House of Representatives
International Tax Agreements Amendment Bill (No. 1) 2000
Explanatory Memorandum
(Circulated by authority of the Treasurer, the Hon Peter Costello, MP)Source: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
Possibly reflecting the widely differing economic interests and tax law structures of countries, there are very few multilateral tax treaties.
The ATO does not have any figures on the number of Australian residents who receive income from Romania.
The requirement for bilateral agreement on reduction of source country taxation is understandable because both countries wish to be assured of reciprocal treatment of their residents. The general practice for most countries is that reduced withholding tax rates for dividends, interest and royalties are only available for non-residents via a double tax agreement. This is to ensure that only residents of treaty partner countries are entitled to the benefit of reduced source country taxation of such income.