BTC Digital Ltd. Income Taxes Disclosure
| 9. | Income tax |
| (a) | Cayman Islands |
Under the current tax laws of Cayman Islands, the Company is not subject to tax on income, corporation or capital gain, and no withholding tax is imposed upon the payment of dividends to shareholders.
| (b) | BVI |
Under the current tax laws of the BVI, the Company’s BVI subsidiaries are not subject to any income taxes in the BVI.
| (c) | Hong Kong Profits Tax |
Under the current Hong Kong Inland Revenue Ordinance, the Group’s Hong Kong subsidiaries are subject to Hong Kong profits tax on its taxable income generated from the operations in Hong Kong. A Two-tiered Profits Tax rates regime was introduced since year 2018 where the first HK$2,000 of assessable profits earned by a company will be taxed at half the current tax rate (8.25%) whilst the remaining profits will continue to be taxed at 16.5%. There is an anti-fragmentation measure where each group will have to nominate only one company in the group to benefit from the progressive rates. Payments of dividends by the subsidiaries to the Company are not subject to withholding tax in Hong Kong.
About Income Taxes Disclosures
The income tax disclosure reveals how much a company actually pays in taxes versus what the statutory rate would predict. Analysts focus on the effective tax rate (ETR) reconciliation, which breaks down every item driving the gap between the 21% federal rate and the company's reported ETR — including R&D credits, foreign rate differentials, and state taxes. Deferred tax assets (DTAs) and their valuation allowances signal management's confidence in future profitability: a rising allowance suggests the company doubts it can use accumulated tax benefits. Uncertain tax benefit (UTB) reserves quantify exposure to IRS challenges on aggressive positions.
Key signals to watch: sudden ETR drops without clear operational reasons, large increases in valuation allowances, growing UTB balances, and significant unremitted foreign earnings. Post-TCJA, pay attention to GILTI and BEAT provisions that affect multinational tax structures. Compare the cash taxes paid (from the cash flow statement) against the income tax provision to gauge earnings quality.