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Edited version of your written advice

Authorisation Number: 1013020939572

Date of advice: 19 May 2016

Ruling

Subject: Exemption from withholding tax

Question 1

Is Entity A exempt from withholding tax on dividends paid by Australian resident companies from the investments held through Fund A under subparagraph 4d) of Article 10 of the Convention between Australia and the X Confederation for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes and Income, with Protocol [2014] ATS 33 (X Convention)?

Answer

Yes.

This ruling applies for the following periods

Year ended 30 June 2015

Year ended 30 June 2016

Year ended 30 June 2017

Year ended 30 June 2018

Year ended 30 June 2019

Year ended 30 June 2020

Year ended 30 June 2021

Year ended 30 June 2022

Year ended 30 June 2023

Year ended 30 June 2024

Year ended 30 June 2025

The scheme commenced on

1 July 2014

Relevant facts and circumstances

Entity A

Fund A and Australian investments

Assumptions

Relevant legislative provisions

Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 section 128B

International Tax Agreements Act 1953 subsection 3AAA(1)

International Tax Agreements Act 1953 subsection 5(1)

Convention between Australia and the X Confederation for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes and Income, with Protocol [2014] ATS 33 Article 1

Convention between Australia and the X Confederation for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes and Income, with Protocol [2014] ATS 33 Article 2

Convention between Australia and the X Confederation for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes and Income, with Protocol [2014] ATS 33 Article 3

Convention between Australia and the X Confederation for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes and Income, with Protocol [2014] ATS 33 Article 4

Convention between Australia and the X Confederation for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes and Income, with Protocol [2014] ATS 33 Article 10

Convention between Australia and the X Confederation for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes and Income, with Protocol [2014] ATS 33 subparagraph 2b) of the Protocol

Convention between Australia and the X Confederation for the Avoidance of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes and Income, with Protocol [2014] ATS 33 sub-subparagraph 3a)(i) of the Protocol

Reasons for decision

Question 1

Is Entity A exempt from withholding tax on dividends paid by Australian resident companies from the investments held through Fund A under subparagraph 4d) of Article 10 of the X Convention?

Summary

Entity A is considered to be a person who is a resident of a Contracting State, and is therefore subject to the X Convention.

Dividends paid by Australian resident companies from the investments held through Fund A by Entity A meet the requirements of subparagraph 4d) of Article 10 of the X Convention and as such are exempt from withholding tax under the X Convention.

Detailed reasoning

X Convention - application to Entity A

In order for the X Convention to apply, Article 1 of the X Convention provides that:

Entity A must therefore be considered both a 'person' and a 'resident of a Contracting State' for the X Convention to apply.

Person

Subparagraph 1c) of Article 3 of the X Convention defines a 'person' to include:

… an individual, a company, a trust and any other body of persons.

Subparagraph 1d) of Article 3 of the X Convention defines a 'company' to mean:

Entity A is treated as a company for tax purposes in X. Therefore, Entity A satisfies the definition of a 'company' pursuant to subparagraph 1d) of Article 3 of the X Convention.

As Entity A is considered a company under the X Convention, it also satisfies the definition of a 'person' in accordance with subparagraph 1c) of Article 3 of the X Convention.

Resident of a Contracting State

Paragraph 1 of Article 4 of the X Convention provides the following:

In addition, sub-subparagraph 3a)(i) of the Protocol to the X Convention states that, in relation to paragraph 1 of Article 4 of the X Convention, it is understood that the term 'resident of a Contracting State' includes, in particular, a person that is a pension scheme established in that State.

Entity A was established as a pension fund in X. In addition, Entity A was established pursuant to Statute A, which is specifically listed in the definition of 'pension scheme' in subparagraph 2b) of the Protocol to the X Convention and paragraph 1.36 of the EM to the ITAAB 2014. Entity A operates principally to provide pension related benefits.

For completeness, Entity A is exempt from tax in X. As a result, due to it being not liable to pay tax in X, prima facie, Entity A does not satisfy paragraph 1 of Article 4 of the X Convention to be defined as a 'resident of a Contracting State'.

However, as determined above, Entity A is deemed to be a person and a pension scheme established in X. As such, pursuant to sub-subparagraph 3a)(i) of the Protocol to the X Convention, Entity A is a resident of a Contracting State.

Conclusion

Entity A meets the requirements of Article 1 of the X Convention and is therefore subject to its application.

X Convention - application to taxes

Paragraphs 1 and 2 of Article 2 of the X Convention, in respect to taxes covered, provides the following:

In addition, subparagraph 3a) of Article 2 of the X Convention provides the following:

Based upon the above, the X Convention applies to all taxes imposed on income and in particular applies to Australian income tax.

Section 128B of the Income Tax Assessment Act 1936 imposes liability to withholding tax on dividend, interest and royalty income derived by non-residents. As such, withholding tax payable in respect to interest paid by Australian resident companies to non-residents is considered to be an Australian income tax and is covered by the X Convention.

Is Entity A exempt from withholding tax on dividends paid by Australian resident companies from the investments held through Fund A under subparagraph 4d) of Article 10 of the X Convention?

Dividend income

Article 10 of the X Convention is the relevant provision in relation to dividend income.

For subparagraph 4d) of Article 10 of the X Convention to apply to Entity A, in respect of an exemption from withholding tax on dividends, it must satisfy the following:

1. There are dividends that are paid by companies that are residents of Australia

Fund A hold shares in Australian resident companies which pay dividends in relation to those shares.

Therefore, there are dividends that are paid by companies that are residents of Australia from the investments held by Entity A through Fund A, in accordance with subparagraph 4d) of Article 10 of the X Convention.

2. The beneficial owner of the dividends

The term 'beneficial owner' is not defined under the X Convention.

Paragraph 2 of Article 3 of the X Convention provides the following:

As such, the definition of the term 'beneficial owner' in relation to dividends derived from an Australian source shall be guided by the context of its use in the X Convention or, without such context, by the laws of Australia for the purposes of taxation.

Additionally, paragraphs 1.41, 1.42 and 1.43 of the EM to the ITAAB 2014 provide the following, in respect of paragraph 2 of Article 3 of the X Convention:

ATO Interpretive Decision ATO ID 2011/13 Income Tax Interest withholding tax: interest arising in Australia paid to a New Zealand Limited Partnership - 'beneficially owned' (ATO ID 2011/13) provides guidance in relation to the use of relevant context for interpreting Australian tax treaties and is therefore instructive in considering the application of paragraph 2 of Article 3 of the X Convention. It further provides guidance in relation to the definition of 'beneficial owner'.

ATO ID 2011/13 states the following:

Therefore, the term 'beneficial owner' should be used in a purposive sense in light of the operation of the X Convention.

In terms of Australian tax, ATO Interpretive Decision ATO ID 2008/61 Income Tax: Withholding Tax Exemption: interest and dividends paid by an Australian resident and received by a Dutch Stichting as unitholder in an Irish Common Contractual Fund (ATO ID 2008/61) is relevant. ATO ID 2008/61 provides that, in respect of the particular arrangement in that decision, the relationship between the manager, custodian and the unitholder constitutes a trust relationship.

ATO ID 2008/61 refers to French J in Harmer & Ors v. FC of T 89 ATC 5180; (1989) 20 ATR 1461 who stated that a trust 'is notably a definition of a relationship by reference to obligations'.

Further, ATO ID 2008/61 provides the following:

His Honour went on to state that the four essential elements of a trust are:

ATO ID 2008/61 states the following:

ATO ID 2008/61 concludes that where a trust relationship exists and the income accrues to the unitholder as it arises, the unitholder has a present legal entitlement to the income received by the fund.

Accordingly, the unitholder is considered to have derived the income at the time when it became presently entitled to the income.

In applying these principles to Entity A and Fund A:

Based upon the above rights and obligations, a trust relationship exists between Entity A, Entity B and Entity C. Due to Entity A's sole beneficial interest in the assets of Fund A where it can require payment of its interest at any time, Entity A accrues income from the investments as it arises.

Accordingly, Entity A is presently entitled to the income of Fund A as it arises to Fund A. As such, Entity A is considered to derive the dividends through Fund A.

The X tax treatment of Entity A and the income arising through Fund A is also instructive.

Entity A is treated as a company for X tax purposes.

Fund A is not subject to X income tax and is fiscally transparent. The income of Fund A is considered to be the income of Entity A as the sole investor in Fund A.

Accordingly, as Entity A is considered to derive the dividends as a company for the purposes of X tax, it follows that Entity A is the beneficial owner of the dividends arising through Fund A.

Consequently, due to the purposive meaning to be given to 'beneficial owner' made apparent by the OECD Model Tax Convention, as cited by ATO ID 2011/13, and the determination that Entity A is viewed to derive the income under both X tax and Australian tax, it follows that Entity A is the beneficial owner of dividends for the purposes of the X Convention.

3. Entity A holds directly no more than 10 per cent of the voting power in the companies paying the dividends

Entity A holds directly no more than 10 per cent of the voting power in the Australian resident companies paying dividends from the investments held through Fund A.

Based upon the above, this condition is satisfied.

4. Pension scheme and investment income is exempt from X tax

As determined above, Entity A is a pension scheme, pursuant to the X Convention, and is exempt from tax in X.

5. Other provisions of Article 10 of the X Convention

Paragraphs 7 and 9 of Article 10 of the X Convention affect the exemption to withholding tax on dividends under subparagraph 4d) of Article 10 of the X Convention. These provisions do not apply to Entity A, pursuant to the following:

Conclusion

Entity A is a X pension scheme whose investment income is exempt from X tax. In addition, Entity A is the beneficial owner of dividends paid by companies that are Australian residents. Furthermore, Entity A holds directly no more than 10 per cent of the voting power in the Australian resident companies paying dividends.

Therefore, subparagraph 4d) of Article 10 of the X Convention will operate to exempt Entity A from withholding tax on dividends paid by Australian resident companies from the investments held through Fund A.


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