Disclaimer

Taxation of Shareholders resident in the United Kingdom for taxation purposes

Disposals of Shares

Subject to their individual circumstances, Shareholders who are resident or ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom for taxation purposes will potentially be liable to UK taxation, as further explained below, on any gains which accrue to them on a sale or other disposition of their Shares which constitutes a “disposal” for UK taxation purposes.

Disposals of Shares by Shareholders who are resident or ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom for tax purposes (or who are otherwise within the scope of UK capital gains taxation in respect of their investment in Shares) will fall within the scope of the “offshore funds” provisions of UK tax legislation. This means that in order for any gain realised on a disposal of Shares to be taxable, in the hands of such a Shareholder, as a capital gain (rather than as income), the Trust must satisfy a prescribed condition, as described below. Should that prescribed condition not be satisfied, any such gain will, in general, be taxable in the hands of the Shareholder as income (rather than as a capital gain). In that event, the gain would not be eligible for shelter by any relief or exemption in UK tax law which applies solely to capital gains, such as the annual allowance of tax-free capital gains available to an individual.

Under current UK tax law, the prescribed condition is that the SPDR® Gold Trust (“Trust”) qualifies as a “reporting fund” throughout the period of a Shareholder’s investment in Shares.

The Trust does not need to satisfy any income distribution requirement in order for the Trust to qualify as a “reporting fund”, since the conditions which an “offshore fund” must satisfy in order to qualify as a “reporting fund” are not concerned with the level of a fund’s dividends or other distributions. The two principal requirements with which the Trust does have to comply so that the Trust may qualify as a “reporting fund” are:-

First, the Trust has to submit an election to HM Revenue & Customs (“HMRC”) to enter into the “reporting funds” regime and to give certain assurances to HMRC in support of that election. As described below, this condition has been satisfied

Second, the Trust has to provide each Shareholder, for each of the Trust’s accounting periods, with a formal notification of the Shareholder’s pro rata share of the “reportable income” (as defined by regulations) earned in the accounting period concerned by the Trust (even when such pro-rata share is zero).

The Trust’s "reportable income", for this purpose, means, broadly, the income shown in the Trust’s accounts for an accounting period. There was no reportable income in the accounting period ending 30 September 2012.

The Trustee has submitted to HMRC an election for the Trust to enter into the “reporting funds” regime; and it is the intention of the Trustee that the Trust should remain within that regime. Investors should nonetheless appreciate that the Trustee cannot guarantee that the Trust will be able to qualify as a “reporting fund” in any particular accounting period, since the ability of the Trust so to qualify is in part dependent on matters outside the control of the Trustee.

Certain Other Provisions of UK Tax Legislation

Stamp Tax

No UK stamp duty will be payable on a transfer of Shares if the related instrument of transfer is not executed within the United Kingdom and, furthermore, does not relate to any property situate, or to any matter or thing done or to be done, within the United Kingdom.

So long as the Shares are not registered in any register maintained in the United Kingdom by, or on behalf of, the Trust, any agreement to transfer Shares will not be liable to UK stamp duty reserve tax. The Trustee has no intention that any such register will be maintained in the United Kingdom.

Inheritance Tax

A holder of Shares who is an individual domiciled, or deemed for UK tax purposes to be domiciled, in the United Kingdom may be liable to UK inheritance tax on the value of those Shares in the event of the Shareholder’s death or upon the Shareholder’s making a lifetime transfer of the Shares in certain circumstances.