Tax & Class Action FAQs
Below is a list of our frequently asked questions.
If your question is not answered, please get in touch.
Securities Class Actions Recoveries
No. Goal are not involved in any aspect of the litigation process. Our objective is to recover the maximum settlement amount on behalf of our clients after the court issues a disbursement ruling.
No. Goal do not provide legal advice or representation. We work in an agent’s capacity on behalf of institutional investor clients to recover settlement monies after the securities class action litigation has been completed by the courts.
Our fee structure is flexible to ensure we are duly incentivised to maximise recoveries for our clients. Typically, we operate on a contingent basis with no upfront fees, subscription fees or additional, hidden costs. However, we are also able to provide our calculation engine, Accelerator, as a SaaS with an annual subscription fee.
Goal is ISO27001 accredited and was one of the first firms to achieve this esteemed accolade. With all applications hosted in AWS and globally recognised assurance that client data is not only secure but entirely segregated, we have maintained this accreditation for a number of years and are audited at least once annually.
There are no legal fees payable before any settlement or judgment. All legal fees are contingent upon success. The fees awarded to the Lead Plaintiff law firm(s) are all court approved and will be deducted from the settlement fund up to a maximum of 33.3%. Similarly, if the claim is unsuccessful, there are no legal fees payable. This is not an action against shareholders. The cause of action relates to negligence or fraud by the company through its directors that impacted upon shareholders’ investment holdings once the extent to that negligence/fraud became known. Shareholders should be looking whether to recover their damages and particularly what the impact of the claim will be on the company and its performance as an investment. That said, there will be no recovery unless a positive step is taken (submitting a claim) to recover damages.
Settlement monies are often paid wholly or at least partially by the target company’s insurers rather than by the company itself.
We can confirm past filings and, more importantly, determine if your past filings are complete. If necessary, we can also make any required corrections or additions.
Yes. The court has discretion to determine whether a late claim will be accepted. We have a strong track record of successfully filing late claims and delivering settlements for new clients that have missed filing deadlines.
Goal files every claim for every account whether there is a recognised loss or not. It is the claims administrator’s ultimate responsibility to determine who is owed money, and it is imperative to our client’s interest to provide an outside analysis of their conclusions.
We provide global coverage in both established and new markets. As well as the markets for which we facilitate this service currently, we are also monitoring those where class actions are being discussed and recognised so that formal procedures are put in place.
No. The fee associated with the service is purely contingent and based on a no win, no fee scenario. There will also be no additional administration fees or costs associated with the use of the client portal. Should any additional fees be incurred (such as out of pocket expenses) these will be approved by you, before we proceed.
As part of the service, we offer a dedicated client portal where you will be able to view statements, open claims, paid claims and those that have been rejected. The portal also provides a complete list of alerts, which can be subscribed to if you want to receive information if/when anything changes. We can also sign you up to the e-mail alerts service, which means you receive all alerts directly to your e-mail inbox.
The only way a client name would be released into the public domain, is if they agree to be a lead plaintiff on a case or participate in certain foundation cases. Information as to whether there is a possibility on the clients’ name being used, is included within the alert for each case.
A power of attorney (POA) is not essential for us to be able to provide the service but if a POA is granted, then the process becomes more efficient as we are able to sign documents on your behalf. Without this, the process lengthens as we will need to transfer documents for signatures and approval. They can either be provided as a blanket POA or on a case-by-case bases. Please note that occasionally, a wet signature may still be required.
Withholding Tax Reclaims
Goal provides two services, a cloud-based application called GTRS, available as a SaaS and an outsourcing service. Clients can either use GTRS, which provides high levels of automation to process withholding tax reclaims including the calculation and completion of forms or ask us to process the reclaims on their behalf.
The indicative timeframe to receive payment varies by market, however Goal can advise the timeframes on a case-by-case basis. We also ensure that if you outsource the service to us, we track claims at every stage ensuring we follow up when these indicative timeframes approach. We will also keep you up to date via our interactive, dedicated client portal and through our regional client services representatives.
Withholding tax is levied from nearly all cross-border investments, depending on the entity, residency, and market of reclaim, you may be entitled to reclaim a percentage of the withholding tax deducted. Goal is also able to provide a proof of concept, where we run your data through our technologies to assess opportunities. Please contact your regional sales team to arrange a proof of concept.
No. We do not provide tax advice or act as advisors. The information we provide is based on experience in a very niche area of the market.
Depending on the service you select, we can offer extremely compelling and flexible pricing. GTRS is available as an annual subscription and the outsourcing is usually a percentage of the monies reclaimed, or an annual processing fee. To be as competitive as possible, we will always assess each situation individually. Please note that some more difficult markets may have alternate fee structures, but we will always inform you of any variations as well as any out-of-pocket expenses before we proceed. Please contact our sales team for more information.
We currently support all stock types and all client types and if a new one is introduced to us; we will research feasibility before proceeding. As we have a dedicated global research team who use a variety of sources to obtain this information, we are flexible on the service we provide.
We provide truly global coverage, including those markets that others may shy away from. While we are aware of some market specific challenges e.g., when reclaims need to be routed via a paying agent or custodian or where local agents need to be used, we will always endeavour to work with our clients to assess viabilities and maximise returns.
Goal is ISO27001 accredited and was one of the first firms to achieve this esteemed accolade. With all applications hosted in AWS and globally recognised assurance that client data is not only secure but entirely segregated, we have maintained this accreditation for a number of years and are audited at least once annually.
As mentioned, Goal provides global coverage, including difficult markets, which some Custodians may not offer. Secondly, we have over 30 years’ experience in the withholding tax reclaim space, great relationships with the tax authorities, a dedicated global research team, centralised operations, and dedicated client services. We will also process reclaims within a much shorter timeframe, typically within 3 business days of an event being triggered (once a client is fully on-boarded). Additionally, as a niche service provider, we give this area our full attention.
As soon as the client is on-boarded and we have all the documentation we need, we aim to process reclaims within 3 days of receiving the tax vouchers/credit advice and import files.
As part of the service, we offer an interactive dedicated client portal where you will be able to view the status of your reclaims, past and present.
When on-boarding clients, we request information through a beneficial ownership questionnaire. Based on the entity, stock, residency, and market of reclaim, we can provide guidance on what documentation is needed in advance of us processing the reclaims.
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