Ireland And Greece Sign Double Taxation Convention
by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London
04 December 2003

The governments of the Republic of Ireland and Greece finally sealed a double taxation agreement last week when Margaret Hennessy, Irish Ambassador to Greece, and Apostolos Fotiadis, the Greek Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance put their signatures to the bilateral Double Taxation Convention.

The Convention has been some years in the making, with negotiations eventually concluded in October last year.

The main purpose of the Convention is to avoid the taxation in both countries of the same income or gains. This is achieved by allocating exclusive taxing rights to one or other country, or where both countries retain taxing rights, by requiring the country of residence of the taxpayer to grant a credit against its tax for tax paid in the other country.

In the case of dividends, interest and royalty payments, reductions in withholding taxes are provided for in the Convention.

Other important Articles in the Convention include non-discrimination provisions, which protect nationals of each country from discriminatory tax provisions in the other, and also exchange of information provisions, which are necessary to counter tax evasion.

The Convention will enter into effect when each country has completed its domestic procedures to bring it into force.

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