Germany: Treaties and Tax Information Exchange Agreements

Publisher Marketing: This is a technical explanation of the Protocol signed at Berlin on June 1, 2006 (the "Protocol"), amending the Convention between the United States of America 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, and the related protocol, signed at Bonn on August 29, 1989 (hereinafter the "Convention" and "Protocol to the Convention" respectively). Negotiations took into account the U. S. Department of the Treasury's current tax treaty policy and Treasury's Model Income Tax Convention, published on September 20, 1996 (the "1996 U. S. Model").1 Negotiations also took into account the Model Tax Convention on Income and on Capital, published by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (the "OECD Model"), and recent tax treaties concluded by both countries. This Technical Explanation is an official guide to the Protocol. It explains policies behind particular provisions, as well as understandings reached during the negotiations with respect to the interpretation and application of the Protocol. This technical explanation is not intended to provide a complete guide to the Convention as amended by the Protocol. To the extent that the Convention has not been amended by the Protocol, the Technical Explanation of the Convention remains the official explanation. Moreover, Article XVI of the Protocol restates and updates the Protocol to the Convention. This technical explanation discusses only those aspects of Article XVI that amend the Protocol to the Convention. To the extent that a paragraph from the Protocol to the Convention has not been changed, the technical explanation to the Convention remains the official explanation. References in this technical explanation to "he" or "his" should be read to mean "he or she" or "his or her."