The Double Taxation Relief and International Tax Enforcement (Austria) Order 2019

Type Statutory-Instrument
Publication 2019-02-13
State In force
Department Queen's Printer of Acts of Parliament
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articles 2
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Made: 13th February 2019

At the Court at Buckingham Palace, the 13th day of February 2019Present,The Queen’s Most Excellent Majesty in Council

Accordingly, Her Majesty, in exercising the powers conferred upon Her by section 2 of the Taxation (International and Other Provisions) Act 2010 and section 173(1) to (3) of the Finance Act 2006, by and with the advice of Her Privy Council, orders as follows—

Citation

1

This Order may be cited as the Double Taxation Relief and International Tax Enforcement (Austria) Order 2019.

Double taxation and international enforcement arrangements to have effect

2

It is declared that—

SCHEDULE

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Austria;

Intending to conclude a Convention for the elimination of double taxation with respect to taxes on income and on capital gains without creating opportunities for non-taxation or reduced taxation through tax evasion or avoidance (including through treaty-shopping arrangements aimed at obtaining reliefs provided in this Convention for the indirect benefit of residents of third States);

Have agreed as follows:

This Convention shall apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the Contracting States.

(hereinafter referred to as “Austrian tax“);

(hereinafter referred to as “United Kingdom tax”).

where such rental or such use, maintenance or rental, as the case may be, is incidental to the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic.

and in either case conditions are made or imposed between the two enterprises in their commercial or financial relations which differ from those which would be made between independent enterprises, then any profits which would, but for those conditions, have accrued to one of the enterprises, but, by reason of those conditions, have not so accrued, may be included in the profits of that enterprise and taxed accordingly.

This paragraph shall not affect the taxation of the company in respect of the profits out of which the dividends are paid.

The competent authorities of the Contracting States may agree to regard as a relevant investment vehicle similar arrangements or entities established in a Contracting State.

Directors’ fees and other similar payments derived by a resident of a Contracting State in his capacity as a member of the board of directors of a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.

be treated in that State in the same way and subject to the same conditions and limitations as contributions made to a pension scheme that is recognised for tax purposes in the host state, to the extent that they are not so treated by the home state.

Any tax paid by the trustees or personal representatives in respect of the income paid to the beneficiary shall be treated as if it had been paid by the beneficiary.

Double taxation shall be eliminated as follows:

Such deduction shall not, however, exceed that part of the income tax, as computed before the deduction is given, which is attributable, as the case may be, to the income or the capital gains which may be taxed in the United Kingdom.

any unresolved issues arising from the case shall be submitted to arbitration if the person so requests. These unresolved issues shall not, however, be submitted to arbitration if a decision on these issues has already been rendered by a court or administrative tribunal of either State. Unless a person directly affected by the case does not accept the mutual agreement that implements the arbitration decision, that decision shall be binding on both Contracting States and shall be implemented notwithstanding any time limits in the domestic laws of these States. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall by mutual agreement settle the mode of application of this paragraph.

the competent authority of the first-mentioned State shall promptly notify the competent authority of the other State of that fact and, at the option of the other State, the first- mentioned State shall either suspend or withdraw its request.

Nothing in this Convention shall affect the fiscal privileges of members of diplomatic missions or consular posts under the general rules of international law or under the provisions of special agreements.

This Convention shall remain in force until terminated by one of the Contracting States. Either Contracting State may terminate the Convention, through diplomatic channels, by giving written notice of termination at least six months before the end of any calendar year beginning after the expiry of five years from the date of entry into force of this Convention. In such event, the Convention shall cease to have effect:

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, duly authorised thereto, have signed this Convention.

DONE in duplicate at Vienna this 23rd day of October 2018 in the German and English languages, each text being equally authoritative.

At the moment of signing the Convention for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital gains, this day concluded between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Republic of Austria, the undersigned have agreed that the following provisions shall form an integral part of the Convention.

1 With reference to paragraph 2 of Article 11 (Interest) It is understood that the term “interest” does not include any item which is treated as a dividend under the provisions of Article 10.

2 With reference to Article 11 (Interest) Notwithstanding the provisions of Article 11 of the Convention, interest may be taxed in the Contracting States in which it arises, and according to the law of that State, a if it is derived from debt-claims carrying a right to participate in profits, including income derived by a silent partner (“stiller Gesellschafter”) from his participation as such, or from a loan with an interest rate linked to borrower’s profit (“partiarisches Darlehen”) or from profit sharing bonds (“Gewinnobligationen”) within the meaning of the tax law of Austria; and b under the condition that it is deductible in the determination of profits of the debtor.

3 With reference to paragraph 3 of Article 16 (Artistes and Sportsmen) It is understood that paragraph 3 shall also apply to legal entities which are, or operate, orchestras, theatres, ballet groups as well as to members of such cultural entities if such legal entities are generally non-profit entities and if this is certified by the Competent Authority of the State of which the entity is a resident.

4 With reference to paragraph 4 of Article 20 (Other Income) a For the purposes of paragraph 4 such income shall also include payment for damage resulting from crimes, vaccinations or similar reasons. b The income mentioned in this paragraph shall not be taken into consideration when applying the exemption with progression method.

5 With reference to Articles 23 (Mutual Agreement Procedure) and 25 (Assistance in the Collection of Taxes) It is understood that the provisions of Articles 23 and 25 shall have effect from the date of entry into force of the Convention without regard to the taxable or chargeable period to which the matter refers.

6 With reference to Article 24 (Exchange of Information) a The competent authority of the applicant State shall provide the following information to the competent authority of the requested State when making a request for information under the Convention to demonstrate the foreseeable relevance of the information to the request: i the identity of the person under examination or investigation; ii a statement of the information sought including its nature and the form in which the applicant State wishes to receive the information from the requested State; iii the tax purpose for which the information is sought; iv grounds for believing that the information requested is held in the requested State or is in the possession or control of a person within the jurisdiction of the requested State; v to the extent known, the name and address of any person believed to be in possession of the requested information; vi a statement that the applicant State has pursued all means available in its own territory to obtain the information, except those that would give rise to disproportionate difficulties. b It is understood that the standard of ‘foreseeable relevance’ is intended to provide for exchange of information in tax matters to the widest possible extent and, at the same time, to clarify that Contracting States are not at liberty to engage in ‘fishing expeditions’ or to request information that is unlikely to be relevant to the tax affairs of a given taxpayer.

7 Interpretation of the Convention a It is understood that provisions of the Convention which are drafted according to the corresponding provisions of the OECD Model Convention on Income and on Capital shall generally be expected to have the same meaning as expressed in the OECD Commentaries thereon as they may be revised from time to time. The understanding in the preceding sentence will not apply with respect to the following: i observations to the OECD Commentaries maintained by either Contracting State other than observations made after the signature of this Convention on Commentaries that existed before its signature; ii any contrary interpretations in this Protocol; iii any contrary interpretation in a published explanation by one of the Contracting States that has been provided to the competent authority of the other Contracting State before the signature of the Convention; iv any contrary interpretation agreed by the competent authorities after signature of the Convention. The OECD Commentaries – as they may be revised from time to time – constitute a means of interpretation in the sense of the Vienna Convention of 23 May 1969 on the Law of Treaties. b Improper use of this Convention Having regard to the Commentary to Article 1 of the OECD Model Convention on Income and on Capital on “Improper use of the Convention” (as it may be revised from time to time), it is understood that this Convention shall not be interpreted to mean that a Contracting State is prevented from applying its domestic legal provisions on the prevention of tax evasion or tax avoidance where those provisions are used to challenge arrangements which constitute an abuse of the Convention. IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, duly authorised thereto, have signed this Protocol. DONE in duplicate at Vienna this 23rd day of October 2018 in the English and German languages, each text being equally authoritative.

Signed

Richard Tilbrook — Clerk of the Privy Council

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Order)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

The Schedule to the Order contains a Convention and Protocol (“the Arrangements”) between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Republic of Austria dealing with the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of tax evasion and avoidance. The Order brings the Arrangements into effect.

The Arrangements aim to eliminate the double taxation of income and gains arising in one country and paid to residents of the other country. This is done by allocating the taxing rights that each country has under its domestic law over the same income and gains, and/or by providing relief from double taxation. There are also specific measures which combat discriminatory tax treatment and provide for assistance in international tax enforcement.

Article 1 provides for citation.

Article 2 makes a declaration as to the effect and content of the Arrangements.

The Arrangements will enter into force on the date of the later of the notifications by each country of the completion of its legislative procedures.

The Arrangements will take effect as follows:

The date of entry into force will, in due course, be published in the London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes.

A Tax Information and Impact Note has not been produced for the Order as it gives effect to a double taxation agreement. Double taxation agreements impose no obligations on taxpayers, rather they seek to eliminate double taxation and fiscal evasion.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2010 c.8.

[^f00002]: 2006 c. 25.

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