Today, the Morrison Government ratified an historic new tax treaty between Australia and Israel, representing an important milestone in removing tax barriers and facilitating trade and investment between Australia and Israel.
Australia and Israel share a close friendship with strong ties. The new tax treaty between Australia and Israel will ensure the economic, trade and commercial relationship between our two countries is strengthened.
The new treaty will enhance the bilateral economic relationship between Australia and Israel by reducing taxation barriers that could impede economic activity between the two countries, providing greater certainty for taxpayers in both countries and improving the integrity of the tax system.
Demonstrating the Morrison Government’s strong commitment to tackle tax avoidance, the new treaty also provides a framework for the revenue authorities of Australia and Israel to cooperate, and better tackle tax avoidance practices by giving effect to the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) recommendations made by the G20 and OECD.
The benefits of the new treaty will apply from:
- 1 January 2020 for changes to withholding tax on dividends, interest and royalties;
- 1 April 2020 for changes to fringe benefits tax; and
- 1 July 2020 for changes to other Australian tax.
A summary of the main features of the new treaty is available via the Treasury website.