Taxation

General

The Company is incorporated in England and Wales. The Company changed tax residence from the Netherlands to the UK on December 31, 2021.

As a tax resident of the Netherlands, it is generally required by Dutch law to withhold tax at a rate of 15% on dividends on its ordinary shares and ADSs, subject to the provisions of any applicable tax convention or domestic law. Depending on their particular circumstances, non-Dutch tax-resident holders may be entitled to a full or partial refund of Dutch withholding tax. The following sets forth the operation of other provisions on dividends on the Company’s various ordinary shares and ADSs to UK and US holders, as well as certain other tax rules pertinent to holders during or prior to the 2021 financial year. Holders should consult their own tax adviser if they are uncertain as to the tax treatment of any dividend.

Dividends paid on the dividend access shares

As part of the Simplification, the A ordinary shares and B ordinary shares were assimilated into one single line of ordinary shares. Prior to the assimilation, there was no Dutch withholding tax on dividends on B shares or B ADSs, provided that such dividends are paid on the dividend access shares pursuant to the dividend access mechanism (see dividend access mechanism for B shares). Dividends paid on the dividend access shares are treated as UK-source for tax purposes and there is no UK withholding tax on them. 

In 2021, all dividends with respect to B shares and B ADSs were paid on the dividend access shares pursuant to the dividend access mechanism.

Dutch withholding tax

On January 29, 2022, one line of shares was established through assimilation of each A share and each B share into one single line of ordinary shares of the Company. This assimilation had no impact on voting rights or dividend entitlements. Dutch dividend withholding tax, applied previously on dividends on A shares, no longer applies on dividends paid on the now assimilated ordinary shares following the move of the Company’s tax residence to the UK.

The following applies to dividends paid in 2021 and prior financial years and is included in the report for reference:

When Dutch withholding tax applies on dividends paid to a US holder (that is, dividends on A shares or A ADSs, or on B shares or B ADSs that are not paid on the dividend access shares pursuant to the dividend access mechanism), the US holder will be subject to Dutch withholding tax at the rate of 15%. A US holder who is entitled to the benefits of the 1992 Double Taxation Convention (the Convention) between the USA and the Netherlands as amended by the protocol signed on March 8, 2004, will be entitled to a reduction in the Dutch withholding tax, either by way of a full or a partial exemption at source or by way of a partial refund or a credit as follows:

• if the US holder is an exempt pension trust as described in article 35 of the Convention, or an exempt organisation as described in article 36 thereof, the US holder will be exempt from Dutch withholding tax; or
• if the US holder is a company that holds directly at least 10% of the voting power in the Company, the US holder will be subject to Dutch withholding tax at a rate not exceeding 5%.

In general, the entire dividend (including any amount withheld) will be dividend income to the US holder and the withholding tax will be treated as a foreign income tax that is eligible for credit against the US holder’s income tax liability or a deduction subject to certain limitations. A "US holder" includes, but is not limited to, a citizen or resident of the USA, or a corporation or other entity organised under the laws of the USA or any of its political subdivisions.

When Dutch withholding tax applies on dividends paid to UK tax-resident holders (that is, dividends on A shares or A ADSs, or on B shares or B ADSs that are not paid on the dividend access shares pursuant to the dividend access mechanism), the dividend will typically be subject to withholding tax at a rate of 15%. Such UK tax-resident holder may be entitled to a credit (not repayable) for withholding tax against their UK tax liability. However, certain corporate shareholders are, subject to conditions, exempt from UK tax on dividends. Withholding tax suffered cannot be offset against such exempt dividends. UK tax-resident holders should also be entitled to claim a refund of one-third of the Dutch withholding tax from the Dutch tax authorities in reliance on the tax convention between the Netherlands and the UK. Pension plans meeting certain defined criteria can, however, be entitled to claim a full refund or exemption at source of the dividend tax withheld. Also, UK tax-resident corporate shareholders holding at least a 5% shareholding and meeting other defined criteria are exempted at source from dividend tax.

For holders who are tax-resident in any other country, the availability of a whole or partial exemption or refund of Dutch withholding tax is governed by Dutch tax law and/or the tax convention, if any, between the Netherlands and the country of the holder’s residence.

There may be other grounds on which holders who are tax-resident in the UK, the USA or any other country can obtain a full or partial refund of the Dutch withholding tax, depending on their particular circumstances; see "Taxation: General" above.

Dutch capital gains taxation

Capital gains on the sale of shares of a Dutch tax-resident company by a US holder are generally not subject to taxation by the Netherlands unless the US holder has a permanent establishment therein and the capital gain is derived from the sale of shares that are part of the business property of the permanent establishment.

Dutch succession duty and gift taxes

Shares of a Dutch tax-resident company held by an individual who is not a resident or a deemed resident of the Netherlands will generally not be subject to succession duty in the Netherlands on the individual’s death.

A gift of shares of a Dutch tax-resident company by an individual who is not a resident or a deemed resident of the Netherlands is generally not subject to Dutch gift tax.

UK stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax

Sales or transfers of the Company’s ordinary shares within a clearance service (such as Euroclear Nederland) or of the Company’s ADSs within the ADS depositary receipts system will not give rise to a stamp duty reserve tax (SDRT) liability and should not in practice require the payment of UK stamp duty.

The transfer of the Company’s ordinary shares to a clearance service (such as Euroclear Nederland) or to an issuer of depositary shares (such as ADSs) will generally give rise to a UK stamp duty or SDRT liability at the rate of 1.5% of consideration given or, if none, of the value of the shares. A sale of the Company’s ordinary shares that are not held within a clearance service (for example, settled through the UK’s CREST system of paperless transfers) will generally be subject to UK stamp duty or SDRT at the rate of 0.5% of the amount of the consideration, normally paid by the purchaser.

Capital gains tax

For the purposes of UK capital gains tax, the market values [A] of the shares of the former public parent companies of the Shell Group at the relevant dates were: