PORTUGAL Law and Practice Contributed by: Miguel Durham Agrellos, Paulo da Rocha Pichel, Ricardo Pereira Amaro and Francisco Duque Lima, Durham Agrellos
Moreover, real estate structuring may involve direct ownership, real estate investment funds or compa - nies. Trusts are not suitable to directly hold real estate assets located in Portugal. Capital gains obtained on the sale of real estate by non-residents are subject to PIT on 50% of the capital gains obtained on the sale of real estate. The relevant capital gains (50%) are subject to the general pro - gressive tax rates which can go up to 48%, plus a solidarity rate of up to 5% (meaning an effective tax rate of up to 26.5%). 1.5 Stability of Tax Laws In the last decade, Portuguese tax law has been rela - tively stable. The gift and inheritance taxation frame - work, as well as special tax regimes, such as the Por - tuguese non-dom regime, have put Portugal on the map as a desirable jurisdiction for high and ultra high net worth individuals. 1.6 Transparency and Increased Global Reporting Companies incorporated in Portugal, their articles of association and their shareholders and beneficial owners must be registered before the Commercial Registry and the Central Register of Beneficial Own - ers. At least part of the information contained in the register may be accessed by third parties. However, Family Business Charters and other shareholders’ agreements are, in principle, not publicly disclosed. Since 2017, several legislative measures have been taken to transpose Directive (EU) 2015/849, regarding the central register of beneficial owners. Such regime applies to any Portuguese or foreign entity with a Por - tuguese tax number. Reporting entities must comply with the imposed reporting obligations to the central registry, filing an initial declaration (which must be updated whenever there is a variation in any of the declared data) and an annual declaration of confirmation of the information previously communicated. For almost two decades, Portugal has enacted a gen - eral anti-avoidance rule and specific anti-avoidance
tax rules (eg, controlled foreign corporation (CFC) rules, transfer pricing or restructuring rules). In 2019, relevant legislative measures were taken to transpose the EU BEPS Directive. Portuguese legislation aligned the concept of “abuse” with the EU concept of “valid commercial reasons” as established in the BEPS Directive (resulting from CJEU case law). CFC rules have also been adapted and are applied when controlled foreign companies established out - side the EU or the EEA are subject to an effective tax lower than 50% of the tax amount that would be due under Portuguese law, or if such companies are established in a tax haven. Since 2017, Portugal has been integrated into the CRS/FATCA worldwide reporting system. In addition, the Portuguese legislature has extended the report - ing regime to bank accounts containing more than EUR50,000 held by Portuguese tax residents. In 2020, Portugal took several measures to transpose Council Directive (EU) 2018/822 of 25 May 2018, oth - erwise known as DAC 6. Domestic legislation establishes a mechanism for the exchange of information not only in the context of cross-border tax-planning arrangements (as imposed by the Directive) but has also extended this burden to internal arrangements. Generic and specific hallmarks (some of which are linked to the main benefit test) are identified in the Portuguese legislation, which enable the identifica - tion of cross-border arrangements subject to report - ing requirements. 2. Succession 2.1 Cultural Considerations in Succession Planning Although each family has its own characteristics, some trends are still recognisable in the Portuguese market.
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