Australia: Treaties and Tax Information Exchange Agreements

This is a technical explanation of the Protocol between the United States and Australia, signed on September 27, 2001, (the “Protocol”) amending the Convention between the United States of America and Australia for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income, signed on August 6, 1982 (the “Convention”). Negotiations took into account the U.S. Treasury Department’s current tax treaty policy, the Treasury Department’s Model Income Tax Convention (the “U.S. Model”), published on September 20, 1996, and the Australian Model Tax Convention. Negotiations also took into account the Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital, published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, as updated in April 2000 (the “OECD Model”), and recent tax treaties concluded by both countries. The Technical Explanation is an official guide to the Protocol. It reflects the policies behind particular Protocol provisions, as well as understandings reached with respect to the application and interpretation of the Protocol. References in the Technical Explanation to “he” or “his” should be read to mean “he or she” or “his or her.”