The Irish and Maltese authorities have concluded a Double Taxation Agreement which, if ratified by the respective governments, will have effect from 1 January 2010.

Among the features of the treaty, which follows the OECD model, is a 5% or 15% (portfolio) withholding tax on dividends and a nil rate of withholding tax on interest payments. The full text of the treaty is available at
http://www.revenue.ie/services/tax_info/dtas/malta.doc.

Issued in tandem with the announcement of the DTA was a summary of the status of other DTA negotiations, as follows:

“New agreements with Macedonia, Turkey, Vietnam and a Tax Information Exchange Agreement (TIEA) with the Isle of Man have recently been signed and are in the process of being ratified by national parliaments. New treaties with Azerbaijan, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Georgia, Moldova and Thailand, and a Protocol to the existing tax treaty with South Africa are expected to be signed shortly. There are a number of other negotiations for new conventions and re-negotiations of existing conventions on-going.”