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Double Taxation Agreement
2 May 1984
I. Scope of the Convention
Article 1
PERSONAL SCOPE
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 and
on capital imposed on behalf of each Contracting State, irrespective of
the manner in which they are levied.
2. There shall be regarded as taxes on income and on capital
all taxes imposed on total income, on total capital. or on elements of
income or of capital, including taxes on gains from the alienation of movable
or immovable property, as well as taxes on capital appreciation.
3. The existing taxes to which the Convention shall apply
are, in particular:
a) in the case of Canada: the income taxes imposed
by the Government of Canada, (hereinafter referred to as "Canadian tax");
b) in the case of Cyprus: the income tax and special
contribution imposed by the Government of Cyprus, (hereinafter referred
to as "Cyprus tax").
4. The Convention shall apply also to any identical or substantially
similar taxes and to taxes on capital which are imposed after the date
of signature of the Convention in addition to, or in place of, the existing
taxes. The Contracting States shall notify each other of changes which
have been made in their respective taxation laws.
II. Definitions
Article 3
GENERAL DEFINITIONS
1. In this Convention, unless the context otherwise requires:
a) i. the term "Canada" used in a geographical
sense, means the territory of Canada, including any area beyond the territorial
waters of Canada which, under the laws of Canada, is an area within which
Canada may exercise rights with respect to the sea-bed and subsoil and
their natural resources; ii. the term "Cyprus" used in a geographical sense,
means the Republic of Cyprus, and includes any area adjacent to the territorial
waters of Cyprus which in accordance with international law has been or
may hereafter be designated, under the laws of Cyprus concerning the Continental
Shelf, as an area within which the rights of Cyprus with respect to the
sea-bed and subsoil and their natural resources may be exercised;
b) the terms "a Contracting State" and "the other Contracting
State" mean, as the context requires, Canada or Cyprus;
c) the term "person" includes an individual, an estate,
a trust, a company and any other body of persons;
d) the term "company" means any body corporate or any
entity which is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes; in French,
the term "societe"' also means a "corporation" within the meaning
of Canadian law;
e) 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;
f) the term "competent authority" means: i. in the case
of Canada, the Minister of National Revenue or his authorized representative;
ii. in the case of Cyprus, the Director of the Department of Inland Revenue,
or his authorized representative;
g) the term "tax" means Canadian tax or Cyprus tax, as
the context requires;
h) the term "national" means: i. any individual possessing
the nationality of a Contracting State; ii. any legal person, partnership
and association deriving its status as such from the laws in force in a
Contracting State.
2. As regards the application of the Convention by a Contracting
State any term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise
requires, have the meaning which it has under the law of that State concerning
the taxes to which the Convention applies.
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.
2. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 an
individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then his status shall
be determined as follows:
a) he shall be deemed to be a resident 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
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 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 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 company
is a resident of both Contracting States, then its status shall be determined
as follows:
a) it shall be deemed to be a resident of the
State of which it is a national;
b) if it is a national of neither of the States, it shall
be deemed to be a resident of the State in which its place of effective
management is situated.
4. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 a person
other than an individual or a company is a resident of both Contracting
States, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall by mutual
agreement endeavour to settle the question and to determine the mode of
application of the Convention to such person.
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;
f) a store or other sales outlet;
g) a mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry or any other
place of extraction of natural resources;
h) a farm or plantation; and
i) a place of extraction of timber or forest produce.
3. A building site or construction or installation project
constitutes a permanent establishment only if it lasts more than six months.
4. 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 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 for 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 subparagraphs (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.
5. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2,
where a person - other than an agent of an independent status to whom paragraph
6 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 4 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.
6. 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.
7. 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.
III. Taxation of income
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. For the purposes of this Convention, 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 and to profits from the alienation of such 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.
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 or has carried 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 the determination of the profits of a permanent
establishment, there shall be allowed those deductible expenses which are
incurred for the purposes of the permanent establishment including executive
and general administrative expenses, whether incurred in the State in which
the permanent establishment is situated or elsewhere.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.
7. Where profits include items of income 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 derived by an enterprise of a Contracting State
from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic shall
be taxable only in that State.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1 and Article
7, profits derived from the operation of ships or aircraft used principally
to transport passengers or goods exclusively between places in a Contracting
State may be taxed in that State.
3. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall also apply
to profits referred to in those paragraphs derived by an enterprise of
a Contracting State from its 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 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 tax charged therein on those profits. In determining
such adjustment, due regard shall be had to the other provisions of this
Convention.
3. A Contracting State shall not change the profits of
an enterprise in the circumstances referred to in paragraph 1 after the
expiry of the time limits provided in its national laws and, in any case,
after five years from the end of the year in which the profits which would
be subject to such change would have accrued to an enterprise of that State.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3 shall not apply
in the case of fraud, wilful default or neglect.
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 if the recipient is the beneficial owner
of the dividends the tax so charged shall not exceed 15 per cent of the
gross amount of the dividends. The provisions of this paragraph shall not
affect the taxation of the company on the profits out of which the dividends
are paid.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, as long
as Cyprus does not impose a tax on dividends in addition to the tax chargeable
on the profits or income of a company, dividends paid by a company which
is a resident of Cyprus to a resident of Canada shall be exempt from any
tax in Cyprus which may be chargeable on dividends in addition to the tax
chargeable on the profits or income of the company.
4. The term "dividends" as used in this Article means
income from shares, "jouissance" shares or "jouissance" rights, mining
shares, founders' shares or other rights, not being debt-claims, participating
in profits, as well as income which is subjected to the same taxation treatment
as income from shares by the laws of the State of which the company making
the distribution is a resident.
5. The provisions of paragraph 2 shall not apply if the
beneficial owner 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.
6. 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 undistributed profits, even if the dividends paid or the undistributed
profits consist wholly or partly of profits or income arising in such other
State.
7. Notwithstanding any provision of this Convention a
company which is a resident of Cyprus and which has a permanent establishment
in Canada shall, in accordance with the provisions of Canadian law, remain
subject to the additional tax on companies other than Canadian corporations,
but the rate of such tax shall not exceed 15 per cent.
Article 11
INTEREST
1. Interest 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 interest may also be taxed in the Contracting
State in which it arises, and according to the laws of that State, but
if the recipient is the beneficial owner of the interest the tax so charged
shall not exceed 15 percent of the gross amount of the interest.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2,
a) interest arising in a Contracting State and
paid in respect of a bond, debenture or other similar obligation of the
government of that Contracting State or of a political subdivision or local
authority thereof shall, provided that the interest is beneficially owned
by a resident of the other Contracting State, be taxable only in that other
State;
b) interest arising in Cyprus and paid to a resident
of Canada shall be taxable only in Canada if it is paid in respect of a
loan made, guaranteed or insured, or a credit extended, guaranteed or insured
by the Export Development Corporation; and
c) interest arising in Canada and paid to a resident
of Cyprus shall be taxable only in Cyprus if it is paid in respect of a
loan made, guaranteed or insured, or a credit extended, guaranteed or insured,
by the Export Credit Insurance Service of the Ministry of Commerce and
Industry.
4. 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, as well as income which is subjected to the same taxation
treatment as income from money lent by the laws of the State in which the
income arises. However, the term "interest" does not include income dealt
with in Article 10.
5. The provisions of paragraph 2 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.
6. Interest shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting
State when the payer is that State itself, a political subdivision, a local
authority or a resident of that State. Where, however, the person paying
the interest, 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 indebtedness on which the interest is paid was incurred,
and such interest is borne by such permanent establishment or fixed base,
then such interest shall be deemed to arise in the State in which the permanent
establishment is situated.
7. 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 they arise, and according to the laws of that State, but
if the recipient is the beneficial owner of the royalties the tax so charged
shall not exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of the royalties.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2, copyright
royalties and other like payments in respect of the production or reproduction
of any literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work (but not including
royalties in respect of motion picture films and works on film or videotape
for use in connection with television) arising in a Contracting State and
paid to a resident of the other Contracting State who is subject to tax
thereon shall be taxable only in that other State.
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, patent, trade mark, design or model, plan,
secret formula or process, or for the use of, or the right to use, industrial,
commercial or scientific equipment, or for information concerning industrial,
commercial or scientific experience, and includes payments of any kind
in respect of motion picture films and works on film or videotape for use
in connection with television.
5. The provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3 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.
6. Royalties shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting
State when the payer is that State itself, a political subdivision, a local
authority or 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 fixed base in connection
with which the obligation 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.
7. 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 paid, 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
CAPITAL GAINS
1. Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State
from the alienation of immovable property situated in the other Contracting
State may be taxed in that other State.
2. 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 a fixed base
may be taxed in that other State.
3. Gains from the alienation of ships or aircraft operated
in international traffic and movable property pertaining to the operation
of such ships or aircraft, shall be taxable only in the Contracting State
in which such property is taxable according to paragraph 3 of Article 23.
4. Gains from the alienation of -
a) shares of the capital stock of a company the
property of which consists principally of immovable property situated in
a Contracting State, and
b) an interest in a partnership, trust or estate, the
property of which consists principally of immovable property situated in
a Contracting State, may be taxed by that State. For the purposes of this
paragraph, the term "immovable property" includes the shares of a company
referred to in subparagraph (a) or an interest in a partnership, trust
or estate referred to in subparagraph (b).
5. Gains from the alienation of any property, other than
that referred to in paragraphs 1, 2, 3 and 4 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 either of the Contracting States 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 six 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 unless he has a fixed base
regularly available to him in the other Contracting State for the purpose
of performing his activities. If he has such a fixed base, the income may
be taxed in the other State but only so much of it as is attributable to
that fixed base.
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 the recipient is present in the other State for a period or periods
not exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in the calendar year concerned,
and either -
a) the remuneration earned in the other Contracting
State in the calendar year concerned does not exceed three thousand Canadian
dollars ($3,000) or its equivalent in Cyprus pounds; or
b) the remuneration is paid by, or on behalf of, an employer
who is not a resident of the other State, and such 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 in respect of an employment exercised aboard a ship or aircraft
operated in international traffic by an enterprise of a Contracting State,
shall be taxable only in that State.
Article 16
DIRECTORS' FEES
Directors' fees and similar payments derived by a resident
of a Contracting State in his capacity as a member of the board of directors
or a similar organ of a company which is a resident of the other Contracting
State, may be taxed in that other State.
Article 17
ARTISTES AND ATHLETES
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 7, 14 and
15, income derived by a resident of a Contracting State as an entertainer,
such as theatre, motion picture, radio or television artiste, or a musician,
or as an athlete, 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 an athlete in his capacity as such accrues not to
the entertainer or athlete 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 athlete
are exercised.
3. The provisions of paragraph 2 shall not apply if it
is established that neither the entertainer or the athlete nor persons
related thereto, participate directly or indirectly in the profits of the
person referred to in that paragraph.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply:
a) to income derived from activities performed
in a Contracting State by entertainers or athletes if the visit to that
Contracting State is substantially supported by public funds of the other
Contracting State, including any political subdivision, local authority
or statutory body thereof;
b) to a non-profit organization no part of the income
of which was payable to, or was otherwise available for the personal benefit
of, any proprietor, member or shareholder thereof; or
c) to an entertainer or athlete in respect of services
provided to an organization referred to in subparagraph (b).
Article 18
PENSIONS AND ANNUITIES
1. Pensions arising in a Contracting State and paid to
a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
However, such pensions may also be taxed in the first-mentioned Contracting
State but only to the extent that the total amount thereof paid in any
taxation year to a resident of the other Contracting State exceeds ten
thousand Canadian dollars ($10,000) or its equivalent in Cyprus pounds.
However, in the case of periodic pension payments, the tax so charged shall
not exceed the lesser of -
a) 15 per cent of the gross amount of the payment,
and
b) the rate determined by reference to the amount of
tax that the recipient of the payment would otherwise be required to pay
for the year on the total amount of the periodic pension payments received
by him in the year, if he were resident in the Contracting State in which
the payment arises.
The competent authorities of the Contracting States may,
if necessary, agree to modify the above-mentioned amount as a result of
monetary or economic developments.
2. Annuities arising in a Contracting State and paid to
a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
3. Annuities arising in a Contracting State and paid to
a resident of the other Contracting State may also be taxed in the State
in which they arise, and according to the law of that State; but the tax
so charged shall not exceed 15 percent of the portion thereof that is subject
to tax in that State. However, this limitation does not apply to lump-sum
payments arising on the surrender, cancellation, redemption, sale or other
alienation of an annuity, or to payments of any kind under an income-averaging
annuity contract.
4. Notwithstanding anything in this Convention, pensions
paid by, or out of funds created by, Cyprus or a political subdivision
or a local authority thereof to an individual in respect of services rendered
to Cyprus or subdivision or authority shall be taxable only in Cyprus.
5. Notwithstanding anything in this Convention:
a) social security pensions, pensions and allowances
in respect of military service and any other compensation for an injury
or damage sustained as a result of hostilities or past political persecution
arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting
State shall be taxable only in the first-mentioned State;
b) alimony and other similar payments arising in a Contracting
State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State who is subject
to tax therein in respect thereof, shall be taxable only in that other
State.
Article 19
GOVERNMENTAL SERVICE
1.
a) Remuneration, other than pension, paid by a Contracting
State or a political subdivision or a local authority thereof to an individual
in respect of services rendered to that State or subdivision or authority
shall be taxable only in that State.
b) However, such 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. The provisions of paragraph 1 shall not apply to remuneration
in respect of services rendered in connection with a business carried on
by a Contracting State or a political subdivision or a local authority
thereof.
Article 20
STUDENTS
Payments which a student, apprentice or business trainee
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. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article,
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. However, if such income is derived by a resident of
a Contracting State from sources in the other Contracting State, such income
may also be taxed in the State in which it arises, and according to the
law of that State. However, in the case of income from an estate or trust,
the tax so charged shall, provided that the income is taxable in the Contracting
State in which the recipient resides, not exceed 15 percent of the gross
amount of the income.
Article 22
LIMITATION OF RELIEF
Where under any provision of this Convention income is
relieved from tax in one of the Contracting States and, under the law in
force in the other Contracting State, a person, in respect of the said
income, is subject to tax by reference to the amount thereof which is remitted
to or received in that other Contracting State and not by reference to
the full amount thereof, then the relief to be allowed under this Convention
in the first-mentioned Contracting State shall apply only to so much of
the income as is remitted to or received in the other Contracting State.
IV. Taxation of capital
Article 23
CAPITAL
1. Capital represented by immovable property owned by
a resident of a Contracting State and situated in the other Contracting
State, may be taxed in that other State.
2. Capital represented by 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 by 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, may be taxed in that other State.
3. Capital represented by ships and aircraft operated
by an enterprise of a Contracting State in international traffic and by
movable property pertaining to the operation of such ships and aircraft,
shall be taxable only in that State.
4. All other elements of capital of a resident of a Contracting
State shall be taxable only in that State.
V. Methods for prevention of double taxation
Article 24
ELIMINATION OF DOUBLE TAXATION
1. In the case of Canada, double taxation shall be avoided
as follows:
a) Subject to the existing provisions of the
law of Canada regarding the deduction from tax payable in Canada of tax
paid in a territory outside Canada and to any subsequent modification of
those provisions - which shall not affect the general principle hereof
- and unless a greater deduction or relief is provided under the laws of
Canada, tax payable in Cyprus on profits, income or gains arising in Cyprus
shall be deducted from any Canadian tax payable in respect of such profits,
income or gains.
b) Subject to the existing provisions of the law of Canada
regarding the determination of the exempt surplus of a foreign affiliate
and to any subsequent modification of those provisions - which shall not
affect the general principle hereof - for the purpose of computing Canadian
tax, a company resident in Canada shall be allowed to deduct in computing
its taxable income any dividend received by it out of the exempt surplus
of a foreign affiliate resident in Cyprus.
2. For the purposes of paragraph 1 (a), tax payable in Cyprus
by a resident of Canada -
i) in respect of profits attributable to a trade
or business carried on by it in Cyprus, or
ii) in respect of interest received by it from a resident
of Cyprus,
shall be deemed to include any amount which would have been
payable as Cyprus tax for any year but for an exemption from, or reduction
of, tax granted for that year or any part thereof under any of the following
provisions, that is to say:
a) Section 10 of the Income Tax Laws 1961 to
1977 so far as it was in force on, and has not been modified since, the
date of signature of this Convention, or has been modified only in minor
respects so as not to affect its general character, provided the interest
is certified by the competent authority of Cyprus as being payable in respect
of a loan made for the purposes of promoting development in Cyprus; except
to the extent that the said provision has the effect of exempting or relieving
a source of income for a period in excess of ten years;
b) in the case of any approved capital expenditure any
amount which would have been payable as Cyprus tax but for an investment
deduction allowed under Section 12(2)(b) or (c) of the Cyprus Income Tax
Laws 1961 to 1977 (so far as they were in force on, and have not been modified
since, the date of signature of this Convention or have been modified only
in minor respect so as not to affect their general character). For the
purpose of this subparagraph the term "approved capital expenditure" means
capital expenditure which is incurred, on or after the date of signature
of this Convention and not later than 5 years after the commencement of
the trade or business in question by an enterprise wholly or mainly engaged
in the hotel business or in activities falling within one of the following
classes: i. manufacturing, assembling or processing; ii. construction,
civil engineering or ship-building; or iii. electricity, hydraulic power,
gas or water supply; and which is certified by the competent authority
of Cyprus as incurred for the purposes of promoting development in Cyprus;
c) any other provision which may subsequently be made
granting an exemption or reduction of tax which is agreed by the competent
authorities of the Contracting States to be of a substantially similar
character, if it has not been modified thereafter or has been modified
only in minor respects so as not to affect its general character.
3. In the case of Cyprus, subject to the existing provisions
of the law of Cyprus regarding the deduction from tax payable in Cyprus
of tax paid in a territory outside Cyprus and to any subsequent modification
of
those provisions - which shall not affect the general principle hereof
- and unless a greater deduction or relief is provided under the laws of
Cyprus, tax payable in Canada on profits, income or gains arising in Canada
shall be deducted from any Cyprus tax payable in respect of such profits,
income or gains.
4. For the purposes of this Article, profits, income or
gains of a resident of a Contracting State, which are taxed in the other
Contracting State in accordance with this Convention shall be deemed to
arise from sources in that other State.
VI. Special provisions
Article 25
NON-DISCRIMINATION
1. The 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
are or may be subjected.
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.
3. Nothing in this Article shall be construed as obliging
a Contracting State to grant to residents of the other Contracting State
any personal allowances, reliefs and reductions for taxation purposes on
account of civil status or family responsibilities which it grants to its
own residents.
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, the capital of which is wholly or partly owned or controlled, directly
or indirectly, by one or more residents of a third State, are or may be
subjected.
5. In this Article, the term "taxation" means taxes which
are the subject of this Convention.
Article 26
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, address to
the competent authority of the Contracting State of which he is a resident
an application in writing stating the grounds for claiming the revision
of such taxation. To be admissible, the said application must be submitted
within two years from the first notification of the action which gives
rise to taxation not in accordance with the Convention.
2. The competent authority referred to in paragraph 1
shall endeavour, if the objection appears to it to be justified and if
it is not itself able to arrive at an appropriate 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 not in accordance
with the Convention.
3. A Contracting State shall not, after the expiry of
the time limits provided in its national laws and, in any case, after five
years from the end of the taxable period in which the income concerned
has accrued, increase the tax base of a resident of either of the Contracting
States by including therein items of income which have also been charged
to tax in the other Contracting State. This paragraph shall not apply in
the case of fraud, wilful default or neglect.
4. 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. In particular,
the competent authorities of the Contracting States may consult together
to endeavour to agree:
a) to the same attribution of profits to a resident
of a Contracting State and its permanent establishment situated in the
other Contracting State;
b) to the same allocation of income between a resident
of a Contracting State and any associated person provided for in Article
9.
5. The competent authorities of the Contracting States may
consult together for the elimination of double taxation in cases not provided
for in the Convention.
Article 27
EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION
1. The competent authorities of the Contracting States
shall exchange such information as is necessary for carrying out the provisions
of this Convention or of the domestic laws of the Contracting States concerning
taxes covered by the Convention insofar as the taxation thereunder is not
contrary to the Convention. The exchange of information is not restricted
by Article 1. Any information received 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) involved in the assessment
or collection of, the enforcement in respect of, or the determination of
appeals in relation to, the taxes covered by the Convention. 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.
2. In no case shall the provisions of paragraph 1 be construed
so as to impose on a Contracting State the obligation:
a) to carry out administrative measures at variance
with the laws or the 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).
Article 28
DIPLOMATIC AGENTS AND CONSULAR OFFICERS
1. Nothing in this Convention shall affect the fiscal
privileges of diplomatic agents or consular officers under the general
rules of international law or under the provisions of special agreements.
2. Notwithstanding Article 4 of the Convention, an individual
who is a member of a diplomatic mission, consular post or permanent mission
of a Contracting State which is situated in the other Contracting State
or in a third State shall be deemed for the purposes of the Convention
to be a resident of the sending State if he is liable in the sending State
to the same obligations in relation to tax on his total world income as
are residents of that sending State.
3. The Convention shall not apply to International Organizations,
to organs or officials thereof and to persons who are members of a diplomatic
mission, consular post or permanent mission of a third State, being present
in a Contracting State and who are not liable in either Contracting State
to the same obligations in relation to tax on their total world income
as are residents thereof.
Article 29
MISCELLANEOUS RULES
1. The provisions of this Convention shall not be construed
to restrict in any manner any exclusion, exemption, deduction, credit,
or other allowance now or hereafter accorded -
a) by the laws of a Contracting State in the
determination of the tax imposed by that State, or
b) by any other agreement entered into by a Contracting
State.
2. Nothing in the Convention shall be construed as preventing
Canada from imposing a tax on amounts included in the income of a resident
of Canada according to section 91 of the Canadian Income Tax Act.
3. This Convention shall not apply to companies entitled
to any special tax benefit under paragraph (w) of Section 11 and Section
28A of the Income Tax Laws 1961 to 1977. This Convention shall also not
apply to companies entitled to any special tax benefit under any substantially
similar Law subsequently enacted by Cyprus in addition to, or in place
of, the Laws mentioned above.
4. The competent authorities of the Contracting States
may communicate with each other directly for the purpose of applying the
Convention.
VII. Final provisions
Article 30
ENTRY INTO FORCE
1. This Convention shall be ratified and the instruments
of ratification shall be exchanged at Ottawa.
2. The Convention shall enter into force upon the exchange
of instruments of ratification and its provision shall have effect:
a) in Canada: i. in respect of tax withheld at
the source on amounts paid or credited to non-residents on or after the
first day of January in the calendar year in which the exchange of instruments
of ratification takes place; and ii. in respect of other Canadian tax for
taxation years beginning on or after the first day of January in the calendar
year in which the exchange of instruments of ratification takes place;
b) In Cyprus: In respect of Cyprus tax for any year of
assessment beginning on or after the first day of January in the calendar
year in which the exchange of instruments of ratification takes place.
Article 31
TERMINATION
This Convention shall continue in effect indefinitely
but either Contracting State may, on or before June 30 in any calendar
year after the year of the exchange of instruments of ratification, give
to the other Contracting State a notice of termination in writing through
diplomatic channels; in such event, the Convention shall cease to have
effect:
a) in Canada: i. in respect of tax withheld at
the source on amounts paid or credited to non-residents on or after the
first day of January in the calendar year next following that in which
the notice is given; and ii. in respect of other Canadian tax for taxation
years beginning on or after the first day of January in the calendar year
next following that in which the notice is given; b) In Cyprus: In respect
of Cyprus tax for the years of assessment beginning on or after the 1st
day of January in the calendar year next following that in which the notice
is given.
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