The Minister for Finance, Paschal Donohoe T.D, brought two draft Government orders before the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Finance, Public Expenditure and Reform in relation to a new Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) with Kosovo and a new Protocol to the existing DTA with Germany.

The new DTA with Kosovo was signed on 25 June 2021. The Protocol to the DTA with Germany was signed on 19 January 2021. The existing German DTA was not updated by the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent BEPS (the MLI). The Protocol to the German DTA seeks to update the treaty bilaterally to reflect the BEPS changes.

The two Government orders will be included in the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 by way of amendment in Finance Bill 2021, which will enable Ireland to complete the necessary notifications to finalise the ratifications of both agreements.

In his opening statement to the Committee, the Minister noted his intention to publish a treaty policy statement at the end of the year or in early 2022. He detailed that, “The proposals under discussion at the OECD will have implications for the global network of tax treaties and it is important that any potential treaty outcomes agreed in that forum are reflected in the treaty policy statement.”

He further detailed that the policy statement will have particular emphasis on tax treaties with developing countries, to ensure consistency in Ireland’s treaty policy and development policy.