Australian Tax Treaties

Singaporean Agreement  

AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA AND THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION AND THE PREVENTION OF FISCAL EVASION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME  

ARTICLE 2  

1.    
In this Agreement, unless the context otherwise requires -

(a) the term " the Commonwealth " means the Commonwealth of Australia;

(b) the term " Australia " means the whole of the Commonwealth and includes -

(i) the Territory of Norfolk Island;

(ii) the Territory of Christmas Island;

(iii) the Territory of Cocos (Keeling) Islands;

(iv) the Territory of Ashmore and Cartier Islands;

(v) any territory which, subsequent to the date of signature of this Agreement, becomes a Territory of the Commonwealth; and

(vi) any area outside the territorial limits of the Commonwealth and the said Territories in respect of which there is for the time being in force a law of the Commonwealth or of a State or part of the Commonwealth or of a Territory aforesaid dealing with the exploitation of any of the natural resources of the sea-bed and sub-soil of the continental shelf;

(c) the term " Singapore " means the Republic of Singapore;

(d) the terms " Contracting State " , " one of the Contracting States " , and " other Contracting State " mean Australia or Singapore, as the context requires;

(e) the terms " Australian tax " and " Singapore tax " mean tax imposed by the Commonwealth and tax imposed by Singapore respectively, being tax to which this Agreement applies by virtue of Article 1 ;

(f) the term " company " includes any body or association which is treated as a company for tax purposes;

(g) the term " competent authority " means, in the case of Australia, the Commissioner of Taxation or his authorised representative and in the case of Singapore, the Minister for Finance or his authorised representative;

(h) the term " enterprise " includes undertaking;

(i) the term " Malaysian company " means a company which, for the purposes of income tax in Malaysia, is resident in Malaysia;

(j) the term " person " includes an individual, a company and any body of persons, corporate or not corporate;

(k) the terms " profits of a Singapore enterprise " and " profits of an Australian enterprise " mean profits of a Singapore enterprise or profits of an Australian enterprise respectively, but do not include -

(i) dividends, interest (as defined in Article 9 ), or royalties (including those payments which come within the meaning of " royalties " for the purposes of Article 10 ) other than such dividends, interest or royalties that are effectively connected with a trade or business carried on through a permanent establishment in one of the Contracting States by an enterprise of the other Contracting State;

(ii) rent;

(iii) remuneration or other income for personal (including professional) services;

(iv) profits from the operation of ships or aircraft;

(v) payments to the extent to which they are received as consideration for the use of, or the right to use, motion picture films, literary, dramatic, musical or artistic copyrights, films or video tapes for use in connection with television or tapes for use in connection with radio broadcasting; or

(vi) payments to the extent to which they are received as consideration for the supply of scientific, technical, industrial or commercial knowledge, information or assistance (other than those payments which come within the meaning of " royalties " for the purposes of Article 10 );

(l) the term " resident in Singapore " has the meaning which it has under the laws of Singapore relating to Singapore tax; and the term " resident of Australia " has the meaning which it has under the laws of the Commonwealth relating to Australian tax;

(m) the term " tax " means Australian tax or Singapore tax, as the context requires;

(n) words in the singular include the plural and words in the plural include the singular.

2.    
The terms " Australian tax " and " Singapore tax " do not include any amount which represents a penalty or interest imposed under the law in force in Australia or Singapore relating to the taxes to which this Agreement applies.

3.    
Where under this Agreement income is relieved from tax in one of the Contracting States, and, under the law in force in the other Contracting State, a person, in respect of the said income, is subject to tax by reference to the amount thereof which is remitted to or received in that other Contracting State and not by reference to the full amount thereof, then the relief to be allowed under this Agreement in the first-mentioned Contracting State shall apply only to so much of the income as is remitted to or received in the other Contracting State.

4.    
Unless the context otherwise requires, any term of this Agreement not otherwise defined shall have, in a Contracting State, the meaning which it has under the laws in that Contracting State from time to time in force relating to the taxes to which this Agreement applies.