Australian Tax Treaties

Canadian Convention  

CONVENTION BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND CANADA FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION AND THE PREVENTION OF FISCAL EVASION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME  

CHAPTER III - TAXATION OF INCOME  

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 the tax so charged shall not exceed:

(a)

(i) in the case of dividends paid by a company that is a resident of Australia for the purposes of its tax, 5 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends, to the extent to which the dividends have been fully franked in accordance with the law of Australia, if a company that holds directly at least 10 per cent of the voting power of the company paying the dividends is beneficially entitled to those dividends; and

(ii) in the case of dividends paid by a company that is a resident of Canada for the purposes of its tax, except in the case of dividends paid by a non-resident-owned investment corporation that is a resident of Canada for the purposes of its tax, 5 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends if a company that controls directly or indirectly at least 10 per cent of the voting power in the company paying the dividends is beneficially entitled to those dividends; and

(b) 15 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends in all other cases,

and if the relevant law of either Contracting State is varied in a manner that bears upon 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)    
Dividends paid by a company which is a resident of one of the Contracting States, being dividends to which a person who is not a resident of the other Contracting State is beneficially entitled, shall be exempt from tax in that other State except insofar as the holding in respect of which the dividends are paid is effectively connected with a permanent establishment or a fixed base situated in that other State. Provided that this paragraph shall not apply in relation to dividends paid by any company which is a resident of Australia for the purposes of Australian tax and which is also a resident of Canada for the purposes of Canadian tax.

(4)    
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.

(5)    
The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not apply if the person beneficially entitled to the dividends, being a resident of one of the Contracting States, carries on business through a permanent establishment situated in the other Contracting State, or performs professional services from a fixed base situated in that other State, being the State of which the company paying the dividends is a resident and the holding in respect of which the dividends are paid is effectively connected with that permanent establishment or fixed base. In such a case, the provisions of Article 7 or 14 , as the case may be, shall apply.

(6)    
Canada may impose, on the earnings attributable to a permanent establishment in Canada of a company which is a resident of Australia or on the earnings of such company attributable to the alienation of real property situated in Canada where the company is carrying on a trade in real property, a tax (in this paragraph referred to as a " branch tax " ) in addition to the tax that would be chargeable on the earnings of a company that is a resident of Canada, except that any branch tax so imposed shall not exceed 5 per cent of the amount of such earnings that have not been subjected to such branch tax in previous taxation years. For the purposes of this provision, the term " earnings " means the earnings attributable to the alienation of such real property situated in Canada as may be taxed by Canada under the provisions of Article 6 or paragraph (1) of Article 13 , and the profits, including any gains, attributable to a permanent establishment in Canada in a year and previous years after deducting therefrom all other taxes, other than the branch tax referred to herein, imposed on such profits in Canada.

(7)    
Australia may impose an income tax (in this paragraph called a " branch profits tax " ) on the reduced taxable income of a company that is a resident of Canada in addition to the income tax (in this paragraph called " the general income tax " ) payable by the company in respect of its taxable income; provided that any branch profits tax so imposed in respect of a year of income shall not exceed 5 per cent of the amount by which the reduced taxable income of that year of income exceeds the general income tax payable in respect of the reduced taxable income of that year of income.