- (1) Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of this Article, dividends paid by a company which is a resident of a Contracting State and beneficially owned by a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable only in that other Contracting State.
- (2) However:
- (a) dividends paid by a real estate investment trust which is a resident of the United Kingdom may also be taxed, according to its laws, in the United Kingdom. However, if the beneficial owner of the dividends is a resident of Singapore, the tax so charged shall not exceed 15 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends.
- (b) distributions paid by a real estate investment trust which is organised in Singapore may also be taxed, according to its laws, in Singapore - however, if the beneficial owner of the distributions is a resident of the United Kingdom, the tax so charged shall not exceed 15 per cent of the gross amount of the distributions. This paragraph and paragraph 1 shall not affect the taxation of the company or the real estate investment trust in respect of the profits out of which the dividends or distributions are paid.
- (3) For the purposes of paragraph 2 of this Article, a real estate investment trust means:
- (a) in the case of the United Kingdom, a real estate investment trust within the meaning of Part 12 of Corporation Tax Act 2010 and a property authorised investment fund within the meaning of Part 4A of the Authorised Investment Funds (Tax) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/964)
- (b) in the case of Singapore, a trust that is constituted as a collective investment scheme authorised under section 286 of the Securities and Futures Act (Chapter 289) and listed on the Singapore Exchange, and that invests or proposes to invest in immovable property and immovable property-related assets
- (4) The term ‘dividends’ as used in this Article means income from shares, or other rights, not being debt claims, participating in profits, as well as income from other corporate rights assimilated to income from shares by the taxation laws of the State of which the company making the distribution is a resident and also includes any other item which, under the laws of the Contracting State of which the company paying the dividends is a resident, is treated as a dividend or distribution of a 17 company. For the purposes of paragraphs 5, 6 and 7 of this Article, the term ‘dividends’ also includes distributions within the meaning of subparagraph b) of paragraph 2 of this Article and reference to a company shall be read as including reference to a real estate investment trust as appropriate.
- (5) The provision of paragraphs (1) and (2) 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 case the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14 of this Agreement, 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 that other State.
- (7) [REPLACED by paragraph 1 and paragraph 4 of Article 7 of the MLI1] (Refer to the box following Article 28 of the Agreement) [The provisions of this Article shall not apply if it was the main purpose or one of the main purposes of any person concerned with the creation or assignment of the shares or other rights in respect of which the dividend is paid to take advantage of this Article by means of that creation or assignment].
- (8) [REPLACED by paragraph 1 and paragraph 4 of Article 7 of the MLI2] (Refer to the box following Article 28 of the Agreement) [In the event that a resident of a Contracting State is denied relief from taxation in the other Contracting State by reason of the provisions of paragraph (7) of this Article, the competent authority of the other Contracting State shall notify the competent authority of the first-mentioned Contracting State].