New Irish Fund Structure To Facilitate U.S. Investment

The Irish Minister for Finance has announced that he has approved the development of legislative proposals for a new corporate structure for the Irish funds industry (the "SICAV"). This new SICAV structure will sit alongside the existing public limited company ("PLC") structure.

One of the main advantages of the SICAV is that it will be to provide for a corporate entity that can elect its classification under the U.S. "check-the-box" taxation rules. If the SICAV elects to "check-the box" to be treated as a partnership for US tax purposes, it will avoid certain adverse tax consequences for U.S. taxable investors which arise if the structure is deemed to be a 'passive foreign investment company' (PFIC) for US federal income tax purposes.