(June 16, 2015)

On June 16, 2015 on the website of the Hon Joe Hockey MP, Treasurer of the Commonwealth of Australia, a media release was published in which it was announced that Australia and Germany will soon commence negotiations on a new Double Taxation Agreement. Mr. Hockey also invited public submissions to help inform the negotiations.

According to the media release the existing Agreement between the Commonwealth of Australia and the Federal Republic of Germany for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital and to Certain Other Taxes, which was signed on November 24, 1972, needs updating to reflect the changing natures of both Australian as well as German economy since that time. The media release also states that discussions will focus on how to maximize efficiency in the trade and investment relationship between the two countries by ensuring double taxation is minimized while also seeking to tighten the rules to address base erosion and profit shifting to ensure multinationals pay their fair share of tax consistent with current OECD and G20 objectives.

According to the media release the re-negotiation of the Double Taxation Agreement between Australia and Germany was identified as a priority by Prime Minister Tony Abbott and German Chancellor Angela Merkel during their bilateral meeting in Sydney after the G20 Summit.

The media release also states that written submissions/comments are welcome to help inform negotiations. Submissions/comments are due by June 24, 2015.

More information on how to submit your submissions/comments can be found here on the website of the Australian Treasury.

Did you know that you can very easily locate the text of the existing DTA between Germany and Australia by clicking on either Germany or Australia in our section DTAs? By clicking on the name of a country you will be forwarded to a governmental website of that country where you will find information regarding the DTAs that respective country has concluded with other States.

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