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INTERNATIONAL TAX AGREEMENTS AMENDMENT ACT (NO. 1) 2002 NO. 59, 2002 - SCHEDULE 2
- Protocol to the Convention with United States
International Tax Agreements Act 1953
1 Subsection 3(1) (at the end of the
definition of the United States convention)
Add ", as amended by the United
States protocol".
2 Subsection 3(1)
Insert:
"the United States protocol"
means the Protocol amending the Convention between the Government of Australia
and the Government of the United States of America for the avoidance of double
taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income,
being the protocol a copy of which is set out in Schedule 2A.
3 After section 6
Insert:
6AA Protocol with the United States of
America
Subject to this Act, on and after the date of entry into force of the United
States protocol, the provisions of the protocol, so far as those provisions
affect Australian tax, have the force of law according to their tenor.
4 At the end of section 17A
Add:
- (5)
- Section 128B of the
Assessment Act (which deals with liability for withholding tax) does not apply
to the payment of a royalty as defined in subsection 6(1) of that Act if:
- (a)
- the royalty is paid to a person who is a resident of a Contracting State
or territory (other than Australia) for the purposes of an agreement; and
- (b)
- the agreement does not treat the amount paid as a royalty.
5 Application of item 4
The amendment made by item 4 applies to the
payment of a royalty made after the commencement of that item.
6 After
Schedule 2
Insert:
Schedule 2AUnited States protocol
Note: See section 3.
PROTOCOL AMENDING THE CONVENTION BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA AND THE
GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE
TAXATION AND THE PREVENTION OF FISCAL
EVASION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME
The Government of Australia and the Government of the United States of
America,
Desiring to amend the Convention between the Government of Australia
and the Government of the United States of America for the Avoidance of Double
Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income
signed at Sydney on the sixth day of August 1982 (in this Protocol referred to
as "the Convention"),
Have agreed as follows:
ARTICLE 1
Article 1 of the
Convention is amended by:
(a) inserting in the last sentence of
paragraph (3) "or long-term resident" after "include a former citizen";
and
(b) by omitting in the last sentence of paragraph (3) "citizenship"
and substituting "such status".
ARTICLE 2
Article 2 of the Convention is
amended by omitting paragraph (1) and substituting:
"(1) The existing
taxes to which this Convention shall apply are:
(a) in the United States: the
Federal income taxes imposed by the Internal Revenue Code; and
(b) in
Australia:
(i) the Australian income tax, including tax on capital gains; and
(ii) the resource rent tax in respect of offshore projects relating to
exploration for or exploitation of petroleum resources,
imposed under the federal law of Australia.".
ARTICLE 3
Article 4 of the
Convention is amended by:
(a) deleting "or" at the end of
sub-paragraph (1)(b)(i) and inserting after that sub-paragraph the
following:
"(ii) a United States citizen, other than a United States citizen
who is a resident of a State other than Australia for the purposes of a double
tax agreement between that State and Australia; or"; and
(b) renumbering
sub-paragraph (1)(b)(ii) as sub-paragraph (1)(b)(iii).
ARTICLE 4
Article 7 of the Convention is amended by inserting:
"(9) Where:
(a) a
resident of one of the Contracting States is beneficially entitled, whether
directly or through one or more interposed fiscally transparent entities, to a
share of the business profits of an enterprise carried on in the other
Contracting State by the fiscally transparent entity (or, in the case of a
trust, by the trustee of the trust estate); and
(b) in relation to that
enterprise, that fiscally transparent entity (or trustee) would, in accordance
with the principles of Article 5 (Permanent Establishment), have a permanent
establishment in that other State, that enterprise carried on by that fiscally
transparent entity (or trustee) shall be deemed to be a business carried on in
the other State by that resident through a permanent establishment situated in
that other State and that share of business profits shall be attributed to
that permanent establishment.".
ARTICLE 5
Article 8 of the Convention is
amended by:
(a) omitting sub-paragraph (1)(b) and substituting:
"(b)
profits from the lease of ships or aircraft on a bare boat basis, provided
that such lease is merely incidental to the operation in international traffic
of ships or aircraft by the lessor."; and
(b) omitting paragraphs (2)
and (3) and substituting:
"(2) Profits of an enterprise of one of the
Contracting States from the use, maintenance, or rental of containers
(including trailers, barges, and related equipment for the transport of
containers) used in international traffic shall be taxable only in that State.
(3) The profits to which the provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) apply
include profits from the participation in a pool service or other profit
sharing arrangement.
(4) For the purposes of this Article, profits derived
from the carriage by ships or aircraft of passengers, livestock, mail, goods
or merchandise taken on board in a Contracting State for discharge in that
State shall not be treated as profits from the operation in international
traffic of ships or aircraft and may be taxed in that State.".
ARTICLE 6
Article 10 of the Convention is omitted and the following Article is
substituted:
"ARTICLE 10
Dividends
(1) Dividends paid by a company which is
a resident of one of the Contracting States for the purposes of its tax, being
dividends to which a resident of the other Contracting State is beneficially
entitled, may be taxed in that other State.
(2) However, those dividends may
also be taxed in the Contracting State of which the company paying the
dividends is a resident for the purposes of its tax, and according to the law
of that State, but:
(a) the tax charged shall not exceed 5 percent of the
gross amount of the dividends, if the person beneficially entitled to those
dividends is a company which holds directly at least 10 percent of the voting
power in the company paying the dividends; and
(b) the tax charged shall not
exceed 15 percent of the gross amount of the dividends to the extent to which
those dividends are not within sub-paragraph (a),
provided that if the
relevant law in either Contracting State is varied after the effective date of
this provision otherwise than in minor respects so as not to affect its
general character, the Contracting States shall consult each other with a view
to agreeing to any amendment of this paragraph that may be appropriate.
(3)
Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (2), dividends shall not be
taxed in the Contracting State of which the company paying the dividends is a
resident if the person who is beneficially entitled to the dividends is a
company that is a resident of the other Contracting State that has owned
shares representing 80 percent or more of the voting power of the company
paying the dividends for a 12-month period ending on the date the dividend is
declared and:
(a) is a qualified person by reason of sub-paragraph (c)
of paragraph (2) of Article 16 (Limitation on Benefits); or
(b) is
entitled to benefits with respect to the dividends under paragraph (5) of
that Article.
(4) (a) Sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (2) and
paragraph (3) shall not apply in the case of dividends paid by a
Regulated Investment Company (RIC) or a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT).
(b) In the case of dividends paid by a RIC, sub-paragraph (b) of
paragraph (2) shall apply.
(c) In the case of dividends paid by a REIT,
sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (2) shall apply only if:
(i) the
person beneficially entitled to the dividends is an individual holding an
interest of not more than 10 percent in the REIT;
(ii) the dividends are paid
with respect to a class of stock that is publicly traded and the person
beneficially entitled to the dividends holds an interest of not more than 5
percent of any class of the REIT's stock; or
(iii) the person beneficially
entitled to the dividends holds an interest of not more than 10 percent in the
REIT and the gross value of no single interest in real property held by the
REIT exceeds 10 percent of the gross value of the REIT's total interest in
real property.
(d) Notwithstanding sub-paragraph (c),
sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph (2) shall apply with respect to
dividends paid by a REIT to a listed Australian property trust ("LAPT").
However, if the responsible entity for the LAPT knows or has reason to know
that one or more unitholders each owns 5 percent or more of the beneficial
interests in the LAPT, each of such 5 percent or more unitholders shall, for
purposes of this paragraph, be deemed to hold such proportion of the LAPT's
direct interest in the REIT as equals that person's proportionate interest in
the LAPT and shall be deemed to be beneficially entitled to the REIT dividends
paid with respect thereto, and the provisions of sub-paragraph (c) shall
apply to that person. For purposes of this paragraph, dividends paid with
respect to REIT shares held by an LAPT shall be deemed to be paid with respect
to a class of stock that is publicly traded. For these purposes, a "listed
Australian property trust" means an Australian unit trust registered as a
"Managed Investment Scheme" under the Australian Corporations Act in which the
principal class of units is listed on a recognized stock exchange in Australia
and regularly traded on one or more recognized stock exchanges (as defined in
Article 16 (Limitation on Benefits)).
(5) The above provisions of this
Article shall not apply if the person beneficially entitled to the dividends,
being a resident of one of the Contracting States, carries on business in the
other Contracting State of which the company paying the dividends is a
resident, through a permanent establishment situated in that other State, or
performs in that other State independent personal services from a fixed base
situated in that other State, and the holding in respect of which the
dividends are paid is effectively connected with that permanent establishment
or fixed base. In that case the provisions of Article 7 (Business Profits) or
Article 14 (Independent Personal Services), as the case may be, shall apply.
(6) The term "dividends" as used in this Article means income from shares, as
well as other amounts which are subjected to the same taxation treatment as
income from shares by the law of the State of which the company making the
distribution is a resident for the purposes of its tax.
(7) Where a company
which is a resident of a Contracting State derives profits or income from the
other Contracting State, that other State may not impose any tax on the
dividends paid by the companybeing dividends to which a person who is
not a resident of the other Contracting State is beneficially
entitledexcept insofar as the holding in respect of which such dividends
are paid is effectively connected with a permanent establishment or a fixed
base situated in that other State, nor may it impose tax on a company's
undistributed profits, except as provided in paragraph (8), even if the
dividends paid consist wholly or partly of profits or income arising in such
other State.
(8) A company which is a resident of one of the Contracting
States and that has a permanent establishment in the other State or that is
subject to tax in the other State on a net basis on its income or gains that
may be taxed in the other State under Article 6 (Income from Real Property) or
under paragraph (1) or (3) of Article 13 (Alienation of Property) may be
subject in that other State to a tax in addition to the tax allowable under
the other provisions of this Convention. Such tax, however, may be imposed on
only the portion of the business profits of the company attributable to the
permanent establishment and the portion of the income or gains referred to in
the preceding sentence that is subject to tax under Article 6 (Income from
Real Property) or under paragraph (1) or (3) of Article 13 (Alienation of
Property) that, in the case of the United States, represents the dividend
equivalent amount of such profits, income or gains and, in the case of
Australia, is an amount that is analogous to the dividend equivalent amount.
This paragraph shall not apply in the case of a company which:
(a) is a
qualified person by reason of sub-paragraph (c) of paragraph (2) of
Article 16 (Limitation on Benefits) of this Convention; or
(b) is entitled to
benefits with respect to the dividends under paragraph (5) of that
Article.
(9) The tax referred to in paragraph (8) may not be imposed at
a rate in excess of the rate specified in sub-paragraph (a) of
paragraph (2).".
ARTICLE 7
Article 11 of the Convention is omitted and
the following Article is substituted:
"ARTICLE 11
Interest
(1) Interest
arising in one of the Contracting States, being interest to which a resident
of the other Contracting State is beneficially entitled, may be taxed in that
other State.
(2) However, that interest may also be taxed in the Contracting
State in which it arises, and according to the law of that State, but the tax
so charged shall not exceed 10 percent of the gross amount of the interest.
(3) Notwithstanding paragraph (2), interest arising in one of the
Contracting States to which a resident of the other Contracting State is
beneficially entitled may not be taxed in the first-mentioned State if:
(a)
the interest is derived by one of the Contracting States or by a political or
administrative sub-division or a local authority thereof, or by any other body
exercising governmental functions in a Contracting State, or by a bank
performing central banking functions in a Contracting State;
(b) the interest
is derived by a financial institution which is unrelated to and dealing wholly
independently with the payer. For the purposes of this Article, the term
"financial institution" means a bank or other enterprise substantially
deriving its profits by raising debt finance in the financial markets or by
taking deposits at interest and using those funds in carrying on a business of
providing finance.
(4) (a) Notwithstanding paragraph (3), interest
referred to in sub-paragraph (b) of that paragraph may be taxed in the
State in which it arises at a rate not exceeding 10 percent of the gross
amount of the interest if the interest is paid as part of an arrangement
involving back-to-back loans or other arrangement that is economically
equivalent and intended to have a similar effect to back-to-back loans.
(b)
Nothing in this Article shall be construed as restricting, in any manner, the
right of a Contracting State to apply any anti-avoidance provisions of its
taxation law.
(5) The term "interest" in this Article means interest from
government securities or from bonds or debentures (including premiums
attaching to such securities, bonds or debentures), whether or not secured by
mortgage and whether or not carrying a right to participate in profits,
interest from any other form of indebtedness, as well as income which is
subjected to the same taxation treatment as income from money lent by the law
of the Contracting State in which the income arises. Income dealt with in
Article 10 (Dividends) and penalty charges for late payment shall not be
regarded as interest for the purposes of this Article.
(6) The provisions of
paragraphs (1), (2), (3) and (4) shall not apply if the person
beneficially entitled to the interest, being a resident of one of the
Contracting States, carries on business in the other Contracting State, in
which the interest arises, through a permanent establishment situated in that
other State, or performs in that other State independent personal services
from a fixed base situated in that other State, and the indebtedness in
respect of which the interest is paid is effectively connected with that
permanent establishment or fixed base. In that case the provisions of Article
7 (Business Profits) or Article 14 (Independent Personal Services), as the
case may be, shall apply.
(7) Interest shall be deemed to arise in a
Contracting State when the payer is a resident of that State for the purposes
of its tax. Where, however, the person paying the interest, whether the person
is a resident of a Contracting State or not, has in a Contracting State a
permanent establishment or fixed base in connection with which the
indebtedness on which the interest is paid was incurred, and that interest is
borne by that permanent establishment or fixed base, then the interest shall
be deemed to arise in the State in which the permanent establishment or fixed
base is situated.
(8) Where, by reason of a special relationship between the
payer and the person beneficially entitled to the interest, or between both of
them and some other person, the amount of the interest paid, having regard to
the indebtedness for which it is paid, exceeds the amount which might
reasonably have been expected to have been agreed upon by the payer and the
person so entitled in the absence of that relationship, the provisions of this
Article shall apply only to the last-mentioned amount. In that case the excess
part of the amount of the interest paid shall remain taxable according to the
law of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the other provisions of
this Convention.
(9) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs (1),
(2), (3) and (4):
(a) interest that is paid by a resident of one of the
Contracting States and that is determined with reference to the profits of the
issuer or of one of its associated enterprises, as defined in
sub-paragraph (a) or (b) of paragraph (1) of Article 9 (Associated
Enterprises), being interest to which a resident of the other State is
beneficially entitled, also may be taxed in the Contracting State in which it
arises, and according to the laws of that State, at a rate not exceeding 15
percent of the gross amount of the interest; and
(b) interest that is paid
with respect to the ownership interests in a person used for the
securitization of real estate mortgages or other assets, to the extent that
the amount of interest paid exceeds the normal rate of return on
publicly-traded debt instruments with a similar risk profile, may be taxed by
each State in accordance with its domestic law.
(10) Where interest expense
is deductible in determining the profits, income or gains of a company
resident in one of the Contracting States, being profits, income or gains
which:
(a) are attributable to a permanent establishment of that company in
the other Contracting State; or
(b) may be taxed in the other Contracting
State under Article 6 (Income from Real Property) or paragraph (1) or (3)
of Article 13 (Alienation of Property),
and that interest expense exceeds the
interest paid by that permanent establishment or paid with respect to the debt
secured by real property located in the other Contracting State, the amount of
that excess shall be deemed to be interest arising in that other Contracting
State to which a resident of the first-mentioned Contracting State is
beneficially entitled.".
ARTICLE 8
Article 12 of the Convention is amended
by:
(a) omitting "10" and substituting "5" in paragraph (2); and
(b)
omitting sub-paragraph (a) of paragraph (4) and substituting:
"(a)
payments or credits of any kind to the extent to which they are consideration
for the use of or the right to use any:
(i) copyright, patent, design or
model, plan, secret formula or process, trademark or other like property or
right;
(ii) motion picture films; or
(iii) films or audio or video tapes or
disks, or any other means of image or sound reproduction or transmission for
use in connection with television, radio or other broadcasting;".
ARTICLE 9
Article 13 of the Convention is amended by:
(a) omitting paragraph (3)
and substituting:
"(3) Income or gains from the alienation of property, other
than real property, that forms part of the business property of a permanent
establishment which an enterprise of one of the Contracting States has in the
other Contracting State or pertains to a fixed base available in that other
State to a resident of the first-mentioned State for the purpose of performing
independent personal services, including income or gains from the alienation
of that permanent establishment (alone or with the whole enterprise) or of
that fixed base, may be taxed in that other State.
(4) Income or gains
derived by an enterprise of one of the Contracting States from the alienation
of ships, aircraft or containers operated or used in international traffic or
property, other than real property, pertaining to the operation or use of such
ships, aircraft, or containers shall be taxable only in that State.
(5) Where
an individual who, upon ceasing to be a resident of one of the Contracting
States, is treated under the taxation law of that State as having alienated
any property and is taxed in that State by reason thereof, the individual may
elect to be treated for the purposes of taxation in the other Contracting
State as if the individual had, immediately before ceasing to be a resident of
the first-mentioned State, alienated and re-acquired the property for an
amount equal to its fair market value at that time.
(6) An individual who
elects, under the taxation law of a Contracting State, to defer taxation on
income or gains relating to property which would otherwise be taxed in that
State upon the individual ceasing to be a resident of that State for the
purposes of its tax, shall, if the individual is a resident of the other
State, be taxable on income or gains from the subsequent alienation of that
property only in that other State.
(7) Except as provided in the preceding
paragraphs of this Article, each Contracting State may tax capital gains in
accordance with the provisions of its domestic law."; and
(b) renumbering
paragraph (4) as paragraph (8).
ARTICLE 10
Article 16 of the
Convention is omitted and the following Article is substituted:
"ARTICLE 16
Limitation on Benefits
(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Article, a
resident of one of the Contracting States that derives income from the other
Contracting State shall not be entitled to the benefits of this Convention
otherwise accorded to residents of one of the Contracting States unless such
resident is a "qualified person" as defined in paragraph (2).
(2) A
resident of one of the Contracting States shall be a qualified person for a
taxable year if the resident is:
(a) an individual;
(b) that State, any
political subdivision or local authority thereof or any agency or
instrumentality of such State;
(c) a company, if:
(i) the principal class of
its shares is listed on a recognized stock exchange specified in
sub-paragraph (a) or (b) of paragraph (6) of this Article and is
regularly traded on one or more recognized stock exchanges; or
(ii) at least
50 percent of the aggregate vote and value of the shares in the company is
owned directly or indirectly by five or fewer companies entitled to benefits
under clause (i) of this sub-paragraph, provided that, in the case of indirect
ownership, each intermediate owner is a resident of either Contracting State;
(d) a person other than an individual or a company, if:
(i) the principal
class of units in that person is listed or admitted to dealings on a
recognized stock exchange specified in sub-paragraph (a) or (b) of
paragraph (6) of this Article and is regularly traded on one or more of
the recognized stock exchanges; or
(ii) the direct or indirect owners of at
least 50 percent of the beneficial interests in that person are qualified
persons by reason of clause (i) of sub-paragraph (c) or clause (i) of
this sub-paragraph;
(e) an entity organized under the laws of one of the
Contracting States and established and maintained in that State exclusively
for a religious, charitable, educational, scientific, or other similar
purpose, even if the entity is generally exempt from tax in that State;
(f)
an entity organized under the laws of one of the Contracting States and
established and maintained in that State to provide, pursuant to a plan,
pensions or other similar benefits to employed and self-employed persons, even
if the entity is generally exempt from tax in that State, provided that more
than 50 percent of the entity's beneficiaries, members or participants are
individuals resident in either Contracting State;
(g) a person other than an
individual, if:
(i) on at least half the days of the taxable year persons
that are qualified persons by reason of sub-paragraph (a), (b), (c)(i),
or (d)(i) of this paragraph own, directly or indirectly, at least 50 percent
of the aggregate vote and value of the shares or other beneficial interests in
the person; and
(ii) less than 50 percent of the person's gross income for
the taxable year is paid or accrued, directly or indirectly, to persons who
are not residents of either Contracting State in the form of payments that are
deductible for purposes of the taxes covered by this Convention in the
person's State of residence (but not including arm's length payments in the
ordinary course of business for services or tangible property and payments in
respect of financial obligations to a bank, provided that where such a bank is
not a resident of one of the Contracting States such payment is attributable
to a permanent establishment of that bank located in one of the Contracting
States); or
(h) a recognized headquarters company for a multinational
corporate group. For purposes of this paragraph, a person shall be considered
a recognized headquarters company if:
(i) it provides in its State of
residence a substantial portion of the overall supervision and administration
of a group of companies (which may be part of a larger group of companies),
which may include, but cannot be principally, group financing;
(ii) the group
of companies consists of corporations resident in, and engaged in an active
business in, at least five countries (or groupings of countries), and the
business activities carried on in each of the five countries (or groupings of
countries) generate at least 10 percent of the gross income of the group;
(iii) the business activities carried on in any one country other than the
Contracting State of residence of the headquarters company generate less than
50 percent of the gross income of the group;
(iv) no more than 25 percent of
its gross income is derived from the other Contracting State;
(v) it has, and
exercises, independent discretionary authority to carry out the functions
referred to in sub-paragraph (i);
(vi) it is subject to generally
applicable rules of taxation in its country of residence; and
(vii) the
income derived in the other Contracting State either is derived in connection
with, or is incidental to, the active business referred to in
sub-paragraph (ii).
If the income requirements for being considered a
recognized headquarters company (sub-paragraphs (ii), (iii), or (iv)) are
not fulfilled, they will be deemed to be fulfilled if the required percentages
are met when averaging the gross income of the preceding four years.
(3) (a)
A resident of one of the Contracting States will be entitled to the benefits
of the Convention with respect to an item of income derived from the other
State, regardless of whether the resident is a qualified person, if the
resident is engaged in the active conduct of a trade or business in the
first-mentioned State (other than the business of making or managing
investments for the resident's own account, unless these activities are
banking, insurance or securities activities carried on by a bank, insurance
company or a registered, licensed or authorized securities dealer), and the
income derived from the other Contracting State is derived in connection with,
or is incidental to, that trade or business.
(b) If the resident or any of
its associated enterprises carries on a trade or business activity in the
other Contracting State which gives rise to an item of income,
sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph shall apply to such item only if the
trade or business activity in the first-mentioned State is substantial in
relation to the trade or business activity in the other State. Whether a trade
or business activity is substantial for purposes of this paragraph will be
determined based on all the facts and circumstances.
(c) In determining
whether a person is "engaged in the active conduct of a trade or business" in
a Contracting State under sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph, activities
conducted by a partnership in which that person is a partner and activities
conducted by persons connected to such person shall be deemed to be conducted
by such person. A person shall be connected to another if one possesses at
least 50 percent of the beneficial interest in the other (or, in the case of a
company, at least 50 percent of the aggregate vote and value of the company's
shares or of the beneficial equity interest in the company) or another person
possesses, directly or indirectly, at least 50 percent of the beneficial
interest (or, in the case of a company, at least 50 percent of the aggregate
vote and value of the company's shares or of the beneficial equity interest in
the company) in each person. In any case, a person shall be considered to be
connected to another if, based on all the relevant facts and circumstances,
one has control of the other or both are under the control of the same person
or persons.
(4) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, if
a company that is a resident of one of the Contracting States, or a company
that owns at least 50 percent of the aggregate vote or value of such a
company, has outstanding a class of shares:
(a) which is subject to terms or
other arrangements which entitle its holders to a portion of the income of the
company derived from the other Contracting State that is larger than the
portion such holders would receive absent such terms or arrangements ("the
disproportionate part of the income"); and
(b) 50 percent or more of the
voting power and value of which is owned by persons who are not qualified
persons,
the benefits of this Convention shall not apply to the
disproportionate part of the income.
(5) A resident of one of the Contracting
States that is not a qualified person pursuant to the provisions of
paragraph (2) of this Article shall, nevertheless, be granted benefits of
the Convention if the competent authority of the other Contracting State
determines, in accordance with the law of that other State, that the
establishment, acquisition or maintenance of such person and the conduct of
its operations did not have as one of its principal purposes the obtaining of
benefits under the Convention.
(6) For purposes of this Article the term
"recognized stock exchange" means:
(a) the NASDAQ System owned by the
National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc., and any stock exchange
registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a national
securities exchange under the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934;
(b) the Australian Stock Exchange and any other Australian stock exchange
recognized as such under Australian law; and
(c) any other stock exchange agreed upon by the competent authorities.
(7) Nothing in this Article shall be construed as restricting, in any
manner, the right of a Contracting State to apply any anti-avoidance
provisions of its taxation law.".
ARTICLE 11
Article 21 of the
Convention is omitted and the following Article is substituted:
"ARTICLE 21
Other Income
(1) Items of income of a resident of one of
the Contracting States, wherever arising, not dealt with in the
foregoing Articles of this Convention shall be taxable only in that
State.
(2) The provisions of paragraph (1) shall not apply to
income, other than income from real property as defined in
paragraph (2) of Article 6 (Income from Real Property), derived
by a resident of one of the Contracting States where that income is
effectively connected with a permanent establishment or fixed base
situated in the other Contracting State. In that case the provisions
of Article 7 (Business Profits) or Article 14 (Independent Personal
Services), as the case may be, shall apply.
(3) Notwithstanding the
provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2), items of income of a
resident of one of the Contracting States not dealt with in the
foregoing Articles of this Convention from sources in the other
Contracting State may also be taxed in the other Contracting State.".
ARTICLE 12
Article 22 of the Convention is amended by omitting in
paragraph (1) "sub-paragraph (1)(b)" and substituting
"sub-paragraph (1)(b)(i)" in each place it occurs.
ARTICLE 13
(1) This Protocol shall be subject to ratification in accordance with
the applicable procedures of each Contracting State, and instruments
of ratification shall be exchanged as soon as possible.
(2) This
Protocol, which shall form an integral part of the Convention, shall
enter into force upon the exchange of instruments of ratification and
its provisions shall have effect:
(a) in Australia:
(i) in respect
of withholding tax on dividends, royalties and interest that is
derived by a non-resident, in relation to income derived on or after
the later of:
(A) the first day of the second month next following
the date on which the Protocol enters into force; or
(B) 1 July,
2003;
(ii) in respect of other Australian tax, in relation to income,
profits or gains of any year of income beginning on or after
1 July in the calendar year next following that in which the
Protocol enters into force; and
(b) in the United States:
(i) in
respect of withholding tax on dividends, royalties and interest that
is derived by a non-resident, in relation to income derived on or
after the later of:
(A) the first day of the second month next
following the date on which the Protocol enters into force; or
(B)
1 July, 2003;
(ii) in respect of other taxes, for taxable
periods beginning on or after 1 January in the calendar year next
following that in which the Protocol enters into force.
(3)
Notwithstanding paragraph (2), Article 6 of this Protocol shall
not apply to dividends paid by a REIT if the person beneficially
entitled to the dividends is an LAPT (as defined in paragraph (4)
of Article 10 (Dividends) of the Convention as amended by this
Protocol) and the shares in respect of which the dividends are paid
were:
(a) owned by the LAPT on March 26, 2001;
(b) acquired by the
LAPT pursuant to a binding contract entered into on or before March
26, 2001; or
(c) acquired by the LAPT pursuant to a reinvestment of
dividends (ordinary or capital) with respect to such shares.
In such
case, the provisions of Article 10 (Dividends), as it was on March 26,
2001, shall apply.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly
authorized, have signed this Protocol.
DONE in duplicate at Canberra,
this twenty-seventh day of September 2001.
FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF FOR
THE GOVERNMENT AUSTRALIA: OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA:
PETER
COSTELLO J THOMAS SCHIEFFER
[Signatures omitted]
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