OECD approves the 2017 update to the OECD Model Tax Convention

http://www.oecd.org/ctp/treaties/oecd-approves-2017-update-model-tax-convention.htm

南京财经大学财税学院 王建伟编译

经合组织批准经合组织税收协定范本2017更新版

——2017年11月21日，经合组织理事会批准了经合组织税收协定范本（经合组织范本）2017更新的内容。2017更新版，先前经财政事务委员会于2017年9月28日批准，将纳入经合组织范本的修订版，将在未来几个月内公布。2017更新变化主要包括经合组织范本，通过经合组织和G20 BEPS项目开发。在2017更新内容介绍里详细介绍了所有这些变化，其中包括，特别是：

OECD范本标题和序言的变动；对第1条（人的范围）有关对“协定”的不当使用的变化，和一个新的29条（利益授予条款），其为经合组织范本利益限制（LOB）规则（简化和详细的版本）所涵盖；对位于第三国的常设机构的反滥用规则；和一个主要目的测试（PPT）规则（这些变化都包含在BEPS行动计划第6项报告（防止协定利益的不当授予）或第6项行动计划的后续工作的组成部分中）；

•修改第5条（常设机构）和因BEPS第7项行动计划的报告（防止人为回避成为常设机构）及其后续工作的注释；并

•修改第25（相互协商程序）和对由于第14项行动计划（使争端解决程序更有效）中涵盖的第2条,第 7条,第 9条和第25条或报告表明作为第14项行动计划后续研发工作的部分内容——修改涉及经合组织范本相互协商程序的仲裁条款及其旨在反映于2016年11月24日通过《实施税收协定的相关措施以防止税基侵蚀和利润转移的多边公约》所做的注释。

2017更新也包括OECD范本此前发布的注释和未研发的BEPS行动计划协定相关措施等部分工作的变化。这些变化包括：

•修改第5条由于BEPS第7项行动计划及前述对第5条的解释和应用工作的变化所形成的总体注释。对从早期开展的工作的建议方案–该早期工作是根据2017年更新版前的第5条–最初发表在2011年10月的讨论稿草案，该讨论稿在2012年9月7日进行公众咨询（征求意见），在2012年10月修订讨论稿后发布；并

•修改第8（国际海运和空运），第3条第1款“国际运输”的定义）、第15条第3款（国际运输中船只和飞机所属税收上的“人”），和由此带来第6, 13和22条的相应变化。这些变化包括相关注释的变化（这些变化在2013年11月的讨论稿草案中发布）。

2017更新版还包括以下四个变化，包括在2017年7月11日公开发布：

•修改第4条注释（居民）相关的问题是，从第4条第2款A的加比规则目的出发，向一非关联个人出租房屋对业主而言是否可以被认为是一个“永久性住所”？

•修改第4条注释以清晰阐明第2款C加比规则中“习惯性居住”的含义。

•为回应公众的征求意见，第5条注释中增加了一个新条款，指出为增值税或商品劳务税目的进行登记本身与常设机构定义适用的解释目的无关。此外还对BEPS第1项行动计划（应对数字经济的税收挑战）报告及《国际增值税/商品劳务税指南》中类似的语言表达提供了一个对应参照，作为补充，以澄清此条款（适用）；及

•删除第10条（股息）第2款括注（合伙企业除外），其目的是为了确保来源地国家减少股息税率的条款也适用于新的第1条第2款（透明实体适用条款）的情况。

最后，2017次更新包括对经合组织成员国的意见和保留以及非经合组织经济体的立场的修改和补充。

更多信息请联系经合组织税收政策与管理中心主任Pascal Saint Amans。

23/11/2017 - On 21 November 2017, the OECD Council approved the contents of the 2017 Update to the OECD Model Tax Convention (the OECD Model). The 2017 Update, which was previously approved by the Committee on Fiscal Affairs on 28 September 2017, will be incorporated in a revised version of the OECD Model that will be published in the next few months.

The 2017 Update primarily comprises changes to the OECD Model that were developed through the OECD/G20 BEPS Project. The introduction to the contents of the 2017 Update describes in detail all of these changes, which include, in particular: 

·                     changes to the Title and Preamble of the OECD Model, changes to the section of the Commentary on Article 1 (Persons covered) on “Improper use of the Convention”, and a new Article 29 (Entitlement to Benefits), which includes in the OECD Model a limitation-on-benefits (LOB) rule (simplified and detailed versions), an anti-abuse rule for permanent establishments situated in third States, and a principal purposes test (PPT) rule (these changes were contained in the Report on Action 6 (Preventing the Granting of Treaty Benefits in Inappropriate Circumstances) or were finalised as part of the follow-up work on Action 6);

·                     changes to Article 5 (Permanent establishment) and its Commentary resulting from the Report on Action 7 (Preventing the Artificial Avoidance of Permanent Establishment Status) and follow-up work on Action 7; and

·                     changes to Article 25 (Mutual agreement procedure) and to the Commentaries on Articles 2, 7, 9 and 25 contained in the Report on Action 14 (Making Dispute Resolution Procedures More Effective) or which that Report indicated would be developed as part of the follow-up work on Action 14 — changes related to the OECD Model MAP arbitration provision and its Commentary are intended to reflect the MAP arbitration provision developed in the negotiation of the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (the MLI) adopted on 24 November 2016.

The 2017 Update also includes certain other changes to the OECD Model that were previously released for comments and were not developed as part of the work on the treaty-related BEPS measures. These changes include: 

·                     changes to the Commentary on Article 5 integrating the changes resulting from the work on Action 7 of the BEPS Project with previous work on the interpretation and application of Article 5. The proposals that resulted from that earlier work – which was based on the pre-2017 Update version of Article 5 – were originally published in an October 2011 discussion draft, discussed at a 7 September 2012 public consultation and subsequently released in a revised October 2012 discussion draft; and

·                     changes to Article 8 (International shipping and air transport), related changes to subparagraph 1 e) of Article 3 (the definition of “international traffic”) and paragraph 3 of Article 15 (concerning the taxation of the crews of ships and aircraft operated in international traffic), and consequential changes to Articles 6, 13 and 22. The changes include related Commentary changes (these changes were released in a November 2013 discussion draft).

The 2017 Update additionally includes the following four changes that were included in an 11 July 2017 public release:

·                     changes to the Commentary on Article 4 (Resident) related to the issue whether a house rented to an unrelated person can be considered to be a “permanent home available to” the landlord for purposes of the tie-breaker rule in Article 4(2) a);

·                     changes to the Commentary on Article 4 intended to clarify the meaning of “habitual abode” in the tie-breaker rule in Article 4(2) c);

·                     the addition of a new paragraph to the Commentary on Article 5 which indicates that registration for the purposes of a value added tax or goods and services tax is, by itself, irrelevant for the purposes of the application and interpretation of the permanent establishment definition — in response to public comments, an addition was made to clarify the paragraph and to provide a cross-reference to similar language in the Report on Action 1 (Addressing the Tax Challenges of the Digital Economy) and to the International VAT/GST Guidelines; and

·                     deletion of the parenthetical reference “(other than a partnership)” from subparagraph 2 a) of Article 10 (Dividends), which is intended to ensure that the reduced rate of source taxation on dividends provided by that subparagraph is applicable in circumstances in which the new Article 1(2) (the transparent entity provision) would apply.

Finally, the 2017 Update includes the changes and additions made to the observations and reservations of OECD member countries and to the positions of non-OECD economies. 

For more information please contact Pascal Saint-Amans, Director of the OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration.