[Senate Treaty Document 105-29]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                        Treaty Doc.
                                 SENATE
1st Session                                             105-29
_______________________________________________________________________

                                     



 
                   PROTOCOL AMENDING TAX CONVENTION
                              WITH CANADA

                               __________

                                MESSAGE

                                  from

                   THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

                              transmitting

 PROTOCOL AMENDING THE CONVENTION BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
  AND CANADA WITH RESPECT TO TAXES ON INCOME AND ON CAPITAL SIGNED AT 
WASHINGTON ON SEPTEMBER 26, 1980 AS AMENDED BY THE PROTOCOLS SIGNED ON 
JUNE 14, 1983, MARCH 28, 1984, AND MARCH 17, 1995, SIGNED AT OTTAWA ON 
                             JULY 29, 1997




  September 23, 1997.--Protocol was read the first time and, together 
  with the accompanying papers, referred to the Committee on Foreign 
     Relations and ordered to be printed for the use of the Senate.

                                -----

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
                            WASHINGTON : 1997


                         LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                               The White House, September 23, 1997.
To the Senate of the United States:
    I transmit herewith for Senate advice and consent to 
ratification the Protocol Amending the Convention Between the 
United States of America and Canada with Respect to Taxes on 
Income and on Capital Signed at Washington on September 26, 
1980 as Amended by the Protocols Signed on June 14, 1983, March 
28, 1984 and March 17, 1995, signed at Ottawa on July 29, 1997. 
This Protocol modified the taxation of social security benefits 
and the taxation of gains from the sale of shares of foreign 
real-property holding companies.
    I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable 
consideration to this Protocol and give its advice and consent 
to ratification.

                                                William J. Clinton.
                          LETTER OF SUBMITTAL

                              ----------                              

                                       Department of State,
                                       Washington, August 12, 1997.
    The President: I have the honor to submit to you, with a 
view to its transmission to the Senate for advice and consent 
to ratification, the Protocol Amending the Convention Between 
the United States of America and Canada with Respect to Taxes 
on Income and on Capital Signed at Washington on September 26, 
1980 as Amended by the Protocols Signed on June 14, 1983, March 
28, 1984 and March 17, 1995, signed at Ottawa on July 29, 1997 
(``the proposed Protocol''). The proposed Protocol to the 
Convention addresses two issues: the taxation of gains from the 
sale of shares of foreign real-property holding companies and 
the taxation of social security benefits.
    Article 1 of the proposed Protocol deletes and replaces 
paragraphs 3(a) and 3(b)(ii) of Article XIII of the Convention, 
which addresses the taxation of capital gains. The revised 
provisions would define real property situated in the United 
States and real property situated in Canada in such a way as to 
deny each country the right under this Convention to tax 
foreign persons on their income from the sale of the stock of 
foreign corporations whose assets consist primarily of domestic 
real estate. Both the United States and Canada currently tax 
foreign persons on the proceeds from the sale of both 
domesticreal estate and the stock of domestic corporations whose assets 
consist primarily of domestic real estate. The current Convention also 
permits the taxation of income from the sale of stock of foreign 
companies whose assets consist primarily of domestic real estate. The 
new limitation on each country's right to tax gains from the sale of 
shares of real-property holding companies would be retroactively 
effective to April 26, 1995.
    Article 2 addresses taxation of social security benefits. 
The treatment of social security benefits by the United States 
and Canada was last modified by the Protocol Amending the 
Convention between the United States of America and Canada with 
Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital Signed at Washington 
on September 26, 1980, as Amended by the Protocols Signed on 
June 14, 1983 and March 28, 1984, signed at Washington, March 
17, 1995 (``the 1995 Protocol''), which applies to social 
security benefits paid on or after January 1, 1996. The 1995 
Protocol amended the Convention to move from residence-based 
taxation to a system under which social security benefits are 
taxed by the country paying the benefits (``the source 
country'')--at a statutory rate of 25.5 percent by the United 
States and 25.0 percent by Canada. In addition, Canada permits 
U.S. recipients of Canadian benefits to file a Canadian tax 
return and pay tax at lower graduated rates on net income, 
enabling low-income U.S. recipients of Canadian social security 
to pay little or no tax on their benefits. However, the United 
States taxes at the 25.5 percent rate permitted by the 1995 
Protocol. Thus, many Canadian recipients of U.S. benefits found 
their benefits reduced by 25.5 percent after January 1, 1966.
    Article 2 of the proposed Protocol returns to the system of 
residence-based taxation in place before the1995 Protocol. 
Social security benefits will be taxable in only the country in which 
the recipient lives (``the country of residence''). This, under the 
proposed Protocol, U.S. social security benefits paid to a resident of 
Canada would be taxed only by Canada, and, a benefit paid by Canada 
under its social security legislation to a U.S. resident would be taxed 
only by the United States. Benefits would be taxed on a net basis at 
graduated rates, and low-income recipients would not pay any tax. 
Furthermore, the taxation of benefits by the country of residence takes 
into account the way the benefits would have been taxed in the source 
country. For example, since the United States includes only 85 percent 
of U.S. social security benefits in taxable income, only 85 percent of 
the U.S. benefits received by Canadians would be subject to Canadian 
tax.
    Article 2 of the proposed Protocol will apply to amounts 
paid on or after January 1, 1996, the date the current rule 
took effect. Thus, social security recipients may receive a 
refund of taxes previously paid although some high-income 
recipients may be required to pay additional taxes to their 
country of residence. If, however, as a result of the change, 
the tax of the country of residence exceeds the amount of the 
refund there will be neither a refund of source-country tax nor 
additional tax by the country of residence. Consequently, no 
one will be subject to a higher rate of tax for the retroactive 
period. (Nonetheless, in the future, some high-income 
recipients of benefits will be subject to a higher rate of tax 
if their average tax rate on these benefits in their country of 
residence is higher than the current rate of source-country 
withholding tax.) The proposed Protocol also outlines the rules 
that the United States and Canada will follow in giving effect 
to the retroactive application of the changes to the taxation 
of social security benefits.
    The Department of the Treasury and the Department of State 
cooperated in the negotiation of the proposed Protocol. It has 
the full approval of both Departments.
    Respectfully submitted,
                                                Madeleine Albright.



