Home | Databases | WorldLII | Search | Feedback Canadian Treaty Series

Convention between Canada and the Czech Republic for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income [2002] CATSer 6 (28 May 2002)

E103873 - CTS 2002 No. 11

CONVENTION BETWEEN CANADA AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC FOR THE AVOIDANCE OF DOUBLE TAXATION AND THE PREVENTION OF FISCAL EVASION WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME

CANADA AND THE CZECH REPUBLIC,

DESIRING to conclude a Convention for the avoidance of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income,

HAVE AGREED as follows:

ARTICLE 1

PERSONS COVERED

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 imposed on behalf of Canada and on behalf of the Czech Republic or of its political subdivisions or local authorities, irrespective of the manner in which they are levied.

2. There shall be regarded as taxes on income all taxes imposed on total income, or on elements of income, including taxes on gains from the alienation of movable or immovable property, taxes on the total amounts of wages or salaries paid by enterprises, as well as taxes on capital appreciation.

3. The existing taxes to which the Convention shall apply are:

(a) in the case of Canada:

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

(b) in the case of the Czech Republic:

(i) the tax on income of individuals;

(ii) the tax on income of legal persons;

(hereinafter referred to as "Czech 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 any significant changes which have been made in their respective taxation laws.

ARTICLE 3

GENERAL DEFINITIONS

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

(a) the term "Canada" used in a geographical sense, means the territory of Canada, including

(i) any area beyond the territorial sea of Canada which, in accordance with international law and the laws of Canada, is an area within which Canada may exercise rights with respect to the seabed and subsoil and their natural resources;

(ii) the sea and airspace above every area referred to in clause (i) in respect of any activity carried on in connection with the exploration for or the exploitation of the natural resources referred to therein;

(b) the term "the Czech Republic" means the territory of the Czech Republic over which, under Czech legislation and in accordance with international law, the sovereign rights of the Czech Republic are exercised;

(c) the terms "a Contracting State" and "the other Contracting State" mean Canada or the Czech Republic as the context requires;

(d) the term "person" comprises an individual, a trust, a company and any other body of persons;

(e) the term "company" means any body corporate or any entity which is treated as a body corporate for tax purposes;

(f) 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;

(g) the term "national" means:

(i) any individual possessing the nationality of a Contracting State;

(ii) any legal person, partnership or association deriving its status as such from the laws in force in a Contracting State;

(h) the term "international traffic" means any transport by a ship or aircraft operated by a resident of a Contracting State, except when the ship or aircraft is operated solely between places in the other Contracting State;

(i) the term "competent authority" means:

(i) in the case of Canada, the Minister of National Revenue or the Minister's authorised representative;

(ii) in the case of the Czech Republic, the Minister of Finance or the Minister's authorised representative.

2. As regards the application of the Convention at any time by a Contracting State, any term not defined therein shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning that it has at that time under the law of that State for the purposes of the taxes to which the Convention applies, any meaning under the applicable tax laws of that State prevailing over a meaning given to the term under other laws of that State.

ARTICLE 4

RESIDENT

1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "resident of a Contracting State" means any person who, under the laws of that State, is liable to tax therein by reason of the person's domicile, residence, place of management, place of incorporation or any other criterion of a similar nature and also includes that State and any political subdivision or local authority thereof or any agency or instrumentality of that State, subdivision or authority. This term, however, does not include any person who is liable to tax in that State in respect only of income from sources in that State.

2. Where by reason of the provisions of paragraph 1 an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then the individual's status shall be determined in accordance with the following rules:

(a) the individual shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State in which the individual has a permanent home available; if the individual has a permanent home available in both States, the individual shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State with which the individual's personal and economic relations are closer (centre of vital interests);

(b) if the State in which the individual has a centre of vital interests cannot be determined, or if there is not a permanent home available to the individual in either State, the individual shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State in which the individual has an habitual abode;

(c) if the individual has an habitual abode in both States or in neither of them, the individual shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State of which the individual is a national;

(d) if the individual 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 person other than an individual is a resident of both Contracting States, then:

(a) the person shall be deemed to be a resident only of the State of which the person is a national;

(b) if the person is a national of neither of the 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. In the absence of such agreement, such person shall not be entitled to claim any relief or exemption from tax provided by the Convention.

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 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, or 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 twelve months;

(b) the furnishing of services, including consultancy or managerial services, by an enterprise of a Contracting State through employees or other personnel engaged by the enterprise for such purposes, but only where activities of that nature continue in the territory of the other Contracting State for a period or periods exceeding in the aggregate 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 and 2, where a person -- other than an agent of an independent status to whom paragraph 6 applies -- is acting on behalf of an enterprise and has, and habitually exercises, in a 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 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 shall not be deemed to have a permanent establishment in a Contracting State merely because it carries on business in that State through a broker, general commission agent or any other agent of an independent status, where such persons are acting in the ordinary course of their business.

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.

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 for the purposes of the relevant tax law of the Contracting State in which the property in question is situated. 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 consideration 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.

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 or has carried 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 that permanent establishment.

2. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3, where an enterprise of a Contracting State carries on or has carried 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 as deductions those deductible expenses which are incurred for the purposes of the permanent establishment, including executive and general administrative expenses so incurred, whether in the State in which the permanent establishment is situated or elsewhere.

4. Insofar as it has been customary in a Contracting State to determine the profits to be attributed to a permanent establishment on the basis of an apportionment of the total profits of the enterprise to its various parts, nothing in paragraph 2 shall preclude that Contracting State from determining the profits to be taxed by such an apportionment as may be customary; the method of apportionment adopted shall, however, be such that the result shall be in accordance with the principles contained in this Article.

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 a resident 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 of 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 derived by a resident of a Contracting State from its participation in a pool, a joint business or an international operating agency.

4. For the purposes of this Article, profits from the operation of ships or aircraft in international traffic include:

(a) profits from the rental on a bare boat basis of ships or aircraft and

(b) profits from the use, maintenance or rental of containers (including trailers and related equipment for the transport of containers) used for the transport of goods,

where such rental or such use, maintenance or rental, as the case may be, is incidental to the operation 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 profits 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 profits of that enterprise and taxed accordingly.

2. Where a Contracting State includes in the profits of an enterprise of that State - and taxes accordingly - profits on which an enterprise of the other Contracting State has been charged to tax in that other State and the profits so included are profits which would have accrued to the enterprise of the first-mentioned State 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 the tax charged therein on those profits. 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 profits of an enterprise in the circumstances referred to in paragraph 1 after the expiry of the time limits provided in its domestic laws and, in any case, after five years from the end of the year in which the profits which would be subject to such change would have accrued to an enterprise of that State.

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 beneficial owner of the dividends is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed:

(a) except in the case of dividends paid by a non-resident-owned investment corporation that is a resident of Canada, 5 per cent of the gross amount of the dividends if the beneficial owner is a company which controls directly or indirectly at least 10 per cent of the voting power in 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 profits out of which the dividends are paid.

3. The term "dividends" as used in this Article means income from 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 paragraphs 1 and 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 the company's 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 alienation of immovable property situated in that State by a company carrying on a trade in immovable property or on the earnings of a company attributable to a permanent establishment in that State, tax in addition to the tax which would be chargeable on the earnings of a company which is a resident of that State, provided that any additional tax so imposed shall not exceed 5 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 earnings attributable to the alienation of such immovable property situated in a Contracting State as may be taxed by that State under the provisions of paragraph 1 of Article 13, and the profits, including any gains from the alienation of any property, 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 beneficial owner of the interest is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 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 indebtedness 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 a Contracting State and paid to and beneficially owned by a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable only in that other State if it is paid in respect of a loan made, guaranteed or insured, or a credit extended, guaranteed or insured by an entity wholly-owned and controlled by the government of that other State, provided this loan or credit is in respect of imports or exports;

(c) interest arising in a Contracting State, beneficially owned by a resident of the other Contracting State and paid in connection with the sale on credit of any equipment, merchandise or services except where the sale is made between persons not dealing with each other at arm's length, shall be taxable only in that other State;

(d) interest arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State which was constituted and is operated exclusively to administer or provide benefits under one or more pension, retirement or other employee benefits plans shall not be taxable in the first-mentioned State provided that

(i) the resident is the beneficial owner of the interest and is generally exempt from tax in the other State, and

(ii) the interest is not derived from carrying on a business or from an associated person within the meaning of subparagraph (a) or subparagraph (b) of paragraph 1 of Article 9.

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 10.

5. The provisions of paragraphs 1, 2 and 3 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 apply.

6. Interest shall be deemed to arise in a Contracting State when the payer is a resident of that State. Where, however, the person paying the interest, whether the payer 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 paid, 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 beneficial owner of the royalties is a resident of the other Contracting State, the tax so charged shall not exceed 10 per cent of the gross amount of the royalties.

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, any copyright of literary, artistic or scientific work including motion picture films and works on films, tapes or other means of reproduction for use in connection with television or radio broadcasting, any patent, trade mark, design or model, plan, secret formula or process, or for the use of, or the right to use, industrial, commercial or scientific equipment, or for information concerning industrial, commercial or scientific experience. However, the term "royalties" does not include income dealt with in Article 8.

4. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 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 a resident of that State. Where, however, the person paying the royalties, whether the payer 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 liability 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 paid, 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. Income and gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of immovable property situated in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.

2. Gains from the alienation of movable property forming part of the business property of a permanent establishment which an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State or of movable property pertaining to a fixed base available to a resident of a Contracting State in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing independent personal services, including such gains from the alienation of such a permanent establishment (alone or with the whole enterprise) or of such a fixed base, may be taxed in that other State.

3. The provisions of paragraphs 1 and 2 shall also apply to gains from the alienation of an interest in a partnership to the extent that the gains can be attributed to immovable property or to movable property forming part of the business property of a partnership.

4. Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of ships or aircraft operated in international traffic or of movable property pertaining to the operation of such ships or aircraft, shall be taxable only in that State.

5. Gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of

(a) shares forming part of a substantial interest in the capital stock of a company, at least 50 per cent of the value of which shares is derived from immovable property situated in the other State, and

(b) an interest in a trust, at least 50 per cent of the value of which is derived from immovable property situated in that other State,

may be taxed in that other State. For the purposes of this paragraph, the term "immovable property" does not include any property, other than rental property, in which the business of the company or trust is carried on, and a substantial interest exists when the resident or persons related thereto own 10 per cent or more of any class of the capital stock of a company.

6. Gains from the alienation of any property other than that referred to in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the alienator is a resident.

7. The provisions of this Article shall not affect the right of a Contracting State to levy, according to its law, a tax on gains from the alienation of any property derived by an individual who is a resident of the other Contracting State and have been a resident of the first-mentioned State at any time during the six years immediately preceding the alienation of the property.

8. Where an individual who ceases to be a resident of a Contracting State, and immediately thereafter becomes a resident of the other Contracting State, is treated for the purposes of taxation in the first-mentioned State as having alienated a property and is taxed in that State by reason thereof, the individual may elect to be treated for the purposes of taxation in the other State as if the individual had, immediately before becoming a resident of that State, sold and repurchased the property for an amount equal to its fair market value at that time. However, this provision shall not apply to property any gain from which, arising immediately before the individual became a resident of that other State, may be taxed in that other State nor to immovable property situated in a third 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 shall be taxable only in that State except in the following circumstances, when such income may also be taxed in the other Contracting State:

(a) if the individual has or had a fixed base regularly available in the other Contracting State for the purpose of performing the activities; in that case, only so much of the income as is attributable to that fixed base may be taxed in the other State; or

(b) if the individual is present in the other State for a period or periods exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in any twelve month period commencing or ending in the fiscal year concerned; in that case, only so much of the income as is derived from the activities performed in the other State may be taxed in that other State.

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.

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 employment is exercised 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 fiscal year concerned, and

(b) the remuneration is paid by, or on behalf of, an employer 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 employer has in the other State.

3. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, remuneration derived in respect of an employment exercised aboard a ship or aircraft operated by a resident of a Contracting State in international traffic, may be taxed in that State.

ARTICLE 16

DIRECTORS' FEES

Directors' fees and other similar payments derived by a resident of a Contracting State in that resident's capacity as a member of the board of directors or other 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 SPORTSPERSONS

1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 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 sportsperson, from that resident's 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 sportsperson in that individual's capacity as such accrues not to the entertainer or sportsperson personally 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 sportsperson are exercised.

ARTICLE 18

PENSIONS AND ANNUITIES

1. Pensions and annuities arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.

2. Pensions and 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 laws of that State. However, in the case of periodic pension (other than benefits under the social security legislation in a Contracting State) and annuity payments, the tax so charged shall not exceed 15 per cent of the gross amount of the payments. However, this limitation does not apply to lump-sum payments arising on the surrender, cancellation, redemption, sale or other alienation of a pension plan or an annuity.

3. Notwithstanding anything in this Convention:

(a) benefits under the social security legislation in a Contracting State and war veterans pensions and allowances arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable only in the first-mentioned State;

(b) alimony, maintenance and other similar payments arising in a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State who is subject to tax therein in respect thereof, shall be taxable only in that other State but the amount taxable in that other State shall not exceed the amount that would be taxable in the first-mentioned State if the recipient were a resident thereof.

ARTICLE 19

GOVERNMENT SERVICE

1. (a) Salaries, wages and other 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 political subdivision or local authority shall be taxable only in that State.

(b) However, such salaries, wages and other 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 salaries, wages and other 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 or business apprentice who is present in a Contracting State solely for the purpose of that individual's education or training and who is or was immediately before such visit a resident of the other Contracting State receives for the purpose of that individual's maintenance, education or training shall not be taxed in the first-mentioned Contracting State, provided that such payments arise from sources outside that State.

ARTICLE 21

OTHER INCOME

1. Items of income of a resident of a Contracting State, wherever arising, not dealt with in the foregoing Articles of this Convention shall be taxable only in that State.

2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, items of income of a resident of a Contracting State not dealt with in the foregoing Articles of this Convention and arising in the other Contracting State may also be taxed in that other State. Where such income is income of a resident of the Czech Republic from a trust, other than a trust to which contributions were deductible, the tax so charged shall, if the income is taxable in the Czech Republic where the beneficial owner is a resident, not exceed 15 per cent of the gross amount of the income.

ARTICLE 22

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 the Czech Republic on profits, income or capital gains arising in the Czech Republic shall be deducted from any Canadian tax payable in respect of such profits, income or capital gains;

(b) for the purposes of this paragraph, profits, income or capital gains of a resident of Canada which may be taxed in the Czech Republic in accordance with this Convention shall be deemed to arise from sources in the Czech Republic.

2. In the case of the Czech Republic, double taxation shall be avoided as follows:

the Czech Republic, when imposing taxes on its residents, may include in the tax base upon which such taxes are imposed the items of income which according to the provisions of this Convention may also be taxed in Canada, but shall allow as a deduction from the amount of tax computed on such a base an amount equal to the tax paid in Canada. Such deduction shall not, however, exceed that part of the Czech tax, as computed before the deduction is given, which is appropriate to the income which, in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, may be taxed in Canada.

3. Where in accordance with any provision of the Convention income derived by a resident of a Contracting State is exempt from tax in that State, such State may nevertheless, in calculating the amount of tax on other income, take into account the exempted income.

ARTICLE 23

NON-DISCRIMINATION

1. 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, in particular with respect to residence, are or may be subjected. This provision shall, notwithstanding the provisions of Article 1, also apply to individuals who are not residents of one or both of the Contracting States.

2. The taxation on a permanent establishment which an enterprise of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State or on a fixed base that an individual who is a resident 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 or individuals, as the case may be, 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. Companies which are residents 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 companies which are residents 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.

ARTICLE 24

MUTUAL AGREEMENT PROCEDURE

1. Where a person considers that the actions of one or both of the Contracting States result or will result for that person in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, that person may, irrespective of the remedies provided by the domestic law of those States, address to the competent authority of the Contracting State of which that person is a resident or, if that person's case comes under paragraph 1 of Article 23, to that of the Contracting State of which that person is a national, 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 domestic laws and, in any case, after five years from the end of the year 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. They may also consult together for the elimination of double taxation in cases not provided for in the Convention.

5. The competent authorities of the Contracting States may communicate with each other directly for the purpose of reaching an agreement in the sense of the preceding paragraphs.

ARTICLE 25

EXCHANGE OF INFORMATION

1. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange such information as is relevant for carrying out the provisions of this Convention and 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, and in particular for the prevention of fraud or evasion in relation to such taxes. 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 secret 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 or prosecution in respect of, or the determination of appeals in relation to, the taxes imposed by that State. 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.

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 were involved even though 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 to the same extent such information can be obtained under the laws and administrative practices of that other State with respect to its own taxes.

ARTICLE 26

MEMBERS OF DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS AND CONSULAR POSTS

1. Nothing in this Convention shall affect the fiscal privileges of members of diplomatic missions or consular posts 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 that individual is liable in the sending State to the same obligations in relation to tax on 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 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 27

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 a Contracting State from imposing a tax on amounts included in the income of a resident of that State with respect to a partnership, trust, or controlled foreign affiliate, in which the resident has an interest.

3. For the purposes of paragraph 3 of Article XXII (Consultation) of the General Agreement on Trade in Services, the Contracting States agree that, notwithstanding that paragraph, any dispute between them as to whether a measure falls within the scope of this Convention may be brought before the Council for Trade in Services, as provided by that paragraph, only with the consent of both Contracting States. Any doubt as to the interpretation of this paragraph shall be resolved under paragraph 4 of Article 24 or, failing agreement under that procedure, pursuant to any other procedure agreed to by both Contracting States.

ARTICLE 28

ENTRY INTO FORCE

1. Each of the Contracting States shall notify the other, through the diplomatic channel, the completion of the procedures required by its domestic law for the bringing into force of this Convention. The Convention shall enter into force on the date of the later of these notifications and its provisions shall have effect:

(a) in Canada:

(i) in respect of tax withheld at the source on amounts paid or credited on or after 1st January in the calendar year next following that in which the Convention enters into force; and

(ii) in respect of other Canadian tax for taxation years beginning on or after 1st January in the calendar year next following that in which the Convention enters into force;

(b) in the Czech Republic:

(i) in respect of taxes withheld at the source, to income paid or credited on or after 1st January in the calendar year next following that in which the Convention enters into force; and

(ii) in respect of other taxes on income, to income in any taxable year beginning on or after 1st January in the calendar year next following that in which the Convention enters into force.

2. From the date of entry into force of this Convention the Convention between the Government of Canada and the Government of the Czech and Slovak Federal Republic for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital signed at Prague on the 30th day of August, 1990, shall, as between Canada and the Czech Republic, terminate. However, the provisions of the 1990 Convention corresponding to those of this Convention shall continue to have effect until the provisions of this Convention take effect in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 1.

ARTICLE 29

TERMINATION

This Convention shall remain in force until terminated by a Contracting State. Either Contracting State may terminate the Convention, through the diplomatic channel, by giving notice of termination at least six months before the end of any calendar year following after the period of five years from the date on which the Convention enters into force. In such event, the Convention shall cease to have effect:

(a) in Canada:

(i) in respect of tax withheld at the source on amounts paid or credited on or after 1st January in the calendar year next following that in which the notice is given; and

(ii) in respect of other Canadian tax for taxation years beginning on or after 1st January in the calendar year next following that in which the notice is given;

(b) in the Czech Republic:

(i) in respect of taxes withheld at the source, to income paid or credited on or after 1st January in the calendar year next following that in which the notice is given; and

(ii) in respect of other taxes on income, to income in any taxable year beginning on or after 1st January in the calendar year next following that in which the notice is given.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned, duly authorised thereto, have signed this Convention.

DONE in duplicate at Prague, this 25th day of May 2001, in the English, French and Czech languages, each version being equally authentic.

FOR CANADA

Jane Stewart

FOR THE CZECH REPUBLIC

Jiriho Rusnoka