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7 MAI 2009. - An Act to assent to the Convention between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of Tunisia to avoid double taxation and to prevent fraud and escape in respect of taxes on income and property, and the Protocol, signed in Tunis on 7 October 2004 (1) (2)

ALBERT II, King of the Belgians,
To all, present and to come, Hi.
The Chambers adopted and We sanction the following:
Article 1^er. This Act regulates a matter referred to in Article 77 of the Constitution.
Art. 2. The Convention between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of Tunisia to avoid double taxation and to prevent fraud and evasion in tax on income and property, and the Protocol, signed in Tunis on 7 October 2004 (hereinafter "the Convention"), will come out their full and full effect.
Art. 3. For the purposes of the fourth additional provision of the Protocol annexed to the Convention, it should be considered that - in addition to the case mentioned as an example in the second sentence of this provision - the activities or investments that are carried out in Tunisia by a Belgian resident are essential to the improper benefit, as the case may be, of 2^e paragraph 2, (a), or 2^e paragraph 2, (b) of Article 23 of the Convention and therefore does not meet legitimate financial or economic needs, in particular in the following cases:
(a) where profits received by a resident of Belgium through an establishment located in Tunisia are not derived from the active exercise of an industrial or commercial activity through that permanent establishment. This is particularly the case where:
- the activities carried out by this permanent establishment in Tunisia consist exclusively or principally of the execution of collective investments or cash investments or the provision of financial services exclusively or principally for the benefit of the business or related enterprises;
- or where the permanent establishment holds a portfolio investment or copyright, a patent, a trademark or trade mark, a drawing, a model, a plan, a formula or a secret process representing a total of more than one-third of the assets of the permanent establishment, and that such detention is not part of the activities, other than the possession of such rights or property, carried out by the permanent establishment;
(b) if the dividends paid by a company that is a resident of Tunisia to a resident of Belgium do not result from the profits of an industrial or commercial activity actively exercised in Tunisia by that company. A company is not considered to be engaged in an effective industrial or commercial activity in Tunisia where the company is an investment corporation, a financing corporation (other than a bank) or a cash company or where the company holds a portfolio investment or copyright, a patent, a trade mark or trade mark, a drawing, a model, a plan, a formula or a secret process representing a total of more than one-third of its assets, and that such holding is not done
Promulgation of this law, let us order that it be clothed with the seal of the State and published by the Belgian Monitor.
Given in Brussels on 7 May 2009.
ALBERT
By the King:
Minister of Foreign Affairs,
K. DE GUCHT
Minister of Finance,
D. REYNDERS
Seal of the state seal:
Minister of Justice,
S. DE CLERCK
____
Notes
(1) 2008-2009 session.
Senate.
Documents. - Bill tabled on 5 February 2009, No. 4-1163/1. - Report, No. 4-1163/2.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion and vote: 5 March 2009.
House of Representatives.
Documents. - Project transmitted by the Senate, No. 52-1859/1. - Report, No. 52-1859/2 - Text adopted in plenary and subject to Royal Assent, No. 52-1859/3.
Annales parliamentarians. - Discussion and voting: meeting of March 26, 2009.
(2) Pursuant to Article 28, this Convention comes into force on 5 June 2009.

Convention between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of Tunisia to avoid double taxation and to prevent fraud and escape in tax on income and on fortune
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE BELGIUM ROYAUME
AND
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE TUNISIAN REPUBLIC
DECISIONS to conclude a Convention to Avoid Double Taxation and Prevent Fraud and Evasion in Income and Capital Tax,
AGAINST WHO ITS:
Article 1^er
Target persons
This Convention applies to persons who are residents of a Contracting State or both Contracting States.
Article 2
Taxes targeted
1. This Convention applies to taxes on income and on property collected on behalf of a Contracting State, its political subdivisions or local authorities, irrespective of the system of perception.
2. Taxes are considered to be taxes on income or on property, taxes collected on total income, on total fortune or on elements of income or property, including taxes on gains from the alienation of movable or real estate property, taxes on the total amount of wages paid by companies, and taxes on surplus-values.
3. Current taxes to which the Convention applies include:
(a) with regard to Tunisia:
- income tax;
- corporate tax;
- the tax on industrial, commercial or professional establishments for the benefit of local authorities;
- hotel tax;
- the vocational training fee;
- contribution to the housing promotion fund for employees;
(hereinafter referred to as "Tunisian Tax");
(b) with regard to Belgium:
- the tax of natural persons;
- corporate tax;
- the tax of legal persons;
- non-resident tax;
- the complementary contribution of crisis;
including pre-payments, additional cents to such taxes and pre-payments, and additional taxes to the tax of natural persons,
(hereinafter referred to as "Belgian Tax").
4. The Convention also applies to taxes of an identical or similar nature that would be established after the date of signature of the Convention and that would be in addition to or replace existing taxes. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall communicate the significant changes to their respective tax laws.
Article 3
General definitions
1. For the purposes of this Convention, unless the context requires a different interpretation:
(a) the terms "a Contracting State" and "the other Contracting State" mean, according to the context, Tunisia or Belgium;
(b) the term "Tunisia" used in a geographical sense means the territory of the Tunisian Republic and areas adjacent to territorial waters and the airspace of Tunisia on which, in accordance with international law, Tunisia may exercise sovereign rights or jurisdiction;
(c) the term "Belgium" means the Kingdom of Belgium; employed in a geographical sense, it designates the territory of the Kingdom of Belgium, including the territorial sea as well as the maritime areas and the airspace on which, in accordance with international law, the Kingdom of Belgium exercises sovereign rights or jurisdiction;
(d) the term "person" includes individuals, societies and other groups of persons;
(e) the term "corporate" means any corporation or entity that is considered to be a corporation for taxation purposes;
(f) the terms "business of a Contracting State" and "business of the other Contracting State" shall, respectively, designate a business operated by a resident of a Contracting State and a business operated by a resident of the other Contracting State;
(g) the term "nationals" means:
- all natural persons who have the nationality of a Contracting State;
- all legal persons, corporations and associations incorporated in accordance with the legislation in force in a Contracting State;
(h) the term "international traffic" means any carriage by a ship or aircraft operated by an enterprise whose effective steering seat is located in a Contracting State except where the vessel or aircraft is operated only between points in the other Contracting State;
(i) the term "competent authority" means:
- in respect of Belgium: the Minister of Finance or its authorized representative;
- with regard to Tunisia: the Minister of Finance or his authorized representative.
2. For the application of the Convention at any time by a Contracting State, any term or expression not defined therein shall, unless the context requires a different interpretation, have the meaning assigned to it at that time by the law of that State governing the taxes to which the Convention applies, any interpretation under that tax law shall take it from that which is the result of the other laws of that State.
Article 4
Resident
1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "resident of a Contracting State" means any person who, under the law of that Contracting State, is subject to tax in that State, because of his domicile, residence, head office, management seat or any other similar criterion, such expression includes that State itself and its political subdivisions or local authorities.
The term "resident of a Contracting State" also includes companies of persons and other groupings of persons whose head office is located in that Contracting State and whose share of profits under the domestic legislation of that Contracting State is personally subject to tax.
2. When, according to the provisions of paragraph 1^er of this article, a natural person shall be deemed to be a resident of each of the Contracting States and shall be determined as follows:
(a) that person is considered to be a resident only of the Contracting State where the person has a permanent home; where it has a permanent home in each of the Contracting States, it is considered to be a resident only of the Contracting State with which its personal and economic ties are the narrowest (centre of vital interests);
(b) if the Contracting State in which that person has the centre of its vital interests cannot be determined, or if it does not have a permanent home in any of the Contracting States, it shall be deemed to be a resident only of the Contracting State in which it normally resides;
(c) if the person normally resides in each of the Contracting States or if he or she does not normally reside in any of them, he or she is considered to be a resident only of the Contracting State of which he or she is a national;
(d) if it has the nationality of the two Contracting States or if it does not have the nationality of any of them, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall decide the question by mutual agreement.
3. When, according to the provisions of paragraph 1^er, a person other than a natural person is considered to be a resident of each of the Contracting States, and is considered to be a resident only of the State where his or her effective management seat is located.
Article 5
Stable establishment
1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "stable establishment" means a fixed business facility through which a company operates all or part of its business.
2. The term "stable establishment" includes:
(a) a steering seat;
(b) a branch;
(c) an office;
(d) a factory;
(e) a workshop;
(f) a mine, career or any other place of extraction of natural resources;
(g) a construction site, or temporary assembly operations, or monitoring activities, where the construction site, such temporary assembly operations or monitoring activities have a duration of more than six months.
3. It is not considered stable if:
(a) the use of facilities for the sole purpose of storage, exposure or delivery of goods or goods owned by the enterprise;
(b) goods or goods belonging to the enterprise are stored for storage, exposure or delivery purposes only;
(c) property or goods belonging to the enterprise shall be stored solely for the purpose of processing by another enterprise;
(d) a fixed business facility is used for advertising purposes only;
(e) a fixed business facility is used for the sole purpose of purchasing goods or collecting information for the company;
(f) a fixed business facility is used for the sole purpose of carrying out any other preparatory or auxiliary activity for the enterprise;
(g) a fixed business facility shall be used for the purposes of the cumulative year of the activities referred to in subparagraphs (a) to (f), provided that the overall activity of the fixed business facility resulting from the cumulative operation shall be preparatory or auxiliary.
4 Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 2, where a person - other than an agent enjoying an independent status to which paragraph 6 applies - acts in a Contracting State for a business of another Contracting State, that undertaking shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the first Contracting State for any activities that the person carries on for it if the said person:
(a) the State shall have the authority to enter into contracts on behalf of the undertaking, unless the activities of that person are limited to those listed in paragraph 3 and which, exercised in a fixed business facility, would not make such a permanent establishment within the meaning of that paragraph; or
(b) having no such power, it usually retains in the first State a stock of goods on which it regularly collects goods for the purpose of delivery on behalf of the company.
5. An insurance company, with the exception of reinsurance companies, of a Contracting State shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the other State if it receives premiums in the territory of that other State or ensures risks incurred through an employee or through a representative who does not enter the class of persons referred to in paragraph 6 below.
6. It is not considered that an enterprise of a Contracting State has a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State solely because it operates therein through a broker, general commissioner or any other intermediary enjoying an independent status provided that such persons act within the ordinary framework of their activity.
7. The fact that a corporation that is a resident of a Contracting State controls or is controlled by a corporation that is a resident of the other Contracting State or that operates therein (either through a permanent establishment or not) is not sufficient in itself to make any of these companies a permanent establishment of the other.
8. In the case of a partnership or other grouping of persons referred to in the second paragraph of paragraph 1^er of Article 4 of this Convention shall be a resident of a Contracting State:
- each partner or member in that partnership or group, resident of that Contracting State, shall be considered to have a permanent establishment in the other Contracting State where that partnership or grouping has a permanent establishment therein;
- each partner or member, resident of the other Contracting State, shall be considered to have a permanent establishment in the first Contracting State.
Article 6
Real estate income
1. The income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from real property (including income from agricultural and forestry) located in the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other Contracting State.
2. The term "real property" is defined in accordance with the law of the Contracting State in which the property is located. The term includes, in any case, accessories, dead or alive livestock, as well as equipment used in agricultural and forestry operations, the rights to which the provisions of the law relating to land ownership, the usufruct of real property and the rights to variable or fixed royalties for the exploitation or concession of the exploitation of mineral deposits, sources and other natural assets. Ships, ships and aircraft are not considered real property.
3. The provisions of paragraph 1^er applies to income derived from direct exploitation or enjoyment, lease or charter or any other form of exploitation of real property.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 3 also apply to income from the real property of the enterprises and to income from the real property used in the exercise of an independent profession.
Article 7
Business benefits
1. The profits of an enterprise of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State, unless the enterprise carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment located therein. If the company operates in such a way, the profits of the company are taxable in the other State but only to the extent that they are attributable to the permanent establishment.
2. Subject to the provisions of paragraph 3 of this Article, where an enterprise of a Contracting State carries on business in the other Contracting State through a permanent establishment located therein, it shall be charged, in each Contracting State, to that permanent establishment, the profits it could have realized if it had constituted a separate and separate undertaking carrying out identical or similar activities under identical or similar conditions and dealing independently.
3. For the determination of the profits of a permanent establishment, the expenses incurred for the activity of that permanent establishment shall be deducted, including the executive costs and general administrative expenses incurred either in the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment is located or elsewhere.
However, no deduction is allowed for amounts that would, if any, be paid by the permanent establishment at the company's central office or any of its other establishments (other than the reimbursement of actual expenditures made) as royalties, fees or other similar payments for the use of patents or other fees, or as commissions for services rendered or for a management activity, or, except in the case of a bank loan,
Similarly, the determination of the profits of a permanent establishment shall not take into account any amounts made by the permanent establishment at the rate of the central office of the enterprise or of any of its other establishments (other than the reimbursement of actual expenditures made) as royalties, fees or similar payments for the use of patents or other fees or as commissions for services rendered or for any management activity, or, except in the case of
4. If it is customary in a Contracting State to determine the profits attributable to a permanent establishment on the basis of a distribution of the total profits of the enterprise between its various parties, no provision in paragraph 2 shall prevent that Contracting State from determining the taxable profits according to the distribution in use; However, the method of distribution adopted must be such that the result obtained is consistent with the principles contained in this article.
5. No profit is charged to a permanent establishment because it simply purchased goods for the company. At the same time, no charges are allowed in deduction of the profits of the stable establishment for the purchase of goods for the company.
6. For the purposes of the preceding paragraphs, the benefits to be charged to the permanent establishment are determined annually on the same basis, unless there are valid and sufficient grounds to proceed otherwise.
7. Where profits include income elements treated separately in other articles of this Convention, the provisions of these articles are not affected by the provisions of this article.
Article 8
Maritime and air navigation
1. The profits derived from the operation, in international traffic, of ships or aircraft shall be taxable only in the Contracting State where the effective management seat of the enterprise is located.
If the effective management seat of a marine navigation company is on board a vessel, that seat shall be deemed to be located in the Contracting State where the vessel's home port is located or, if the vessel is not carrying a home, in the Contracting State of which the vessel operator is a resident.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1^er also applies to benefits derived from participation in a pool, a joint operation or an international operating organization.
Article 9
Associated companies
1. When:
(a) a business of a Contracting State directly or indirectly participates in the direction, control, or capital of a business of the other Contracting State, or
(b) the same persons directly or indirectly participate in the direction, control or capital of a business of a Contracting State and of a business of the other Contracting State, and that, in both cases, the two enterprises are, in their commercial or financial relations, bound by conditions accepted or imposed, that differ from those that would be made between independent enterprises, the profits that, without these conditions, could have been realized by
2. When a Contracting State includes in the profits of a company of that State and imposes, accordingly, profits on which a company of the other Contracting State has been imposed in that other State, and that the profits thus included are profits that would have been realized by the enterprise of the first State if the terms agreed between the two enterprises had been those that would have been agreed between independent enterprises, the other State shall proceed to the adjustment that it considers appropriate of the tax To determine this adjustment, the other provisions of this Convention shall be taken into account and, if necessary, the competent authorities of the Contracting States shall consult.
Article 10
Dividends
1. Dividends paid by a corporation that is a resident of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable in that other State.
2. However, such dividends may also be taxed in the Contracting State of which the corporation paying the dividends is a resident, and according to the law of that State, but if the person receiving the dividends is the beneficial owner, the tax so charged shall not exceed:
(a) 5% of the gross amount of the dividends if the beneficial owner is a corporation that holds at least 10% of the capital of the corporation that pays the dividends;
(b) 15 per cent of the gross amount of dividends in all other cases.
This subsection does not affect the corporation's taxation of profits that are used to pay dividends.
3. The term "dividends" used in this article refers to income from shares, share of founders or other share of beneficiaries with the exception of receivables, as well as income subject to the same tax regime as income from shares under the tax legislation of the State of which the distribution corporation is a resident.
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 2 shall not apply where the beneficial owner of the dividends, a resident of a Contracting State, exercises in the other Contracting State whose dividend-paying corporation is a resident, i.e., an industrial or commercial activity through a permanent establishment located therein, or an independent occupation by means of a fixed base located therein, and that the dividend-generating interest is effectively connected to it. In such cases, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
5. Where a corporation that is a resident of a Contracting State derives from the profits or income of the other Contracting State, that other State may not collect any tax on the dividends paid by the corporation, except to the extent that such dividends are paid to a resident of that other State or to the extent that the dividend-generating interest is effectively connected to a permanent establishment or to a fixed base located in that other State, or prelever any
Article 11
Interest
1. Interest arising from a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable in that other State.
2. However, these interests are also taxable in the Contracting State in which they arise and according to the law of that State, but if the person receiving the interest is the beneficial owner, the tax so charged shall not exceed 10% of the gross amount of the interest.
3. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 2:
(a) the tax established on the interest of loans not represented by holder securities and granted to a business by banking enterprises, cannot exceed, in the Contracting State in which they arise, 5% of the gross amount of interest;
(b) interest paid on the basis of a loan or credit granted, guaranteed or insured by a Contracting State, a political subdivision, a local authority or the central bank of that State or by an entity whose financing is provided primarily by public funds, shall be exempted from tax in the Contracting State from which it arises.
4. The term "interest" used in this section refers to income from receivables of any kind, whether or not accompanied by mortgage guarantees or an interest clause in the debtor's profits, including income from public funds and borrowing obligations, including premiums and lots attached to these securities. Penalizations for late payment as well as incomes treated as dividends in the State from which they come under Article 10 (3) are not considered to be interests within the meaning of this Article.
5. The provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 2 shall not apply where the beneficial owner of the interest, a resident of a Contracting State, carries on in the other Contracting State in which the interest arises, either an industrial or commercial activity through a permanent establishment located therein or an independent occupation by means of a fixed base located therein, and that the interest-generating debt is effectively connected to it. In such cases, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
6. Interest shall be deemed to arise from a Contracting State where the debtor is that State itself, a political subdivision, a local authority or a resident of that State. However, where the debtor of interest, whether or not a resident of a Contracting State, has in a Contracting State a permanent establishment, or a fixed base, for which the debt giving rise to the payment of interest has been contracted and which bears the burden of such interests, these shall be deemed to arise from the State where the permanent establishment or fixed base is located.
7. Where, because of special relations between the debtor and the beneficial owner or between the debtor and the other person maintain with third persons, the amount of interest, taking into account the debt for which they are paid, exceeds the amount agreed upon by the debtor and the beneficial owner in the absence of such relations, the provisions of this Article shall apply only to the latter amount. In this case, the surplus portion of the payments remains taxable in the Contracting State from which they arise and in accordance with its legislation.
Article 12
Claims
1. Royalties from a Contracting State and paid to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be taxable in that other State.
2. However, these royalties are also taxable in the Contracting State in which they arise and in accordance with its legislation, but if the person receiving the royalties is the beneficial owner, the tax so charged shall not exceed 11 per cent of the gross amount of the royalties.
3. The term " royalties" used in this article means the remuneration of any kind paid for the use or concession of the use of a copyright on a literary, artistic or scientific work, including films or films or records intended for radio or television, a patent, a trade mark, a drawing or a model, a plan, a formula or
4. The provisions of paragraphs 1^er and 2 shall not apply where the beneficial owner of the royalties, a resident of a Contracting State, carries out in the other Contracting State in which the royalties arise, either an industrial or commercial activity through a permanent establishment located therein or an independent occupation by means of a fixed base located therein, and that the right or property generating the royalties is effectively connected to it.
In such cases, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
5. The royalties shall be deemed to come from a Contracting State when the debtor is that State itself, a political subdivision, a local authority or a resident of that State. However, where the debtor of royalties, whether or not he is a resident of a Contracting State, has in a Contracting State a permanent establishment for which the contract giving rise to the payment of royalties has been concluded and which bears the charge of such royalties shall be deemed to come from the Contracting State in which the permanent establishment is located.
6. Where, because of special relations between the debtor and the beneficial owner or between the debtor and the other person maintain with third persons, the amount of royalties, taking into account the benefit for which they are paid, exceeds the amount agreed upon by the debtor and the beneficial owner in the absence of such relations, the provisions of this section apply only to the latter amount. In this case, the surplus portion of the payments remains taxable in the Contracting State from which they arise and according to its legislation.
Article 13
Capital gains
1. The gains derived by a resident of a Contracting State from the alienation of real property referred to in Article 6 and situated in the other Contracting State shall be taxable in that other Contracting State.
2. The gains from the alienation of movable property that are part of the assets of a permanent establishment that a business of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State or of movable property that belong to a fixed base of which a resident of a Contracting State disposes in the other Contracting State for the exercise of an independent profession, including such gains from the alienation of that permanent establishment (ully or with the other Contracting State)
3. Gains derived from the alienation of ships or aircraft operated in international traffic, or movable property assigned to the operation of such vessels or aircraft, shall be taxable only in the Contracting State where the effective management seat of the enterprise is located.
4. Gains derived from the alienation of shares and social shares that are part of a participation of at least 25% in the capital of a corporation that is a resident of a Contracting State may be taxed in that State unless the alienation of such shares or shares takes place within the framework of a merger, an intake of assets (partial) or an exchange of shares or social shares.
5. Gains from the alienation of all property other than those referred to in paragraphs 1^er, 2, 3 and 4 shall be taxable only in the Contracting State of which the assignor is a resident.
Article 14
Independent occupations
1. The income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from a liberal profession or other independent activities shall be taxable only in that State. However, such income is also taxable in the other Contracting State in the following cases:
(a) if the resident has in the other Contracting State a fixed basis for the exercise of his or her activities in his or her own name or on behalf of a legal person or any other group of persons referred to in the second paragraph of Article 4, paragraph 1, of this Convention in which he or she participates; in that case, only the fraction of the income attributable to that fixed base shall be taxable in the other Contracting State; or
(b) if the stay in the other Contracting State extends over a period or periods of a total duration of 183 days during the fiscal year under review; in that case, only the fraction of the income derived from the activities carried out in that other Contracting State shall be taxable in that other State.
2. The term "liberal profession" includes, in particular, independent scientific, literary, artistic, educational or educational activities, as well as independent activities of physicians, dentists, lawyers, engineers, architects and accountants.
Article 15
Dependent professions
1. Subject to the provisions of Articles 16, 18, 19 and 20, wages, salaries and other similar remuneration that a resident of a Contracting State receives under an employee employment shall be taxable only in that State, unless employment is exercised in the other Contracting State. If the employment is exercised, the remuneration received as such is taxable in that other State.
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1^erthe remuneration of a resident of a Contracting State in respect of an employee employed in the other Contracting State shall be taxable only in the first State if:
(a) the beneficiary stays in the other State for a period or periods not exceeding a total of 183 days during any period of twelve (12) months beginning or ending during the taxable period under consideration; and
(b) compensation shall be paid by an employer or on behalf of an employer who is not a resident of the other State; and
(c) the pay charge is not borne by a permanent establishment or a fixed base that the employer has in the other State.
3. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this Article, remuneration received for an employee employed on board a ship or aircraft operated in international traffic shall be taxable in the Contracting State where the effective management seat of the enterprise is located.
Article 16
Elevenths
1. The fortieth, attendance and other similar remuneration that a resident of a Contracting State receives as a member of the board of directors or of a similar body of a corporation that is a resident of the other Contracting State may be taxed in that other State.
The foregoing provision also applies to remuneration received because of the performance of functions which, under the legislation of the Contracting State whose company is a resident, are treated as functions of a nature similar to those exercised by a person referred to in that provision.
2. Compensation that a person referred to in subsection 1^er receives from a company that is a resident of a Contracting State because of the exercise of a regular activity of direction or technical character and the remuneration that a resident of a Contracting State derives from his personal activity as a partner in a company, other than a corporation by shares, that is a resident of a Contracting State, shall follow, for the attribution to one of the Contracting States of the power of taxation,
Article 17
Artists and athletes
1. Notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 14 and 15, income derived by a resident of a Contracting State from his or her personal activities carried out in the other Contracting State as an artist of the spectacle, such as a theatre, cinema, radio or television artist, or as a musician or as a sportsman, may be taxed in that other State.
2. Where the income of activities that an entertainer or a sportsperson exercises personally and in this capacity is attributed not to the artist or to the athlete himself but to another person, such income shall be taxable, notwithstanding the provisions of Articles 7, 14 and 15, in the Contracting State where the activities of the artist or athlete are carried out.
Article 18
Pensions
Subject to the provisions of paragraph 2 of Article 19, pensions and other similar remuneration paid to a resident of a Contracting State for an earlier job shall be taxable only in that State.
Article 19
Public functions
1. (a) Salaries, salaries and other similar remuneration, other than pensions, paid by a Contracting State or any of its political subdivisions or local authorities to a natural person, for services rendered to that State or subdivision or community, shall be taxable only in that State.
(b) However, such wages, salaries and other similar remuneration shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the services are rendered in that State and if the natural person is a resident of that State who:
- has the nationality of that State, or
- did not become a resident of that State for the sole purpose of rendering the services.
2. (a) Pensions paid by a Contracting State or any of its political subdivisions or local authorities, either directly or by debiting from funds that they have constituted, to a natural person, for services rendered to that State or to that subdivision or community, shall be taxable only in that State.
(b) However, such pensions shall be taxable only in the other Contracting State if the natural person is a resident of that State and has its nationality.
3 The provisions of Articles 15, 16 and 18 apply to salaries, salaries and other similar remuneration as well as to pensions paid for services rendered in the course of an industrial or commercial activity carried out by a Contracting State or one of its political subdivisions or local authorities.
Rule 20
Students and trainees
A student, trainee or apprentice who is, or who was immediately before going to a Contracting State, a resident of the other Contracting State and who temporarily resides in the first State for the sole purpose of pursuing his or her studies or training, is exempted in that State:
(a) the amounts received from sources outside the State to cover its costs of maintenance, study or training;
(b) on remuneration received for an employee employed in that State in connection with its education or training and during the normal period of such employment, if such remuneration does not exceed, as the case may be, by calendar year 5.000 euros or the equivalent of that amount in Tunisian dinars during the official exchange.
Article 21
Other income
1. The income elements of a resident of a Contracting State, wherever they arise, which are not dealt with in the preceding articles of this Convention and which are actually subject to the payment of tax in that State shall be taxable only in that State.
2. The provisions of paragraph 1^er shall not apply to income other than income derived from real property as defined in paragraph 2 of Article 6, where the beneficiary of such income, resident of a Contracting State, carries on in the other Contracting State, either an industrial or commercial activity through a permanent establishment located therein, or an independent occupation by means of a fixed base located therein, and that the right or the property actually generating income is located therein. In such cases, the provisions of Article 7 or Article 14, as the case may be, shall apply.
Article 22
Imposition of fortune
1. The property constituted by real property referred to in Article 6, which is owned by a resident of a Contracting State and situated in the other Contracting State, is taxable in that other State.
2. The property constituted by movable property that is part of the asset of a permanent establishment that a business of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State, or by movable property that is owned by a fixed base of which a resident of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State for the exercise of an independent profession, is taxable in that other State.
3. Assets made by ships or aircraft operated in international traffic, as well as by movable property assigned to the operation of such ships or aircraft, shall be taxable only in the Contracting State where the effective management seat of the enterprise is located.
4. All other assets of a resident of a Contracting State shall be taxable only in that State.
Article 23
Elimination of double taxation
1. With regard to Tunisia, double taxation is eliminated as follows:
When a Tunisian resident receives income or owns a fortune that, in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, is taxable in Belgium, Tunisia grants a deduction on the tax that it receives on income or on capital in an amount equal to income tax or on capital paid in Belgium. However, the amount of the credit cannot exceed the fraction of Tunisian tax on these incomes or on that calculated fortune before deduction corresponding to those incomes received or that fortune owned in Belgium.
2. With regard to Belgium, double taxation is avoided as follows:
(a) When a Belgian resident receives income other than dividends, interest and royalties, or has assets that are taxable in Tunisia in accordance with the provisions of this Convention and that are actually subject to the payment of tax in Tunisia, Belgium exempts from tax these incomes or assets, but it may, to calculate the amount of its taxes on the rest of the income or fortune of that resident, apply the same rate if
Notwithstanding the provisions of the preceding paragraph, where a resident of Belgium receives profits from which the taxation is attributed to Tunisia in accordance with the provisions of Article 7 of the Convention but which are temporarily exempted from tax in Tunisia under special measures of incentive to investment, the exemption provided for in the preceding paragraph does not apply in Belgium to the profits attributable to the permanent establishment located in Tunisia but This provision is applicable for a period of 17 successive calendar years from the date of entry into force of the Convention.
(b) When a Belgian resident receives income subject to Belgian tax and consisting of dividends, interest or royalties, the Tunisian tax collected on these revenues is deducted from the Belgian tax relating to the said income.
Notwithstanding the provisions of paragraph 1, Belgium grants a deduction at a rate of 20% on the basis of dividends paid by a corporation that is a resident of Tunisia from profits temporarily exempted in Tunisia from corporate tax. This provision is applicable for a period of 17 successive calendar years from the date of entry into force of the Convention.
The deduction referred to in the preceding paragraphs shall not exceed the fraction of the Belgian tax relating to these revenues.
(c) Where, in accordance with Belgian law, losses incurred by a company operated by a Belgian resident in a permanent establishment located in Tunisia have been effectively deducted from the profits of that company for its taxation in Belgium, the exemption provided for in (a) does not apply in Belgium to the profits of other taxable periods that are attributable to that establishment, up to the losses deducted in Belgium, provided that such losses have also been deducted from Tunisia
Article 24
Non-discrimination
1. Nationals of a Contracting State shall not be subject in the other Contracting State to any taxation or obligation relating thereto, which is other or heavier than that to which nationals of that other State are or may be subject, which are in the same situation, particularly in respect of the residence. This provision also applies, notwithstanding the provisions of section 1^ernationals who are not residents of a Contracting State or both Contracting States.
2. The imposition of a permanent establishment that a business of a Contracting State has in the other Contracting State is not established in that other State in a less favourable manner than the taxation of the enterprises of that other State that exercise the same activity. This provision shall not be construed as requiring a Contracting State to grant personal deductions, deductions and tax reductions to the residents of the other Contracting State on the basis of the situation or family expenses that it grants to its own residents.
3. Unless the provisions of paragraph 1^er of Article 9, paragraph 7 of Article 11 or paragraph 6 of Article 12 shall not apply, any interest, royalties and other expenses paid by a business of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be deductible, for the determination of the taxable profit of that undertaking, on the same terms as if they had been paid to a resident of the first Contracting State. Similarly, the debts of an enterprise of a Contracting State to a resident of the other Contracting State shall be deductible, for the determination of the taxable fortune of that undertaking, on the same basis as if they had been contracted to a resident of the first Contracting State.
4. The enterprises of a Contracting State, whose capital is wholly or partly, directly or indirectly, held or controlled by one or more residents of the other Contracting State, shall not be subject in the first State to any taxation or relative obligation which is other or heavier than that to which the other similar enterprises of the first State are or may be subject.
5. The provisions of this section shall apply to the taxes referred to in section 2.
Rule 25
Friendly procedure
1. Where a person considers that the measures taken by a Contracting State or by the two Contracting States shall result in or result in taxation not in accordance with the provisions of this Convention, the person may, independently of the remedies provided by the domestic law of those States, submit his case to the competent authority of the Contracting State of which the person is a resident or, if the case falls under paragraph 1^er Article 24, to that of the Contracting State of which it has nationality. The case shall be submitted within three years after the first notification of the measure that results in taxation not in conformity with the provisions of the Convention.
2. The competent authority shall endeavour, if the claim appears to it to be justified and if it is not itself in a position to provide a satisfactory solution, to resolve the matter by amicable agreement with the competent authority of the other Contracting State, with a view to avoiding taxation not in conformity with the Convention. The agreement shall be applied irrespective of the time limits provided by the domestic law of the Contracting States.
3. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall endeavour, by mutual agreement, to resolve the difficulties or to dispel the doubts to which the interpretation or application of the Convention may take place.
4. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall agree on the administrative measures necessary for the implementation of the provisions of the Convention and in particular on the justifications to be provided by the residents of each Contracting State to benefit in the other State from the exemptions or tax reductions provided for in this Convention.
5. The competent authorities of the Contracting States may communicate directly with each other for the purposes of the Convention.
Rule 26
Exchange of information
1. The competent authorities of the Contracting States shall exchange the information necessary to implement the provisions of this Convention or those of the domestic laws of the Contracting States relating to the taxes covered by the Convention to the extent that the taxation they provide is not contrary to the Convention. The exchange of information is not restricted by section 1^er.
The information received by a Contracting State shall be kept secret and shall be communicated only to the persons or authorities (including the courts and administrative bodies) concerned by the establishment or collection of the taxes referred to in this Convention, by the procedures or prosecutions relating to such taxes, or by the decisions on remedies relating to such taxes. These individuals or authorities only use this information for these purposes. They may report this information at public court hearings or in judgments.
2. In no case shall the provisions of paragraph 1 be construed as imposing on one of the Contracting States the obligation:
(a) to make administrative arrangements derogating from its own legislation, administrative practice or that of the other Contracting State;
(b) provide information that could not be obtained on the basis of its own legislation or in the course of its normal administrative practice or that of the other Contracting State;
(c) provide information that would reveal a commercial, industrial, professional or commercial secret or information that would be contrary to public order.
Rule 27
Members of diplomatic and consular missions
The provisions of this Convention shall not affect the tax privileges enjoyed by members of diplomatic missions or consular posts under either the general rules of international law or the provisions of special agreements.
Rule 28
Entry into force
1. Each Contracting State shall notify the other Contracting State of the fulfilment of the procedures required by its legislation for the entry into force of this Convention. The Convention shall enter into force on the fifteenth day of receipt of the second notification.
2. The provisions of the Convention shall apply:
(a) taxes due to the source on income awarded or paid from 1^er January of the year immediately following that of the entry into force of the Convention;
(b) other taxes on incomes of taxable periods ending on or after December 31 of the year immediately following that of the entry into force of the Convention;
(c) capital taxes on assets existing as at 1^er January of any year after that of the entry into force of the Convention.
3. The provisions of the Convention between the Government of the Kingdom of Belgium and the Government of the Tunisian Republic to avoid double taxation and to settle certain other issues relating to taxes on income and on capital signed in Tunis on 22 February 1975 shall cease to apply to any Belgian or Tunisian tax relating to income for which this Convention has effect with respect to that tax, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2.
Rule 29
Denunciation
This Convention shall remain in force as long as it has not been denounced by a Contracting State, but each of the Contracting States may, until 30 June inclusive of any calendar year from the fifth year following that of the entry into force, denounce it, in writing and through diplomatic channels, to the other Contracting State. In case of denunciation before 1^er July of such a year, the Convention will last apply:
(a) taxes due to the source on the income awarded or paid by December 31 of the year of the denunciation;
(b) other taxes on taxable period income ending before December 31 of the year immediately following that of the denunciation;
(c) capital taxes on assets existing as at 1^er January of the year of denunciation.
In faith, the undersigned, duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed this Convention.
Done in Tunis on 7 October 2004 in duplicate in Arabic, French and Dutch languages, the three texts being equally authentic. The French language text will prevail in the event of a discrepancy between the texts.

PROTOCOLE
At the time of the signing of the Convention between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Republic of Tunisia to avoid double taxation and to prevent fraud and escape in respect of income and property taxes, the undersigned have agreed on the following provisions which are an integral part of the Convention.
Ad Article 8
For the purposes of Article 8 of the Convention, benefits derived from the operation, in international traffic, of ships or aircraft include:
(a) benefits arising from the rental of ships or aircraft, armed and equipped, as well as benefits derived from the occasional bare hull of ships or aircraft, when such vessels or aircraft are operated in international traffic and provided that they are the property of the company that gives them for rent or operated by it under a leasing contract;
(b) profits derived from the use or lease of containers operated in international traffic, provided that such profits are complementary or incidental to the benefits to which the provisions of paragraph 1^er of Article 8 of the Convention shall be applicable and provided that these containers are the property of the marine or air navigation undertaking.
Ad article 11, paragraph 3, (a)
By derogation from Article 11, paragraph 3, (a) interest paid by a Contracting State, one of its political subdivisions or local authorities shall remain exempt from tax in the State from which they arise when they are paid on account of a loan contracted prior to the entry into force of this Convention for a minimum period of 5 years and not represented by bonds or other securities of borrowing and that they are paid to a contracting State or a contracting State
Ad article 11, paragraph 3, (b)
It is understood that the interests referred to in Article 11, paragraph 3, (b) include interest paid under a general regime organized by a Contracting State, one of its political subdivisions or local authorities to promote exports.
Ad article 23, paragraph 2, (a) and (b)
The second paragraph of paragraph 2, (a), and the second paragraph of paragraph 2, (b) of Article 23 are not applicable to a resident of Belgium whose activities or investments in Tunisia are essential to misuse the provisions of that paragraph, i.e. when it is proven that activities or investments do not meet legitimate financial or economic needs. This is in particular the case where, before the end of the period or after the expiry of the period in which the exemption referred to in these paragraphs of the Tunisian tax is granted to a company that is a resident of Tunisia or to a permanent establishment that a resident of Belgium has in Tunisia, a associated company, within the meaning of Article 9, the resident of Tunisia or Belgium as the case resumes the activities of the new permanent establishment or of Belgium.
For the purposes of this provision, the only fact that a company in Belgium carries out activities in Tunisia or invests capital in a company that is a resident of Tunisia and that the revenues derived from the activities carried out by the permanent establishment or by that company regularly benefit in Tunisia from a temporary exemption of tax, does not in itself consider that the essential purpose of these activities or investment is to misuse the provisions of the second paragraph (b) of the second paragraph (
Ad article 23, paragraph 2, (b)
The first and second paragraphs of section 23 (2) (b) do not apply to income that a natural person does not include in his or her overall income subject to Belgian tax.
Ad article 23, paragraph 2
When a corporation that is a resident of Belgium holds a minimum of 5% stake in the capital of a corporation that is a resident of Tunisia, Belgium will not apply a regime of exemption to dividends received from that latter corporation different from the exemption regime applied to dividends received by a corporation that is a resident of Belgium and paid by a corporation that is a resident of another Member State of the European Union.
In faith, the undersigned, duly authorized by their respective Governments, have signed this Protocol.
Done in Tunis on 7 October 2004 in duplicate in Arabic, French and Dutch languages, the three texts being equally authentic. The French language text will prevail in the event of a discrepancy between the texts.