Is there UK "withholding tax" ?

[supergal]

Consider a UK company being owned by another European Ltd, say in Belgium or Cyprus. Is there any tax, called withholding tax, imposed on the money ( dividends , profits ) as it is being sent to the owning company ?

[Moscow Mule]

Consider a UK company being owned by another European Ltd, say in Belgium or Cyprus. Is there any tax, called withholding tax, imposed on the money ( dividends , profits ) as it is being sent to the owning company ?

Yup, I think there is. Not sure I have any more concrete info than that though I'm afraid.

Try HMRC website.

[meridian]

Try here for starters, the DT for Belgium as it relates to Dividends.

Then try here for the application process for certain countries (including Belgium).

As I read it, the layman's answer is that all UKCo profits will have tax paid on them; the dividend for the distribution of taxpaid earnings will have a 1/9th tax credit (11.11%) attached; the Belgian holding company is only entitled to use half of that tax credit; the UK tax liability is 5% of the aggregate; BelgianCo can apply for the difference between half of that tax credit and the 5% tax back from HMRC.

In their example, BelgianCo receives a tax rebate of £2,777.78 on a dividend of £1m.

DTs and International Tax are very complex; it may be worth seeking the advice of a competent international tax accountant.