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Synthesised text of the MLI and the convention between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Australia for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital Gains.
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This document presents the synthesised text for the application of the convention between the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Australia with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital Gains signed on 21 August 2003 (the “Convention”), as modified by the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the “MLI”) signed by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Australia on 7 June 2017.
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This document was prepared in consultation with the Australian Tax Office and represents our shared understanding of the modifications made to the convention by the MLI.
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The document was prepared on the basis of the MLI position of the United Kingdom submitted to the Depositary upon ratification on 29 June 2018 and of the MLI position of Australia submitted to the Depositary upon ratification on 26 September 2018. These MLI positions are subject to modifications as provided in the MLI. Modifications made to MLI positions could modify the effects of the MLI on the convention.
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The authentic legal texts of the convention and the MLI take precedence and remain the legal texts applicable.
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The provisions of the MLI that are applicable with respect to the provisions of the convention are included in boxes throughout the text of this document in the context of the relevant provisions of the convention. The boxes containing the provisions of the MLI have generally been inserted in accordance with the ordering of the provisions of the 2017 OECD Model Tax Convention.
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Changes to the text of the provisions of the MLI have been made to conform the terminology used in the MLI to the terminology used in the convention (such as “Covered Tax Agreement” and “Convention”, “Contracting Jurisdictions” and “Contracting States”), to ease the comprehension of the provisions of the MLI. The changes in terminology are intended to increase the readability of the document and are not intended to change the substance of the provisions of the MLI. Similarly, changes have been made to parts of provisions of the MLI that describe existing provisions of the convention: descriptive language has been replaced by legal references to the existing provisions to ease the readability.
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In all cases, references made to the provisions of the convention or to the convention must be understood as referring to the convention as modified by the provisions of the MLI, provided such provisions of the MLI have taken effect.
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#### References
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The authentic legal texts of the MLI and the convention can be found at the following links:
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The MLI:
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[Multilateral Convention to implement tax treaty related measures to prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting](http://www.oecd.org/tax/treaties/multilateral-convention-to-implement-tax-treaty-related-measures-to-prevent-BEPS.pdf)
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In the United Kingdom:
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[2003 No. 3199 Income Tax - The Double Taxation Relief (Taxes on Income) (Australia) Order 2003](http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2003/3199/pdfs/uksi_20033199_en.pdf)
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In Australia:
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[Convention between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital Gains](http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/other/dfat/treaties/2003/22.html)
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The MLI position of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland submitted to the Depositary upon ratification on 29 June 2018 and of the MLI position of Australia submitted to the Depositary upon ratification on 26 September 2018 can be found on the MLI Depositary (OECD) webpage.
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The provisions of the MLI applicable to the convention do not take effect on the same dates as the original provisions of the convention. Each of provisions of the MLI could take effect on different dates, depending on the types of taxes involved (taxes withheld at source or other taxes levied) and on the choices made by United Kingdom and Australia in their MLI positions.
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Dates of the deposit of instruments of ratification, acceptance or approval: 29 June 2018 for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and 26 September 2018 for Australia.
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Entry into force of the MLI: 1 October 2018 for the United Kingdom and 1 January 2019 for Australia.
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Unless otherwise stated and in accordance with Article 35 of the MLI, the provisions of the MLI have effect with the respect to the convention:
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a) with respect to taxes withheld at source on amounts paid or credited to non-residents, where the event giving rise to such taxes occurs on or after 1 January 2019;
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b) with respect to all other taxes levied by the United Kingdom, from 1 April 2020 for corporation tax and from 6 April 2020 for income tax and capital gains tax; and
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c) with respect to all other taxes levied by Australia, for taxes levied with respect to taxable periods beginning on or after 1 July 2019.
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Convention between the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the government of Australia for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital gains.
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The Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of Australia.
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The following paragraph 3 of Article 6 of the MLI is included in the preamble of this Convention:
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ARTICLE 6 OF THE MLI – PURPOSE OF A COVERED TAX AGREEMENT
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Desiring to further develop their economic relationship and to enhance their co operation in tax matters,
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[REPLACED by the preamble text included in paragraph 1 of Article 6 of the MLI] [Desiring to conclude a Convention for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income and on capital gains,]
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The following paragraph 1 of Article 6 of the MLI replaces the text referring to an intent to eliminate double taxation in the preamble of this Convention:
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ARTICLE 6 OF THE MLI – PURPOSE OF A COVERED TAX AGREEMENT
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Intending to eliminate double taxation with respect to the taxes covered by [the convention] without creating opportunities for non-taxation or reduced taxation through tax evasion or avoidance (including through treaty-shopping arrangements aimed at obtaining reliefs provided [the convention] for the indirect benefit of residents of third jurisdictions),
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Have agreed as follows: