Food Lion 2011 Annual Report Download - page 164

Citibank has put in place an Interna-
tional Direct Investment Plan for Delhaize
Group, which is a dividend reinvestment
and direct purchase plan sponsored and
administered by Citibank. The program
enables existing holders and first time
purchasers the opportunity to make pur-
chases, reinvest dividends, deposit cer-
tificates for safekeeping and sell shares.
For further information on Citibank’s
International Direct Investment Program
for Delhaize Group, please visit www.citi.
com/dr or contact Citibank Shareholder
Services at 1-877-248-4237 (1-877-
CITIADR.)
Taxation of Dividends of
Delhaize Group Shares
It is assumed that, for the application of
domestic Belgian tax legislation and the
U.S.-Belgian tax treaty, owners of Del-
haize Group ADRs are treated the same
as owners of Delhaize Group shares
and that the ADRs are treated as Del-
haize Group shares. However, it must be
noted that this assumption has not been
confirmed or verified with the Belgian
Tax Authorities.
For Belgian income tax purposes, the
gross amount of all distributions made
by Delhaize Group to its shareholders
(other than repayment of paid-up capital
in accordance with the Belgian Company
Code) is generally taxed as dividends.
Dividends that are attributed or paid on
the shares are in principle subject to a
25% Belgian withholding tax.
For non-Belgian residents - individuals
and corporations - Belgian withholding
tax is retained also at the rate of 25%
subject to the reductions or exemptions
provided by Belgian tax law or by the tax
treaty concluded between Belgium and
the country of which the non-Belgian
beneficiary of the dividend is a resident.
Such withholding tax is normally the final
tax in Belgium.
For dividends paid by Delhaize Group to
a U.S. holder of ADRs, beneficial owner
of the dividends, who is not holding the
shares through a permanent establish-
ment in Belgium and is entitled to claim
benefits under the U.S.- Belgian tax
treaty, the withholding tax is reduced
from 25% to 15%. If the beneficial owner
is a company that owns directly at least
10% of the voting stock of Delhaize
Group, a reduced withholding tax rate
of 5% is applicable. No withholding tax
is however applicable if the beneficial
owner of the dividends is i) a company,
resident of the U.S. that has owned
directly shares representing at least
10% of the capital of Delhaize Group for
a 12-month period ending on the date
the dividend is declared, or ii) a pension
fund, resident of the U.S., provided that
the dividends are not derived from carry-
ing on a business by the pension fund or
through an associated enterprise.
Although there are exceptions, in gen-
eral the full 25% Belgian withholding tax
must be withheld by Delhaize Group or
the paying agent, and the non-Belgian
holder of Delhaize Group shares or ADRs
may file a claim for reimbursement for
amounts withheld in excess of the treaty
rate. The reimbursement claim form
(Form 276 Div.- Aut.) can be obtained
from the AFER – Bureau Central de Taxa-
tion, Bruxelles-Etranger, Tour North Gal-
axy B7, Boulevard Albert II 33, PO Box 32,
B-1030 Brussels, Belgium. (phone: +32 2
576 90 09, fax: [phone], email:
bct.cd.bruxelles.etr@minfin.fed.be). The
form should be completed in duplicate
and sent to the relevant Tax Office in the
residence country of the non-Belgian
holder with the request that one copy be
appropriately stamped and returned to
the sender.
The non-Belgian holder can then obtain
reimbursement from the Bureau Central
de Taxation, at the same address, upon
presentation of the stamped form and
a document proving that the dividend
has been cashed. The request for reim-
bursement must be filed with the Bureau
Central de Taxation within five years
from January 1 of the year following the
year in which the dividend was declared
payable.
Prospective holders should consult their
tax advisors as to whether they qualify
for the reduced withholding tax upon
attribution or payment of dividends, and
as to the procedural requirements for
obtaining the reduced withholding tax
immediately upon the attribution or pay-
ment of the dividends or through the fil-
ing of a claim for reimbursement.
Annual Report
This annual report is available in Eng-
lish, French and Dutch. It can be down-
loaded from Delhaize Group’s website:
www.delhaizegroup.com. A printed
or electronic version may be ordered
via the same website or directly from
the Delhaize Group Investor Relations
Department (see contacts at the end of
this section).
Delhaize Group is subject to the report-
ing requirements of the U.S. Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC) gov-
erning foreign companies listed in the
U.S. An annual report will be filed with
the SEC on Form 20-F. The Form 20-F will
be available from the SEC’s EDGAR data-
base at www.sec.gov/edgarhp.htm and
on the Company’s website.
Consultation of Documents
The public documents concerning Del-
haize Group can be consulted at the
registered office (rue Osseghemstraat
53, 1080 Brussels - Belgium).
In the United States, Delhaize Group is
subject to the informational require-
ments of the U.S. Securities Exchange
Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange
Act”), and in accordance with the
Exchange Act Delhaize Group files
reports and other information with the
162 // DELHAIZE GROUP ANNUAL REPORT ‘11
SHAREHOLDER INFORMATION