market value of these properties. Accordingly, the tax principles discussed in this section could require lower allocations of depreciation expense and, in the event of a sale of one or more of these properties, higher allocations of income or gain to those contributing partners. While the application of these tax principles would not ordinarily have an adverse impact on any allocations of income, deduction, and/or gain to the Company as a REIT, the Operating Partnership also has entered into a tax protection agreement with the contributing partners that generally limit the Operating Partnership's ability to dispose of these properties. Further, if the Operating Partnership were to dispose of one (or more) of these properties, the Operating Partnership could be obligated to make certain payments to the contributing partners to compensate them for the additional taxes payable as a result of the gains that are recognized and allocated to the contributing partners under these tax principles. As a result, the net proceeds available for distribution to the Company by the Operating Partnership after making any such tax payments to the contributing partners would be reduced.
The foregoing principles also could affect the calculation of the Company's earnings and profits for
purposes of determining which portion of the Company's distributions is taxable as a dividend. The allocations described in the above paragraphs may result in a higher portion of the Company's distributions being taxed as a dividend if the Company acquires properties in exchange for units of its Operating Partnership than would have occurred had the Company purchased such properties for cash.
In general, if any asset contributed to or revalued by the Operating Partnership is determined to have a fair market value that is greater than its adjusted tax basis, partners who have contributed those assets, including the Company, will be allocated lower amounts of depreciation deductions as to specific properties for tax purposes by the Operating Partnership and increased taxable income and gain on sale. Thus, the Company may be allocated lower depreciation and other deductions, and possibly greater amounts of taxable income in the event of a sale of contributed assets. These amounts may be in excess of the economic or book income allocated to it as a result of the sale. In this regard, it should be noted that as the general partner of the Operating Partnership, the Company will determine, taking into account the tax consequences to it, when and whether to sell any given property.
The Company will be allocated its share of the Operating Partnership's taxable income or loss for each year regardless of the amount of cash that may be distributed to it by the Operating Partnership. As a result, the Company could be allocated taxable income for a year in excess of the amount of cash distributed to it. This excess taxable income is sometimes referred to as "phantom income." Because the Company relies on cash distributions from the Operating Partnership to meet its REIT distribution requirements, which are specified percentages of its REIT taxable income, the recognition of this phantom income might adversely affect the Company's ability to comply with those requirements.
The adjusted tax basis of a partner's interest in the Operating Partnership generally is equal to (1) the amount of cash and the basis of any other property contributed to the Operating Partnership by the partner, (2) increased by the partner's (a) allocable share of the Operating Partnership's income and (b) allocable share of indebtedness of the Operating Partnership, and (3) reduced, but not below zero, by (a) the partner's allocable share of the Operating Partnership's loss and (b) the amount of cash distributed to the partner, including constructive cash distributions resulting from a reduction in the partner's share of indebtedness of the Operating Partnership.
If the allocation of a partner's distributive share of the Operating Partnership's loss would reduce the adjusted tax basis of such partner's partnership interest in the Operating Partnership below zero, the recognition of such loss will be deferred until such time as the recognition of such loss would not reduce an adjusted tax basis below zero. If a distribution from the Operating Partnership or a reduction in a partner's share of the Operating Partnership's liabilities (which is treated as a constructive distribution for tax purposes) would reduce such partner's adjusted tax basis below zero, any such distribution, including a constructive distribution, would constitute taxable income to such partner. The gain realized by the partner upon the receipt of any such distribution or constructive distribution would normally be characterized as capital gain, and if the partner's partnership interest in the Operating Partnership has been held for longer than the long-term capital gain holding period (currently one year), the distribution would constitute long-term capital gain.
Generally, any gain realized by a Partnership on the sale of property held by the Partnership for more than one year will be long-term capital gain, except for any portion of such gain that is treated as depreciation or cost recovery recapture. Under Section 704(c) of the Code, any gain or loss recognized by a Partnership on the disposition of contributed properties will be allocated first to the partners of the Partnership who contributed such properties to the extent of their built-in gain or loss on those properties for federal income tax purposes. The partners' built-in gain or loss on such contributed properties will equal the difference between the partners' proportionate share of the book value of those properties and the partners' tax basis allocable to those properties at the time of the contribution as reduced for any decrease in the "book-tax difference." See "— Income Taxation of the Partnerships and Their Partners — Tax Allocations With Respect to Partnership Properties." Any remaining gain or loss recognized by the Partnership on the disposition of the contributed properties, and any gain or loss recognized by the Partnership on the disposition of the other properties, will be allocated among the partners in accordance with their respective percentage interests in the Partnership.
The Company's share of any gain realized by a Partnership on the sale of any property held by the Partnership as inventory or other property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of the Partnership's trade or business will be treated as income from a prohibited transaction that is subject to a 100% penalty tax. Such prohibited transaction income also may have an adverse effect upon the Company's ability to satisfy the income tests for REIT status. See "—Gross Income Tests." The Company does not presently intend to acquire or hold or to allow any Partnership to acquire or hold any property that represents inventory or other property held primarily for sale to customers in the ordinary course of the Company or such Partnership's trade or business.
The present federal income tax treatment of REITs may be modified, possibly with retroactive effect, by legislative, judicial, or administrative action at any time. The REIT rules are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department which may result in statutory changes as well as revisions to regulations and interpretations. The TCJA significantly changed the federal income tax laws applicable to businesses and their owners, including REITs and their stockholders. Additional technical corrections or other amendments to the TCJA or administrative guidance interpreting the TCJA may be forthcoming at any time. The Company cannot predict the long-term effect of the TCJA or any future law changes on REITs and their stockholders. Prospective investors are urged to consult with their tax advisors regarding the effect of potential changes to the federal tax laws on an investment in the Company's stock.
The Company and its stockholders are subject to state or local taxation in various state or local jurisdictions, including those in which it or they transact business or reside. The state and local tax treatment of the Company and its stockholders may not conform to the federal income tax consequences discussed above. Consequently, prospective stockholders of the Company should consult their own tax advisors regarding the effect of state and local tax laws on an investment in the Company. To the extent that the Company and the taxable REIT subsidiaries are required to pay federal, state or local taxes, the Company will have less cash available for distribution to stockholders.
Under recently promulgated Treasury regulations, if a stockholder recognizes a loss with respect to the shares of \$2 million or more for an individual stockholder or \$10 million or more for a corporate stockholder, the stockholder may be required to file a disclosure statement with the IRS on Form 8886. Direct stockholders of portfolio securities are in many cases exempt from this reporting requirement, but stockholders of a REIT currently are not excepted. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer's treatment of the loss is proper. Stockholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.
The Company is required to demand annual written statements from the record holders of designated percentages of the Company's shares disclosing the actual owners of the shares. Any record stockholder who, upon the Company's request, does not provide the Company with required information concerning actual ownership of the shares is required to include specified information relating to his or her shares in his or her federal income tax return. The Company also must maintain, within the Internal Revenue District in which the Company is required to file, the Company's federal income tax return, permanent records showing the information the Company has received about the actual ownership of shares and a list of those persons failing or refusing to comply with the Company's demand.
As is customary when making decisions regarding financial investments, one must consider the tax consequences arising from investing in the securities of the Company. The provisions included in this Listing Document regarding the taxation of securities listed herein do not purport to be an authoritative interpretation of the statutory provisions referred to in this Listing Document and do not replace professional advice based on the specific parameters and particular circumstances of each investor. Additionally, the provisions included reflect the provisions of the law as they are on the date of this Listing Document, and these may change by the date of any offering of the said securities under this Listing Document.
Note, to the extent that the securities registered under this Listing Document are offered to employees of the Company, as discussed in Section 12 of this Listing Document, the tax implications which are set forth below will likely change, with respect to the securities offered and their terms.
Similarly, note that the statements below relate solely to the tax consequences on Israeli investors. Therefore, a foreign resident interested in acquiring the offered securities should receive professional tax advice prior to making such an acquisition.
In 2020, the Israel Tax Authority's Professional Department issued a tax ruling to a U.S. REIT that deals mainly with the taxation of income generated for the shareholders from the distribution of income by the REIT (the "Tax Ruling"). For additional details, see Sections 16.6 to 16.9 below. This section refers to the manner of taxation of Israeli investors only in accordance with the Israeli tax laws. Therefore, a foreign resident holding and/or interested in purchasing the securities of the Company is advised to seek professional counsel before making the investment.
It should be noted that in relation to an "individual who was a resident of Israel for the first time" and a "long-time returning resident" as defined in Section 14 of the of the Income Tax Ordinance [New Version], 5721-1961 (the "Ordinance" or "ITO"),, different tax consequences than those described below may apply and it is suggested that such residents seek individual advice in order to examine their eligibility for tax benefits in Israel. It should also be noted that in relation to investors who will be considered "controlling owners" or "substantial shareholders" as defined in the Ordinance, additional tax consequences may apply to those described below.
Also, the reference, as it is presented below, to the matter of taxation of a member of a foreign resident company, is qualified in the case where residents of Israel are the controlling owners of it, or who, directly or indirectly, benefit from or are entitled to 25% or more of the income or profits of the foreign resident company, , in accordance with the provisions of Section 68A of the Ordinance.
This Listing Document describes the tax obligations in Israel, solely regarding Israeli investors, as well as the tax obligations of Israeli residents (or other non-U.S. residents) in the United States of America, including withholding tax that takes place there. Please review the U.S. tax provisions set forth in Section 15 of this Listing Document.
Accordingly and under to the current law, the securities offered according to this report are subject to the tax arrangements described in the summary below:
taxable income. The foregoing does not include the sale of securities by an individual who is"a "Substantial Shareholder" of the Company, i.e., one who holds, directly or indirectly, alone or jointly with another, at least ten percent (10%) of one or more types of means of control (as defined in Section 88 of the ITO) of the Company on the date of the sale of the securities or at any time during the 12 months prior to such sale, for whom the tax rate on a Real Capital Gain will be a maximum of thirty percent (30%). Furthermore, where an individual claimed real interest expenses and linkage differences on securities, the capital gain on the sale of the securities will be liable to tax at a rate of thirty percent (30%), until the determination of guidelines and conditions for the deduction of real interest expenses under Sections 101A(a)(9) and 101A(b) of the .ITO (up to 47% in 2024). The foregoing reduced tax rate will not apply to an individual whose income from the sale of the securities is considered income from a "business" or "vocation" in accordance with the provisions of Section 2(1) of the ITO since in that case, the marginal tax rate under Section 121 of the ITO would apply.
Specifically regarding an individual, when calculating the capital gains earned from the sale of a security whose value is linked to a foreign currency, the conversion rate is used as an index for calculating inflation.
23 Commencing January 1, 2013, the tax on dividends paid by a TASE-listed Israeli resident corporation in respect of the shares held by the nominee company are withheld at source by the financial institutions (i.e., TASE members). This would not apply to shares of registered shareholders.
In accordance with Section 121B of the Ordinance, an individual whose taxable income in the 2024 tax year is greater than NIS (which721,560 (an amount which is adjusted annually in accordance with the consumer price index) will be liable for the portion of his tax that exceeds such amount at an additional rate of 3%. Taxable income includes all types of income, including income from capital gains and real estate appreciation (the sale of a right to real estate in a residential apartment will only be included if its sale value exceeds NIS 5.382 million and the sale is not exempt from tax according to any law), with the exception of an inflationary amount as defined in section 88 of the ordinance and an inflationary amount as defined in section 47 of the Real Estate Taxation Law (Praise and Purchase) 5773-1963.
Meaning, income from a business or vocation that is taxable in accordance with Section 121 of the Ordinance for an individual or Section 126 of the Ordinance for a corporation (regarding individuals generally, in accordance with the marginal income tax rate, which may reach, as of the current date and in addition to the surtax on high income, up to 50%, and regarding companies - the corporate tax rate, which is currently 23%).
16.4.6 For the avoidance of doubt, the taxation of income shall not impact the cost of shares held by the shareholders. Additionally, the Tax Ruling is limited to income produced or derived from the territory of the United States does not apply to any real estate of income outside the territory of the United States.
16.5.1 The TASE members will be responsible for withholding tax at the source with respect to shares of the Company held through them.
For the purposes of the provisions of withholding tax only, in order to facilitate operational efficiency with respect to withholding tax at the source, the distributions described in Section 16.4.3 will be classified as income from dividends.
in Section 16.4.3, and where tax was withheld in the United States, will be permitted to be credited for tax on the income based on the terms of Sections 16.5.1and ,16.9, and based on the source from which it is distributed.
Owing to significant tax changes that have occurred in the capital markets in recent years, the proper practice for implementing all of the provisions described above has still not fully developed, and there may be several interpretations regarding the manner of their implementation. Furthermore, there may be changes and updates in the future to the tax provisions described above, and additional term and conditions may apply. Naturally, the content and effect of such changes cannot be foreseen. For the avoidance of doubt, in case the position of the Tax Authority changes in the future, the Company will endeavor to implement such changes.
As is customary when making any financial investment decision, one must consider the tax consequences arising from investing in the securities. The above does not purport to constitute a settled interpretation of the provisions of the law and the Tax Ruling or an exhaustive description of the tax provisions related to the taxation of the securities, and does not replace professional consulting on the matter, in accordance with the particular facts and unique circumstances of each investor. It is proposed that the purchasers of the proposed securities will seek professional advice in accordance with the particular figures pertaining to each purchaser of a security.
Federal income tax law requires that a REIT distribute annually at least 90% of its net taxable income, excluding net capital gains, and that it pays tax at regular corporate rates to the extent that it annually distributes less than 100% of its net taxable income, including net capital gains. In addition, a REIT is required to pay a 4% non-deductible excise tax on the amount, if any, by which the distributions that it makes in a calendar year are less than the sum of 85% of its ordinary income, 95% of its capital gain net income and 100% of its undistributed income from prior years.
To satisfy the requirements to qualify as a REIT and generally not be subject to U.S. federal income and excise tax, the Company generally intends to make regular quarterly distributions to holders of the Company's Common Stock, as the Company's board of directors determines that it has sufficient cash flow to do so, over time in an amount equal to the Company's taxable income. Although the Company anticipates continuing to make quarterly distributions to the Company's stockholders over time, the Company's board of directors has the sole discretion to determine the timing, form (including cash and shares of the Company's Common Stock at the election of each of the Company's stockholders) and amount of any future distributions to the Company's stockholders. Although not currently anticipated, in the event that the Company's board of directors determines to make distributions in excess of the income or cash flow generated from the Company's portfolio of assets, the Company may make such distributions from the proceeds of future offerings of equity or debt securities or other forms of debt financing or the sale of assets.
There can be no assurance that the Company will pay regular quarterly dividends. There are several factors that could affect the payment of dividends in the future, as a result of which stockholders may not receive dividends in the amounts paid in the past or at all.
At around the end of January of each year, the Company will announce the classification of the dividend payments distributed during the prior fiscal year. The announcement will relate to boxes in IRS Form 1099-DIV, which are described below (with corresponding numbers to the box numbers in such form):
1a) Non-Qualifying Ordinary Income – Since the Company is a REIT, its dividends are considered ordinary non-qualified dividends. Ordinary non-qualified dividends are taxed at the taxpayer's regular (ordinary income) tax rate. (Qualified dividends are taxed at the long-term capital gains rates of 0%, 15% or 20%, dependent on the taxpayer's taxable income and filing status.)
2a) Long-Term Capital Gain - this represents capital gain on the Company's sale of some of the securities that it was holding, which are passed through to its stockholders.
2b) Unrecaptured Section 1250 Gain - this is not expected to apply to the Company because it typically does not sell assets. This item is designed to recapture the portion of a gain related to previously used depreciation allowances. It is only applicable to the sale of depreciable real estate.
3) Return of Capital – this relates to the excess of the Company's annual distribution over its taxable income for the year (generally tax-free to the extent of a stockholder's basis in its stock and capital gains thereafter).
5) Section 199A Dividends -these are dividends from domestic REITs and other entities that qualify for Section 199A deductions. Since the Company is a REIT, all of its ordinary non-qualified dividends are Section 199A dividends; hence Box 5 is equal to Box 1a. A taxpayer can deduct up to 20% of REIT dividends (limited to 20% of taxable income).
The SEC filings listed below (and the exhibits to such filings, if any) are linked by active hyperlinks to such documents on the SEC's website. Such documents are incorporated herein by reference and deemed to be filed herewith. Beneficial ownership reports filed with the SEC by officers, directors and stockholders of the Company pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 are listed separately. The Company does not take responsibility for the content of such beneficial ownership reports.
| Description | Date Filed | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Current Report on Form 8-K (including the Exhibits) | April 4, 2024 |
| 2. | Annual Report on Form 10-K (including the Exhibits) | March 19, 2024 |
| 3. | Current Report on Form 8-K (including the Exhibits) | March 8, 2024 |
| 4. | Current Report on Form 8-K (including the Exhibits) | March 8, 2024 |
| 5. | Registration Withdrawal Request | February 2, 2024 |
| 6. | Current Report on Form 8-K (including the Exhibits) | November 14, 2023 |
| 7. | Quarterly report on Form 10-Q (including the Exhibits) | November 13, 2023 |
| 8. | Current Report on Form 8-K (including the Exhibits) – amendment |
November 9, 2023 |
| 9. | Current Report on Form 8-K (including the Exhibits) | August 29, 2023 |
| 10. | Registration of securities on Form S-11 (including the Exhibits) |
August 21, 2023 |
| 11. | Current Report on Form 8-K (including the Exhibits) | August 15, 2023 |
| 12. | Quarterly report on Form 10-Q (including the Exhibits) | August 14, 2023 |
| 13. | Current Report on Form 8-K (including the Exhibits) | June 14, 2023 |
| 14. | Current Report on Form 8-K (including the Exhibits) | June 1, 2023 |
| 15. | Current Report on Form 8-K (including the Exhibits) | May 19, 2023 |
| 16. | Current Report on Form 8-K (including the Exhibits) | May 15, 2023 |
| 17. | Quarterly report on Form 10-Q (including the Exhibits) | May 15, 2023 |
| 18. | Current Report on Form 8-K (including the Exhibits) | April 20, 2023 |
| 19. | Definitive Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A | April 5, 2023 |
| 20. | Annual Report on Form 10-K (including the Exhibits) | March 27, 2023 |
| 21. | Current Report on Form 8-K (including the Exhibits) – amendment |
March 10, 2023 |
|---|---|---|
| 22. | Current Report on Form 8-K (including the Exhibits) | March 9, 2023 |
| 23. | FORM-CERT | February 17, 2023 |
| 24. | Registration of securities [Section 12(b)] | February 16, 2023 |
| 25. | SEC-generated letter | July 28, 2022 |
| 26. | Correspondence | July 12, 2022 |
| 27. | Registration of securities [Section 12(g)] – amendment |
July 12, 2022 |
| 28. | SEC-generated letter | June 27,2022 |
| 29. | Registration Withdrawal Request | June 1,2022 |
| 30. | Registration of securities [Section 12(g)] | May 31, 2022 |
| 31. | Registration of securities on Form S-11 (including the Exhibits) |
March 28, 2022 |
| 32. | Draft Registration Statement – amendment |
January 31, 2022 |
| Beneficial Ownership Reports (filed by officers, directors and stockholders of the Company) |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Description | Date Filed | |||
| 1. | Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities on Form 4 |
October 26, 2023 | ||
| 2. | Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities on Form 4 |
October 20, 2023 | ||
| 3. | Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities on Form 4 |
June 27, 2023 | ||
| 4. | Initial statement of beneficial ownership of securities on Form 3 |
June 27, 2023 | ||
| 5. | Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities on Form 4 |
April 11, 2023 | ||
| 6. | Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities on Form 4 |
April 4, 2023 |
| 7. | Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities on Form 4 |
December 30, 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| 8. | Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities on Form 4 |
December 30, 2022 |
| 9. | Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities on Form 4 |
December 30, 2022 |
| 10. | Statement of changes in beneficial ownership of securities on Form 4 |
December 27, 2022 |
| 11. | Initial statement of beneficial ownership of securities on Form 3 |
December 27, 2022 |
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