Canada-Argentina Income Tax Convention Act, 1994 (S.C. 1994, c. 17, Part IV)

The Government of Canada and the Government of the Argentine Republic, 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, have agreed as follows:

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 taxes imposed by the Government of Canada under the Income Tax Act, (hereinafter referred to as “Canadian tax”);

  • (b) in the case of Argentina:

    • (i) the income tax (impuesto a las ganancias);

    • (ii) the assets tax (impuesto sobre los activos); and

    • (iii) the personal assets tax (impuesto personal sobre los bienes no incorporados al proceso economico);

      (hereinafter referred to as “Argentine tax”).

• 4 The Convention shall apply also to any identical or substantially similar taxes which are imposed after the date of signature of the Convention in addition to, or in place of, the existing taxes. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall notify each other of significant changes which have been made in their respective taxation laws.

II. Definitions

Article 3
General Definitions

• 1 For the purposes of this Convention, unless the context otherwise requires:

  • (a) the terms a Contracting State and the other Contracting State mean, as the context requires, Canada or Argentina;

  • (b) the term person includes an individual, a company and any other body of persons; in the case of Canada it also includes an estate, a trust and a partnership;

  • (c) the term company means any body corporate or any entity which is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes; in French, the term société also means a corporation within the meaning of Canadian law;

  • (d) 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;

  • (e) the term international traffic means any voyage of a ship or aircraft operated by an enterprise of a Contracting State to transport passengers or property except where the principal purpose of the voyage is to transport passengers or property between places within the other Contracting State;

  • (f) the term tax means Canadian tax or Argentine tax, as the context requires;

  • (g) 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;

  • (h) 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 Argentina, the Ministry of Economy, Secretary of Public Revenue (el Ministerio de Economía, Secretaría de Ingresos Públicos).

• 2 As regards the application of the Convention by a Contracting State at any time, any term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning which it has at that time 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:

  • (a) any person who, under the laws of that State, is liable to tax therein by reason of his domicile, residence, place of management, place or incorporation or any other criterion of a similar nature;

  • (b) the government of that State or a political subdivision or local authority thereof or any agency or instrumentality of any such government, subdivision or authority.

• 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 of a Contracting State 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; and

  • (f) a mine, an oil or gas well, a quarry or any other place relating to the exploration for or the exploitation of natural resources.

• 3 The term permanent establishment likewise encompasses:

  • (a) a building site, a construction, assembly or installation project or supervisory activities in connection therewith, but only where such site, project or activities continue for a period of more than six months;

  • (b) the furnishing of services, including consultancy services, by an enterprise through employees or other personnel engaged by the enterprise for such purpose, but only where such activities continue within the country for a period or periods aggregating more than six months within any twelve month period.

• 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 of 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, 2 and 3, where a person - other than an agent of an independent status to whom paragraph 6 applies - is acting on behalf of an enterprise of a Contracting State and has, and habitually exercises in the other 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 other 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 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, provided that such persons are acting in the ordinary course of their business. However, when activities of such an agent are devoted wholly or almost wholly on behalf of that enterprise, he will not be considered an agent of an independent status within the meaning of this paragraph.

• 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 applicable taxation law of the Contracting State in which the property in question is situated and shall include any option or similar right in respect thereof. 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 considered for the working of, or the right to work, mineral deposits, sources and other natural resources; ships 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 income 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:

  • (a) that permanent establishment; or

  • (b) sales in that other State of goods or merchandise of the same or similar kind as those sold through that permanent establishment; or

  • (c) other business activities carried on in that other State of the same or similar kind as those effected through 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 Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, profits derived by an enterprise of a Contracting State from the activity of granting insurance (including reinsurance) covering property situated in the other Contracting State or persons which are residents of that other State, at the time of the conclusion of the insurance contract, may be taxed in that other State, whether or not the enterprise carries on its activity in that other State through a permanent establishment situated therein.

• 5 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.

• 6 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.

• 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.

• 4 In this Article,

  • (a) the term profits includes:

    • (i) profits, net profits, gross receipts and revenues derived directly from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic; and

    • (ii) interest on sums generated from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic provided that such interest is incidental to the operation;

  • (b) the term operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic by an enterprise of a Contracting State includes:

    • (i) the charter or rental of ships or aircraft;

    • (ii) the rental of containers and related equipment; and

    • (iii) the alienation of ships, aircraft, containers and related equipment;

    by that enterprise provided that such charter, rental or alienation is incidental to the operation by that enterprise of ships or aircraft in international traffic.

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 income 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 income of that enterprise and taxed accordingly.

• 2 Where a Contracting State includes in the income of an enterprise of that State – and taxes accordingly – income on which an enterprise of the other Contracting State has been charged to tax in that other State and the income so included is income which would have accrued to the first-mentioned enterprise 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 that income. In determining such adjustment, due regard shall be had to the other provisions of this Convention and the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall if necessary consult each other.

• 3 A Contracting State shall not change the income 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 six years from the end of the year in which the income which would be subject to such change would, but for the conditions referred to in paragraph 1, have accrued to that enterprise.

• 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:

  • (a) 10 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends if the beneficial owner is a company which holds directly at least 25 per cent of the capital of the company paying the dividends;

  • (b) 15 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends in all other cases.

  The provisions of this paragraph shall not affect the taxation of the company on the profits out of which the dividends are paid.

• 3 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.

• 4 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.

• 5 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.

• 6 Nothing in this Convention shall be construed as preventing a Contracting State from imposing on the earnings of a company attributable to a permanent establishment in that State, a tax in addition to the tax which would be chargeable on the earnings of a company which is a national of that State, provided that any additional tax so imposed shall not exceed 10 per cent of the amount of such earnings which have not been subjected to such additional tax in previous taxation years. For the purpose of this provision, the term earnings means the profits attributable to a permanent establishment in a Contracting State in a year and previous years after deducting therefrom all taxes, other than the additional tax referred to herein, imposed on such profits by that State.

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 12.5 per cent 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 Argentina 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;

  • (c) interest arising in Canada and paid to a resident of Argentina shall be taxable only in Argentina if it is paid in respect of a loan made, guaranteed or insured, or a credit extended, guaranteed or insured by an Argentine institution as is specified and agreed in letters exchanged between the competent authorities of the Contracting States; and

  • (d) interest arising in a Contracting State shall be exempt from tax in that State if it is beneficially owned by a resident of the other Contracting State and is paid with respect to indebtedness arising as a consequence of the sale on credit by a resident of that other State of any industrial machinery or equipment except where the sale or indebtedness was between related persons.

• 4 The term interest as used in this Article means income from debt-claims of every kind, whether or not secured by mortgage, 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 8 or 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 supply.

• 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 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 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:

  • (a) 3 per cent of the gross amount paid for the use of, or the right to use, news;

  • (b) 5 per cent of the gross amount paid for the use of, or the right to use, copyright of literary, dramatic, musical or other artistic work (but not including royalties in respect of motion picture films and works on film or videotape or other means of reproduction for use in connection with television);

  • (c) 10 per cent of the gross amount paid for the use of, or the right to use, any patent, trade mark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process, or for the use of, or the right to use, industrial or scientific equipment, or for information concerning industrial or scientific experience, and includes payments for the rendering of technical assistance; and

  • (d) 15 per cent of the gross amount of the royalties in all other cases.

• 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, news, any copyright of literary, dramatic, musical or other artistic work, any patent, trade mark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process or other intangible property, 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 for the rendering of technical assistance and payments of any kind in respect of motion picture films and works on film, videotape or other means of reproduction for use in connection with television.

• 4 The provisions of paragraph 2 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.

• 5 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 a 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.

• 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, 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 property situated in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.

• 2 Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, gains from the alienation of ships or aircraft operated in international traffic by an enterprise of a Contracting State or movable property pertaining to the operation of such ships or aircraft, shall be taxable only in that State.

Article 14
Independent Personal Services

• 1 Income derived by an individual who is a resident of a Contracting State in respect of professional services or other activities of an independent character performed in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State but the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of that income unless he has a fixed base regularly available to him in that other State for the purpose of performing his activities. If he has or had such a fixed base, the income may be taxed in the other State in accordance with the law of that 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 but it does not include technical services dealt with in Article 12.

Article 15
Dependent Personal Services

• 1 Subject to the provisions of Articles 16, 18 and 19, salaries, wages and other 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:

  • (a) the recipient is present in the other State for a period or periods not exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in any twelve month period commencing or ending in the calendar year concerned; and

  • (b) the remuneration is paid by, or on behalf of, a person 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 person 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 unless the remuneration is derived by a resident of the other Contracting State.

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 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 Sportsmen

• 1 Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 7, 14 and 15, 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 a sportsman, 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 a sportsman in his capacity as such accrues not to the entertainer or sportsman 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 sportsman are exercised.

• 3 The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall not apply to income derived from activities performed in a Contracting State by a resident of the other Contracting State in the context of a visit in the first-mentioned State of a non-profit organization of the other State provided that the visit is substantially supported by public funds.

Article 18
Pensions and Annuities

• 1 Pensions and annuities (including “jubilaciones” in the case of Argentina) arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.

• 2 Pensions 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. 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.

• 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 per cent 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 annuity contract the cost of which was deductible, in whole or in part, in computing the income of any person who acquired the contract.

• 4 Notwithstanding anything in this Convention:

  • (a) war pensions and allowances (including pensions and allowances paid to war veterans or paid as a consequence of damages or injuries suffered as a consequence of a war) arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be exempt from tax in that other State to the extent that they would be exempt from tax if received by a resident of the first-mentioned State; and

  • (b) alimony and other similar payments arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State who is the beneficial owner thereof, shall be taxable only in that other State.

Article 19
Government Service

• 1

  • (a) Salaries, wages and similar remuneration, other than a 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 in any other State, shall be taxable only in the first-mentioned State.

  • (b) However, such salaries, wages and similar 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

Items of income of a resident of a Contracting State, wherever arising, not dealt with in the foregoing Articles of this Convention may be taxed in that State.

IV. Taxation of Capital

Article 22
Capital

• 1 Capital represented by property owned by a resident of a Contracting State and situated in the other Contracting State, may be taxed in that other State.

• 2 Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, 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.

V. Methods for Prevention of Double Taxation

Article 23
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 Argentina on profits, income or gains arising in Argentina 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 taxation of income from 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 which is a resident of 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 which is a resident of Argentina.

• 2 For the purpose of subparagraph (a) of paragraph 1, tax payable in Argentina by a company engaged primarily in the manufacturing or natural resources sector which is a resident of Canada in respect of:

  • (a) interest, other than interest which is exempted in Argentina in accordance with paragraph 3 of Article 11, or

  • (b) industrial royalties referred to in paragraph 3 of Article 12

  paid by a company engaged primarily in the same sector which is a resident of Argentina shall be deemed to have been paid at the rate of 12.5 per cent in the case of interest and at the rate of 15 per cent in the case of royalties. The provisions of this paragraph shall apply for the first five years for which the Convention is effective, but the competent authorities of the Contracting States may consult with each other to determine whether this period shall be extended.

• 3 For the purposes of subparagraph (a) of paragraph 1, tax payable in Argentina by a company which is a resident of Canada in respect of profits attributable to manufacturing activities or to the exploration or exploitation of natural resources carried on by it in Argentina shall be deemed to include any amount which would have been payable thereon as Argentine tax for any year but for an exemption from, or reduction of, tax granted for that year or any part thereof under specific provisions of Argentine legislation that the competent authority of Canada agrees should be covered by this provision, and only to the extent that the said provisions have the effect of exempting or relieving a source of income for a period not in excess of ten years.

• 4 In the case where a resident of Argentina derives income from sources in Canada, the resident shall be allowed a credit in the determination of the Argentine tax for the tax paid on such income to Canada. However, the tax credit shall not exceed the amount of the Argentine tax on such income determined in accordance with its internal law.

• 5 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 24
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 25
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 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 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.

• 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 and may communicate with each other directly for the purpose of applying the Convention.

Article 26
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 Nothing in paragraph 1 shall 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).

• 3 If information is requested by a Contracting State in accordance with this Article, the other Contracting State shall endeavour to obtain the information to which the request relates in the same way as if its own taxation was involved notwithstanding the fact that the other State does not, at that time, need such information. If specifically requested by the competent authority of a Contracting State, the competent authority of the other Contracting State shall endeavour to provide information under this Article in the form requested, such as depositions of witnesses and copies of unedited original documents (including books, papers, statements, records, accounts or writings), to the same extent such depositions and documents can be obtained under the laws and administrative practices of that other State with respect to its own taxes.

Article 27
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, 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 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 or a group of States, 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 income as are residents thereof.

Article 28
Miscellaneous Rules

• 1 The provisions of this Convention shall not be construed to restrict in any manner any exemption, allowance, credit or other deduction 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 with respect to a partnership, trust, or controlled foreign affiliate, in which he has an interest.

• 3 The Convention shall not apply to any company, trust or partnership that is a resident of a Contracting State and is beneficially owned or controlled directly or indirectly by one or more persons who are not residents of that State, if the amount of the tax imposed on the income or capital of the company, trust or partnership by that State is substantially lower than the amount that would be imposed by that State if all of the shares of the capital stock of the company or all of the interests in the trust or partnership, as the case may be, were beneficially owned by one or more individuals who were residents of that State.

VII. Final Provisions

Article 29
Entry into Force

• 1 This Convention shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be exchanged.

• 2 The Convention shall enter into force upon the exchange of instruments of ratification and its provisions shall have effect:

  • (a) 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 exchange of instruments of ratification takes place; and

  • (b) in respect of other tax for taxation years beginning on or after the first day of January in the calendar year next following that in which the exchange of instruments of ratification takes places.

• 3 The Agreement for the Avoidance of Double Taxation on Profits derived from Sea and Air Transportation constituted by an Exchange of Notes dated August 6, 1949 shall cease to have effect from the date this Convention takes effect in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2 and shall terminate on the last date on which it has effect in accordance with the foregoing provisions.

Article 30
Termination

This Convention shall continue in effect indefinitely but either Contracting State may, on or before June 30 of 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 respect of tax withheld at the source on amounts paid or credited to non-residents on or after the first day of January of the next following calendar year; and

• (b) in respect of other tax for taxation years beginning on or after the first day of January of the next following calendar year.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, duly authorized to that effect, have signed this Convention.

DONE in duplicate at Buenos Aires, this 29th day of April 1993, in the English, French and Spanish languages, each version being equally authentic.