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Double Taxation Agreement
21 October 1988
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) The existing taxes to which the Convention shall apply
are:
a) in the case of the United Kingdom:
i) the income tax;
ii) the corporation tax;
iii) the capital gains tax;
iv) the petroleum revenue tax;
(hereinafter referred to as "United Kingdom tax");
b) in the case of Italy:
i) the personal income tax (l'imposta sul
reddito delle persone fisiche);
ii) the corporate income tax (l'imposta sul reddito
delle persone giuridiche);
iii) the local income tax (l'imposta locale sui redditi);
whether or not collected by withholding at source (hereinafter
referred to as "Italian tax").
2) This Convention shall also apply to any identical or substantially
similar taxes which are imposed by either Contracting State after the date
of signature of this Convention in addition to, or in place of, the taxes
of that Contracting State referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article.
The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall notify each other
of any substantial 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 "United Kingdom" means Great Britain
and Northern Ireland, including any area outside the territorial sea of
the United Kingdom which in accordance with international law has been
or may hereafter be designated, under the laws of the United Kingdom concerning
the Continental Shelf, as an area within which the rights of the United
Kingdom with respect to the sea bed and subsoil and their natural resources
may be exercised;
b) the term "Italy" means the Italian Republic and includes
any area beyond the territorial waters of Italy which, in accordance With
the laws of Italy concerning the exploration and exploitation of natural
resources, may be designated as an area within which the rights of Italy
with respect to the sea bed and subsoil and their natural resources may
be exercised;
c) the terms "a Contracting State" and "the other Contracting
State" mean the United Kingdom or Italy, as the context requires;
d) the term "person" comprises an individual, a company
and any other body of persons, but does not include partnerships which
are not treated as bodies corporate for tax purposes in either Contracting
State;
e) the term "company" means any body corporate or any
entity which 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 "national" means: i. in relation to the United
Kingdom, any British citizen or any British subject not possessing the
citizenship of any other Commonwealth country or territory, provided he
has the right of abode in the United Kingdom; and any legal person, partnership,
association or other entity deriving its status as such from the law in
force in the United Kingdom; ii. in relation to Italy, any individual possessing
the citizenship of Italy and any legal person, partnership and association
deriving its status as such from the law in force in Italy;
h) the term "international traffic" means any transport
by a ship or aircraft operated by an enterprise which has its place of
effective management in a Contracting State, except when the ship or aircraft
is operated solely between places in the other Contracting State;
i) the term "competent authority" means, in the case
of the United Kingdom, the Commissioners of Inland Revenue or their authorised
representative, and, in the case of Italy, the Ministry of Finance;
j) the term "tax" means United Kingdom tax or Italian
tax, as the context requires.
2) As regards the application of this Convention by a Contracting
State any term not otherwise defined shall, unless the context otherwise
requires, have the meaning which it has under the laws of that Contracting
State relating to the taxes which are the subject of the Convention.
Article 4
Fiscal domicile
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 taxation therein by reason of his domicile, residence, place
of management or any other criterion of a similar nature. But this term
does not include any person who is liable to tax in that Contracting State
only if he derives income from sources therein.
2) Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph (1)
of this Article an individual is a resident of both Contracting States,
then his status shall be determined in accordance with the following rules:
a) he shall be deemed to be a resident of the
Contracting State in which he has a permanent home available to him. If
he has a permanent home available to him in both Contracting States, he
shall be deemed to be a resident of the Contracting State with which his
personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests);
b) if the Contracting State in which he has his centre
of vital interests cannot be determined, or if he has no permanent home
available to him in either Contracting 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 Contracting States
or in neither of them, he shall be deemed to be a resident of the Contracting
State of which he is a national;
d) if he is a national of both Contracting 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) of
this Article a person other than an individual is a resident of both Contracting
States, then it shall be deemed to be a resident of the Contracting 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 in which the business of
an enterprise is wholly or partly carried on.
2) The term "permanent establishment" shall include especially:
a) a place of management;
b) a branch;
c) an office;
d) a factory;
e) a workshop;
f) a mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry or any other
place of extraction or exploitation of natural resources;
g) a building site or construction or assembly project
which exists for more than twelve months.
3) The term "permanent establishment" shall not be deemed
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 of collecting information,
for the enterprise;
e) the maintenance of a fixed place of business solely
for the purpose of advertising, for the supply of information, for scientific
research or for similar activities which have a preparatory or auxiliary
character, for the enterprise.
4) A person acting in a Contracting State on behalf of an
enterprise of the other Contracting State - other than an agent of an independent
status to whom paragraph (5) of this Article applies - shall be deemed
to be a permanent establishment in the first-mentioned State if he has,
and habitually exercises in that State, an authority to conclude contracts
in the name of the enterprise, unless his activities are limited to the
purchase of goods or merchandise for the enterprise.
5) An enterprise of a Contracting State shall not be deemed
to have a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State merely
because it carries on business in that other State through a broker, general
commission agent or any other agent of an independent status, where such
persons are acting in the ordinary course of their business.
6) 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 shall also be considered
as "immovable property". Ships, boats and aircraft shall not be regarded
as immovable property.
3) The provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article 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) of this Article
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 carried 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) of this
Article, 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 as deductions expenses which are
directly connected with the activity of the permanent establishment, including
executive and general administrative expenses incurred, whether 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) 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 from the operation of ships or aircraft in
international traffic shall be taxable only in the Contracting State in
which the place of effective management of the enterprise is situated.
2) If the place of effective management of a shipping
enterprise is aboard a ship, then it shall be deemed to be situated in
the Contracting State in which the home harbour of the ship is situated,
or, if there is no such home harbour, in the Contracting State of which
the operator of the ship is a resident.
3) The provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article shall
also apply to profits derived from participation in a pool, a joint business
or in an international operating agency.
Article 9
Associated enterprises
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.
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:
a) 5 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends
if the beneficial owner is a company which controls, directly or indirectly,
at least 10 per cent of the voting power in the company paying the dividends;
b) 15 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends in
all other cases.
This paragraph shall not affect the taxation of the company
in respect of the profits out of which the dividends are paid.
3) As long as an individual resident in the United Kingdom
is entitled under United Kingdom law to a tax credit in respect of dividends
paid by a company which is resident in the United Kingdom, paragraph (2)
of this Article shall not apply to dividends paid by a company which is
a resident of the United Kingdom to a resident of Italy. In these circumstances
the following provisions of this paragraph shall apply:
a)
i. Where a resident of Italy is entitled to a tax credit
in respect of such a dividend under sub-paragraph (b) of this paragraph,
tax may also be charged in the United Kingdom and according to the laws
of the United Kingdom on the aggregate of the amount or value of that dividend
and the amount of that tax credit at a rate not exceeding 15 per cent.
ii. Where a resident of Italy is entitled to a tax credit
in respect of such a dividend under sub-paragraph (c) of this paragraph
tax may also be charged in the United Kingdom and according to the laws
of the United Kingdom on the aggregate of the amount or value of that dividend
and the amount of that tax credit at a rate not exceeding 5 per cent.
iii. Except as provided in sub-paragraph (a)(1) and (a)(ii)
of this paragraph dividends paid by a company which is a resident of the
United Kingdom to a resident of Italy who is the beneficial owner of the
dividends shall be exempt from any tax in the United Kingdom which is chargeable
on dividends.
b) A resident of Italy who receives dividends from a
company which is a resident of the United Kingdom shall, subject to the
provisions of sub-paragraph (c) of this paragraph and provided he is the
beneficial owner of the dividends, be entitled to the tax credit in respect
thereof to which an individual resident in the United Kingdom would have
been entitled had he received those dividends, and to the payment of any
excess of that tax credit over his liability to United Kingdom tax.
c) The provisions of sub-paragraph (b) of this paragraph
shall not apply where the beneficial owner of the dividend is, or is associated
with, a company which, either alone or together with one or more associated
companies, controls, directly or indirectly, 10 per cent or more of the
voting power in the company paying the dividend. In these circumstances
a company which is a resident of Italy and receives dividends from a company
which is a resident of the United Kingdom shall, provided it is the beneficial
owner of the dividends, be entitled to a tax credit equal to one half of
the tax credit to which an individual resident in the United Kingdom would
have been entitled had he received those dividends, and to the payment
of any excess of that tax credit over its liability to tax in the United
Kingdom. For the purposes of this sub-paragraph, two companies shall be
deemed to be associated if one controls, directly or indirectly, more than
50 per cent of the voting power in the other company, or a third company
controls more than 50 per cent of the voting power in both of them.
d) This paragraph shall not apply if the recipient of
the dividend and of the tax credit is not subject to Italian tax in respect
thereof.
4)
a) A resident of the United Kingdom who receives dividends
from a company which is a resident of Italy shall - subject to the provisions
of sub-paragraph (b) of this paragraph - be entitled, if he is the beneficial
owner of the dividends, to the tax credit in respect thereof to which an
individual resident in Italy would have been entitled had he received those
dividends, subject to the deduction of the tax provided for in sub-paragraph
(b) of paragraph (2) of this Article. This provision shall not apply if
the recipient of the dividend and of the tax credit is not subject to United
Kingdom tax in respect thereof.
b) The provisions of sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph
shall not apply where the beneficial owner of the dividend is a company
which either alone or together with one or more associated companies controls
directly or indirectly 10 per cent or more of the voting power in the company
paying the dividend. In these circumstances a company which is a resident
of the United Kingdom and receives dividends from a company which is a
resident of Italy shall, provided it is the beneficial owner of the dividends,
be entitled to a tax credit equal to one half of the tax credit to which
an individual resident in Italy would have been entitled had he received
those dividends, subject to the deduction of the tax provided for in sub-paragraph
(a) of paragraph (2) of this Article and provided that the company receiving
the dividend and the tax credit is subject to United Kingdom tax in respect
thereof. For the purposes of this sub-paragraph, two companies shall be
deemed to be associated if one controls, directly or indirectly, more than
50 per cent of the voting power in the other company, or a third company
controls more than 50 per cent of the voting power in both of them.
c) Tax credits provided for under sub-paragraphs (a)
and (b) of this paragraph shall be deemed to be dividends for the purposes
of this Article.
5) The provisions of neither sub-paragraph (b) nor (c)
of paragraph (3) and neither sub-paragraph (a) nor (b) of paragraph (4)
of this Article shall apply unless the recipient of a dividend shows (if
required to do so by the competent authority of the United Kingdom or Italy
respectively on receipt of a claim by the recipient to have the tax credit
set against United Kingdom or Italian income tax respectively chargeable
on him or to have the excess of the credit over that income tax paid to
him) that the shareholding in respect of which the dividend was paid was
acquired by the recipient for bona fide commercial reasons or in the ordinary
course of making or managing investments and it was not the main object
nor one of the main objects of that acquisition to obtain entitlement to
the tax credit referred to in sub-paragraph (b) or sub-paragraph (c) of
paragraph (3) or in sub-paragraph (a) or sub-paragraph (b) of paragraph
(4) of this Article, as the case may be.
6) 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 from other corporate rights 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.
7) The provisions of paragraph (1) and of paragraphs (2),
(3) or (4) of this Article 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 a case the dividends are taxable in that other Contracting State
according to its own law.
8) 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 that other State.
9) If the beneficial owner of a dividend, being a resident
of a Contracting State, owns 10 per cent or more of the class of shares
in respect of which the dividend is paid then the provisions of paragraphs
(2), (3) or, as the case may be, (4) of this Article shall not apply to
the dividend to the extent that:
a) it can have been paid only out of profits
which the company paying the dividend earned or other income which it received
in a period ending twelve months or more before the relevant date; and
b) the shares in respect of which the dividend was paid
have not been held for twelve months continuously ending on the date the
dividend was declared. For the purposes of this paragraph the term "relevant
date" means the date on which the beneficial owner of the dividends became
the owner of 10 per cent or more of the class of shares in question.
Provided that this paragraph shall not apply if the beneficial
owner of the dividend shows that the shares were acquired for bona fide
commercial reasons and not primarily for the purposes of securing the benefit
of this Article.
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 10 per cent of the gross amount of the interest.
3) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (2) of
this Article, the interest referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article
shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the person who
receives the interest is a resident, if that person is the beneficial owner
of the interest and it is paid:
a) in connection with the sale on credit of industrial,
commercial or scientific equipment; or
b) in connection with the sale on credit of goods delivered
by one enterprise to another enterprise.
4) Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph (2) of this
Article, the interest referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article shall
be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the person who receives
the interest is a resident, if that person is the beneficial owner of the
interest and:
a) the payer of the interest is the first Contracting
State referred to in paragraph (1) of this Article or one of its political
or administrative subdivisions or local authorities (in the case of Italy)
or one of its local authorities or agencies or instrumentalities of the
Government or a local authority (in the case of the United Kingdom); or
b) the interest is paid in consideration of a loan made,
guaranteed or insured by the second Contracting State referred to in paragraph
(1) of this Article ("the second Contracting State"), including the Export
Credits Insurance Company (Societa di Assicurazione ai Crediti per l'Esportazione),
or one of its political or administrative subdivisions or local authorities
(in the case of Italy) or one of its local authorities or by the United
Kingdom Export Credits Guarantee Department (in the case of the United
Kingdom) or a public establishment of the second Contracting State.
5) The term "interest" as used in this Article means income
from Government securities, bonds or debentures, whether or not secured
by mortgage and whether or not carrying a right to participate in profits,
and debt-claims of every kind as well as all other income assimilated to
income from money lent by the taxation law of the State in which the income
arises, but does not include income dealt with in Article 10 of this Convention.
6) The provisions of paragraph (1), (2), (3) or (4), as
the case may be, of this Article 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 a case the interest
is taxable in that other Contracting State according to its own law.
7) Interest shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting
State when the payer is that State itself, a political or administrative
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 or fixed base is situated.
8) 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 paid exceeds, for whatever reason, 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 a 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.
9) The provisions of this Article shall not apply if the
debt-claim in respect of which the interest is paid was created or assigned
mainly for the purpose of taking advantage of this Article and not for
bona fide commercial reasons.
10) The reliefs from tax provided for in paragraphs (2),
(3) or (4), as the case may be, of this Article shall not apply if the
beneficial owner of the interest is exempt from tax on such income in the
Contracting State of which he is a resident and such recipient sells or
makes a contract to sell the holding from which such interest is derived
within three months of the date such recipient acquired such holding.
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 8 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, and films or tapes for radio or television broadcasting),
any 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.
4) The provisions of paragraphs (1) and (2) of this Article
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 a case, the royalties are taxable
in that other Contracting State according to its own law.
5) Royalties shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting
State where the payer is that State itself, a political or administrative
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 Contracting 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 paid exceeds, for whatever reason,
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 referred to in Article 6 of this
Convention and 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 together with the whole enterprise) or of such
fixed base, may be taxed in the other State.
3) Gains from the alienation of ships or aircraft operated
in international traffic or movable property pertaining to the operation
of such ships or aircraft, shall be taxable only in the Contracting State
in which the place of effective management of the enterprise is situated.
4) Gains from the alienation of any property other than
that referred to in the preceding paragraphs of this Aide shall be taxable
only in the Contracting State of which the alienator is a resident.
5) The provisions of paragraph (4) of this Article 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:
a) is a resident of the other Contracting State;
and
b) has been a resident of the first-mentioned Contracting
State at any time during the five years immediately preceding the alienation
of the property; and
c) is not subject to tax on those gains in the other
Contracting State.
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, 19, 20
and 21 of this Convention, 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) of
this Article, 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
fiscal year; 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 derived in respect of an employment exercised aboard a ship
or aircraft operated in international traffic, may be taxed in the Contracting
State in which the place of effective management of the enterprise is situated.
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 athletes
1) Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 14 and 15
of this Convention, 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 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 of this Convention,
be taxed in the Contracting State in which the activities of the entertainer
or athlete are exercised.
Article 18
Pensions
1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph (2) of Article
19 of this Convention, pensions and other similar remuneration paid in
consideration of past employment to a resident of a Contracting State and
any annuity paid to such a resident shal1be taxable only in that State.
2) 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) Remuneration, other than a pension, paid by a Contracting
State or a political or an administrative subdivision or a local authority
thereof to any individual in respect of services rendered to that State
or subdivision or local authority thereof shall be taxable only in that
State.
b) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-paragraph (1)(a)
of this Article, such remuneration shall be taxable only in the other Contracting
State if the services are rendered in that State and the recipient is a
resident of that other Contracting State who:
i) is a national of that State not being a national
of the first-mentioned State; or
ii) not being a national of the first-mentioned State
did not become a resident of that other State solely for the purpose of
performing the services.
2)
a) Any pension paid by, or out of funds created by, a
Contracting State or a political or an administrative subdivision or a
local authority thereof to any individual in respect of services rendered
to that State or subdivision or local authority thereof shall be taxable
only in that State.
b) Notwithstanding the provisions of sub-paragraph (2)(a)
of this Article, such pension shall be taxable only in the other Contracting
State if the individual is a national of and a resident of that State.
3) The provisions of Articles 15, 16 and 18 of this Convention
shall apply to remuneration or pensions in respect of services rendered
in connection with any trade or business carried on by one of the Contracting
States or a politica1or an administrative subdivision or a local authority
thereof.
Article 20
Teachers
1) An individual who visits one of the Contracting States
for a period not exceeding two years for the purpose of teaching or engaging
in research at a university, college or other recognized educational institution
in that Contracting State and who is or was immediately before that visit
a resident of the other Contracting State, shall be exempt from tax by
the first-mentioned Contracting State on any remuneration for such teaching
or research for a period not exceeding two years from the date he first
visits that State for such purpose.
2) This Article shall only apply to income from research
if such research is undertaken by the individual in the public interest
and not primarily for the benefit of some other private person or persons.
Article 21
Students and business apprentices
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 Contracting
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 first-mentioned State, provided that such payments arise from sources
outside that State.
Article 22
Other income
1) Items of income of a resident of a Contracting State,
wherever arising, other than income paid out of trusts or the estates of
deceased persons in the course of administration, which are not dealt with
in the foregoing Articles of this Convention shall be taxable only in that
State.
2) The provisions of paragraph (1) of this Article shall
not apply to income, other than income from immovable property as defined
in paragraph (2) of Article 6 of this Convention, 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 items of income are taxable
in that other Contracting State according to its own law.
Article 23
Miscellaneous rules applicable to certain offshore activities
1) The provisions of this Article shall apply notwithstanding
any other provision of this Convention.
2) In this Article the term "offshore activities" means
activities which are carried on offshore in connection with the exploration
or exploitation of the sea bed and subsoil and their natural resources
situated in a Contracting State.
3) An enterprise of a Contracting State which carries
on offshore activities in the other Contracting State shall be deemed to
be carrying on business in that other State through a permanent establishment
situated therein.
4) The provisions of paragraph (3) of this Article shall
not apply where offshore activities are carried on in the other State for
a period or periods not exceeding in the aggregate 30 days in any period
of twelve months. For the purposes of this paragraph:
a) where an enterprise carrying on offshore activities
in the other State is associated with another enterprise carrying on substantially
similar activities there, the former enterprise shall be deemed to be carrying
on all such activities of the latter enterprise, except to the extent that
those activities are carried on at the same time as its own activities;
b) an enterprise shall be regarded as associated with
another enterprise if one participates directly or indirectly in the management,
control or capital of the other or if the same persons participate directly
or indirectly in the management, control or capital of both enterprises.
5) A resident of a Contracting State who carries on offshore
activities in the other Contracting State, which consist of professional
services or other activities of an independent character, shall be deemed
to be performing those activities from a fixed base in that other Contracting
State. However, this paragraph shall not apply where such activities are
carried on in the other Contracting State for a period or periods not exceeding
in the aggregate 30 days in any period of twelve months.
6) Salaries, wages and other similar remuneration derived
by a resident of a Contracting State in respect of an employment connected
with offshore activities in the other Contracting State may, to the extent
that the employment is exercised offshore in that other State, be taxed
in that other State. However, this paragraph shall not apply where such
an employment is exercised in the other Contracting State for a period
or periods not exceeding in the aggregate 30 days in any period of twelve
months.
Article 24
Elimination of double taxation
1) Double taxation of income shall be avoided in accordance
with the following paragraphs of this Article.
2) Subject to the provisions of the law of the United
Kingdom regarding the allowance as a credit against United Kingdom tax
of tax payable in a territory outside the United Kingdom (which shall not
affect the general principle hereof):
a) Italian tax payable under the laws of Italy
and in accordance with this Convention, whether directly or by deduction,
on profits or incomes from sources within Italy (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 United Kingdom tax computed
by reference to the same profits or income by reference to which the Italian
tax is computed;
b) in the case of a dividend paid by a company which
is a resident of Italy to a company which is a resident of the United Kingdom
and which controls directly or indirectly at least 10 per cent of the voting
power in the company paying the dividend, the credit shall take into account
(in addition to any Italian tax for which credit may be allowed under the
provisions of sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph) the Italian tax payable
by the company in respect of the profits out of which such dividend is
paid.
3) Where a resident of Italy owns items of income which are
taxable in the United Kingdom, Italy, in determining its income taxes specified
in Article 2 of this Convention, may include, unless specific provisions
of this Convention otherwise provide, such items of income in the base
upon which such taxes are imposed. In such a case, Italy shall deduct from
the taxes so calculated the United Kingdom tax paid on the income, but
in an amount not exceeding that proportion of the aforesaid Italian tax
which such items of income bear to the entire income. However no deduction
will be granted if the item of income is subjected in Italy to a final
withholding tax by request of the recipient of the said income in accordance
with the Italian law.
4) For the purpose of paragraphs (2) and (3) of this Article,
profits and income owned by 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 Contracting State.
Article 25
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
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. 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 taxation purposes on account of civil status or family
responsibilities or any other personal circumstances which it grants to
its own residents.
3) Except where the provisions of Article 9, paragraph
(8) of Article 11, or paragraph (6) of Article 12 of this Convention apply,
interest, 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 subject
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.
5) The provisions of this Article shall apply to taxes
of every kind and description.
Article 26
Mutual agreement procedure
1) Where a resident of a Contracting State 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.
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 not in accordance with the Convention.
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.
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 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 this Convention insofar as the taxation thereunder is
not contrary to this Convention, in particular, to prevent fiscal evasion
or fraud and to facilitate the administration of statutory provisions against
legal avoidance. Any information received by a Contracting State shall
be treated as secret and shall be disclosed only to persons or authorities
(including courts and administrative bodies) involved in the assessment
or collection of, the enforcement or prosecution in respect of, or the
determination of appeals in relation to, the taxes covered by this 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) of
this Article be construed so as to impose on one of the Contracting States
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).
Article 28
Members of diplomatic or permanent missions and consular posts
Nothing in this Convention shall affect any fiscal privileges
accorded to members of diplomatic or permanent missions or consular posts
under the general rules of international law or under the provisions of
special agreements.
Article 29
Refunds
1) Tax withheld at source in a Contracting State shall
be refunded on application by or on behalf of the taxpayer or by the State
of which he is a resident if such resident is entitled to a refund of that
tax under the provisions of this Convention.
2) Applications for refund shall be made within the time
limit fixed by the law of the Contracting State in which the tax has been
withheld and shall be accompanied by a certificate of the Contracting State
of which the taxpayer is a resident certifying that the conditions required
for entitlement to the refund have been fulfilled.
3) The competent authorities of the Contracting States
shall by mutual agreement settle the mode of application of this Article,
in accordance with the provisions of Article 26 of this Convention.
Article 30
Entry into force
1) This Convention shall be ratified and the instruments
of ratification shall be exchanged as soon as possible.
2) This Convention shall enter into force after the expiration
of thirty days following the date on which the instruments of ratification
are exchanged and shall thereupon have effect:
a) in the United Kingdom: i. in respect of income
tax and capital gains tax, for any year of assessment beginning on or after
6th April in the calendar year next following that in which the instruments
of ratification are exchanged; ii. in respect of corporation tax, for any
financial year beginning on or after 1st April in the calendar year next
following that in which the instruments of ratification are exchanged;
iii. in respect of petroleum revenue tax, for any chargeable period beginning
on or after 1st January in the calendar year next following that in which
the instruments of ratification are exchanged;
b) in Italy: in respect of income for taxable periods
beginning on or after 1st January in the calendar year next following that
in which the instruments of ratification are exchanged.
3) The existing Convention for the avoidance of double taxation
and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income, signed
at London on 4th July 1960, and the Protocol amending the said Convention,
signed at London on 28th April 1969, shall terminate and cease to be effective
in respect of the taxes to which this Convention applies in accordance
with the provisions of paragraph (2) of this Article.
Article 31
Termination
This Convention shall remain in force until terminated
by one of the Contracting States. Either Contracting State may terminate
this Convention, through the diplomatic channel, by giving notice of termination
at least six months before the end of any calendar year. In such event,
this Convention shall cease to have effect:
a) in the United Kingdom: i. in respect of income
tax and capital gains tax, for any year of assessment beginning on or after
6th April in the calendar year next following that in which the notice
is given; ii. in respect of corporation tax, for any financial year beginning
on or after 1st April in the calendar year next following that in which
the notice is given; iii. in respect of petroleum revenue tax, for any
chargeable period beginning on or after 1st January in the calendar year
next following that in which the notice is given;
b) in Italy: in respect of income of taxable periods
beginning on or after 1st January in the year following that in which the
notice is given.
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