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38 <strong>SENATE</strong> Thursday, 13 October 2016<br />
The statement read as follows—<br />
Purpose of the Bill<br />
The purpose of this bill is to give force of law to the new Australia-Germany Double Taxation Agreement.<br />
Key benefits for Australia would include implementation of the G20/Organisation for Economic Cooperation and<br />
Development (OECD) Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project recommended tax treaty integrity rules, access to reduced rates<br />
of withholding tax on dividends, interest and royalties, and new clauses allowing arbitration for unresolved tax disputes and<br />
mutual assistance in the collection of tax debts.<br />
Reasons for Urgency<br />
This treaty contains new rules applying to specified pension payments commencing from 1 January 2017. It is therefore<br />
desirable that the new treaty is in force before that date.<br />
In addition, Germany expects to complete its domestic implementation processes in September 2016 to allow the new treaty<br />
to take effect in Germany from 1 January 2017.<br />
If the bill is not passed in the 2016 Spring sittings, the treaty will not take effect for withholding tax and German income tax<br />
purposes until 1 January 2018, delaying taxpayer access to the treaty benefits for a further year.<br />
Question agreed to.<br />
Second Reading<br />
Senator RYAN (Victoria—Special Minister of State and Minister Assisting the Cabinet Secretary) (12:46): I<br />
move:<br />
That this bill be now read a second time.<br />
I seek leave to have the second reading speech incorporated in Hansard.<br />
Leave granted.<br />
The speech read as follows—<br />
This Bill will amend the International Tax Agreements Act 1953 to give the force of law to the new tax treaty signed by<br />
Australia and Germany on 12 November 2015. The tax treaty is known as the Agreement between Australia and the Federal<br />
Republic of Germany for the Elimination of Double Taxation with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital and the<br />
Prevention of Fiscal Evasion and Avoidance, and its Protocol (the new Agreement).<br />
The Bill will further enhance the already strong economic relations between Australia and Germany.<br />
It will encourage trade and investment between Australia and Germany that will support Australian firms and our<br />
economy.<br />
International trade and investment creates opportunities for Australia through the provision of goods and services and the<br />
injection of foreign capital.<br />
As our economy transitions to broad based growth it is important that we continue to attract foreign investment. But we<br />
need the right policy environment for trade and investment in order to take advantage of these opportunities.<br />
The Government has therefore modernised its existing bilateral tax treaty with Germany to reflect changes arising from<br />
international developments.<br />
Australians are increasingly concerned about the actions of multinational companies and high wealth individuals who avoid<br />
paying their fair share of tax. This new Agreement replaces the old Agreement which was signed in 1972, bringing bilateral<br />
tax arrangements into the twenty-first century.<br />
Importantly, the new Agreement is Australia's first tax treaty that has incorporated the integrity provisions of the<br />
G20/OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting project, known as BEPS. These provisions are designed to minimise tax<br />
avoidance opportunities and ensure that multinational corporations pay the right amount of tax.<br />
This new Agreement includes the BEPS minimum standards for protecting against treaty shopping, to counter the<br />
channelling of investments through conduit companies to exploit treaty protections with a view to avoiding Australian tax.<br />
This is an important landmark in the fight against multinational tax avoidance and strengthens the Government's already<br />
tough tax anti-avoidance laws. In relation to fiscal evasion, the new Agreement will:<br />
strengthen the integrity of Australia's tax system and help detect and prevent evasion by authorising the revenue authorities<br />
of Australia and Germany to exchange taxpayer information on all taxes imposed in either country.<br />
enable mutual assistance in the collection of outstanding tax debts.<br />
The new Agreement will also improve tax certainty for business by introducing new anti-discrimination and arbitration<br />
rules, as well as a range of rules to prevent potential double taxation.<br />
From a trade perspective, the new Agreement will create new opportunities for Australian businesses by reducing<br />
withholding tax rates, helping to create a more favourable bilateral investment environment and making it cheaper for<br />
Australian business to access German capital and technology.<br />
The new Agreement will also expand treaty benefits for income received by Australian managed investment trusts and<br />
certain German collective investment vehicles, and establish source country taxation of pensions in limited circumstances.<br />
CHAMBER