CROSS-BORDER TRANSACTIONS
STRUCTURAL ISSUES
Cross-border transactions will often require custom structures, particularly where business vehicles employed have different legal characteristics in the countries at issue, or where the parties wish to adopt different business structures, for instance a regular business corporation in one country, and a limited partnership of limited liability corporation in another.
TAX ISSUES
Tax matters will be a major issue in multi-country transactions where the countries or parties at issue have different tax rates, characterizations, or circumstances, such as when one or several of the participants is on a low-tax or no tax jurisdiction, can use offsetting losses in the home country, or has access to substantial unused foreign tax credits. Tax issues then become closely related to structural matters.
REGULATORY ISSUES
Government regulation may be a major transactional issue in many circumstances, such as where a cross-country transaction relies largely on compliance with a regulatory issue in the principal business country, or where there is a foreign ownership restriction, or if a domestic legal requirement in the principal business country precludes a direct participation by one of the parties or is judged to be too onerous by this party.
