Taxation

This section provides a descriptive summary of certain US federal income tax and UK tax consequences that are likely to be material to the holders of the ordinary shares or ADSs, who hold their ordinary shares or ADSs as capital assets for tax purposes. It does not purport to be a complete technical analysis or a listing of all potential tax effects relevant to the ownership of the ordinary shares and ADSs. This section does not apply to any holder who is subject to special rules, including:

a dealer in securities or foreign currency;
a trader in securities that elects to use a mark-to-market method of accounting for securities holdings;
a tax-exempt organisation;
a life insurance company;
a person liable for alternative minimum tax;
a person that actually or constructively owns 10% or more of the voting stock of Diageo;
a person that holds ordinary shares or ADSs as part of a straddle or a hedging or conversion transaction;
a US holder (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the US dollar; or
a partnership or a partner in a partnership that holds ordinary shares or ADSs.

For UK tax purposes, this section applies only to persons who are the absolute beneficial owners of their shares or ADSs and who hold their shares or ADSs as investments. It assumes that holders of ADSs will be treated as holders of the underlying ordinary shares. In addition to those persons mentioned above, this section does not apply to holders that are banks, regulated investment companies, other financial institutions or to persons who have or are deemed to have acquired their ordinary shares or ADSs in the course of an employment or trade. This summary does not apply to persons who are treated as non-domiciled and resident or ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom for the purposes of UK tax law. This section is based on the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, its legislative history, existing and proposed regulations, published rulings and court decisions, the laws of the United Kingdom and the practice of Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, all as currently in effect, as well as on the Convention Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Tax on Income and Capital Gains (the Treaty). These laws are subject to change, possibly on a retroactive basis.

In addition, this section is based in part upon the representations of the Depositary and the assumption that each obligation in the Deposit Agreement and any related agreement will be performed in accordance with its terms. In general, and taking into account this assumption, for US federal income tax purposes and for the purposes of the Treaty, holders of ADRs evidencing ADSs will be treated as the owner of the shares represented by those ADSs. Exchanges of shares for ADRs, and ADRs for shares, generally will not be subject to US federal income tax or to UK tax on profits or gains.

A US holder is a beneficial owner of ordinary shares or ADSs that is for US federal income tax purposes:

a citizen or resident for tax purposes of the United States and who is not and has at no point been resident or ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom;
a US domestic corporation;
an estate whose income is subject to US federal income tax regardless of its source; or
a trust if a US court can exercise primary supervision over the trust’s administration and one or more US persons are authorised to control all substantial decisions of the trust.

This section is not intended to provide specific advice and no action should be taken or omitted in reliance upon it. This section addresses only certain aspects of US federal income tax and UK income tax, corporation tax, capital gains tax, inheritance tax and stamp taxes. Holders of the ordinary shares or ADSs are urged to consult their own tax adviser regarding the US federal, state and local, and UK and other tax consequences of owning and disposing of the shares or ADSs in their respective circumstances. In particular, holders are encouraged to confirm with their adviser whether they are a US holder eligible for the benefits of the Treaty.

Dividends UK taxation There is no UK withholding tax on dividends. A shareholder who is an individual resident for UK tax purposes in the United Kingdom that receives a dividend from the company will generally be entitled to a tax credit equal to one-ninth of the dividend. The individual will be taxable on the total of the dividend and the related credit, known as the gross dividend, which will be regarded as the top slice of the individual’s income. The tax credit will, however, be treated as discharging the individual’s liability to income tax in respect of the gross dividend, unless and except to the extent that the gross dividend falls above the threshold for the higher rate of income tax, in which case the individual will, to that extent, pay tax on the gross dividend calculated as 32.5% of the gross dividend less the related tax credit. A shareholder that is a company resident for tax purposes in the United Kingdom will not generally be taxable on any dividend it receives in respect of the shares. The UK Government has published draft legislation that would, if passed in its current form, significantly change the tax treatment of dividends received by shareholders within the charge to UK corporation tax. Such shareholders should consult their independent professional tax advisers about the implications of the legislation, once finally enacted. A shareholder who is not liable for tax on dividends received on the shares will not be entitled to claim payment of the tax credit in respect of those dividends.

Eligible US holders will not normally be entitled to a tax credit under the Treaty, nor will they be subject to a withholding tax by the United Kingdom.

US taxation Under the US federal income tax laws, and subject to the passive foreign investment company, or PFIC, rules discussed below, the gross amount of any dividend paid to a US holder by Diageo in respect of its ordinary shares or ADSs out of its current or accumulated earnings and profits (as determined for US federal income tax purposes) is subject to US federal income taxation. Dividends paid to a non-corporate US holder in taxable years beginning before 1 January 2011 that constitute qualified dividend income will be taxable to the holder at a maximum tax rate of 15%, provided that the ordinary shares or ADSs are held for more than 60 days during the 121 day period beginning 60 days before the ex-dividend date and the holder meets other holding period requirements. Dividends paid by Diageo with respect to its ordinary shares or ADSs will be qualified dividend income to US holders that meet the holding period requirement. Under the Treaty, dividends will not be subject to UK withholding tax. Therefore, the US holder will include in income for US federal income tax purposes the amount of the dividend received, and the receipt of a dividend will not entitle the US holder to a foreign tax credit.

The dividend must be included in income when the US holder, in the case of shares, or the Depositary, in the case of ADSs, receives the dividend, actually or constructively. The dividend will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction generally allowed to US corporations in respect of dividends received from other US corporations. Dividends will be income from sources outside the United States, and, depending on the US holder’s circumstances, will generally either be ‘passive’ or ‘general’ income for purposes of computing the foreign tax credit allowable to a US holder. The amount of the dividend distribution that must be included in income of a US holder will be the US dollar value of the pence payments made, determined at the spot UK sterling/US dollar foreign exchange rate on the date the dividend distribution is included in income, regardless of whether the payment is in fact converted into US dollars. Generally, any gain or loss resulting from currency exchange fluctuations during the period from the date the dividend payment is included in income to the date the payment is converted into US dollars will be treated as ordinary income or loss and will not be eligible for the special tax rate applicable to qualified dividend income. The gain or loss generally will be income or loss from sources within the United States for foreign tax credit limitation purposes. Distributions in excess of current and accumulated earnings and profits, as determined for US federal income tax purposes, will be treated as a non-taxable return of capital to the extent of the holder’s basis in the ordinary shares or ADSs and thereafter as capital gain.

Taxation of capital gains UK taxation A citizen or resident (for tax purposes) of the United States who has at no time been either resident or ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom will not be liable for UK tax on capital gains realised or accrued on the sale or other disposal of ordinary shares or ADSs, unless the ordinary shares or ADSs are held in connection with a trade or business carried on by the holder in the United Kingdom through a UK branch, agency or a permanent establishment. A disposal (or deemed disposal) of shares or ADSs by a shareholder, or holder of ADSs, who is resident or (in the case of an individual) resident or ordinarily resident in the UK may, depending on the shareholder’s or ADS holder’s particular circumstances, and subject to any available exemption or relief, give rise to a chargeable gain or an allowable loss for the purposes of UK taxation of chargeable gains.

US taxation Subject to the PFIC rules discussed below, a US holder who sells or otherwise disposes of ordinary shares or ADSs will recognise capital gain or loss for US federal income tax purposes equal to the difference between the US dollar value of the amount that is realised and the tax basis, determined in US dollars, in the ordinary shares or ADSs. Capital gain of a non-corporate US holder that is recognised in taxable years beginning before 1 January 2011 is taxed at a maximum rate of 15% where the property is held for more than one year. The gain or loss will generally be income or loss from sources within the United States for foreign tax credit limitation purposes.

A US holder who is liable for both UK and US tax on a gain on the disposal of ordinary shares or ADSs will generally be entitled, subject to certain limitations, to a credit against the holder’s US federal income tax liability for the amount of any UK tax paid in respect of such gain.

PFIC rules Diageo believes that ordinary shares and ADSs should not be treated as stock of a PFIC for US federal income tax purposes, but this conclusion is a factual determination that is made annually and thus may be subject to change. If treated as a PFIC, unless a US holder elects to be taxed annually on a mark-to-market basis with respect to the ordinary shares or ADSs, gain realised on the sale or other disposition of ordinary shares or ADSs would in general not be treated as capital gain. Instead, US holders would be treated as if the holder had realised such gain and certain ‘excess distributions’ pro-rated over the holder’s holding period for the ordinary shares or ADSs and would be taxed at the highest tax rate in effect for each such year to which the gain was allocated, together with an interest charge in respect of the tax attributable to each such year. In addition, dividends received from Diageo will not be eligible for the special tax rates applicable to qualified dividend income if Diageo is a PFIC either in the taxable year of the distribution or the preceding taxable year, but instead will be taxable at rates applicable to ordinary income.

UK inheritance tax Subject to certain provisions relating to trusts or settlements, an ordinary share or ADS held by an individual shareholder who is domiciled in the United States for the purposes of the Convention between the United States and the United Kingdom relating to estate and gift taxes (the Convention) and is not a UK national as defined in the Convention will not be subject to UK inheritance tax on the individual’s death (whether held on the date of death or gifted during the individual’s lifetime) except where the ordinary share or ADS is part of the business property of a UK permanent establishment of the individual or pertains to a UK fixed base of an individual who performs independent personal services. In a case where an ordinary share or ADS is subject both to UK inheritance tax and to US federal gift or estate tax, the Convention generally provides for inheritance tax paid in the United Kingdom to be credited against federal gift or estate tax payable in the United States, or for federal gift or estate tax paid in the United States to be credited against any inheritance tax payable in the United Kingdom, based on priority rules set forth in the Convention.

UK stamp duty and stamp duty reserve tax Stamp duty reserve tax (SDRT) arises upon the deposit of an underlying ordinary share with the Depositary, generally at the higher rate of 1.5% of its issue price or, as the case may be, of the consideration for transfer. The Depositary will pay the SDRT but will recover an amount in respect of such tax from the initial holders of ADSs. No UK stamp duty will be payable on the acquisition or transfer of ADSs in practice, provided that the instrument of transfer is not executed in the United Kingdom and remains at all times outside the United Kingdom. Furthermore, an agreement to transfer ADSs in the form of ADRs will not give rise to a liability to SDRT.

Purchases of ordinary shares will be subject to UK stamp duty, or SDRT as the case may be, at the rate of 0.5% of the price payable for the ordinary shares at the time of the transfer. However, where ordinary shares being acquired are transferred direct to the Depositary’s nominee, the only charge will generally be the higher SDRT charge of 1.5% of the price payable for the ordinary shares so acquired.