Australian Tax Treaties

Icelandic Convention  

CONVENTION BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND ICELAND FOR THE ELIMINATION OF DOUBLE TAXATION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME AND THE PREVENTION OF TAX EVASION AND AVOIDANCE  

CHAPTER III - TAXATION OF INCOME  

ARTICLE 11   Interest  

1.    
Interest arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.

2.    
However, interest arising in a Contracting State may also be taxed in that State according to the laws of that State, but if the beneficial owner of the interest is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of the interest.

3.    
Notwithstanding paragraph 2 , interest arising in a Contracting State and beneficially owned by a resident of the other Contracting State shall not be taxed in the first-mentioned State if the interest is derived by:

(a)    a Contracting State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof (including a government investment fund);

(b)    the Reserve Bank of Australia or the Central bank of Iceland;

(c)    in the case of Australia, a recognised pension fund of Australia or a resident of Australia deriving such interest from the carrying on of complying superannuation activities;

(d)    in the case of Iceland, a recognised pension fund of Iceland whose income is exempt from Icelandic tax; or

(e)    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.    
Notwithstanding paragraph 3 :

(a)    interest referred to in subparagraphs (a) , (b) , (c) and (d) of that paragraph may be taxed in the Contracting State in which it arises at a rate not exceeding 10 per cent of the gross amount of the interest if the beneficial owner of the interest is able to directly or indirectly determine the identity of one or more persons who make the decisions that comprise the control and direction of the operations of the issuer of the debt-claim.

(b)    interest referred to in subparagraph (e) of that paragraph may be taxed in the State in which it arises at a rate not exceeding 10 per cent 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.

5.    
The term " interest " as used in this Article means income from debt-claims of every kind, whether or not secured by mortgage and whether or not carrying a right to participate in the debtor ' s profits, and in particular, income from government securities and income from bonds or debentures, 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.

6.    
The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 , subparagraph (e) of paragraph 3 and paragraph 4 of this Article shall not apply if the beneficial owner of the interest, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other Contracting State in which the interest arises through a permanent establishment situated therein and the debt-claim in respect of which the interest is paid is effectively connected with such permanent establishment. In such case the provisions of Article 7 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 or outside both Contracting States a permanent establishment in connection with which the indebtedness on which the interest is paid was incurred, and such interest is borne by such permanent establishment, then such interest shall be deemed to arise in the State in which the permanent establishment is situated.

8.    
Where, by reason of a special relationship between the payer and the beneficial owner or between both of them and some other person, the amount of the interest, having regard to the debt-claim for which it is paid, exceeds the amount which might have been expected to have been agreed upon by the payer and the beneficial owner in the absence of such relationship, the provisions of this Article shall apply only to the last-mentioned amount. In such case, the excess part of the payments shall remain taxable according to the laws of each Contracting State, due regard being had to the other provisions of this Convention.