Title 26—Internal Revenue--Volume 1
PART 514—FRANCE
§ 514.1   Introductory.
(a) Applicable provisions of convention. The income tax convention between the United States and France, signed on July 25, 1939, and October 18, 1946, as modified by the supplemental convention, signed June 22, 1956 (the instruments of ratification of which were exchanged on June 13, 1957), referred to in this part as the convention, provides in part as follows, the quoted articles being effective as indicated:
Article I(a) of the Supplemental Convention of 1956, on June 13, 1957.
Article I(d) of the Supplemental Convention of 1956, on January 1, 1952.
Article 7 and the Protocol of the Convention of 1939, on January 1, 1945.
The supplemental convention signed June 22, 1956, provides in part as follows:
The provisions of the Convention and Protocol between the United States and the French Republic signed at Paris on July 25, 1939 are hereby modified and supplemented as follows:
(a) By striking out Article 1(a) and inserting in lieu thereof the following:
“(a) In the case of the United States: The Federal income taxes (including surtaxes and excess profits taxes) and the documentary taxes on sales or transfers of shares or certificates of stock or bonds.”
(d) By adding immediately after Article 6 the following new articles:
Dividends and interest derived, on or after January 1, 1952, from sources within one of the contracting States by a resident or corporation or other entity of the other State, not having a permanent establishment in the former State shall be subject to tax by such former State at a rate not in excess of 15 percent of the gross amount of such dividends or interest. Such reduced rate of tax shall not apply to dividends or interest paid prior to the calendar year in which are exchanged the instruments of ratification of the present Convention if, for the taxable year in which such dividends or interest is received, penalty for fraud with respect to the taxes which are the subject of the present Convention has been imposed against the recipient of such dividends or interest.”
(a) The present Convention shall be ratified and the instruments of ratification shall be exchanged at Paris as soon as possible.
(b) Its provisions shall come into force and shall become effective as of the date of the exchange of the instruments of ratification subject both to the provisions of Article I (d) and (e) and to the provisions set forth herein below.
(c) If refund of any overpayment resulting from the application of Article I(d) of the present Convention is prevented on the date of exchange of instruments of ratification or within two years from such date by the operation of any law, refund of such overpayment (without interest) shall nevertheless be made provided that claim for refund is filed within two years after the date of the exchange of instruments of ratification of the present Convention with the contracting State to which such overpayment was made.
(d) The present Convention shall remain effective so long as the Conventions signed July 25, 1939 and October 18, 1946, remain effective.
The convention of July 25, 1939, provides, in part, as follows:
Royalties derived from within one of the contracting States by a resident, or by a corporation or other entity of the other contracting State as consideration for the right to use copyrights, patents, secret processes and formulae, trademarks and other analogous rights shall be exempt from taxation in the former State, provided such resident, corporation or other entity does not have a permanent establishment there.
Private pensions and life annuities derived from within one of the contracting States and paid to individuals residing in the other contracting State shall be exempt from taxation in the former State.
III. As used in this Convention:
(a) The term “permanent establishment” includes branches, mines and oil wells, plantations, factories, workshops, stores, purchasing and selling and other offices, agencies, warehouses, and other fixed places of business but does not include a subsidiary corporation.
When an enterprise of one of the contracting States carries on business in the other State through an employee or agent, established there, who has general authority to negotiate and conclude contracts or has a stock of merchandise from which he regularly fills orders which he receives, this enterprise shall be deemed to have a permanent establishment in the latter State. But the fact that an enterprise of one of the contracting States has business dealings in the other State through a bona fide commission agent or broker shall not be held to mean that such enterprise has a permanent establishment in the latter State.
Insurance enterprises shall be considered as having a permanent establishment in one of the States as soon as they receive premiums from or insure risks in the territory of that State.
IV. The term “life annuities” referred to in Article 8 of this Convention means a stated sum payable periodically at stated times during life, or during a specified number of years to the person who has paid the premium or a gross sum for such an obligation.
The convention of October 18, 1946, provides, in part, as follows:
(1) The competent authorities of the two Contracting States may prescribe regulations necessary to interpret and carry out the provisions of the present Convention and the Convention of July 25, 1939.
(b) Definitions —(1) In general. Any term defined in the convention or §§ 514.1 to 514.10 shall have the meaning so assigned to it; any term not so defined shall, unless the context otherwise requires, have the meaning which such term has under the internal revenue laws of the United States.
(2) France. As used in §§ 514.1 to 514.10, the term “France”, when used in a geographical sense, means continental France, exclusive of Algeria and the Colonies.
§ 514.2   Dividends.
(a) General. (1) The rate of United States tax imposed by the Internal Revenue Code upon dividends derived from sources within the United States on or after January 1, 1952, by a nonresident alien (including a nonresident alien individual, fiduciary, and partnership) who is a resident of France when such dividend is so paid, or by a French corporation, shall not exceed 15 percent if such alien or corporation at no time during the taxable year in which such dividends are so received has no permanent establishment within the United States. Article I(a) of the convention, signed June 22, 1956. As to what constitutes a “permanent establishment” see Protocol III(a), in § 514.1.
(2) Thus, if a nonresident alien individual who is a resident of France performs personal services within the United States during the taxable year but has at no time during such year a permanent establishment within the United States, he is entitled to the reduced rate of tax with respect to dividends derived from United States sources, as provided in Article I(d) of the convention even though under the provisions of section 871(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 he has engaged in trade or business within the United States during such year by reason of his having rendered personal services therein.
(b) Effect of address in France on withholding in the case of dividends. For the purpose of withholding of United States tax in the case of dividends, every nonresident alien (including a nonresident alien individual, fiduciary, and partnership) whose address is in France shall be deemed by United States withholding agents to be a nonresident alien who is a resident of France not having a permanent establishment in the United States; and every foreign corporation whose address is in France shall be deemed by such withholding agents to be a French corporation not having a permanent establishment in the United States.
(c) Rate of withholding. (1) Withholding at source in the case of dividends derived from sources within the United States and paid on or after January 1, 1957, to nonresident aliens (including a nonresident alien individual, fiduciary, and partnership) and to foreign corporations, whose addresses are in France, shall be at the rate of 15 percent in every case except that in which, prior to the date of payment of such dividends, the Commissioner of Internal Revenue has notified the withholding agent that the reduced rate of withholding shall not apply.
(2) The preceding provisions respecting the application of the reduced withholding rate in the case of dividends paid to nonresident aliens and foreign corporations with addresses in France are based upon the assumption that the payee of the dividend is the actual owner of the capital stock from which the dividend is derived and consequently is the person liable to the United States upon such dividend. As to action by the recipient who is not the owner of the dividend, see § 514.3.
(3) The rate at which the United States tax has been withheld from any dividend paid at any time after the expiration of the thirtieth day after the date on which §§ 514.1 to 514.10 are published in the Federal Register to any person whose address is in France at the time the dividend is paid shall be shown either in writing or by appropriate stamp on the check, draft, or other evidence of payment or on an accompanying statement.
§ 514.3   Dividends received by addressee not actual owner.
(a) Additional tax to be withheld —(1) Nominee or representative. The recipient in France of any dividend, paid on or after January 1, 1957, from which United States tax at the reduced rate of 15 percent has been withheld at source pursuant to § 514.2(c)(1), who is a nominee or representative through whom the dividend is received by a person other than one described in § 514.2(a) as being entitled to the reduced rate, shall withhold an additional amount of United States tax equivalent to the United States tax which would have been withheld if the convention had not been in effect (30 percent as of the date of approval of §§ 514.1 to 514.10) minus the 15 percent which has been withheld at the source.
(2) Fiduciary or partnership. A fiduciary or a partnership with an address in France which receives, otherwise than as a nominee or representative, a dividend from which United States tax at the reduced rate of 15 percent has been withheld at source pursuant to § 514.2 shall withhold an additional amount of United States tax from the portion of the dividend included in the gross income from sources within the United States of any beneficiary or partner, as the case may be, who is not entitled to the reduced rate of tax in accordance with § 514.2(c). The amount of the additional tax is to be calculated in the same manner as under subparagraph (1) of this paragraph.
(3) Released amounts of tax. If any amount of United States tax is released pursuant to § 514.8(a)(1) by the withholding agent in the United States with respect to a dividend paid to a nominee, representative, fiduciary, or partnership with an address in France, the latter shall withhold from such released amount any additional amount of United States tax, otherwise required to be withheld from the dividend by the provisions of subparagraphs (1) and (2) of this paragraph, in the same manner as if at the time of payment of the dividends United States tax at the rate of only 15 percent had been withheld at source therefrom.
(b) Returns filed by French withholding agents. The amounts withheld pursuant to paragraph (a) of this section by any withholding agent in France shall be deposited, without converting the amounts into United States dollars, with the Directeur General des Impots of France on or before the 15th day after the close of the quarter of the calendar year in which the withholding in France occurs. The withholding agent making the deposit shall render therewith such appropriate French form as may be prescribed by the Directeur General des Impots. The amounts so deposited should be remitted by the Directeur General des Impots by draft in the United States dollars to the Director, International Operations Division, Internal Revenue Service, Washington 25, D. C., U. S. A., on or before the end of the calendar month in which the deposit is made, and should be accompanied by such French form as may be required to be rendered by the withholding agent in France in connection with the deposit.
§ 514.4   Interest.
(a) General. The rate of United States tax imposed by the Internal Revenue Code upon interest on bonds, securities, notes, debentures, or on any other form of indebtedness, including interest on obligations of the United States, obligations of instrumentalities of the United States, and mortgages and bonds secured by real property, which is derived from sources within the United States in taxable years beginning on or after January 1, 1952, by a nonresident alien (including a nonresident alien individual, fiduciary, and partnership) who is a resident of France, or by a French corporation or other entity, shall not exceed 15 percent under the provisions of Article I(d) of the convention if such alien, corporation, or other French entity at no time during the taxable year in which such interest is received has a permanent establishment in the United States. As to what constitutes a permanent establishment see Article III(a) of the convention.
(b) Application of reduced rate at source. (1) To secure withholding of United States tax at the rate of 15 percent at source in the case of coupon bond interest, the nonresident alien who is a resident of France, or the French corporation or other entity, shall, for each issue of bonds, file Form 1001-F in duplicate when presenting the interest coupons for payment. This form shall be signed by the owner of the interest, or by his trustee or agent, and shall show the name and address of the obligor, the name and address of the owner of the interest, and the amount of the interest. It shall contain a statement that the owner (i) is a resident of France, or is a French corporation or other entity, and (ii) has no permanent establishment in the United States.
(2) The reduction in the rate of United States tax contemplated by Article 6A of the convention, insofar as it concerns coupon bond interest, is applicable only to the owner of the interest. The person presenting the coupon or on whose behalf it is presented shall, for the purpose of the reduction in tax, be deemed to be the owner of the interest only if he is, at the time the coupon is presented for payment, the owner of the bond from which the coupon has been detached. If the person presenting the coupon, or on whose behalf it is presented, is not the owner of the bond, Form 1001, and not Form 1001-F, shall be executed.
(3) The original and duplicate of Form 1001-F shall be forwarded by the withholding agent to the Director, International Operations Division, Internal Revenue Service, Washington 25, D. C., with the annual return on Form 1042. Form 1001-F shall be listed on Form 1042.
(4) To secure the reduced rate of United States tax at source in the case of interest other than coupon bond interest, the nonresident alien individual who is a resident of France, or the French corporation or other entity, shall file Form 1001A-F in duplicate with the withholding agent in the United States. This form shall be signed by the owner of the interest, or by his trustee or agent, and shall show the name and address of the obligor and the name and address of the owner of the interest. It shall contain a statement that the owner (i) is a resident of France, or is a French corporation or other entity, and (ii) has no permanent establishment in the United States.
(5) Form 1001A-F shall be filed with the withholding agent for each successive three-calendar-year period during which such interest is paid. For this purpose, the first such period shall commence with the beginning of the calendar year in which such income is first paid on or after January 1, 1957. Each such form filed with any withholding agent shall be filed not later than 20 days preceding the date of the first payment within each successive period, or, if that is not possible because of special circumstances, as soon as possible after such first payment. Once such a form has been filed in respect of any three-calendar-year period, no additional Form 1001A-F need be filed in respect thereto unless the Commissioner of Internal Revenue notifies the withholding agent that another such form shall be filed by the taxpayer. If, after filing such form, the taxpayer ceases to be eligible for the reduced rate of United States tax granted by Article 6A of the convention in respect to such interest, he shall promptly notify the withholding agent by letter in duplicate. When any change occurs in the ownership of the interest as recorded on the books of the payer, the reduction in rate of withholding of United States tax shall no longer apply unless the new owner of record is entitled to and does properly file a Form 1001A-F with the withholding agent.
(6) The duplicate of each Form 1001A-F shall be immediately forwarded by the withholding agent to the Director, International Operations Division, Internal Revenue Service, Washington 25, D. C.
§ 514.5   Patent and copyright royalties and film rentals.
(a) Exemption from tax. Royalties for the right to use copyrights, patents, designs, secret processes and formulae, trademarks, and other analogous property, and royalties and rentals in respect of motion picture films or for the use of industrial, commercial, or scientific equipment, which are derived from sources within the United States on or after January 1, 1945, by a nonresident alien individual who is a resident of France, or by a French corporation, are exempt from United States tax under the provisions of Article 7 of the convention signed July 25, 1939, as modified by Article 7(b) of the convention signed October 18, 1946, if such alien or corporation at no time during the taxable year in which such income is derived has engaged in trade or business within the United States through a permanent establishment situated therein.
(b) Exemption from withholding of United States tax. To avoid withholding of United States tax at source in the case of items of income to which this section applies, the nonresident alien who is a resident of France, or the French corporation, shall file Form 1001A-F, in duplicate, with the withholding agent in the United States.
(c) Manner of filing. The provisions of § 514.4 relating to the execution, filing, effective period, and disposition of Form 1001A-F, are equally applicable with respect to the income falling within the scope of this section.
(d) Revocation of 26 CFR ( 1939 ) 7.418 ( Treasury Decision 5499 ). Effective January 1, 1957, the provisions of 26 CFR 7.418 (Rev. 1953, Parts 1-79, and Supps.) (Treasury Decision 5499, 11 F.R. 2158), approved February 27, 1946, are hereby made inapplicable, and the provisions of this section are hereby substituted therefor with respect to payments of royalties and film rentals made on or after January 1, 1957.
§ 514.6   Private pensions and life annuities.
(a) Exemption from tax. Private pensions and life annuities as defined in paragraph (d) of this section, derived from sources within the United States on or after January 1, 1945, and paid to a nonresident alien who is a resident of France are exempt from United States tax under the provisions of Article 8 of the convention of July 25, 1939.
(b) Exemption from withholding of United States tax—Form to use. To secure exemption from withholding of United States tax at the source in the case of private pensions and life annuities, the nonresident alien who is a resident of France shall file Form 1001A-F, in duplicate, with the withholding agent in the United States.
(c) Manner of filing. The provisions of § 514.4 relating to the execution, filing, effective period, and disposal of Form 1001A-F are equally applicable with respect to the income falling within the scope of this section.
(d) Definition. As used in this section, the term “pensions” means periodic payments made in consideration for services rendered or by way of compensation for injuries received, and the term “life annuities” means a stated sum payable periodically at stated times during life, or during a specified number of years, under an obligation to make the payments in return for adequate and full consideration in money or money's worth. Neither term includes retired pay or pensions paid by the United States or by any State or Territory of the United States.
§ 514.7   Beneficiaries of a domestic estate or trust.
(a) Entitled to benefits of convention. If he otherwise satisfies the requirements of the respective articles concerned, a nonresident alien individual who is a resident of France and who is a beneficiary of a domestic estate or trust shall be entitled to the reduction in the rate of, or exemption from, United States tax granted by Articles 6A and 7 of the convention with respect to dividends, interest, and patent royalties and other like amounts to the extent that (1) any amount paid, credited, or required to be distributed by such estate or trust to such beneficiary is deemed to consist of such items, and (2) such items would, without regard to the convention, be includible in his gross income.
(b) Withholding of United States tax. In order to be entitled, because of the application of paragraph (a) of this section, to the reduction in rate of, or exemption from, withholding of United States tax the beneficiary must otherwise satisfy the requirements of the respective articles concerned, and shall, where applicable, execute and submit to the fiduciary of the estate or trust in the United States the appropriate form or forms prescribed in §§ 514.4(b) and 514.6(b).
(c) Amounts otherwise includible in gross income of beneficiary. For the determination of amounts which, without regard to the convention, are includible in the gross income of the beneficiary, see subchapter J of chapter 1 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and the regulations thereunder.
§ 514.8   Release of excess tax withheld at source.
(a) Amounts to be released —(1) Dividends derived from domestic corporation. If United States tax has been withheld at the statutory rate on or after January 1, 1957, from dividends described in § 514.2(a) and derived from a domestic corporation by a nonresident alien (including a nonresident alien individual, fiduciary, and partnership) or by a foreign corporation, whose address at the time of payment was in France, the withholding agent shall release and pay over to the person from whom the tax was withheld an amount which is equal to the difference between the tax so withheld and the tax required to be withheld pursuant to § 514.2(c).
(2) Coupon bond interest —(i) Substitute form. In the case of every taxpayer who furnishes to the withholding agent Form 1001-F clearly marked “Substitute” and executed in accordance with § 514.4(b)(1), where United States tax has been withheld at the statutory rate on or after January 1, 1957, from coupon bond interest, the withholding agent shall release and pay over to the person from whom the tax was withheld an amount which is equal to the difference between the tax so withheld and the tax required to be withheld pursuant to § 514.4(b)(1) if the taxpayer also attaches to such form a letter in duplicate, signed by the owner, trustee, or agent and containing the following:
( a ) The name and address of the obligor;
( b ) The name and address of the owner from which the excess tax was withheld;
( c ) A statement that, at the time when the interest was derived from which the excess tax was withheld, the owner was neither a citizen nor a resident of the United States but was a resident of France, or, in the case of a corporation, the owner was a French corporation; and
( d ) A statement that the owner at no time during the taxable year in which the interest was derived was engaged in trade or business within the United States through a permanent establishment situated therein.
(ii) Disposition of form. The original and duplicate of substitute Form 1001-F (and letter) shall be forwarded by the withholding agent to the Director, International Operations Division, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C., with the annual return on Form 1042. Substitute Form 1001-F need not be listed on Form 1042.
(3) Noncoupon interest, royalties, private pensions, and life annuities. (i) If a taxpayer furnishes to the withholding agent a Form 1001A-F, properly executed as prescribed by § 514.4(b)(4), and United States tax has been withheld at the statutory rate on or after January 1, 1957, from noncoupon interest payments in respect of which the form is filed, the withholding agent should release and pay over to the person from whom the tax was withheld an amount which is equal to the difference between the tax so withheld and the tax required to be withheld pursuant to § 514.4(b)(4).
(ii) If a taxpayer furnishes to the withholding agent a Form 1001A-F, properly executed as prescribed by § 514.4(b)(4), and United States tax has been withheld at the statutory rate on or after January 1, 1957, from royalties, private pensions, and life annuities in respect of which the form is filed, the withholding agent shall release and pay over to the person from whom the tax was withheld an amount which is equal to the total tax so withheld.
(b) Amounts not to be released. The provisions of this section do not apply to excess tax withheld at source which has been paid by the withholding agent to the internal revenue officer entitled to receive payment of the tax withheld under chapter 3 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954.
(c) Statutory rate. As used in this section, the term “statutory rate” means the rate prescribed by chapter 3 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 and the regulations thereunder, as though the convention had not come into effect.
§ 514.9   Refund of excess tax withheld.
(a) Years 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956. Where the tax withheld at the source upon dividends and interest paid in any one or more of the calendar years 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, and 1956 is in excess of the tax due from the taxpayer under the convention, supplemented as set forth above, it will be necessary for the taxpayer to file an income tax return (Form 1040NB France for individuals and Form 1120NB France for corporations) with respect to such taxable year or years. The return shall cover all years for which a refund is claimed. The return must be filed on or before June 13, 1959. One return shall cover all years for which a refund is claimed. The taxpayer's total fixed or determinable, annual or periodical income (other than royalties) from sources within the United States should be reported on the return, and the income for each taxable year should be shown separately. There shall also be shown on such returns the amounts, if any, received in any of such years of capital gains (other than gains from the sale or exchange of stocks, securities or commodities) from sources within the United States. For this purpose, beginning with the calendar year 1954, certain distributions from employees' trusts, and amounts received incident to disposal of timber or coal or patent rights shall be included in such capital gains. See section 871(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 for provisions pertaining to individual taxpayers and section 881(a) for provisions pertinent to corporate taxpayers. There shall be included with the return the following statements:
(1) That the taxpayer was a nonresident alien (including a nonresident alien individual, fiduciary, or partnership) resident in France or was a French corporation, during the year or years for which the return is filed;
(2) That the taxpayer had no permanent establishment in the United States during the respective years in which the income was received;
(3) That no penalty for fraud has been imposed by the United States against the taxpayer claimant with respect to income tax for the year or years for which the return is filed.
(b) Date of payment of tax. The United States tax withheld from dividends and interest derived from sources within the United States by nonresident aliens, or by a foreign corporation not engaged in trade or business in the United States, is deemed to have been paid on March 15 of the calendar year immediately succeeding that in which such income has been so derived. Section 1461, Internal Revenue Code of 1954. Hence, the United States tax withheld from dividends and interest derived by such aliens resident in France and such French corporations for the years 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, and 1956 is deemed to have been paid, respectively, on March 15, 1953, March 15, 1954, March 15, 1955, March 15, 1956, and March 15, 1957.
§ 514.10   Effective date.
The provisions of §§ 514.1 through 517.9 shall be effective with respect to taxable years beginning after December 31, 1956, and before January 1, 1967, or with respect to dividends, interest, and royalties paid before August 11, 1968.
§ 514.22   Dividends received by persons not entitled to reduced rate of tax.
(a) General. Article 27(1) of the convention provides that each Contracting State shall undertake to lend assistance and support to the other Contracting State in the collection of taxes covered by the convention.
(b) Additional French tax to be withheld in the United States —(1) By a nominee or representative. The recipient in the United States of any dividend from which French tax has been withheld at the reduced rate of 15 percent, who is a nominee or representative through whom the dividend is received by a person who is not a resident of the United States, shall withhold an additional amount of French tax equivalent to the French tax which would have been withheld if the convention had not been in effect (25 percent as of the date of approval of this Treasury decision) minus the 15 percent which has been withheld at the source.
(2) By a fiduciary or partnership. A fiduciary or partnership with an address in the United States which receives, otherwise than as a nominee or representative, a dividend from sources within France from which French tax has been withheld at the reduced rate of 15 percent, shall withhold an additional amount of French tax from the portion of the dividend included in the gross income from sources within France of any beneficiary or partner, as the case may be, who is not entitled to the reduced rate of tax in accordance with the applicable provisions of the convention. The amount of the additional tax is to be calculated in the same manner as under subparagraph (1) of this paragraph.
(3) Withholding additional French tax from amounts released or refunded. If any amount of French tax is released by the withholding agent in France with respect to a dividend received by a nominee, representative, fiduciary, or partnership in the United States, the recipient shall withhold from such released amount any additional amount of French tax otherwise required to be withheld from the dividend by the provisions of subparagraphs (1) and (2) of this paragraph, in the same manner as if at the time of payment of the dividends French tax at the rate of 15 percent had been withheld therefrom.
(4) Return of French tax by U.S. withholding agents. Amounts of French tax withheld pursuant to this paragraph by withholding agents in the United States shall be deposited in U.S. dollars with the Director, Office of International Operations, Internal Revenue Service, Washington, D.C. 20225, on or before the 16th day after the close of the quarter of the calendar year in which the withholding occurs. Such withholding agent shall also submit such appropriate forms as may be prescribed by the Commissioner of Internal Revenue.