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Förtäckta förmåner i fåmansaktiebolag

Ellerstrand Törnwall, Niklas LU (2011) JURM02 20112
Department of Law
Abstract
Covert benefits have long been discussed in terms of their management, particularly in tax law. In closely held companies, the occurrence is common, and the essay therefore focuses on rules concerning those kinds of companies.

The Companies Act defines covert benefits as "another business event." The term is intended to be compared with the three usual transactions in limited liability companies: dividends, acquisitions of own shares, and reduction of capital as repay¬ment to the shareholders. Transactions are treated in chapter 17. ABL, in the form of rules regarding the transfer of value, which are beneficial transfers from the company to another subject. A penalty for illegal transfers of value is according to the general rule that... (More)
Covert benefits have long been discussed in terms of their management, particularly in tax law. In closely held companies, the occurrence is common, and the essay therefore focuses on rules concerning those kinds of companies.

The Companies Act defines covert benefits as "another business event." The term is intended to be compared with the three usual transactions in limited liability companies: dividends, acquisitions of own shares, and reduction of capital as repay¬ment to the shareholders. Transactions are treated in chapter 17. ABL, in the form of rules regarding the transfer of value, which are beneficial transfers from the company to another subject. A penalty for illegal transfers of value is according to the general rule that the value shall return. Covert benefits are problematized in civil law mainly in cases where they are illegal value transfers. If the tied capital is covered and the com¬pany takes into account the protection of minority shareholders, a covert benefit is to be classified as lawful and accepted.

In tax law, covert benefits are treated first and foremost through practice. Between the years 1976 - 2000 there was a legislation, which codified earlier practice and treated numerous typical cases of covert benefits. When the rules were liquidated in 2000, the solution was to be found through general rules and the older rulings were once again valid. The so-called 3:12 rules, which were applicable in the stop legislation, were codified by chapters 56-57 IL and they deal with the taxation situation of closely held companies. Some types of benefits have been resolved by practice in recent years. Those benefits are; residential-, automobile-, holiday accommodation- and boat benefits.

Covert benefits are divided, according to tax law, as either covert salary or covert dividend. Problematization in the essay concerns cases where the beneficiary is both owner and employee. Before the tax reform in 1991, it was often more profitable to denote benefits as salary for the beneficiary. After the reformation of the stop legislation, a beneficiary often got more benefit by denoting a transaction as a dividend. There exists a presumption now, at least in closely held companies, that the benefits are paid as salary, despite the fact that the benefit theoretically also may be paid as dividend. In my case study, I show a tendency, for courts, to systematically and sometimes without discretion, designate covert benefits as covert salary. The only benefit that is considered as disguised dividend, are cases concerning interest.

There is, in my opinion, some ambiguity in this area, particularly in the breakdown of covert salary and dividend. There are also discrepancies between some expressions when comparing corporate and tax law, which in theory should correlate. (Less)
Abstract (Swedish)
Förtäckta förmåner har länge varit fall för diskussion vad gäller deras hantering, särskilt inom skatterätten. I fåmansaktiebolag är företeelsen vanligt förekommande och därför inriktar sig uppsatsen på regler just vid den bolagsformen.

Först och främst redogör jag för de associationsrättsliga regler som behandlar förmåner. I ABL definieras förtäckta förmåner som en ”annan affärshändelse”. Uttrycket syftar att jämföra med de tre vanliga i aktiebolag; vinstutdelning, förvärv av egen aktie samt minskning av kapital för återbetalning till aktieägarna. Transaktionerna behandlas i 17 kap. ABL i form av regler för värdeöverföring, det vill säga benefika överföringar från bolag till annan. Påföljder vid olovliga värdeöverföringar har... (More)
Förtäckta förmåner har länge varit fall för diskussion vad gäller deras hantering, särskilt inom skatterätten. I fåmansaktiebolag är företeelsen vanligt förekommande och därför inriktar sig uppsatsen på regler just vid den bolagsformen.

Först och främst redogör jag för de associationsrättsliga regler som behandlar förmåner. I ABL definieras förtäckta förmåner som en ”annan affärshändelse”. Uttrycket syftar att jämföra med de tre vanliga i aktiebolag; vinstutdelning, förvärv av egen aktie samt minskning av kapital för återbetalning till aktieägarna. Transaktionerna behandlas i 17 kap. ABL i form av regler för värdeöverföring, det vill säga benefika överföringar från bolag till annan. Påföljder vid olovliga värdeöverföringar har huvudregeln att värdet ska återgå. Förtäckta förmåner problematiseras civilrättsligt främst i de fall de är olovliga värdeöverföringar. Är det bundna kapitalet täck och har hänsyn tagits till minoritetsskydd, är en förtäckt förmån att beteckna som lovlig och godtas därför.

Inom skatterätten behandlas förtäckta förmåner först och främst genom praxis. Mellan åren 1976 – 2000 fanns det lagstiftning som kodifierade äldre praxis och fångade upp många typfall av förtäckta förmåner. När reglerna avvecklades år 2000 fick ledning åter sökas genom allmänna regler och äldre rättsfall fick återigen giltighet. De så kallade 3:12 reglerna, som var gällande under stopplagstiftningen, kodifierades genom 56 – 57 kap IL och behandlar beskattningssituationer av fåmansaktiebolag. Vissa typer av förmåner har genom praxis fått sin lösning på senare år. De är bostads-, bil-, semesterbostads- och båtförmåner.

Förtäckta förmåner delas beskattningsmässigt upp som antingen förtäckt lön eller förtäckt utdelning. Problematiseringen i uppsatsen syftar till de fall där förmånstagaren är både ägare och anställd. Innan skattereformen 1991 var det ofta mer lönsamt att beteckna förmåner som lön för förmånstagaren. Efter reformen och stopplagstiftningen fick förmånstagare ofta större be-hållning genom att beteckna en transaktion som utdelning. Det finns en presumtion numera, vid fall i fåmansbolag, att förmåner utgår som lön. Detta trots att förmånen teoretiskt sett även kan utgå som utdelning. Genom en rättsfallsstudie visar jag en tendens hos domstolar att systematiskt och ibland något skönsmässigt, beteckna förtäckta förmåner som förtäckt lön. Den enda förmån som räknas som förtäckt utdelning vid uppdelningsfrågan är ränta under marknadsvärde.

Det finns enligt mig en viss oklarhet på området, främst hur uppdelning av lön och utdelning ska göras. Det finns även en diskrepans mellan vissa ut-tryck associationsrättsligt och skatterättsligt, som i teorin bör korrelera. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Ellerstrand Törnwall, Niklas LU
supervisor
organization
alternative title
Covert benefits in closely held companies
course
JURM02 20112
year
type
H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
subject
keywords
Fåmansbolag, Fåmansaktiebolag, Förtäckt, Förtäckta, Lön, Tjänst, Utdelning, Kapital, Värdeöverföring, Skatterätt, associationsrätt, civilrätt, förmögenhetsrätt.
language
Swedish
id
2277529
date added to LUP
2012-02-17 15:16:10
date last changed
2012-02-17 15:16:10
@misc{2277529,
  abstract     = {{Covert benefits have long been discussed in terms of their management, particularly in tax law. In closely held companies, the occurrence is common, and the essay therefore focuses on rules concerning those kinds of companies.

The Companies Act defines covert benefits as "another business event." The term is intended to be compared with the three usual transactions in limited liability companies: dividends, acquisitions of own shares, and reduction of capital as repay¬ment to the shareholders. Transactions are treated in chapter 17. ABL, in the form of rules regarding the transfer of value, which are beneficial transfers from the company to another subject. A penalty for illegal transfers of value is according to the general rule that the value shall return. Covert benefits are problematized in civil law mainly in cases where they are illegal value transfers. If the tied capital is covered and the com¬pany takes into account the protection of minority shareholders, a covert benefit is to be classified as lawful and accepted.

In tax law, covert benefits are treated first and foremost through practice. Between the years 1976 - 2000 there was a legislation, which codified earlier practice and treated numerous typical cases of covert benefits. When the rules were liquidated in 2000, the solution was to be found through general rules and the older rulings were once again valid. The so-called 3:12 rules, which were applicable in the stop legislation, were codified by chapters 56-57 IL and they deal with the taxation situation of closely held companies. Some types of benefits have been resolved by practice in recent years. Those benefits are; residential-, automobile-, holiday accommodation- and boat benefits.

Covert benefits are divided, according to tax law, as either covert salary or covert dividend. Problematization in the essay concerns cases where the beneficiary is both owner and employee. Before the tax reform in 1991, it was often more profitable to denote benefits as salary for the beneficiary. After the reformation of the stop legislation, a beneficiary often got more benefit by denoting a transaction as a dividend. There exists a presumption now, at least in closely held companies, that the benefits are paid as salary, despite the fact that the benefit theoretically also may be paid as dividend. In my case study, I show a tendency, for courts, to systematically and sometimes without discretion, designate covert benefits as covert salary. The only benefit that is considered as disguised dividend, are cases concerning interest.

There is, in my opinion, some ambiguity in this area, particularly in the breakdown of covert salary and dividend. There are also discrepancies between some expressions when comparing corporate and tax law, which in theory should correlate.}},
  author       = {{Ellerstrand Törnwall, Niklas}},
  language     = {{swe}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Förtäckta förmåner i fåmansaktiebolag}},
  year         = {{2011}},
}