RDS.B (RDS-B on Yahoo)

[rapidacid]

Pretty sure all Americans buying class B pay 0% tax withholding

http://www.joshuakennon.com/royal-dutch-...-b-shares/

Quote:To summarize again, all in one place, this means if you wanted to buy stock in Royal Dutch Shell, your options were:

Class A shares in Amsterdam, quoted in Euros, dividends in Euros (but you can ask for Pound sterling, instead), 15% dividend withholding tax.
Class B shares in Amsterdam, quoted in Euros, dividends in Pound sterling (but you can ask for Euros, instead), no dividend withholding tax.
Class A shares in London, quoted in Pound sterling, dividends in Euros (but you can ask for Pound sterling, instead), 15% dividend withholding tax.
Class B shares in London, quoted in Pound sterling, dividends in Pound sterling (but you can ask for Euros, instead), no dividend withholding tax.
Class A ADR in New York, representing 2 shares of the Class A stock, quoted in U.S. dollars, dividends in U.S. dollars, 15% dividend withholding tax
Class B ADR in New York, representing 2 shares of the Class B stock, quoted in in U.S. dollars, dividends in U.S. dollars, 0% dividend withholding tax
The Class B shares were subject to no withholding from the Dutch Government, while the Class A shares were unless you were exempt through some special loophole.

This effectively lets an investor in Royal Dutch Shell select whichever is most beneficial for him or her. You can receive Euros, Pound sterling, or U.S. dollars. You can have Dutch withholding taxes taken out of your dividends or not.