Recent Changes To The Malta-Poland Double Tax Treaty

Background

The Malta – Poland Double Tax Treaty (DTT) has recently been revised with amendments being published as Legal Notice 64 of 2021. The changes are aimed to eliminate base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS), with the Treaty being based on the OECD Model Tax Convention.

Modifications were made to Articles relating to the following; dividend definition, withholding tax on interest, royalty income, capital gains from the sale of shares, and director's fees, the method of elimination of double taxation, the mutual agreement procedure, the exchange of information to provide for tax arbitration, and prevention of treaty abuse.

These changes are outlined below:

• The definition of 'dividend' has been amended, and a new definition in Article 10 explicitly includes; income from distributions on certificates or participating units of an investment fund and their redemption, income from liquidation or partial liquidation of a company and income from the purchase