Certain Tax Matters (a) The parties hereto shall (and shall cause their respective affiliates to) reasonably cooperate with one another in providing information with respect to the Transactions that is reasonably requested by one another and reasonably necessary to enable the parties hereto to (i) determine the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the Transactions to holders of Class A Common Stock, Founder Shares or SPAC Warrants, (ii) prepare disclosure in the Registration Statement regarding such U.S. federal income tax treatment, (iii) prepare U.S. federal income Tax Returns reporting relevant portions of the Transactions consistent with the U.S. federal income tax treatment as mutually agreed by the parties hereto and (iv) respond to requests in connection with any audits, examinations or other proceedings before the IRS relating to the U.S. federal income tax treatment of relevant portions of the Transactions. While the parties hereto do not anticipate that any opinion of counsel with respect to Tax matters will be required to be rendered in connection with the Transactions, the parties hereto agree that in no event will counsel to a party hereto be required to render an opinion regarding the Tax consequences or considerations of any person other than its client or such client’s shareholders or warrantholders immediately prior to the Transactions in their capacity as such.
(b) Any transfer, documentary, sales, use, stamp, registration, excise, recording, registration value added and other similar Taxes (including, for the avoidance of doubt, any Taxes imposed under Section 4501 of the Code (as amended by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, H.R. 5376) (“Stock Buyback Tax”)) (collectively, “Transfer Taxes”) that become payable by any of the parties hereto in connection with or by reason of the execution of this Agreement and the Transactions shall be borne by the Company. The party hereto responsible for filing any necessary Tax Returns with respect to Transfer Taxes under applicable Law shall cause such Tax Returns to be filed, and if required by applicable Law, the other parties hereto shall join in the execution of any such Tax Returns.
Cooperation on Tax Matters (i) Buyer, the Company, and the Interest Owners shall cooperate fully, as and to the extent reasonably requested by the other Party, in connection with the filing of Tax Returns pursuant to this section and any audit, litigation or other proceeding with respect to Taxes. Such cooperation shall include the retention and (upon the other Party’s request) the provision of records and information that are reasonably relevant to any such audit, litigation or other proceeding and making employees available on a mutually convenient basis to provide additional information and explanation of any material provided hereunder. The Interest Owners agree (A) to retain all books and records with respect to Tax matters pertinent to the Company relating to any taxable period beginning before the Closing Date until the expiration of the statute of limitations (and, to the extent notified by Buyer or the Company or Interest Owners, any extensions thereof) of the respective taxable periods, and to abide by all record retention agreements entered into with any taxing authority, and (B) to give Buyer reasonable written notice prior to transferring, destroying or discarding any such books and records and, if Buyer so requests, the Interest Owners shall allow Buyer to take possession of such books and records.
(ii) Buyer, the Company, and the Interest Owners further agree, upon request, to use their best efforts to obtain any certificate or other document from any governmental authority or any other Person as may be necessary to mitigate, reduce or eliminate any Tax that could be imposed (including, but not limited to, with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby).
(iii) Buyer, the Company, and the Interest Owners further agree, upon request, to provide the other Party with all information that either Party may be required to report pursuant to Code §6043 and all Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder.
Tax Indemnification (a) Each Borrower shall indemnify and hold harmless, on a joint and several basis, each Recipient against any Indemnified Taxes (including those imposed or asserted on or attributable to amounts payable under this Section) payable or paid by a Recipient or required to be withheld or deducted from a payment to a Recipient, and any penalties, interest and reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Indemnified Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. Each Borrower shall indemnify and hold harmless Agent against any amount that a Lender or Issuing Bank fails for any reason to pay indefeasibly to Agent as required pursuant to this Section. Each Borrower shall make payment within 10 days after demand for any amount or liability payable under this Section. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to Borrowers by a Lender or Issuing Bank (with a copy to Agent), or by Agent on its own behalf or on behalf of any Recipient, shall be conclusive absent manifest error.
(b) Each Lender and Issuing Bank shall indemnify and hold harmless, on a several basis, (i) Agent against any Indemnified Taxes attributable to such Lender or Issuing Bank (but only to the extent Borrowers have not already paid or reimbursed Agent therefor and without limiting Borrowers’ obligation to do so), (ii) Agent and Obligors, as applicable, against any Taxes attributable to such Lender’s failure to maintain a Participant register as required hereunder, and (iii) Agent and Obligors, as applicable, against any Excluded Taxes attributable to such Lender or Issuing Bank, in each case, that are payable or paid by Agent or an Obligor in connection with any Obligations, and any reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Indemnified Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. Each Lender and Issuing Bank shall make payment within 10 days after demand for any amount or liability payable under this Section. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to any Lender or Issuing Bank by Agent shall be conclusive absent manifest error.
Responsibility for Taxes This provision supplements Section 4(d) of the Performance- and Service-Based Restricted Stock Unit Agreement:
(a) The Participant acknowledges that, regardless of any action taken by the Company or, if different, the Service Recipient, the ultimate liability for all income tax, excise tax, social insurance, payroll tax, fringe benefits tax, payment on account or other tax-related items related to the Participant’s participation in the Plan and legally applicable to the Participant (“Tax-Related Items”) is and remains the Participant’s responsibility and may exceed the amount actually withheld by the Company or the Service Recipient. The Participant further acknowledges that the Company and/or the Service Recipient (1) make no representations or undertakings regarding the treatment of any Tax-Related Items in connection with any aspect of the RSUs, including, but not limited to, the grant, vesting or settlement of the RSUs, the subsequent sale of Shares acquired pursuant to such settlement and the receipt of any dividends and/or any dividend equivalents; and (2) do not commit to and are under no obligation to structure the terms of the grant or any aspect of the RSUs to reduce or eliminate the Participant’s liability for Tax-Related Items or achieve any particular tax result. Further, if the Participant is subject to Tax-Related Items in more than one jurisdiction, the Participant acknowledges that the Company and/or the Service Recipient (or former service recipient, as applicable) may be required to withhold or account for Tax-Related Items in more than one jurisdiction.
(b) If the obligation for Tax-Related Items is satisfied by withholding in Shares, for tax purposes, the Participant is deemed to have been issued the full number of Shares subject to the vested RSUs, notwithstanding that a number of the Shares are held back solely for the purpose of satisfying the Withholding Taxes.
(c) Finally, the Participant agrees to pay to the Company or the Service Recipient, any amount of the Withholding Taxes that cannot be satisfied by the means previously described. The Company may refuse to issue or deliver the Shares or the proceeds of the sale of Shares, if the Participant fails to comply with the Participant’s obligations in connection with the Withholding Taxes.
(d) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Plan or in Section 4(d) of the Performance- and Service-Based Restricted Stock Unit Agreement, if the Company is required by applicable law to use a particular definition of fair market value for purposes of calculating the taxable income for the Participant, the Company shall have the discretion to calculate the Shares to be withheld to cover any Withholding Taxes by using either the price used to calculate the taxable income under applicable law or by using the closing price per Share on the New York Stock Exchange (or other principal exchange on which the Shares then trade) on the trading day immediately prior to the date of delivery of the Shares.
Income Tax Matters (a) In order to comply with all applicable federal or state income tax laws or regulations, the Company may take such action as it deems appropriate to ensure that all applicable federal or state payroll, withholding, income or other taxes, which are the sole and absolute responsibility of Grantee, are withheld or collected from Grantee.
(b) The Company shall reasonably determine the amount of any federal, state, local or other income, employment, or other taxes which the Company or any of its affiliates may reasonably be obligated to withhold with respect to the grant, vesting, or other event with respect to the Restricted Stock Units. The Company may, in its sole discretion, withhold a sufficient number of shares of Common Stock in connection with the vesting of the Restricted Stock Units at the Fair Market Value of the Common Stock (determined as of the date of measurement of the amount of income subject to such withholding) to satisfy the minimum amount of any such withholding obligations that arise with respect to the vesting of such Restricted Stock Units. The Company may take such action(s) without notice to the Grantee, and the Grantee shall have no discretion as to the satisfaction of tax withholding obligations in such manner. If, however, any withholding event occurs with respect to the Restricted Stock Units other than upon the vesting of such Restricted Stock Units, or if the Company for any reason does not satisfy the withholding obligations with respect to the vesting of the Restricted Stock Units as provided above in this Section 8(b), the Company shall be entitled to require a cash payment by or on behalf of the Grantee and/or to deduct from other compensation payable to the Grantee the minimum amount of any such withholding obligations.
(c) The Restricted Stock Unit Award evidenced by this Agreement, and the issuance of shares of Common Stock to the Grantee in settlement of vested Restricted Stock Units, is intended to be taxed under the provisions of Section 83 of the Code, and is not intended to provide and does not provide for the deferral of compensation within the meaning of Section 409A(d) of the Code. Therefore, the Company intends to report as includible in the Grantee’s gross income for any taxable year an amount equal to the Fair Market Value of the shares of Common Stock covered by the Restricted Stock Units that vest (if any) during such taxable year, determined as of the date such Restricted Stock Units vest. In furtherance of this intended tax treatment, all vested Restricted Stock Units shall be automatically settled and payment to the Grantee shall be made as provided in Section 1(c) hereof, but in no event later than March 15th of the year following the calendar year in which such Restricted Stock Units vest. The Grantee shall have no power to affect the timing of such settlement or payment. The Company reserves the right to amend this Agreement, without the Grantee’s consent, to the extent it reasonably determines from time to time that such amendment is necessary in order to achieve the purposes of this Section.
U.S. Tax Matters (a) The Parties intend that (a) upon completion of the Continuance, the Resulting Issuer is treated as a U.S. domestic corporation under Section 7874 of the Code and (b) the Section 351 Transactions are interdependent steps in a single transaction, to which the Parties are legally committed as provided herein, and to which the Parties intend to treat as a single integrated transaction qualifying as a tax-deferred transaction within the meaning of Section 351 of the Code. Each Party hereto agrees to not take any position on any Tax Return or otherwise take any Tax reporting position inconsistent with the treatment set forth in this Section 2.15, unless otherwise required by applicable Law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Parties do not make any representation, warranty or covenant to any other Party or to their shareholders or members (and including, without limitation, holders of stock options, warrants, debt instruments or other similar rights or instruments) regarding the U.S. tax treatment of the Business Combination, including, but not limited to, whether the Section 351 Transactions will qualify as a tax-deferred transaction within the meaning of Section 351 of the Code or as tax-deferred transactions for purposes of any United States state or local income tax law.
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, the Contemporaneous Agreements, and any other agreements or documents required or contemplated to be delivered in connection herewith or therewith, to the contrary:
(i) no Transacting Party is permitted to hire employees based in Canada unless immediately after the transactions consummated in connection with the Business Combination, the Resulting Issuer, together with all of its Subsidiaries (including each of the Transacting Parties), would have less than 25% of their employees (by number) based in Canada as determined for purposes of Section 7874 of the Code;
(ii) no Party shall knowingly take any action, cause any action to be taken, fail to take any commercially reasonable action or cause any commercially reasonable action to fail to be taken, which action or failure to act would reasonably be expected to prevent the Section 351 Transactions from qualifying as tax-deferred transactions within the meaning of Section 351 of the Code;
(iii) the number of Resulting Issuer Common Shares to be issued to the SVT Shareholders shall not exceed 15.00% of the stock of the Resulting Issuer as determined under Section 7874 of the Code and the U.S. Treasury Regulations promulgated thereunder; and
(iv) if, as a result of the adoption, implementation, promulgation, repeal, modification, amendment or change in applicable Law (including with respect to U.S. Treasury Regulations under Section 7874 of the Code) after the date hereof, upon completion of the Continuance, the Resulting Issuer would not be treated as a U.S. domestic corporation under Section 7874 of the Code, the Parties, upon unanimous agreement, shall take actions as to ensure that the Resulting Issuer is so treated.
Additional Tax Matters (a) Neither Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries has taken any action or knows of any fact (taking into account the terms contained in the Commercial Term Sheets and the terms of any other agreements or arrangements as described in the Separation Principles) that could reasonably be expected to prevent the Mergers from qualifying for the Intended Tax Treatment. Parent is making the foregoing representation and warranty after consultation with its Tax counsel and with full knowledge of the terms of this Agreement, the Commercial Term Sheets and the Separation Principles. The representations and warranties set forth in this Section 5.25(a) are made as of the Execution Date.
(b) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has taken any action or knows of any fact (taking into account the terms of the Commercial Term Sheets and the terms of any other agreements or arrangements as described in the Separation Principles) that could reasonably be expected to prevent the Mergers from qualifying for the Intended Tax Treatment. The Company is making the foregoing representation and warranty after consultation with its Tax counsel and with full knowledge of the terms of this Agreement, the Commercial Term Sheets and the Separation Principles. The representations and warranties set forth in this Section 5.25(a) are made as of the Execution Date.
(c) Each of Parent and the Company shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, use its reasonable best efforts to obtain the opinions set forth in Section 6.02(e) and Section 6.03(c), including by providing the certificates described in Section 6.02(e) and Section 6.03(c).
(d) Each of Parent, the Company and SpinCo shall (and shall cause its respective Subsidiaries to) use its reasonable best efforts to cause the Mergers to qualify for the Intended Tax Treatment, including by not taking any action that could reasonably be expected to prevent such qualification. If either party discovers, after the date of this Agreement, any fact that could reasonably be expected to prevent the Mergers from qualifying for the Intended Tax Treatment, then (i) such party shall, as soon as possible, notify the other party and (ii) the parties shall cooperate in good faith and exercise their reasonable best efforts to effect the Transactions using an alternative structure that would be tax-free to the same extent as would have been the case had the Mergers qualified for the Intended Tax Treatment.
(e) Beginning on the date that is 90 days following the date on which the S-4 Registration Statement becomes effective, and every 90 days thereafter until the date the Mergers are consummated, the Company shall deliver to Parent, and Parent shall deliver to the Company, a certificate, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the recipient, stating (i) in the case of the certificate of Parent, that (1) the representation set forth in Section 5.25(a) is true and correct as if made on the date of such certificate and (2) it has consulted with Cravath and Cravath has indicated that is expects to be able to deliver the opinion set forth in Section 6.02(e) and (ii) in the case of the certificate of the Company, that (1) the representation set forth in Section 5.25(b) is true and correct as if made on the date of such certificate and (2) it has consulted with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Xxxxxxx & Xxxx LLP (“Skadden”) and Skadden has indicated that it expects to be able to deliver the opinion set forth in Section 6.03(c).
(f) The Company shall reasonably consult with Parent regarding any material Tax planning strategies or transactions.
Tax Indemnifications (i) Each of the Loan Parties shall, and does hereby, jointly and severally indemnify each Recipient, and shall make payment in respect thereof within ten (10) days after demand therefor, for the full amount of any Indemnified Taxes (including Indemnified Taxes imposed or asserted on or attributable to amounts payable under this Section 3.01) payable or paid by such Recipient or required to be withheld or deducted from a payment to such Recipient, and any penalties, interest and reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Indemnified Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to the Borrower by a Lender or the L/C Issuer (with a copy to the Administrative Agent), or by the Administrative Agent on its own behalf or on behalf of a Lender or the L/C Issuer, shall be conclusive absent manifest error. Each of the Loan Parties shall also, and does hereby, jointly and severally indemnify the Administrative Agent, and shall make payment in respect thereof within ten (10) days after demand therefor, for any amount which a Lender or the L/C Issuer for any reason fails to pay indefeasibly to the Administrative Agent as required pursuant to Section 3.01(c)(ii) below.
(ii) Each Lender and the L/C Issuer shall, and does hereby, severally indemnify and shall make payment in respect thereof within ten (10) days after demand therefor, (A) the Administrative Agent against any Indemnified Taxes attributable to such Lender or the L/C Issuer (but only to the extent that any Loan Party has not already indemnified the Administrative Agent for such Indemnified Taxes and without limiting the obligation of the Loan Parties to do so), (B) the Administrative Agent and the Loan Parties, as applicable, against any Taxes attributable to such Lender’s failure to comply with the provisions of Section 11.06(d) relating to the maintenance of a Participant Register and (C) the Administrative Agent and the Loan Parties, as applicable, against any Excluded Taxes attributable to such Lender or the L/C Issuer, in each case, that are payable or paid by the Administrative Agent or a Loan Party in connection with any Loan Document, and any reasonable expenses arising therefrom or with respect thereto, whether or not such Taxes were correctly or legally imposed or asserted by the relevant Governmental Authority. A certificate as to the amount of such payment or liability delivered to any Lender by the Administrative Agent shall be conclusive absent manifest error. Each Lender and the L/C Issuer hereby authorizes the Administrative Agent to set off and apply any and all amounts at any time owing to such Lender or the L/C Issuer, as the case may be, under this Agreement or any other Loan Document against any amount due to the Administrative Agent under this clause (ii).
Other Tax Matters (i) No deficiency with respect to a material amount of Taxes has been proposed, asserted or assessed against the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries and remains unpaid, except for such deficiencies that are being contested, or that will be contested, in each case, in good faith, and, in each case, for which adequate reserves have been established on the books and records of the Company and the Company Subsidiaries in accordance with U.S. GAAP. Neither the Company nor any Company Subsidiary is currently the subject of an audit or other examination relating to the payment of material Taxes of the Company or such Company Subsidiary by a Taxing Authority of any nation, state or locality nor has the Company nor any of the Company Subsidiaries received any written notices from any Taxing Authority that such an audit or examination is pending, or that the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries was required to file any Tax Return that was not filed.
(ii) Neither the Company nor any Company Subsidiary is presently contesting any material Tax liability of the Company or any Company Subsidiary before any court, tribunal or agency.
(iii) All material Taxes that the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries is (or was) required by Applicable Law to withhold or collect in connection with amounts paid or owing to any employee, independent contractor, creditor, stockholder, member or other third party have been duly withheld or collected, and have been paid over to the proper authorities to the extent due and payable.
(iv) The Company and each of the Company Subsidiaries has complied in all material respects with all information reporting (and related withholding) and record retention requirements.
(v) Neither the Company nor any Company Subsidiary has waived any statute of limitations with respect to Taxes nor agreed to any extension of time with respect to a Tax assessment or deficiency.
(vi) There are no liens for material Taxes (except Taxes not yet due and payable) on any of the assets of the Company or any of the Company Subsidiaries.
(vii) None of the Company and the Company Subsidiaries is a party to or bound by any closing agreement, private letter rulings, technical advance memoranda, offer in compromise, or any other agreement with any Taxing Authority, in each case that could have a materially adverse effect after the Closing Date.
(viii) Neither the Company nor any of the Company Subsidiaries is a party to or is bound by any Tax sharing, allocation or indemnification agreement or arrangement (other than such an agreement or arrangement exclusively between or among the Company and the Company Subsidiaries).
(ix) Neither the Company nor any of the Company Subsidiaries has been, within the past two years or otherwise as part of a “plan (or series of related transactions)” within the meaning of Section 355(e) of the Code of which the Merger is also a part, a “distributing corporation” or a “controlled corporation” (within the meaning of Section 355(a)(1)(A) of the Code) in a distribution of stock intended to qualify for tax-free treatment under Section 355 of the Code.
(x) Neither the Company nor any of the Company Subsidiaries has participated in a “listed transaction” within the meaning of Treasury Regulations Section 1.6011-4(b)(2) or any other transaction requiring disclosure under analogous provisions of state, local or foreign Tax law.
(xi) Neither the Company nor any of the Company Subsidiaries will be required to include any material item of income in, or to exclude any material item of deduction from, taxable income in any taxable period (or portion thereof) ending after the Closing Date as a result of any closing agreement, installment sale or open transaction on or prior to the Closing Date, any accounting method change or agreement with any Taxing Authority, any prepaid amount received on or prior to the Closing Date, any election pursuant to Section 108(i) of the Code (or any corresponding provision of state, local or foreign Tax law) made with respect to any taxable period ending on or prior to the Closing Date, or, to the Knowledge of the Company, any intercompany transaction or excess loss account described in Section 1502 of the Code (or any corresponding provision of state, local or foreign Tax law).
Indemnification Matters The Company hereby acknowledges that one (1) or more of the directors nominated to serve on the Board of Directors by the Investors (each a “Fund Director”) may have certain rights to indemnification, advancement of expenses and/or insurance provided by one or more of the Investors and certain of their affiliates (collectively, the “Fund Indemnitors”). The Company hereby agrees (a) that it is the indemnitor of first resort (i.e., its obligations to any such Fund Director are primary and any obligation of the Fund Indemnitors to advance expenses or to provide indemnification for the same expenses or liabilities incurred by such Fund Director are secondary), (b) that it shall be required to advance the full amount of expenses incurred by such Fund Director and shall be liable for the full amount of all expenses, judgments, penalties, fines and amounts paid in settlement by or on behalf of any such Fund Director to the extent legally permitted and as required by the Company’s Certificate of Incorporation or Bylaws of the Company (or any agreement between the Company and such Fund Director), without regard to any rights such Fund Director may have against the Fund Indemnitors, and, (c) that it irrevocably waives, relinquishes and releases the Fund Indemnitors from any and all claims against the Fund Indemnitors for contribution, subrogation or any other recovery of any kind in respect thereof. The Company further agrees that no advancement or payment by the Fund Indemnitors on behalf of any such Fund Director with respect to any claim for which such Fund Director has sought indemnification from the Company shall affect the foregoing and the Fund Indemnitors shall have a right of contribution and/or be subrogated to the extent of such advancement or payment to all of the rights of recovery of such Fund Director against the Company.
