Commentary on the Canada-U.S. Tax Treaty's Fifth Protocol.

• Author: Sardella, Joseph
• Position: Foreign Income & Taxpayers

On September 21, 2007, after ten long years of on-and-off negotiations, the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and the Canadian Minister of Finance signed an important tax agreement updating certain provisions of the Canada-U.S. Tax Treaty. This update, the Fifth Protocol, was meant to rectify the "drag" that outdated tax roles have had on capital mobility and also to curb cross-border tax arbitrage.

Somewhat surprisingly, the protocol has drawn mixed reactions. Although acknowledging it as long overdue, Canadian tax practitioners have criticized certain provisions as having been poorly drafted and lacking the breadth and flexibility to evolve with increasingly sophisticated financial structures.

The protocol's scope is ambitious. The provisions are meant to:

* Eliminate withholding taxes on cross-border interest payments;

* Extend treaty benefits to treaty members of limited liability companies (LLCs);

* Restrict the ability of hybrid entities to claim treaty benefits;

* Redefine certain permanent establishment thresholds;

* Permit taxpayers to require that certain key double tax issues be settled through arbitration;

* Grant mutual recognition of pension contributions; and

* Clarify the taxation of stock options arising from cross-border employment.

Canada has also now finally adopted a "limitation of benefits" rule bringing it in line with other U.S. treaty partners.

The protocol will come into force on the day that both Canada's House of Commons and the U.S. Senate complete their respective constitutional and procedural requirements and have exchanged instruments of ratification. (The Canadian government passed legislation implementing the protocol in December 2007 (Bill S-2, An Act to Amend the Canada-United States Tax Convention Act, 1984); the protocol now awaits ratification by the U.S. Senate.) Certain provisions will apply retroactively, while others will be delayed until the protocol is ratified.

Withholding Taxes

Interest: Withholding taxes on interest paid to nonresidents of Canada for indebtedness between parties dealing with each other on an arm's-length basis (i.e., unrelated) will be totally eliminated beginning January 1,2008, provided the interest is not participating interest (i.e., tied to profit performance).

Withholding taxes on interest paid on related-party indebtedness will be phased out over a three-year period. On the first day of the second month after the protocol is ratified (likely in 2008), withholding tax on interest paid on related-party loans Hill be reduced to 7%. The rate Hill drop to 4% the following year and Hill be totally eliminated in the subsequent year.

Under the Canadian tax rules, interest is deductible on an accrual basis. The deferral of the actual payment of interest to a subsequent tax year with a lower withholding tax rate can increase cashflow.

On November 13, 2007, in an event unrelated to the protocol, the Canadian government introduced an amendment to the Canadian domestic income tax laws to eliminate withholding tax on all interest paid to nonresidents of Canada for arm's-length indebtedness (Bill C-28, Budget and Economic Statement Implementation Act, 2007). The decision to extend this treaty benefit to all of Canada's treaty partners by amending domestic tax law within a matter of weeks after the U.S. protocol raises the question of why it took so long to accomplish the same result with Canada's largest trading partner. Arguably, it may be perceived as devaluing the formality of the treaty negotiation process.

Dividends: Although the United States has been negotiating reduced dividend withholding tax rates with other countries (e.g., the United Kingdom), the United States and Canada have agreed not to make any changes to the dividend withholding tax rates, although there has been some moderate tweaking of nagging definitional issues. Accordingly, the 15% rate (reduced to 5% when the recipient company owns 10% or more of the paying company's voting...