SECTION 4. SUMMARY OF

GUIDANCE FOR 2003

.01 Persons Required to File Form 1099–DIV For 2003 information reporting, a person required to make a return under section 6042 shall report a distribution with respect to a security issued by a foreign corporation in Box 1b of Form 1099–DIV as a qualified dividend if:

1. either the security with respect to which the distribution is made is a common or an ordinary share, or a public SEC filing contains a statement that the security will be, should be, or more likely than not will be treated as equity rather than debt for U.S. federal income tax purposes; and

2. either:

2003-50 I.R.B. 1210 December 15, 2003

procedures for a foreign corporation to certify that it is a qualified foreign corporation. It is expected that such regulations generally will require persons required to file information returns to report a distribution with respect to a security issued by a foreign corporation as a qualified dividend if the corporation has made an appropriate certification under penalties of perjury to the effect that:

1. for any security that is not a common or an ordinary share, the security is equity rather than debt for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

2. where a security is not readily tradable on an established securities market in the United States and where the foreign corporation is not incorporated in a possession, the foreign corporation is eligible for the benefits of a tax treaty with the United States that meets the requirements of the 2003 Act; and

3. the foreign corporation is not, in the taxable year of the corporation in which the dividend was paid, and was not, in the preceding taxable year, a FPHC, FIC, or PFIC.

It is expected that certifications will be made annually and that these certifications would be made available by the foreign corporation to the public. It is further expected that the regulations will provide procedures under which a foreign corporation submits its certification to the IRS for date stamping. For publicly traded companies, it is expected that the regulations will provide that such certification may be made in a public SEC filing (such as in a Form 20–F).