S.I. No. 502/2008 - Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income) (Malta) Order 2008 Skip to content Disclaimer Feedback Helpdesk Gaeilge Léim go dtí an t-ábhar Séanadh Aiseolas Deasc chabhrach English Gae

Article 7or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.

1. 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
2. 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.
3. 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
4. Penalty charges for late payment shall not be regarded as interest for the purpose of this Article.
5. 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.

Article 7or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.

1. 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
2. Royalties arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
3. However, such royalties may also be taxed in the Contracting State in which 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.
4. 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.
5. 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.

Article 7or 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 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: (

1. 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 (
2. 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: (
3. 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 (
4. b)the remuneration is paid by, or on behalf of, an employer who is not a resident of the other State, and (
5. 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 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. (
6. 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. (
7. b)However, such salaries, wages and other similar remuneration shall betaxable only in the other Contracting State if the services are rendered in that State and the individual is a resident of that State who: (
8. i)is a national of that State; or (
9. ii)did not become a resident of that State solely for the purpose of rendering the services. 2. (
10. 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 taxable only in that State. (
11. b)However, such pension shall be taxable only in the other ContractingState 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)— (
12. 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; (
13. 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 (
14. 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 credit against Malta tax in respect of foreign tax (which shall not affect the general principle hereof)— (
15. 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; (
16. 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 (
17. 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 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 resolve by mutual agreement any difficulties or doubts arising as to the 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. 3. In no case shall the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 be construed so as to impose on a Contracting State the obligation: (
18. a)to carry out administrative measures at variance with the laws and administrative practice of that or of the other Contracting State; (
19. 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; (
20. 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: (
21. a)in Ireland: (
22. 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; (
23. 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. (
24. 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. 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: (
25. a)in Ireland: (
26. 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; (
27. 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. (
28. 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 Rome this 14th day of November, 2008, in duplicate in the English language. For the Government of Ireland For the Government of Malta Sean O’Huiginn Walter Balzan PROTOCOL At the time of signing of the Convention between the Government of Ireland and the Government of Malta 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