For purposes of this Convention:

1. Dividends shall be treated as income from sources within a Contracting State only if paid by a corporation of that Contracting State.

2. Interest shall be treated as income from sources within a Contracting State only if paid by such Contracting State, a political sub-division or a local authority thereof, or by a resident of that Contracting State. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, if such interest is paid on an indebtedness incurred in connection with a permanent establishment which bears such interest, then such interest shall be deemed to be from sources within the State (whether or not a Contracting State) in which the permanent establishment is situated.

3. Royalties described in paragraph (2) of Article 14 (Royalties) for the use of, or the right to use, property or rights described in such paragraph shall be treated as income from sources within a Contracting State only to the extent that such royalties are for the use of, or the right to use, such property or rights within that Contracting State.

4. Income and gains (including royalties) to which Article 7 (Income from Real Property) applies shall be treated as income from sources within a Contracting State only if the real property (or, in the case of property referred to in paragraph (3) of such Article 7, the underlying real property) is situated in that Contracting State.

5. Income from the rental of tangible personal (movable) property shall be treated as income from sources within a Contracting State only to the extent that such income is for the use of such property in that Contracting State.

6. Income from the purchase and sale, exchange, or other disposition of intangible or tangible personal property (other than gains described in paragraph (2) of Article 14 (Royalties)) shall be treated as income from sources within a Contracting State only if such sale, exchange, or other disposition is within that Contracting State. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, gains from the sale, exchange, or other disposition of stock to which paragraph (1) (e) of Article 15 (Capital Gains) applies shall be treated as income from sources within Israel.

7. Income received by an individual for his performance of labor or personal services, whether as an employee or in an independent capacity, shall be treated as income from sources within a Contracting State only to the extent that such services are performed in that Contracting State. Income from personal services performed aboard ships or aircraft operated by a resident of one of the Contracting States in international traffic shall be treated as income from sources within that Contracting State if rendered by a member of the regular complement of the ship or aircraft. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this paragraph, remuneration described in Article 22 (Governmental Functions) and payments described in Article 21 (Social Security Payments) paid from the public funds of a Contracting State or a political subdivision or local authority thereof shall be treated as income from sources within that Contracting State only.

8. Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) through (6), industrial or commercial profits which are attributable to a permanent establishment which the recipient, a resident of one of the Contracting States, has in the other Contracting State, shall be treated as income from sources within that other Contracting State. Industrial or commercial profits attributable to such permanent establishment include any item of income described in paragraphs (1) through (6) to the extent provided in paragraph (6) of Article 8 (Business Profits).

9. The source of any item of income to which paragraphs (1) through (8) are not applicable shall be determined by each of the Contracting States in accordance with its own law. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, if the source of any item of income under the laws of one Contracting State is different from the source of such item of income under the laws of the other Contracting State or if the source of such income is not readily determinable under the laws of one of the Contracting States, the competent authorities of the Contracting States may, in order to prevent double taxation or further any other purpose of this Convention, establish a common source of the item of income for purposes of this Convention.

Commentary to Article 4 of the Israel - U.S. Tax Treaty

This Article contains the source rules which are to be used in applying the provisions of the Israel - U.S. Tax Treaty. Under Article 6 (General Rules of Taxation), one Contracting State may tax a resident of the other Contracting State only on income from sources within the first-mentioned Contracting State (provided, with certain exceptions, that the resident is not a citizen of the firstmentioned Contracting State).

Paragraph (1) provides that dividends will be treated as income from sources within a Contracting State only if paid by a corporation of that Contracting State.

Under paragraph (2), interest will be treated as income from sources within a Contracting State only if paid by that Contracting State, a political subdivision or a local authority thereof, or by a resident of that Contracting State. However, if interest is paid on an indebtedness incurred in connection with a permanent establishment which bears such interest, then such interest shall be deemed to be from sources within the State (whether or not a Contracting State) in which the permanent establishment is situated.

This exception permits a Contracting State, under the proper circumstances, to impose a tax on interest paid by a permanent establishment therein, including a permanent establishment of a resident of a State other than a Contracting State. For example, if a resident of France has a permanent establishment in Israel which borrows money from a resident of the United States and bears the interest (i.e., deducts the interest in computing the income of the permanent establishment) the interest will be deemed to be from Israeli sources. Thus, Israel may tax such interest, subject to the limitations of Article 13 (Interest).

As provided in paragraph (9) of Article 5 (Permanent Establishment) the principles of Article 5 will be applied to determine whether the resident of France has a permanent establishment in Israel. The United States will not, because of sections 861(a)(l)(C) and (D) of the Code, impose a tax on interest received by nonresident alien individuals or foreign corporations from a foreign corporation having a permanent establishment in the United States unless 50 percent or more of the gross income of such corporation from all sources for the three year period ending with the close of its taxable year preceding the payment of the interest (or such part of the period as the corporation has been in existence) vas effectively connected with the conduct of a trade or business within the United States.

In addition, the exception to the general rule of paragraph (2) of this Article will exempt interest from tax in the Contracting State in which the payor resides if the payor has a permanent establishment in a State other than a Contracting State in connection with which the indebtedness on which the interest is paid was incurred, such interest is borne by the permanent establishment and such interest is paid to a resident of the other Contracting State. This results from the restriction in Article 6 (General Rules of Taxation) that a resident of one Contracting State who is not a citizen of the other Contracting State may be taxed by the other Contracting State only on income from sources within that other Contracting State.

Paragraph (3) provides that royalties for the use of, or the right of use, property or rights described in paragraph (2) of Article 14 (Royalties) will be treated as income from sources within a Contracting State only to the extent that such royalties are for the use of, or the right to use, such property or rights within that Contracting State.

Paragraph (4) provides that income and gains (including royalties) to which Article 7 (Income from Real Property) applies will be treated as income from sources within a Contracting State only if the real property (or, in the case of property referred to in paragraph (3) of Article 7, the underlying real property) is situated in that Contracting State.

Paragraph (5) provides that income from the rental of tangible personal (movable) property will be treated as income from sources within a Contracting State only to the extent that the income is for the use of such property in that Contracting State.

Under paragraph (6), income from the purchase and sale, exchange, or other disposition of intangible or tangible personal property (other than gains described in paragraph (2) of Article 14 (Royalties)) will be treated as income from sources within a Contracting State only if such sale, exchange, or other disposition is within that Contracting State. However, gains from the sale, exchange, or other disposition of stock in an Israeli corporation to which paragraph (1)(e) of Article 15 (Capital Gains) applies will be treated as income from sources within Israel.

Under paragraph (7), income received by an individual for his performance of labor or personal services, whether as an employee or in an independent capacity, will be treated as income from sources within a Contracting State only to the extent that such services are performed In that Contracting State. Income from personal services performed aboard ships or aircraft operated by a resident of a Contracting State in international traffic will be treated as

income from sources within that Contracting State if rendered by a member of the regular complement of the ship or aircraft. However, remuneration described in Article 22 (Governmental Functions) and payments described in Article 21 (Social Security Payments) paid from the public funds of a Contracting State or a political subdivision or local authority thereof will be treated as income from sources within that Contracting State only.

Paragraph (8) contains a general qualification to the preceding source rules. It provides that industrial or commercial profits attributable to a permanent establishment which the recipient, a resident of one Contracting State, has in the other Contracting State will be treated as income from sources within that other Contracting State. Industrial or commercial profits attributable to such permanent establishment may include any item of income described in

paragraphs (1) through (6) if the item of income is effectively connected with the permanent establishment. See the discussion of paragraph (6) of Article 8 (Business Profits) for a discussion of the effectively connected concept.

Under paragraph (9), the source of any item of income not described in the preceding paragraphs of Article 4 will be determined by each Contracting State in accordance with its own law. However, if the source of any item of income under the laws of one Contracting State is different from its source under the laws of the other Contracting State or if its source is not readily determinable under the laws of one of the Contracting States, the competent authorities of the Contracting State may, in order to prevent double taxation or further any other purpose of the Israel - U.S. Tax Treaty, establish a common source of the item of income for purposes of the Israel - U.S. Tax Treaty.

Several of the source rules set out in this Article differ to some degree from those provided in the Code. Since Article 6 (General Rules of Taxation) provides, in effect, that the Israel - U.S. Tax Treaty will not increase a person’s overall United States tax, a taxpayer is not bound to apply the Israel - U.S. Tax Treaty rules in calculating his United States tax liability. However, a taxpayer may not make inconsistent choices between Code and Convention rules.

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The above is intended for informative purposes only and is in no way to be construed as tax advice or a legal opinion. It is important to consult with an Israeli tax lawyer on the practical application of the Israel US tax treaty.