DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH IRELAND ORDER
Table of Provisions (10)
Statutory Text (10 Articles)
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF
ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH IRELAND
SUBSIDIARY LEGISLATION 123.105
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF ON TAXES ON
INCOME WITH IRELAND ORDER
15th January, 2009
LEGAL NOTICE 62 of 2009, as modified by S.L.123.183 * .
The title of this order is the Double Taxation Relief on
Taxes on Income with Ireland Order.
CONVENTION
BETWEEN MALTA AND IRELAND
FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION
AND THE PREVENTION OF FISCAL EVASION
WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME
The Government of Malta and the Government of Ireland, desiring to conclude a
Convention for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion
with respect to taxes on income, have agreed as follows
Article 1
PERSONS COVERED
This Convention shall apply to persons who are residents of one or both of the
Contracting States.
Article 2
TAXES COVERED
1. This Convention shall apply to taxes on income imposed by a Contracting
State, irrespective of the manner in which they are levied.
2. There shall be regarded as taxes on income all taxes imposed on total
income, or on elements of income, including taxes on gains from the alienation of
movable or immovable property.
It is hereby declared
(a) that the arrangements specified in the Convention set
out in the Schedule to this Order have been made with
Ireland with a view to affording relief from double
taxation in relation to the following taxes imposed by
the laws of Ireland
-
the income tax;
-
the corporation tax; and
-
the capital gains tax;
(b) that it is expedient that those arrangements should
have effect;
(c) that the Convention has entered into force on the 15
January, 2009.
*https://cfr.gov.mt/en/inlandrevenue/itu/Documents/Malta%20-%20Ire-
land%20DTA%20(synthesised%20text).pdf
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF
ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH IRELAND
The existing taxes to which this Convention shall apply are
(a) in the case of Ireland
(i) the income tax;
(ii) the corporation tax;
(iii) the capital gains tax;
(hereinafter referred to as "Irish tax");
(b) in the case of Malta
the income tax;
(hereinafter referred to as "Malta tax").
The Convention shall apply also to any identical or substantially similar
taxes which are imposed after the date of signature of the Convention in addition to,
or in place of, the existing taxes. The competent authorities of the Contracting States
shall notify each other of any significant changes which have been made in their
respective taxation laws.
Article 3
GENERAL DEFINITIONS
1. For the purposes of this Convention, unless the context otherwise requires
(a) the term "Ireland" includes any area outside the territorial waters of
Ireland which, in accordance with international law, has been or may
hereafter be designated under the laws of Ireland concerning the
Continental Shelf, as an area within which the rights of Ireland with
respect to the sea-bed and sub-soil and their natural resources may be
exercised;
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF
ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH IRELAND
(b) the term "Malta" means the Republic of Malta and, when used in a
geographical sense, means the Island of Malta, the Island of Gozo and
the other islands of the Maltese archipelago including the territorial
waters thereof, as well as any area of the sea-bed, its sub-soil and the
superjacent water column adjacent to the territorial waters, wherein
Malta exercises sovereign rights, jurisdiction, or control in accordance
with international law and its national law, including its legislation
relating to the exploration of the continental shelf and exploitation of its
natural resources;
(c) the terms "a Contracting State" and "the other Contracting State" mean
Ireland or Malta, as the context requires;
(d) the term "person" includes an individual, a company and any other body
of persons;
(e) the term "company" means any body corporate or any entity that is
treated as a body corporate for tax purposes;
(f) the terms "enterprise of a Contracting State" and "enterprise of the other
Contracting State" mean respectively an enterprise carried on by a
resident of a Contracting State and an enterprise carried on by a resident
of the other Contracting State;
(g) the term "international traffic" means any transport by a ship or aircraft
operated by an enterprise of a Contracting State, except when the ship
or aircraft is operated solely between places in the other Contracting
State;
(h) the term "competent authority" means
(i) in Ireland: the Revenue Commissioners or their authorised
representative;
(ii) in Malta: the Minister responsible for finance or his authorised
representative;
(i) the term " national" means
(i) in relation to Ireland, any citizen of Ireland and any legal person,
partnership or association deriving its status as such from the
laws in force in Ireland;
(ii) in relation to Malta, any individual possessing the nationality of
Malta and any legal person, partnership or association deriving its
status as such from the laws in force in Malta.
2. As regards the application of the Convention at any time by a Contracting
State, any term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have
the meaning that it has at that time under the law of that State for the purposes of the
taxes to which the Convention applies, any meaning under the applicable tax laws of
that State prevailing over a meaning given to the term under other laws of that State.
Article 4
RESIDENT
1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "resident of a Contracting
State" means any person who, under the laws of that State, is liable to tax therein by
reason of his domicile, residence, place of management or any other criterion of a
similar nature. This term, however, does not include any person who is liable to tax
in that State in respect only of income from sources in that State.
2. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 an individual is a resident
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF
ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH IRELAND
of both Contracting States, then his status shall be determined as follows
(a) he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State in which he has a
permanent home available to him; if he has a permanent home available
to him in both States, he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the
State with which his personal and economic relations are closer (centre
of vital interests);
(b) if the State in which he has his centre of vital interests cannot be
determined, or if he has not a permanent home available to him in either
State, he shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State in which he
has an habitual abode;
(c) if he has an habitual abode in both States or in neither of them, he shall
be deemed to be a resident only of the State of which he is a national;
(d) if he is a national of both States or of neither of them, the competent
authorities of the Contracting States shall settle the question by mutual
agreement.
3. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 a person other than an
individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then it shall be deemed to be a
resident only of the State in which its place of effective management is situated.
Article 5
PERMANENT ESTABLISHMENT
1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "permanent establishment"
means a fixed place of business through which the business of an enterprise is
wholly or partly carried on.
2. The term "permanent establishment" includes especially
(a)
a place of management;
(b)
a branch;
(c)
an office;
(d)
a factory;
(e)
a workshop; and
(f)
a mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry or any other place of extraction of
natural resources.
3. A person carrying on activities offshore in a Contracting State in connection
with the exploration or exploitation of the sea-bed and sub-soil and their natural
resources situated in that Contracting State shall be deemed to be carrying on a
business through a permanent establishment in that Contracting State.
4. A building site, a construction, assembly or installation project or
supervisory activities in connection therewith, constitutes a permanent establishment
only if it lasts more than six months.
Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, the term
"permanent establishment" shall be deemed not to include
(a) the use of facilities solely for the purpose of storage, display or delivery
of goods or merchandise belonging to the enterprise;
(b) the maintenance of a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the
enterprise solely for the purpose of storage, display or delivery;
(c) the maintenance of a stock of goods or merchandise belonging to the
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF
ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH IRELAND
enterprise solely for the purpose of processing by another enterprise;
(d) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for the purpose of
purchasing goods or merchandise, or of collecting information, for the
enterprise;
(e) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for the purpose of
carrying on, for the enterprise, any other activity of a preparatory or
auxiliary character;
(f) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely for any combination
of activities mentioned in sub-paragraphs (a) to (e), provided that the
overall activity of the fixed place of business resulting from this
combination is of a preparatory or auxiliary character.
Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2, where a person -
other than an agent of an independent status to whom paragraph 7 applies - is acting
on behalf of an enterprise and has, and habitually exercises, in a Contracting State an
authority to conclude contracts in the name of the enterprise, that enterprise shall be
deemed to have a permanent establishment in that State in respect of any activities
which that person undertakes for the enterprise, unless the activities of such person
are limited to those mentioned in paragraph 5 which, if exercised through a fixed
place of business, would not make this fixed place of business a permanent
establishment under the provisions of that paragraph.
An enterprise shall not be deemed to have a permanent establishment in a
Contracting State merely because it carries on business in that State through a
broker, general commission agent or any other agent of an independent status,
provided that such persons are acting in the ordinary course of their business.
The fact that a company which is a resident of a Contracting State controls
or is controlled by a company which is a resident of the other Contracting State, or
which carries on business in that other State (whether through a permanent
establishment or otherwise), shall not of itself constitute either company a
permanent establishment of the other.
Article 6
INCOME FROM IMMOVABLE PROPERTY
1. Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from immovable
property (including income from agriculture or forestry) situated in the other
Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
2. The term "immovable property" shall have the meaning which it has under
the law of the Contracting State in which the property in question is situated. The
term shall in any case include property accessory to immovable property, livestock
and equipment used in agriculture and forestry, rights to which the provisions of
general law respecting landed property apply, usufruct of immovable property and
rights to variable or fixed payments as consideration for the working of, or the right
to work, mineral deposits, sources and other natural resources; ships, boats and
aircraft shall not be regarded as immovable property.
3. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall apply to income derived from the direct
use, letting, or use in any other form of immovable property.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 3 shall also apply to the income from
immovable property of an enterprise and to income from immovable property used
for the performance of independent personal services.
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF
ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH IRELAND
Article 7
BUSINESS PROFITS
1. The profits of an enterprise of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in
that State unless the enterprise carries on business in the other Contracting State
through a permanent establishment situated therein. If the enterprise carries on
business as aforesaid, the profits of the enterprise may be taxed in the other State but
only so much of them as is attributable to that permanent establishment.
2. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3, where an enterprise of a
Contracting State carries on business in the other Contracting State through a
permanent establishment situated therein, there shall in each Contracting State be
attributed to that permanent establishment the profits which it might be expected to
make if it were a distinct and separate enterprise engaged in the same or similar
activities under the same or similar conditions and dealing wholly independently
with the enterprise of which it is a permanent establishment.
3. In determining the profits of a permanent establishment, there shall be
allowed as deductions expenses which are incurred for the purposes of the
permanent establishment, including executive and general administrative expenses
so incurred, whether in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment
is situated or elsewhere.
4. Insofar as it has been customary in a Contracting State to determine the
profits to be attributed to a permanent establishment on the basis of an
apportionment of the total profits of the enterprise to its various parts, nothing in
paragraph 2 shall preclude that Contracting State from determining the profits to be
taxed by such an apportionment as may be customary; the method of apportionment
adopted shall, however, be such that the result shall be in accordance with the
principles contained in this Article.
5. No profits shall be attributed to a permanent establishment by reason of the
mere purchase by that permanent establishment of goods or merchandise for the
enterprise.
6. For the purposes of the preceding paragraphs, the profits to be attributed to
the permanent establishment shall be determined by the same method year by year
unless there is good and sufficient reason to the contrary.
7. Where profits include items of income or gains which are dealt with
separately in other Articles of this Convention, then the provisions of those Articles
shall not be affected by the provisions of this Article.
Article 8
SHIPPING AND AIR TRANSPORT
1. Profits of an enterprise of a Contracting State from the operation of ships or
aircraft in international traffic shall be taxable only in that State.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall also apply to profits from the
participation in a pool, a joint business or an international operating agency.
Article 9
ASSOCIATED ENTERPRISES
1. Where
(a) an enterprise of a Contracting State participates directly or indirectly in
the management, control or capital of an enterprise of the other
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF
ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH IRELAND
Contracting State, or
(b) the same persons participate directly or indirectly in the management,
control or capital of an enterprise of a Contracting State and an
enterprise of the other Contracting State,
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.
2. Where a Contracting State includes in the profits of an enterprise of that
State - and taxes accordingly - profits on which an enterprise of the other
Contracting State has been charged to tax in that other State and the profits so
included are profits which would have accrued to the enterprise of the first-
mentioned State if the conditions made between the two enterprises had been those
which would have been made between independent enterprises, then that other State
shall make an appropriate adjustment to the amount of the tax charged therein on
those profits. In determining such adjustment, due regard shall be had to the other
provisions of this Convention and the competent authorities of the Contracting
States shall if necessary consult each other.
Article 10
DIVIDENDS
1. Dividends paid by a company which is a resident of a Contracting State to a
resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
2. However, such dividends may also be taxed in the Contracting State of
which the company paying the dividends is a resident and according to the laws of
that State, but
(a) where the dividends are paid by a company which is a resident of
Ireland to a resident of Malta who is the beneficial owner thereof, the
Irish tax so charged shall not exceed
(i) 5 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends if the beneficial
owner is a company which holds directly at least 10 per cent of
the voting power of the company paying the dividends;
(ii) 15 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends in all other cases;
(b) where the dividends are paid by a company which is a resident of Malta
to a resident of Ireland who is the beneficial owner thereof, Malta tax on
the gross amount of the dividend shall not exceed that chargeable on the
profits out of which the dividends are paid.
This paragraph shall not affect the taxation of the company in respect of the
profits out of which the dividends are paid.
3. The term "dividends" as used in this Article means income from shares, or
other rights, not being debt-claims, participating in profits, as well as income from
other corporate rights assimilated to income from shares by the taxation laws of the
State of which the company making the distribution is a resident and also includes
any other item which, under the laws of the Contracting State of which the company
paying the dividend is a resident, is treated as a dividend or distribution of a
company.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF
ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH IRELAND
of the dividends, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the
other Contracting State of which the company paying the dividends is a resident,
through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in that other State
independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and the holding in
respect of which the dividends are paid is effectively connected with such permanent
establishment or fixed base. In such case the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as
the case may be, shall apply.
5. 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 company, except insofar as such dividends are paid to a
resident of that other State or 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, nor subject the company's undistributed profits to a tax
on the company’s undistributed profits, even if the dividends paid or the
undistributed profits consist wholly or partly of profits or income arising in such
other State.
Article 11
INTEREST
1. Interest arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other
Contracting State shall be taxable only in that other State if such resident is the
beneficial owner of the interest.
2. 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, including premiums and prizes
attaching to such securities, bonds or debentures. The term “interest” shall not
include any item which is treated as a distribution under the provisions of Article 10.
Penalty charges for late payment shall not be regarded as interest for the purpose of
this Article.
3. The provisions of paragraph 1 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, or performs in that other State independent personal services from a
fixed base situated therein, and the debt-claim in respect of which the interest is paid
is effectively connected with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such
case the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
4. 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 would 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.
Article 12
ROYALTIES
1. Royalties arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other
Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
2. However, such royalties may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF
ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH IRELAND
they arise and according to the laws of that State, but if the beneficial owner of the
royalties is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not
exceed 5 per cent of the gross amount of the royalties.
3. The term "royalties" as used in this Article means payments of any kind
received as a consideration for the use of, or the right to use, any copyright of
literary, artistic or scientific work including cinematograph films, any patent, trade
mark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process, or for information
concerning industrial, commercial or scientific experience.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply if the beneficial owner
of the royalties, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the
other Contracting State in which the royalties arise, through a permanent
establishment situated therein, or performs in that other State independent personal
services from a fixed base situated therein, and the right or property in respect of
which the royalties are paid is effectively connected with such permanent
establishment or fixed base. In such case the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as
the case may be, shall apply.
5. Royalties shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is a
resident of that State. Where, however, the person paying the royalties, whether he is
a resident of a Contracting State or not, has in a Contracting State a permanent
establishment or a fixed base in connection with which the liability to pay the
royalties was incurred, and such royalties are borne by such permanent
establishment or fixed base, then such royalties shall be deemed to arise in the State
in which the permanent establishment or fixed base is situated.
6. 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
royalties, having regard to the use, right or information for which they are paid,
exceeds the amount which would 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.
Article 13
GAINS FROM THE ALIENATION OF PROPERTY
1. Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of
immovable property referred to in Article 6 and situated in the other Contracting
State may be taxed in that other State.
2. Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of
shares or other corporate rights in a company deriving their value or the greater part
of their value directly or indirectly from immovable property situated in the other
Contracting State may be taxed in that other State. In this paragraph the term
"shares" does not include shares quoted or listed on a recognised Stock Exchange.
3. Gains from the alienation of movable property forming part of the business
property of a permanent establishment which an enterprise of a Contracting State has
in the other Contracting State or of movable property pertaining to a fixed base
available to a resident of a Contracting State in the other Contracting State for the
purpose of performing independent personal services, including such gains from the
alienation of such a permanent establishment (alone or with the whole enterprise) or
of such fixed base, may be taxed in that other State.
4. Gains derived by an enterprise of a Contracting State from the alienation of
ships or aircraft operated in international traffic, or from movable property
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF
ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH IRELAND
pertaining to the operation of such ships or aircraft, shall be taxable only in that
State.
5. Gains from the alienation of any property other than that referred to in the
preceding paragraphs of this Article shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of
which the alienator is a resident.
6. The provisions of paragraph 5 shall not affect the right of a Contracting
State to levy, according to its law, a tax on gains from the alienation of any property
derived by an individual who is a resident of the other Contracting State and has
been a resident of the first-mentioned State at any time during the three years
immediately preceding the alienation of the property.
Article 14
INDEPENDENT PERSONAL SERVICES
1. Income derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of
professional services or other activities of an independent character shall be taxable
only in that State. However, such income may be taxed in the other Contracting State
in the following circumstances
(a) if he has a fixed base regularly available to him in the other Contracting
State for the purpose of performing his activities; in that case, only so
much of the income as is attributable to that fixed base may be taxed in
that other Contracting State; or
(b) if his stay in the other Contracting State is for a period or periods
amounting to or exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in any twelve-
month period commencing or ending in the fiscal year concerned; in
that case, only so much of the income as is derived from the activity
exercised in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other
State.
2. The term "professional services" includes especially independent scientific,
literary, artistic, educational or teaching activities as well as the independent
activities of physicians, lawyers, engineers, architects, dentists and accountants.
Article 15
DEPENDENT PERSONAL SERVICES
1. Subject to the provisions of Articles 16, 18 and 19, salaries, wages and other
similar remuneration derived by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of an
employment shall be taxable only in that State unless the employment is exercised in
the other Contracting State. If the employment is so exercised, such remuneration as
is derived therefrom may be taxed in that other State.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, remuneration derived by a
resident of a Contracting State in respect of an employment exercised in the other
Contracting State shall be taxable only in the first-mentioned State if
(a) the recipient is present in the other State for a period or periods not
exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in any twelve-month period
commencing or ending in the fiscal year concerned, and
(b) the remuneration is paid by, or on behalf of, an employer who is not a
resident of the other State, and
(c) the remuneration is not borne by a permanent establishment or a fixed
base which the employer has in the other State.
3. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, remuneration
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF
ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH IRELAND
derived in respect of an employment exercised aboard a ship or aircraft operated in
international traffic by an enterprise of a Contracting State may be taxed in that
State.
Article 16
DIRECTORS’ FEES
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.
Article 17
ARTISTES AND SPORTSMEN
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 14 and 15, income derived by a
resident of a Contracting State as an entertainer, such as a theatre, motion picture,
radio or television artiste, or a musician, or as a sportsman, from his personal
activities as such exercised in the other Contracting State, may be taxed in that other
State.
2. Where income in respect of personal activities exercised by an entertainer or
a sportsman in his capacity as such accrues not to the entertainer or sportsman
himself but to another person, that income may, notwithstanding the provisions of
Articles 7, 14 and 15, be taxed in the Contracting State in which the activities of the
entertainer or sportsman are exercised.
Article 18
PENSIONS, ANNUITIES AND SIMILAR PAYMENTS
1. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 19, pensions and other
similar remuneration paid in consideration of past employment, or any annuity paid,
to an individual who is a resident of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that
State.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, pensions paid and other
payments made under the social security legislation of a Contracting State shall be
taxable only in that State.
3. The term "annuity" means a stated sum payable periodically at stated times
during life or during a specified or ascertainable period of time under an obligation
to make the payments in return for adequate and full consideration in money or
money’s worth.
Article 19
GOVERNMENT SERVICE
1. (a) Salaries, wages and other similar remuneration, other than a pension,
paid by a Contracting State to an individual in respect of services
rendered to that State shall be taxable only in that State.
(b) However, such salaries, wages and other similar remuneration shall be
taxable only in the other Contracting State if the services are rendered
in that State and the individual is a resident of that State who
(i) is a national of that State; or
(ii) did not become a resident of that State solely for the purpose of
rendering the services.
2. (a) Any pension paid by, or out of funds created by, a Contracting State to
an individual in respect of services rendered to that State shall be
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF
ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH IRELAND
taxable only in that State.
(b) However, such pension shall be taxable only in the other Contracting
State if the individual is a resident of, and a national of, that State.
3. The provisions of Articles 15, 16, 17 and 18 shall apply to salaries, wages
and other similar remuneration, and to pensions, in respect of services rendered in
connection with a business carried on by a Contracting State.
Article 20
STUDENTS
Payments which a student or business apprentice who is or was immediately
before visiting a Contracting State a resident of the other Contracting State and who
is present in the first-mentioned State solely for the purpose of his education or
training receives for the purpose of his maintenance, education or training shall not
be taxed in that State, provided that such payments arise from sources outside that
State.
Article 21
OTHER INCOME
1. Items of income of a resident of a Contracting State, 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 immovable property as defined in paragraph 2 of Article 6, if the recipient of
such income, being a resident of a Contracting State, carries on business in the other
Contracting State through a permanent establishment situated therein, or performs in
that other State independent personal services from a fixed base situated therein, and
the right or property in respect of which the income is paid is effectively connected
with such permanent establishment or fixed base. In such case, the provisions of
Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
Article 22
ELIMINATION OF DOUBLE TAXATION
1. Subject to the provisions of the laws of Ireland regarding the allowance as a
credit against Irish tax of tax payable in a territory outside Ireland (which shall not
affect the general principle hereof) -
(a) Malta tax paid under the laws of Malta and in accordance with this
Convention, whether directly or by deduction, on profits, income or
gains from sources within Malta (excluding in the case of a dividend tax
payable in respect of the profits out of which the dividend is paid) shall
be allowed as a credit against any Irish tax computed by reference to the
same profits, income or gains by reference to which Malta tax is
computed;
(b) in the case of a dividend paid by a company which is a resident of Malta
to a company which is a resident of Ireland and which controls directly
or indirectly 10 per cent or more of the voting power in the company
paying the dividend, the credit shall take into account (in addition to
any Malta tax creditable under the provisions of subparagraph (a) of this
paragraph) Malta tax payable in respect of the profits out of which such
dividend is paid.
2. Subject to the provisions of the laws of Malta regarding the allowance as a
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF
ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH IRELAND
credit against Malta tax in respect of foreign tax (which shall not affect the general
principle hereof) -
(a) where, in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, there is
included in a Malta assessment income from sources within Ireland, the
Irish tax paid on such income (excluding in the case of a dividend tax
payable in respect of the profits out of which the dividend is paid) shall
be allowed as a credit against the Malta tax payable thereon;
(b) where a company which is a resident of Ireland pays a dividend to a
company resident in Malta which controls directly or indirectly at least
10 per cent of the voting power in the first-mentioned company, the
credit shall take into account (in addition to any Irish tax for which
credit may be allowed under subparagraph (a) of this paragraph) the
Irish tax borne in respect of the profits out of which such dividend is
paid.
3. For the purposes of paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Article profits, income or
gains of a resident of a Contracting State which may be taxed in the other
Contracting State in accordance with this Convention shall be deemed to arise from
sources in that other State.
4. Where in accordance with any provisions of this Convention income derived
by a resident of a Contracting State is exempt from tax in that State, such State may
nevertheless, in calculating the amount of tax on the remaining income of such
resident, take into account the exempted income.
5. Where, under any provision of this Convention, income or gains is or are
wholly or partly relieved from tax in a Contracting State and, under the laws in force
in the other Contracting State, an individual, in respect of the said income or gains,
is subject to tax by reference to the amount thereof which is remitted to or received
in that other State, and not by reference to the full amount thereof, then the relief to
be allowed under this Convention in the first-mentioned State shall apply only to so
much of the income or gains as is remitted to or received in that other State.
Article 23
NON-DISCRIMINATION
1. Nationals of a Contracting State shall not be subjected in the other
Contracting State to any taxation or any requirement connected therewith which is
other or more burdensome than the taxation and connected requirements to which
nationals of that other State in the same circumstances, in particular with respect to
residence, are or may be subjected. This provision shall, notwithstanding the
provisions of Article 1, also apply to persons who are not residents of one or both of
the Contracting States.
2. The taxation on a permanent establishment which an enterprise of a
Contracting State has in the other Contracting State shall not be less favourably
levied in that other State than the taxation levied on enterprises of that other State
carrying on the same activities. This provision shall not be construed as obliging a
Contracting State to grant to residents of the other Contracting State any personal
allowances, reliefs and reductions for tax purposes on account of civil status or
family responsibilities which it grants to its own residents.
3. Except where the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 9, paragraph 4 of
Article 11, or paragraph 6 of Article 12 apply, interest (other than interest that has
been treated as a dividend under Article 10), royalties and other disbursements paid
by an enterprise of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State
shall, for the purpose of determining the taxable profits of such enterprise, be
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF
ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH IRELAND
deductible under the same conditions as if they had been paid to a resident of the
first-mentioned State.
4. Enterprises of a Contracting State, the capital of which is wholly or partly
owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by one or more residents of the other
Contracting State, shall not be subjected in the first-mentioned State to any taxation
or any requirement connected therewith which is other or more burdensome than the
taxation and connected requirements to which other similar enterprises of the first-
mentioned State are or may be subjected.
Article 24
MUTUAL AGREEMENT PROCEDURE
1. Where a person considers that the actions of one or both of the Contracting
States result or will result for him in taxation not in accordance with the provisions
of this Convention, he may, irrespective of the remedies provided by the domestic
law of those States, present his case to the competent authority of the Contracting
State of which he is a resident or, if his case comes under paragraph 1 of Article 23,
to that of the Contracting State of which he is a national. The case must be presented
within three years from the first notification of the action resulting in taxation not in
accordance with the provisions of the Convention.
2. The competent authority shall endeavour, if the objection appears to it to be
justified and if it is not itself able to arrive at a satisfactory solution, to resolve the
case by mutual agreement with the competent authority of the other Contracting
State, with a view to the avoidance of taxation which is not in accordance with the
Convention. Any agreement reached shall be implemented notwithstanding any time
limits in the domestic law of the Contracting States.
3. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavour to
r e s o l v e b y m u t u a l a g r e e m e n t a n y d i ff i c u l t i e s o r d o u b t s a r i s i n g a s t o t h e
interpretation or application of the Convention. They may also consult together for
the elimination of double taxation in cases not provided for in the Convention.
4. The competent authorities of the Contracting States may communicate with
each other directly for the purpose of reaching an agreement in the sense of the
preceding paragraphs.
Article 25
EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
1. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange such
information as is foreseeably relevant for carrying out the provisions of this
Convention or to the administration or enforcement of the domestic laws concerning
taxes of every kind and description imposed on behalf of the Contracting States, or
of their political subdivisions or local authorities, insofar as the taxation thereunder
is not contrary to the Convention. The exchange of information is not restricted by
Articles 1 and 2.
2. Any information received under paragraph 1 by a Contracting State shall be
treated as secret in the same manner as information obtained under the domestic
laws of that State and shall be disclosed only to persons or authorities (including
courts and administrative bodies) concerned with the assessment or collection of, the
enforcement or prosecution in respect of, the determination of appeals in relation to
the taxes referred to in paragraph 1, or the oversight of the above. Such persons or
authorities shall use the information only for such purposes. They may disclose the
information in public court proceedings or in judicial decisions.
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF
ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH IRELAND
3. In no case shall the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 be construed so as to
impose on a Contracting State the obligation
(a) to carry out administrative measures at variance with the laws and
administrative practice of that or of the other Contracting State;
(b) to supply information which is not obtainable under the laws or in the
normal course of the administration of that or of the other Contracting
State;
(c) to supply information which would disclose any trade, business,
industrial, commercial or professional secret or trade process, or
information the disclosure of which would be contrary to public policy
(ordre public).
4. If information is requested by a Contracting State in accordance with this
Article, the other Contracting State shall use its information gathering measures to
obtain the requested information, even though that other State may not need such
information for its own tax purposes. The obligation contained in the preceding
sentence is subject to the limitations of paragraph 3 but in no case shall such
limitations be construed to permit a Contracting State to decline to supply
information solely because it has no domestic interest in such information.
5. In no case shall the provisions of paragraph 3 be construed to permit a
Contracting State to decline to supply information solely because the information is
held by a bank, other financial institution, nominee or person acting in an agency or
a fiduciary capacity or because it relates to ownership interests in a person.
Article 26
MEMBERS OF DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS AND CONSULAR POSTS
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.
Article 27
ENTRY INTO FORCE
This Convention shall enter into force after the date of receipt of the last
notification in writing through diplomatic channels by which one Contracting State
notifies the other that its internal legal requirements for the entry into force of this
Convention have been fulfilled and shall thereupon have effect
(a) in Ireland
(i) as respects income tax and capital gains tax, for any year of
assessment beginning on or after the first day of January in the
calendar year next following the year in which this Convention
enters into force;
(ii) as respects corporation tax, for any financial year beginning on or
after the first day of January in the calendar year next following
the year in which this Convention enters into force;
(b) in Malta
in respect of taxes on income derived during any calendar year or
accounting period, as the case may be, beginning on or after the first
day of January immediately following the date on which the Convention
enters into force.
DOUBLE TAXATION RELIEF
ON TAXES ON INCOME WITH IRELAND
Article 28
TERMINATION
This Convention shall remain in force until terminated by a Contracting State.
Either Contracting State may terminate the Convention, through diplomatic
channels, by giving notice of termination in writing at least six months before the
end of any calendar year beginning after the expiration of a period of five years from
the date of its entry into force. In such event, the Convention shall cease to have
effect
(a) in Ireland
(i) as respects income tax and capital gains tax, for any year of
assessment beginning on or after the first day of January in the
calendar year next following that in which the notice is given;
(ii) as respects corporation tax, for any financial year beginning on or
after the first day of January in the calendar year next following
that in which the notice is given;
(b) in Malta
in respect of taxes on income derived during any calendar year or
accounting period, as the case may be, beginning on or after the first
day of January immediately following the date on which the notice is
given.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto by their
respective Governments, have signed this Convention.
DONE at this
day of
, in duplicate in the English language.
Walter Balzan
Sean O’Huiginn
For the Government of
For the Government of
Malta
Ireland
PROTOCOL
At the time of signing of the Convention between the Government of Malta and
the Government of Ireland for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention
of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on income, the undersigned have agreed that
the following shall form an integral part of the Convention
With reference to Article 22(1)(b)
"Malta tax payable" shall mean the difference between the tax paid by the
company paying the dividend and the tax repaid in respect of the distribution to the
company which is a resident of Ireland.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, being duly authorised thereto by their
respective Governments, have signed this Protocol.
DONE at this
day of
, in duplicate in the English language.
Walter Balzan
Sean O’Huiginn
For the Government of
For the Government of
Malta
Ireland