Controlled Foreign Corporation (CFC) – Who is Subject to Taxation?

拥有外国公司股份的美国人是否需要就该外国公司的未分配收益和利润缴纳现行税款? The short answer to that question is that it is possible but as with everything US tax related, the answer depends on the facts 和 circumstances of each case.

在一般规则下 国内税收法典 (代码), 外国公司仅在其在美国的贸易或业务中获得收入的范围内才需要向美国纳税, 或者有来自美国的收入来源. 因此, a foreign corporation that earns only foreign income generally would not be subject to US taxation. 此外, under the general US federal income tax rules, 外国公司的美国股东不需要为外国公司赚取的收入纳税，直到这些收入实际分配给他们. 

适用于受控外国公司(CFCs)制度的规则不会改变有关外国公司征税的一般美国所得税规则. 而不是, the CFC provisions change the general rules of taxation of US persons who are shareholders in certain foreign corporations. 具体地说, 受CFC规定约束的美国人可能被要求在收入中包括外国公司的某些未分配收益，就像这些收益目前已分配一样. 

The basic rules for taxing undistributed income earned by certain foreign corporations to US persons who own stock in the foreign corporation provides that if a foreign corporation is a controlled foreign corporation (CFC) at any time during any taxable year every person — (1) who is a “US shareholder” of such corporation 和 (2) who owns (or treated as owning) stock in such corporation on the last day (in such year) on which such corporation was a CFC — will include the shareholder’s pro rata share of certain income, 在本公司纳税年度结束的股东应纳税年度，本公司的收益在其总收入中进行了撤回投资和投资. 

This rule sets forth three threshold requirements for the taxation of undistributed earnings 和 profits to apply:

• 外国公司必须是CFC
• 股东必须是美国股东
• The CFC must derive certain types of income, have withdrawn certain investments or have invested its earnings in certain assets 

CFC条款仅适用于符合“受控外国公司”定义的外国公司的美国股东.“总的来说, CFC被定义为任何外国公司，如果该公司所有类别有投票权的股票的总投票权超过50%, or (2) the total value of the stock of such corporation, is owned by US shareholders at any time during the foreign corporation’s taxable year.

“美国股东”, 出于这些目的, 拥有所有类别股票总投票权10%或以上的美国人是否有权在该外国公司投票, or 10% or 更多的 of the total value of shares of all classes of stock of the foreign corporation. A US person is defined generally as any domestic corporation, 国内合作伙伴, 国内信托或地产, 或美国个人公民或居民.   

Ownership in the foreign corporation can either be direct, indirect (i.e. 通过另一个实体)或建设性的(i.e. rules that attribute the ownership of stock to certain family members, 在某些实体和它们的所有者之间, 和 to holders of options to acquire stock). 请注意，对于CFC的目的, 非美国个人拥有的股票(外国信托或遗产除外)不应被视为美国个人(公民或外国居民)拥有的股票。.

最后, the Tax Cuts 和 Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA) repealed the prevention of downward attribution of stock ownership from foreign persons to US person; 因此, 以前未被视为美国股东的美国人以及未被视为氟氯化碳的外国公司可能被视为氟氯化碳.

US shareholders are subject to current taxation on their pro rata share of only certain types of income, 和CFC的投资. 具体来说，这些包括:

• F分项收入  
• The amount of the CFC’s earnings invested in US property, sometimes referred to as the “Section 956 inclusion” amount
• The US shareholder’s global intangible low-taxed income (GILTI) for the taxable year

部分F income, 出于这些目的, includes primarily passive income i.e. 股息, 利益, 租金, 版税, 货币和大宗商品收益, 以及出售财产的收益. 一般, the inclusion of subpart F income is limited by the company’s current earnings 和 profits. F分项收入 is taxed as other income which means that for US individual shareholders, the distributions will be treated like nonqualified 股息 和 taxed at ordinary income rates.

此外, there are exceptions to the general rule – for example, CFC可以有最低的F部分收入(如果F部分收入低于总收入的5%或100万美元的较低者), none of the CFC’s income will be F分项收入). 如果一个CFC从另一个CFC获得某些利息收入和股息收入，如果两个CFC在同一个国家，或者较低的CFC是一个活跃的交易业务，而较高的CFC拥有较低的CFC 25%或更多的股份，则可能不属于子F部分收入.

美国房地产投资分类 include the following: (1) certain loans made by the CFC to a US shareholder; (2) purchase by the CFC of stock in a related US company; (3) formation of a US branch by the CFC in which the CFC uses its earnings realized from foreign operations to acquire tangible real or personal property in the US; or (4) the use in the US by a CFC of intangible property that it has purchased or developed or the license of such intangible property to a US parent or related US company for use in the US.

随着TCJA的通过, Section 956 inclusions are no longer an issue for most corporate US shareholders. 然而, 美国个人股东可能仍然需要就美国房地产的任何投资收取未分配的收益和利润. 例如, if a CFC loans money to its US individual shareholder 和 the CFC has sufficient earnings 和 profits to pay a dividend, some or all of the money loaned may be current income to the US shareholder as the loan would be an Investment in US Property. 与F部分收入一样, 第956节中包含的部分按普通所得税率征税，而不是按合格股息的潜在优惠税率征税.

GILTI means the excess (if any) of that shareholder’s “含氯氟烃测试净收入"的应税年度净视为有形收益回报的应税年度. 

• Net CFC tested income reduced by tested loss of the CFC
• Tested income of a CFC is the excess of gross income over deductions (including taxes) properly allocable to such income, 和 tested loss of a CFC is the excess of allocable deductions over gross income
• 净视同有形收益回报是指美国股东在各合资企业的“合格企业资产投资”(QBAI)中按比例所占份额总额超过一定利息支出的10%
• QBAI被定义为有形的, depreciable property used in a trade or business that produces tested income

根据上述规则先前征税的F部分收入和GILTI随后分配的收入被称为“先前纳税收入”(PTI)，不需要进一步缴纳美国所得税.

美国公司股东可以就CFC根据上述规则向美国股东缴纳的税款申请视为已支付的外国税收抵免.

作为美国股东的个人可以根据F部分和GILTI规则选择作为公司纳税, 和, 因此, apply the corporate tax rates 和 claim a deemed paid foreign tax credit with respect to the foreign tax paid on such income. 

本文由布拉德利·阿尔宾撰写