Canada - France Agreement concerning the exemption from French tax for certain payments made to pension plans

Pursuant to the Canada-France Income Tax Convention (the "Convention"), the competent authorities for Canada and France have entered into an agreement concerning the application of paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection 7 of section 29 of the Convention.

Paragraphs (b) and (c) provide, under certain circumstances, for an exemption from French tax on dividends and interest paid from French sources to an organization that was constituted and is established in Canada and is operated exclusively to administer or provide benefits from one or more pension or retirement plans. Master fund trusts and pooled fund trusts do not qualify for the exemption because they do not meet the conditions established in paragraphs (b) and (c) of subsection 7 of section 29 of the Convention.

The French competent authority has published an instruction that presents the different types of Canadian organizations that qualify for the exemption and the form to be completed to request the exemption. A copy of the instruction and the form can be obtained from the French competent authority. The relevant fiscal documentation is a Bulletin officiel des impôts, numéro 35, du 22 février 2005.

The form is required by the French tax administration to determine treaty benefits under the Convention. The form asks the Canadian tax authorities to confirm, to the best of their knowledge, that a number of declarations made by the applicant on the form are accurate.

As a result of this agreement, the Canada Revenue Agency will be able to certify that the Canadian organization qualifies for the exemption from tax.

Canadian organizations should submit the completed statement to their local tax services office for certification by the Canadian tax authorities.