Exhibit 8.4
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The Managing and Supervisory
Board of Directors of James Hardie Industries SE
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PricewaterhouseCoopers
Belastingadviseurs N.V.
De Entree 201
1101 HG Amsterdam Zuidoost
Postbus 22735
1100 DE Amsterdam Zuidoost
Telephone +31(0) 8879 22223
Facsimile +31 (0) 8879 29776
www.pwc.com/nl
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Atrium, 8th floor
Strawinskylaan 3077
1077 ZX Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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March 17, 2010
Reference: 117.793/SFA/WME/RTI/AKI/ngh.100316b2d
Re: James Hardie Industries SE
Ladies and Gentlemen:
We have acted as special Dutch tax counsel to James Hardie Industries SE, a public limited
liability corporation registered in The Netherlands (the Company), in connection with the
registration of 102,000,000 ordinary shares, par value 0.59 per share (the Securities),
of James Hardie Industries SE (the Issuer). At your request, we are rendering our
opinion set forth below concerning material Dutch income tax and withholding tax consequences
(together referred to as Dutch income tax hereafter) of the Proposal (as defined in the
Registration Statement, described below). All capitalized terms used but not defined herein shall
have the meanings ascribed to them in the Registration Statement.
In the above capacity, we have reviewed (i) the registration statement on Form F-4 relating to the
Securities filed by the Company on March 17, 2010 with the Securities and Exchange Commission under
the Securities Act of 1933 (the Registration Statement), and (ii) such other documents as
we have deemed necessary or appropriate in order to enable us to render the opinion below.
For purposes of our opinion, we have assumed the legal capacity of all natural persons, the
genuineness of all signatures, the authenticity of all documents submitted to us as originals, the
conformity to original documents of all documents submitted to us as certified, conformed,
photostatic or electronic copies, and the authenticity of the originals of such latter documents.
We have assumed that such documents, certificates, and records are duly authorized, valid, and
enforceable. Where documents have been provided to us in draft form, we have assumed that the
final executed versions of such documents will not differ materially from such drafts.
PricewaterhouseCoopers is the trade name of among others the
following companies: PricewaterhouseCoopers Accountants N.V. (Chamber of Commerce 34180285), PricewaterhouseCoopers
Belastingadviseurs N.V. (Chamber of Commerce 34180284), PricewaterhouseCoopers Advisory N.V. (Chamber of Commerce 34180287)
and PricewaterhouseCoopers B.V. (Chamber of Commerce 34180289). The services rendered by these companies are governed by
General Terms & Conditions
, which include provisions regarding our liability. These General Terms & Conditions are filed with the Amsterdam
Chamber of Commerce and can also be viewed at www.pwc.com/nl
The Managing and Supervisory
Board of Directors of James Hardie Industries SE
March 17, 2010
Reference: 117.793/SFA/WME/RTI/AKI/ngh.100316b2d
In rendering our opinion, we have relied upon statements and representations made by the Company
and have assumed that such statements and representations are true without regard to any
qualifications as to knowledge and belief. We have further assumed that (i) the Proposal will be
consummated in accordance with the description in the Registration Statement and none of the
material terms or conditions contained therein have been or will be waived or modified in any
respect, (ii) such other documents, certificates and records and statements as to factual matters
contained in the Registration Statement are true, correct and complete and will continue to be
true, correct and complete through the date that implementation of the Proposal is completed, and
(iii) the Registration Statement accurately describes the business operations and the anticipated
future operations of the Company. Our opinion is conditioned upon, among other things, the initial
and continuing accuracy and completeness of the facts, information, covenants, representations and
warranties provided or made by the Company.
Our opinion is based on Dutch tax law, published opinions and administrative pronouncements of the
Dutch tax authorities, income tax treaties to which the Netherlands is a party, and such other
authorities as we have considered relevant, all as in effect and available on the date of the
Registration Statement and all of which are subject to change or differing interpretations,
possibly with retroactive effect. A change in any of the authorities upon which our advice is
based could affect our conclusions herein. There can be no assurance, moreover, that our opinion
will be accepted by the Dutch tax authorities or, if challenged, by a court.
Based solely upon and subject to the foregoing, the discussion in (i) Section 8.3.1. of the F-4
entitled JHI SE Taxation, (ii) Section 8.3.2.1. of the F-4 entitled Dutch tax on future
distributions: non-Dutch resident shareholders, (iii) Section 8.3.2.2. of the F-4 entitled Dutch
tax on future distributions: Dutch resident shareholders, (iv) Section 8.3.2.3. entitled The
transfer of JHI SE to Ireland: non-Dutch resident individual and corporate shareholders and (v)
Section 8.3.2.4. of the F-4 entitled Distributions and capital gains after our transfer to
Ireland: non-Dutch resident individual and corporate shareholders constitutes our opinion with
respect to the tax matters discussed therein.
Except as set out above, we express no opinions or views regarding the Dutch income tax
consequences of the Proposal or any other transaction related to the Proposal.
This opinion is expressed as of the date hereof, and we are not under any obligation to supplement
or revise our opinion to reflect any legal developments or factual matters arising subsequent to
the date hereof or the impact of any information, document, certificate, record, statement,
representation, covenant, or assumption relied upon herein that hereafter becomes incorrect or
untrue. In addition, any changes to either the Registration Statement or the other documents
referred to above could affect our conclusions herein.
(2)
The Managing and Supervisory
Board of Directors of James Hardie Industries SE
March 17, 2010
Reference: 117.793/SFA/WME/RTI/AKI/ngh.100316b2d
We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion with the Securities and Exchange Commission as an
exhibit to the Registration Statement. We also consent to the reference to our firm under the
caption Legal Matters in such Registration Statement. In giving this consent, we do not thereby
admit that we are included in the category of persons whose consent is required under Section 7 of
the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange
Commission.
Very truly yours,
PricewaterhouseCoopers Belastingadviseurs N.V.
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/s/ S.E. Faber
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/s/ W.W. Mebius |
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S.E. Faber
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W.W. Mebius |
(3)