Ophævelse af udbyttebeskatning og dens indvirkning på danske selskabsaktionærers investeringsadfærd: En analyse af den ændrede retstilling efter L 28 og incitamentet til at investere i danske skattefri porteføljeaktier

Abstract

This thesis delves into the tax exemption on dividends from tax-free portfolio shares adopted into Danish tax law through the bill, L 28, and examines its legal and economic implications. The study is methodically divided into three analyses to provide a comprehensive understanding of the legislative changes and their broader impacts on Danish corporate investors and the Danish state. The first part of the thesis provides an in-depth legal analysis of the legislative update. This section breaks down the requirements for shares and shareholders to qualify for the new tax exemption, focusing on things such as the definition of tax-free portfolio shares, the introduction of beneficial ownership requirements in national transactions and the implications of having transferred the responsibility of the beneficial ownership assessment to the dividend-distributing entity. Additionally, it highlights the growing significance of comparability in investments involving foreign companies and discusses the removal of certain anti-avoidance rules. By analyzing these aspects, the legal analysis seeks to clarify the legislative shift and provide clarity on the implications and consequences of the tax exemption. The second part shifts focus to an economic analysis, utilizing principal-agent theory and utility theory to evaluate whether the legislative update meets the Danish state's objective of attracting more investments into Danish startups, specifically focusing on Danish corporate investors. This section assesses how the tax exemption and correlated legislative updates influences the investment behavior of Danish corporate investors by analyzing the impact of the various components of L 28. Through this analysis, the thesis aims to uncover the economic realities of the legislative change and its effectiveness in fostering additional investments in Danish startups. The final part of the thesis presents a combined legal and economic analysis that scrutinizes the efficiency of the legislative update and investigates whether the implemented changes could have been executed in a more efficient manner to achieve the desired outcomes. Furthermore, this section explores additional legislative and policy initiatives that could further enhance the attractiveness of investments in Danish startups by Danish corporate investors. By integrating legal and economic perspectives, this part provides a holistic view of potential improvements to the implemented bill, potentially ensuring Kaldor-Hicks efficiency.