If the U.S. does not have a tax treaty with the foreign vendor's country of residence that exempts payments from U.S. federal income tax withholding, or if a valid Form W-8 or 8233 has not been correctly completed before payment is processed, 30 percent of the total payment to the foreign vendor will be withheld by Shaw Industries and remitted to the IRS.

A list of existing tax treaties between the U.S. and other countries is found in IRS Publication 901, U.S. Tax Treaties, available online at www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p901.pdf.

Based on a vendor's completed Form W-8 and/or Form 8233 or a vendor's failure to submit the appropriate form, Shaw Industries will determine whether withholding is required and at what percentage. If the payment is subject to 30% federal tax withholding, Shaw Industries will pay 70% of the approved portion of the requested amount and will remit the 30% to the IRS. Foreign vendors will be responsible for filing the necessary documents with the IRS to obtain a refund of the 30%, if permitted.

In order to be valid for tax treaty exemption, both the Form W-8 and Form 8233 (for individuals) require a U.S. taxpayer identification number.