经济学人71:私募股权融资

 　　Private equity¹

　　私募股权融资

　　Tax attack

　　税收攻击

　　Leveraged² buy-outs face legal scrutiny³

　　衡平收购面临法律审查

　　Aug 24th 2013 |From the print edition

　　TAX planners at private-equity firms are having an unusually busy summer. A fiscal⁴ ruling in Sweden and a court case in America are threatening to upend the arrangements that buy-out firms use to minimise their tax bills.

　　私募股权公司的税务规划师这个夏天非一般的忙碌。瑞典的金融管制以及美国的一起案件有可能颠覆收购公司用于最小化其税收单的安排。

　　Both cases relate to a tax loophole used by private-equity firms in America and much of Europe. Under “carried interest” rules, buy-out executives pay (relatively low) capital-gains taxes on profits made from buying and selling companies, in the same way investors⁵ or entrepreneurs do. This is odd, given that the money wagered⁶ on private-equity deals comes overwhelmingly from outside investors, not the executives themselves. It would make more sense for these profits to be taxed like salaries, or bankers’ bonuses, at the (higher) income-tax rate.

　　这两起事件都与一个税收漏洞有关，这个漏洞在美国和欧洲大部分地区的私募股权公司被利用。根据附带权益规则，控制股权收购的主管跟投资者和企业家一样支付相对较低的资本利得税，这项税是针对公司买卖获利所征收。鉴于押在私募股权融资交易中的资金大部分来自外部投资者，而不是主管，所以这项规则很奇怪。这些利润应该按照工资税或者银行家的红利，征收更高的所得税更合理。

　　That is exactly what Sweden’s tax administration has decided⁷. In a ruling on August 20th it demanded SKr647m ($99m) of back taxes from EQT, a local private-equity fund, and its executives. The amount covers the difference between the 25% capital-gains rate and the 57% income tax for 2007-09, plus interest and penalties. EQT is not alone: dozens of other executives at other firms have been handed multi-million-kronor bills as a result of the tax authorities’ change of heart. The potentially impoverished⁸ bosses say they are confident courts will find in their favour on appeal.

　　瑞典的税务局就是这样做的。在8月20日的一起判决中，税务局命令一个当地的私募股权基金EQT及其主管补交税款6.47亿瑞典克郎（9900万美元）。这笔税款包括25%的资本利得税和自2007年到2009年的57%的所得税加上利息和罚金。不只是EQT一家，其他几十家公司的主管也因为税务局中心的改变而交出了数百万克朗的资金。这些即将变成穷光蛋的老板说他们很有信心法庭能找到有利于他们的请求。

　　The American case, decided on July 24th, chips away at carried interest from another angle. An appeals court in Boston ruled that Sun Capital, a private-equity fund that specialises in turning around distressed⁹ companies, is liable for some pension obligations of a firm it bought in 2006, and which subsequently went bust¹⁰.

　　美国的案子于7月24日作出判决，从另一个角度撤销了附带权益。位于波士顿的一家上诉法院判决私募股权基金太阳资本对其于2006年购买的一家公司的养老金支付负有责任，这家公司最终破产。太阳资本专注于使运转不佳的公司好转。

　　The case is limited to pensions (and is being contested by Sun Capital) but the precedent¹¹ could have a wider tax impact, says Jon Zorn of Ropes & Gray, a law firm. The core of the ruling blows away a legal fiction that private-equity funds are passive investors who do not actively¹² control the companies they buy. That premise¹³ is also used to justify¹⁴ putting profits into the lower tax bracket.

　　这起案件局限于养老金，并且太阳资本提出了异议。但是格雷律师事务所的Jon Zorn表示，先前的例子对税收更有影响。判决的核心推翻了私募股权基金都是不会主动控制收购公司的消极投资者的法律假想。该假定之前也常常用于将利润划为更低的税率等级征税的辩护。

　　Executives in Sweden and America complain about the uncertainty¹⁵ created by the cases. They have a point. It would be better to make clear that private-equity profits should be taxed as income, and carried interest done away with.

　　瑞典和美国的主管抱怨案件引起的不确定性。他们有一个观点。弄清楚私募股权利润应该按照所得征税，并且废除附带权益，这样更好。

1 equity   

n.公正，公平，（无固定利息的）股票

参考例句：

• They shared the work of the house with equity.他们公平地分担家务。
• To capture his equity,Murphy must either sell or refinance.要获得资产净值，墨菲必须出售或者重新融资。

2 leveraged   

促使…改变( leverage的过去式和过去分词 )； [美国英语]杠杆式投机，（使）举债经营，（使）利用贷款进行投机

参考例句：

• Chrysler has traditionally been a highly leveraged company. 克莱斯勒一向是一家周转十分灵活的公司。
• Leveraged recaps have become popular for a number of reasons. 杠杆资本重组的大行其道有好几个原因。

3 scrutiny   

n.详细检查，仔细观察

参考例句：

• His work looks all right,but it will not bear scrutiny.他的工作似乎很好，但是经不起仔细检查。
• Few wives in their forties can weather such a scrutiny.很少年过四十的妻子经得起这么仔细的观察。

4 fiscal   

adj.财政的，会计的，国库的，国库岁入的

参考例句：

• The increase of taxation is an important fiscal policy.增税是一项重要的财政政策。
• The government has two basic strategies of fiscal policy available.政府有两个可行的财政政策基本战略。

5 investors   

n.投资者，出资者( investor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a con man who bilked investors out of millions of dollars 诈取投资者几百万元的骗子
• a cash bonanza for investors 投资者的赚钱机会

6 wagered   

v.在（某物）上赌钱，打赌( wager的过去式和过去分词 )；保证，担保

参考例句：

• She always wagered on an outsider. 她总是把赌注押在不大可能获胜的马上。
• They wagered on the flesh, but knowing they were to lose. 他们把赌注下在肉体上，心里却明白必输无疑。 来自互联网

7 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

8 impoverished   

adj.穷困的，无力的，用尽了的v.使（某人）贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 )；使（某物）贫瘠或恶化

参考例句：

• the impoverished areas of the city 这个城市的贫民区
• They were impoverished by a prolonged spell of unemployment. 他们因长期失业而一贫如洗。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 distressed   

痛苦的

参考例句：

• He was too distressed and confused to answer their questions. 他非常苦恼而困惑，无法回答他们的问题。
• The news of his death distressed us greatly. 他逝世的消息使我们极为悲痛。

10 bust   

vt.打破；vi.爆裂；n.半身像；胸部

参考例句：

• I dropped my camera on the pavement and bust it. 我把照相机掉在人行道上摔坏了。
• She has worked up a lump of clay into a bust.她把一块黏土精心制作成一个半身像。

11 precedent   

n.先例，前例；惯例；adj.在前的，在先的

参考例句：

• Is there a precedent for what you want me to do?你要我做的事有前例可援吗？
• This is a wonderful achievement without precedent in Chinese history.这是中国历史上亘古未有的奇绩。

12 actively   

adv.积极地，勤奋地

参考例句：

• During this period all the students were actively participating.在这节课中所有的学生都积极参加。
• We are actively intervening to settle a quarrel.我们正在积极调解争执。

13 premise   

n.前提；v.提论，预述

参考例句：

• Let me premise my argument with a bit of history.让我引述一些史实作为我立论的前提。
• We can deduce a conclusion from the premise.我们可以从这个前提推出结论。

14 justify   

vt.证明…正当(或有理)，为…辩护

参考例句：

• He tried to justify his absence with lame excuses.他想用站不住脚的借口为自己的缺席辩解。
• Can you justify your rude behavior to me?你能向我证明你的粗野行为是有道理的吗？

15 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。