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Many countries have agreed with other countries in treaties to mitigate the effects of double taxation (Double Tax Avoidance Agreement). Tax treaties may cover income taxes, inheritance taxes, value added taxes, or other taxes.〔Agreements on tariffs, while technically tax treaties, are generally called agreements on tariffs and trade.〕 Besides bilateral treaties, also multilateral treaties are in place: Countries of the European Union (EU) have also entered into a multilateral agreement with respect to value added taxes under auspices of the EU, while a joint treaty on mutual administrative assistance of the Council of Europe and the OECD exists open to all nations. Tax treaties tend to reduce taxes of one treaty country for residents of the other treaty country in order to reduce double taxation of the same income. The provisions and goals vary highly; very few tax treaties are alike. Most treaties: * define which taxes are covered and who is a resident and eligible for benefits, * reduce the amounts of tax withheld from interest, dividends, and royalties paid by a resident of one country to residents of the other country, * limit tax of one country on business income of a resident of the other country to that income from a permanent establishment in the first country, * define circumstances in which income of individuals resident in one country will be taxed in the other country, including salary, self-employment, pension, and other income, * provide for exemption of certain types of organizations or individuals, and * provide procedural frameworks for enforcement and dispute resolution. The stated goals for entering into a treaty often include reduction of double taxation, eliminating tax evasion, and encouraging cross-border trade efficiency.〔See, e.g., the (speech ) by (Professor McIntyre ) of Michigan's Wayne State University.〕 It is generally accepted that tax treaties improve certainty for taxpayers and tax authorities in their international dealings.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Comments by New Zealand Revenue Minister )〕 Several governments and organizations have proposed model treaties to use as starting points in their own negotiations. The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) model treaty 〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=model treaty )〕 is often used as such a starting point. The OECD members have from time to time agreed on various provisions of the model treaty, and the official commentary〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=official commentary )〕 and member comments thereon serve as a guidance as to interpretation by each member country. ==Tax residency== In general, the benefits of tax treaties are available only to persons who are residents of one of the treaty countries.〔See, e.g., the OECD Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital, Article 1 ("OECD Model")〕 In most cases, a resident of a country is any person that is subject to tax under the domestic laws of that country by reason of domicile, residence, place of incorporation, or similar criteria.〔See, e.g., OECD Model, Article 4.〕 Generally, individuals are considered resident under a tax treaty and subject to taxation where they maintain their primary place of abode.〔See, e.g., the (treaty between Canada and Belgium ), Article 4.〕 However, residence for treaty purposes extends well beyond the narrow scope of primary place of abode. For example, many countries also treat persons spending more than a fixed number of days in the country as residents.〔See, e.g., 26 U.S.C. sec. 7701(b) for the U.S. Substantial Presence Test for residency.〕 The United States includes citizens and green card holders, wherever living, as subject to taxation, and therefore as residents for tax treaty purposes.〔See 26 U.S.C. sec. 7701(a)(30)〕 Because residence is defined so broadly, most treaties recognize that a person could meet the definition of residence in more than one jurisdiction (i.e., "dual residence") and provide a “tie breaker” clause.〔See, e.g., the Canada/Belgium treaty, supra.〕 Such clauses typically have a hierarchy of three to five tests for resolving multiple residency, typically including permanent abode as a major factor. Tax residency rarely impacts citizenship or permanent resident status, though certain residency statuses under a country's immigration law may influence tax residency.〔See, e.g., the U.S. IRS (explanation ) of residency regarding the "green card test".〕 Entities may be considered resident based on their country of seat of management, their country of organization, or other factors.〔See, e.g., the Canada Revenue Agency (discussion ), and the Canada/Belgium treaty, supra, which defines resident by reference to local law.〕 The criteria are often specified in a treaty, which may enhance or override local law. It is possible under most treaties for an entity to be resident in both countries, particularly where a treaty is between two countries that use different standards for residence under their domestic law. Some treaties provide “tie breaker” rules for entity residency,〔 some do not.〔See, e.g., the old (treaty ) between the United States and the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, which is still in force between the U.S. and several of the former Soviet republics.〕 Residency is irrelevant in the case of some entities and/or types of income, as members of the entity rather than the entity are subject to tax.〔See, e.g., the U.S. IRS (explanation ) of taxation of foreign partners of partnerships with a U.S. trade or business.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Tax treaty」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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